Tired excuses can’t hide the cancer

Wenger and assistant, Pat Rice:
Overseeing a cancer of complacency?

Often as they say in this game, you learn more about a team from defeats than from victories. Starting with that absolute shocker against West Brom, we have slumped altogether to four defeats in this season’s campaign – three in the Premiership and one away to Shakhtar Donetsk. The fact that we are still squeezed in the top four of the league table is an indication of the same inconsistent malaise afflicting all other teams around us. The truth be told however, the man on whose table all the accolades and blame rests (whichever the case may be), Arsene Wenger, seems to be juggling different reasons to explain every defeat. His best line is ‘complacency’ - an excuse he’s used to explain two defeats already. If he identified this problem so early in our loss to Shakhtar, how come he hasn’t done anything concrete to address it? Why is that same excuse employed to explain the reason behind last Saturday’s embarassment by Tottenham?
Is Wenger himself exasperated; or losing his hold on his players; or losing his marbles; or simply losing touch with reality? It will be a sad day when a legend like the Wenger is put to pasture like a demented Guy Roux, the legendary ex-Auxerre manager who was eased out after over forty years on the saddle on account of old age. Or like the late Bobby Robson who often forget the names of his players at Newcastle.
Wenger is still a ‘young man’ at 61 and therefore ought to have his senses at full power. At least looking at his statements following our four defeats so far this season, we can’t detect signs of aging yet.
His reactions to those defeats will be looked at once more as we try to get an indication of how his mind works and what he thinks is wrong with this bunch of players.


Against West Brom
“Overall I believe that, defensively, everybody made individual mistakes...mentally we were never in the game at the requested level. We did go until the end but we had no sharpness and you have to analyse why we had no sharpness."


Against Newcastle
“We were never in full flow, but we played against a good Newcastle team who are a team of men, strong physically, mature. We did not look sharp and we never found any sharpness. We never found the second gear. Overall, though, I still believe we were very unlucky to lose the game, they had one shot on target. We hit the woodwork two or three times and their keeper made a very good save.”


Against Shakhtar Donetsk
“It was a complacency problem rather than an individual problem. I can’t fault the team, we gave a lot. But we learnt a lesson that at this level we can’t lose focus.We thought we would get through without putting 100 per cent focus on every defensive situation…We were not completely sharp and we were punished. If you’re not focused for 90 minutes then you will suffer.”


Against Tottenham
“We missed an opportunity, to make a difference with the teams behind us. It’s a big concern, a main concern. We were 2-0 up and it was all in our hands. But to completely lose the focus as much as we did and especially the second goal and third goal are very difficult to understand. We wanted to keep the urgency and our defensive tightness alive. But it’s not the first time this has happened and it’s one of our weaknesses.
“Many times we have come out and dropped a little bit the urgency when we are ahead”.


It is needless to stress that the integrity of both Wenger and all the years of toil he’s put into this side now rest on how the team picks itself up and repairs the damage done by that Tottenham ‘give-away’.
‘Complacency’, which is the common thread that runs through the above explanations, simply doesn’t wash. So also do phrases like, “we did not look sharp”; “We thought we would get through without putting 100 per cent”; and “it’s not the first time this has happened”.
The last bit was the most important to me: “it’s not the first time this has happened”. True indeed!
If highly-paid young professionals cannot find the presence of mind to concentrate for 90 minutes on their day job, then you must wonder what else motivates them. If this lack of motivation is becoming a cancer, it's time to take drastic action all round.
Gunners everywhere are fed up with this circus. Too much latitude and benefit of doubt have been granted this team, there is simply no room for error anymore.
We all at the end of our tether and it’s time Wenger and his bunch delivers. Enough of the charade and shadow-boxing. Enough please.