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| Arsene Wenger |
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Sunday's 1-1 draw at the Emirates mirrored Arsenal's entire season where a lackadaisical performance ended in a lead being surrendered for the umpteenth time this season. The tone for the match was set by the stale possession that was devoid of any penetration as the team lacked any urgency in their play. If anything, it was more or less like a end of season match that carried the air of a now patented finish in the fourth position.
At the beginning of the year, Arsenal were top of the league, but subsequent inconsistent performances since the turn of the year has culminated in the club fighting for a top four finish with just over a month left of the current season. In previous seasons, the team has been able to put together a sustained run together when they under pressure to finish in the top four. However, this team has lurked between idling in front of goal and looking frail in defence.
It is the same collapse that has become evident in any season Arsenal has managed to be called title contenders. Since the move to the Emirates, the few seasons, the club has been involved in a title tilt has resulted in an inevitable collapse at the February mark. This fragility has become a hallmark of Arsenal since the club crossed from their ancestral home to the Emirates ten years ago this summer.
Over the years, the financial landscape of the club has changed, and this has made it possible for certain players to be recruited, ala Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, the likes of whom wouldn't have been at the club. Yet despite their signings over the last three seasons, Arsene Wenger has always left his team short of adequate cover in the event of injury to an first team player. The Frenchman's gambling on player's staying fit backfired spectacularly this season. But before that, it is not just the issue of injury that has affected the team's performance, but Wenger's inability to plug certain holes by using the players available to him to achieve results.
While football has evolved with the way teams are prepared tactically for a match, Arsenal have become stale, with it set up play almost the same way in every match irrespective of the opposition. There is always the odd defensive lapses and space all over the midfield, players seldom respect positioning, opposition players are allowed to waltz through the midfield to run at goal without random fouling. Arsenal remains one of the easiest team to score against, and equally one of the easiest team's to prevent from scoring.
The microcosm of Arsenal as a club is that certain attitude will not change except the manager leaves. the laissez faire approach of treating players like cradles instead of pushing them has repeatedly failed over the years. It is this approach that makes Arsenal to lack any form of organisation and structure in most matches, and they are seldom switched on defensively when they are without the ball
In such approach, having the right players on the field that would take a game by the scuff of the neck by taking the initiative would have made it workable, but Wenger has been reluctant to sign the players that he needs to make this approach work, rather the fragile cohesion which he has repeatedly harped on is now a better belt than making signings that would improve the team according to the Frenchman.
It is clear that Arsenal as a football club is at a crossroad. And Arsene Wenger looks every bit like a manager that has reached the peak of his powers judging by the way his teams has flattered to deceive this season. When the stakes are high, the team collapses. And it is a reflection of a manager's personality if this occurs repeatedly. The buck stops with him to prevent such rot. But with just one month left of a nine month season, Arsenal have not convinced even for one month throughout the season.
There have been the inevitable calls for new players, but Arsenal needs a new manager just as they need new players, because new players has not changed how the team performs which is a evidence of the fact that there is a foundational problem from the managerial position.
