Arsenal: Arsene Wenger Adopts Ivan Gazidis ‘Catalyst For Change’

Ivan Gazidis challenged Arsene Wenger to be Arsenal’s ‘catalyst for change’. As Hector Bellerin points out, he is answering the call.

Ivan Gazidis was brave in his challenge of Arsene Wenger. The man who has moulded Arsenal in his image for over two decades, Wenger is entrenched in his ways, steadfastly supportive of his beliefs, unwavering in the implementation of his ideals and his principles. To ask demands of someone with such power and control is, for anyone, a courageous decision.

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But that is exactly what the much-maligned Chief Executive did when he asked Wenger, if he were to stay in North London, to be the ‘catalyst for change’ for the club. Wenger, though, to his credit, listened to the man that he has apparently been at odds with for some time now.

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Wenger made the shock decision to implement a 3-4-3 system that has served Chelsea so well under Antonio Conte, and has seen his players respond to the new instruction that he has given them. He has, on a number of occasions, heralded the influence of the distraction that the change in approach brings, allowing the players to focus on the tactics of the team, rather than the vociferous atmosphere that had engulfed the club.

And praising the freshness of the idea is a sentiment that has been echoed by Hector Bellerin. When asked about the impact of the new system, he was keen to point out that the switching of the formation keeps the opposition guessing, stating:

"“You know, for the style of play that the team has, it works really well. Sometimes you’ve just got to keep switching system and make the other teams just think about it for a second and I think the team is doing really good. No matter what system we play, I think the team is performing so we’ve just got to keep it going and enjoy every minute of it.”"

Such is Wenger’s stubbornness and single-mindedness throughout his 21-year tenure, many, myself included, believed that we would never see the day when he made sweeping tactical changes in the search of bringing a fresh idea to provide a catalyst for change for his players.

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Gazidis challenged Wenger to implement something new. Wenger – it may or may not have been down to Gazidis’ comments – answered the call and Arsenal are reaping the rewards. The catalyst for change is, slowly, working.