Arsenal’s defence of the FA Cup ended in embarrassing fashion on Sunday evening as the Gunners were dumped out of the third round of the competition for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s reign.
On the one hand such a defeat serves to highlight just what an outstanding job Wenger has done at the club. To have won every single third round tie in over 20 years of management is quite remarkable given the fact that in that period Arsenal would have been paired against the best sides in the Premier League as well as those from the lower leagues looking to create a memorable cup upset. This record was as impressive as that of having secured a top four finish in every season of his reign. However that record was ended last season and the manager’s FA Cup third round success has now also come to an end. After the unquantified success of his early years at the club, in which records tumbled on a regular basis, it is difficult to escape the feeling that Wenger is now regularly breaking the wrong kind of records.
As he sat up in the directors’ box, serving the first of a three game touchline ban for his reaction to Mike Dean’s ridiculous penalty decision against West Brom, it was hard not to feel somewhat sorry for Wenger. Here he was once again overseeing a side full of players in which he has placed great faith and belief but who were letting him down yet again and there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it. Yes he had made a number of changes to the starting line-up but surely this was justified given the hectic festive period. Jack Wilshere for example needed a rest having started six first team games on the bounce, while Xhaka had a minor knock, Lacazette is the only fit out and out striker and Mustafi has just returned from injury. Nottingham Forest haven’t exactly been setting the Championship alight this season and in fact had recently sacked their manager Mark Warburton following a poor run of results. In this context the changes to the starting line-up should have been expected and there was more than enough talent and experience on the pitch to win the game had the players applied themselves in the correct manor.
Unfortunately those that were called upon, disgraced themselves and the club with a truly abysmal display that at any other club would most likely result in them never pulling on the club’s shirt again. These players are all on the fringes of a first team that is currently sixth in the Premier League and had the opportunity to stake a claim for inclusion in the starting eleven but instead showed just why they aren’t considered for selection on a regular basis. Theo Walcott was a prime example. Here is a player who is supposedly desperate to get back into Wenger’s first team plans or failing that to secure a move away from the club this month in order to stake a claim for inclusion in England’s World Cup squad. Yet whenever he has been given an opportunity to shine this season Walcott has been abysmal and his performance against Nottingham Forest was shocking, as it lacked in courage, commitment and hunger, the basics for any side hoping to win a football match. The finger of blame was pointed squarely at the manager post-match, but surely these players should not need the manager to give them any encouragement. They are playing for Arsenal Football Club and should therefore turn up each and every time they are called upon to perform. What they produced on Sunday was nothing short of a disgrace. Forest won battles all over the pitch as they simply wanted it more and by the final whistle both sides got what they deserved.
Yet while the manger had been severely let down by his side, it was also difficult to understand the major error of not having any senior attacking players on the bench to call upon once the game had gone against the Gunners. As a result, Wenger could only call upon the inexperienced Eddie Nketiah in the vain hope that the youngster could dig his side out of the deep hole they had found themselves in. The manger has gambled in this fashion before and more often than not the gamble has paid off but on this occasion the gamble just looked foolish and smacked of arrogance.
Another error was surely selecting Per Mertesacker at the heart of the defence. The German has never been blessed with pace but in his final season as a professional he appears to be tugging an imaginary ten tonne truck behind him every time he attempts to chase down an attacking player, such is his sluggishness. With Mertesacker at the back, Forest were always dangerous as they could simply slip balls in behind him, allowing their striker to get in behind the Arsenal defence with ease. Rob Holding alongside him looked completely out of his depth in the same competition in which he emerged as such a bright prospect last season. His poor clearance led to Forest’s second goal and he also conceded a needless penalty for their third. Holding looks to be a player completely shorn of confidence and a shadow of the player he appeared to be last season and this can only be the result of rank bad management and coaching as the same mistakes which led to Callum Chambers’ bright start at the club quickly going downhill, appear to be being repeated once again.
Arsenal’s defending was shockingly bad throughout the game and they never adjusted to the problems Forest posed them. The concession of two penalties as the defence panicked under pressure, only served to highlight this further, while the defending for the first goal was just laughable. As they lined up to defend a free kick right near the by-line, Ospina set up a two man wall and the defence lined up across the goal in line with the player furthest away from the by-line. This left a sizeable gap between Ospina and the defence in which any Forest player could waltz through and still be onside. The goalkeeper had to either do away with the wall altogether or take a few steps forward off his line to reduce the gap between himself and the defence. As no one noticed this, neither happened and Forest’s Lichaj was given time and space to nod Forest into the lead. The replays were simply embarrassing for Arsenal.
Within minutes the Gunners were back on level terms through Mertesacker’s poked effort but Arsenal allowed Forest to take the the lead again just before halftime thanks to Holding’s poor headed clearance and then to extend it further thanks to the first of those two penalties. Even when they were then gifted a way back into the game as Forest’s goalkeeper inexplicably dropped the ball at the feet of Welbeck who turned it into the empty net to make the score 3-2 at the time, Arsenal still contrived to return the favour with sloppy passing at the back ultimately resulting in Debuchy having to launch into a last ditch tackle on former Gunner Armand Traore and the concession of the second penalty of the day.
Wenger didn’t hold back in the post-match press conference and took nothing away from Nottingham Forest as he simply declared that his side had not been good enough. However he too must shoulder the blame. The majority of those players who took to the field on Sunday are not good enough for Arsenal Football Club yet have remained at the club. The manager is not ruthless enough. He has allowed the quality of his squad to decrease year on year for several seasons now and is reaping the results of those decisions. Walcott should have been sold years ago, the likes of Elneny are not good enough and should never have been signed, Debuchy has been marginalised to the point of disillusion and yearns to leave while the likes of Holding and Iwobi have seen their progress diminish as the result of poor coaching. Make no mistake, this club is going backwards fast and only a major overhaul will arrest the slide. Changes have been made behind the scenes in recent months but it is difficult to escape the feeling that ultimately nothing will change until the manager leaves. The FA Cup has been a competition which has saved Wenger in recent seasons; this year it has only served to condemn him further.
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