There's a lot of Arsenal fans out there calling for Wenger's head and I can hardly argue with them. Arsenal has been in a state of decline for some time now and defeats against supposedly 'lesser' opposition have become all-too common.
It has seemingly come to the point where Wenger can no longer hide now. His supposed obsession with imitating Barcelona's style of play has hindered the team's progress. His persistence with zonal marking on set-pieces has, more often than not, been detrimental to the team.
There's a thin line between persistence and stubbornness and Wenger has fallen on the wrong side. A manager's ability to change according to circumstance is surely as important as a staunch belief in his own tactics. I believe AVB's ability to adapt accordingly was highlighted earlier this season.
However, if Wenger were to be replaced, it is difficult to think of any candidates who might do a better job. Michael Laudrup has done well at Swansea this season but it is foolish to hand such a high-profile job to a coach based on one season of over-achievement.
And even if there were suitable candidates, would these coaches be willing to take up the job?
Maybe Arsenal fans can provide some answers to these questions?
Ming Kiat Tan
Here's One Answer...
Like all Gooners, I will be for ever grateful for what Arsene has achieved, but reluctantly now feel that at the end of the season it is time for him to step aside before he becomes too embittered by his own failures and a mere parody of himself. Obviously there are key differences, but I can see shades of Brian Clough's last few seasons at Forest - an absolute legend who had taken his club to unimaginable heights, but in the end they were relegated.
Thanks, Arsene. We'll name a stand after you and there is plenty of room for a statue, but often the secret of success is knowing when to quit. Sadly, now is that time.
Au revoir Arsene. Hello David Moyes.
Philip Lewis, Gooner since 1970
The Myth Of 'Walking It In'
While I'm pleased to see that growing numbers of Arsenal fans are coming to the acceptance that Wenger has to go (how has it taken so long?), Billy Cicchino's mail contained a standard myth about the reason for Arsenal's failure: that they spend all their time trying to create the perfect goal rather than taking shots whenever they can, preferably more from outside the area.
If Arsenal were supposedly so shot-shy against Blackburn, how did they manage to have 28 goal attempts during the game according to the official stats? Looking more generally, in the Premier League this season, 42% of Arsenal's shots have been from outside the area, which is about average. It's certainly much higher than Man City (36%) and Man Utd (35%), and I don't think anyone's telling them to shoot more from outside the box. Arsenal's problem on Saturday wasn't that they didn't shoot enough, but that they didn't shoot well enough: only 7 of their 28 attempts were on target, and many of those (such as Walcott's header) were easily saveable.
I definitely agree that Wenger should go, but at least criticise him for things he genuinely gets wrong.
John Daniels
Football Full Of 'If Only's
'Luca James Sparks' mail in yesterday's mailbox was absolutely spot on. Football is a game of unbelievably small margins where a bit of luck at the right time will completely change public perceptions. I was chatting about this a while ago with a few friends, here are just a few moments that sprung to mind:
1. Bergkamp's missed penalty in 99. Had he scored his 90th-minute penalty then Arsenal would have been in the FA Cup Final. No Giggs run, no treble for Utd.
2. V. Nistelrooy's missed penalty. If he scores, no Arsenal Invincibles.
3. Tim Howard being a tit. Had he not decided to palm a 40-yard free-kick straight to a Porto player then Utd would have gone through. No Porto Champions League win, no super Mourinho. Would Chelsea have employed him? Maybe, I would guess probably not. Where would he be now? I'd put my life savings that it would not be Real Madrid.
4. Gerrard's 40-yard screamer against Olympiakos (I think). Liverpool were all but out of the Champions League group stages. We all know what happened next. Without that goal Benitez's Liverpool record would have looked pretty darn shit.
Obviously there are infinite examples of these but it is interesting to sometimes reflect on what might have been. Alex Ferguson is seen as some kind of football demi-God but look at his two Champions League wins, both of them involving huge slices of luck. Outplayed by Munich and then John Terry slipped over when taking a match-winning penalty! How differently would history look upon him if he had never managed a Champions League win in 26 years with the financial resources at his disposal. As an Arsenal fan it pains me to see people criticise Wenger so viciously. 'Luca james Sparks' is spot on, a bobble here, a flukey shot there and everyone can think you are a God or a completely clueless b**tard. If Eduardo doesn't break his leg do Arsenal win the league that year? if Eto'o is correctly called offside in 2006 when he scores his goal do Arsenal cling on and win the Champions League? It is all ifs and buts but consistency is the only real way of judging the quality of a player or a manager. Wenger is a genius, I am backing the ball to bounce the right way on Tuesday and the mailbox will be full of 'Wenger knows' mails. They will be right.
Tom Goldenballs
Luiz's Lack of Proper Punishment
I hope this little incident isn't overlooked, but we have long since seen a relentless clamouring to introduce goal-line technology in to football. A system mentioned involves the introduction of high-resolution cameras positioned all around the stadium, Hawkeye styled, so we can detect whether the ball has crossed the line. We have the technology, we currently choose not to use it.
However, due to a human instinctive decision to issue a yellow card to David Luiz for his challenge on Jake Reeves by the referee, no subsequent action can be taken, and so we get to watch replay after replay, from every angle, of an utterly premeditated and cynical challenge and can do nothing. Not. One. Thing.
Reminds me of this quote. 'He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk; one cannot fly into flying'. Friedrich Nietzsche.
Chris, ITFC (I think it's Nietzsche, or it could be Prince Akeem of Zamunda) Liverpool
...David Luiz/Sideshow Bob proved yesterday just the kind of footballer he is. Unquestionable ability especially with a dead-ball situation, great reader of the game and excellent awareness of the movement of other players around him.
But for me yesterday he ruined what had been a great weekend of FA Cup football. Playing against minnows Brentford, Chelsea were cruising to an easy victory - when Luiz floored Jack Reeves with a shoulder charge that looked like something more suited to UFC. It was lucky really that Jack Reeves wasn't knocked out or suffered a broken jaw.
At the time the clearly sighted referee awarded a yellow card I guess he thought it was an accident, surely with this type of violent challenge this is the time to take retrospective action and change the card to a red and a three-game ban. I understand that Luiz apologised after the game - how about not make the challenge in the first place, he looked like the playground bully.
I worry that as this game was an FA Cup game against a smaller club, this incident will be forgotten, I wonder if this had happened against say Jack Wilshere of Arsenal in the Premier League what the media reaction would have been? I bet the back pages would be covered in the story today, rather than the Wenger story.
I am sure that sooner or later the Karma Police will be around, and I can only imagine the amount of rolling around/ screaming that will follow the first bad challenge on David Luiz.
Bart Squires
The Big Conclusion
So I was watching the ITV highlights last night and something struck me. It's not really related to what happened on the pitch, and I might be a bit late to the party with it, but...
