Stan Gocman
A lot has been said after a crippling couple of weeks. It is quite clear the squad isn’t strong enough. Although the first 11 on their day could beat anyone, when injuries occur, the likes of Rosicky, Eboue, Denilson, Diaby, Bendtner etc are not Arsenal quality. They all have talent, but they have shown time again they are not up to the fight. I do think Wenger has done admirably when considering how much he has spent over the last few years. The time has now come to change from developing players, to buying proven established stars who can add a winning mentality to the dressing room.
Although it sounds strange, I think Fabregas going to Barcelona in the summer would be a blessing in disguise. He is the captain but isn’t a leader in the way previous Arsenal captains have been. If we could get a sizeable amount for him and get a midfielder in the ilk of a Patrick Vieira and buy a commanding central defender, this would be better for the team. I do think a major weakness is up front, although Robin Van Persie has been phenomenal since returning from injury, he is injury prone and we need someone who when they get one chance e.g Bendtner against Barcelona, they take it. We were completely outplayed by Barcelona over two games but if he had controlled that properly, we would have been through. Although the referee was appalling, Wenger’s emphasis on this being the only reason we lost was bizarre.
The team desperately needs some fighting spirit. Players like Lansbury should be playing ahead of Denilson, perhaps Kyle Bartley should be recalled from Rangers, instead of playing Squillaci. I feel the squad is in a comfort zone. Wenger protects them unnecessarily by blaming the referee and going on about mental strength. This just gives them excuses for when they lose. Clearly he doesn’t want them to believe they aren’t good enough but certain players keep their places despite not playing to their potential. When the chips are down, how can you rely on the likes of Rosicky, Denilson and Arshavin to really galvanise the players.
I am still a big Wenger fan, I feel it would be a big shame if he left in the summer. The way things stand though, without Szczesney in goal and Djourou in defence I doubt we will be able to make a challenge for the title. I hope I am wrong. With Walcott returning, Fabregas and Van Persie coming back to form, it is possible. We don’t need Wenger to go, we just need him to change his philosophy, otherwise other teams will keep spending and we will go backwards. The team is only a few players short of being a truly quality one. He has to learn from this season, rebuild the squad and move forward.
(Ed’s note – We have been flooded with submissions since the weekend and will work our way through them at the rate of about three a day. For those of you who have sent something in for publication, please bear with us. Everything will be used)
