John Gray
(Ed’s note – This article was submitted after the defeat at Bradford)
So it’s the afternoon after the morning after the night before, and the dust had settled on another Arsenal defeat. Not an embarrassing or humiliating defeat – according to Our Glorious Leader – but a defeat where our biggest and best were neither bigger nor better.
Congratulations must go to Bradford City and their manager, Phil Parkinson. It’s always nice to get one over a former employer, and with the togetherness shown by his team last night, it proves Arsenal made a good choice in using him as a Scout in the past. And that’s where Bradford and Arsenal were shown to be different last night.
I don’t hold with the idea that Bradford played brilliantly. They played well, were organised, particularly in defence, but played for each other, each knowing his role, and setting about completing the task as a unit. Phil Parkinson, and his colleagues on the bench were marshalling their troops throughout, giving directions, discussing tactics and arranging set-pieces, both defensive and offensive.
Arsenal, on the other hand, appeared to be a disparate group of individuals who barely looked like they’d ever spent any time together, particularly in defence. We all thought the introduction of Steve Bould to the set-up would bring a welcome change to the muted days of Pat Rice and would engender a fresh, mean-spirited approach to playing, as he did when he was a foot soldier in the ranks. Why, then, have we adopted a “zonal marking” approach, which we’re clearly uncomfortable with and obviously very poor in deploying. Also, where is the voice of the man? Time and again, we’ve seen OGL and his sidekick sat in silence on the sidelines, AW throwing the occasional tantrum, frequently waving arms and generally gesticulating, but rarely, if ever, barking orders from the technical area, organising the team, changing the shape, or making tactical substitutions.
We all thought the introduction of Bouldy would change all that, that his appointment would bring about a new style to the management team and that he would discuss, converse, even harangue, in ensuring the fight to victory, as we see in the dugouts of SAF/Phelan, Mancini/Kidd/Platt, Moyes/Round and, outside the PL, even McCarthy/Connor (look at the difference in Ipswich since they took charge, in comparison to the meek and mild style of Jewell). Time and again, we see those partnerships making game-changing substitutions, altering the shape of their teams, and directing the action from the wings for the good of their team. What do we see/hear from the Arsenal dug-out? More of the same. Nothing but quiet resignation. Oh, what a beautiful word. Resignation.....
So last night’s result, even with effectively our strongest team (save for Giroud and Arteta – I don’t count Walcott as he’s far too unpredictable and I think he’s off in January anyway, and who can blame him?) cannot come as a major shock. A surprise, yes, but it is no longer shocking in the grand scheme of our recent capitulations. Nor does it come as a shock or surprise to hear OGL praising this bunch of incompetents for their effort. Effort? It took us 70 minutes to have a shot on target. Granted, we then had a lot of possession (but we usually do) and thereafter we had a lot of shots, some of which were actually on target, and we managed to get the goal to send it into extra-time, but how seriously pressurised was the Bradford goalkeeper? He wasn’t. He made a couple of very good saves, but never looked uncomfortable. Nor did the Bradford defence or midfield, and they even had some counter-attacks late on which could have led to a winner.
How often do we see that with Arsenal, going gung-ho for a leveller or winner, leaving huge chunks in a disorganised defence, because our full backs are sprinting up the wings leaving our centre-backs exposed?
I once felt proud that Arsène used to back his players to the hilt. The regular myopia when it came to controversial decisions or sendings-off was the bane of the journalists’ life, but of great amusement to the fan. Now, unlike the result and performance last night, it is embarrassing, if not humiliating. If OGL cannot see the performance and the result for what it is, i.e. a sad indictment of his management style, philosophy, and apparent inability to motivate a group of overpaid, over-privileged players, then he is not the man to take our great club forward. The fact that AW constantly displays a lack of tactical nous is testimony enough that, from being an inspiration to the English game, he is now a dinosaur in an age of evolving styles.
It saddens me that there is no transparency in our Club, as we will not know the real reasons for our decline. Is it Wenger? Is it the Board, or Gazidis getting in his way, preventing development and progress in the team? Is it the finances, or the spectre of Usmanov lurking? AW is, clearly, a very good manager and has achieved successes above our actual standing in the game over the years. But the regular inability to challenge for honours, or even look like being capable of defeating ManUre or Chelski, defeats this season to Norwich and Swansea, and now Bradford, demonstrate that Arsène has not made the transition from pioneering evangelist of scientific football to modern-day coach, and it’s time for another to take the reins.
