Arsene Wenger once described favourite for the Arsenal job, Luis Enrique, as a manager who went from ‘idiot to hero’.

Knee-jerk

Luis Enrique is said to be in ‘advanced talks’ with Arsenal about taking over the club in the summer. Enrique has been linked with the Arsenal and Chelsea jobs quite heavily in the last few months. He was originally believed to have agreed to join Chelsea but the rumour changed and he was then said to be hoping for a call from the Gunners.

Interested to see if Enrique had even spoken about Arsenal prior to being linked to the job in 2018, I came across an interview with Arsene Wenger about the Spaniard.

Speaking in March 2017, Wenger was asked his opinion on Enrique, who had just announced he would step down from Barcelona at the end of that season.

Overseeing one of the greatest Champions League comebacks that saw Barcelona overhaul a 4-0 defeat against PSG to win 6-5 on aggregate, Wenger said of Enrique, “It just sums it up that two weeks ago he was an idiot and everyone said you have to leave, so he said, ‘OK, I go.’

“Today he is a hero.

“That sums up the job.”

The fickle nature of pundits and fans has always been something that irked Wenger who urged people to look at the bigger picture, especially in the aftermath of the stadium move.

But that overview seemed to escape his own attention in his final season when it came to Arsenal’s slide in form.

15 defeats but the same set of excuses from Arsenal

For some time now I’ve been talking to the Daily Cannon team and people on Twitter about how Arsene Wenger seemed to see defeats in isolation, ignoring the pattern they formed.

I decided to look back over Arsenal’s defeats this season to see what, exactly, was said after every match.

Read on and see for yourself how many times Wenger said it was very unusual for Arsenal to make mistakes, how often he blamed luck for our defeats, and how he refused to accept there is a fundamental problem with his squad, tactics and approach to games.

I haven’t included all the post-match quotes, some I have just referenced in the key points, but they are all available on Arsenal.com in the match section for each game.

First up, Stoke, Liverpool, Watford and Manchester City…

Stoke, Liverpool, Watford, Manchester City

Stoke A Aug 19, 1-0

Key points: Hard to swallow, lack of focus, poor defence, react in next game.

“We are very frustrated because we lost a game that we should have won and that’s terrible to swallow.” Wenger

“We knew at half-time it was very important to keep our defensive focus in this kind of game, (then) we came out and didn’t defend properly. That’s where we are not forgivable today. At the end of the day I believe when you are not concentrating on the way you want to play, you pay for it at that level. 

“It is vital to not only see the negative side of it and to respond very quickly in the next game. But in the Premier League you do not get away with defending like we did on the goal. We have to realise as well, that if we want to transform the energy we put into the game as well like that, you have to defend properly, every single minute.” Wenger.

Liverpool A Aug 27, 4-0

Key points: Unable to understand why we were poor.

“I’m deeply disappointed because we were not at the level – not physically, nor mentally, nor in the fight. It’s very difficult to find reasons today for such a poor performance. It’s a long time that we haven’t had that and it’s very difficult to explain.

“I think we have to not go into the conclusions from today’s performance that the players are poor. The players are quality but today we had a poor performance. I think these players will come back in a different shape after the international break and hopefully we have not many injuries and then there is still the transfer market that we have to deal with until Thursday. 

“But we have to not panic as well, just today was a dramatic performance. I have not seen us for a long time like that.” Wenger.

Watford A Oct 14, 2-1

Key points: Unlucky, nervous, made mistakes.

“It’s unbelievably hard to take because we had the opportunity to win the game.” Wenger.

“I think we became nervous and we lost our composure when it was 1-1.” Wenger.

Manchester City A Nov 5, 3-1

Key points: Unlucky, difficult to swallow, disappointed.

“We were always in the game and I believe honestly we were really unlucky. City are strong enough not to need that [help] and it’s very difficult to swallow today. I’m very, very disappointed.” Wenger.

FC Koln, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth

FC Koln A Nov 23, 1-0

Key points: Unlucky.

“I cannot fault the preparation or the concentration of the players.” Wenger.

Manchester United H Dec 2, 3-1

Key points: Difficult to swallow, unlucky, made mistakes.

“When you see the potential we have and in the end the way we started at the back is very difficult to swallow. Again, we made a huge mistake and gave them the third goal.” Wenger.

“It is an unlucky game, but we need to make sure that when we create chances in a big game we score and don’t make mistakes.” Cech.

Nottingham Forest A Jan 7 4-2

Key points: Made mistakes.

“That’s why it’s disappointing. During the game, we repeated the same mistakes. That’s where we are guilty today. Once, twice, three times – at that level, you cannot afford that.” Wenger.

Bournemouth A Jan 14, 2-1

Key points: Made mistakes, surprising mistakes, unlucky.

“We made mistakes that were not even forced by their qualities, just because we made bad decisions. Overall, it’s very frustrating that we come out down from the stand and wonder how did we lose this game. I don’t really know how.” Wenger.

“I would say we gave the game away today with mistakes. It was not attitude, because our attitude was spot on.” Wenger.

“I am surprised by the kind of mistakes we made today. It’s very unusual and very difficult to explain.” Wenger.

“We made two very surprising mistakes that were not even forced errors, it was just a lack of decision-making and overall you come out of the game thinking: how did we lose the game?” Wenger.

“It’s very frustrating and very disappointing result for us, especially when you are 1-0 up and we made mistakes in areas where you wonder where they come from.” Wenger.

“In that one, we were a bit unlucky. They rode their luck, they worked very hard all day and in the end, they got a big reward. Hopefully we will manage to get the ready for the next one, win it and kick from there.” Cech.

Swansea, Tottenham, Ostersund, Manchester City

Swansea A Jan 30, 3-1

Key points: Not at that level, usual mistakes, lack of concentration, lack of confidence.

 “I would say, overall, Swansea were hungrier, sharper in the duels and we are absolutely guilty tonight of not being at the level on that front.

“Secondly I believe we were not disciplined enough and when we scored the goal against a team who defend so deep and then one minute later it’s 1-1… overall I believe I don’t even want to talk about the second and third goals. It is a very disappointing night for us.

“I believe that we go home very, very disappointed. We are in front and a team of our solidity should be much better against a team like that, I believe we must make sure not to make a defensive mistake because of a lack of discipline.

“On top of that we made unusual, massive mistakes, that was the killer.” Wenger

“I don’t put it down to anything, you make mistakes, you make mistakes, it is not always a rational explanation behind it apart from the fact that maybe it highlights the whole lack of quality of concentration that we lacked tonight.” Wenger

“Maybe after a while it becomes a confidence problem as well, but overall it’s easy to put it down to confidence and tonight it’s very difficult to find a rational explanation behind our performance.” Wenger

“Well, they defended well and we simply made mistakes. When you keep making mistakes then obviously at this level the team can take advantage of that.” Cech

Tottenham A Feb 10, 1-0

Key points: Exceptional opponent, slow start, react in next game, made mistakes.

“I don’t think they lacked the hunger to defend. They were up against a super striker who is one of the best in the world. He scores against everybody, so all of the defenders who play against him must lack hunger then!” Wenger

“That’s the most important thing [bouncing back]. They started sharper than us I suppose. It’s something we spoke about as well, so I don’t really know why that happened. But we have to deal with it now. We’ve lost the game and we have to move on and focus on the next game and try to win the next game.” Wilshere

“We came here with the hope that we could win the game. We did everything to make sure that we were ready to win the game and we failed to do so.” Cech

“We can’t just be stuck looking back at this game. We need to analyse, need to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes and we’ve still got quite a few games to play.” Bellerin

Ostersund H Feb 22, 2-1

Key points: Complacent, not focused, made mistakes, react in next game.

“In the first half we were in trouble and in danger because we were complacent, not focused and were open every time we lost the ball. We had no ideas with the ball and that’s why we were in trouble.

“Against all teams, you can be in trouble every time you’re not 100 per cent focused.

“It’s better not to talk too much tonight, and focus on our next game.” Wenger.

Manchester City N Feb 25, 3-0

Key points: Exceptional opponent, unlucky, react in next game.

 “When you lose a game like that everything is questioned.

“TV personalities when you don’t win a game – it’s questioned. We played against a good side, you cannot say it’s an average side. They dominate the Premier League.

“Some of them (pundits) have been players and I know them. They have not always played at 200% (themselves).” Wenger.

“When you lose a game like that everything is questioned – the players, the team, the personalties,” he said. “It is now [like that] of course every time that you don’t win a game.
 
“But we played against a good side, you cannot say that we played against an average side. They dominate the Premier League and they have good players. It is difficult to come back [when you are behind against them].” Wenger.

“I felt we were unlucky,” said Wenger.

Manchester City, Brighton, Newcastle

Manchester City H Mar 1, 3-0

Key points: Low confidence, great team, not getting the penalty call killed the game (so unlucky).

“I think we produced our highest physical performance of the season and Manchester City did as well, by quite a long way.

“I knew that the first half could have been difficult for us because we came out of Sunday’s game with a low confidence level.

“They came back with a very positive mindset and that’s why they took advantage of every defensive weakness we showed in the first half. At the end of the day, I must say we lost against a top-quality team who at the moment are the best team in the country.

“On top of that, the combination of their quality plus the fact that they’re high in confidence and we’re low in confidence played a big part in the game tonight.

“After that, in the second half we came out and dominated well in the first 20 minutes. We needed the penalty to go in to get a bit of momentum, so that was the killer of the game after that.” Wenger.

Brighton & Hove Albion A Mar 4, 2-1

Key points: Too many fixtures, playing in a final had a negative impact, low confidence and Cech made mistakes.

“What can I say? The League Cup in the middle of the season makes it difficult if you don’t win it. It brings a lot of negative waves.

“On top of that, the rearranged game on Thursday night [against City] didn’t help us to compete today. The negativity after losing the final, plus the fact we’re not in a fantastic position in the league, hits us hard. Am I still the right man? Yes, because I’ve done it before. I believe a quality of a manager is to try to shorten a crisis. I believe I can do that.” Wenger.

Newcastle United A Apr 16, 2-1

Key points: Wenger still doesn’t know how Arsenal can lose games they dominate.

“It’s a bit the story of the season. We had 70 per cent of the ball, were 1-0 up and in the end you lose 2-1 and you wonder how you can lose this game.

“That’s what happened today. I think the game could have been over at half-time. We conceded two goals from nowhere.

“In the second half I feel that some players paid a little bit physically having played the game on Thursday night in Moscow. We came back on Friday morning late. Overall we played with a good spirit but with a bad result.

“We have to deal with that unfortunately. It’s very disappointing because I feel it’s very harsh to swallow a defeat like that, and the way we conceded three points today.”

TLDR:

Stoke A Aug 19 1-0

Key points: Hard to swallow, lack of focus, poor defence, react in next game.

Liverpool A Aug 27 4-0

Key points: Unable to understand why we were poor.

Watford A Oct 14 2-1

Key points: Unlucky, nervous, made mistakes.

Manchester City A Nov 5 3-1

Key points: Unlucky, difficult to swallow, disappointed.

FC Koln A Nov 23 1-0

Key points: Unlucky.

Manchester United H Dec 2 3-1

Key points: Difficult to swallow, unlucky, made mistakes

Nottingham Forest A Jan 7 4-2

Key points: Made mistakes.

Bournemouth A Jan 14 2-1

Key points: Made mistakes, surprising mistakes, unlucky.

Swansea A Jan 30 3-1

Key points: Not at that level, usual mistakes, lack of concentration, lack of confidence.

Tottenham A Feb 10 1-0

Key points: Exceptional opponent, slow start, react in next game, made mistakes.

Ostersund H Feb 22 2-1

Key points: Complacent, not focused, made mistakes, react in next game.

Manchester City N Feb 25 3-0

Key points: Exceptional opponent, unlucky, react in next game

Manchester City H Mar 1, 3-0

Key points: Low confidence, great team, not getting the penalty call killed the game (so unlucky).

Brighton & Hove Albion A Mar 4, 2-1

Key points: Too many fixtures, playing in a final had a negative impact and Cech made mistakes.

Newcastle United A Apr 16, 2-1

Key points: Wenger still doesn’t know how Arsenal can lose games they dominate.