2. Wenger Has Encouraged And Tolerated A Culture of Mediocrity on the Pitch
Arsenal players seem a bit too comfortable with failure. As an outsider it is difficult to judge how the players feel about the team, but we can see how team selection works. I start with the proposition that given the way this Arsenal team has played there is no player that is beyond reproach. However when players disappear or play poorly what happens? Arsene Wenger gives a post game interview about how the passing wasnt quick enough and how the team lacks urgency and sharpness and then the same group of players play again next week. I am a huge Lukas Podolski fan. And I have been since he broke onto the scene as a teenager in the World Cup. That being said, for Arsenal Podolski has disappeared for long stretches of time in games and has yet to last more than 70 minutes in any competition. Yet he remains the undisputed first choice on the selection sheet. Cazorlas form has dipped since the beginning of the season and yet his position is also unassailable. Thomas Vermaelen has remained a virtual lock on first team selection regardless of the form of Koscielny and Mertesacker behind him. Take the opposite scenario now. Arshavin has performed admirably in the League Cup games. Cant get a run in the side. Chamakh showed a flash of life against Reading, back to the bench. Meade and Eisfeld have both performed well and cant crack the first team. Am I saying that Arshavin is better than Cazorla. No. Play Chamakh over Podolski? Certainly not regularly. But what I am saying is that players who seize the opportunities given to them should be rewarded with more first team runs, and players who disappear in games should be given the proper motivation to do better. There is no intra-team competition at Arsenal. No drive to play better from the starting XI and no incentive to play well in cup games. Im not saying talent isnt important, but in picking a team form, resiliency and toughness are important considerations and I dont see any of that on the field. Instead I see a culture of mediocrity, a lack of urgency and intensity and no fight at all.