Fans are calling Wenger to go because he does not want to spend the club’s money.
I don’t think this should be held against him too much. I think the biggest problem is somewhere else. On the coaching side.
To me, it looks like Arsenal come under prepared in games compared to their opponents.
In an era where data is widely available, it seems unbelievable that the players don’t seem to know what’s gonna hit them. Although there is a risk of overfeeding players with information that will go straight in and straight out, I really think the manager must do better in terms of matchday preparation.
For a couple of years now, it looks like players got asked questions during the games… and they never had any answer.
We know Arsene likes his team to be in control with ball possession, building up attacks from the back etc. But with a simple problem like, ‘what to do against a high press in the defensive third’, it is obvious that the players are clearly not prepared enough.
Keep the defensive shape as tight as possible, organise pressing. I see those concepts drilled at an u15, u16, u17 and u19 level with the England Women’s team and they certainly do a better job than the Arsenal. I have no doubt about it.
It is the same in attack where the players’ creativity should be expressed and giving them freedom is fundamental. But it does not prevent the team to have set up patterns and direction.
One of the most important parts of the game to work on is transitions. You never hear Arsene talking about it. Obviously, this is because no one asks him about it. But you wonder how much work is done on that matter.
I am starting to believe that Arsene Wenger is a dinosaur stuck in the past and I really wonder what kind of training sessions are done these days at Colney.
We can only hope for the best but it looks to me that it will be a long and hard season again. And if things do not improve, Arsene’s final one.