Arsenal: Arsene Wenger Must Build Around Strong English Core to Progress
Arsenal are currently suffering from an identity crisis, and manager Arsene Wenger can solve this by building his side around its strong English core.
After a shock 2-1 loss away to Swansea City in the Premier League, and a miraculous 3-3 comeback by Anderlecht in their recent Champions League encounter, Wenger's stock is arguably at an all-time low.
Performances have been fraught, and the manager's tactical decisions in tandem with this have become hugely questionable.
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Arsenal currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League, with 17 points from 11 games, and repeated calls for Wenger to be sacked have echoed around Emirates Stadium.
Luckily, blessed with an English core of exceptional talent and camaraderie, Wenger has a foundation to rebuild his success upon.
Identity
Becoming an internet sensation in the process, the thoughts of a vitriolic Arsenal fan known as Claude, per ArsenalFanTV, raised an astute point about the club's current fortunes.
The supporter claimed "there is nothing there," and it is in this most passionate of post-match analyses that lies the issue for Arsenal under Wenger at this juncture: There is a distinct lack of identity within their playing style.
Consistently renowned, previously, for their high-tempo passing game, this season Arsenal have become over-reliant on the talents of Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean has scored eight goals in 10 Premier League games.
"The lean years of ill financial health were a build up to what we’re seeing now, but how much has changed? This is a club without an identity, without a clear position in the English or European game—and stagnating is not suitable or acceptable.
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In the past five seasons, Arsenal have finished in fourth place on three occasions, and in third place twice. The club should be aiming for the title.
It can be argued that this has been down to the club's financial position, and their selling of stars such as Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in unsettling the squad.
How long will Sanchez remain if the club continue to stagnate?
With the myriad comings and goings at the Emirates, the criticism of a loss of identity is pertinent.
This is remarkable, however, given the side currently possesses the most England internationals from the latest Three Lions squad; closest are Liverpool and Manchester United, with four.
Arsenal's England Contingent
Far from lacking the identity that the Gunners so crave, Roy Hodgson's England side performed cohesively and fluidly in their most recent pair of international fixtures.
The star turn in Tuesday night's 3-1 victory over Scotland was midfielder Jack Wilshere, and it is in the 22-year-old's positional switch for the Three Lions that Wenger can pin his interests in the most.
Operating at the base of a midfield diamond for Hodgson's side, Wilshere has won four consecutive man-of-the-match awards for his country.
Obviously, at club level this regista role will take some development.
However, Wilshere has the bite and, as evidenced by his assist for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's goal against Scotland, the passing range to compete in this position.
For an Arsenal side so bereft of an astute deep-lying presence—with Mikel Arteta waning and Mathieu Flamini inconsistent—Wilshere could offer a solution.
In the previous England encounter, another 3-1 victory, this time at home to Slovenia in the European Champions 2016 qualifying campaign, Wilshere's team-mate Danny Welbeck took the plaudits.
The striker scored a brace against Slovenia, taking his tally to five goals from his last four England games.
Welbeck hasn't quite hit those goalscoring heights yet in the Premier League for Arsenal, but he is already garnering comparisons with Gunners legend Thierry Henry, with Wenger claiming per the Daily Express that "I have seen some qualities in him that I saw in Thierry Henry."
The striker should look to emulate his predecessor's importance to the side.
Ironically, former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan bemoaned how the side's "identity has been broken" after the sale of Welbeck to Arsenal this summer, according to BBC Sport.
Elsewhere, the performances of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Calum Chambers for Hodgson's England were remarkably assuring.
Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe wrote of Gibbs' role against Slovenia that "[he] defended studiously, tracked his runners and allowed himself room to gallop forward."
While not gifted with an appearance during this international break, Theo Walcott should remind Arsenal of his importance after a return from long-term injury—last season the winger scored five goals and made four assists in 13 league games before his untimely infliction.
Each of these English Gunners should continue to play a key role for Wenger's side in moving forward.
Premier League Ambitions
To elevate his side, Wenger must set his ambitions not just to a perennial top-four finish, but the Premier League title itself.
As precedent has shown, the presence of an English core can play a vital role in this.
The United side that so dominated under Sir Alex Ferguson in their 1998/99 treble-winning season, for example, boasted Englishmen Gary Neville, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Andy Cole, Philip Neville, Paul Scholes and Teddy Sheringham in regular roles.
Beyond that, Chelsea long relied on their English trio of Ashley Cole, John Terry and Frank Lampard in their continued success.
Wenger inherited an all-English defence of Nigel Winterburn, Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon from George Graham, and it was that back four that helped ensure his early success as Arsenal manager; another regular feature of that solid line is his now-assistant, Steve Bould.
The manager recently told the club website of the "specificity" of players in terms of nationality, claiming that "in England they have a good fighting spirit."
This is a quality that the Gunners must generate to complement the fitting styles of Welbeck, Wilshere, Chambers, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott.
An influx of exceptional players from Europe and further afield has ensured that the Aston Villa all-English side that lost 4-1 at home to Coventry City is history and, arguably, rightly so.
The introduction of different playing styles and approaches can only improve the Premier League.
With the calibre of foreign talents Arsenal are signing, with Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Per Mertesacker as prime examples of this, the Gunners should harbour ambitions of winning the title.
But Arsene Wenger must use these to flourish his strong British core, to provide identity, structure and belief.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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