Arsenal Action

[Curt.B]

We are a team stuck in perpetual apathy; the belief that we are better than we are. This is partly due to nostalgia in the fans, but mostly, nostalgia in the manager.

Look across the Premier League and what do you see; all the long time managers are being undone. Ferguson hasn't built a decent squad, Benitez hasn't built a decent squad, and Wenger to some extent hasn't either.

The root of our problems, in my opinion, lie in our entrenched tactics. Wenger wants to perform them at barca's level, but even Barca don't tmess it about as much as we do. They always play with purpose; we rarely do. We do not have players that know how to play this formation; nobody gets into the box, nobody makes runs. They all just stand around flat-footed!

And yet msot of them are trained at the Club for years, so really, is the training we are giving them leading them astray? It would seem so.

The overhaul of the team has to come primarily in the tactics. We have to get rid of this TERRIBLE 4-3-3/4-5-1 which we are awful at, and go back to the 4-4-2 or maybe a 5-3-2. Look at what Man City are playing with a 4-4-2 at the moment; its entertaining and succesful.

Build a team around van Persie, he is a man amongst boys - literally and metaphorically. We have one of the best players in the world, in my list of top 5 strikers, and we don't make the msot of him.

Our signings this Summer have to be angled at changing the tactics. I will F##king shoot myself if we start signing little boys who are sharp with the ball at their feet in a tight spot. We need men with thinking brains, who can read and understand the game. Guys who can play like Pirlo, Xavi, Xabi Alonso etc.

If we continue trying to play this STUPID way, then it wouldn't matter who we sign. The TACTICS HAVE TO CHANGE; they undermine us completely. Whether or not this means the manager has to change? I'll leave that question hanging.


Ferguson is soon on his bike, Benitez too. Wenger, you can't be stubborn in this game, you either adapt and grow or we have to find somebody else.

[The Fabster]

Agree with some extent about the 4-3-3, was thinking about it whilst watching the shambles against Spurs. We can't control the midfield without someone like Song and Spurs could counter much too easily. It suits individuals, but not the team.

[iveseenthings]

I agree with some of that, but to me tactics are not just about the formation but the ability to change things around when "plan A" isn't working. Good players will do well whatever the formation, because they will work out a way to win using their experience and intelligence.

This team has done better than I expected this season.....i said 3rd,4th or 5th and was expecting 4th. Some of the players have improved a lot and some have shown they are just plain ordinary. In the end, with this squad of players at this stage of their development, and taking injuries into account, we have done ok.

Where we failed today, apart from the lack of quality players due to injuries was that we had no plan B. The way Spurs played was text book "how to frustrate Arsenal" and we didn't figure out a way to deal with it. It seems beneath our players to run for the corners and win corners, or play the odd long ball every now and then. Sol was immense and a reminder of the fighting spirit that we need more of. RVP, unplayed for 5 months, stood out as best player on the pitch and showed just how average the rest of them really are.

To me the lessons of the season are that Wenger is tactically naive, which we knew already, and that we don't have enough top class players, which we also knew. I am very sad about Ramsey as he was improving and looking good. Song was the most improved player but as he is our only true DM he was never going to be fit for the entire season, and the likes of Denilson/Diaby are average at best.

But as I said, 3rd is pretty good and Wenger should take some credit for squeezing so much from so little.

[Gaffer]

Agree with you mate.

For me the problem is this 4-5-1 /4-3-3

Yes we have loads of the ball, But we hardly shoot. And how many times do we get caught on the conter attack?

Our main forward is almost left on his own and at times he is on the wings crossing the ball to... ermm no body.

Wenger has to go back to a 4-4-2. We have the players to play a 4-4-2. Eduardo and RVP in a 4-4-2 would be amazing.

I dount know what Wenger is sticking to this when its clearly not worked for a number of years now

[Craigie]

I don't understand why we played a very standard 4-4-2 with a much better side and a risky 4-3-3 now with a much worse side that don't have the level for it.

The tactics are wrong for the players we've got, but I'll quite happily just criticise the players too.

Diaby, Denilson, Bendtner, Walcott, Eboue, Rosicky - however good they are on their day and whatever merits they bring they all have one major flaw which is none of them can really retain the ball to the level required for a free flowing attacking game. Unfortunately today, all these players were on the pitch at the same time and it really did not work out.

Nasri, Fabregas and van Persie will always take their first touch away from the opposition and their second touch will usually be a smooth pass. Even on a bad day for them they don't usually get this wrong. When any of the players listed above have a bad game, they are giving the ball away constantly. If we're going to play "pointless pass it along the 20 yard line", at least do it with players that aren't going to mess up the simple pass.

Apart from a drop in morale and us crumbling, we were the best side in world for the 4-5 months this team was fit:

Adebayor - van Persie
Rosicky - Fabregas - Flamini - Hleb
Clichy - Gallas - Toure - Sagna
Almunia

Vermaelen for Toure, Nasri for Hleb. All we've lost is Adebayor and Flamini. I think Song could do a good job in place of Flamini, although overall I think he would be worse he would still be sufficient. Flamini was not a defensive midfielder for us that season. He was just a midfielder that could tackle and run alot. van Persie is twice the player now he was then and he has added significant goals to his game so we won't be hearing the "it's Adebayor's job to score it's van Persie's job to create" rubbish we did back then and we could wack him next to Bendtner or Chamakh or any other striker. Bendtner, Song and Diaby are loads better now than they were at this time too.

We don't have the fullbacks for a 4-3-3, we don't have the ball retention for a 4-3-3, and we don't have the goals from the wings for a 4-3-3. Last season Barcelona played it quite simply. Left footed Messi on the right to cut in, Right footed Henry on the left to cut in. Eto'o in the middle. The goals were evenly shared between their front 3 players. We could've maybe got a similar effect with Walcott on the left and Arshavin on the right, but instead we play Walcott on the right which I assume means we want him to cross (which he can't) to our striker (who is never there).

I really don't understand, there was no flaw in the 4-4-2, the only flaw was we kept buying attacking midfielders/"hole players" and putting them on the wings.

[The Fabster]

How does anyone think our passing game is "pretty"? I saw nine minutes of passing with no passion. It was monotonous. This mentality has been so drilled into them, they have no idea what else to do. People watch football to see passion not passing.

They passed and passed and passed well. But all it did was frustrate me.

YOUR EXPERIMENT IS FAILING WENGER. STOP F##king WITH THE EMOTIONS OF THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE YOU RICH.

[Craigie]

It would be pretty if we had 3 Cescs and 2 van Persies. I think we're a pretty boring team to watch. If we pass it well the game is broken up by kicking and fouling and time wasting. If we play badly we keep the ball and do absolutely nothing.

We have no players that will make a run, if we take it wide it will lead to nothing, if we win a corner it will lead to nothing, we have no players that can score a real goal from outside the box. If we sell any of these players, none of them will go to a team better than Arsenal, because if you slotted half of them into the Fulham team they wouldn't shine.

[Curt.B]

All our midfielders are CENTRAL players, is a big F##king part of the problem.

None of them want to shoot if they are two degrees either side of the middle of the park.

Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, Diaby, Ramsey - Every single one is a central player.

We have no wide players, so how the hell can we play 4-3-3 which forces all our central guys out to the flanks when we attack

[Gordon Bennett]

Wenger needs to admit that this is not working and go back to what did. as its been pointed out the 4/4/2 is best for Arsenal.

Wenger wanted us to play like Barca

[damir]

serious reconstruction of the team is needed and changing politics too!this is not working and even Wenger is looking like he has lost his faith in his philosophy but he wont admit that