Wenger made mistake... but players owe him

Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2013 by The Sun

Wenger made mistake... but players owe him
TWISTED PRIORITIES ... Theo Walcott kneels dejected after Arsenal's FA Cup defeat

ARSENE WENGER must be regretting the time he claimed finishing fourth in the Premier League is like winning a trophy.

It is not.

My former manager approaches tonight’s clash with Bayern Munich under unbelievable pressure and I hope the Arsenal players he has shown such faith in are aware of this.

It’s time they repaid Wenger with a massive performance.

But Wenger has once again made life incredibly difficult for himself by not fielding his strongest team against Blackburn in the FA Cup on Saturday, with the result an embarrassing defeat. Another one.

Wenger made a big mistake by not making the FA Cup his top priority.

This means the Champions League is Wenger’s final chance of winning a first trophy in eight years.

I think all Arsenal fans will understand and accept Bayern will be tough and few are expecting their team to be playing in the final at Wembley on May 25.

But I do believe this Arsenal team — providing they all play at their very best — could beat the Germans over two legs.

But the Blackburn result was hardly a help. I believe it could have been avoided had Wenger taken the FA Cup seriously and then started worrying about the European game on Sunday.

After Manchester City’s loss at Southampton, Alex Ferguson still played a strong team in the
League match against Everton even though the Real Madrid first leg was around the corner.
Wenger insisted he still fielded 11 internationals against Blackburn.

Yet putting Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla on the bench sent out a negative message. As a former player, you know that if a manager is not that fussed about a competition, that attitude creeps into the team.

Look at Norwich in the FA Cup the other week.

They still fielded a team full of Premier League experience but, because they made a massive number of changes, Chris Hughton’s team went into the game with the wrong attitude and
Luton, a non-league side, won the game.

So the Champions League is all Wenger has left and, as you would expect, Arsenal fans are worried.

And they have every right to be concerned.

The club is outside the top four in the league and could not beat Blackburn or Bradford in the cups.

I am once again getting quite a lot of stick from Arsenal fans. Yet I have to make objective comments about the team, even though I love the club.

There’s no point saying everything is fantastic. I hope Arsenal beat Bayern and prove people wrong.

If Bayern go into tonight’s game thinking it is a good time to play Arsenal, then we could still get a home win.

Arsenal have everything to fight for and nothing to lose.

In the current climate, no one expects Wenger’s team to triumph. But with their backs against the wall, they CAN do it.

Wenger’s defence has looked vulnerable and let’s hope they contain Bayern. Equally, Arsenal need big performances from Cazorla, Wilshere, Walcott, Mikel Arteta and Lukas Podolski.

I believe if they do perform, Arsenal will win.

Everyone keeps talking about Chelsea and how they won the Champions League against all the odds.

I am not going to predict that Arsenal will do the same.

But I just want to see Wenger’s side go out and give it all they’ve got.

You cannot ask for anything more than that.