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‘Scapegoating’ Players for Wenger’s Incompetence

General

Established Member
Following every matchday, it seems to have become the norm that certain players are frequently singled out for criticism and more often than not, the root cause is ignored. Ask any sane Arsenal fan out there and they’ll tell you Diaby is not a winger, Cesc isn’t an AM and Nasri isn’t a DM. Yet at a key period of the season, Wenger has bizarrely decided to reinvent the wheel by dislodging players all over the place and we’ve inevitably paid the price.

Yes, Cesc’s passing was piss poor at times, for Diaby’s decision making – read terrible; and Nasri’s positioning left a lot to be desired but the underlying cause is the ridiculous remit these players were given. Diaby’s best games have come playing centrally, Nasri looked to have found his feet on the left and Cesc is a top class CM - so why the need for a new setup when we finally looked to have stabilised? I said after the United game that we looked unbalanced from the outset, irrespective of the ensuing player errors and this was the same case against Chelsea. For every chance we created, we looked equally vulnerable to conceding and it begs the question why Wenger has insisted on deploying this ineffective formation despite the calamitous results prior to today. It was of course devastating against mediocre opposition but even then some of the flaws were laid bare. For the first time under Wenger, it is blatantly obvious that he is disregarding the inadequacies of players in the role he wants them to play even if this is to the detriment of the team. In terms of making the best of the resources we had at our disposal the past 3 weeks – It’s been one total ****up.
 

Invincible

Established Member
Fantastic post and I agree 100% with you.

Not only do we lack quality in certain areas, but we also have an incompetent manager who's failing to make the most of his resources. Tactically, he has been a disaster. His team selections have been an utter joke.

Wenger is holding this team back.
 

Galahad

Well-Known Member
Im trying (a bit) but I really cant find a mistake in your post...Wenger doesnt really seem to know what to do with his players at times...

Also his substitutions werent really impressive...only subbing like for like and not before minute 65 :-/ Way to go if your 3-0 down. And not for the first time hes done that...
 

Lancelot

Established Member
It almost feels like Wenger is trying too hard to either get the best out of his players individually or play them where they will learn to iron out their deficiencies that he simply overlooks the importance of having a solid system/foundation/formation to work on.

In other words, we've completely shifted from a 'team' that plays Wengerball to a collective bunch of Wenger's droids.
 

ricky1985

Established Member
hackajack said:
And RvP up top on his own, bizarre stuff.

He actually played really well in patches I thought. He was one of the reasons we created so many chances today.
 

qs

Established Member
Wenger has been awful lately and he needs to take responsibility for 2 things. First off he has to stop playing players out of position and put good players in the positions they excel in. Secondly he needs to stop playing players who aren't up to it. Look at Fabianski today, he clearly isn't good enough to be an Arsenal keeper yet. Thats not his fault though its Wengers.
 

AshburtonGhost

Well-Known Member
Ultimately it comes back to the way the club has elected to construct the team. We see guys like Song, Diaby, Denilson etc being held to the same standards as Essien, Carrick or Mascherano when they are clearly nowhere near that level. I think the criticisms levelled at these guys are subconscious, purely because we are used to our players performing at the required level each week.
 

thegame24

Established Member
they have become homegrown players which is vital for champions league, thats why wengers probably sticking with them lol.
 

Biggus

Established Member
Good post General. This annoys me so much I was toying with the idea of locking This player sucks threads. Its a reaction borne out of frustration and incomprehension at Wengers almost total implosion. It's obviously ridiculous to blame individual (sometimes very young players) be they Denilson, Diaby, Gibbs or Fabianski for our usual end of season collapse, I'm guilty of it myself blasting Bendtner for his behaviour when there is obviously no leadership or discipline present either on or off the pitch. I said that Wengers dismissal of the FA cup would ruin our confidence and momentum, James put it best in his "Wenger has killed us again" thread.

I'm dismayed that there are some long time and experienced supporters who still have any faith in the man. We, more than anyone known what he's like. Why do you baulk at the final step?
 

McIntyre

Established Member
I've said before, Arsène needs to decide what each of his current players' best position is, then assign them a back-up position where they can play if necessary, then take things from there.

Because right now we have too many players who can supposedly play all over the park, and as long as they are considered that flexible they will continue to be used that randomly. If somebody doesn't happen to fit into the squad in their first or second position, so be it, offload them.

At the moment we have this nonsense where the likes of Diaby, Nasri, Cesc, RVP, Song, Eboue, Bendtner are all considered to be utility players. But the longer they are moved from position to position the longer it takes for them to become a master of any one of them.

Decide on a system, decide the players you want to start in that system. If you don't have them, buy them. Then decide who can cover for who, and anyone surplus of that isn't worth keeping.

This is a very simple system and I know a lot of variables have to be considered, but it's a basic template for an efficient squad and getting the best out of your players.
 

Illusion

Established Member
qs said:
Wenger has been awful lately and he needs to take responsibility for 2 things. First off he has to stop playing players out of position and put good players in the positions they excel in. Secondly he needs to stop playing players who aren't up to it. Look at Fabianski today, he clearly isn't good enough to be an Arsenal keeper yet. Thats not his fault though its Wengers.

..and those players who cannot play well enough in their given position, or those players who don't really have a given position need to have their role at the club changed in some way, either through being sold, loaned or retaught/re-employed in some manner on the pitch.
 

kym7224

Well-Known Member
I think wenger can't defend the gap between us and other Big3.
(How he interview to the media is not important)
And I agree with opening post 100%.
Nice one General.
 

banduan

Established Member
Ultimately the players can never be 100% responsible if they are consistently poor. The manager is the one who puts them out on the field.

Yes, Diaby is being played out of position. But a lot of that is due to the fact that Wenger wants to play him. Theo's better on the left than him, Eboue's better on the right than him, Nasri, Cesc, RVP are better centrally than him. Why is he played? Because Wenger wants to.
 

arsenalfc0719

Established Member
You just can't defend Diaby. He doesn't even have a position. Wenger has showed faith in him, put his trust in him. Diaby has no excuses.
 

Biggus

Established Member
Biggus said:
It's obviously ridiculous to blame individual (sometimes very young players) be they Denilson, Diaby, Gibbs or Fabianski for our usual end of season collapse, I'm guilty of it myself blasting Bendtner for his behaviour when there is obviously no leadership or discipline present either on or off the pitch. I said that Wengers dismissal of the FA cup would ruin our confidence and momentum, James put it best in his "Wenger has killed us again" thread.
 

Clrnc

Established Member
Trusted ⭐

Player:Tomiyasu
qs said:
Wenger has been awful lately and he needs to take responsibility for 2 things. First off he has to stop playing players out of position and put good players in the positions they excel in. Secondly he needs to stop playing players who aren't up to it. Look at Fabianski today, he clearly isn't good enough to be an Arsenal keeper yet. Thats not his fault though its Wengers.
And thats why he is 2nd choice isn't it? Almunia is injured, I don't get your point for blaming Wenger for playing him. You want Mannone?

I don't really think Wenger was at fault for our last 2 matches. It was more of our defence letting the team down. We could have easily won 4-1 the other way round yesterday
 

ultradoc

Established Member
After seeing how Song transformed I tried to be patient with players,and wenger too. But then,there is no way you can defend **** like diaby. I sometimes feel for denilson maybe, but ...some of the players deserve the mouthings they get,despite their age.
 

Biggus

Established Member
Clrnc said:
I don't really think Wenger was at fault for our last 2 matches. It was more of our defence letting the team down. We could have easily won 4-1 the other way round yesterday

So our forwards couldn't hit a cows arse with a shovel and although Wengers surprise tactical master-stroke of sticking Bendy on at 60 didn't catch Hiddink out, it was our defence's fault.
 

raphael_as

Active Member
It was more of our defence letting the team down.
Defending is a team activity - as **** as the defense was (and it was terrible at times) they had zero cover from the midfield.

Wenger is at fault for the results because, between his tinkering in midfield and how he has trained (or not) the defense, we have shipped 14 goals in 5 matches against the teams we are supposedly on a par with regardless of the personnel he has thrown onto the pitch in the random formation of the day.

That is not down to individuals, that is down to the way the team is managed, both tactically on the pitch and strategically from a squad/training/footballing philosopy point-of-view.
 

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