The ONE tweak needed for Arsenal in order to keep Arsene Wenger sane

Remember the suave figure of a Frenchman undeterred by the media proclaiming “Arsene Who?” upon his arrival at Highbury in 1996? A far cry from the man we’ve seen physically abuse water bottles on a weekly basis from March onwards every season since Arsenal last won a trophy in 2005. And, to his expense in terms of jokes at least, a few young, promising prospects as well. John Champion indeed sums the contrast quite perfectly with this quote: “When we first welcomed Wenger to these shores we saw him as cool, calm and collected, look at him now.”

Indeed, something about The Professor’s once promising youth policy has gone wrong. Horribly wrong. Perhaps looking to the likes of Fergie’s Fledglings as an example – the class of 1992 springs to mind – the plan set forth by Wenger was seen to bear fruit anytime soon. The result? Frustrated fans and players who are now looking elsewhere in an effort to revive their careers as far as trophies are concerned.

The reasons for the insistence on this policy are of course well documented. The advent of all-seater stadia across England meant that Highbury’s capacity fell to less than 40’000, meaning that, in the long run, match revenue would be trumped by the likes of Manchester United. The board undertook to build to build a new stadium in nearby Ashburton Grove so that many more Arsenal fans would have access to watching their favourite team and, more importantly to them at least, would result in the club making more money which would lead to long-term stability and sustainability.

As a result, Arsene reverted to grooming youngsters by providing them with first term opportunities – at least more so than other clubs – and play a pretty brand of football while doing so instead of buying ready-made stars who inevitably demanded high transfer fees and wages, but at least could have marshalled the younger ones into bringing trophies to their new stadium.

While the new approach seems good and pure, it has exposed many problems. United at least had, and still have, older, more experienced campaigners that can guide their younger teammates, while the Gunners look to the likes of Cesc Fabregas, who is only 24 and captain. Cesc, while a brilliant player – the fact that he’s amongst the players with the most assists every season speaks for itself – is no leader. They lack a Tony Adams-type leader and need to find one soon – if not within the team, elsewhere!

The steel which characterised Arsenal’s sides at the back end of the 20^th century has been ignored and Arsenal, while pleasing on the eye, have no sense of urgency in their play. Their style of play can be their undoing as several teams have them figured out. Too often, they try to score the perfect goal instead of being a bit more direct. Arsenal are very one-dimensional in attack and aren’t as ruthlessly efficient in possession as the team they are trying to emulate – Barcelona. The Invincibles I remember combined steel and style to great effect. This team, it seems, has sacrificed substance for style and it is evident in the number of overly-technical players on Arsenal’s roster.

To finish off, so much is right about Arsenal. The good points being the promotion of youth, excellent financial muscle, and their style of play – indeed envied by many. But much needs to be done for it to be the great force it once was. There is a general consensus that there will be great change this summer. Arsenal’s first overseas tour in over a decade will bring great commercial gains. There is expected to be an exodus of players leaving – most of which are deadweight anyway. And at last, Arsene himself is expressing interest in ready-made stars in a bid to end the Gunners’ trophy drought.

I feel a tweak in tactics, keeping key players and bringing in quality, experience and leadership in key areas, will surely do the trick of providing silverware at last and prevent Wenger from going senile quicker than he’s supposed to. Overall, it is a big summer for Arsenal.

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