I'm an Arsenal fan, but they're getting it very very wrong, mainly with Wenger's signing policy and tactics.
They continually sign promising young players, when they are crying out for experienced players, especially in central defence and central midfield.
Senderos is the worst player to play for Arsenal in 10 years, errors galore. All you need to do in pump a long ball down the middle, have your striker brush him off the ball and score. Happened several times this season. Flamini will never be good enough, and Fabregas is too weak and thinks he is better than he is.
The recent signings are harder to judge, as I've not seen enough of Diaby to comment. Walcott won't be a factor for a couple of years at least, and Arsenal need the players now. Back in August when all the Michael Owen rumours were around, Wenger said he wouldn't be signing another striker, as it would block the opportunities of the current young players. Then he signs Adebayor in Janaury for £7m? A player who I have seen play in France, and I will be amazed if he is a success at Arsenal. Bad attitude and lazy, waste of money.
For the price of Adebayor and Hleb, they could've had Owen
Hleb, another signing who fits in with Arsenal's tactics, but isn't what they need.
Arsenal just pass the ball for the sake of it without going anywhere. It may look good to have 60-70% possession every game, but not if you're losing and not going anywhere with it. This happens so often, they have no cutting edge, no threat, and need Henry to do it all on his own. This has been fine this season when teams come to defend at Highbury and let Arsenal put pressure on them. Teams that have a go and take the game to Arsenal and get stuck in, have success. This is why they have struggled away.
Wenger has been a massive success at Arsenal, but his tactics are flawed, and his obsession with signing only young players is meaning that Arsenal are lacking experience in crucial positions, which will continue to cost them. Arsenal pose no aerial threat in attack, and if play too narrow, just passing it side to side. If their clever flicks and one twos come off, but too often they don't.
Wenger needs to think more short-term at times. There's nothing wrong with signing a 30-year-old for example to boost the centre of their midfield, but then in January he signs players aged 21, 20 and 16. Walcott and Diaby may turn out to be very good, but that is not going to help Arsenal do better this season.
Perhaps a change of manager and new ideas might help, but that's not going to happen. Wenger has done superbly, but like Alex Ferguson, perhaps he has been there too long? Like Ferguson, there appear to be blatantly obvious flaws in the team that he is not correcting.
That said, the whole injury situation hasn't helped. To have 8 defenders out at once was very unfortunate
Thierry Henry
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