Back in 2005, Sam Allardyce claimed his first ever win over Arsene Wenger. Arsenal were hoping to defend the Premier League title following their Invincibles campaign, but found themselves suddenly overtaken by Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea as the Premier League’s most dominant force. Matters came to a head at the Reebok Stadium in January, as the Gunners suffered their only defeat of the season not at the hands of title rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.
BBC Sport’s match report described Bolton’s tactics as spot-on; aerial bombardment from out wide was the ploy of the day, as Allardyce targeted not only a novice goalkeeper in Manuel Almunia but also a young right-back in Justin Hoyte, deemed ‘nervous-looking’ by the Beeb.
Fast forward twelve years and Wenger is still fielding young defenders and unproven goalkeepers, still creating teams that struggle to cope with the physical demands of the Premier League and still being outwitted by Allardyce and outfought his theoretically lesser sides. He’s also still waiting for that next Premier League title.
Indeed, in the last twelve years at Arsenal, not much has changed. They’ve finished every season between fourth and second place, they’ve reached the semi-finals of the Champions League just twice, they’ve been plagued by injury problems and they’ve kept the same man in the dugout. Perhaps before this season, especially when coupled with consecutive FA Cups, that wasn’t as big an issue as it is now.
But following the Premier League’s influx of world-class managers over the last few years, a disastrous 2016/17, climaxing with Crystal Palace’s 3-0 thumping of the Gunners at Selhurst Park on Monday night, has highlighted not only Arsenal’s stagnation as a football club, but also Wenger’s as a manager. Now world football’s home of the superstar gaffer, Wenger’s weaknesses, out-dated ideas and arrogant ideals have become painfully exposed by his Premier League contemporaries – Allardyce included.
Upon facing Bolton in 2005, Arsenal lined up in 4-4-2, the only evolution of the Gunners’ formation since being one striker dropping into midfield. That is how Arsenal always play – it can even be claimed the Invincibles line-up was more of a 4-4-1-1 – and consequentially, the Gunners have used just one formation in their 30 Premier League fixtures this season; 4-2-3-1. Not a single variation.
But philosophy is not the name of the game anymore in the Premier League and managers must show a willingness to adapt. Antonio Conte’s introduction of the 3-4-3 system has not only transformed Chelsea back into title-winning, machine-like juggernauts, but also inspired tactical deviation throughout the Premier League.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool have all attempted at least one variation of Chelsea’s system this season, whilst some have adopted it for long periods. Rather tellingly, the Premier League’s top two both currently use it as their primary formation. Arsenal, meanwhile, have played four at the back, five in midfield and one up front in every single league game.
Just as Allardyce could predict how to beat Arsenal with Bolton Wanderers twelve years ago, setting up the game-plan for Monday night’s massacre was child’s play. Every manager in the Premier League will feel they have half a chance of replicating it, especially if their side is in good form.
It’s that kind of arrogantly outdated thinking, the naïve believe that Wenger’s philosophy of attacking football can conquer all, the idea that how well his team perform is far more important than any threat the opposition can offer, that has left the Frenchman behind upon facing younger, more experimental and adaptable counterparts at the helms of Arsenal’s top six rivals. But the idea of Le Prof lacking the tactical nous his nickname might suggest is certainly nothing new.
Just look at Wenger’s Champions League record, the competition where tactical minds truly stand out in continent spanning double-leg affairs. Wenger’s reached just one final from 19 attempts, with a team that has been either top or near the top of the English game for that entire period. Even mitigating the many obstacles that comes with the Champions League, and the superior might of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, that’s a big enough sample to tell us something accurate about Wenger’s tactical limitations against high-quality opposition. Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, FC Porto, Monaco, Liverpool and Dortmund – all arguably weaker sides and smaller clubs than Arsenal – have reached Champions League finals in that time.
Looking around the Premier League, Wenger’s record in the Champions League has been dwarfed. Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have won two European titles apiece whilst Jurgen Klopp has reached as many Champions League finals at the age of 49, not to mention last season’s Europa League final. Judging by their careers thus far, Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte can’t be far off one either. Gone are the days when Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson were the only acts in town; Wenger’s now facing competition from all sides and struggling to adequately rival it. Rather tellingly, Arsenal have claimed the fewest points against top six opposition this season, of any side in the Premier League’s top-end mini-league.
At the start of the season, many deemed this to be Arsenal’s best, most varied and holistic squad for some time. Sure, the debate over the number of truly top-class players remained, but Wenger at least started the campaign with a whole host of diverse options in most departments. It’s been a long time since Wenger had so many options up front; Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott; in the engine room and out wide; Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi. Selecting the right players for the right game would unquestionably have Arsenal battling it out at the very top of the Premier League table.
In theory, such selections should be a conquerable challenge for the most experienced manager in the Premier League, who has faced every side in the division at least once before – something that should have given him an advantage over Klopp, still learning the finest ins-and-outs of the English game, Mourinho, who moved to a new club in Manchester United last summer, and of course new arrivals Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola.
No doubt, Wenger has attempted to maximise the variety at his disposal, using the most players in the Premier League, 28, of any manager in the top six, but the chopping and changing hasn’t had the desired effect. Arsenal’s Plan B in attack, direct balls played to Giroud, has been reduced to the Frenchman simply coming off the bench for the last twenty minutes and looking to somehow nick a goal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Iwobi have been jostled virtually around every role in midfield with limited results. Arsenal’s goalkeeping situation has become only more complicated as the season’s dragged on. And for all the options in central midfield, none have come anywhere close to rivalling the importance of Santi Cazorla. Perez, meanwhile, has hardly been seen since moving to north London last summer.
Rotation has become increasingly important in the modern game, especially in English football where top teams will be expected to compete for three incredibly competitive domestic honours as well as on the European stage. Yet, Wenger has undoubtedly failed on that front this season, once again showing how far he’s fallen behind the practices of the modern game.
Arsenal are now facing a summer in which their two star entities could leave the club at reduced fees due to their contract situations and clear reluctance to sign new deals. A sign of the times, some may cry, but once again, you have to question Wenger’s ability to keep his best players happy amid the most fickle, financially driven and distracting era in the history of the beautiful game. He may deem huge wages and egotistical talismans as below Arsenal Football Club, but that view has become painfully unrealistic since Chelsea and Manchester City’s finance-driven rises. Players have to be man-managed with greater attention than ever before.
Of course, ‘happy’ doesn’t necessarily mean the immediate definition of the word; as much as it’s about maintaining their confidence, top players also need to be constantly challenged. But there’s nothing at Arsenal that truly challenges Sanchez or Mesut Ozil. They know whether they play well or poorly they’ll still be in the team next season and that has become a worrying trend throughout Arsenal’s entire squad. Wenger’s lack of ruthlessness in the transfer market, his insistence upon giving players like Theo Walcott chance over chance, has created a culture of accepting second-best. This season, it could well result in them having to accept sixth-best.
Once again, this is nothing new for Wenger. Ashley Cole’s decision to join Chelsea, partly inspired by the wages Arsenal offered him, started a trend of players leaving the club for direct divisional rivals. Gael Clichy, Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri all jumped ship to Manchester City, whilst Robin van Persie’s departure to Arsenal, during the final year of his contract, bears the most similarities with the Sanchez and Ozil saga. Wenger’s had a whole season to convince his two top talents otherwise yet has seemingly failed as the summer draws nearer, but perhaps the most damning aspect is history repeating itself in north London.
There is sometimes a hyperbolic tendency to put every Arsenal problem on Arsene Wenger’s doorstep – because he’s been at the club so long, every issue stems back to him somewhere down the line. That’s largely inevitable, if not superficial. But we’re no longer discussing long-term off-field issues like transfer policies or academy setups; we’re talking about squad selections, tactics and dressing room morale – three things every manager, whether they’re in the conference or the Champions League, must get right for their team to be successful. Regardless of reputation, history or loyalty, if a manager can’t ensure that more often than not – and on the most crucial occasions – then he has to be moved on.
Those still in Wenger’s corner often argue that his passion for Arsenal, his gentlemanly demeanour and his loyalty to the club should override all other factors. But him staying on at the Emirates Stadium demonstrates the exact opposite. Wenger is now working as much to preserve his own reputation than he is to take Arsenal Football club forward. If he truly cared about Arsenal in the way he’s often declared he would be stepping down, accepting how the Premier League’s growing breed of younger, super-managers is continually leaving him behind. At this point, only egomaniac would be oblivious to that. Only an egomaniac would stay on.
