Time for Wenger to Go (Everton 3 Arsenal 0)

The time has finally come for Arsenal to say goodbye to Arsene Wenger, hopefully with the dignity of an FA Cup and a hearty thank you to soften the blow of eight years of futility. Sure Wenger has kept the team in the top four for sixteen years, won 7 trophies and overseen the lean years following the move to the Emirates. But how much longer do we have to live on these laurels from the increasingly distant past? How long can we survive his excuses and lies? How many more years can the team continue performing for only a half or two thirds of a season? Arsenal fans have had enough and it’s time to look for a new start, maybe with the very manager who so thoroughly outcoached him today.

Roberto Martinez came into the game today at Goodison Park with a bold plan. Cede possession to Arsenal, but play three up front and counter quickly through the wings. And it paid off in spectacular fashion, with a 3-0 win in a game that could propel Everton to the top four and end Wenger’s only remaining record of note (the sixteen straight years in the Champions League for those with bad short-term memory). The Gunners, on the other hand, played too open a game, were too mistake prone and predictable and looked shambolic for large stretches of the first half. And so it was little surprise when the Toffees took the lead in the 14^th minute, on a brilliant pass forward from Baines that left Lukaku one-on-one with Monreal. The Belgian had his shot well saved by Szczesny, but an unmarked Naismath followed the rebound and cooly slotted it in the near post. The second came in the 34^th when Arteta gave the ball up in midfield, leading to a counter that found Lukaku on the edge of the box. He slalomed past four stationary Gunner defenders, including the awful Vermaelen and poor Monreal, before pounding it into the far corner.

Suddenly it was 2-0 and Arsenal looked out of it already. Podolski almost opened the account for the away team five minutes later with a lovely taken rebound shot, well saved by Howard, but that was all the Gunners could muster before halftime. At the end of the half, Arsenal had 61 percent of the possession but trailed in shot 7-2 and goals 2-0. The second half started much as the first had ended, with Arsenal bossing possession but with little creativity or forward momentum. In the 60^th minute, Everton put the game away with a third as Sagna lost the ball to Mirallas who launched it forward to Nasimath. Szczesny saved well again, but a charging Arteta pushed it into his own net as Mirallas rushed behind him.

It was a pathetic effort against the top seven again and finalized yet another season of futility in big games that even puts doubts on what should have been a relatively easy two-game path to the FA cup. Just to sum it all up in number form: Arsenal are winless in their last four, have won only 3 of their last 11, have won only three games against the top seven all season (with two early on and a third against Spurs on the road last month), have lost four of these games away in embarrassing fashion (6-3 to City, 5-1 to Liverpool, 6-0 to Chelsea and now 3-0 to Everton), drawn three at home (two 0-0 draws against Chelsea and United and the 1-1 against City last weekend) and have moved from leading the league for 151 days to struggling to remain in fourth. And that final place is now beyond their control, as they have a one point lead over Everton (who have won six straight) with one less game to play.

Looking at the game, there are a number of critiques that essentially summarize why Wenger must go:

Injuries: With the continued absence of Walcott, Ozil, Wilshere, Koscielny, et al, Arsenal lacked any inventiveness until Ramsey and Ox came in in the 60^th minute.

Selection: Why Arteta and Flamini continue to play side by side is beyond me, as they have a rather terrible record of accruing points this year. One thinks that we would have been better served with Ox over Arteta (who had a terrible game) followed by Ramsey subbing in late. Or what of Gnarby, who hasn’t played in months? It is not completely Wenger’s fault that the team now lacks pace, but failing to include any of the available pace is reckless endangerment.  

Transfer Record: The two biggest problems today, however, were the continued decline in quality of Giroud and the awful positioning by Vermaelen, who forgot how to play the position the moment he received the captain’s band almost two full seasons ago. The failure to sign a second striker and defensive cover are old stories, but I think they both are key to the late collapse that continues to hound the Frenchman. And one can also ask whether more DM cover was necessary, as Arteta’s level appears to decline. Sure, we did sign some Swedish cat, but he has been injured ever since!

Just to highlight Giroud’s low lights: 21^st minute: nice cross from Sagna untouched by an onrushing Giroud, 27^: cross blocked, 29: heads out of bounds (4^th lost ball already), 32: misses good chance in front of goal on corner, 41: loses ball in box, 42: gives ball up in own half, 45: gives ball up on edge of box, 47: Howard beats him to ball in front of goal, 50: Pod on break, but no Giroud in sight, 53: Chance to score, but misses ball, 58: loses ball again, 64: tries to cut in from corner of box and loses ball

Tactical Stubbornness: Wenger has been playing open games on the road all year, and this has cost us against City, Liverpool, Chelsea and now Everton, with mistakes and counters having us out of games in the first 10 minutes, if not first half, since December. It’s hard to understand what happened to the tough defensive team that dominated the EPL throughout 2013, but one thing is a lack of discipline in positioning and a dramatic increase in the sort of errors that have plagued the Gunners for years. Yet Wenger refuses to change, even as his tactics continue to fail, and it’s really time to find someone with the necessary flexibility that we see in a Martinez or Rodgers.

Record of Failure: It is well known that Wenger has failed to win a trophy in eight long seasons, and I highlighted his many failures in a previous post. But it is his record in big games since the 2006 Champion’s League final that must be studied with a microscope. Not only is it too many failures on the biggest stage, but the nature of those failures, from dropping a four goal lead against Newcastle that started a decline a few years back, to the Laurel and Hardy goal that cost them a Carling Cup to the pathetic record the past two months in games against quality opponents. Wenger just can’t seem to motivate or prepare his team for the long campaign each season demands – and it’s time to give someone else a chance to change that.

Many Wenger supporters will point to available funds, to bad luck, to injuries or his record the first eight years in charge. But enough of that already – sports is a game that demands winning and Arsenal have the talent to win substantially more often than they do. Change is needed, and it is needed now (at the end of the season, of course)!