Arsenal: Diego Simeone Can Solve Every Problem In North London

Arsenal have not been consistent for a decade. They buckle late and they never manage to live up to expectations. Diego Simeone can fix that.

I’m not a #WengerOut man. I don’t think that all of Arsenal’s problems can be solved by firing Arsene Wenger. I don’t even think all of Arsenal’s problems revolve around Wenger. But there is one problem that I think is inherent in Wenger’s system – a lack of fire.

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This team has all the talent needed to win just about anything. Look at them. When they are clicking, they are one of the best teams in the world and capable of competing with anyone. But them ‘clicking’ happens far too infrequently. That comes from a degree of complacency and a lack of fire.

It was pretty obvious against Manchester United. United deployed a bunch of young whippersnappers who had the one thing Arsenal lacked – fire. They looked like they wanted to win more than anything. Meanwhile, Arsenal looked like they just didn’t want to lose. That’s not a recipe for success.

Arsenal does not have many fiery types. A lot of their players can get fired up by a disaster, but you hate to always wait for disasters to see the best in your team.

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The only undoubted, always fired-up Arsenal man is Joel Campbell. He is a workhorse. He has his fair share of flaws, but he has passion. Gabriel and Coquelin can get it from time to time, but even they can look defeated sometimes.

How do you light a fire under 20 or so guys that have gone this long without such a flame under them? Well, one potential solution is to change things up on the managerial end. Wenger has that same degree of complacency that we have seen his players exhibit from time to time – that is no mere coincidence.

I always admire Arsenal for doing things different and sticking to the plan, but that plan has not panned out lately. It has been the same old story over and over.

If Arsenal do not win a major trophy this year, I am starting to think it may be time to make a major change. The talent level is there, so it’s not like we desperately need anything (other than a new defensive midfielder). It is just a matter of keeping that talent level at it’s highest degree of efficiency for longer than a few matches.

That takes a manager known for his passion and his consistency. Diego Simeone fits that billing to a tee.

I have also always thought that an internal solution would be best to carry on the Wenger legacy, but when you really think about it, it’s not like a new manager is going to come in like a battering ram, destroying everything just for the sake of doing it. Only Pep Guardiola does that. Besides, Simeone has carried on where Atletico Madrid was headed, but more on that later.

What Diego Simeone does is clear from his time at Atletico Madrid. Since taking over in 2011, his team’s mantra has been obvious – defend well and you will win. He has turned Atletico into more than the third wheel in Spain. He has made them contenders with Barcelona and Real Madrid.

That is proven by their La Liga winning season of 2013/14. But even aside from that year, the returns from Atletico have been pretty similar. They score about as much as everyone else, maybe a little more, but their defense is superb. The personnel on the pitch is one reason that is the case – few are better than Diego Godin. But if you really get down to it, Arsenal have the personnel for a great defense as well.

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Laurent Koscielny is always heralded as one of the best in the world. Between Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin, Arsenal also have one of the best fullback pairings in the world. So why can’t they defend up to scratch? It could be a problem with the midfield, but even then, the personnel is there.

Diego Simeone can fix it. He has been going toe-to-toe with two of the three best teams in the world for four years now. He has been making them look human. Take for instance the 1-0 win against Real Madrid recently, which Simeone referred to as ‘natural’.

Simeone is doing more with less in a league dominated by two heavy-spenders.

Which brings me to another reason why Simeone fits perfectly – he builds from within. While he only came to the club in 2011, he has allowed homegrown talents like Oliver Torres, Koke and Saul Niguez to rise through the ranks. He has not used sparkling signings to replace them.

It was Simeone who opted for youth solutions, as he was responsible for introducing Oliver and Saul to the first team. Essentially, he continued the clubs drive for internal solutions.

Sounds very Arsenal-like.

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There is still time to turn the season around. But if Arsenal do not show improvements on the past few years with the talent level they now possess, it is time to shake things up. I always say that Arsenal is not a daycare and therefore they cannot keep babying their players when they are ineffective. Well, if the manager is also being babied, the same applies.