Even a cup victory may fall short of hiding the growing concern over the future of Arsenal and of Arsene Wenger at the club. The recent results against Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Chelsea have not helped the cause either and have highlighted that unless a resurrection is undertaken, Arsenal risk losing relevance as a top European club.
Below are the five things that Arsenal must change to go shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.
#1 A change at the helm
The sacking of Claudio Ranieri at Leicester City or Jose Mourinho at Chelsea points to the fact that the management's actions show their true ambitions. Where even a successful title campaign does not warrant a subsequent term, Wenger’s 12-year drought seems even more gaping.
The league’s top managers are much more adept and flexible to a result-oriented style – which is seemingly lacking in the current management style at Arsenal. Wenger has admitted that his team has often been playing with the handbrake on, a result probably of a manager understanding the league a little too well for his liking and resisting innovation.
The ’Wenger Out’ faction of the Gunners faithful are increasingly concerned and vocal about the lack of ambition of the board, the coach as well as the players. The situation demands a definitive step be taken to reassure the club’s fans that it is committed to continue their bid to be a European heavyweight.
#2 Wage structure
Quality comes at a price. With the contracts of the two central pillars, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, both ending in 2018, it is imperative that all possible efforts are made to retain their services. Arsenal have a wage bill of around £600,000 a week for its top five players whilst the same for Chelsea and Manchester City is £811,000 and £930,000 respectively.
With the financial burden of the stadium well and truly behind them, Arsenal need to break the bank to keep their players happy and also make it an attractive destination for world-class talent. A finish outside the Champions League spot may further put them in a tight spot to land long-term deals and high-profile new signings.
#3 Strengthen the spine of the team
While Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka were two signings to spruce up the backbone of the team, the state of affairs suggests there may be more work required. Lack of a quality cover at centre back for Koscielny was evident in the defeat at Munich. For most of the season, the central midfield has lacked the teeth going forward and steel going back with Cazorla’s absence and Coquelin’s sub-par performances.
This results in additional creative burden on the likes of Sanchez and Ozil to drop deeper to play their way out and conjure up opportunities. With Xhaka still adapting to the Premier League, the central midfield needs experience and proven reinforcements.
At the top of the pitch, there has been much debate on Arsenal’s best striking option which stems essentially from the dearth of a top quality striker. Giroud offers presence in the box at the cost of speed and guile, while Sanchez offers the opposite.
When the competition around them have at least one world-class striker in the form of Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Diego Costa and Harry Kane, a makeshift arrangement is not sustainable in the long run.
#4 Big game mentality
Arsenal fans understand that there will be good days and bad ones, like most football fans. But what has irked them most is how the team have not shown up in the big games. If the head-to-head table for the current top six in the league is to be considered, Arsenal find themselves at rock bottom.
The solitary victory at home against Chelsea is the only encounter from the season where the team gave a fair account of themselves. Victories against the clubs in and around the league table have been few and far between. And that is not the case for just this season.
Whether the reason is low confidence, inconsistent performances or inadequate leadership in the team, it is a glaring issue that needs to be fixed before Arsenal can go toe to toe with the big boys.
#5 Game management
The knifelike precision in gameplay has certainly won Arsenal a lot of plaudits over the years, however, the nature of the competition has evolved and on many occasions this season, the Gunners’ much-talked about style of play has been detrimental to them. More often than not, Arsenal have been guilty of slow starts to the game and ended up at the receiving end of irreparable damage too early in the game.
There will always be games that the team will end up losing or being outplayed, however, the concern is the demeanour and the drive to win. Arsenal have been guilty of falling like a pack of cards far too many times this season which is not a sign of a well-drilled system. Each game needs to be dealt differently.
Sometimes an approach that is less expansive or one that is compact and conservative than usual could prove to make a difference for the Gunners. Arsenal, this season, have shown glimpses of it when they were lucky enough to grind out a victory from unlikely situations, but it needs to be woven into the fabric of the club.
