BEFORE Arsenal have any chance of improving they have to sort themselves out behind the scenes.
If they don’t, we will still be talking about the same issues on the pitch for the next two or three years as we have the last few.
Midfielders Matteo Guendouzi and Mesut Ozil, plus defender David Luiz in the background, reflect on trailing for a second time in the 2-2 draw at NorwichCredit: Rex Features
Interim boss Freddie Ljungberg dishes out instructions in his first game in chargeCredit: Getty – Contributor
If nothing changes, it really wouldn’t surprise me if things get worse at the Emirates before they get better.
The biggest issue, and it’s been a problem for years now, is recruitment.
Just who is bringing the players into the club? If it’s not the manager, then who is accountable?
Unai Emery lost his job because they have deteriorated, with the club in no better a position than when he took over at the start of last season.
Managers know they will pay the price if results are not good, but someone behind the scenes has to be held responsible for the signings.
And in recent years they have simply not been good enough.
You only need to look at Manchester United to see how big a challenge it was for Emery from the outset.
NO CHANCE OF TOP FOUR
Replacing a legend like Arsene Wenger was never going to be easy, even if the Frenchman probably stayed a year or two longer than he should have. We’ve seen how hard it has been for bosses trying to replicate Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
Fergie retired over six years ago and United are still a million miles off the pace.
If Arsenal are not careful, then it could take years for them to get back to where they have been used to.
For me, the Gunners have no chance of making the top four.
They are only seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with 24 games still to go — but defensively they are nowhere near good enough.
Arsenal have struggled at the back for a while now and, if anything, they are getting worse and worse.
Any centre-forward would relish coming up against them and fancy themselves to score goals.
Things hardly got better at Norwich yesterday, where the backline was all at sea and indebted to keeper Bernd Leno for a couple of fantastic saves.
Once again, it comes to the scrambled recruitment at the club.
David Luiz was brought in on deadline day in the summer, with Laurent Koscielny leaving.
I understand the French defender’s situation, but they were hardly any better at the back with him there in recent seasons.
If players want to leave then at times your hands are tied – but you have to ask why those players want to leave in the first place?
If they see a lack of progress at the club, fair enough. But to think the replacements they have brought in are good enough to take the club forward has been a massive mistake.
Not all signings have been a total disaster.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has 12 goals so far after his double at Carrow Road, and at times is single-handedly dragging Arsenal along.
But it must be incredibly frustrating for the striker to see all of his good work undone by the awful defending.
He joined Arsenal to be competing at the top of the table, not toiling in seventh. So as well as the recruitment being subpar, they also need to make sure they keep performing players like Aubameyang happy and at the club.
Freddie Ljungberg needs to steady the ship — yet he can’t suddenly turn average defenders into good ones.
They will always score goals and he might make them more organised. But as things stand, he’s going to struggle to stop them conceding.
Having been given this role as interim boss, of course he has a chance to get the job permanently.
But whoever comes in will have exactly the same issues as Emery.
They could spend in January but money is not always the answer.
Far more pressing is sorting out what is going on off the pitch — who buys the players? If not the manager, who is accountable if they fail?
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
