Everyone Makes Mistakes: Wenger Must Realise That He Needs to Change

Arsenal's performances in 2008 have very much been parallel to the global economy in 2008: unstable and inconsistent to say the least. It has been too inconsistent for many's liking, obviously too hard to handle for the likes of Flamini and Hleb anyway.

The fact is, Arsene Wenger had his youth philosophy right from the start of his career at Arsenal. The best team he has had was arguably the 2004's invincibles, and here is a comparison between that side with the one we have now.

Lehmann (2004) vs Almunia (2008)

I don't think there will be too many doubters here. The 2004 Lehmann was very consistent, not making mistakes and made so many outstanding saves. Almunia does not make many mistakes either, however, he also rarely makes outstanding, near impossible saves which the Lehmann of 2004 did. So 2004 wins this one comfortably.

Lauren (2004) vs Sagna (2008)

How much I miss this guy. Lauren was a great servant for the club, gave 100 percent in every match, stood up for the team, and never went missing. Attitude wise, he was as good as it gets.

Sagna, however, in terms of ability, is ahead of Lauren in almost, if not all departments. Yet I will have to say Lauren in this one since ability and attitude are both important, Lauren's attitude is what the team is missing. I am not saying Sagna has a bad attitude, but Lauren's was just inspirational at times.

Toure (2004) vs Toure (2008)

Interesting one isn't it? But many will agree his performances since the 2nd term of last season up until now just have not been good enough for a club like Arsenal. 

We have to bear in mind that he has had so many different defensive partners during these past few seasons. He was great with Campbell, complemented each other very well. He was great with Senderos in the Champions League campaign of 2005-2006. Yet he just can't work with Gallas nor Silvestre, something against the French obviously...2004 wins.

Campbell (2004) vs Gallas (2008)

Difficult one, Gallas on his day remains one of the best in the world. Quick, strong and a good reader of the game. Campbell, however, was just a rock in 2004. Nothing went past him and he was a great leader at the back, always talking and people actually listened to him, something that Gallas really doesn't seem to be able to do.

Whether he is captain or not, he just does not have the ability to lead a back line. Which is a big problem for Arsenal now. Along with the fact that Campbell is about 2 million times better than Gallas at defending high balls. Campbell wins this one.

Cole (2004) vs Clichy (2008)

There will be many arguments over this I am sure. The strongest area of Arsenal's 2004 team was the left channel. Cole, Pires, and Henry could rip any team apart; that does not make Cole a better player than Clichy, but at least far more effective for the team. Plus, I still think Cole is a better defender than Clichy. So, unfortunately, Cole wins, although I do believe Clichy will become much better.

Ljungberg (2004) vs Walcott (2008)

Ljungberg was just fantastic. He was not 10 out of 10 at anything but he is 7/10 at everything (perhaps apart from heading or dress sense).

He doesn't have the pace of Walcott's, he doesn't have the skills and technique of Hleb's, yet he is the best of the three, at least judging by the 2004's season anyway. 

Walcott is still young, but we are looking at 2008 here. Ljungberg's double figures in goals season after season, along with assists are far more important than skills and pace. Neither Hleb or Walcott could do that.

Also we must remember how good Ljungberg was at tracking back and helping out Lauren. This guy would run all day for the team. Another victory for 2004.

Vieira (2004) vs Fabregas (2008)

This is by far the toughest, but this epitomises what the whole article is about: two different styles. I have always believed that Vieira was the most important player for Arsenal during 1998 - 2004 (yes, more important than Henry), just like how Fabregas is the most important player for us now.

Despite not getting many goals, Vieira was the platform of the team. He drives the team forward using his raw physical power, as well as mental power. In fact, 90 percent of the attacks went through him, either with him winning the ball in midfield in the first place, or him working the ball out of tight areas to open play up. Fabregas drives the team by his skills and intelligence.

He is the best passer of the ball Wenger has had at Arsenal, one of the most assured in possession as well. He dictates the tempo of the team, he is the link between defence and attack, and to be honest, nearly 100 percent of Arsenal's attacks go through him now!

I think readers should know how much I love Fabregas, but judging purely on achievements, I think three premiership trophies speak for itself. Remember they are two different types of player.

But I would love to have Vieira in this team now, he can stabilise the defence as well as push the team forward. Would love to see him play alongside Fabregas when he was in his prime.

Gilberto (2004) vs Denilson (2008)

No question here I don't think. Obviously, Denilson has the potential, but Gilberto was class at snuffing out dangers. 2004 wins. The 2004 Arsenal conceded the least in the league, and Gilberto was a huge reason for that. The main problem in 2008 has been the defence, I know we can't blame it on Denilson, but does he have the same "cleaning up" ability as Gilberto? Which again is what the team needs right now?

Pires (2004) vs Nasri/Rosicky (2008)

Wenger is right, Pires was the best left sided midfielder on the planet in year 2002, and he was still one of the best in 2004, after the ligaments injury he suffered from, he lost pace and a little bit of his agility too.

But he still gave 15+ goals to the team that season, he was the top scoring midfielder in the Premiership. Rosicky just doesn't know how to stay fit, and even when fit, I doubt he can offer the same stats of Pires, and Nasri obviously has the potential to be as good as Pires (not sure if better though).

But in 2008, or 2009, neither of them will have the same influence as Pires of 2004. It's another win for 2004. This team needs goals from midfield, and only Nasri is giving us that at the moment.

Bergkamp (2004) vs Van Persie (2008)

I am a huge fan of both. Both have outstanding technique. Both have that arrogance and attitude and both can turn a match by one piece of magic. Bergkamp offered a lot of assists, but not goals in 2004. Van Persie has three assists and eight goals in the premiership this season.

Yes, Bergkamp is a better player, but Van Persie has been great when he has been fit, which he is. Comparing 2004's Bergkamp to 2008's RvP, then finally 2008 wins one.

Henry (2004) vs Adebayor (2008)

Might look simple, but its not. Based on 2007-2008, this would have been really really difficult. Yes Adebayor is clumsy and lazy, but Henry was every bit as lazy and sometimes, like Adebayor, goes missing in big games.

If just comparing Henry's 2003-2004 to Adebayor's 2007-2008, Henry I think wins by a whisker. Because he offers as many assists as goals to the team. Also please note that Adebayor has not performed at all this season, he might still have the goals, but his overall performances have been abysmal so far in my opinion.

Synopsis and Wrap-up

So out of 11 players, for me anyway, only one player in the current team would have made the 2004's title winning team. To be honest, I think even the 2004's team would find it quite difficult to compete with the Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea teams this season, never mind the 2008's team.

Yes you might argue that last season we were so close to winning etc etc. But why did we lose it in the end? Because of these things:inexperience, inability to defend high balls, set pieces and also lapses of concentration. The worst of all, inability to kill games off by taking chances. These are problems that the 2004's team did not have, or at least they coped with it well enough to win trophies.

The point of all these is to show Wenger that, yes, his youth policy has worked in some way. He is now internationally praised by doing so, and also, we have still been able to get into the top 4 without spending as much money as Spurs, or Villa, or Man City or Portsmouth etc etc. But in terms of using this team to win the league, we are still quite very far off.

Everyone makes mistakes, and the mistakes that Wenger made were:

Firstly, his over-protection of the players.

If one can pick themselves up when they are down, then it shows real character. But how down and hurt can the players be if the manager never put pressure on them? Bendtner for example, yes, Wenger maybe right in saying that he will turn into a good player (which is doubtful..to be honest), but if he is not good enough now, how can you risk the team's performance in order to help him develop?

The same goes out to Eboue, Denilson, Song etc. If they are not good enough now, how can you rely on them to win the Premiership? As Bergkamp said in 2005, you cannot take two steps back in order to move one step forward.

Do you see Liverpool, Chelsea or Man Utd doing the same thing? Playing youngsters with great potential as regular first team players? Rafael Da Silva maybe, but he is already playing well, unlike Bendtner or Eboue. Give them a chance, that's fine, but when they don't take their chances, you have to bring in reinforcements. Otherwise these players will never grow since they feel as if they will have a chance in the 1st team no matter how poorly they play.

Secondly, the lack of experienced players with good leadership in the team for the young players to combine with. This is true when you look at the current starting line up. The only experienced players are Almunia and Gallas who are consistently in the team.

You can be as experienced as you want, but you have to pass the experience on by leading the youngsters, not blaming them or avoiding responsibility to tutor them. Almunia is not a leader simply because he doesn't have that personality, or the respect of the team.

If you are the experienced player in the team, the minimum you should do is to perform week in week out, rather than actually being the worst player on the pitch (Gallas, that's you)! This is why Wenger needs to buy quality experienced players, not the likes of Almunia or Silvestre, but someone who is, firstly, a proven winner, and secondly, still have ability to perform for the team (unlike Silvestre)!

Finally, being stubborn in his philosophy. I love the fact that he has his own philosophy in playing football the "right" way, and to buy intelligently instead of spraying it on rubbish like Spurs had done.

But you always need to have a plan B, in order to protect the club when plan A doesn't work, or even if plan A is not working as quickly as planned. Look at us now, we are struggling for goals, and struggling to create chances. But what can we change? We should always have players on the bench who can offer different things to the starting players (obviously not rubbish like Bendtner and Eboue who offer nothing).

In terms of the transfer market, one of my previous articles is about how I support his approach about being careful and not hinder the youngsters development, I stand by that point, but what if the youngster is obviously not good enough? Is it going to take another 10 years before Bendtner and Eboue can pass the ball successfully to a team-mate more than 10 times in a match?

If so, how can we mount a title chanllenge at all? They have both had a lot of chances to show themselves yet they still haven't performed. Whereas players like Vela, Wilshere and Ramsey, who have actually been doing quite well, are not being given enough chances. How does this work?

Wenger needs to get a few things right now. The most crucial problem now is Fabregas's injury, and looking at Arshavin is good but I still doubt Wenger will spend so much on him. We need creative players since all our creative players are either in Barcenlona or injured.

The second thing he must do is to put more pressure on the sqaud. The pressure from the fans and the press means alot less to the players unless the manager does the same, if he keeps saying he believes in this team and that he won't buy to replace them. then our players are only going to be in the safety zone until some other club come in to buy them.