The Soccer Blog: Wenger Ready for the Final Five Games

Friday 22 April 2011

Wenger Ready for the Final Five Games

By: Sairax | April 22nd, 2011
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Wenger’s Pre-Bolton press conference was held today, and of course there were many questions by inquiring minds on Arsenal’s recent form.

Wenger remains steadfast in his belief that if we win all five of our remaining games, we will win the title. Of course, with Chelsea now in the race, things will not be so simple. We also would need United to drop points to us and to Chelsea, presumably. The title is most certainly not in our hands, but we still need to win the rest of our games. You can argue whether we can do that or not, but the team needs to remain focused on winning and only winning. Fans can let go of the hope of the title, but we have to encourage the team and give them a lift. Otherwise they will be fighting against themselves, their opponent, and the fans, not to mention the media. I think it would be best to leave our various gripes until the end of the season and back the players as much as possible.

You can tell this season has been trying on Wenger. Never has he looked more old and gray. The lines on his face look deeper and more pronounced. His anger at some of the team displays end up being turned onto referees and plastic water bottles. All of this makes him look like a man at the end of his rope. What say you, Wenger?

“I cannot sit there and be placid like I am on dope. I care about the game and I’m motivated to win the game and agitated, yes, but it is one thing to be agitated and in control of your decisions and be lucid, or be completely out of control.

“I am not out of control. I am agitated because I want my team to win the game. I am ready to fight, believe me.”

Anyone who thinks Wenger is content at finishing second or crashing out of the Champions League to Barcelona is wrong. You may disagree with his methods, but Wenger has given everything he has to this club and to these players. He wants desperately for these players to prove everyone wrong and when they don’t it hurts him as much as any enraged supporter. So when people say they criticize because they care, I’d say that Wenger stomps around furious on the sidelines because he cares. I read a column by Martin Keown in the Daily Mail the other day, and here’s what he had to say about Wenger:

Most of all, Wenger will be looking at himself. I remember a time when we didn’t train very well and while other managers would have screamed and shouted at the players, Wenger told me it was his fault because the session cannot have been right. It is typical of the man. Not winning will hurt him more than anyone else.

I think Wenger could do with lashing out at the players every once in a while. Of course, my solution to the team mentality problem is sticking the whole squad in a room together, locking it, and have them beat the shit out of each other. Whoever comes out unscathed can play the next game. I think the team could do with letting out some aggression and I’m sure there are times when they want to tell their teammates to get it together. When I tried out my theory on twitter I had a few people mention that due to the fragile nature of our team, they would all end up with broken bones. Some others suggested that the players would stand there staring at each other not knowing what to do, in which case, I would poke Lehmann in the rear so he could get things started. Gunner Royal Rumble. But I digress.

On the issue of transfers, Wenger had this to say:

“The team is [an average age of] 23 years old, why should we expect to have a huge turnover at the end of the season?” Wenger said.

“Is it [£40m] available? Frankly, I don’t know. We have not completely checked out our financial position. The only thing I can say is that the club is in a healthy financial situation and if needed we can make a big transfer.”

Before you all get your knickers in a twist, I’d just like to point out that he is saying there won’t be a huge
turnover, as in you’re not going to see a mass exodus from the squad. Really, when was the last time any team did that successfully? I still suspect we will see a few go out and a few come in, like every other season, but that’s all speculation right now. We will have the whole summer to discuss potential transfers and what needs to be changed or strengthened within the team.

The next five games are huge, but I don’t need to tell you that. Bolton, Manchester United, Stoke, Aston Villa, Fulham. If you’ve already written off any title aspirations, then I hope you can at least watch the team and see what we really have there. At times we play some fantastic football. I hope you can at least enjoy that. It’s more than most others can offer at this point in the season.

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Category: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger

Tags: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger
Tweet « Tottenham 3 Arsenal 3: It’s the Hope That Kills Ya | Home | MartinAlso, I've been so busy at work lately that I've been derelict in following some Arsenal news. I have seen references to this interview that Cesc did, and Wenger attacking them as having misquoted him, and they released the audio to prove that he wasn't misquoted, but what exactly is the controversy about?

I read a translation of the interview and I didn't think anything he said was that controversial, and certainly it all seemed in keeping with what he had said before. Can anyone provide a cliff's notes version of the controversy for me?SairaxWenger's pissed because they authorized the interview, but were told they would get a look at the final draft before it was published. They went ahead and published it without checking with the club so Wenger got angry. Unfortunately, he also said they twisted what Cesc said but he seemed to go back on that a bit in today's presser when he said he didn't want to talk about the actual stuff in the interview, he was just mad that they went and published without consulting when they said they would consult. Think it's all been blown out of proportion. Another problem was Eng papers taking a few snippets and using it in their headlines to make it sound worse.ASDFFrom what I read on Sun and Daily Mail, Cesc has been quoted as saying "Arsenal do not have the WOW factor and killer instinct (or something like that)" and "Arsenal has to choose between building the youth program and winning trophies".
I still think that these are twisted headlines and even if he has said this, he's being quoted out of context.MartinWell, I would agree that those headlines may have been twisted, but that's par for the course.

The fact is that he did basically say both of those things, and, considering that in making the first quote he was contrasting this team with the Invincibles-era team when he came up, I think he's largely correct about both things. I don't know that he said anything that everyone else isn't saying or at least thinking.

The thing that struck me the most, and I'm not sure if there's been a big deal made out of this or not, is that he kept talking about him and Robin van Persie being the only links to the club's trophy-winning past. Meanwhile, Gael Clichy goes home and kisses his Premiership winners' medal every night, because he actually played quite a bit for the Invincibles side when Ca$hley got injured. Just felt it was odd that Cesc completely omitted Clichy from that discussion.ASDFI have this weird and horrible feeling that Cesc is playing out his 30/60/90 day notice. He is detaching himself from the team, being candid in press and although he's giving his 100% on field (i dont and will not care what others say on this)...but I sometimes see that distant look in his eyes as if he's dreaming of greener pastures. Hence these comments, these "silly" mistakes of missing out team member's names....Cesc pls pls pls dont go :( :(Homey_MillsEven while "derelict," you still keep up with Arsenal news way more than almost anyone else. Have you scaled back from 3 hours a day to only 2 or something?Martin...of sleep, yes.Homey_MillsI guess I'm a bad Arsenal fan for not attending the Dallas Cup youth matches, even though I live relatively close by. But still, they're in the semifinals, and have outscored their opponents 14-2 so far. I don't really know much about who the players are. I think Frimpong is playing though.Darren_VThis just proves you are not really a supporter, just a fan Homey. For shame!
Kidding!Homey_MillsWell that's probably true. Not sure what the distinction is, but I'll certainly admit that there are others here who surpass my fandom.ASDFFrimpong, Henderson and Freeman are the big names playing in Dallas cupSairaxFor anyone interested, you can follow @YoungGunsBlog on twitter for live updates. Semifinal tonight :)Homey_MillsI guess that's another proof that we're building a team for the future.Perry S.Sorry for all the posts, but I've just come across a good read from Martin Keown. This article is an additive to Sairax's point here, and states what we are all hoping is the reality...

"In public, he has overestimated his team's ability to win, but in private he probably realises that there are a couple of ingredients missing."

Read more: www dot dailymail dot co dot uk / sport / football / article-1379396 / Martin-Keown-Arsene-Wenger-stay-Arsenal dot html

(remove spaces and replace "dots" with...well you know the drill)Sairaxalso, I love Martin KeownSairaxcongrats for beating the spam filter!Perry S.On a lighter note, I'm sure some of you will get a good laugh out of this one. Came across on a google search...SairaxI knew it! :PHomey_MillsI'm a bit tired on the manager and players saying we're still in the race, and that we still have a shot, and blah blah. Ugh. Just win a stinking game first, and then we'll talk a little. I dunno. I'm certainly in the camp that says the title aspirations are gone. Again, I'm sure we could do it if we win our final 5 games. But the chances of that are about equal to my winning the lottery. And I don't even buy lotto tickets.MartinYeah, I mean I know we're supposed to support the team and all, and I will be watching on Sunday in my shirt and scarf rooting for them like I always am, but there gets to be a fine line between optimism and delusion. If the English Premier League were decided on "saying the right things at press conferences" instead of "playing football," I think we'd have a pretty full trophy case. How many times have we heard how mentally tough this team is, how hard they will play, how they know they have to win, how we're still alive in the title race?

And then you look at our results from the past 2 months:

Arsenal 1 - Birmingham 2 (neutral site -- CC final)
Arsenal 5 - Leyton Orient 0 (FA Cup)
Arsenal 0 - Sunderland 0
Barcelona 3 - Arsenal 1 (elimated from Champions League)
Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 0 (eliminated from FA Cup)
West Brom 2 - Arsenal 2
Arsenal 0 - Blackburn 0
Blackpool 1 - Arsenal 3
Arsenal 1 - Liverpool 1
Spurs 3 - Arsenal 3

So since beating Stoke on February 23, we are 2-5-3. If you restricted it to matches against teams playing at the top level, that would be 1-5-3, with a -2 goal differential. One of our wins came at home against a third division side, the other came against a team that will likely get relegated. We have drawn against 3 bottom of the table sides, 2 of which came at the Emirates when we couldn't score. We've blown several late leads, and gotten completely dismantled by the two elite sides we have played against.

So I agree -- it's all well and good to say we have to support the team, be optimistic, but looking at the past two months, we've been playing like a decidedly mid-table (or worse) side, what on Earth would convince anyone that there is any reasonable chance of us winning a 5 game stretch that includes 3 away matches at Fulham, Bolton, and Stoke (all tough places to play), and hosting Manchester United, who we haven't beaten in years?

Sorry, I'll stop being pessimistic lest I be accused of being a bad fan, or not a real fan, or whatever, and I will acknowledge that stranger things have happened, but at some point (and, fair enough, maybe that point is after the season) we are going to have to recognize that we have not been a good team the last few months, and until I see any actual signs of us becoming a good team again, I will keep my hope and optimism in check. And I agree with you that I wish the manager and players would stop talking about how we're still title contenders and just worry about beating Bolton/winning a damn match.SairaxWhat do you guys want him to say when they ask him if we're still in the title race?Perry S.Exactly. Managers have to very political with their words and he has to keep the fire lit in the squad.MartinI guess I just don't really get this instinct that he has to give a full answer to every question. Most managers don't. And I guess it's admirable in a way, but when he basically has to either say something that's almost certainly not true, and piss fans off in doing so, it seems like the better course of action would be to basically duck the question.

So he just needs to be like Nuke in "Bull Durham" when Crash coached him in how to give a boring interview -- "we're just going to take it one day at a time, and the Good Lord willing, we'll be there at the the end," etc.

Look, I'm like Mulder here. I want to believe. But nothing this team has done over the past few months gives me any reasonable hope that we're going to win 5 games in a row, so I would just appreciate a little bit more groundedness and humility from the manager. I would have been much happier had Wenger just said: "Right now we are just focused on beating Bolton, who are a good team. After that, we will see." I don't see what's wrong with that.Homey_MillsYes, exactly. I mean, it's not even in our hands anymore. Even if we somehow won 5 in a row, we'd still need help. So just say we're trying to string together a couple of wins, and then we'll talk in a couple weeks if we're still in striking distance.
Frankly, I can't wait until the summer, so that chatting on here will be more enjoyable. This has been such a beating. And I know we'll end up frustrated at the lack of action this summer too. But at least it will be fun to dream and speculate. Right now there's not much to dream about.SairaxWell I usually don't put that much weight in what he says in pressers. I worry more what he says behind closed doors. Anyway, I'm not saying you all have to be cheery and optimistic, but the players need to keep a competitive spirit whilst probably being physically and mentally exhausted right now. Hopefully we'll see that in the coming games.SairaxI find the more people criticize the team, the more I feel the need to defend them. It's like my family. I can call my brother a moron, and I do all the time, but if you do, you will incur the wrath of Sairax.Perry S.I'm of this camp, but only when its outsiders doing the criticizing, not fellow fans because I understand their sentiment.MartinI'll say this for Wenger -- he really does know how to wind up fans by saying certain things at the worst possible time. As I read those quotes, he's basically saying, "I've got tons of money to spend if we need to . . . but we don't need to, because we're so young." I would say that just about every fan of the club having watched the performances the last couple of months would say that we could definitely use an influx of talent, character, and leadership this summer.

As you say, Wenger wasn't saying he wouldn't strengthen the team or that wouldn't be some turnover, but for him to trot out the "our average is 23" seems to be willfully turning a blind eye to some of this team's flaws.Perry S.I said it a post or two prior, but I'll recap my thoughts on this. He is a not very good with the media and this summer, IMHO, could be the final act for Wenger. Either he does what is right for this club, or his stubborness finally gets the best of his decision making process and he fails in resolving the issues that are currently at hand. If he does the right thing that is so blatant to any football follower (pundit or not), only positives in all aspects for this club, for him, and for all of us can come of it.

Are you in the same camp as I am...this is the make or break offseason for La Professeur?MartinHmmm. Well, in the sense that I think another season without trophies could very well be the end of his tenure as Arsenal manager, and what he does this offseason will certainly have an impact as to whether or not we win trophies next season, yeah, I think that's probably right. But I don't know, a lot of people were saying the same thing last season, too.MikeIt's the sense of denial he seems to exude. Frankly it's hard to be sympathetic towards him when things aren't going well because he has such a hard time admitting his strategies both on the pitch and off are fallible.SairaxBasically it's tough for him whatever he says and he's trying to be careful not to dent the players' confidence any more than it already is with 5 games left to play. I'd say judge him on his actions in the summer rather than on what he says in the media, especially since he seems to be increasingly frustrated with the press these days.MartinI understand that, I just don't understand why he doesn't say, as Gunnerlurker suggested -- "I'm not even thinking about what happens this summer at the moment. We have a chance to win the league, we have a quality team, and all I am thinking about is pushing on to win the title." Seems like if he just said that whenever the media asked him about it, he wouldn't have to say something that pissed off fans just to avoid unsettling the players.SairaxI think he's just really stressed out. I don't believe for a second that he doesn't see our flaws in the team. Maybe he could answer the questions better. At the same time I think people are ready to jump on him no matter what he says at the moment. And sometimes they do ask him over and over and over the same questions.Illinois_GoonerThat's exactly how I read it as well. What I keep telling myself is that Wenger is just putting on his typical show to keep this team going till the end of the season, and then he's going to finally shove a couple players out the door and buy a couple top quality talents to give the squad what it needs.GunnerlurkerI agree with you about the "worst possible time" to say "average age of 23" type comments but also agree with the tone of Sairax's post that we must focus passionately on the next 5 games. Wegner should in my mind "willfully turn a blind eye" to the flaws that can't be fixed in the next month and win with what he has. That being said, he should just say he will address "turnover and transfers" in the summer and not drop infuriating hints about the strategy, especially a "stand pat" strategy. So stick with "we will address it in the off season" and win these final games; don't try to have it both ways by saying I won't talk about it and then imply the summer strategy.

As far as a needed influx of "talent, character, and leadership", presumably we need those intangibles of leadership and character actually on the pitch so it begs the question who is not talented enough? You don't need to answer now, the Martin, because obviously I can hold you to the same standard as Arsene and say just tell me after the season. However, one thing I love about this blog is it is one of the very few places that realizes Fabianski, Wojo Chesney, TV5, Djourou, and Kos is actually looking like a pretty solid starting point in the middle. So the "easy answers" about keepers and defenders that I read elsewhere strike me as off the mark. I look forward to hearing either soon or after we win the next 5 games where you and Sairax envision the new "talent, character, and leadership" actually playing for us, especially if nobody we want to keep (yes I am looking at you Cesc) defects.blog comments powered by Disqus