arsene-wenger-arsenal

Oh Arsene, when will you learn to appreciate another team’s performance?

Arsene Wenger has infuriated Villa boss Martin O’Neill with his comments after the 0-0 draw at Villa Park on Wednesday night.

Wenger was quoted as saying "I believe we dropped two points because we had clear chances. But on the other hand it was a very difficult game because they stopped us from playing when we had the ball and when they had the ball they played a very long-ball game and closed us down. It was difficult for us. We couldn't find our ¬passing game. We know what you get when you come here and we were not disappointed. It's a very efficient English game with long balls and very physical."

The comments enraged O’Neill who has a history of arguments with Arsene Wenger. His response was swift saying

"If that's what he saw tonight, that is a ridiculous statement … He's made a few ridiculous statements in his time here and that's probably as good as any. That's only an annoyance at the end of it all. Anybody who saw the game wouldn't take that viewpoint. Ashley Young didn't have time to play long balls when he was taking that left-back [Gael Clichy] to the cleaners. It's an -appalling insult."

Personally, I side with O’Neill, his tactics were spot on and if you look at the game, both teams had chances to score. At home, Arsenal are, without doubt, the most entertaining team in the Premier League. In terms of quick, free flowing football, nobody would deny them that. The problem for Wenger is that the Premier League is not just about that. The success of Stoke City, who must make Wenger cringe with their style of play, is a perfect example of utilising your team’s strengths. Years of moaning about how teams play against his work in process, would suggest that Wenger does not like it. The fact that most of these rants have come after dropped points at say, Blackburn, or Bolton, simply provide teams with the material as to how they should approach a fixture against Arsenal.

The way in which Chelsea demolished The Gunners at the Emirates earlier this season is a perfect example of a team who can adapt accordingly. Chelsea have set the league alight with displays of passing football as good as that of their London rivals, however, in beating Arsenal, they showed that they can change their style in depending on the opposition.

Nobody will argue with Wenger that he has an extremely talented team, but whether it is his reluctance, or incapability, to adapt his team to all aspects of the Premier League, he is occasionally portraying himself as, well, slightly foolish...