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TopTopQuality 2,753 pts

Wenger is finished

Posted by TopTopQuality over 7 years ago · 74 replies

If you watched last night's shithousery against PSG, you know that Arsenal played like shit and a fair score would've been 5-1 to PSG (thanks to Cavani the donkey).

Here is a wonderful write up about why Arsenal are so shit. It's probably the best article I've ever read about Arsene Wenger's football.

https://theringer.com/arsenal-arsene-wenger-premier-league-efcbac78ec3d#.cfl6bds9q

Basically it doesn't matter who plays for Arsenal. Wenger is the problem. He could easily turn Messi and Luis Suarez into donkeys.

Wenger is the man of yesterday. His time is up. An old dog can't learn new tricks.

Here are some important extracts:

"Arsenal play with an improvisational, near-positionless form in possession. The players are allowed to move freely off of the ball, often roaming between spaces in search of the next opening rather than staying in their positions and waiting for space to open...

...It can make for some beautiful football if the players link up effectively...

...It’s extremely difficult to score goals like these without fluid positioning, but no team can reasonably expect to score 80 improvisational goals in a season — and that’s Arsenal’s problem....

...Without a clear and explicit guideline for their positioning, though, Arsenal’s shape often becomes disconnected. The problems appear as soon as they start bringing the ball out of defense. Despite playing with three central midfielders, without any positional directive, only one of them typically drops back to receive a pass from the center backs...

...This creates two problems: (1) the defenders don’t have as many options to advance the ball to, and (2) if the central midfielder does get the ball, he’s then disconnected from the other two midfielders, which then makes it harder for him to advance the ball.

... it’s fairly easy for any smart pressing team to cover the gaps between the Arsenal midfield... With the dropping midfielder alone in deep positions, Arsenal’s opponents can block his few passing lanes easily while also covering the two Arsenal midfielders higher up...

...Arsenal are able to create overloads due to their fluid movement, but they’re all too often arranged in a straight line, rather than a triangle, which negates all the advantages that come from overloading. As a result of these straight lines, the number of passing options is limited and, in some cases, the attackers simply get in the way of their teammates...

...Even with such a critical deficiency in their football, Arsenal can often rely on their individual talents to get by... Although Arsenal can still challenge in most games through their talent, it certainly seems like the lack of structured strategy limits the team’s potential...

.... In the open and fast-paced Premier League, the rarity of defensive compactness has suited Arsenal’s attackers, who can find space more easily and create the kinds of high-quality chances that expected goals loves. But part of the reason they haven’t advanced beyond the Round of 16 in the Champions League since 2010 is that continental teams don’t allow the same kind of space at the back...

...After a decade without clear evolution, will Wenger ever change? ... The likes of Xhaka and Pérez will undoubtedly improve their play, but Wenger’s free-form attacking structure will not get the most out of them. It hasn’t got the most out of anyone in a long time...

74 Comments

TopTopQuality 2,753 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by TopTopQuality

Truth hurts, many people are still deluding themselves that Wenger is fit for his position.

It is a sign of high moral standards if a person accepts the truth no matter how harsh it might be. But most Arsenal fans lack that.

They prefer to protect the sweet lie that gives them comfort, ignoring all facts and common sense.

poodris 2,818 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by poodris

Wenger has no tactical approach whatsoever. He does not do anything to put his players in a position to succeed. He does nothing to exploit the weaknesses of the opposition. He dose nothing to enforce discipline and establish organization on defense. He does nothing to protect against counter attacks.

On top of this, he does a piss poor job of man management. He blindly holds on to falsified notions and will not make obvious changed until it's far too late. His squad rotation is either non-existant and eventually forced by injury, or it is laughably bad to the point that player being rested ends up being a used substitute.

TopTopQuality 2,753 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by TopTopQuality

Yes he keeps saying "we just play our own game"

I remember someone expressing their shock at Arsenal not studying the opposition before big games. They just try to enforce their own game upon whoever comes up.

That's why Arsenal have been Chelsea's and Man U's bitch for so long. Wenger always losing to them and then crying in the post match interview "we were unlucky, naive, hand brake on" and shit like that.

Even last year. Because they know exactly how stupid Wenger is and how to deal with him.

poodris 2,818 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by poodris

I cannot believe he is starting Alexis up top, Walcott on the wing, and coqzorla yet again. Why does he stick with these failed experiments for so long?

It's clear xhaka was a signing made by the board. Wenger is using every pathetic excuse available not to play him, despite the fact that he is clearly the best option.

TopTopQuality 2,753 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by TopTopQuality

Players are really carrying Wenger.

They win despite Wenger's inept tactics.

There's so much quality in the team with players like Cazorla, Sanchez, Xhaka, Bellerin that even Wenger can win with them.

THE POLICE Arsenal Forever!!! 4,636 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by THE POLICE

Players are really carrying Wenger.They win despite Wenger's inept tactics.There's so much quality in the team with players like Cazorla, Sanchez, Xhaka, Bellerin that even Wenger can win with them.

If Arsenal win, its coz "Players are really carrying Wenger." but if they lose, its pathetic Arsene's poor tactics??? Infact Arsene trust his players way too much than anyone else and they let him down again and again... He should make some hasty decisions by dropping the under-performers rather trusting that they will improve one day!!!

Little niggle
Little bit niggle
poodris 2,818 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by poodris

If Arsenal win, its coz "Players are really carrying Wenger." but if they lose, its pathetic Arsene's poor tactics???

That's not as dubious a position as you try to suggest.

Wengers poor tactics are a constant, whether arsenal win lose or draw. They have the talent to win many games without any tactical approach, but when it comes to opposition that matches arsenal on the field, the lack of tactics are exposed and arsenal collapse.

TopTopQuality 2,753 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by TopTopQuality

No one reply to this thread. Leave it to the degenerate section of arsenalreport.com. Keep them here.

This is a good example of the deluded fans with low moral stndards that I was talking about.

They have nothing to back up their opinion, no facts, no arguments, no logic. So, they try to divert the conversation from logic and common sense and start hurling abuse and insults.

He didn't address a single thing that was said above about Wenger's incompetense.

He's just trying to provoke me and drag me down to his level.

Ix Techau Evil Mastermind 14,278 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by Ix Techau

Sure there are facts that TopTopQuality from arsenalreport knows better than Arsene Wenger. And that Ozil is apparently a fraud. There are facts for that....

Not agreeing with TTQ in general but this argument, you know the one about no one knowing as much as Wenger, is so tiresome. You're prescribing omnipotent flawless knowledge to a manager who constantly makes mistakes with tactics and players, as if no one on this planet would make better decisions than him. It's ridiculous, at best.

Supporters, ex-players, pundits and experts can't all be wrong when they're saying the same thing, only because Wenger says another.

VA10 Football God 4,806 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by VA10

Arsene doesn't do tactics. This is the single most retarded statement ever made with regards to football. What about stats Ix? Never missing out on the top 4 in a league where its arguably the hardest.... Must mean something?

TopTopQuality 2,753 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by TopTopQuality

My grievances with Wenger go beyond tactics. His refusal to adjust to the opposition and stick to a rigid structure is kind of forgivable. He views football as a form of art and doesn't want to restrict the players to a fixed structure. Which I think is stupid but it's his right to think so. Especially considering that he does finish in the top 4 all the time, he must be doing something right.

But that problem is infuriating if you consider that Arsenal are literally a few tweaks away from becoming an elite club that can compete against anyone. A more progmatic approach to strong apponents would've changed a great deal, even if they continued to play the same football against weaker teams.

But the other things is fitness and injury mismanagement.

Another thing is constant underinvesting in the squad.

Ix Techau Evil Mastermind 14,278 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by Ix Techau

Arsene doesn't do tactics. This is the single most retarded statement ever made with regards to football. What about stats Ix? Never missing out on the top 4 in a league where its arguably the hardest.... Must mean something?

When people say Wenger doesn't do tactics they are referring to his inability to adapt and tailor his tactics to both opposition teams and his own players. They're not saying he has no tactics - all managers do. Wenger always plays the same system regardless of opposition, which is exactly why Arsenal are so inconsistent in individual performances. If you play a patient possession-based 4-2-3-1 against Leyton Orient and lose 2-0, playing the exact same way against Barcelona three days later is probably not a good idea.

Wenger is basically playing a numbers game with his tactics. He's approaching it by saying "if I play the same tactic in every single game, the numbers will even out over a season and we'll always get roughly the same season performance", which is exactly what happens. It's the safe option, very little risk involved. But that mentality also means losing a lot of battles and therefore losing the war.

This approach would be fine for a mid-table team where the goal is to stay in the league and occasionally fight to get into continental places, but it shouldn't be the modus operandi for a club like Arsenal. We should take more risks in order to gain better rewards. So what if we end up in 6th or 7th one season, we have enough cash to sustain ourselves for several years without CL football.

VA10 Football God 4,806 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by VA10

Well no big manager changes formation that drastically.... We've played a 4-1-4-1 before too. Tell me when does Pep play 3 at the back or something that different? We're now playing without a striker since the season started, if Pep or someone else does that you guys call him a genius. As for ttq, he's opinions became worthless ever since the Ozil thing. I value my dog's opinions (shih tzu) on all things football more than his.

Ix Techau Evil Mastermind 14,278 pts
Posted over 7 years ago by Ix Techau

Well no big manager changes formation that drastically....

Not really about formation, more about strategy and style of play. Patient possession-based quasi-tiki-taka is not the answer to every single opponent. Sometimes you need to def-counter, sometimes you need to go gung-ho, sometimes you need to specifically instruct one of your players to man-mark a certain opposition player, sometimes you can even fiddle a little bit with the shape in certain areas (for example playing a 1-2 instead of a 2-1 if the opposition has a strong #10), sometimes you instruct your wingers to stay wide because the opposition is playing a 4-4-2 and we need to cover our flanks, sometimes you identify the fact that the opposing team's left winger is exceptionally fast so you avoid starting your slowest player at right-back (Chambers vs West Brom), etc...but Wenger does none of those things.

We've played a 4-1-4-1 before too.

Not really. We played a 4-4-2 from 1996-2004 where Bergkamp had a free role so it was more like 4-4-X-1 when he was on the pitch. Wenger then decided that 4-4-2 were going out of style so he started playing a 4-5-1 with Henry as sole striker in the Champions League, slowly introducing it into the league as well. We then adopted the early version of the 4-2-3-1 we play today, because Wenger wanted to build a team around Fabregas as a #10. This 4-2-3-1 worked best with Song and Wilshere in the double pivot, but because Song was more defensive-minded he strayed deep and wide, making it look like a 4-1-4-1 at times.

We're now playing without a striker since the season started

...by choice. Wenger seems reluctant to give Perez a chance, and Giroud has been available until he stubbed his toe. To me it looks more like Wenger giving Iwobi a chance, which means Alexis must play either on the right (where Walcott has been bossing it since the season started so we can't bench him) or up front. However, Sanchez is not physically built to be a regular sole striker in a 4-2-3-1 in the Premier League. If we want him up top we need to adjust our tactics to fit his skill set.

if Pep or someone else does that you guys call him a genius

Lol, no. Pep is a fraud.

Per
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