Defence falling apart – Arsenal

Monday mornings are usually harder after weekends like the one we just had, I’m usually one of the first in at work so I’m a full recipient of all the banter from colleagues walking into the office. I once made a decision to get to work a little closer to 8am on Mondays after terrible Arsenal games, at least by then everyone would have had their fill of banter, some bosses would have come in hence not much excessively loud laughter can take place.

Thankfully there is a game on Wednesday to help all of us recover from what is a shocking result at home against Hull last weekend. Work ensured I didn’t watch the game live so I had to rely on tweets to get a feel of what was going on. A long drive afterwards meant I had more than enough time on my hands to soak in all manner of thoughts about Arsenal and what we are doing wrongly. Or more properly put what Wenger is doing wrong as Sir Chips confirmed at the AGM that Wenger alone is the Alpha and Omega on all football related decision at the club.

Sir Chips says the board backs Arsene “100 per cent” on football. “It’s not up to me as chairman to decide on football, not the fans, it’s up to Arsene Wenger.” “If he has a plan we back it, if he doesn’t have a plan we keep quiet.”

I wonder if my boss at work has this amount of faith in me. How about yours?

So back to my long drive after the game and the more inquisitive of you would have asked why would a football post have a picture of the lovely musicians Abba at the start right? I have a funny knack of relating songs I listen to Arsenal, and during the drive I had one of my favourite Abba songs on repeat so it didn’t take long for that funny attitude to crop up while listening to this classic hit “Knowing Me, Knowing You”. I wondered if a time would come when I would say these words to Arsene Wenger .

Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
There is nothing we can do
Knowing me, knowing you (ah-haa)
We just have to face it, this time we’re through
(This time we’re through, this time we’re through
This time we’re through, we’re really through)
Breaking up is never easy, i know but i have to go
(I have to go this time
I have to go, this time i know)
Knowing me, knowing you
It’s the best i can do….

So you see I’m getting close to the point where I am asking myself if my love for Arsene Wenger is purely an emotional one, clinging desperately to a Legend I have built up so highly in my mind I am scared of having a change. I know many people have gone past this phase a long time ago but I still hold some part of me that really wants Wenger to succeed again at Arsenal, lift a few more trophies which would make his departure more fulfilling. Am I blinded by this emotional attachment and fail to completely see why the manager’s lack of decisiveness in this transfer window and many others before that is currently hurting the club?

I don’t think so far we have had a result this season that is a direct reflection of inactivity in the transfer window. First goal was on Flamini, yes he was fouled and the referee is a cunt for not giving it but I wonder if Nemanja Matic would have been muscled of that easily? Defensive midfield has cried for attention since Moses parted the Red Sea.

Proper central defenders and no way that second goal would have gone in. Per is coming in for a lot of stick since his return from the World Cup but I wonder how much of the fact that knowing his partner has been playing through injury and also playing with three different partners thus far might have affected his performance. It’s just eight games into the EPL and Per has played with Kos, Chambers and now Monreal, if there is a part of the pitch you do not randomly change its the center back pairing hence the reason Vermaelen hardly got a game last season.

Wenger failed to make that signing even after letting TV5 leave the club and sending Carl Jenkinson out on loan to West Ham. So we got Chambers and he is amazing but his signing reflects what I feel is one of Arsene Wenger’s problems, trying to make the signing that can perform more than one role.

Chambers is third choice center back and also second choice right back and who knows maybe fourth choice DM behind Abou Diaby. Would he have picked up 5 yellow cards already with just eight games played so far in the league if he was playing in his one position and not have to play so many games due to the first choice player dropping injured? He must be the first to have received this suspension this season and what can you expect from a 19year old learning his trade. At the AGM, Wenger said

“We have strengthened, brought in two defenders. “We have done remarkably well in transfer window. We tried to buy one more, a defender, but we didn’t find one. But we will try to rectify that in January”

Yes we brought in two defenders but we let three out the door, so while we might have got like for like quality in, we didn’t replace the numbers. Wenger says he couldn’t find one defender, I think we should be looking for two. One more center back and a right back. If Hector Bellerin is considered first team then he should be good enough to start a game at right back with Chambers on the bench, if Wenger doesn’t trust in his abilities enough to make that decision then he isn’t ready for first team yet and I am not saying Bellerin is a bad player.

The questions here are;

• Was Wenger looking for an out and out quality CB that can challenge Kos and Per for their positions?
• Was Wenger looking for a CB that is young and would be willing to watch Kos and Per play while humbly bidding his time?
• Or was Wenger looking for a player that can play both center back and defensive midfield?

I am more inclined to thinking it’s the third option and not finding anyone to fill his desire for multiple abilities he backed out from signing anyone at all. He says the club would try and rectify this situation in January, it’s my strong hope that the search for this defender is currently ongoing and we have someone that is ready to join us from January 1^st 2015.

It would be completely inexcusable for us to drag this signing yet again till the end of another transfer window. Our defence is falling apart and some of us that have some faith in Wenger are also falling short of words to put up as defence for him.

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