Author Archives: keenosafc

Has Arsene Wenger lost the dressing room?

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Arsene Wenger has lost the Arsenal dressing room. It is clear for all too see.

There was talk earlier in the year that if Arsene Wenger signed a new contract, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be of. Now without getting into the ins and outs of the relationship, Oxlade-Chamberlain has not progressed since he has been at Arsenal. He has gone from highly rated young talent to average squad player. It is clear he blames Wenger for this lack of development.

As soon as Wenger signed the new deal, he was always going to be off. It is like the employee who dislikes their manager, and the manager only shows him any interest when he gets a whiff that the employee is unhappy and on the verge of leaving. It is almost always too little, too late.

You get the feeling it is the same with Mesut Ozi land Alexis Sanchez. That they were almost expecting Wenger to leave, and were happy to stay at Arsenal, but things have changed, and they have lost faith in the manager.

Shkodran Mustafi is another who seems to have lost the faith. The relationship between the German and Wenger seems to have broken down quickly. From Arsenal bringing him back slowly from international duty, to suddenly he is out the door to Inter Milan.

Then we have the future of the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Lucas Perez. All of whom have been cast aside by the manager recently.

The ship is sinking.

Keenos

 

 

“There is no crisis at Arsenal”

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It is set to be 27c today and yet I am inside, nursing a horrendous hangover, caused due to Arsenal’s inept performance yesterday. At least I have the cricket to watch. England are fighting back well. But as I have written this, Joe Root has just got out. Great.

There is plenty wrong at Arsenal. I can see it. You can see it. Everyone can see it. Except for one man. Arsene Wenger.

It seems only the Arsenal manager can not see what is wrong with the club at the moment, He is the man not only without a plan in the transfer market but without a plan full stop.

Arsenal lost against Liverpool, Arsenal lost against Stoke. I do not really care that we lost games. It happens. We almost always lose against Liverpool and Stoke. But it is the manner of the defeats that drove me to drink.

For so long, Wenger has been criticised for a lack of tactics, and that has been shown in the recent games against Stoke and Liverpool.

The move to 3 at the back worked last season, and Wenger has continued with it this season. But you can only play a formation if you have the players that sort it, and when Arsenal are lining up with a winger at full back, a right back at left back, and 2 left backs at centre back, it is clear to all that the formation does not suit the players. Clear to everyone, of course, except for Wenger.

In the recent game against Stoke, Wenger complained about the lack of central defenders available to him, yet he had 2 on the bench that he never used.

Then we have the misuse of Rob Holding. The poor lad must not know if he is coming or going.

Holding started the first game of the season, dropped completely from the match day squad for the second game, then back in the side for the third game where he was ripped apart by the brilliant Sadio Mane and given no support. I feel for the lad.

As for Calum Chambers, a man who played nearly every game in the Premier League for Middlesbrough last season, and performed so well for England in the summer Euro U21 tournament, finds himself nowhere near the team, behind left backs playing centre back.

But of course, we can all see these problems, but Wenger can not.

And why were Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac on the bench yesterday? It is baffling.

Last seasons transfer dealings have been exposed as truly awful. We spent a lot of summer last year, yet only one man is still in the teams plans this summer, Granit Xhaka. And he has performed awful of late.

In fact, going through Arsenal’s last 10 transfers, just two of them started yesterday against Liverpool – Holding and Xhaka.

We need players. We need players playing in the right position. We need top quality players. We can all see that, but Wenger can not.

He is becoming deluded. Or has become deluded depending on how angry you are. He does not know what he is doing. He is the captain of the Titanic telling the passengers it is only a bit of ice, that there is no concernable damage.

He is not a captain not a captain going down with a ship whilst rats leave, he is the captain taking his ship down, whilst screaming everything is alright, full steam ahead.

He should have gone after the FA Cup in 2014. 3 FA Cups in 4 years have cemented his place further as an Arsenal great. But like Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest, he has outstayed his welcome.

On Thursday the transfer window shuts. We are not signing anyone. We will sell key players. but Wenger will tell you it is all OK. He is lying to you.

Have a good Monday, Enjoy the sun. Enjoy the cricket.

Keenos

Does Arsene Wenger have a transfer plan?

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The simple answer is NO.

It seemed so obvious to everyone at the beginning of the summer what The Arsenal transfer plan was. 

Get in a left back in Saed Kolasinac, sign Alexandre Lacazette. Secure a bit of magic in Thomas Lemar. And then either get in a new centre back or central midfielder. Maybe get a in a top young keeper to eventually take over from Petr Cech. 

Secure Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on new deals. 

Then release the dead wood.

Szczesny, Debuchy, Jenkinson, Chambers, Gibbs, Wilshere, Campbell, Perez and Sanogo. Maybe even Walcott and Coquelin if we got the right players in. 


Instead, we sit here going into the last week of the transfer window and our transfer plan has been exposed, in that we had no transfer plan. 

Kolasinac was a good early signing. But the only other deal we have done since is for Lacazette. Taking into account the Frenchman was about to join Atletico Madrid before their transfer ban, we got lucky with that one. 

We then spent the summer failing to sign Thomas Lemar. The deal seems to be dead and there seems not be be a back up plan. Weren’t we speaking to Riyad Mahrez’s people earlier in the summer? Or Julian Draxler? It is like we put all the eggs in the Thomas Lemar basket.

Meanwhile other potential targets are joining other clubs – such as Seri to Barcelona. It is becoming increasingly obvious that our transfer deals are done. 

And then we have the outgoings.

Debuchy, Chambers, Gibbs, Wilshere, Campbell and Perez are still out the club. Whilst we could only loan out Jenkinson. 

And we have ended up selling Gabriel. Whilst he has never quite settled in the UK, surely selling him was not part of the pre-season plan?

And then over the weekend, it seems like Oxlade-Chamberlain and Mustafi are ok their way out of the club. 

This was never the plan. To lose two senior centrebacks, leaving us to rely on Mertesacker, Holding and Chambers. 

There is still a week to go in the transfer window, but by tomorrow we could find ourselves with 3 points from 3 games. 

We are without a plan in the transfer market. We are underprepared once more for the season. And there is just one man to blame. Dithering Wenger. 

Keenos