Dennis Star
A team full of hard men that was hard to beat, managed by a tough-guy boss. That was Arsenal in the mid-80s to mid-90s when no-nonsense Scot George Graham led the side to two League titles, two European Cups and three domestic Cups.
After an adventurous playing style gave way a more pragmatic approach, built on a rock-solid defence, granite-jawed enforcers like Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Martin Keown came to the fore.
Adams had the kick of a mule - no pun intended, while Keown physically beasted opponents and, if ever the term non-nonsense defender was ever used to describe a player, then Steve Bould broke the mould. Put snarling left-back Nigel Winterburn and pugnacious, perm-haired Ray Parlour into the mix, and Arsenal were a team you took liberties with at your peril.
Comparing that team to the one under-achieving once again under Arsene Wenger is like comparing Tigers with pussycats. While the guys over at Big Free Bet fancy the Gunners to put their recent bad form behind them and beat Hull City 4-0 at the Emirates this weekend, it’s hard to find a punter who doesn’t believe their title chances have gone up in smoke following the 3-1 loss to leaders Chelsea.
Obviously modern-day rules don’t allow for hatchet men of old like Peter Storey - the yellow and red card count would be horrendous - but every team still needs a bit of fire and brimstone. When the going gets tough, as Alan Shearer alluded to in his recent column in The Sun, this Arsenal team seems incapable of rolling its sleeves up and getting stuck in.
Arsenal have been bullied off the park by less physical teams than Stoke City but it is outbursts against the Potters, for playing ‘rugby’ against goalkeepers, that are remembered best. Around that time, club legend Storey warned that the Gunners would continue to struggle while they had “a sot centre.” Unfortunately, his advice does not seem to have been heeded in the intervening seven years.
How Arsenal could have done with a bruising battler like Diego Costa upfront or a John Terry-type figure at the back, with a Kevin Nolan-esque midfielder snapping at everyone’s heels in midfield.
Instead, Arsenal have the silky skills of a Mesut Özil to drool over when the opposition is weak and the game is easy but the German regularly fails to turn up when the heat is on in the big games. Indeed, the aforementioned Keown, now a respected football pundit, recently labelled the playmaker “an expensive luxury” in his Mail on Sunday column. Francis Coquelin is arguably Arsenal’s most industrious player but his challenges are often reckless and his form of late has been a major concern.
To highlight, Arsenal’s big game-itis, they have now won just two of their last 22 matches away to top six Premier League opposition. It’s time for their under-achieving stars to put their hand up, as Tony Adams et al always used to do – and not just for offside.
