Hornets striker highlights Arsenal’s problems with physicality which is part of a wider issue.
In his post-match interview, Troy Deeney provided some interesting insight on his role for Watford against Arsenal. He pointed out how Arsenal struggle as a team to deal with physicality, and how he was able to use that to his advantage. From an outside perspective, many pundits, journalists and fans have pointed out the issues with Arsenal. However, it’s interesting for a current player to be so candid in the immediate aftermath of a match.
The Watford striker also pointed out how teams, such as his, do not fear Arsenal. They allow other teams to impose themselves on them and the game. This hinders them because it nullifies their creativity which is one of their major strengths. It also highlights one of the major flaws of Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal especially in the latter part of his reign. The issues with physicality may just be part of a wider issue regarding Arsenal’s predictability.
Arsenal’s predictability issues
Wenger has shown himself to be remarkably tactically inflexible in the past few seasons with the only major change being his preferred formation shifting from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-3. The unwillingness to adapt to the opposition means that big teams know what to expect when playing them; this has led to a poor record in big games in the league.
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In Wenger’s time at the club Arsenal have consistently been aesthetically pleasing in an attacking sense. This has never been the issue, though, because it’s with the defence where the issue lies. Last season, they scored 77 goals but conceded 44, which was the highest out of the top six. They also only picked up nine points against the rest of the top six. Although, they did pick up 66 points out of a potential 84 against the rest of the league.
The tactical inflexibility isn’t an issue in itself because Wenger has a clear vision of how he wants his team to play. His issue is that he doesn’t adapt for teams with the personnel that he has, so the team concedes through the same methods. This affects his reputation because his team isn’t seen to be improving; it’s like the film Groundhog Day in that the same scenarios seem to play themselves out each season.
Arsenal’s most annoying aspect as a team is that they have proved in the FA Cup that they can up their game when needed. They have won three out of the last four competitions with impressive wins against Manchester City in the semi-finals and Chelsea in the final last season for example. In the league they just lack the mentality and consistency to do this over a full season.
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This is where Wenger is at fault because he should have been more proactive in getting the best out of his squad over a full season instead of having the usual blips. His longevity is his biggest enemy here because of the lack of a league title over the past 13 seasons. This long-term failure has to be blamed on him.