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In the Wachowskis brothers’ sci-fi trilogy the Matrix, one of the most intriguing characters is the Architect.
He reveals that, “The Matrix is older than you know. I prefer counting from the emergence of one integral anomaly to the emergence of the next, in which case this is the sixth version”.
He also tells us that, “The first matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect, it was a work of art, flawless, sublime. A triumph equalled only by its’ monumental failure”.
Indulge me here, this is going somewhere.
Now Arsene Wenger is possibly older than many of us know, he is also undoubtedly a wonderful footballing architect and his teams have had several versions.
The problem is that he is going in reverse, he is seeking perfection yet in not realising you require some imperfection or ‘flaws’, and he is now facing continued monumental failure.
Neo tells the architect “Choice, the problem is choice” and that is precisely where Wenger is falling down, he is making the wrong choices, but ones that could be simply remedied.
My favourite ‘version’ of Wenger’s Arsenal was one of the earliest in the late 1990s. It had a supreme blend of skill, power, pace and character. Their central midfield combination of Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira was the match even of Paul Scholes and Roy Keane and provided the platform for the pace of Marc Overmars and the sublime talents of Dennis Bergkamp, who himself was no stranger to putting his foot in.
No one knows for the sure the reality of the Arsenal finances during the building of the Emirates but regardless of the money spent, how Wenger has spent it has also changed.
Wenger always bought quality players but he also bought players with character. Even lining up against a team with faces such as Jens Lehmann, Sol Campbell, Cesc Fabregas and Gilberto Silva after the turn of the century, you knew you were in for a game and a scrap.
What Wenger is giving the Arsenal fans is a poor imitation of Pep Guardiola’s Barca or Bayern teams. Pretty football without the end product or the belly for the fight.
Arsenal’s latest capitulation at Stoke demonstrated fully that this is a team going nowhere. It will probably finish third behind the two teams in blue and white and ahead of the misfiring teams in red and white. So it has been for a decade – Champions League qualification and regular humpings in the big matches.
That is not to say that Wenger is not the right man for the job. I don’t, however, subscribe to the camp that believes his former glories render him untouchable at Arsenal but I also think at the same time he would be a very hard act to follow. His shadow over the Emirates is Alex Ferguson-esque.
What Wenger must do, however, is either recognise what everyone else can see or cease a fruitless crusade for perfect football, or both.
He requires players with character, not just ability. A look at Arsenal’s injury list feels entirely uncanny. Injuries are not a player’s fault yet a look at the continued injuries to Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshire, Mesut Özil, (we’ll give Aaron Ramsey a pass here) indicate a frailty within the ranks, either physical or mental or both.
No one would argue that Özil is not a wonderful player but Arsenal’s record buy was another physically frail specimen who’s work rate and application comes into constant question.
Alexis Sanchez can be excluded from those types of criticism but was he really the player Arsenal needed? Fabregas returned to Chelsea, Sami Khedira wasn’t seriously chased and even the now matured Alex Song headed off to West Ham where he has excelled.
Chelsea, not short of fight, added Nemanja Matic last season, United are being heavily linked with Kevin Strootman and City have Fernando and Fernandinho backing up the hugely physically imposing Yaya Toure. Even the Barcelona side that Wenger so admires have Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano to do the dirty work, as well as previously a certain Carlos Puyol to ensure order at the back. Bayern are a physically imposing team, as are Real Madrid.
Brendan Rodgers is being pilloried for his transfer dealings this Summer. Even Roy Keane was honest enough to admit that things went badly at Ipswich because he bought bad players. Transfer dealings are a key duty of a manager’s work. Wenger is falling down badly in the transfer market, not because of the players he is buying but because of the players he isn’t buying.
Wenger is (still) the right man to manage Arsenal but he has to address the decision-making process in both the transfer market and team selection.
Much of the problem is that he may simply have too much power within the club. How Arsenal could do with David Dein whispering in his ear once more allowing Wenger ‘to reinsert the prime programme’.
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