da 888： It was a case of same old, same old for Arsene Wenger last night as the Gunners went down 5-1 losers to Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena to leave their Champions League dreams in tatters. Prior to the continental kicking, the London club had lost two of their last three league matches – slipping to defeats against Watford and Chelsea – which had increased the pressure on Wenger to the point that not even a victory over Hull last weekend eased calls for this to be his last season at the club.
da spicy bet： And he confirmed doubters’ views once again in Munich with yet another bad outing in Europe. Granted, the Bavarians were never going to be straightforward opponents to get past, but the manner of the loss was galling, with the Premier League side out-fought and out-classed across the 90 minutes.
The truth is Arsene Wenger has to take the blame for this disappointment and should finally be relieved of his duties when his contract expires at the end of the season at the latest.
Lack of silverware
The Gunners have been seen as underachievers for much of the last 13 years, with Wenger’s men winning only three trophies since their famous ‘Invincibles’ season in 2003/04 – all FA Cups in 2005, 2014 and 2015. For a club of Arsenal’s pedigree, they should be winning more.
Wenger is no doubt a managerial icon and should be respected, but the fact that the Gunners boss has struggled to motivate his side to a league triumph is a dent on his status.
While the likes of Jose Mourinho, Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini, and the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson have given themselves the honour of winning the league title in the last 12 years, the Arsenal chief has been found wanting. The Frenchman seems to be the luckiest manager in the world, with the board always satisfied with the north Londoners just making it into the top four year after year and, in turn, bringing in cash.
With the standards set by the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, it is almost certain that he would have been sacked long ago at any other club.
Continual tactical failures
The lack of desire shown in the so-called big games has definitely been an issue. The Gunners boss has always been fond of treating every game the same way, which ultimately sees him get found out.
He has become so accustomed to lining his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation that it’s hard to remember games that the Frenchman has switched to capitalise on the opposition’s weaknesses or set up his team not to lose at the very least. Instead, the Gunners chief is stubborn, playing his preferred possession-based football every time and rarely having a Plan B.
Euro woes
It seems ridiculous that a club of Arsenal’s pedigree that have been so dominant in the past, fielding the likes of World Cup winners Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Roberto Pires, have failed to get their hands on a Champions League crown. Perhaps even more shocking is the failure of manager Wenger to land the trophy as a manager.
One of their best chances to win the competition perhaps came in 2003/04 when the Gunners were knocked out by Chelsea, while the 2006 final loss against Barcelona sticks in the minds of many.
It’s been disappointment-upon-disappointment ever since, as while the likes of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and the unforgettable Sir Alex Ferguson have triumphed and been successful, the Gunners boss has seen his side knocked out at the last 16 stage frequently. The 5-1 1st leg loss to Bayern Munich on Wednesday brought familiar memories, leaving the London club with too much to do in the second leg.
The Gunners surely need a fresh start, more motivation and appetite, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the 67-year-old’s 20-year stay in the Arsenal dugout may come to an end soon.