Dear Arsene,
I find myself writing this letter not out of anger but
out of frustration. As a fan (not customer, fan) of the
Arsenal I find it hard to get angry with the team’s
performances these days because to be frank,
nothing surprises me anymore. I have seen it all
before. Arsenal are, to some extent, masters of
snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
So why am I writing this? As I have touched upon
above, it is a letter borne out of frustration.
Frustration that the club, run by you Mr Wenger is in
a never ending cycle of mediocrity when things can
be so much better given the resources at our
disposal. If you love Arsenal as much as you say you
do, please do the best for the club and accept you
have taken it as far as you can, resign and allow
another manager to take the club forward. You can
enjoy your legacy of revolutionising English Football
and enjoy the fact you had a hugely successful first
10 years at Arsenal.
No doubt you will read this and think “what does he
know? he hasn’t worked 2 minutes in football or won
the FA cup” and you are quite right, I haven’t. That
doesn’t make my opinion any less valid, nor does it
prevent me from having one. I am a pragmatist, to
me, to flourish is to adapt, to be questioned, to be
challenged and in top level sport, to win.
Since you have managed the club your style and
philosophy hasn’t changed, hasn’t evolved but English
Football has. Failure to adapt is costing us dear.
Failure to address obvious weaknesses within the
squad, the failure to bring in adequate or superior
replacements for those players departing. Failure to
address the lack of discipline in the team, not from a
fouling perspective but from a tactical one, 3-2 up at
home and we have 5 players in an advanced position
against a team who by your own admission are
excellent on the counter attack.
It isn’t just this week’s capitulation against Anderlecht
that prompts this letter it is a culmination of events
throughout your tenure. The team do not learn
lessons; the defence still make elementary mistakes.
Blaming the players is the easy option but was the
back four the same as last night when we conceded 4
against Newcastle at St James Park, 8 against
Manchester United, 6 against Manchester City, 4
against Tottenham at home in 2008. No they weren’t,
was the manager the same. Yes. That isn’t bad luck;
it’s a trend, one you haven’t addressed over the
years.
There is no doubt you are stubborn, can that work to
one’s advantage? Absolutely but it can also be
detrimental if left unchecked, unfortunately it seems
the latter is true. So you won’t resign, what is next?
How do we change things? How can we ensure
mistakes are not repeated? May I suggest the
following?
* If Steve Bould isn’t coaching the defence, let him, if
he is then perhaps it’s time to delegate that away
from him or bring in some ex-players who know a
thing or two about defending, Messer’s Keown &
Adams would be a good starting point.
* Address the team’s obvious defensive weaknesses,
accept the Wenger way may not be what’s best for
Arsenal FC, not Arsene FC and purchase accordingly.
There is a good reason the saying “you get what you
pay for” exists and in most cases, rings true. There
are some excellent defenders in the Premiership who
would love to represent such a prestigious club like
the Arsenal. Winston Reid was a good example.
* Bring in a tactician who can be a pragmatist as an
assistant manager, someone who can offer a
different opinion, challenge you and can set up a
team according to the opponent. That’s not to say
attacking football to which we are known for is
compromised, it’s a pragmatic approach to ensure a
good solid defensive foundation is built enabling the
attacking players to express themselves.
* Bring in an external party to evaluate the training
methods & playing surfaces in order to better
understand why so many of the players suffer
muscular injuries. Shad Forsythe is an excellent
addition; let’s focus on prevention rather than cure /
rehabilitation.
* Play players in their natural position, this sounds
simple and it is, a number 10 (Ozil) is played as a
number 10, not as a winger players who aren’t
performing are taken out of the limelight to regain
form (Ramsey) and players who are in form are
played regularly not because they are a favourite of
the manager. (Sanogo over Joel Campbell / Lukas
Podolski) Now that may not be the case, but looking
from the outside in, that’s the impression we get.
* Make substitutions based on the needs of the
game. If a player isn’t performing, be a manager,
break your loyalty to that player and take him off at
half time rather than the 70th minute. Be pragmatic,
again, using Anderlecht as an example, if we are 3-2
up, don’t bring on attacking players, get on the touch
line, organise 2 banks of 4 and if you absolutely have
to have an attacking player on, use Walcott to hit
them on the break and / or run into the channels to
hold the ball up and keep possession.
* Have a plan and listen to counsel – Identify the
teams weaknesses, identify replacements and start
doing the ground work as much as you can (within
the rules of course) before the transfer window
opens. Pay the asking price, using the Arsenal brand
to sell to the player, get the deal done, the player
settled well in time for pre-season as Manchester City
& Chelsea have done in the past to their benefit. As a
manager it is your job to identify the players you and
your coaching staff think we need, not to negotiate
fee’s or argue on what you think a player is worth.
That is for the Chief Executive and Finance Director to
worry about.
I have decided not to mention the issues at board
level, I wanted this letter to focus on what can be
changed on the field and training pitches. This is not
a personal attack; it is to raise concerns, to point out
flaws, offer constructive solutions. It may not always
seem obvious but the fans criticise because they
care. We like you Arsene, love Arsenal FC. Let’s either
see a change of manager or a change in approach.
Being challenged and admitting mistakes isn’t a
weakness it’s a sign you are prepared to change,
prepared to evolve and hopefully be as successful as
you were in the first 10 years as manager of this
great club.
Yours,
Ninovandross

too long

Nice 1

Thanks guys ill try to mke shrtr topics

Arsenal fans are now asking for pragmatism. Gud for them. #Mourinhosta

You could do a better job if you were the one pocketing 7million annually I mean how hard can it be get some coaching lesson, get your fifa license and you ready to go wenger his killing the club big time his pass it in fact he's pass since 8 years ago and we need a breath of fresh air

ZEPHYREN:
You could do a better job if you were the one pocketing 7million annually I mean how hard can it be get some coaching lesson, get your fifa license and you ready to go wenger his killing the club big time his pass it in fact he's pass since 8 years ago and we need a breath of fresh air

bro I feel ur pain man, dis man has lost the plot