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.