da bet7k： Ruthless (adjective)
da wazamba： Having or showing no pity or compassion for others
Given the aggressive nature of the definition of ‘ruthless’, it’s an odd word to see crop up in a footballing context. Or is it? After all, to be ruthless is to do all in one’s power to claim the ultimate goal, showing no mercy or pity for the opposition, and with football a game in which, to borrow some lyrics from ABBA, “the winner takes it all’, being ruthless is not just necessary, it’s vital.
How many times has Sergio Aguero been lauded for being clinical in front of goal? Equally, how often has Jose Mourinho been praised for looking past sentiment to pick the best team for the job at hand? The answer to both is often, which leads us on to Arsene Wenger, a manager beaten with the ruthless stick for seemingly lacking the predatory streak to take advantage of situations that come his, and his team’s, way.
Arsenal take on Bayern Munich this Wednesday evening – their ‘reward’ for topping Group A in the Champions League – and the Frenchman is supposedly pondering two big decisions, both of which will give us another indication of his ruthlessness, or lack thereof.
The Telegraph claim that Mesut Ozil, the Gunners’ all-time record signing and one of their truly world class talents, may be dropped from the XI, while the Mirror suggest that at the other end of the pitch David Ospina will be chosen over Premier League No.1, Petr Cech. Sure, arguments can be made for both calls should Wenger indeed proceed with the mooted double change. But if he does, it looks like he’ll once again leave himself open to accusations of lacking a necessary ruthless streak. Once again ‘Le Prof’ will be using his heart over his head.
Given the way his Arsenal side played in the Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry days, the current crop in north London is somewhat baffling. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Gunners were nasty, cynical winners. Martin Keown took no prisoners at the back, athletes like Vieira and Emmanuel Petit bought them the right to play in midfield while the aforementioned Henry and Dennis Bergkamp made chances stick. At the risk of sounding like a footballing Luddite, this Arsenal side are just not the same. Indeed, as this Gunners side is – more than any other – built in the image of its manager, it’s Wenger who has caused these issues.
A soft underbelly and serial dithering on the ball haunt their game. Last season was the ultimate opportunity for Arsenal to lift a first league title in over a decade, but they folded as the shock underdogs Leicester City ground out result after result to defy the odds and lift the trophy that seemed to have the Londoners’ name etched onto it. There is, of course, context to be taken into account, but it’s hard to argue against the idea that Arsenal missed a chance.
[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]
There’s the club’s reluctance to go in hard in the transfer market, too. The need for a clinical striker and a defensive leader (somewhat addressed by the signing of Shkodran Mustafi) has been lingering for some time now.
Now, Wenger has the chance to be ruthless against a Bayern Munich side that are more beatable now than they have been for some time, and to do so he must not make either of the changes he’s supposedly considering.
We’ll start off with Ospina. The Colombian is understood to have been promised cup football this season, which was a key part of keeping him at the Emirates Stadium during the summer. Wenger has been a man of his word up until now, with the 28-year-old playing all six group games, but the knockouts are not the stage to be picking anything other than a best XI. So Cech, despite his critics, needs to be used. So what if Ospina moans? Arsenal can sign another back-up goalkeeper next summer to replace a man who has only featured 18 times in the league since his 2014 arrival, with just four of those appearances coming while Cech has been an Arsenal player. Ospina is by no means sub-standard, but in a game where every fine margin counts, is it worth the risk?
Ozil is the next point of contention. The playmaker has not been at his best of late and reports have suggested that the apparent preferential treatment he gets from his manager is irking some Arsenal players, who have questioned his application and overall desire – criticism that has plagued the 28-year-old since he moved from Real Madrid for £42.5m back in 2013. But, Ozil is, arguably, Arsenal’s best player, one of their few truly elite talents and a footballer able to provide a spark of ingenuity that can unlock a tight game. Would Mourinho drop Paul Pogba for this game? No. Would Antonio Conte do the same with Eden Hazard? Surely not. It’s never wise to alienate a dressing room, but what sort of message does it send out to Bayern if the team-sheet is handed out with Ozil nowhere to be seen? It would be a psychological boost before a ball is kicked.
Wenger, then, has two big opportunities in one game to show the ruthless streak many have said he no longer has. With the Premier League title now too far away and the FA Cup not offering the sort of statement the Arsenal boss needs, a few more eggs should be added to the European basket. Bayern are a very good team, but so too are the Gunners, and while the clubs’ head-to-head record may not read too well for the English side, prior to their most recent 5-1 loss, Arsenal beat the Germans 2-0.
This Allianz Arena outfit are not quite as strong as the Pep Guardiola machine, either. Carlo Ancelotti is now in charge and the Italian is having to transition from the team that steamrolled all before them in the Bundesliga and lifted the European Cup under Jupp Heynckes in 2013 into a new era, and while the results have been, on the whole, positive in recent times, this just doesn’t feel anything like as well-oiled a machine.
The chance is there, and history so often only remembers the brave. The winner takes it all, but if ruthlessness really is missing from Arsene Wenger’s vocabulary then the last 16 will be his Waterloo once again.
[ad_pod id=’Shoot-Xmas-Survey’ align=’left’]
[ad_pod id=’playwire’ align=’center’]