Arsenal America

It’s been a tough season so far. Some of us have taken it with a grain of salt, some have been more critical. But for the most part the criticism focused on the quality of play (or players). What I heard after the Carling Cup match earlier this week was a little different. Now the issue seems to be lack of effort.

Poor results can lead a team down a dangerous road and you can start to see Arsenal headed down the path marked “trouble.” This trouble takes many forms, but it starts with bad results. Those bad results lead to a lack of confidence, in the players and in the manager. After sticking to his guns and keeping a positive, attacking style Arsene Wenger is starting to shift his tactical approach. We saw it in the FA Cup final last year - but that was a one-off we thought. But we’re seeing it more this year.

Wenger also seems to be unsure of how to use the players he has available. Who was playing up front against Wigan? He didn’t seem sure and neither did the players on the pitch.

Once the manager loses confidence it’s easy for the players to lose confidence as well. That leads to a lack of effort. When you are not sure what to do, when the instructions you’re given seem to be contradictory and when the results aren’t coming you slow down physically because you are struggling mentally to grasp the situation. Once you slow down you are dead. That’s the difference that separated Arsenal and ManU from the rest for seven or eight years. Arsenal players were flying around the pitch, confident in their game plan. When they faced an Aston Villa or Birmingham it was Katie bar the door because Arsenal were confident in their plan and Villa was unsure of how to stop them. Now those teams have a plan and Arsenal are hesitant. That’s all it takes. Just a small shift like that and instead of Arsenal 3 - 1 Aston Villa, it’s Arsenal 1 - 1 Villa; or Bolton 2 - 1 Arsenal; or, Wigan 0 - 0 Arsenal. Instead of nine points it’s two and you are in sixth place, not first or second.

Compounding this problem is that Arsene Wenger may have reached his sell by date with many of these players. Let me be perfectly clear here - Wenger is a fantastic manager in my opinion and he didn’t become a bad one over the last four months. But if you are Freddie Ljungberg or Pires, Cole, Bergkamp and some of the other veterans, maybe the same motivational tactics don’t have the same effect. This happens to many, many coaches in all sports. In happens to most in fact. At some point you just don’t reach the same players like you used to. Now, if you are bringing in a couple new players each year, and they are pushing the veterans for their spots, then things can stay fresher. But right now, barring injury, most of Arsenal’s veterans are pretty comfortable. When the vets are comfortable, the others take their cue and get comfortable.

It’s a tough situation. Once you start down the road to trouble it can be difficult to turn the car around. I’m not saying get rid of Wenger, and I’m not saying the answer is just buying five new players, but something is needed now otherwise Arsenal may get too far down the road and then the only thing you can do is get a new driver and a new car.