With Wednesday’s last-gasp away draw to Everton, even the most amateur of supporter could see just how lacking in attacking quality the current Arsenal side are. Unfortunately, it appears that Wenger is so blinded by his ‘belief’ in the current squad that a blind man in a fog has more sight than he.
While Everton do not possess the most potent attacking threat, they nevertheless have weapons to use. Fellaini, Pienaar, Arteta, and Cahill all are legitimate attackers in their own right, and for the most part Arsenal’s defense held them at bay.
The problem with this current team is their inability to maintain possession. Indeed, previous teams were accused of contriving to walk the ball into the net, yet currently that would seem beyond this team’s ability to even attempt. While Myles Palmer may believe that Arsenal are a ‘possessive’ team, the truth is that they simply are not.
Our current best uninjured central midfielder, Denilson, was relegated to playing wide right, because Eboue has been woeful and Wenger seems reluctant to play Wilshere out there. Removed of our driving force in the center, it was down to the incredulous Diaby and Song to forge their way through the opposition. If Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso can only score 1 goal a game against this Everton side, then those two players sure as hell are not going to get it done. Luckily, we do possess one world-class player in Robin van Persie, and he committed daylight robbery in stealing the points.
What this current team needs, at the bare minimum, is another potent attacker. To be blunt, Arshavin is a must. There can be no excuses for not capturing his services. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the Champions League and the subsequent cash windfall are what at stake. Nasri and van Persie need another partner of guile to partner them.
Adebayor, all 90,000 pounds of him, is not up to the task. Whether his head be in his chequebook, in Barcelona, or up his arse, is hard to determine. His lack of committment is not.
Clichy and Sagna are having massive down seasons compared to last year. As much stick as Clichy got for Hull’s goal, Sagna should get just as much, if not more, for his lackadaisacal defending and inability to close his man down. How you watch a man take a throw-in and subsequently let him cross the ball is a violation of all defending laws.
The only bright light this season has been the form of Robin van Persie. In fact, he has either assisted or scored every Arsenal goal in the month of January. Clearly, his desire is not lacking. It is a shame the same could not be said for Adebayor.
Wenger must do something, right now, to stop the rot. With each passing game, the nightmarish prediction of Arsenal missing out on the Champions League is becoming more and more likely. Recently, Wenger was quoted about his ability to make money for the Club. I wish his dedication to winning football games was the same.
As much as he has done for the Club, he will never lose the responsibility to win football games. Not in a million years. That is his one fundamental task as manager, and currently he is edging ever closer to failure. He surely knows what could be done to save our season, but whether or not he deems it pertinent is another issue altogether.
