Arsene Wenger sprang a surprise last night when he left the top scorer and top assist maker, Alexis Sanchez, on the bench for the 3-1 defeat at Anfield.
The Chilean was not injured, meaning he’d been left sidelined by the manager for other reasons.
Afterwards, the Frenchman insisted it was tactical, saying, “The thinking was that we had to go more direct and I wanted to play two players who are strong in the air, because we decided to go more direct.
“After that, to bring on Alexis in the second half. Of course, I believe in the second half it was easier for the strikers and you could see a different performance from Giroud and Welbeck because we dominated much more of the midfield.
“Everybody will come to the same conclusion, but I’m strong enough and lucid enough to analyse the impact. And I don’t deny that Alexis is a great player. I bought him and I always played him.
“This decision was not easy to make, but I have to stand up for it.”
Asked about Sanchez’s reaction, Wenger would not be drawn.
“I don’t think there’s any need to go into any individual explanation. What was good in the second half was our collective performance. What was not good in the first half was our collective performance. For me, that’s a much more rational explanation than the rest.
“You focus on what you want. For every single player, it’s the same. Everybody tells you that you need to buy strikers and then when you have them, everybody asks why you don’t play all of them.
“It’s impossible.”
It seems clear that there was a disciplinary element to the decision, because as stubborn and intransigent as Wenger can be, he’s usually not the kind to cut off his nose to spite his face.
Ultimately, it proved the wrong call, and has inflicted further damage on the 67 year old who is under ever increasing pressure.
there’s definitely more to this alexis decision than meets the eye. A power play in his final hour or merely an ill judged gambit?
He is a stubborn old man, who is grasping for straws. I used to respect him so much, but he is becoming a desperate man who is unable to realize the truth about his own abilities. He is no longer moving us forward, in fact we are as a club going backwards, and yet he keeps doing exactly the same over and over again.
He should’ve left after we won the FA Cup in 2014.
He has to go, the sooner the better. This has a Tom Landry in Dallas feel. He wants to prove he still has it as the younger managers have gone way past him. Yes he can buy players to stay in the top 4-6 and his style let’s better players pound most of the smaller less talented clubs. Yet every year it’s the same shit. When he leaves there will obviously be some chaos. We may miss the top 4. So what, let’s get on with it. Chelsea missed the top 4, now they are winning the league. We all… Read more »
I call it as i can see. People who determines situation just by the surface.. its a complex game, with complex rules, which is played by the people for the people. Is your job so flawless, that you can’t isnetify the flaws? The problem is tha it is a public job. And i am in envy of Wenger, who is though strugglint now with all the downfall by the fans. I work in kind of public work, and i can say. Its easy to blame. Very hard to take resposibility. And if you think there will be somebody after mr.… Read more »
I don’t really understanding what kinda power play it could possibly be…Arsene’s about as omnipotent as you can get at a football club.
Also I’m not sure I understand blog’s speculation that the decision was ‘disciplinary’, unless he knows something we don’t.
Seems plausible to me that Wenger might want to go ‘direct’ given how we looked (and failed) to play on the counter. I admit though it seems suspicious given that it’s the kinda thing Wenger never ever does…
If you are trying to send a message to your player then bringing him on in the second half does not make sense. There’s an air of continuous criticism around Arsenal from pundits and newspapers. Is Wenger, a manager who let’s players leave if they have their hearts set on it, really the politicking type? I personally and wholeheartedly believe he is not. Criticise him for his wrong tactical decision, but for me he has always been a classy person.
There is no way that benching Sanchez was a tactical decision. Why would he opt for height as a direct tactic with Oil and Danny working together, a tactic that didnt work for the first 45 minutes. Then after the break and the inclusion of Sanchez in the second half, it starts looking like Danny and Oli’s height is beginning to change the game and swing it in our favour, why would he then sub them both off if that was his original tactic in the first place?? then replace them both with two small players in the form of… Read more »
Wenger does have form on this kind of thing, remember when Arshavin was our best player and then left out of the Cup Semi Final against Chelsea because Wenger wanted to see (to paraphrase) “how the team would perform without him”?
This isn’t uncharted territory i’m afraid.
Nightmare. The suave sophisticated professor I used to respect so much has morphed into Basil Fawlty.
Couldn’t agree more, I feel exactly the same. Never ever leave Alexis out. Arsène has lost the plot completely, no only since yesterday.
Arsène is a intelligent man. He will leave at the end of this catastrophic season. But he should do the decent thing and tell us now. It would open up energies for everyone.
Agree that at this point it would do more for the club & team if he would just state what his intentions are. Perhaps then the players would have something to play for…Because right now I have no idea what it is they’re playing for or what motivates them. TBH don’t think many of them do either.
Because he doesn’t want to leave. He simply refuses to accept that his time is up. I honestly think he’s looking for anything, some small glimmer of hope so he can announce his decision to stay. Do the right thing Wenger and walk away with your head held high.
But isn’t that the problem? He can’t walk away with his head held high now. What’s to hold your head high about. It would be more of a tail between the legs walking away. Which is a very hard thing to choose to do. Surely that’s why Sir Red Nose stayed another season and got lucky that RVP was on offer. I’ve loved having Wenger as manager at Arsenal for half of my Arsenal supporting life. Like Blogs I feel sorry for him. He’s between a rock and a hard place. Of course he wants to leave on a positive… Read more »
We’ll know that he’s finally lost it if he disappears off down the tunnel, re-emerges with a tree branch and proceeds to beat the nearest player to him over the head with it, all the while shouting “Come on you vicious bastard, come on! I’ve laid it on the line for you too many times! Don’t say I haven’t warned you!” I hope it doesn’t come to that.
It would make good television though.
one simple thing that separetes wenger from from other top premier league managers is acceptance. wenger never accepts failures , always find something to blame refree tiredness schedule. never will he bash the team for inept performances nor take required steps. never have i ever seen other top managers moan so much . no matter what the conditions are they(apart from mourinho) always accept that their team performed below par and that acceptance is the first step necessary not to make the same mistakes , one that separates winners from losers.
It’s simple. Sanchez has made his decision to leave and it’s made Wenger a) see how the team perform without Sanchez and b) Remind Sanchez no one player is bigger than the club. Whether it backfired yesterday is irrelevant. Sanchez wants to win and can quite clearly see this current team is heading backwards. My worry is that the club is heading backwards too. The board are too old and stuffy to really be bothered to do anything drastic and we have an owner who by his own admission lacks footballing knowledge. Revenue and profits are all that drive him… Read more »
You have spoken the best of words that best describes our problems
Alexis has not made his decision to leave. Saying so based on him sitting on the bench is just scare-mongering BS.
The evidence based on Alexis’ own interviews is that he’s happy at the club. Wenger made a tactical decision. There’s no need for the tabloid speculation. It was a terrible decision in yesterday’s context. But have we become so small a club that Alexis’ future is like a sword hanging over us? I cannot wait for the day that Arsenal can bench a big player for tactical reasons without it leading to uselesss speculation over that player’s future.
I believe that was a tactical decision about as much as I believe in the Tooth Fairy
What? You mean tooth fairies don’t exist? ?
You guys make me laugh.
So I have a follow-up question: was Ozil’s “illness” an actual real-life illness, a tactical decision to drop him from the Liverpool squad, or proof of that tooth fairies are real?
I’m guessing that’s supposed to be a clever retort….but miles off.
Anyway, we heard all week Ozil was sick so why would we assume otherwise ? We heard Alexis was left out for tactical reasons. It takes an extraordinary amount of naivety to take that at face value. If you believe it, you make me laugh too. Ths is fun right ? Everyone’s laughing !
No no, don’t take it the wrong way. I did find it funny and I agree with you that the tactical reasoning behind the decision was so bad that it invites us to believe something else is going on.
I just don’t know that it directly means “Alexis has told Wenger he’s leaving”. But if that’s what people think happened, then it does raise the question – has Ozil said something to Wenger that resulted in his being left out? Of course the illness could just be a real illness.
I disagree, in the absence of sanchez signing a new contract, him regularly being linked with Juve and his regular strops on the field it looks more likely that he’ll leave rather than stay. I think dropping him was a massive mistake though
i said it was a terrible decision to drop him. Of course it’s possible that he’ll choose not to sign a new contract offer. But the idea that Alexis suddenly told Wenger he wants to leave and that’s why he was dropped doesn’t make sense. Have you actually listened to his interview about the contract situation? Please give it a watch, it might clear some up some confusion. And honestly, for years we’ve criticised players for lacking passion on the field. Now we have a fiery South American striker, and his demonstrative nature on the field (remember his English is… Read more »
You are very naive if you think Sanchez will stay.
I’m not confused by it at all, but thanks for asking. All the talk pre Christmas was that there was ongoing discussions and since then the soundings are about him leaving. I dont want him to leave and I think he’s by far our best player but I think in reality if he wanted to stay then things would be moving in a different direction to they are
I’m just saying don’t leave out his own interview where he was asked pretty direct questions and answered them quite well, and only rely on the talk or the soundings.
I bet you think santa brought you those presents on christmas?
Had he ever benched Henry for tactical reasons?
Agreed Chuffy.
Would also state that the owner lacks INTEREST as much as “lacking footballing knowledge”. That to me is by far the biggest issue going on.
I think that Sanchez, walkot & giroud should start 4 better improvements
So play him on the left of Giroud and keep our most effective player on the pitch. Idiot.
So the lesson is : don’t work hard, don’t turn up for big games, keep making the same mistakes? Acceptable.
Throwing a strop because your teammates don’t work hard, don’t turn up for big games & keep making the same mistakes? Unacceptable.
I don’t think this decision affected the result cos I’m pretty sure we would have lost anyway……what is does though is sum up exactly what is wrong with the club under Arsene these days.
Terrible, stupid decision.
Even Wenger loyalists are bamboozled by the decision to leave him out.
Imho we didn’t play badly because Alexis was dropped. We were s*** because, again, started Xhaka-Coq midfield that just doesn’t work. We immediately looked better with the Ox-Xhaka (and Alexis) as we could keep the ball. Coq is so out of form that don’t really get how he makes the match day squad. He and Xhaka also bring the worst out of each other. Also think Coq has started all of our defeats against top 6. Thought we were actually ok in the second half, could have gotten level if Can had gotten that red card he deserved or Alexis… Read more »
Injuries and Wenger being unable to find a working midfield has cost us this season and probably Wenger his job.
Hope those Allegri news are true.
Watching Alexis laughing when we were one nil down annoyed me if I’m honest.
This is why we can’t have nice things at Arsenal.
Why not sub Giroud who was obviously injured early on and walking around even slower than usuall. Stubborn old man. Wenger out kroenke out
We needed physical presence up top. You could see how little effect Lucas and Walcott had. You can start to understand why Lucas doesn’t start bigger matches.
The fuck? Lucas didn’t have time to impose himself on the game.
Sad to see the team buckle down yesterday…again. They look like lost souls wandering through a graveyard. Looks like they don’t have the fight, the passion or the plan to play on the same wavelength. Surely after these many struggles against counter-pressing opponents, the coaching staff(including Wenger) and the players ought to have found out a way to avoid the press!!Painful to see them playing like a League Two team. The current staff and players have forgotten what this club was, what it used to be, what it means to put on that jersey..They outta be locked at Highbury for… Read more »
Demonstrations are the only way. We are the most passive fan base in the league. When the demonstrations are widespread and the TV cameras pick up on it. Only then will the board sit up and take notice. We as fans as well as the hierarchy at the club, have allowed this aura of arrogance and delusion to develop in Wenger. We need to start again. No Champions League next despite how ridiculous it sounds will be essential for us in regrouping. The players who want to go can go. The bang average ones can also be moved on. It’s… Read more »
Feeling kicked down below … by our own
https://youtu.be/yJES-pHo-Hw
I don’t see how this could be Wenger trying to make a statement to Sanchez or discipline him.
How weak will he look to Sanchez if he uses him in the game in the end anyway? He should not have been on the bench at all if that was what Wenger was trying to do.
It must have been strange tactical reasons behind it.
Watched the game late last night. Had no expectations going into the game, which was lucky, as it was what it was. Took four things away from the coverage though: 1) At one point the commentators here in the States said, that when it comes to new contracts on Ozil & Sanchez, “Arsenal can probably keep one but not both”. Sad though it is, I found myself agreeing with that. Can we afford financially to keep both? Of course we can…but it is not finances at play here (pay attention here mustached tw@t controlling the majority of shares) it is… Read more »
I still like & admire Mr Wenger but it’s time to admit his time is over. We have no discernable tactics or coaching, never have in truth, and this particular blend of players does not possess enough raw talent & natural football nous to play Wengerball as he would wish. He would be better doing his thing elsewhere & the younger players who remain would benefit from serious basic coaching on how to move around when out of possession & how to move on to a pass when in possession. Time to lose the blinkers & get real about Arsenal’s… Read more »
It looks like the psychologist has really made a difference this season, now we can’t even win games when it doesn’t matter anymore! I wonder what impact Wenger’s Alexis decision will have in the short term though. Will this galvanise Alexis into leaving Arsenal? is Arsene leaving? how will this affect Ozil and all the other player’s whose contracts are coming up for renewal? It would be ironic if Arsene were to leave on the one and only season when the club doesn’t classify for Champions League football , which at the moment is far from certain. I suppose all… Read more »
I must have upset someone big time….All my comments wait for moderation for over an hour, thus rendering the comment section pretty pointelss.
I think this is probably one of the best Arsenal blogs and Mr Blogs seems like a very decent chap, but maybe it’s time to move onto pastures new.
Did we play any long balls!? Strongest 11 always?!
liverpool opened us up like a can of tuna with the long balls. We put on Welbeck and Giroud and still didn’t pump any balls up to them. I just don’t get it…
Leaving Sanchez on the bench though…Could you imagine any other team not starting their top goal scorer? I don’t care if he wants to leave in the summer. Play the hell out of Sanchez and leave the next manager with CL football.
We haven’t played well as a team in a very long time. There does appear to be a rift between Sanchez and others, Walcott has disappeared again after another false dawn, the Coq is going backwards, Ramsey..where is he?, big injuries as usual, Wilshere out on loan, Lucas never getting a chance, rubbish away in all comps.. I hate ranting but all is not good being a Gooner at present. I bet we dont even go for broke against Bayern. When clearly all us Gooners want is us to have a real go… not 15mins at the end.
Quick play, or playing over the top like against Vardy exposed Liverpool just last Monday, but our genius of a manager prefer to use our so quick French striker, what a plonker!, for me Wellbeck as no 9 would have even been fairer. I believe the guy (Wenger)has been found out, he is, as he has always been devoid of any ideas tactically at the highest level!…………..if he has any iota of truthfulness in him he would go!
Whatever Wenger’s plan was, Coquelin had our only shot on target in the first half. Same thing happened against Bayern away, Coquelin had the most shots on goal in the first half (2).
Our opponents must be loving this.
d fuk is coq doing there . no wonder theres no one to protect the backline
It is just a shame that his legacy will be destroyed by his refusal to do the honourable thing and leave.
The fans preserve his legacy and if they turn on him then all those good times and successes will be forgotten which is wrong.
He should with applause not with boo’s crying out..
I’m not going to say Sanchez should always play but Wenger’s reasoning is very strange here. First of all, Liverpool’s main weakness is their high backline and relatively slow and weak defenders as shown by Leicester and Vardy, so not sure why we’re prioritising aerial superiority. Secondly, Sanchez is great in the air! Certainly better than Ox anyway, despite his height. Perez and Walcott are probably better in the air than Ox as well. You could make the argument about Ox’s crossing abilities but Wenger’s thinking is very muddled here and I think he’s covering up for something going on… Read more »
He’s chatting bollocks. He’s dropped him for internal reasons. I refuse to believe it can be anything else as the alternative reason (i.e. His weak explanation) doesn’t bare thinking about. Because if that really is the reason, he really, well and truly has lost the plot. And by that I mean not just tactics wise but mental health wise. I honestly worry that the strain is unravelling him. He needs to go for his own good as well as the club’s.
You’re absouletly right.
Can’t be anything-else but.
Gaffer trying to impose his will on the best player but he chose a rather inopportune time to do it.
He’s making it too easy for his detractors. Alas.
It’s like he’s trying to get fired.
At times this year we have looked poor with and without Sanchez but if that first half is the future without the chilean then we are in serious trouble
The only player in so many games this season that looks like he wants to win. He ain’t perfect we know that but his heart his huge his will to win un questioned. It’s clear he’s off and with the team as it stands the future without his passion and fight will be very worrying.
Liverpool play fast attacking football, he starts Giroud? Hmm you might as well tell the rivals that we are just going to lob every ball to Giroud to hold up or head in! ?
Can’t wait for Tuesdays! !
I think we have had those difficult periods when we were rebuilding where we lost massively against top teams (Utd Thrash springs to mind) but one thing that never changed was belief of players for the manager and vice versa. At that period the players lacked enough quality (Senderos, Sylvester Almunia etc) but they were all behind Arsene. Watching yesterday’s game exposed the lack of effort by the players and more so the lack of confidence by the players for the Coach. I think we still lack quality at some areas but i believe with someone like Allegri who is… Read more »
A change is in order if only just for something new to get excited about.
It can’t get much worse really?
I still want Ian Holloway!
It appears to me there is some internal turmoil which may have something to do with Alexis and others. The uncertainty around Wenger is also likely having an effect. We are not playing at our best but overall the effort was at a high level against a team which tactically risks very very high efforts vs a more managed approach…theirs proved the winner today. Alexis seemed to have that extra little bit of energy when he came on. I have felt he lacked this in most of his last 4-6 games. I watched the game well after it was over.… Read more »
If we had won yesterday everyone would have referred to the decision as a “masterstroke” and how “Wenger’s still got it”.
We lose and everyone says that’s why he should go?
I have always been of the opinion that the rest of the team should take responsibility and show up to games. True, Alexis’ presence made a difference but does he have to be there to make them wake up? The attitude of the collective is the bigger problem and they are constantly letting down the coach and the few players who actually care.
But it wasn’t a masterstroke. It would have been a masterstroke if there’d been some brilliant plan that no-one else could see. There wasn’t one. Stupid is as stupid does. The team is to blame? Wenger selected the team. Wenger bought every single player on the team. Wenger hired the scouts who scouted the players he bought. He hired the coaches responsible for their defensive play, offensive play, midfield play and link-up play. He was supposed to motivate the players for the game. At Arsenal, Wenger has pretty much total control. Not only does the buck stop with him, it… Read more »
OK, so some of Wenger’s tactical decisions have been questionable. Perhaps another manager would get a bit more out of this group, but I would argue that the team has generally played to their ability level over the last several years. Does anyone really think this is a PL winning side under a different manager? Yes, the bench is a bit deeper than past seasons but there are still too many average players. Major surgery is needed. Clearly a change at the top is needed, but it is not at all clear how we get back to the top without… Read more »
I can’t help but think had Giroud scored late on again the media would be asking why hadn’t he started; there’s no winning that particular one. Personally, I agree that there was more behind this than a “tactical” change. We can’t play long ball, these days we can’t really play much at all. I’ve always been a fervent supporter of Wenger but I’ve come to the conclusion enough is enough – but I will not abuse him in any way; I want change, but unlike a lot of the support I can express this without the rabid foaming or bilious… Read more »
The issue now is not Chelsea and the title (it hasn’t been for some time), that horse has bolted. The issue is 4th and hunting down Spurs (That horse is also bolting) We have to play the pretenders end of season and they may just have opportunity to gloat if we are not careful. We have barely 10 games to rectify this and at least finish with some semblance of decency. CL next is another bolted horse. The only other potential mini glory other than 4th spot trophy is the FA cup. We have to sort our heads out quickly…particularly… Read more »
No explanation needed old chap. Talk to the hand, because the face stopped listening a long time ago.
It’s getting sad now. I feel for Arsene, I really do. He has his pride, ever more foolish that seems to be becoming now but forget the 8 million a year, he loves Arsenal Football Club and is desperate to do well. But it is all unravelling around him now. The message can’t be getting across to the players as they aren’t responding. And don’t get me started about Bellerin’s admission that we weren’t up for it from the off btw. But also, whatever Arsene is trying it’s not working and some of the thinking is simply mad. To drop… Read more »
And forget about Sanchez staying. He’s off. 100% nailed on off, in my opinion.
Good bye Sanchez – you’ll be missed.
I fear this is the case.
There can be no other explanation other than the gaffer is trying to impose his authority.
Seeing Alexis all relaxed joking with Gabriel looks like writing on the wall.
He does not appear his usual intense self, almost as if he now thinks its a bit farcical.
Things will get very complicated for us if we don’t sort ourselves out now quickly.
Agüero scored, one of the best strikers and city have no problems keeping him. We got one of the best players in the league too but can we keep him….. Can we fuck cos we don’t wanna spend. Where the fuck is our ambition in this club these cunts upstairs promised us?? Fuckin joke
You can’t keep Alexis if he feels we lack drive or ability to prosecute a campaign and I think that is evident to him now. He came (like Granit and Ozil) because Wenger is a good developer of talent but often this ius at expense to the more pragmatic side of ensuring the squad is adequately balanced between potential and more importantly experience to fight through a campaign. Often times (as in the case of Ramsey and Walcott) Wenger persisted with young charges which eventually bore fruit but the due proccess before end ensured we paid for these efforts as… Read more »
Wenger is like the proverbial geek that knows every tool in the shop, buys the best (and he does buy well) without breaking the bank because he knows the value of some items on sale. But whilst he knows how to put a ‘bench’ together, he often doesn’t use the right tools to get the best out of the job or neglects to use the tool that could help him the most. Whilst some craftsmen spend big on their squad, others may be able to work a great product from less. Wenger is an enigma wrapped in a puzzle wrapped… Read more »
Eating cheese to make things more hopeful.
Good because as a team, we are getting mouldy…good thing for cheeese not so for a Premiership side.:P
Its just inexplicable that he buys qualities like Lucas and refuses to play him. We need the experience and invention to balance off the threat from Alexis on the other end. The two should buy each other a bit more space and time by drawing opposition defenders in opposite directions when used in tandem. Ditto hauling Welbeck off. He made a number of errors but his physical presence combine with pace is always a problem for defenses (as can be seen in his goal) Instead, Wenger continues to promote the use of players like Walcott whom to me at 27yrs… Read more »
For the manager and board is not enough to drop season off, but
also the oportunity for Sanchez to be top league scorer, bravo!!!!
It’s way too easy to blame Wenger, he isn’t the fault here. For anyone old enough to remember our days under George Graham, boring boring Arsenal. Arsene gave us a style of football that we craved, he gave us Pires, Henry, Ljungberg. He gave us titles, he gave us a new stadium, he made Arsenal a force for the future, It’s the board that stopped him spending, it’s the board that stopped him becoming the greatest manager ever. He sold when he didn’t want to, he lost players that he never wanted to lose. I don’t know another manager that… Read more »
Undoubtedly too many people are blaming Arsene. What you say is true, with the backing of the board financially he changed the game and the club forever. He has been the guiding light. He worked wonders with a limitted budget when the new stadium was being developed. It was his time to shine, but he showed loyalty to the club and traded trophies, fame and glory for the ultimate goal of seeing the club survive through those tight financial years. He should be enjoying the fruits of those sacrifices now, but alas oil money has changed the EPL landscape and… Read more »
There is definitely a problem at our beloved Arsenal. Who to blame is the question? Manager? Players? Board? Staff? Is Arsenal not a collative or it used to be. The days when every other team feared to play us. Is Arsene making the wrong tactical decisions or is football moving forward too quickly for him. I think arsene is stuck in his ways and I cant see him changing. He is not going to buy BIG expensive players and he puts too much trust in some of his players that are not performing. For sure things need to change quickly… Read more »