Arsenal are in a dire situation. They find themselves in 10th, with the potential to drop to 12th if the teams behind them win their games in hand. Throughout the course of the season, Arsenal have found themselves in relegation battles and as mid-table fodder. They are 9 points off the top 4, and with a tough game in store against Villa, will likely find themselves 12 points off the top 4, and with a freefall in form, suspensions, and lack of quality they will likely find themselves out of Europe next season, a first for the club since 1995/96. In fact, the original idea was your guide to destroy Arsenal FC, until my good friend and colleague Jim James pointed out the fact that they are already destroyed. As such, I’ve decided to give you your guide to save Arsenal FC in 5 simple steps instead.
Step 1 – Sack Arteta and appoint Benitez
Let’s be honest, what has Arteta done to deserve the Arsenal job. He has dragged a top 4 regular to mid-table, he has spent 82 million in one window, he has developed unrest in the camp, neglected the youth on many occasions, has no track record in management whatsoever, and wasn’t even a legend at Arsenal. One key point many stick to is that Arteta has experience working with Guardiola but so what? Paul Clement has experience working with Ancelotti and he is a Reading reject. Arsenal need a man with a plan. Someone who can grind them up the table and rescue them a place in Europe. This man is Rafa Benitez.
A former manager of Liverpool, Inter Milan, and Chelsea, Rafa Benitez has developed a reputation as a hard to please manager (something which Arsenal need in order to develop some backbone) and as someone with tactical acumen, often setting his team up to exploit opposition weaknesses. Rafa Benitez is also a firm believer in squad rotation, and could likely make use of Arsenal’s big squad.
Step 2 – Trust in the youth
Rafa Benitez is a cutthroat manager. Similar to Guardiola, Benitez does not care about ego, background, and club status as much as he cares for performances. As such, unlike Arteta, the mediocre players and underperforming players will be cut from the side. Players like Aubameyang, Pepe, Willian, and Ceballos will be finding themselves dropped from the team. So who is their replacement? Of course, you could just slap in an experienced player like Xhaka and Laca but where does that get you? It gets you a less talented, still underperforming side. It is crucial that Rafa trusts in youthful players that will fight for the badge. He should play a front 3 of Rowe down the left, Martinelli down the middle, and Saka down the right. In the middle of the park play Odegaard with other young players to try and get the best out of him.
Step 3 – Convert Luiz to a cdm to partner Partey
In his preferred 4-2-3-1, Rafa should play Luiz with Partey. With his physical strength, work-rate, technique, and range of distribution Luiz would be a perfect CDM. Partnered with another top-class CDM in Partey the defense will be safe, knowing that they have world-class cover in front of them.
Step 4 – Adapt attacking fullbacks
To succeed Rafa Benitez has to do something he has never done before – adapt. Rafa Benitez has often sacrificed the player for the system, including feats such as sticking world-class midfielder Gerrard down the wing. However, Rafa WILL fail if he does the same. Rafa often plays defensive football, with defensive fullbacks. However, Arsenal do not have defensively sound fullbacks. Their top fullbacks (Tierney and Bellerin), excel in attack, and unless they are given the license to get forward Rafa will fail. Rafa needs to adapt and let his fullbacks express themselves on the pitch.
Step 5 – Back him in the window
Steps 1-4 centered around saving Arsenal NOW but what about in the future? The team is not perfect and there are positions that need to be improved on (specifically a center back partner for Gabriel). Arsenal need to back Rafa with the necessary funds and departures to build a good team. My suggestion of a good window? Offload Willian and Lacazette and Sign Odegaard (permanently) and Koulibaly.
So that is your guide to save Arsenal football club. Of course, why you are trusting a United fan for club saving advice even I don’t know. And on that note, this is Jacob King, and I’ll see you at full time.