Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been under his far share of pressure in the Transfer Tavern this season, with the two opening defeats in the Champions League appearing to be the last straw for many.
Football is a funny old game, as it was only a few months back that the Gunners supporters were declaring themselves favourites for the title- and they’re not out of the race in the Premier League either!
Still, the aforementioned defeats in Europe and the lack of outfield transfer activity has left many supporters furious- you only need to see the fans on ArsenalFanTV every week to understand that!
It’s quite harsh though, as Wenger hasn’t been a calamity this term- just look at Chelsea and Jose Mourinho for that!
Wenger has done things right this term and in order to identify that, here’s a few examples.
Click on Wenger below to see FIVE things he’s done right at Arsenal this season!
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Playing Ozil centrally
Arsenal fans have been thankful to see star-man Mesut Ozil adopt a central role this season, having seen the German spend a lot of his first two years in North London on the left.
Ozil’s contribution on the left is far inferior to what he can do in the middle and whilst many still criticise, he’s an extremely talented footballer that makes the game look easy. In the past few weeks, he’s also started stepping-up more; which is becoming recognised.
Arsenal’s team has a long way to go this season but Ozil in the middle is a massive improvement which Wenger deserves credit for.
Squad rotation is good
Hear us out. We’re not saying dropping Petr Cech in the Champions League is a good idea but across the field Arsenal have a wealth of talent that must be utilised.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta, Joel Campbell and Olivier Giroud are all currently outside the starting eleven- and the majority of those are full internationals for their country.
Over the course of the season it’s not just down to the 11 players starting at the weekend, it’s how the entire squad competes. Rotation is key.
Getting Petr Cech
Ok, so the defensive midfield and striking issues in the team may not be fixed- but Arsene Wenger resolved a major issue over the summer.
Bringing in Petr Cech, from London rivals Chelsea nonetheless, is a massive coup. Arsenal finally have a world-class keeper between the sticks for the first time since Jens Lehmann was at his best at Highbury- which was a long time ago.
Cech isn’t the final piece of the jigsaw but Arsenal are extremely close to assembling a squad that’s talented across the board, capable of winning the biggest things available.
Tactical adjustments
In recent years Arsenal’s approach to the game has been attack, attack, attack- with defensive responsibilities put on the back-pedal, which cost them in the bigger games.
Things have changed now though, with Arsenal strongest on the counter-attack and better defensively. Naturally, there’s still work to do in the defence as the mentality of the team needs be worked on.
Arsene Wenger has learnt from his mistakes.
Walcott centrally
Theo Walcott has wanted to be a striker for a number of years but he’s had his chances restricted, due to the competition amongst the squad and injury problems.
However, he’s finally getting his opportunities and he’s impressing. Walcott in the middle is not at the highest level yet but he’s showing signs that he can be the forward Arsenal are crying out for. He needs to improve his finishing- but it’s looking good.
We’d like to see him as part of a duo alongside Olivier Giroud though…. Guess we’ll have to give him time.
