Can Arsene Wenger Save Arsenal's Season?

It’s the first week in November and Arsenal sit six points behind league leaders Chelsea and Liverpool.

There are 27 Premier League games remaining, yet every pundit in the game seems to believe that the Gunners have no chance of claiming their first title since the unbeaten season of 2003-04.

Looking at it in black and white, these suggestions would seem to be premature. Unfortunately, even the most loyal Arsenal supporter would agree that it looks unlikely and that something isn’t right this season. 

Before looking ahead, let’s look back to 5.15pm on September 27^th as Arsenal kicked off their "home banker" against Hull City at the Emirates stadium.

Sitting top of the league and having played some irresistible football in getting there, the team who weren’t fancied at the season’s start were now expected to increase their lead at the top of the table with an easy three points.

Times were good for Arsene Wenger as four days earlier the Arsenal youngsters had demolished Sheffield United 6-0 in the League Cup, and with winnable fixtures against Sunderland, Everton, West Ham, Tottenham and Stoke on the horizon, it looked possible that Arsenal could put a run of victories together that would put them into a commanding position moving into the winter period.

The critics had cited Arsenal’s lack of strength and depth as the reason why they had written them off. Obviously high profile names such as Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini had left the club, with Samir Nasri, who had been tipped as one of the brightest prospects in European football, being the only player to come in that could step straight into the first team.

Wenger had put his faith in the group of players that were already at the club. In the previous season players such as Denilson, Emmanuel Eboue, Nicklas Bendtner, and Theo Walcott weren’t performing to the standard that fans had come to expect from players who wore the famous red and white. It looked different this season as these players showed early promise in pre-season and took their form into the opening games of the league season.

It looked like Wenger’s faith would be repaid. Then came a shock.

Hull City became only the second team to win at the Emirates stadium and since then Arsenal have been part of the chasing pack. A draw away at Sunderland allowed Chelsea and Liverpool to pull away from Arsenal. Then came a mini revival with wins against Everton, West Ham, and away to Fenerbahce, showing enough positives for supporters to believe that they had overcome a minor blip in their season.

However, Arsenal would again come unstuck, this time against their fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Leading 4-2 and moving into injury time, Arsenal conceded two late goals to draw the match 4-4. The result seemed to have a devastating effect on the players and there were reports of a rift in the changing room after the match.

Even still, when Saturday came and the challenge of Stoke City loomed, Arsenal were expected to get a victory and try and get their title ambitions back on track. It wasn’t to be.

Stoke City won 2-1 and all those that had predicted that Arsenal wouldn’t have the resources to compete with Manchester United, Chelsea, and even Liverpool this season look to be right. However, none of them could have expected Wenger’s team to struggle in the way that they have.

So why has this happened?

There are a number of reasons, but the logical place to start would be the perception of Arsenal’s lack of strength and depth. Unfortunately for Arsenal fans there are a number of players that haven’t been good enough on a regular basis.

As mentioned, at times the likes of Bendtner, Denilson, and Eboue have shown that they can compete at the top level, on the other hand there are also times when the game seems to pass them by and leaves them looking fairly ordinary.

Highlighting Bendtner and Denilson in particular, it’s one thing to have an impact on a game when the Arsenal team are playing well, but when they are up against it, like they were away at Stoke, that is where the club needs their players to have that extra bit of quality to make something happen.

Both of these players had arguably their best game in an Arsenal shirt earlier in the season when they played away at Bolton, yet in games away at Sunderland, Fulham and Stoke, they failed to make any impact when the pressure was on.

Without singling them out, there have also been other players to show this with Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Eboue, and Alex Song all being guilty.

Perhaps the players mentioned above aren’t the biggest culprits though. Ironically, you would have to look at the only three players in the squad with Premier League winners medals to find the biggest problem that Arsene Wenger faces. This of course would be the central defenders and their lack of ability aerially, and especially when defending set pieces.

At the back Arsenal have two of the best full-backs in the league in Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy, and on one hand the central defenders have also been very good in certain situations. Arsenal haven’t conceded that many goals in open play and there has been an element of bad luck in the goals that they have.

If you take away wonder goals from Geovanni, Grant Leadbitter, David Bentley, and Jermaine Jenas—strikes that came from twenty five yards out or more—then Arsenal have only conceded three goals in open play in ten Premier League games this season. That was of course until the game at Stoke, although you could successfully argue that any goal conceded from a Rory Delap throw in should be regarded as a set piece.

Including the goals conceded at Stoke from Delap’s throw-ins, Arsenal have conceded crucial goals from set pieces.William Gallas in particular has been at fault for the winning goals for both Fulham and Hull, as well as the goal conceded at Bolton, where on all three occasions he switched off and lost his man when Arsenal were defending corners. As captain and the oldest player in the current Arsenal team, it seems he is the one player who is consistently making schoolboy errors.

Kolo Toure hasn’t been much better.

I believe the problem is that both players share the same weaknesses, this being their lack of height and inability to struggle with an aerial threat makes Arsenal vulnerable from set pieces. This may prove to be Arsenal’s undoing.

Both players are very good defenders, but it’s no coincidence that Toure played his best football alongside Sol Campbell while John Terry brought the best out of Gallas when they played together at Chelsea.

What both of the English centre backs have in common is that they are both phenomenal in the air and while Toure and Gallas are extremely good at other aspects of their defensive duties, such as reading the game, timing tackles, and having the pace and strength to deal with players who are running at them, they are constantly exposed when they are facing players with an aerial advantage.

Maybe it’s time for Wenger to drop one of the centre backs?

Should this happen, Toure would be the fans favourite to keep his place in the team as William Gallas’ infamous "sulk" at Birmingham last season still bothers many.

Out of the players that could come in, I would like to see the lanky Johan Djourou get a run in the team. My opinion is that he has looked reasonably assured in the air, adds extra height to the back line and has a wealth of international experience despite not having as much in the Arsenal line-up.

Summer signing Mickael Silvestre and another young defender Alex Song are the other options, although when they were paired together away at Fenerbahce, you could argue that they struggled to cope in the air even worse than Gallas and Toure. They were undone more than once by long balls.

This may sound slightly unfair on Silvestre, who has had a different centreback playing alongside him in every match he’s played for the club so far. However, the early signs show that Arsenal fans shouldn’t hold hope in him being the answer for their defensive problems.

If Arsenal can find a solution to their defensive problems then they will definitely be in contention for the title, but whether the manager will finally get his cheque-book out in the transfer window looks unlikely as he is stubborn when it comes to adding to his squad.

Another problem is in the centre of midfield where not only Flamini but also Gilberto are both missed. I don’t believe that Denilson is the long-term option for this position alongside Fabregas.

Aaron Ramsey has looked impressive when he has come into the team but you get the sense that Wenger will take his time over giving him a long run. Abou Diaby is an option and Amaury Bischoff, a player that Wenger rates highly, is finally playing matches for the reserves after signing with a long-term injury.

Emmanuel Eboue has also played there and has done surprisingly well in games, but in comparison to the other title contenders, Arsenal look particularly weak in what was a strong position for them only twelve months ago.

The lack of goals from midfield is also a worry for Arsenal and is another area where their competitors have an edge. Although hitting a purple patch at the beginning of last season, Cesc Fabregas doesn’t look to have the ability to score goals on a regular basis in the way that Gerrard and Lampard do for Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, whereas Manchester United have the exceptional Cristiano Ronaldo who outscored every other player in Europe despite playing on the wing.

This used to be one of Arsenal’s main strengths when they last won the league title. Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljungberg would consistently hit double figures and Arsenal need another player who can do this from midfield to ease the pressure on the strikers. Nasri has scored a few goals this season, and hopefully Walcott, who has started to add goals to his game, will continue to do this.

Both players are enjoying an extended run in the first team and if they can get themselves on the score-sheet on a regular basis it can only be good for Arsenal, especially if their strikers have an off day.

We will know more about Arsenal this season after the next four games. With injuries and suspensions piling up, Arsenal fans will be watching on nervously ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Manchester United. This match is followed by another home game with Aston Villa, who have never lost at the Emirates, before away trips to Manchester City and then another crucial match at Chelsea.

This is a tough run of fixtures that will test the resolve of the Arsenal squad. There isn’t any room for error.