“Proof that Wenger is a genius” they all cried after the miracle in Greece. And whilst it was a brilliant result, it was certainly no proof that Arsene Wenger was a genius.

I would like to think I am a fairly honest fella. I call it how I see it. If someone is over critical of Arsenal, I will call them out on it. In the same way, it people give praise where praise really should not be due, then I will pick them up on it.

And after the Greece victory, Arsene Wenger has got a lot of praise, which is, in my opinion, not really due to him.

The fact is, Arsenal should never have been going to Greece on the last match day of Champions League qualifying in the position they were.

The first two games left us with 0 points with a double header against Bayern Munich to come up. How we lost to Zagreb & Olympiakos is beyond me. It ultimately came down to team selection and motivation. It was Wenger’s fault.

So he put us in the position we were in after 2 games. And yet we got out of it, and now we praise Wenger for getting us out of it. The man who put us in the hole is praised for digging us out of it. Odd.

Situations like this have gone on throughout Arsene Wenger’s career.

So often people – including myself – have spoken about how well he has done on a limited transfer budget. Yet especially in recent years, it is him who has decided not to spend. Surely we should be criticising for not spending, rather than praising for finishing 4th whilst not spending?

Or the injuries. I have seen people praise him for winning games despite a lot of injuries. Yet it is Wenger who built a squad which has half a dozen injury prone players. It is his fault that the squad has too many injured players, so lets not praise him for winning a game despite the injuries.

You would not praise a builder for finishing a job that he cocked up half way through. Or praise a doctor for curing an illness despite previously misdiagnosing it numerous times.

Imagine your mate pushed you into a lake. Would you then praise him for jumping in and getting you out? No, Because he put you there.

The fact is, this ‘Wenger Genius’ tag put on the Frenchman after the win in Greece is false.

Yes, the side should get praise. The way we got out of the hole was brilliant. And the 3-0 win away in Greece is a memory that will never be taken away from the fans who travelled and got held in the stadium for hours after. But the fact is, do we praise the man as a genius who got us in the hole foe getting us out? NO.

Keenos

When Sunderland scored in the 45th minute, I was not surprised. In fact, I expected it. Even worse, I wish I had have bet on it. Even before the free kick was given.

This season in the league, the period between the 40th minute and half time has been horrendous for Arsenal.

Of the 13 league goals conceded so far, 5 of them have come in this space of time. Add in a red card against Chelsea, and that is 6 major negative incidents in the 15 league games so far this season.

It started on the first game of the season. West Ham took the lead in the 43th minute through Kouyate.

You then had the Gabriel moment of madness against Chelsea in the 45th minute of the game. Followed up by Ross Barkley scoring in the 44th minute.

Arteta’s own goal from another free kick on the 40th saw us throw away 3 points against WBA. And then the Gabbidon goal against Norwich. 43rd minute.

Finally, we have Giroud’s own goal against Sunderland. Another free kick. This time the 45th minute.

What happens in this time for Arsenal? It is too much data to be a coincidence.

What is also worrying is that 3 of the 5 goals conceded have come from free kicks. Silly free kicks as well that we had no reason to give away.

Are we switching off? Both on the field of play and at the free kick? Who knows, but it is something that needs to be addressed.

If you take the data to the last 5 minutes of the game as well, we have conceded over 50% of our goals in the 5 minutes before the half time and full time break.

It does not take a genius to look at the data and analysis it. Arsenal will spend thousands on statistical analysis’s.  Surely they will come up with a pretty graph using excel, look at the data and show it to the boss. Who in turn will address the situation with the players. Ensuring that they keep their concentration for those important 5 minutes.

Then again, with the arrogance of our manager, he will probably interpret that there is no problem, and we will continue to concede goals, lose leads, or go in behind, in that mad 5 minutes before half time.

It is clearly not good enough. There is clearly a problem.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC