Robbie Savage delivers verdict on Arsene Wenger, slams senior trio
By Matt Farr
Pundit Robbie Savage has not held back in his criticism of Arsenal following their dismal display in the 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
In his column for the Mirror, the former Premier League midfielder called for Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal at the end of the current season, and also delivered a scathing attack on several of their senior players.
The emphatic defeat at the Allianz Arena midweek saw Arsenal’s hopes of further progress in the Champions League left in tatters, requiring them to pull-off a sensational victory in the second-leg to end their run of six successive exits at this stage of the competition.
But Savage believes that the performance against the German giants was descriptive of their current position under manager Wenger, ‘weak, bewildered and clueless’.
He said: “The time has come for him to step down. It’s been an incredible 21 years, but it’s all over for Wenger – and from his haunted look after the game in Munich, I think he knows it.
“Arsenal are too soft, they are too nice and they fall apart too easily. And too many players go missing in the big games. Yes, I’m talking about Mesut Ozil.
“If Kieran Gibbs, who was like a rabbit caught in the headlights, is your leader with the armband when Laurent Koscielny goes off injured, you know you’re in trouble and the team is running low on strength of character.
“If Francis Coquelin is the solution to his search for midfield steel in that pivotal holding role, I’m afraid the search party has failed.”
Savage’s criticism of Coquelin and Ozil in particular comes as little surprise, with both players coming under fire from Arsenal fans in recent weeks.
Ozil has now gone nine games without a goal in all competitions, while he has just two assists during the same period of time.
Coquelin, meanwhile, has lost much of the defensive steel that made him a big hit with the club in recent years, and was abysmal against both Bayern and Chelsea earlier this month.
Arsenal next set out to avoid an FA Cup upset at the hands of Sutton on Monday, before a crucial double-header against Liverpool and Bayern at the start of next month.
In other Arsenal news, this is how Arsenal’s midfield, devoid of all ideas, were beaten by this one man in Germany.
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