When Arsene Wenger makes a tactical change, the hysteria is massive.
Like the death of a monarch, or Halley’s comet appearing in the sky, when Wenger makes a major tactical tweak, you start to get a real ‘remember where you were’ moment: the victory over Middlesbrough on Monday night saw Wenger start with a back three formation for the first time since May 1997, almost 20 years ago.
The Arsenal manager doesn’t seem to like suiting his tactics to the opposition, and rather than think of himself as a reactive coach, the Frenchman appears to believe himself above the realms of pragmatism. His team, he thinks, should worry only about themselves, not the opposition.
The last time Wenger caused this much talk with a change of tack was at the Etihad Stadium in January 2015, when his Arsenal side incorporated a disciplined Francis Coquelin into midfield and defended deeply, springing counter attacks on an unsuspecting Manchester City. It worked. Arsenal won 2-0 and it was seen as a turning point for the Gunners after years of depression. But in the end, all that victory did was give Wenger a reason not to sign a real defensive midfielder.
“If we had bought Coquelin at Christmas for £40m, everyone would say ‘what a signing’. I am sorry he didn’t cost any money, he is still a good player,” Wenger said later in the season, laying the groundwork for a scenario the very next summer where the Gunners would be the only team in Europe’s top five leagues not to sign an outfield player.
This tactical change could be an even more significant piece of foundational work from the Emirates Stadium boss, though.
The longer we are left in the dark about Wenger’s future, the more the speculation rises: will Wenger stay on next season, will Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil stay at the club, will the Arsenal hierarchy appoint a director of football? The questions are multiplying, but the answers are nowhere to be seen. And media outlets are happy to plug the gap with speculative stories.
Either it’s a case of a general malaise, or it’s a case of laying the groundwork for something bigger. In the face of fairly overwhelming public anger – and whether that’s a minority or not, it’s hard to ignore the unrest – Wenger will certainly need to give some sort of concession to those who feel like he should have left the club long ago.
It all comes down to politics.
If the leader is unpopular, and if he wants to stay on, he has to give something up. And if the board are willing to keep Wenger, it’s not unreasonable to think that they’ve told him he needs to change some things.
Ever since Wenger’s arrival at Highbury all those years ago, 4-4-2 has been his formation of choice. Essentially, it’s some variation on a flat back-four, with two central midfielders in front of them, and a number 10 dropping in behind the striker. In more modern terms, it’s a 4-2-3-1, but it’s been the same ever since Bergkamp played Ozil in behind Sanchez’s (or Giroud’s) Henry.
A tactical switch, then, is a major development given the history. But that’s not the same as saying that Wenger has changed. As with the City game in 2015, this could just be something for the manager to point to in order to show angry fans he can change if they give him the chance.
But it looks like he’s laying the groundwork for another season in charge, and minor tactical switches are unlikely to win over the fans.
