Arsene Wenger is to blame for the defeat to Chelsea last weekend, according to Alan Smith.
The former Arsenal striker turned Sky Sports pundit watched on as Chelsea dismantle the Gunners at Stamford Bridge and described it like many fans have for several years as ‘groundhog day’.
Without too much trouble, Antonio Conte’s side ran out 3-1 winners on Saturday afternoon, but rather than criticise the Arsenal players, Smith believes the finger of blame should be pointed at Wenger, citing the Frenchman’s naivety as his downfall.
Speaking to talkSPORT (via Metro) Smith said:
‘It is groundhog day.
‘They have a really good squad, but they don’t go out against teams like Chelsea properly prepared. That lays at his [Wenger’s] door. I’m not so much talking about mentality but in a tactical way.
‘How are we going to stop Chelsea? How can we contain [Eden] Hazard and [Diego] Costa? It’s been the same for years now.
‘I think with the players they’ve got, there is a mentality issue that comes from the top.’
I couldn’t agree more with Smith on this one. Yes, players do have to take some form of responsibility for the performances, but if you are being paid £8.5million-a-year you need to know what you are doing and, most importantly, deliver. Wenger hasn’t done this. Arsenal d have one of the best squads in the Premier League but Wenger can’t, for some reason, get the best out of them. Tactically, the Frenchman has also been sussed out and the club’s mentality is not right either.
Like Smith said, it’s groundhog day, year in, year out and something needs to change, and quickly.
