Cowards costing Gunners

West Brom 3-1 Arsenal

Another game and another defeat for Arsenal, this one more shambolic than the last as Arsene Wenger’s position becomes more and more untenable with each passing week. The Gunners are just an embarrassment at the moment as the years of mismanagement by the board finally come home to roost.

Against West Brom on Saturday, Arsenal just failed to turn up, producing a performance that can only be described as men against boys. West Brom’s players stood head and shoulders above the Gunners, physically imposing themselves on the game in a way Arsenal just could not match. The Baggies wanted it more, won every 50-50 battle and, in a real affront to Wenger’s long held philosophies, dominated the game without the ball. Possession stats of 77% to 23% in Arsenal’s favour at the end of the game meant very little. The only statistic that counts at the final whistle is the score and that was very much in West Brom’s favour.

To see this Arsenal side in such a state is extremely difficult to take given the joy that Wenger’s reign has provided to every Gooner, especially in the early days. But something now has to change and fast. The performance of the players on Saturday was one which suggested they are no longer prepared to fight for the manager and are happy to hide behind him. These are the types of characters that Wenger has recruited in abundance and he is now paying the price. Rather than stand up and be counted for their actions, the players are wilting at the first sign of any pressure. Wenger has long held the belief that top players should be given the freedom to express themselves, but these players are not good enough to do so and repay the faith shown in them by their beleaguered manager.

Against West Brom Arsenal did not manage to mount any sustained pressure on the home side’s goal, despite their dominance of the ball. West Brom were content to sit back and let them have possession as the Gunners never threatened to hurt them with it. It was as though they had never faced such tactics before and didn’t have a clue how to break down the opposition. Against a team who sits deep with numbers behind the ball, the key is width and speed of movement, but Arsenal kept passing the ball at a painfully slow pace and rarely attempted to create overloads on the wings. The full backs and wingers are key in such situations to get in behind the opposition’s defence. Quick one and two touch passing coupled with the full backs surging down the line is exactly what is needed to move the opposition out of their defensive positions, but this was not forth coming. The Gunners just looked as though they had no idea what to do and kept playing it safe rather than taking a chance, embarking on a forward run to commit a number of West Brom players and create space for their teammates. Maybe the fan protests have got to them and are affecting their confidence given the toxic atmosphere around the club but these are multimillion pound footballers earning ridiculous sums. A few banners in the crowd aimed at the manager should not be an excuse for such an abject performance.

Arsenal got what they deserved. Their defending for all three goals was laughable at best and highlighted once again all that is wrong at the club. The first and third goals were a carbon copy as Craig Dawson was allowed a free run into the six yard box to head the ball home on both occasions. The lack of leadership has always been a problem at Arsenal since the break-up of the Invincibles side and this was clear to see once again. Having conceded the first following such shambolic defending, to concede another in exactly the same manner, having made no adjustments whatsoever, is simply disgraceful. In fact Dawson’s second goal was even worse than the first, from an Arsenal perspective as several players abandoned their defensive duties leaving three West Brom players completely unmarked to see who could get their head onto the ball first. This is not park football on a Sunday morning, this is supposed to be the Premier League and it is just not good enough.

West Brom’s second goal was not much better as Hal Robson-Kanu poked the ball into an empty net following Bellerin’s failure to track his runner into the box and David Ospina’s lack of courage to rush off his line, claim the ball and take everything with him. The Colombian’s half-hearted attempt to do so saw the ball fall to Robson-Kanu for a simple tap in.

This performance from Arsenal was a resignation letter for the manager if ever there was one. Wenger declared in the post-match press conference that he had finally made his mind up regarding his future but that he had yet to inform anyone at the club. This position is as laughable as his team’s defending. The board should be pressuring him to confirm his decision so that they can begin planning for next season, a season which looks more and more unlikely to include Champions League football. But the board have allowed themselves to sleepwalk into a position where Wenger calls all the shots. They are complicit in the failings of this great club and should also be held accountable. Reports in the Sunday papers and since have claimed that Wenger will in fact sign a new deal, yet how he can possibly justify doing so after such an abysmal season is a mystery. Some claim he will sign only a one year deal allowing the club the opportunity to plan for his succession and recruit the key personnel required to take over the many facets of the job that Wenger does on his own. Yet why were these plans not in place already? The board knew that the manager could not possibly go on for ever and sooner rather than later they would be seeking his replacement and therefore succession plans should have been a priority. Wenger performs so many jobs at this club and for years the players and board have been happy to hide behind him while he faces the ever growing barrage of criticism from the media and abuse from the fans. However the failures of this club are not just down to one man, the board and the players are just as accountable. It is high time these cowards emerged from Wenger’s shadow and stood up to be counted like men not mice. If they continue to refuse to do so things will only go from bad worse.