Arsenal: Only One Winner In Laurent Koscielny, Arsene Wenger Bust Up

Laurent Koscielny has criticised Arsene Wenger’s team selection for Arsenal’s loss to Chelsea. There is, though, only one winner in the bust up.

The questioning of Arsene Wenger is something that rarely takes place at Arsenal. Early in his tenure, characters like Tony Adams, a hard-nosed, tough-talking captain, and David Dein, the financially shrewd but success-focused director, were willing to, internally, challenge Wenger’s beliefs, his plans and his initiatives.

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However, Adams has since retired and Dein left under a cloud of controversy over a decade ago. As such, Wenger’s position in the club, as the entrenched leader, with every nook and cranny of the club moulded in his own image.

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This has only become truer as time has progressed. Wenger, unlike most modern day managers, still works in a way where he is the centre-piece for every decision that is made, from the team selection to the Monday morning breakfast. Now, though, there has been a public disagreement with his latest lineup. After the loss to Chelsea, captain Laurent Koscielny expressed a disappointment with Wenger’s team selection, bemoaning both the personnel and tactical choices made:

"“I think we played some players in front of others and I think we should have played more as a team and there was space to do so. They hit us on the counter. It [the title] will be difficult now. Mathematically, nothing is done but we know that it is going to be very complicated.”"

It is certainly disappointing to see Koscielny go public with his criticisms. It is perfectly acceptable to have doubts, questions and uncertainties with your manager’s decisions. It is not acceptable to express them in public light. This should be undertaken privately, internally, without creating the media furore that will inevitably occur as a result.

Whatever the case, there will only be one winner of this disagreement. Although Koscielny is an established and well-respected member of the squad, his opinion does not carry the weight that Wenger’s does. Wenger is the manager, he is the biggest figure at the club and, like it or not, his is the final decision.

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I do not expect these comments to cause a major rift. Wenger is wonderfully adept at handling often difficult situations with unhappy or disgruntled players. However, it will most certainly be Wenger’s way or the highway and Koscielny will have to align his will with his manager’s.