Arsenal FC: 5 Things Arsene Wenger Must Do To Save the Season

Arsenal find themselves in an extremely unfamiliar, yet precarious, position of not knowing whether they’re coming or going. Based on the bad decisions made by the club’s board over the summer and the mismanagement by Arsene Wenger, the club may be looking down the barrel at one of their most disastrous seasons to date.

It’s a position born out of a manager so set in his ways that he is apparently turning a blind eye to the deficiencies in the squad. He continues to persist with the same square pegs in round holes in the hope that one day they’ll fall into place, but at the detriment of the club.

However, if Arsene Wenger were to cast aside the eagerness to hold on to his principles, he and the club could find themselves out of hot water and headed toward another season in the Champions League.

Change the Formation

It’s obvious that the 4-3-3 formation does not work with the personnel available to Arsene Wenger at this time. It is a formation that was adopted to suit the playing style of Cesc Fabregas when they had him at the club, allowing the player to have more of a free role in the centre of midfield and dictate the game with the safety of two other midfielders playing just behind him.

Without a player of Fabregas’ ability, or even Samir Nasri for that matter, the formation is sure to be a failure. Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, while apparently the heirs to Fabregas’ throne, are not of that calibre—at least not yet.

We’re looking at an emphasis of playing style coming from a significantly weakened area of the pitch and the results are there for all to see. Arsene Wenger needs to adapt to the changes made to his squad and utilise players who are more than capable of being effective if played in the correct system.

With a substitutes bench that consisted of Theo Walcott and Marouane Chamakh at the weekend, as well as new arrival Ju Young Park, Wenger has a wealth of options that could partner lone-striker Robin van Persie.

Chamakh has obviously not blossomed into the player Wenger thought he’d be playing as the striker in a three-man attack, and Theo Walcott is persistently wasteful on the flanks.

Moreover, the injuries that continue to plague Arsenal’s seasons mean resting players over the course of a 60-plus-game campaign becomes vital. Wenger has the options of Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky to rotate with the likes of Wilshere and Ramsey in a two-man centre-midfield. Not to mention the holding options he has in Alex Song and Emmanuel Frimpong.

If Arsenal are to save their season, then a change of formation and tactics is vital. There is little use in Wenger insisting a change to a 4-4-2 would leave his midfield exposed, as that would imply they are not good enough to compete.

He must either learn to use the resources he has available to their maximum potential or bring in players who are capable of playing a system he so stubbornly insists on sticking with.

Bring in a Defensive Coach

It doesn’t really come as a surprise that Arsenal have the worst defensive record in the Premier League so far this season. It's common knowledge that the club train without a recognised defensive coach and Arsene Wenger seems intent on keeping it that way.

The club went through an incredibly successful Champions League campaign in 2005-06, with a makeshift back four that were guided by former defender Martin Keown. It must be a shock that Wenger would so happily ignore the success Keown brought to his defence in that season and instead opt to walk blindly into a ruthless league.

It could have been argued over the summer that bringing in different personnel for the defence would not entirely sort out the problems of the past number of seasons; to an extent, that has been proven. A central defender, no matter his experience or ability in that position, is no use to a team who have not been drilled in the art of defending.

Per Mertesacker or even Gary Cahill, two established internationals, could not come into this side and act as player and coach. There are far too many players at the club who have been there too long and yet have not been trained adequately in their position.

It seems as though Wenger is almost perversely going into every season waiting for these mistakes to happen—the majority of which are laughable.

The Achilles heel of this club has continued to be the lack of a solid and reliable defence. And until the problem is rectified at the root—the day-to-day training—this club will continue to fall to its knees at vital moments.

Be Ruthless in the Transfer Market

A big problem Arsenal had going into this season was the fact that they did not replace their out-going players with individuals of equal or better quality.

The club missed out on a number of top targets—Juan Mata, Ricardo Alvarez, Santi Cazorla and Eden Hazard—yet, while it is almost impossible to replace a player of Cesc Fabregas’ quality, Arsene Wenger would have done well to bring in one or two of his missed targets to revitalise the squad.

It seems as though without the direction of David Dein, the club do not get their transfer business done efficiently. Instead, they dither on a matter of a few million pounds and eventually miss out altogether.

The price they ultimately payed was to paper over the cracks at the last minute with a number of players who may or may not be good—such is the uncertainty surrounding the acquisitions of a number of the signings.

With players like Juan Mata, and maybe even a player in the mould of Sergio Aguero, the club could lay down a real signal of intent and maybe strike fear in the opponents once more.

Instead, the last-minute panic buys are struggling to gel together and are, of course, costing the club points in the league.

Come January, if the club remain in this field of uncertainty, it is absolutely imperative that Arsene Wenger spend the money available to him.

The kind of positive impact Andrey Arshavin made when he arrived at the club in January 2009 was evident by the way he almost single-handedly dragged them into the Champions League places.

This year, it could be a case of missing out on European competition altogether.

Abandon His Quiet Demeanor and Tell the Players Exactly What He Thinks of Them

The success of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United has not been accomplished by the manager telling his players they did well and showed “spirit and determination” despite losing 8-2 to a fierce rival, it comes on the back of fear and respect for the manager and club for which they play.

For far too long Arsene Wenger has diverted criticism away from his players, instead insisting they are well prepared for the challenges of the season and that they will prove people wrong by coming good. For far too long Wenger’s players have let him down and in the process made him look foolish.

I’m quite sure that not one of the Arsenal players on the pitch at Old Trafford, following their 8-2 defeat to United, went into the dressing room with fear inside them. It almost seemed like they had given up after only a number of goals and did not seem too deterred by the number of goals they continued to ship.

It’s an attitude that certainly comes from the father-like figure Wenger impresses on his players instead of being the ruthless manager who will bench non-performers for the next 10 games.

The problem is that these Arsenal players know they can play horribly and will continue to get picked. It may be why we’ve seen such a decline in performance from players like Andrey Arshavin and why the team continue to pick up ridiculous and irresponsible red cards.

There is far too much of a relaxed attitude at the club. A sense that coming second best, or in most cases fourth best, is OK and will go unpunished.

Wenger needs to force out this complacency and warn players that if they don’t improve, his faith in them and rewards of lucrative contracts will cease.

Prioritise Competitions

Arsene Wenger has always maintained that his squad go out to challenge on all four fronts during the season. Whether or not we’ve believed him is debatable, but he definitely seemed to show more willingness towards the Carling Cup last season than in previous years.

This year, however, Wenger does not have the quality to challenge on every front. He must continue with his tradition of blooding in youngsters in the cup competitions and use all his senior players to secure European qualification for next season.

Again, the matter of injuries will continue to crop up; knowing Arsenal’s luck, they’ll come during meaningless international friendlies.

But for the first time in a long time, I’m sure Arsenal fans will happily sacrifice a trophy if it meant the team could be consistent and finish respectfully in the league.