The flaws of Wenger Pt II

Ok then. We need another Viera-esque player. Song or Denilson is no answer for that problem. I think all gooners agree that Wenger need to spend a little more than he used to on this area. We dont need another 17-20 years old type of player. We need experience. As I mentioned before its either you have it or you dont. You can teach kids natural instinct. The ability to notice everything and anticipate whats going to happen around you. You can see if a player has it in him or not. Fabregas got it. Arshavin has it. Rosicky and Hleb have it. Offensively that is. None of our defensive player look capable of reaching the heights of their predecessors. None of them can cover as much ground as Vieira while maintaining the team attacking impetus. In Arsene's football everyone must know how to attack. Everyone must have the ability to add something to our offensive ability. Everyone bar the keeper obviously.

In that lies the brutal truth about the current squad. While offensively we are one of the best in Europe, we are Newcastle like in defending. There is no protection in front of the back four. Teams often find their passing range against Arsenal. Why? How does a team like Fulham can pass the ball around our midfield confidently? Wenger always emphasize the importance of sharing responsibility among the players. Everyone is responsible for any of their teammates' mistakes. Thats why he never implement man marking. Furthermore, due to his extravagant offensive mind set, zonal marking is used every game no matter who are we playing against. In zonal marking players dont have to be responsible in marking a certain player. They dont have to follow a player tightly as he moves all around the pitch. This system will make counter attacking much more effective. Once the ball is recovered, the players will be positioned at their stationed zone and that will make it easier for Fabregas and co to find their passes. You always see Fabregas passes the ball quickly as he received it. One of the reasons is that he already knows where the nearest players are and he has the brain to figure out which pass is benefiting the team. However zonal marking necessitate a defensive midfielder with a great defensive instinct. As I said before we desperately lack one now. A naturally instinctive defensive midfielder will organize the zonal better. He will patrol his zone and always remind everyone about where the danger is coming from. Arsene has implemented the zonal system since the first day he came to London and only now the system is questioned. Thats because for the first time in his time at Arsenal he doesnt have a player that can stabilize the team once the ball is lost. You dont see Song or Denilson running back quickly and barking at their teammates to concentrate or buck up. Vieira and Gilberto used to do that efficiently. Now that they are gone, we are incredibly short in the midfield department. I stated earlier in the season Arsene needed to spend heavily in the central midfield area. Again, as the summer looming, I stressed the importance of another Vieira like player in our squad. Unless that Arsene wants to change his system, which he might not, that is.

Till the part III of this post. Chalo.

The flaws of Wenger

Well I told u im not going to talk about football anymore rite? The football season is over rite? Sorry mate. Football is in my blood and it aint going nowhere. After the weekend debacle, my feeling towards Wenger seem to be transforming from respect to anywhere near 'stubborn grumpy old bastard'. Hes got to realize that his style of play aint working no more. He saw the same group of players train in front of his bare eyes but still he keeps denying the obvious truth. We are not just one or two experience players short of being a title contender. We cant blame youth as part of our problems anymore. How can we say that when 'young' Gael Clichy or Fabregas, while they are 23 and 21 respectively, have had first team professional football experience for almost 5 years now. They have both won honors, wheather domestically or internationally. I cant help my burning anger everytime i heard Wenger said we are still in 'learning' process or 'rebuilding'. Its 4 years now since we last won something significant, and even that was a lucky shootout victory. Im not as astute as the boss, but as a fan i am entitled to my own opinion. I chucked out a hefty sum of my own salary for anything related to my beloved Arsenal FC. I demand changes from the boss. I have the right to be demanding. I want to see us winning trophies again. I want us to be challenging for top honors again. I have lost the feel of anxiety watching our team fight tooth and nails with Man Utd for the league title. Heck I cant even remember the feeling anymore. Remember all the years when we would destroy all the teams around with our pace and power? Remember the full blooded war we used to have against those damn devils? I did..but sadly I cant remember the feel of those moments anymore. It has been that long. Therefore I really hope the boss will make some drastic changes to the team. Kick out all those useless youngsters. Review our system. Kill Adebayor. Sell Diaby to Real Madrid. Those type of changes.

Arsene Wenger believes that football is evolving. He believes that football in the future will be played on the ground, where small players glide elegantly around the pitch exchanging positions with each other. He cited Spain Euro 2008 winning squad as example. He tried to implement what he had seen in the Spanish team into his Arsenal squad. However, for some reasons, he neglected the main fulcrum of that Spanish team. For all the flying fullbacks and the intricate triangle passing, the Spanish always played with one out and out defensive midfielder. It doesnt matter if its Senna or Alonso, they will always have one player who is intelligent enough to patrol in front of the back four.In intelligent I mean that the defensive player knows where the danger is coming and will shut the space down quickly, and he is also capable of doing the occasional forays toward the opposition goal. At Arsenal we have Denilson and Song for that position. The problem is that both of them dont have the required intelligence to play in the system. How many times do we see teams counter attacking through the Arsenal midfield? Take the Chelse game last Sunday. Every Chelsea goal came from the central area. Everytime they got the ball Drogba will always position himself in the space where Song should be, in front of Arsenal back four. This also happened in the Man Utd game. For Arsene and ideal defensive midfield player is someone who can attack and defend at the same time, ala Vieira or Gilberto. This type of players are hard to get, as they have incredible stamina combined with natural football iq that would help them make the appropriate decisions quickly and accurately. What I am seeing rite now Wenger is trying to nurture Song and Denilson into a Viera-esque type of players. As he is too reluctant to spend big, he needs both Song and Denilson to quickly develop into the combative all round midfielder he wants them to be. Theres one big flaw in the plan however. Both of them seem short of the required football mind to be like Viera. Denilson is a gifted passer and a very neat player, while Song is strong and good with his tackle. But they both dont have the natural instinct to sense danger and to make the 'arriving late in the penalty area' kind of offense. Denilson seems too afraid to carry the ball forward or make runs forward. He spent most of the time in front of the defense spraying sideway passes again and again. Song is better at carrying the ball forward but lack the judgment on when and where he should be positioned. Everytime Song or Denilson make their occasional forays forward, they just dont have the clue where the danger gonna be coming from. As a result, teams as good as Chelsea and Man Utd would easily find empty spaces to start their counter attack. For me both of them is way off being the Viera or Gilberto that Wenger wants them to be. Viera will never leave empty spaces behind him. If he does, he will always cover the space he left quickly as he knows exactly where the opponents gonna hurt his team. I miss those days when Vieira stuck his long leg out and suddenly we are on the attack again. When the opponents stole the ball and wanted to counter attack, hes already back covering all the spaces the had left vacant. Rite now, Arsenal need another Vieira. Someone needs to tell Arsene that Song and Denilson will never be one.

Outplayed..outworked..outsmarted..the story of Arsenal Champions League Semis.

I have thought that it would end this way. Too many games. Too many lost to endure. I can almost smell defeats when they came sniffing around the corner. As optimistic as I tried to be, deep inside I cant help but preparing myself for the inevitable. Maybe 10% in me hoped that the team can prove me wrong but in the end they proved my doubt right. Arsenal and Man Utd are several class apart. It hurt me to say it but we were dominantly overwhelmed by the devils last nite. I have to say that last nite, Man Utd looked like a European Champion. Defensively superb, offensively outstanding, they were perfect. They said Walcott is having a great season, but Evra didnt let him have a single kick what so ever. They said Arsenal are the best passing team in the league? Well put 3 hardworking but skillful midfielders out and they easily stuffed the air out of Fabregas and co. The less said about Adebayor is better. The guy was simply clueless against Ferdinand and Vidic. See how Vidic handle him? Perfectly timed challenges combined with such elegance completely neutralized the Togo man. And as much as I hate the Moan King Ronaldo, I admit that hes one hell of a player. Hes maybe one of the laziest winger around, but as a forward, where tracking back is not necessary, he was excellent. Toure and Djourou couldnt cope with his movement, pace and power last nite. And lastly, to Alex Ferguson. For once, I took my hat off and bow to you. Last nite you showed the world how tactically great you are. You completely outwitted Arsene with your sound judgment on how the game would turn out. For one nite at least, you are the best football manager in the world. Kudos.

Now lets get back to Arsenal. Im not saying that Arsene's a dud, but he made so, so many mistakes with his judgment last nite. Why the fuck did he send us out flying gung-ho rite at the get go????? We were only down 1-0 for fuck sake!!! Take your time bastard!! Think Liverpool for instance. They were down 3-1 (THREE) but did they started the second leg all out attacking?? Hell no!! Urghh it hurt me thinking about it. Secondly. Adebayor was having a fucking bad season. Get your balls and drop him once Arsene. Remember, we beat Man Utd in the league by playing Bendtner, not Adebayor. The guy was given a total 180minute of humiliation by Ferdinand and Vidic. Thirdly. After 20 minutes you can see what Man Utd were doing. Ronaldo was all over the place picking up spaces and emptying few more. Why or why dear ol Arsene, dont you do anything about it? I was screaming at the telly "STAY IN FRONT OF THE BACK FOUR FUCKER!!! DONT LET RONALDO ALONE IN THERE!! FUCKKKK!!" Sadly, i was the only one screaming. I was hoping to see Arsene get his arse up and screamed at Song to do that but no..he prefer to warmed his tushie up on the bench. Fuck Arsene..you and your lovely kids destroyed my heart last nite. I was crushed. It was infact the biggest game of the season. And we got turned over emphatically in front of our own crowd. It was the worst defeat I have endured in my 12 year Arsenal career...

Im taking a break from football from now on. Good luck Arsenal. Oh rite,,you have to play Chelsea next. Then Man Utd again. You gonna need more than luck for that.

That sets us up nicely for Tuesday..

"Well, I didnt sign up to play with kids did I?"