You've heard of "appointment TV"? What I just watched was "dentist appointment TV". Maybe "colonoscopy appointment TV."
This was Exhibit A for why Wenger should go. Really, who didn't know that a Tony Pulis team would play exactly this way? He lets Arsenal make pretty triangles 40 yards out, shuts down everything in the 18 yard box, gets 10 men behind the ball, and when the blocked shot or intercepted pass finds a Baggie in the midfield, they attack quickly hoping for a mistake or a set piece, ideally a corner. So who does Wenger send out there? No Giroud, which is odd. A short lineup that is easily bullied in the air. Walcott, who is worthless lately. Is Perez injured? Because that's the only excuse for his not starting. If Arsenal worked on corners lately, it didn't take. I wonder why Steve Bould is on the bench. Clearly, he hasn't helped. It's another case of Wenger being outcoached, which is a given in almost every game. He's gone from being poor as a game coach to being awful.
Result? Two goals off dreadfully defended corners and a howler from Ospina to present West Brom with another. I'm annoyed with the officiating; it was obvious that Pukelis sent his men out with instructions to beat up on Alexis, and they did so with near-impunity, suffering only a yellow on a horrible spikes-first lunge into Alexis's ankle that Xhaka would be proud of. But there was never a stretch in this game where I thought Arsenal was the likelier team to score. If they had finished better, it would have been 5-1 easy. This was an easy win for the Baggies. Every team in the league wants to play us now.
It seems certain at this point that the ECL streak will end, and St Totteringham's Day will not arrive this year. That, in a sane universe, would ensure that Wenger is canned if he does not have the sense to resign. Of course, he should have announced his retirement from the Arsenal job last year, or this past January at the latest. Now he's going to be chased out. It's not about silverware for me; it's that he's not getting what he should out of the players he has. I work in a recreational youth soccer league, and I'd love what Wenger is doing if he were one of my coaches. He likes his players, and gives them every chance. He never blames them when they screw up or fail to make enough effort. He sticks with them for years when they're out of form or on the training table. He tries to develop young talent. He plays an open style that gives both sides the maximum opportunity to score. However, as a professional manager, what he does is just plain stupid. A prima donna like Walcott is started time and again after proving that he is just not very good at his position--whatever it is. I know he wants a top class striker, and Kroenke just won't part with the money; but Wenger needed seasons ago to demand it. He sets the team up to fail week after week by not preparing them properly and by foolish tactics.
It is not at all impossible that we miss out on Europe altogether. The wheels have fallen off the cart, and you can't blame injuries this time. This is a group of players who should be finishing in third or fourth place, but they've been mismanaged into fifth and they are not likely to finish above Man U either. Anyone else in mid-table who gets hot could pass us. The FA Cup would be against the odds, given the opposition.
The post-Wenger era may be even grimmer. His hanging on has cost us Alexis and Ozil, maybe Ox too. Kroenke is a cheap owner who doesn't care about trophies or the fans. He'll start paying attention if the Emirates doesn't sell out, but as long as he gets the EPL TV money he'd be happy enough with mid-table. Keeping a smaller roster would save as much money as the ECL brings in. No great manager would want to work for him, because he has no commitment to the team's success. We'll get Eddie Howe or an equivalent and he'll be asked to make do with what's on hand, with one or two inadequate replacements for Alexis and Ozil. I'll still support them, and it can't be less fun than it is this season.
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