Wenger’s Reluctance to Strengthen Bursts Arsenal Bubble

Dave Johnstone

As Arsenal head for a 3rd Trophy-less season, just what is missing from a team supposedly playing the best football in the Premiership?

This Sunday saw Old Trafford live up to its name as the Theatre of Dreams for its fans. With a sublime free-kick Owen Hargreaves seems to have sealed the title for Ferguson’s men and condemned Wenger and Arsenal to their third successive season without silverware. With the pressure pot that is the Premiership seemingly bursting with a new club in crisis every week, it would appear it is Arsenal’s turn to feel the heat.

In a season when a debutant manager can be facing the sack whilst still second in the league and in the last four of the Champions League, Arsene Wenger’s once lauded approach to youth development and the transfer market is coming under increasing scrutiny. Ex England manager Terry Venables highlighted Arsenal’s lack of depth and Wenger’s inactivity in the transfer market saying, “Wenger has always been reluctant to spend big in the transfer market…The problem with Arsenal is too many players know they are going to be in the side every week.”

The lack of depth has been apparent since January, with Arsenal surrendering a five point lead and taking only eight points from the previous twenty-four on offer. With this in mind the decision to sell Lassana Diarra to a rejuvenated Portsmouth and in turn failing to add fresh faces to a depleted and inexperienced side seems to have cost Arsenal not only the title but in fact any shot at even a modicum of silverware. For the first time this decade Arsenal’s rivals Spurs will have bragging rights around North London and whilst Arsenal fans will protest they don’t care for England’s wooden spoon of domestic trophies, perhaps in the same breath they would be forced to admit seeing your side lift a trophy at Wembley is something that we all hunger for, no matter how much success we become accustomed to.

In truth maybe Arsenal would have been fine had key players such as Sagna and Rosicky not picked up injuries, but Gallas and indeed Wenger’s continual pleas of ill fortune seem somewhat extreme in a season when Champions elect United have lost Club Captain Gary Neville and a goal hungry Louis Saha to persistent injury, whilst even Billionaires Chelsea had to cope with losing half their first team to the African Cup of Nations.

In defence of Arsenal’s recent form the performances produced under the intensity of Old Trafford and Anfield were nothing short of their usual exactingly high standards, but unlike before the lack of cutting edge and inspirational leadership was all too apparent. Who can forget Roy Keane’s performance against Juventus to guide United to an unprecedented treble and Steven Gerrard’s continual knack of dragging his team kicking and screaming to magic nights in Europe’s premier cup competition. Sadly Arsenal appear to be lacking this sought of inspirational leadership. Gallas’s season may be remembered for his actions on seeing his team concede a last minute penalty at Birmingham but it is perhaps the extravagant Frenchman’s lack of action during Arsenal’s ties against United and Liverpool that will truly come to define Arsenal’s fortunes this season.

Even Arsenal’s jewel in the crown, Fabregas, has struggled to impose himself on the wave of crunch matches Arsenal have faced in recent weeks. Where Arsenal once had the ability to turn to Viera’s battling qualities when it came to the crunch, a central midfield of Flamini and Fabregas (no matter their potential) seems somewhat lacking in character when put up against the top level experience of their counterparts; Gerrard, Scholes and Ballack.

Whilst Gallas’s on pitch antics may capture the eye and hence be an easy target for explaining Arsenal’s loss of form, for the first time in his stay in England, Arsene Wenger can be seen to have made profound tactical errors. The BBC’s David Ornstein perhaps best sums it up saying, “Wenger is a staunch believer in the notion that a football team embodies its manager - and Arsenal have come up short this season”.

No clearer was this than at Anfield. With the deployment of Senderos at centre back pushing Arsenal’s most consistent performer in Kolo Toure to fill in at right back, Wenger left Toure exposed and Arsenal fans to suffer from mild strokes at the mere sight of Torres approaching a petrified Senderos. With Walcott starting to show his potential his deployment as super sub seemed a luxury they could ill afford.

With Arsenal knowing they would need to score, playing Eboue on the right wing when he is yet to score all season seemed somewhat over cautious. As United showed; two away goals should be more than enough for any team to qualify, yet Arsenal’s defensive shuffle saw them concede an alarming four and crash out. With a bit more faith shown in Walcott to fulfil that troubled right hand side and Eboue behind him, Arsenal would arguably have been a far better balanced and organised team.

In Wenger’s defence, his squad whilst far cheaper and more inexperienced than their rivals have unquestionably improved this year, moving up from fourth and significantly closing the gap of 21 points that stood between them and the champions last year. Improving on last year’s achievements would to most teams be a sign of success, but with the nature of football these days, it is perhaps prudent to point out that to the top four success does not come in terms of improvement but far more in the form of achievement.

With Arsenal achieving nothing by way of silverware for a third successive season and their competitors only growing stronger, this summer could be the most pivotal of the French professor’s legacy. Next season offers even more competition with Portsmouth and Spurs likely to add to already capable squads and with the Shadow of an Usmanov takeover in the wings, one of the Premiership’s greatest legacies will be facing its toughest test yet.

 

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