Don’t let be fooled by the headline since I will always prefer attractive attacking football Arsenal are playing to Stoke’s hard-tackling, physical approach but the Gunners definitely need to toughen up. The games against Chelsea and Manchester City have portrayed all the weaknesses of Arsene Wenger’s side and it is high time he did something about it.
First Arshavin and then Fabregas realized team’s lack of height and strength compared to teams like Chelsea or Stoke was making life very difficult for them, with the 3:0 defeat to Chelsea being the perfect proof. Wenger probably didn’t realize he was getting rid of the only two powerful players in the squad by selling Toure and Adebayor, and he probably now regrets that decision.
While superior technical skills of Wenger’s players give Arsenal an extra edge over most of their opponents, the lack of height and diminutive stature set them back a great deal when playing more physical teams. It is no wonder Arsenal have problems at set pieces and when things get physical with players like Song, Denilson, Arshavin, Fabregas or Nasri in the side, especially when these are pitted against the likes of Drogba, Terry, Carvalho, Mikel and Essien.
While Wenger isn’t prepared to admit his current side suffer from inability to match their opponents in open battle, it is probably not a surprise that Arsenal were at their best when tall and hard players like Petit, Vieira, Gilberto, Henry and Bergkamp were in the squad. If you are reading betting previews you know that Bendtner and Diaby are likely to return into action very soon, but it is more than evident the boss needs to address this problem as soon as possible. With the centre forward a priority in January, Wenger needs to make sure he buys a powerful striker, who can offer a sheer physicality in addition to much needed goals on regular basis.
If we are to fight for honours this term or any time soon, Wenger has got to add some strength and much needed height to the side. Arsenal remain the side with the biggest attacking potential and talent in the league but it is crucial to develop in other areas as well and to finally offer a new dimension to our much praised slick passing style.
