Time for Gunners to trust manager’s masterplan

ARSENE WENGER is under the sort of pressure he has not experienced in quarter of a century as a football manager.

Headlines proclaim ‘Breakdown’ and ‘Crisis’ at Arsenal.

Phone-ins and websites openly debate whether Arsenal and the greatest manager in the club’s history should part company.

If Arsenal lose at home to Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League at the Emirates tonight, some might even begin to seriously discuss such a ludicrous prospect.

And that is why lovers of the game should hope Arsenal win. Convincingly. Just as they did against Manchester United a couple of weeks ago.

Arsenal need Wenger. For heaven’s sake, English football needs the manager who has done more than anyone to promote reason and good husbandry in the money-mad world of the Premier League.

It needs someone to provide an alternative to the instant demands of the rich sheikh and the foreign billionaire.

After a wretched weekend, Wenger’s move to promote Cesc Fabregas to captain while restoring outspoken former skipper William Gallas to the team against Kiev was the minimum required to retain his authority.

Yet the manager remains in dangerous territory.

Arsenal have not won anything for more than three years. Already this season they have lost to Fulham, Stoke, Hull, been taken apart at home by Aston Villa and on Saturday they were thrashed by Manchester City.

For all their eye-pleasing passing, it is blindingly obvious that they lack the steely presence at the heart of the team which is essential in the Premier League.

Gilberto, Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb have all gone without ever being properly replaced.

When Wenger has his first choice team out, they can still cope, but one or two injuries is all it needs to expose the softest of underbellies.

Then there is Gallas and the affair which highlights Wenger’s stubbornness. It was obvious Gallas was not captain material the moment he sat on the pitch and sulked when things went against Arsenal at Birmingham last season.

Yet Wenger persevered with a defender whose greatest asset, his pace, has fallen foul of Old Father Time. And he has been rewarded with an ill-considered public outburst which might well have been an accurate measure of apparent disrespect amid certain Arsenal youngsters, but which has destabilised the entire changing room.

Ultimately, therefore, the unrest is down to the manager who appears to have forgotten what brought Arsenal so much success down the years.

“I don’t believe too much in the guy who jumps around with his hands in the air and plays the leader,” Wenger says.

No? Well, it worked for Tony Adams and Martin Keown and Patrick Vieira, who all did their share of arm-waving when Arsenal were one of the toughest and nastiest teams around and, hardly coincidentally, one of the most adept at winning trophies.

A leader on the pitch is exactly what Arsenal require. One who can guide and inspire, plus put the fear of God into youngsters who know how to pass and move but not how to handle themselves in the rough and tumble of the Premier League’s more physical scraps.

I doubt Fabregas, for all his feisty nature and creative talents, is that man.

The Spaniard admits being given the captaincy is “a big responsibility” but is relishing the chance to lead his side out of their current slump.

“It is a proud moment. I know it’s a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential.”

Wenger hopes the responsibility will not be too heavy for Fabregas, calling for “shared leadership”.

“A successful team has a shared leadership inside the dressing room and he will be one of the leaders but not the only one,” Wenger said.

“It is very important we share that leadership inside the dressing room.”

Full-back Gael Clichy feels Cesc Fabregas can take up the mantle of legendary captain Tony Adams and lead Arsenal to glory.

“I think Tony Adams had the armband at a young age and now he is one of the greats with the fans. I hope Cesc will do the same.

“When he started in the team everyone was saying he was too young to have so much responsibility, but he has shown he can handle a team and put in good performances.

“He is the key player in the squad and I am not scared of saying that. He deserves the respect of the boss.”

However Fabregas is a stopgap measure, and a more seasoned appointment must be Wenger’s priority in the January transfer window because Arsenal, currently fifth in the league a point behind Villa, simply cannot afford to fall out of the top four and miss out on Champions League cash.

The screamers, however, should get things in perspective. Wenger’s teenagers have been a revelation in the Carling Cup and a win this evening for the first team will secure safe passage to the knockout stage of the Champions League.

It is time for trust, not change.