Lack of leadership on the pitch by MW
We throw names in the hat all season and summer long as to who Arsenal should buy, and i think we are overlooking the blindingly obvious reason we are incapable of winning anything. The truth is that we do not have any real leaders out there on the pitch and we havent since the 2005 season. The team have all the talent in the world and always have done, despite who we have sold, talent-wise we are on a par with any other team in the game full stop.
What we lack is a real leader, a man who opponents fear, a man who is not afraid to rip into his team mates when they are not performing, a man who team-mates look to for inspiration and have to push themselves to match, a man who can grab the game by the scruff of the neck, drive the team forwards and organise and instruct his fellow players and ensure we grind results out.
I for one am sick of seeing a team that have started too many games in second gear with virtually a total lack of communication, then going a goal down early – whilst looking at each other with that ‘what happened there then’ look slapped accross their mugs, earning us a rep as a ‘second-half team’ because it takes that long before they finally realise there is a game to win.
Why is it we fail to produce so often against other top teams. I tell you why, because there is not one man out there on our team who has a clue what it means to be a leader. I am used to the likes of Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Sol Campbell, Lee Dixon, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Jens Lehmann et al, men that other teams respected out of their sheer will to win and ‘never say die’ attitude, let alone their footballing ability. If we had even a couple of those guys in our present team we would be challenging for titles. It saddens me to think that Wenger had those players and knew their winning mentality – and the effect that has on a squad – and has failed to bring a true leader thru to take this team on to the next level in 8 seasons.
I couldnt care less if we spent a tenner on some unknown from the bottom tier of English football, if that player could give us the leadership we are missing. I am convinced the results would be there for all to see. Jack Wilshere has all the potential, but for god sake the boy is still learning his trade. The fact we are all already holding him up as FAC just backs my theory we are really lacking a true leader at present. Its a joke we are depending on a kid – regardless of his undoubted talent, to take this team forwards. We need to address this problem first and get a true leader in, or there is a real danger we will piss away our transfer kitty on all these supposed ‘world class’ players we have been begging wenger for – and yet still be scraping into champs league year on year!
United have Fletcher, Giggs, Vidic, Scholes and remember Roy Keane? Man City have Kompany and Tevez. Chelsea have Terry, Lampard, Cole and in the recent past players like Makelele and Ballack. These guys are hardly the sort you expect to be lining up year on year for the balon d’or, but they are/were there when the medals are being handed out at the end of the season time and again. To be honest it is easy to pick a player on his footballing ability. It is something else to identify a player who has that little bit more.
Wenger has done it before with Vieira – I for one am hoping he can find that special someone out there again, until we do, I fear we can forget about winning the big prizes!!!
Matt Webb
