Gunning for a Revamp

In the past I have always had a little giggle at Arsenal fans who seem to think that Arsene Wenger is a shite manager because he manages to get them 4th every season. Clearly a club with a fanbase that either weren’t there for the rough times or are just blatantly ignoring them…

Sadly though after a season which could have been any clubs for the taking, Wenger has again come under scrutiny and is even beginning to waver my opinion whether the Frenchman has the character to ever win the league again.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still think Arsene Wenger is a good manager. He has managed to bring Champions League football for like the last million years in a row for Arsenal, spending a fraction of what the likes of Mourinho had at Chelsea or Ferguson had at United. But the difference between Wenger and those two is that they know the result comes above all…

Take Mourinho for example: he has had his sides playing the most unattractive, boring and downright shit football the Premier League has seen from a title winning side...but he still gets results. Fergie was another one who knew when he had to grind out a scruffy result, I remember him winning the league in like 08/09 or something and his team never really got out of third gear.

Wenger seems to think that the fans, above all, want to be entertained. That the result will come from attractive football. I wrote a piece the other day about Alan Pardew having no plan B when he manages a game of football and I’m starting to believe Wenger is on the same boat.

As I just said he seems to think that attractive football will bring results, as if no opposition would be able to defend against it, as if no manager will have a tactic in mind to avoid Arsene’s fancy football. When it works, Arsenal look like world beaters...but when it doesn’t, they just look...clumsy.

The defensive errors Arsenal have made over the last 10 years or so are comical, the kind of mistakes that Tony Adams’ grandmother wouldn’t even make. You can blame individuals for this but at the end of the day if Wenger is playing too many creative players it’s gonna leave the side lacking defensively.

One position the Gunners have struggled with over the years is defensive midfield. It’s a position that every midfielder thinks he can play but truthfully only a handful of them can. It’s a real selfless job to play there, I think lads like Wilshere, who told the press he wants to play that holding role, is just too forward thinking to play there.

At the start of this season Arsenal were linked with Sami Khedira who I thought would turn losses into draws and draws into wins. A class player who, if he could stay fit, would be a pivotal player in Arsenal’s title push.

Not to say that Coquelin isn’t good enough. I think Coquelin has done an OK job protecting the back four but when he’s paired up alongside Aaron Ramsey it’s always going to be difficult for him. Flamini is the alternative who, for me is average, seems to have one good game in about 15 games, not quite good enough in my opinion.

Aaron Ramsey for me has been a mixed bag this season: another player who when he’s good looks class but when he’s not he looks bang average. I genuinely believe though when Ramsey gets forward he really brings out the best in Ozil. It’s something that I noticed last season and I think Wenger should play him in an attacking three with Ozil and Sanchez.

~ Just my opinion by the way, I’m sure Arsenal fans will call me thick as fuck for even suggesting this haha ~

One issue Arsenal seem to have is their big hitters just aren’t hitting at the moment. James Milner has over double the amount of assists as Ozil in 2016 and Sanchez hasn’t really hit the same form as he did last year which has been a big hindrance for the Gunners all season...

Back to the main point of this post though, I think Wenger has had his day at Arsenal. It’s a sad day when even I’m having to say that but it’s true. Arsene Wenger has been one of the best manager the Premier League has ever seen, he deserves about 99% of the credit for how Arsenal have done over the last 20 years.

The thing is though I can’t see Arsenal’s board sacking the Frenchman. Wenger’s saving grace is the fact that he is still in the Champions League places and looks set to make it 1,000,001 years in the Champions League. Plus with the likes of Guardiola, Conte and a possible return from Mourinho, Arsenal are gonna need an experienced head leading them forward.

One last thing I would like to add is if Wenger keeps his job, I think he should try and sign Yaya Toure. I’ve criticized Toure so much this season for being lazy but he’d be a good player for Arsenal. He’s probably the closest any player has come to Patrick Vieira for his ability to boss a midfield...Just a suggestion.

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Cheers for reading.