The Blame Game

I am just back from the United game, and have had time to collect my thoughts. But is there anything new to say?

From where I was sitting, that's the worst United side in my memory. di Maria, Rooney and de Gea I'd have, but you can stuff the rest of them into a cattle truck. Quite the worst bunch of defenders you could possibly imagine - and Fellaini a one-trick pony. So how did Arsenal contrive to lose against that lot?

Well, if you want to find outlandish and inconceivable ways to concede a goal, I beg you to look no further than United's first. A comedy of errors. And the second the standard 'pushing for an equaliser - breakaway' goal that everyone scores against Arsenal these days. But that's not even half the story.

You'll hear and read about what a wonderful game de Gea had. Well, I'd say that it was practically shot-stopping practice for him. Shot after shot hit straight down the middle of the goal. If Arsenal had gone in 3-0 up at half-time, I don't think that would have been an unfair reflection of their superiority and the number of decent chances they had. And whilst I heard in the wake of the previous two capitulations that it was down to the players, not the manager - that they couldn't organise themselves properly then - and they missed the chances today, I'll say this: 

1. If you want genuine quality, go out and spend proper money on it - Costa, Hazard etc. at Chelsea, Aguero, Silva and Toure at City, Angel di Maria... because if you expect the likes of Welbeck and Giroud, from the second tier of strikers, or world-renowned finishers (?) like Wilshere and Cazorla to do the trick for you you are going to be left sadly behind. I am sick to death of hearing 'I nearly signed Ronaldo/Messi/Drogba/Ibrahimovic/Suarez'. Nearly is what we've had for years now.

2.  If you want proper leaders, go and buy the right characters to do that job; to shout at their team-mates and organise them properly. Where are the Adams, Terry, Kompany etc. characters in the Arsenal squad?

3.  If you cannot recognise shortcomings in a squad when everyone else can, Murphy's Law says that those shortcomings will come back to bite you. Again, no defensive cover and no proper DM - for all that Arteta slaves away with every sinew and is an admirable footballer in every sense.

I'll put the lack of these players down to one common factor - the manager. Blame the players for capitulating, or for not finishing off poor opposition. But who bought them, and who sends them out onto the pitch?

I need add nothing else. Except that should we lose on Wednesday things are going to get very ugly indeed. For all he has done in the past, I'd at least wish to see M Wenger leave with his dignity intact in May.

Talking Heads

As my many thousands of followers (heh) would know, I don't post just for the sake of it; I like to have something different to say every time, and blogging too regularly or on a daily basis doesn't give me that scope. Goodness knows, it's hard enough for the experts. Those who know the track Psycho Killer by Talking Heads will recognise these lyrics: 'When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Say something once; why say it again?' And so it is with me - if I have nothing new to add, I just won't write anything.

And that's why, despite the temptation to rattle off something angry after the capitulation at home to Anderlecht on Tuesday evening, I held myself back. I wanted to see the reaction - not in the Media and on Social Media, but from the club; from the manager and from the players. Essentially, to see the team that the managers chose for the next game, and how the players would react - that's the Swansea game that has just finished.

And we saw a little bit more of history repeating itself, did we not? Which is: a turgid first-half performance, then in the second half contriving a way of blowing a lead and throwing away more valuable points. The lack of confidence, proper leadership (on or off the pitch) and collective desire are patently obvious. And like many Arsenal fans, I am sick of going through the same emotions match after match. I can almost log them before the game starts...

1. Hope/anticipation of a more dynamic performance
2. The realisation that it's going to be unlikely
3. Watching forward progress, from players who like to play between the lines, consisting of not playing between the lines but continually passing the ball sideways
4. Boredom and resignation
5. A sudden burst of excitement, almost invariably involving Alexis Sanchez
6. The slow sink back into despair as the inevitable implosion occurs

OK, so there's a little bit of exaggeration here, but what I am sure we can all agree on is that the tactics hardly vary. And if it takes 70 minutes for the manager to make the necessary changes against Burnley that we saw needed taking after 10; if it takes blowing a 3-0 lead due to a lack of leadership and collective will - and nothing changing in the next match; and if it takes finding outrageous and embarrassing ways to blow comfortable-looking leads... If it takes all that, then harsh words need to be spoken in and around the training ground the next time the players meet up.

Because make no mistake, the season is over almost before it has started. We thought that Arsenal might kick on after the FA Cup Final, but the Premier League is already gone, we were never going to win the Champions League, we're even out of the Capital One Cup and all the mistakes made since that lovely sunny day in May are continually coming home to roost. Not having enough defenders. Not signing the big powerful defensive midfielder that even my mother knows Arsenal need (like the one who would have stopped the run for the equaliser). Not playing people in their correct positions. No real Plan B. Or going back further, maybe giving the manager his new contract?...

Don't get me wrong; I love Arsene Wenger for everything he has done for Arsenal Football Club, and I'd love him to stay. If he will change/adapt, that is. But as after all this time there's no way he is going to... well, I'm past the 'Who can possibly replace him?' stage.

Change the shape. Change some personnel. Change the formation. Try SOMETHING different. Acknowledgement now that we're short of defenders and need a DM is far too late, and it's 7 weeks until the next Window opens. By which time who can tell where Arsenal will sit in the Premier League table? Thank goodness that Manchester City are struggling for consistency, that Manchester United have even fewer defenders than we do, and that Liverpool and Spurs are in turmoil. It's the only saving grace for the moment because - as David Byrne of Talking Heads would almost certainly be saying if he were a Gooner - 'We're on the Road to Nowhere.'