In a refreshing change from the norm, Arsenal showed their mental strength and character against Bournemouth on Tuesday night, clawing themselves back from the cliff-edge of despair just as they appeared lost in a trance induced by staring straight into pit of title-bid-ending oblivion.
Indeed, it’s hard to criticise any team who come back from 3-0 down on the road in the Premier League, especially when the turnaround started with just twenty minutes left on the clock despite little suggestion of one prior.
Many have queried Arsenal’s psychological muscle during the latter portion of Arsene Wenger’s reign – most recently when they threw away two 1-0 leads in the space of a single week to leave the Etihad Stadium and Goodison Park empty-handed – but the Gunners went a long way to silencing those accusations on Tuesday night against a decent Bournemouth side.
Yet, questions must be asked of how Arsenal found themselves 3-0 down against a team that, although talented, is essentially Arsenal-lite, based upon similar ideals of free-flowing, attacking football yet lesser endowed in terms of ability, finance and resources.
Inevitably, those questions fall on the doorstep of the man who prepared them for the clash at the Vitality Stadium – Arsene Wenger. It’s easy to criticise a manager amidst such a long reign because every negative aspect of the club, whether big or small, significant or not, traces back to them somewhere down the line.
Nonetheless, if there’s one accusation that can’t be swatted away as simple anti-Wenger mongering, it’s how predictable Arsenal are and how easy it’s become to plot against them. Nothing highlights that more than the influx of superstar managers that have arrived in the Premier League over the past 18 months – and the ease with which Bournemouth took their 3-0 lead on Tuesday.
Indeed, from their twenty Premier League fixtures so far this season, Arsenal have used just one formation, 4-2-3-1. It suits the squad and the players at Wenger’s disposal but barring the personnel involved, there really isn’t a lot of guess work for opposition managers. They know Arsenal’s shape, they know they’ll look to get the ball to Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez as often as possible, they know they’ll try to keep possession and they know they’ll leave themselves too exposed on the counter-attack.
Of course, every side has their own traits, ever manager has their own philosophy. But compare that to what some of Arsenal’s counterparts are doing; Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have all experimented with back threes this season, Liverpool’s formation is so fluid it’s hard to tell where one department ends and another begins and even Jose Mourinho, who drew criticism for his reluctance to mix it up during his time as Chelsea boss, has switched between 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 and 4-3-2-1 at Manchester United in search of the perfect formula.
Wenger’s proving himself incapable of surprising the opposition in quite the same way; rather than tactical masterstrokes, he’s relied on the sheer quality and form of his players this season to get Arsenal over the line.
Some might argue there’s nothing wrong with that; Antonio Conte’s rarely changed from his 3-4-3 set-up amidst Chelsea’s incredible winning run, Mourinho craved consistency as the Blues won the title in 2014/15 and Leicester City’s miraculous triumph last season was based around the familiarity of their starting XI.
But the sheer stubbornness in which Wenger sticks with 4-2-3-1 has taken away any element of surprise. Whilst his counter-parts at least leave the door of shock tactical calls ajar, Le Prof doesn’t appear prepared to even consider the notion.
And it’s not just in the context of this season. Wenger has many strengths as a manager, but the tactical aspects of his game have always left something to be desired. Arsenal’s misgivings in the Champions League, the competition in which double-leggers often become 180-minute chess marathons between the two men in the dugouts, are testament to that, but domestically too, Wenger’s rarely deviated from what we’re all so familiar with – a flat back four, a five-man midfield and a lone striker.
I can’t remember the last time the Gunners attempted a back three (I’m not sure it’s ever happened under Wenger) and 4-2-3-1 has been their formation for the last four or five seasons, perhaps even longer.
Once again, there’s nothing wrong with sticking by what you know, especially when, for the most part, it delivers desirable results. But an Arsenal campaign always contains a few more banana-skin performances than it should and there’s a simple reason for that; if you do the exact same thing time and again with absolutely no allowing for who you’re playing against, probability suggests it won’t go to plan on a certain number of occasions regardless of the quality of the opposition.
In the context of this season’s title race, that could well prove to be the difference between Arsenal and their divisional rivals. Whilst Pep Guardiola, Pochettino, Conte and Mourinho will always leave you guessing before kick-off, attempting to prepare for every eventuality, every manager in the Premier League knows exactly what Wenger intends to do against them as soon as the fixture list is announced. That’s a very long time to work on cancelling out a possession-based 4-2-3-1.
Wenger’s contract expires at the end of the season and with the Premier League becoming increasingly dominated by the tactical innovators rather than the talent on the pitch, the timing feels right for Wenger to finally step down.
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