This, by far, has been the most disappointing 2 weeks of any season since 04/05.
Why?
Since that FA Cup win in 2005, we've been knocked out of tournaments in a staggered manner each season. This season, we've just blown it all at once. Who knows what psychological effect winning the League Cup would've had? A newfound 'Winning Mentality' that our players lack? Maybe.
I see a lot of fans whining about Wenger and saying that he should leave, but I don't think so. Yes, 5 years without silverware is bad enough and this may be the 6th successive season, but he's the right man for the job. Many times this season, his players have let him down. Whether it's a lack of winning mentality or that they're chokers, it needs to be set straight. What I do agree with is that we'll need some new players and incentives for some of our current ones. We don't really need defenders as Koscielny and Djourou have been exceptional on occasion and otherwise just plain good. Plus, we've got Vermaelen, anyone remember him?
What we need is to get rid of inefficient and misplaced passing (Deni?) and laziness. Wenger needs a team that collectively defend better than they do now. Nasri impressed me with his tracking back against Barcelona and we need more players who are willing to do that. We also need some good old steel! I wish we had a Vieira and Song could do that, if only he got a little bit more vicious. Nasri has the ability to annoy players and just magically appears when they commit a foul against us and he's also been one of the more confident players in the past two weeks, along with Wilshere. He's got something about him too, he's a spiky character who loves to get stuck in with the big players and I'm sure he'll get all big and scary with time.
But we need efficiency NOW and I want to see more of this-
That's Evra, by the way, so you can see that I want things to happen to him as well.
Anyway, for the current season, we need a few players to just step it up, 'cause the team confidence is pretty low at the moment. Cue a First-half-of-the-season Nasri? I hope so.
On the other hand, the players need to analyze each other and themselves and want to prove that they can step it up to win the first trophy in six years. SIX years. That would also be the first trophy brought home to the Emirates. Disappointing, I know.
We don't really need wholesale changes or a clear out next season, but MAN do we need to get rid of some deadweights! Let's look through some of the first team that I think should be under scrutiny. The ones that aren't mentioned should definitely stay, according to me. Obviously.
Manuel Almunia: Normally, I'd want him outta here in no time, but he's put in two good performances in 2 games. But a new keeper required, just in case. Anyway, Wojciech is looking pretty good.
Sebastien Squillaci: Go! Just GO! He hasn't single handedly lost us games like Almunia has, but Squillaci's lack of pace is a real worry, and really, if he was on the bench at Sevilla why bring him here for experience? A new center back is a must. Then we'll have Vermaelen, Djourou, Koscielny and a new boy, which sounds good to me. Ignasi Miquel played well against Leyton Orient, so we look to be all set in the defensive department.
Abou Diaby: I think he can be good at times because of his great physical strength, aerial presence and talent. But he just hasn't shown enough... in a long time? Ever. Not really one I'd want chucked out cause he has the ability, but a definite possibility.
Andrei Arshavin: You're wondering why I want him to vanish? I don't. But he's just so inconsistent that I want to yell. He's very lazy and doesn't track back at times. Even when he does, he isn't a committed defender but he's a player who's capable of crazy things. Remember these: His goal against Liverpool at Anfield last season? At Old Trafford last season? FOUR goals at Anfield 2 seasons ago? His whole game against Villa at Villa Park in November? They just show how special he can be and he's one of those players that need incentives.
Tomas Rosicky: A fan favorite and a personal favorite. But as i read on Arseblog, "UEFA and humility go together like Rosicky and scoring". Scoring isn't everything, but he just hasn't played the same after his weird knee injury. If he's replaced by an established midfielder, we'll get Arshavin fighting for his place and upping his game, as well as a good, new mid-fielder. That's killing 2 birds with one stone!
Denilson: Ah, another one that needs the boot. As Martin Tyler pointed out on Saturday, he "never plays a pass more than 15 yards away and plays sideways all the time". He's utilized as a holding midfielder when Song's out but guess what? Denilson can't defend! He can't pick out a good pass or control the game either and I really think he should be out as fast as possible, like Squillaci and a replacement should be a spiky defensive player with a Wilshere-like attitude.
Nicklas Bendtner: He's a really confident player and he's been scoring a bit this year and those are good things. While that may all be true, he's still below par for an Arsenal striker. If you compare him to others who aren't legends, like Eduardo or Chamakh in the first half of the season, you can see the gap. It's almost like an abyss. Plus he doesn't have it in him to score when it matters the most. We had a chance that would put us through against Barca, and what did Bendtner do? I realy don't know. If we buy a striker who can play alongside Chamakh (because he just can't play with Robin) we've got a system to fall back on when Robin's out.
Now I know that Wenger's probably not going to do these things, but I really hope he gets rid of some of these players. We'll just have to wait and watch.
If Arsene Wenger were to adopt the words of Gay Perry from 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang', he should probably this to a few of these players:
"Vanish. Go. Sleep badly. Any questions, hesitate to call."
