Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal are arrogant but not in the sense that Gary Neville has indicated

By Josh Sippie

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Gary Neville has been absolutely losing his mind lately in regards to Arsenal and their lack of transfer window presence. He has called Arsene Wenger “arrogant or naive” before settling on arrogant. Neville claims that Wenger is refusing to adapt his club, and that he is therefore high and mighty.

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I have a pilgrimage to never agree with Gary Neville in regards to Arsenal, but he has hit on something here. Not in the point that he made but in the choice of word: Arrogance.

Watching Arsenal against Newcastle, that is precisely what it looked like: Arrogance. Not arrogance from Arsene Wenger or from anyone in particular but as a team. The club played like they had nothing to prove. They diddled around the box without any prerogative. They lacked any sort of conviction on or off the ball and when things did not go right, the majority of faces in the red and white were blank, as if nothing had slipped by.

Theo Walcott provided the best example of this. After missing a point blank shot, he may have thrown a curse or two but it was mostly a blank stare, like he did not just miss a prime opportunity to grab some credibility in the starting striker race.

By not signing players, Arsene Wenger is letting his guys know that everything is okay and that they are safe no matter what they do. When was Olivier Giroud’s best year? Last year, when we brought on Danny Welbeck to challenge him. When was Mesut Ozil’s best year? Also last year, when Alexis Sanchez came on and stole the spotlight. These players respond to competition and uncertainty just as much, if not more than they respond to a potential trophy.

What is more effective as motivation, a potential trophy that is nine months away or a new guy showing up at your place of work, that your boss thought enough of to buy in the wake of your presence? The immediate threat is more motivating than far off glory, whether they like it or not. It is how the mind works.

Right now, no one on that Arsenal squad feels threatened in any way. Their complacency has led to this subtle arrogance. It is not a bash on their character by any means, it is just a byproduct of the situation at hand.

Back in Arsenal’s prime in the Invincible era, disappointment and success were offsetting each other for a fantastic motivational blend, but even aside from that, guys like Sol Campbell, Francis Jeffers and Gilberto were being brought in to challenge established guys like Henry and company. Having two forms of motivation propelled that Arsenal squad to greatness.

This current squad has not tasted league success followed by let down. They have been perennial third and fourth placed finishers for the past decade. That is no sort of motivation. Signings have been made but most of those signings have been prolonged recovery efforts from the mass of exits that occurred from the Emirates being paid off.

As such, every time these guys take the pitch, they are not thinking “if I do not perform, so-and-so will take my spot.” First of all, Wenger has shown that barring absolute catastrophe, he will not replace players. I still think that Kieran Gibbs would have a tremendous impact on Arsenal but I know that unless Monreal has an absolute clattering match leading directly to an Arsenal loss, he will not be replaced. You know who else knows that? Nacho Monreal.

The same is true across the board. Gabriel Paulista has played superbly since filling in for Per Mertesacker and I would much rather see Gabriel run out even when the German returns, as he has earned it, but you can bet that Wenger will give it right back to Mertesacker.

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Even Arsene Wenger has no threat. The Arsenal board has openly admitted that he has more power than anyone in the organization. I have complete faith in Wenger and I do not think he goes home saying “I won’t sign anyone, my job is safe” but again, he has no threat to his position and it effects his decision making. When was Wenger at his best? When he was new to the club and knew that if he did not perform, someone else would take his spot. Also when he was in and out of success. Neither of those sources of motivation are propelling Wenger.

Most of this mindset is inevitable. Without anything preying on your security, the mind goes into a sort of lull. That is what the difference is between a domesticated animal and a wild animal. Wild animals know that predators are out there, are always on alert and are therefore much more dangerous and much more tactical. Put a domesticated, captivity-raised mountain lion up against a wild one and see which one wins.

Arsenal are domesticated right now as a unit. They need something like a high-profile, outside signing to come in and teach them how to be wild again. Until then, Arsenal will continue to walk around with that domesticated arrogance, knowing full well that there is no immediate threat to their security.

Either that or Wenger has to shake it up and bring some chaos into the scenario.

Next: Mesut Ozil would not have changed much against Newcastle

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