Monday 20 September 2010

Does Wenger have a point?



Over the last few days it has been almost impossible to miss Arsene Wenger’s latest comments about how strong tackling needs to be outlawed from the game and how his players have no protection. The tackle from Paul Robinson the weekend before last was horrendous and Abou Diaby was incredibly lucky to walk away relatively unscathed. If you speak to any Arsenal fans it is something they are generally more concerned about than any other club; this is because they play more possession football than most.

The Arsenal style that Wenger has employed is to play neat triangles and retain possession at all costs. It is build around having good technical players in the midfield that can pass through defences; the problem arises when defenders are making desperate lunges to tackle the player in possession. There is no master plan by sides such as Stoke or West Brom to hurt Arsenal players; they are simply over zealous on occasions. The other problem is the speed that the Premier League is played at; it is unbelievably fast and an errant lunge always has the capability of injuring someone.

No football fan wants to see Eduardo or Ramsey sidelined for months at a time but it is something that has always happened and will continue to happen. There have been no clamours by Ferguson for tackling to be outlawed so why should Arsenal get preferential treatment? The physical part of the game is essential and something that the fans and players alike should relish and enjoy. It is incredibly unfortunate that some Arsenal players seem to come off worse than others but maybe Wenger should start focusing his players and staff on winning trophies rather than moaning about all the injustices he has to cope with.

1 comment:

  1. Glad you didn't loose your focus for the topic because of your hatred of Arsenal....................................................................................... until the last Sentance!

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