Arsene Wenger has slammed Arsenal’s performance against Monaco as suicidal as the Ligue 1 outfit stormed to a much deserved 3-1 victory at the Emirates.
The visitors took the lead four minutes before half time thanks to Geoffrey Kondogbia’s deflected effort and doubled their advantage through former Sp*rs striker Dimitar Berbatov on 53 minutes. The Gunners laboured in reply squandering a series of chances before substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain netted on 90 minutes. The England international’s goal looked to have handed the home side a lifeline only for Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco to punish further wayward defending with the last kick of the game.
Reflecting on the nightmare that unfolded before him, Wenger told press: “Congratulations to Monaco, they had a perfect result and played the game they wanted to play.
“On our side, I believe that we missed the chances and we were a bit suicidal defensively. We were not at the level defensively and we were a bit unlucky as well because the first goal is deflected. On the second and the third goal we were suicidal.
“We had the luck to come back to 2-1 but not the right to give away a goal the way we did because that makes our task extremely difficult in the second leg. It looks like we have lost our nerve and our rationality on the pitch. The heart took over the head and at that level it doesn’t work.
“Mentally we were not ready or sharp enough to get into this game. We paid for it. In the first 20 minutes there was enough room to win the game. Monaco are a team who are strong physically with a good physical density and we missed the chances. If you look at the number of chances we missed, at that level you cannot afford that.”
Arsenal had entered the two-leg tie as favourites, but now need a miracle when they visit the Stade Louis II on 17 March as they look to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
“We have a smaller chance,” continued Wenger when asked about the mountain his side have to climb. “But no matter how big the chance is we will go for it. We need to recover from this disappointment and prepare for the next game.”
2010? Jesus christ how sad….
How many times do the team need to be told to keep defensively tight in a big game?!
They forget every few games and it’s just Groundhog Day.
We have been linked with Kondogbia for years, wish we had brought him. Need that kind of midfielder in this team. Haven’t had proper solidity since Gilberto left and there is just no excuse for that
If anyone is surprised they haven’t been paying attention. Since 2004 we’ve been bottling the big games. Wenger is too soft. Arsenal has become a retirement home for top players who don’t want to deal with the pressure to win of the REALLY top teams. It’s all too comfortable at the club and that’s Wenger’s fault
Rubbish we haven’t been bottling the big games since 2004
We have in Europe, pretty much continuously since 1998 – like it or not. Like most people on here and elsewhere, I was convinced we’d win last night and get a draw in Monaco. Hello Quarter Finals !! As Blogs said, if you lose to Bayern or Barca’ then you’ve lost to the best. Monaco are not that. I’d be incredulous if they won the CL but I’d be even more surprised if we do. Wenger has never won a UEFA competition with us or anyone else. But he’s had more opportunities than all the other Managers in Arsenal’s history… Read more »
Absolutely, bottling big games is something we’ve continuously done under Wenger. 2001 Cup final comes to mind, but it happened before then as well.
2000 UEFA cup final another
You’re right. We’ve been bottling small games almost as often as big ones. Given the way we’ve struggled for years to score against well organised sides, certainly wasn’t expecting us to break down Monaco easily. I thought a nil-nil would be the most likely result against a team that cost pennies, that had only scored 4 in the entire group stage and whose captain was suspended and three of their key players injured. Still, just goes to show what good coaching can achieve – provided, that is, the opposition is us. The Monaco manager’s comment is the only explanation that’s… Read more »
Wenger has many merits as a manager, including his gift for spotting talent and assembling excellent teams. Our present team is actually good and the Invincibles were among Europe’s best. So why did they never get past the CL quarters when so many weaker teams achieved better? It’s a pretty damning statistic when you remember that the Invincibles were virtually the World Cup and Euro-winning France national team. Almost as damning as Wenger’s ability to have lost all three European finals, or his inability to beat even the demoralised catastrophe that was Moyes’ United, or to be hammered by Everton,… Read more »
Miranda – excellent thoughtful posts above, which nails the point about lack of tactics, motivation and preparation succinctly.
If Arsenal are to win in Europe – again; they have done in the past – they need a different Manager from Wenger. One that understands all the points you raised. It doesn’t have to be some continental genius. GG knew what was required and was capable of putting it into place. Wenger for whatever reason cannot or will not.
Gilberto had Vieira next to him. Flamini might be limited & the Coq far from the best DM in football today but time & again they are left to stem the tide. I laugh when read what a liability Poldi is on this site. He’s not been seen all season yet we keep conceding goals because poor tracking & inability to defend as a team are endemic.
The team sheet facilitated ‘suicidal’ in terms of defensive discipline.
Look on the bright side, we are moving from an “accident” to “suicidal”. Improvement?
A least we were only a “bit” suicidal.
At least the cunt aint tryna sugarcoat for once
Not with a comment like that you’re not.
I fail to see how you can call yourself “I am arsenal” and yet call him a cunt.
Simple fact is, he doesn’t know how to manage big games anymore. Last year we got away with it against Hull. His anxiety in the big games must resonate through the players, that must be part of it. He’s a very good manager, but is seems that all his teams in the past 8-10years have bottled it in the big games, it has to be the way he sets them up.
But he’s not a cunt!!!
I feel he is wrong to solely blame the players when he could have stopped that last goal from happening himself with a single shout and hand gesture and ordered someone to stay back. He is the manager after all. Their coach managed his side several times from the sidelines, relaying orders and shouting commands. Wenger seems happy to just leave it all up to the players and let them find out for themselves like some kind of lesson.
yeah, he needs to step out and yell at the players more rather than just stand up to complain about referees and zipping his coat….
more active management please…less passive management
Some years back, you would hear him yell “Theo track back” or something. But now, the way he sinks to his seat and folds his hands when things are not going our way says it all. In a way, that show of lack of confidence is passed on to players.
He’s a cunt alright. A massive cunt. Been fucking around for 10 years, full of lame excuses – arrogant bastard. If he loves the club so much why doesn’t he resign? It’s so fucking obvious he not up to it at this level. Sam Allardyce could get Arsenal in the top 4,.
Fat Sam would take one look at Giroud and have everyone else lump it forward for him. Why would we go for him when we could just get Van Gaal to do the same?
Uh….. Sam would be cheaper?
Wenger is brilliant coach but a terrible, clueless manager.
Yet again, another big game and we pulled our own pants down.
I’d say he’s more of a good GM (head of football operations if you prefer), bad in-game manager. No doubt he has an eye for talent and we have a good team assembled (missing a piece or two). But executing a game plan, shite. Only one I can think of this season was Citeh. Maybe that was a fluke? I’m not a big fan of his substitutions as I’m sitting on my couch either. & As someone mentioned above, him sitting there in his puffy coat with his head in his hands doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the players.
I think we were unlucky to score more throughout the game but 1-0 should have done us good if Wenger put on pacey Paulista instead of plodding Per for this type of game!
I hope he doesn’t use Giroud and Mertesacker for the return leg next month. Walcott needs to start and be on the pitch throughout; also pray that Sanchez and Welbeck are completely fit for the match on 17 March. The big issue is that how is Arsenal going to put at least 4 goals in Monaco’s net without conceding more than 2 goals themselves. Arsenal has to aim and target for at least 2 goals each half of the match; I believe it is possible if they play to their capacity. Finally, it’s my view that what happened last night… Read more »
We just need to score 3 goals without conceding any. It is certainly not easy but not impossible. We had our scoring chances; Giroud couldn’t finish any of them. We must play smart defense.
I hope he doesn’t use Giroud and Mertesacker for the return leg next month. Walcott needs to start and be on the pitch throughout; also pray that Sanchez and Welbeck are completely fit for the match on 17 March. The big issue is that how is Arsenal going to put at least 4 goals in Monaco’s net without conceding more than 2 goals themselves. Arsenal has to aim and target for at least 2 goals each half of the match; I believe it is possible if they play to their capacity. Finally, it’s my view that what happened last night… Read more »
Stupid, naive and disastrous comes to mind, along with suicidal. I know all (or at least most) fans are over reacting including me, but this was meant to be a monaco side that doesn’t score goals.
They’ve scored THREE against us. THREE.
Sometimes we perform the way we did against City, brilliantly. Sometimes we do this.
FFS:(
I thought it was just a downright unprofessional performance. No one was concentrating, not one of those who started the game was even thinking properly. I felt ashamed more than disappointed.
And what is even more frustrating is that the City performance was thanks to the players’ decision to play that way, and not the manager’s. It is damning to hear that your best overall tactical performance against a big team in the last couple of years came from the PLAYERS and not the MANAGER.
“We were suicidal.” Pretty much sums it up.
…the warning signs were there even against Crystal Palace but we glossed over them because we got away with it.
A point I made myself.
I’m feeling suicidal after this match, too…
You guys were right.
I will never forget my 1st game.
Sat just beside the away fans.
They were immense.
We can’t even hear our home fan cheering.
Kudos to Monaco. They wanted the game more than us.
Definitely coming back to The Emirates again.
All the way from Malaysia.
Arsenal till i die
Its this shit that hurts the most. Fans come from all over like yourself and the club dissapoints us. It wouldn’t have been so bad if we played well and lost but we were embarrassing out there. Wenger and the players need to realise they owe us more. One trophy in 10 years is acceptable because its really not about the trophies, but playing like this in big important games especially at home is like spitting in our faces for all our love and support.
I look at Monaco’s balanced midfield in envy Kondogbia and Moutinho were on a different planet to our midfield today.
But how can you expect defensive solidity when you play both Cazorla and Ozil in the same team? It’s ridiculous.
And Coquelin as a DM. Now we can see why he’s been on loan to League one teams for three years. The whole situation is utterly absurd – Wenger doesn’t have a fucking clue.
If only we had a box to box midfielder. Maybe a young English one, or a Welsh one even. And a deep lying Spanish midfielder too, who can control the pace of a match…. Why does Wenger field Coq, Cazorla and Ozil together in the center? Others are all on the treatment table. And we missed them sorely.
Caz was “cast” as a defending midfielder! His incursions on top were non professional! The defensive problems were also his!
It’s your team mate. Fucking sort it out.
It’s all very well being the father figure, but sometimes dad has to tell it how it is. Go tell them to buck the fuck up.
Not harsh enough.
But what i dont understand is why? Again and again and again this has happened. I dont, or wont, believe that arsene wenger has ignored these problems so he must mention them to his players. Does he put a greater emphasis on attack and scoring and so the players…forget? Or are they all just really really really really dim? And how come not one player has risen above this and taken responsibilty, surely they must be getting fed up with it. its unbelievable that this has happened again. At least when it was barvelona or bayern you could excuse it… Read more »
He buys the wrong players, picks the wrong players, can’t motivate the players and can’t change a game tactically. The first half was bad enough, but we were worse in the second. He’s comprehensively clueless at this level and always has been.
Motivate the players. Nail on the head.
You can see why he wants to get rid of the away goals rule, because his teams just don’t understand it.
I could have swallowed this loss in the league, or a domestic cup, but Jesus Christ, when their goals count MORE over a two legged tie, you can take a fucking 0-1 on a ludicrous deflected goal, in the first leg, without being so goddamned stupid to give up goals two and three.
The blind leading the blind.
Arsenal fans hammer ‘Suicidal’ Wenger.
My biggest fear is this: that this result will be the traditional event in the late winter/early spring that rocks our season and sends us on a downward spiral. It’s happened so often it’s now a matter of when and not if. The FA Cup tie against United in March has now become make or break. If we lose that game, I genuinely think Wenger will have lost the fans for good. This was supposed to be the season we kicked on and challenged for the very top honours. On the contrary, we’ve stagnated and seem to be regressing. A… Read more »
No, I can’t see it either.
Sanchez was hardly brilliant today though? And ultimately the players are on the pitch, it’s not as if they ave never played a game together. This isn’t some new side cobbled together it is an established team. Looking at the game today: Per gave the ball away cheaply time and time again. sanchez and welbeck were too narrow, not offering Ozil and Cazorla much of an outlet on the wing – it’s something when both fullbacks are offering the most going into the box. Ozil looked about as strong on the ball as a carrier bag in the wind. Giroud… Read more »
I agree, Sanchez was poor today. I didn’t mean to make out that he performed well, merely using him as an example of a top quality player who evidently came to us because he was convinced by our ambition. My point was that if our club can’t match the ambition of the very best players then how can we expect to convince them to play here?
I get that, but my point is, a player lie Sanchez with all that ability playing well below par, in a game of this importance. How can the blame for that be levelle at Arsene and overall the ambition of the club? Don’t get me wrong I like Sanchez – in fact there isn’t a player at arsenal I don’t like, wouldn’t call myself a fan otherwise – but there has to be someone on the pitch who guides the team. Viera did it, Adams did it, Keown did it, Henry did it. Bergkamp, for all his technical ability and… Read more »
A failure to instil a winning mentality in his team? Again, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying. Not everything is down to the manager, the players at the end of the day are responsible for their own performances on the pitch. But we’ve been in similar situations as tonight many times in the past with different personnel and the results have been the same, where we fail to play at our best and are mentally weak . Yes, we pulled off a brilliant performance against City last month and I absolutely praised the players and Wenger for… Read more »
Agree completely. The winning mentality has gone, and yes it is the managers job to fuel that. I’m also pretty down about the result and where it leaves us. I’d like to think that the so called ‘big’ players of this team will look at themselves and know that they should’ve done better. I do think we are missing the calming influence of Arteta, for me, he is the guy that always keeps his cool – even when we are loosing, so that we don’t go all kamikaze in the middle of the pitch. As good as Özil/Cazorla are, they… Read more »
I don’t agree, Sanchez was actually doing more than one players job on the pitch, running, attacking and tackling and when others (Ozil, etc) keep loosing the ball. When your team mates are not in tune, then it’s difficult for you to play your game. I believe the situation would have been worse if Sanchez wasn’t playing. Ozil and Giroud were of no much use as they would not tackle after loosing the ball which brought unnecessarily pressure on the defensive midfield. In hindsight, if Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain had started the match instead of Giroud and Ozil, it could have… Read more »
I really don’t see it with the players we have. Giroud is good but in any title winning team he would be a back up striker. Mertesacker is aging and incredibly slow in age where the game is moving to increasingly fast paced counter attacking style of play. We don’t have anyone good on the right wing. Welbeck and Walcott are decent but in a title winning team would be back ups. We rely on a basically untested player who we recalled from a loan to be the answer to our defensive issues while teams like City have Yaya Toure… Read more »
Alexis is pretty good usually…. On the right wing.
“I really don’t see it with the manager we have” Corrected for you bullets.
I hop I am wrong. But I think we were just knocked out of the champs league by a team who are quality wise about as good as Spurs. Not good enough. Team didn’t look right from the off. I love Wenger but wasn’t happy with the subs. I am sad. But I love The Ox.
Mertersacker is simply not mobile enough to be playing against top/quality opposition. He does well against the lesser teams in the league but too often exposed by good teams.
So, if “Mentally we were not ready or sharp enough to get into this game”, then whose fault is that and why is this such a regular occurrence in the big games? Naïve performance yet again but the buck stops with Wenger.
My thoughts exactly.
Yeah, I simply cannot believe that he says such things as if the issue is not a directly related to management. Its bizarre.
I am not Wenger Out. But “Mentally we were not ready or sharp enough to get into this game.” WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?!
What’s funny is that he acts as if he is not involved with the team at all. He is just a spectator, just like us.
While the team as a whole were really poor, you have to single Per out yet again unfortunately. I really like the guy and thought he had a great season last year excluding those few away games, but from game 1 this season he has been absolutely woeful and has been at fault for an inexcusable number of goals. The fact we didn’t have proper depth at CB was Wenger’s doing – a mistake we all thought obvious – but now we’ve got the cover there in Gabriel (how good he is remains to be seen), so I think it’s… Read more »
“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
Well they sure as hell shagged us.
On ‘paper’ we have far superior players….a good manager gets the best from his team.
Wenger fails again and again at the highest level. I’m more convinced than ever after tonight.
Steve Bould must be throwing up tonight after that defensive shambles. Tonight also tells me, his influence is less than zero.
Yup, whenever I call out Wenger I call out Bould. I would just love to see Bould stand up one time, go to the sideline and scream at Mertesaker to keep his defensive shape. The idea (I could give a crap about club protocol) you can just sit there in ‘assistant mode’ and watch things turn to crap is beyond me.
Problem is that we are not up to par with the big leauge teams and we lack the quality of players. Bottom line we need to spend some serious dough on a world class defender, midfield and striker. Hopefully this summer the cheapo board will start forking out dough and bring in some heavy hitters.
Let’s not overanalyze things. We played like shit. They took advantage of us. It’s just one day. We’ve been playing well lately, so hopefully we can kick on in the next few games and rebuild our momentum. I do think in a game like this, that requires a lot of midfield discipline, that Rosicky should be starting. Lastly, I don’t think we had a single shot from outside the area. When you’re playing against a stack of 10 players behind the ball within 18 yards, it’s important to put shots on goal from outside the box to make sure that… Read more »
I’m so agree with this. & also with the comments from @Anthony above.
But still…what a nightmare of a game tho.
That is what you call “hammering”? Please, that’s nowhere close to the hammering they deserve after that shit. Nothing about this team is acceptable from the manager down. It’s almost as if Wenger spent so much time trying to keep Arsenal’s head above water that he’s completely forgotten how to actually swim.
What a f***ing disaster! All teams go into games like this with cautiousness, just look at all the UCL results of this round, only arsenal conceded more than two goals. Fuck this gung ho approach, what happened to all the lessons we learnt against city? Giroud was unlucky but Özil and Mert were absolute shite, Wenger should have the balls to bench Özil when he plays badly…U don’t get a free pass just because you are the most expensive signing and Mertesacker should never have been made vice captain (i’d much rather it was koscielny or Ramsey) Gabriel should play… Read more »
Im looking forward to our highly overrated cd coming out and telling us about more lessons learned.
Hopefully more people will realise the guy is a liability
We’ll probably go to Monaco and beat them 2-0 and crash out on goals aggregate. It’s the arsenal thing to do
No strategy. No game plan. Not mentally prepared. That’s a recipe for disaster.
In big games in any sport, you have to have clarity and conviction in the locker room before the game. If you don’t, it’s uphill all the way. Most of that is the manager’s fault.
And yes, Rosicky should start. And he should give the rest of the team some much needed instruction in passing. He is brilliant.
@arseblood. U cite a lack of influence from Bould but honestly, to me it seems like he has too much influence. We have become a defensively minded team, and the fluidity of our attack has suffered. The club is in two minds, but without Mikel Arteta to wed our new-found defensive style to our old free-flowing football (which many of us loved) we seem to fail on both ends.
Double Feature Groundhog Day Starring: Arsene Wenger Running time: 8 years & counting Meet the Feebles Starring: AFC senior squad Running time: 90 minutes & shown at every remotely important game AFC play I am convinced we specifically look for the least mentally resilient players we can when making signings. As for Wenger I can only assume that he is going senile because everyone else in the known universe who follows football has seen this team get exposed time and again when playing semi-decent cagey opponents who sit deep & hit us on the break. It is reminiscent of that… Read more »
I’m surprised that you guys are surprised to be honest. This is not a new thing, everyone knows the balance of team is not right, tactically or mentally. The sad thing is that all it takes is a beast centre half (maybe we got him now) and a beast Def mid to play alongside Le coq and we would be a different team. Any top manager that came into arsenal would get those players and play two holding mids to prevent the crap we saw tonight and so many times before. After that we’re good enough going forward with a… Read more »
Yeah, just made some similar comments myself. No surprise.
As for the ‘well, who would you bring in to manage refrain’ when we have the audacity to criticize Wenger, I have a few managers in mind but seldom if ever bother mentioning anyone.
The point being, I think most of the managers in the EPL would have done a better job in preparing and setting up the team to play Monaco tonight and this is what alarms me.
Per is such a liability. We have that as our Captain? Goodness me.
“mentally we were not ready or sharp enough…” how many times do we have to hear this bs? how can a team not be prepared for a game at home in champions league? fans come on here after wins against leicester, boro and palace happy for a win against these shit teams, and some of them we barely win, and the team is taking pictures in the dressing room celebrating – when really there should be no fucking result acceptable except a win against these shit teams and no celebrations just a quiet acknowledgment of getting a job done as… Read more »
Which is why I made a sarcastic comment about the idiotic selfie taken after the Palace game.
I would have been happier to hear the dressing room door was shut and the team called a meeting to discuss why the only thing that saved embarrassment was the cross bar.
The mentality is just off.
Sorely disappointed at this game. Honest thoughts are that the team’s a bit jaded somewhat and that the gameplan should have been to maintain the tempo we did in the first few minutes to pressurise Monaco for longer periods of time. We certainly have the players capable of playing quick tempo football. Atm, i feel sth isn’t clicking from the midfield to attack (passes made are too slow for us) though I can’t figure what it is exactly. Hope that we can recover for Everton and hopefully make some changes in midfield like Rozza, Ox, Wilshere for Cazorla, Ozil to… Read more »
I agree that: “Kondogbia and Moutinho were on a different planet to our midfield today.” It was clear time and again, and they overpowered our team with strength and willpower. Monaco also consistently played as a collective, with clear purpose. Arsenal not only did not play as a collective, but were increasingly less collective as the match wore on. There’s a goal difference tie at stake and giving away one goal does not sink it. Even 1-2 would have left the Arsenal with every motivation to score first in the return leg in Monaco and threaten to take the tie.… Read more »
No problem, just go to France and win 3 nil.
He is right to blame the players. This is a team who had won 10 out of the previous 12 games before last night. A team that have been playing well and looking strong as a unit. So thats the team he used, but they fell to pieces, clearly thought it was going to be a walk in the park and played absolutely shite as a result because monaco did want it more. Giroud was awful. The same giroud that has been playing great and if wenger hadnt started him we would have went nuts! So why does it always… Read more »
You think last nights game was unforgivable how about loosing, drawing and loosing against the worst manure side in years? Wenger has to beat manure in the cup or, as one previous poster stated, he will loose the backing of the fans!!!
“Mentally we were not ready or sharp enough to get into this game”
Then do your goddamn job, and make them ready.
You truly make me laugh, guys! You’re just fans good for a small team, basta! Counting the pounds Mesut costed and wanting a total return of investment! How would react ManU fans to the incredibly over-rated di Maria and Rooney and co who costed a lot more and are paid MUCH more than Mesut (who is the 11th highest salary in the PL)! You’re just pitiful and you’re not made to support a club better than the 4th place! Great big teams are made with money which often (not always) means talent ! Mesut comes and he is never good… Read more »
If Mesut underperforms, it has to be said. I do not believe in any player being great by définition. We would have finished 10th last year and missed the FA cup if it wasn’t for Ramsey yet people treat him as a low quality player because of bad performance this year. Why the double standard ? People started pointing out Alexis underperformance a bit but he is the reason we are third in the league. For people like you, Mesut has to be the best thing in the world all the time. Get real.
You remember them Henry days. There were many would could score but they first fed him. The present attacking mid fielders are glory seekers wishing to get their names on the score sheet. They rarely feed Giroud. Look … last night there were all narrowing into the centre waiting for opportunity to strike with consequence that otherwise good passes into the box missed them because they was in the wrong place! Frankly it’s time to get back to basics again!!!
In my opinion the manager is more responsible rather than
the players for this defeat.Why did he changed Monreal for
Gibbs i dont know.Rosicky should be starting instead of Ozil,
he brings energy and excitment to the game. At half time the
manager did not make even one change to help the team.
Overall we lost because we played with disrespect against
Monaco, we thought like they couldn’t hurt us, we didn’t
close them down, we gave them too much space on counter
attacks.And we got punished.
We are a 4th place, occasional cup every few years and last 16 in the CL team and never will be anything else until the players grow some fucking balls, show some mental strength, learn how to defend every game and stop going into meltdown at the first sign of trouble. If Wenger can’t do this then find a fucking manager who can and some players who don’t have the mental strength of a fucking doily. Tired of all this bullshit, year after year after year
We were poor, no doubt. We were. Goalkeeping, some horrible horrible defending, and a flopped attack. But Monaco rode on luck. You cannot call them a superb defensive unit and then troll Giroud for missing those chances. If Monaco are the defensive beast of a side people say, Giroud wouldn’t be having the opportunities to waste. And that is why I think we’ll get more dan enough chances in France to win this. I am nt covering shambolic performance from the team y’day but we had enough chances to scre 4-5. And we’ll have them again. If we play better… Read more »
Giroud should not be the player in front of Özil. Mertesacker shouldn’t be in the team if the fullbacks are always so high up the pitch. But that’s still not enough excuse for that disaster of a performance.
Now you’d have thought that on going in 0-1 down at half time due to “suicidal” defending, a half time bollocking and some tactical changes would be in order.
Instead we got “repeat ’til fade”. Who’s fault is that?
What really gets me is how Wenger says we were suicidal in defending those two goals (esp the third one), but where was he when he should have been organizing the team after we scored not to concede right after we scored? He did the right thing bringing on attacking players for Coq who was on a yellow, but in doing that we needed to keep shape. Once Chamberlin came in we lost all semblance of balance/shape on defense which is on the manager, there has to be a plan with the subs he had to be able to bring… Read more »
The main point I take from this is that Wenger saw what was going wrong, but because his style is to set the team up and then leave the playing of the game to them, he just sat and watched it happen. If he likes to sit quietly and allow the team to stray from the game plan then I suppose that’s what he will do, but for fuck’s sake why doesn’t Bould or someone stand up and fucking yell at the Captain to get his team back in hand and playing to the game plan? It’s stupid to do… Read more »