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Being an old git I quite like to see the physical side of the game - crunching tackles, the odd elbow in the face or head-butt etc. However, there may be some sense in what Wenger has done......
For a start, referees have pretty well eliminated the art of tackling from the game. If you touch another player it's a foul. If you tackle them it's a card. You still need height to win headers but the hard-man style of player has been sidelined in the modern game, unless it is combined with great skill and incredible diving technique.
Secondly, I think Wenger primarily looks at the potential of a player vs their price. He doesn't seem to care about passport, size or anything else - just "do they have potential and are they under-priced in the market?". This may mean that he has bought midgets and therefore he has adapted the formation/tactics to accommodate. He seems to try players out in many different positions and that flexibility may be another thing that he looks for - which might tend to favour the smaller players.
Finally, the way the Spanish team have done so well lately with many small nippy players shows that it can be done. TBH I don't know how tall the Spanish team are, and I suspect they have good height in defence, but their style of play has been successful. They keep the ball for hours, fall over if you touch them and have good technical ability.
So it could be that Wenger is ahead of the curve, so to speak, and that in a few years the Chelseas and Man Utds will be copying us again.
However, none of this makes sense if it doesn't lead to trophies. IMO the main reason we don't win trophies now is that other teams have more experienced players and more natural leaders. Plus a DM. Have I mentioned the DM situation before? The record's stuck........
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aka iveseenthings
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