Ordinarily, a home game against Bournemouth would not be considered the greatest test of a manager as experienced and renowned as Arsene Wenger, but this weekend's game is one that will undoubtedly challenge the 67-year-old Arsenal boss.
It has little to do with the opposition -- although Eddie Howe's team are well-coached and play decent football -- and everything to do with the current state of play at Arsenal. There are myriad issues for Wenger to try and get on top of after what has been a tumultuous start to the season, exacerbated by a chaotic end to the transfer window.
Even if Arsenal's decision to sell Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and change their minds on star-man Alexis Sanchez, was precipitated by the embarrassing performance and 4-0 defeat to Liverpool, the inability to make any significant changes beyond the departure of the England international means questions remain unanswered.
Not simply to the fans, but to the players themselves whose display during the hammering suggested they harbour serious doubts about how the team is being managed. To any objective observer it looked as if they simply didn't believe in what they were being asked to do. Or, if we're being kind, they didn't understand the game plan, but neither situation reflects well on Wenger.
Some decisive action at the end of the window might have helped. As it is, the same players, minus Oxlade-Chamberlain, will now be asked to go into a tricky period and it's down to Wenger to get more from them. Perhaps the clarity the close of window provides will help.
The Arsenal squad is what it is now (until January at least) and there's no reason for team selection to be dictated to by anything other than form and suitability. That means no trying to shoehorn a player into the team because you want him to stay, and those displaced by that can return to their normal positions.
If you've bought the best wing-back in last season's Bundesliga, play him there. If you break your club transfer record for a striker whose stated aims is to score the goals that the team couldn't manage previously, then have faith in him to do that. Show the team that these guys are here to make a difference.
What Wenger must to do most of all is transmit faith in his tactics and system to the players. He has to make them believe in what he's doing, and that will probably mean a reversion to a back four sooner rather than later. When Arsenal changed to a back three system for the first time in over 20 years, it was the manager's last throw of the dice to try and turn around a team who were in free fall.
It wasn't always convincing, with statistics showing it made them defensively more suspect than they were before, but it had a positive impact on results. They won nine of their last 10 games, including the FA Cup final, but it has always felt as if Wenger remains unconvinced by what is essentially an unfamiliar system to him.
Going back to what he knows best may well provide some tactical security, but also allow him to address the glaring issue that the team faces beyond its defensive frailties: the centre of midfield. The partnership between Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey hasn't provided the defence with the kind of cover it requires, and the carelessness on the ball has proved costly too.
Changing to a 4-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 would require him to deploy Francis Coquelin or Mohamed Elneny in the middle, firstly closing up those spaces by virtue of an extra body. The more defensively minded player would also help glue the currently disparate parts of the team together, and allow the likes of Xhaka and Ramsey to make the kind of impact Wenger wants with the ball and with those late runs into the box.
This is also a tactical setup the players understand, having played it throughout their Arsenal careers. It was telling that Per Mertesacker said the first time he'd ever played in a back three was in the FA Cup final, and it's hard for a manager to so radically change the structure of the side over such a short period, especially when the players probably know it's not a system he's wedded to in the long term.
Of course it remains to be seen how much of an impact it will make, but it's worth a try, and unless Wenger gets his players back on side and quickly, a troubling start to the season could get worse.
SOURCE : KWESE ESPN
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