The damaging home defeat by Watford has raised familiar concerns about the capability of Arsène Wenger’s side to maintain a title challenge when the pressure is really onThe vast majority of a football manager’s life revolves around dealing with situations that are testing, thought-provoking and demanding but once in a while something magical comes along that makes all the questions and pressures and nonsense they have to deal with in their everyday work seem humdrum.For Arsène Wenger one of those came along at the beginning of this season when he watched his team produce a blueprint performance. Chelsea were demolished with a swagger, 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to an impressive demonstration of dashing attacking mixed with rigorous team control....
The Arsenal forward showed his frustration when he was substituted during their 4-0 win over Swansea, but Wenger dismissed it as a ‘non-story’A couple of weeks ago, Arsène Wenger admitted Alexis Sánchez looked “jaded”, the relentless Chilean’s workload taking a toll on even his machine of a body. Now, after a couple of weeks rest, Sánchez was back to his fizzing best, the driving force behind Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Swansea City, a bundle of energy that few defences can cope with, let alone the worst in the Premier League.Sánchez seems to regard being substituted in much the same way as a giddy child playing in the park would after being unwillingly called home for dinner. When his number was...
Manchester City steamrollered Arsenal in the second half to stay in touch with Chelsea while Arsène Wenger’s side showed a familiar Jekyll-and-Hyde personaBefore the game Pep Guardiola said: “Today we can make further progress by beating one of the best and most consistent sides in the league. Today’s match is our last here in 2016 and we want to say goodbye with a great performance. If we can do that we have moved back above one of the big rivals for the title.” After a torrid first half this was how the contest ended as City transformed from an aimless bunch to a menacing proposition that steamrollered Arsenal in the second period. Given that Guardiola’s men were watery despite defeating...
A third successive home draw will not make the manager’s life any easier after Arsenal earned a point through Olivier Giroud’s late levellerIt is a moot point whether Arsenal fans have any right to make the claim that he is “not special any more” after what José Mourinho would describe as their specialising in failure years, but they know what needles Manchester United and their manager.The home side have not been special enough this season, Mourinho has even begun blaming his success in the past for the raised expectations that are currently going unfulfilled at Old Trafford, and if United are back in the realms of the ordinary there is no longer anything special about this fixture other than its...
The Arsenal manager looked to be paying the price for his cautious selection in the centre but his side snatched a point with a late equaliser at Old TraffordThere was a good moment at the final whistle here. Arsène Wenger and José Mourinho shook hands brusquely on the Old Trafford touchline, turned to walk off, then realised with a shared prickle of awkwardness they were heading the same way, the world’s most awkward shared hundred metre stroll ahead of them. Wenger did the decent thing, taking a couple of paces then stopping and pretending to fiddle with his coat. It was deftly done and no doubt a sensible move, the thick black cloud above Mourinho’s head almost visible as he...