Arsene Wenger needs to let go of his tactical rigidity
Arsenal made a short trip across the capital to play their fiercest rivals, Chelsea, hoping to keep their unbeaten streak in the Premier League intact after 90 minutes. But unsurprisingly, the Gunners were on the wrong end of a 2-0 score line courtesy of goals from Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard and in-form Spanish striker Diego Costa who has now scored 9 goals in as many games for the Blues.
Looking at the Gunners’ performance, one could easily identify the biggest problem that eludes the North London team of a win against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton or even Tottenham for that matter. While they are much more composed at the back, their star studded attack line is just not delivering the goods when it matters.
Playing it safe
Ever since the days of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, Arsene Wenger has stuck to the same philosophy of a neat passing game which saw him through the famous Invincibles season of 2003-04. The genius of Henry and Bergkamp combined with the stability that Vieira brought to the team made Arsenal a fearsome power in the early 2000s.
And there lies the problem. It has been 10 years since Arsenal laid hands on the Premier League trophy and in those 10 years the League has become more tactical and tiring. Tactics that are challenging, and sometimes border on the margins of the rules are now a part and parcel of the game, and tackling still is pretty encouraged in the Premier League.
Sadly, Wenger is still under the illusion that his philosophy will prevail in today’s era as well and this reluctance to be flexible with his tactics is costing him dearly.
He is contradicted every time his team comes up against serious title challengers like Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United (under Sir Alex Ferguson). All these teams have brilliant players who can work their way through the opposition defence and at the same time are equipped with the physical power which can keep the opposition attack at bay.
To be honest, the current Arsenal team doesn’t have that physical presence, except for a couple of players, to compete against the Kompanys and the Terrys and the Skrtels on a physical level. Under these circumstances,Wenger should quit playing neat tiki-taka football and take up a different stratergy to come up on top.
Sunday’s match against Chelsea was a classic example of his failed philosophy. Ozil, Cazorla, Welbeck and Sanchez were desparately trying to get past a formidable Chelsea back line which was guarded by the imposing figure of Nemanja Matic. And even when they were presented with a few chances inside the Chelsea penalty area, the players tried to play it very safe and kept passing the ball in an attempt to walk the ball into the back of the net which was not only disappointing but also frustrating to watch.
Despite realizing that his players were unable to get past Terry & Co. with their neat passing game, Wenger stuck to the same tactics and philosophy in the second half. Jose Mourinho being a shrewd manager took advantage of Wenger’s naivety and molded his tactics accordingly. Chelsea were successful in stalling the Arsenal frontline effortlessly during the entire course of the match, tiring them in the process. And all it took was a beautiful lob from Fabregas to Costa who ran past Koscielny and sealed the game for the Blues.
Getting the tactics right
Arsenal has an abundance of talent in their team, players who are capable of winning crucial matches and even winning the Premier League title. The fault here mainly lies with Wenger. Being an experienced and accomplished manager, Wenger makes mistakes which would be expected of managers who are new to the job role. Although he has successfully fulfilled the desperate pleas of their faithful by signing marquee players in the form of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, he is now making errors on the tactical front.
If he is serious about winning any competition, he needs to regroup, think over his ideas again, take every game seriously (yes the League Cup included.) and change his tactics and philosophy according to the opposition.
Careful analysis of the opposition squad is absolutely critical. Starting Ozil instead of Oxlade-Chamberlain on the flanks against an athletic Cesar Azpilicueta, constantly playing the German playmaker out of position and playing Per Mertesacker against Sergio Aguero didn’t pay off as well as thought. He should try out new formations and attacking as well as defensive philosophies (zonal marking needs to be done with. Period.)
Players like Ramsey, Cazorla, Sanchez and Welbeck should be encouraged to try their luck from a distance when their neat passing game fails them. Moreover, signing a physical striker in the next transfer window might do some good. Welbeck and Sanchez have pace on their side but it is quickly neutralized against the physicality and toughness of defenders like Kompany, Skrtel, Terry and Cahill.
Defensively, Arsenal have made far and few errors this season with incoming defenders Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy adding stability to the defense of last season, ensuring that the number of goals they let in last season in big matches doesn’t happen.
With such an array of talent at his disposal, it would be sad to see Arsenal not winning cups and competitions. Winning the FA Cup last season has certainly ignited that hunger in the Gunners to go and win every cup competition they can. Wenger seriously needs to quit being stubborn and take control of the situation before he finds himself in the same situation which the unfortunate Alan Pardew is facing currently.