Wenger, the nutty professor?

Another season has come to pass for Arsenal and the long wait for a trophy is set to be extended by one more year. Bullied and beaten, Arsenal bowed out of the title race last night in a fashion that has become all too familiar to their supporters. The loss condemned them to their sixth consecutive year without a trophy and no matter how eloquently and philosophically Arsene Wenger puts it that is too long for a club of Arsenal’s size. And have no doubt about it Arsenal are a big club. Prof Einstein once said, “The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Wenger could do a lot worse than to heed his colleague’s advice. Season after season we have seen Wenger turn out an inexperienced, naive side with frailties throughout their defence, often with the same result. This Arsenal team is far removed from the one Wenger took charge of back in 1996 and the man at the helm has undergone a transformation of his own. It seems the years managing at the top of English and European football has taken its toll on the once meticulous and unflinching Wenger.  He is no longer the unflappable thinker that took charge of boring, boring Arsenal all those years ago. In the last week we have seen him throw bigger tantrums than Cristiano Ronaldo when he doesn’t get a foul. His hair gets a shade lighter, his demeanour a shade darker. The captain of the Arsenal ship more closely resembles a mad scientist than a professor.

He once said “I’m more of a liberal, but I’m also in favour of common sense and good management.” I’m struggling to see how even the most liberal of Arsenal supporters can see common sense exuding from their manager and their team. What we do see is a naivety (in the players) and stubbornness (in the manager) that has constantly underpinned the potential of this side. I for one have never doubted Wenger’s football philosophy, I consider him an artist amongst managers but his refusal to see the potential pitfalls in this very philosophy is a fatal flaw that could and perhaps should have cost him his job. His inability to develop a viable plan B in the instance of their beautiful flowing football being found out by blood, guts and 10 men behind the ball has cost his side dearly. On their day no one can doubt the beauty and effectiveness of their football. But ask them to branch out and try something new and they seem as clueless as a roomful of blind people playing charades.  The problem comes with the variety of players in their ranks. All of the players find themselves in the same mould and many have been found to be lacking the physicality required to allow the ball to be pumped into the box when all else fails. That has been the biggest change for me over the years, the decline in physicality of their team. Often questioned about the amount of red cards that his team received in the early years, one thing you could never say about an Arsenal team is that they were soft. Commanding centre backs and battling midfielders such as Adams, Keown and Viera were the order of the day. I have yet to see the same displays from the likes of Koscielny, Squillaci and Denilson, amongst others.

I can’t begin to say I have an insight into the inner workings of Arsenal football club and what money has been put at Wenger’s disposal but I do believe that their transfer policy has contributed to their downfall and their lack of trophies. In recent years we have seen the departure of players like Toure and Adebayor but have the players that have come in been adequate replacements? Koscielny, Silvestre, Squillaci and Chamakh are not of the quality required to win a league title. We know that he chooses not to buy stars but rather to make them but in certain positions an experienced world –class player is necessary. One can not discount the amount of points Van Der Sar, Cech and Reina save for their clubs. I can only hazard a guess as to the amount of points the plethora of keepers have cost Arsenal this season, after all I’m not Martin Tyler. Certain sections of supporters have begun to get disheartened and signs that once read “Wenger knows” have been replaced with the less flattering “Wenger knew”. It may all be too soon to be questioning the job of the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history but in his own words if you eat caviar everyday it’s difficult to return to sausages. Perhaps what is required is a fresh bunch of ideas, someone to question his decisions and bring a fresh approach to the table. He still has a vital role to play at the club, of that there is no doubt, but what should that role be?

I do hope that finally takes note of his teams shortcomings this season and works to rectify them over the summer. I’m sure there will be a shakeup of sorts, with perhaps Cesc Fabregas finding his way home. There are too few managers like Professor Wenger nowadays, willing to sacrifice results in order to develop stars and play the beautiful game as it was meant to be. If he could only find a balance between the two then there would be no doubt as to his position at the top of the game. There is always next season and perhaps his young side, like a fine French wine, would've matured by then.

Yours Truly

Commodore Vegas