Five EASY ways for Wenger to improve Arsenal’s chances

5 things Wenger must change by Twig It’s not only statements like “He is like a new signing” that irks Arsenal fans so much about Arsene Wenger. In general, Arsenal fans really, really like their manager and would not change him with anyone else. After all, it was he who gave Arsenal it’s distinctive attractive style of possession football. He also gave Arsenal fans the Invincibles which no other manager has ever been able to achieve. Gunners also truly enjoy his peculiar take on the English Language and those humorous interviews on Saturday evenings… However, in spite of all that, Gunners would like to see the manager make some changes. The signing of Ozil was all well and good, but lets not forget the frustrations that have had us pulling our hair out the past few seasons. They may well erupt again and become a stumbling block in our aim to end our trophy doubt. We don’t want that to happen any more. 1. Late, Late Substitutions For example, imagine the game stands at 0-0 at Craven Cottage. It’s a must win game for Arsenal which will see them leap up the table. Especially as Chelsea and Man Utd just drew their respective games in the early afternoon kick-off. Arsenal can take advantage. Meanwhile the game against the Cottagers is going badly – however Wenger does NOTHING! Cazorla is clearly having an off day, yet Wenger does nothing. However, as soon as it’s 75 minutes Wenger springs to action, just like he did the previous week, and makes the long awaited substitution. However it was too little too late. 2. Not varying formations and tactics Picture the scene. Last week on Wednesday, Arsenal got an admirable 2-2 draw away at the San Siro in the UCL, using a 4-4-2 formation, with Giroud and Walcott starring. Arsenal is playing Stoke City in a minute’s time, and Arsenal fans are befuddled to see absolute no change of formation or tactics from the manager. Now, AC Milan and Stoke City have a completely different philosophy on how the game should be played. The fans think Wenger should have come with a specific plan on how to tackle Stoke City’s peculiar approach to the game. But the manager is OK with that and believes if “we just play our game” we should triumph, whatever the opposition. 3. Lack of Squad Rotation Oxlade-Chamberlain has been impressing very well for Arsenal on the Left Wing. He’s made 3 assists so far in the season plus 2 well taken goals. However full German international, Podolski, is itching to get some game time. He’s had only 10 minutes of football in the past month and the manager hasn’t said anything about him being injured. He is clearly unhappy. The fans can see Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performances begin to drop. However, Wenger does nothing. He wouldn’t change the line up, until one of the preferred eleven goes injured. We don’t want to see that again. 4. Not punishing Under-performers. Last season Wenger was widely commended for axing Szczesny and Vermaelen from the starting line- up after a string of poor performances. Both players had before their axing been sure starters in Wenger’s team. The move will see Szczesny improve his performance for the run-in and allow the defensive pairing of Mertesacker and Koscielny to blossom and give us several clean sheets. This hasn’t always been Wenger’s way however. Arsenal fans would like to see under-performing players benched from time to time, yeah, even if they cost £40M. 5. Not acknowledging mistakes I do not believe that the average Arsenal Fan is dumb simply because he doesn’t have a coaching badge. I believe, even though Wenger knows better about football tactics than 99% of us, he is not always right. And he does make mistakes like every other manager. If managers don’t make mistakes then they would never be sacked. Right? This doesn’t apply to Wenger alone but to Mourinho, Guardiola, SAF and anyone else. So when Wenger says, “I’ve been 30 years in this job and I don’t have to explain my every decision”, Gunners become very upset. Not once, not twice, Gunners have made the right call about a particular issue on the pitch, but Wenger would only take action about 2 months too late after the observation was made. We need a change. Fans are fickle and forget all very easily. Some fans have gone into a lull due to Ozil’s signing, and see everything through rose-tinted glasses now. Such fans usually suffer a massive reaction when things begin to go wrong. And the pains of previous seasons surface. It’s not only the signing of star players or lack of, that has been our bane the past few seasons. Former players, Ray Parlour, Tony Adams and Ian Wright have at various points criticized the manager – they can’t all be wrong. Criticisms shouldn’t always be viewed negatively, and they can spur (no pun intended) one to greater performance. Wenger, even at 60-ish, and 30 years on the job can still improve and build on the great legacy that he undoubtedly has. Twig