Daily Bits and Bobs

Do Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola have the same problem?

Posted on by rico

Morning all.

If you listen to Sky Sports and all the ex players who seem to think they know all there is about football then maybe you’ll understand where I’m going with this today..

Pep plays his own way, with his own tactics and he has to be admired for standing by his footballing principles – that or something very similar is what the experts say. They also say that to play the way Pep wants to play, he has the wrong players. They are not good enough apparently as they can’t play the ‘Pep’ way.

But of course, he’ll get it right with the reported £250m budget he’ll be given in the summer….

He hasn’t got the players poor soul but when Wenger didn’t have them he was berated and he’s never had the kind of money City have thrown at their managers each and every transfer window since they were taken over by very wealthy men.

At his previous clubs, Pep has more often than not inherited what was already a great squad, one which many managers would have loved to have managed. Yes he made tweaks, got them playing his way and as a result, was very successful but this City side is ageing and now he has to build his own squad yet having had the entire summer and a few months prior to arriving in Manchester to do his homework, one could consider his signings questionable. Whether that changes over the next couple of years remains to be seen but bearing in mind he’s reported to be heading into retirement after his three year stint in Manchester, he hasn’t got long.

Arsene Wenger arrived in London and took over what many believe to have been one of the best back fives in England at the time/of all time. Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown and Winterburn. Other players in the squad weren’t bad either, especially Wrighty and Bergkamp up front so one could suggest that Arsene inherited a darn good squad, just as Pep did at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

A few additions were made by Arsene like Petit, Bobby, Freddie, Vieira, Henry, Anelka, Overmars to name just a few and success followed. But, when it came to replacing those players as they were either sold or retired, Arsene Wenger has struggled. Jens, Campbell and Toure were great at the back, as was Lauren, all of whom were PL winners with the club, but again, when they left, quality replacements were hard to come by for a number of years.

Like Pep, Arsene has his own way of playing the game and seldom does he budge from those ideas but would it be fair to say that he doesn’t have the kind of players in the side who can play the way his early day signings could?

Pep remains the best in football according to the media, despite his team being at sixes and sevens in many games. Arsene though is stubborn, old and past it, yet their style of football is very similar in many ways and right now, both have a common problem. How they want to play can’t be achieved as neither manager has the right tools to hand.

Perhaps the difference between the two is that one will do something about it, the other won’t because he hasn’t for so long….

Finally, some team news from the managers press conference:

Bellerin, Coquelin & Gibbs are back in the squad as is Giroud but Walcott remains injured. Mertesacker is two weeks away from returning.

On January transfer window:

“I expect it to be a very quiet period. We are very strong. We have many, many players who can come in.

“I rate Payet but I don’t need Payet because we have so many creative players.

“We have many players who can play in this position.”

Really Arsene?

On that happy note, have a good day guys and gals….

rico

54 thoughts on “Do Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola have the same problem?”

  1. Marshall says:

    Hi again.
    The media already making excuses for Pep. The same way they are making for their darling Pogba, who is given time to ‘bed’ in a league he already played in while Ozil was slaughtered on his 1st match. Screw them. I like how they are having their feet in the mouth, long may it live.

  3. Marshall says:

    Good to have Bellerin back. I hope Perez starts on Sunday. Since Burnley will come to sit infront of their already packed bus, I’d like to see a mid of Xhaka-Ramsey (yeah him).

    How far is Santiago to recovery?

  5. Marshall says:

    Had Ozil performed half as bad as Pogba did against the Scouscers there would still me headlines saing how he’s not WC. Pep will still fail next season… He’s seen as an upgrade and a younger version to Arsene…am questing the upgrade part.

  6. Malaga gooner says:

    Morning Rico and the house

    Good post

    I see Per has signed a 1 year contract extension

    Wenger for another 2 years… God help us

  7. rico says:

    What they both have in common Marshall, is not changing things to suit the players they do have right now. Instead, they carry on regardless.

    No doubt Pep will spend big in the summer for what he believes to be the right players..

  9. Marshall says:

    Ain’t that what we did with Arteta before letting him go? My problem is such players extend and take a squad position which happily makes Wenger not to find a replacement. Why not give the veterans a coaching role and in his spot let a young defender come in and gain experience? We have Chambers, Holding.. they should all be bumped up.

  11. rico says:

    Agree there Marshall, it’s not like Merts is going to get much playing time… I’d rather see Holding play, in fact I’d rather see him than Gabriel…

  12. Meerkat says:

    Le Prof has the edge over Pep though, because he has years more experience in the EPL.
    Pep looks shell shocked after what should have been easy games.
    The most he had in Spain and Germany were four fairly hard games a season, with lots of time to recover, and to rest players between these harder games, when playing pushover teams. Ours are hard twice a week for the whole season.
    Fwiw though, I don’t think Pep is as good as City’s last manager. I don’t get why they sacked him.

  14. Marshall says:

    Pep was hot property by then. Some of us wanted him at the Ems too :p Let’s see how he reacts though after spending a quarter of a billion of-course.

  15. Marshall says:

    Re Holding ahead of Gabriel, why not? Plus Gabriel seems to do well on the right. Jenkinson could be on his way and Debuchy should be gone by now. If I were Gabriel I’d be thinking about playing on the right.

  16. ScottfromOz says:

    Morning all.
    I said at the start of the season that, imo, Pep has plenty to prove because he’s played in uncompetitive Leagues and has had two of the very best squads the world has seen.
    He’s come to a massively competitive League with various competitions running concurrently and no winter break.
    In saying that, I’m the first to suggest he should be given until next season before he’s judged, as I’d say that about any manager.
    I hope he fails dismally though hahahaha

  17. Adam says:

    Morning Rico. Personally I can see no parallels between Wenger and Guardiola’s problems. But it was a hook well baited anyway. 🙂

  18. Le Coq Monster says:

    Morning all and thanks Rico for a super post.

    The big difference between Pep and Arsene is that Pep will have the BIG money to purchase the “tools” he needs to fix the problems and he wont be scared of spending it !.

    Cant wait for Sunday and expect a record EPL winning score for us !………………I may even have to abuse our players for scoring to often for not giving me the time to go for a pee !………………”Oi Giroud, stop fcuking scoring !….my bladders full !”
    I expect the northern bastards to be too caught up in reading the Racing Pigeon Times and repairing their flat caps whilst we score for fun, some of their defenders will probably pass out from dehydration due to the the extreme high humid temperatures down here in the south !…………………then there`s the shock that will stun them into confusion when none of our southern women fans bare their breasts and pink bits at them !

    Is Kroenke still alive ?……………………yes 🙁 ……………………………….no 🙂

  22. rico says:

    Good point about Gabriel Marshall, it’s like he concentrates more, certainly on his defending.

    Guess AW won’t be needing to sign a right back even if Jenks and Debuchy go.. 😉 Also, hopefully Maitland-Niles will get better and better…

    Thanks LC.

  26. allezkev says:

    It’s amazing how many muscles you can pull in your back, driving a van…

    Afternoon All
    Afternoon Rico

  27. Le Coq Monster says:

    Hahaha…………….as you know Vic`s that`s not me ……that`s Bruce Lee , but the exercise is the same !. 🙂

    Funny you should say that Kev !……………….I was driving near Lamorna Cove once and saw a pile of granite stone, so pulled over and attempted to lift a 5ft one into the back of the van and my back gave way big time !……was stuck half in and half out of the van for about 30 mins and at one point thought I might have to call an ambulance, but luckily I managed to staighten up and finish my round in pain…………..the granite post is still there to this day laughing at me every time I drive past !

    Also once drove through Dartmoor and picked up a big bit of granite, slipped and dropped it on my finger………….pregnancy is no match for the pain I was in ! hahaha

  29. Le Coq Monster says:

    Just been on line to claim 10% of my wife`s marriage tax allowance as the lazy bitch doesn`t work !………………all she does all day long is clean, wash up, clothes washing, cook, do recycling, go shopping etc` etc`

  31. Le Coq Monster says:

    Just kidding Rico………………………if a woman ( or stay at home man) were to be paid wages for what they did it would (should) be a lot more than what I earn……..actually, more than most professions !…………………actually, I`m surprised I get paid for holidaying…sorry…..driving all around the beauty spots of Cornwall………..it`s tough ! 🙂

  35. allezkev says:

    Only 12 more days to go before Jim White will be unleashed onto an unsuspecting public on Sky’s deadline Day extravaganza.

    I can just imagine Adam sitting on the edge of his Italian settee, salivating at the prospect…

  43. Wavy says:

    Morning all. Sunny here, cold and crisp.

    Of to look at some clocks this morning. Well, it’s a pass time!

    I’ve got me coat!

  47. Wavy says:

    Just about to light our log burner and hunker down for the rest of the day/night. Ah, contentment. I’ve given not one thought to things Arsenal today and, do you know, I’ve had a,serendipitous day. I may have more Arsenal free days it certainly keeps my high blood pressure in check!
    Happy days!

  48. allezkev says:

    Just sitting in a traffic jam by St Pancras, listening to various Donald Trump comments on LBC…

    It’s a funny old game…

  49. Rick says:

    Evening All.
    Kev its been so quiet today I thought you were all in Washington
    I have been told Santi has signed 1year extension.. just 5 to go.
    A few weeks ago Kev it was being said that Chriss Willock was offered a new contract but had not signed it and Man U was sniffing around him.
    Big day for our u18’s tomorrow home t the Spuds hope to see them play the older team.

  50. allezkev says:

    Interesting Rick, are the Willocks really that confident that Mourinho will offer them more encouragement and opportunity than Wenger…?

    Or is it more a case that ManUre will offer them more dough..?

    Frankly they can both jog on…

  51. allezkev says:

    The FA’s newly released ‘Players under Written Contract‘ list reveals Arsenal have re-registered Santi Cazorla meaning the club have triggered an automatic one-year extension of the Spaniard’s current contract.

    The decision to extend the 32-year-old’s deal will come as a boost to Santi who hasn’t played since November after undergoing surgery on his Achilles. Wenger confirmed last week that a recent follow-up procedure means the midfielder is at least six weeks away from making a return.

    From Arseblog

  52. Lee says:

    I really like Santi as a player and he definitely gets Arsenal ticking BUT surely we should be signing a younger model?

    Santi is an injury prone 32yr old, I don’t want to tempt fate but will we get full season out of him next season? I really doubt it.

    I read somewhere that our win rate with him in the team is 66% and 44% without him….we need a younger Santi!!

  53. rico says:

    I think Wenger is just keeping older players like Merts and Santi for their experience around the squad. Perhaps one/both are seen as potential coaches at the club.

    I just read Big Sol wants to start coaching now and reckons he could turn Stones career around.

    Perhaps he could sort our defending out instead….

    Morning Lee and all…

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