Arsène Wenger has devoted much of his career to the tricky art of turning theory into practice. Few peers have been quite as successful at transforming appealing football philosophy into thrilling reality but even Wenger is painfully aware that visions can be horribly fragile things to implement.
It explains why he hesitated when it was suggested that Theo Walcott’s imminent return from serious injury promises to elevate Arsenal’s class of 2014-15 to “dream team” status. Surely, someone ventured, a front line featuring assorted combinations of Walcott, Alexis Sánchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and, when fit, Olivier Giroud will be simply irresistible?
“The imagination does not always become reality in our job,” countered Wenger. “So we’re a bit cautious. But, yes, my imagination works like yours, it’s just I have to prove it will work on the pitch. That’s what I’ll try to do when everybody’s back.”
Wenger’s smile indicated he is quietly optimistic his latest theory will have legs once transposed to the Premier League stage. “Theo’s runs off the ball are always fantastic so it gives you hope we’ll score goals,” he reflected. “And the pace we’ll have in the side when he comes back will be very interesting. Walcott’s quick, Chamberlain’s quick, Sánchez has very quick feet, so we can be very good in transition.”
Walcott, a substitute for the first time since his cruciate ligament repair in January, remained on the bench throughout as two awful individual errors from Wes Brown and Vito Mannone permitted the outstanding Sánchez to score twice.
The fallout left Sunderland’s manager Gus Poyet facing uncomfortable scrutiny and potentially on a collision course with his board at the end of a day that rather made a mockery of suggestions that Wenger was under pressure.
While Sunderland’s trip to Crystal Palace on Monday week has suddenly assumed a potential watershed feel, a subtle, extremely clever, dink following Brown’s brainstorm and a simple tap-in after Mannone’s mistake enabled Sánchez to banish the disappointment surrounding Arsenal’s previous home draw with Hull. “We’re still six points off where we should be,” said Wenger. “Well maybe four but we’ve dropped too many points.”
With studs raised, tackles flying in and Patrick van Aanholt overlapping from left-back at pace as Sunderland strove to atone for the previous weekend’s 8-0 thrashing at Southampton, he sensibly decided against risking Walcott.
“Theo could have had 30 minutes,” Wenger said. “But it was tight and I didn’t want to expose him to that. Theo’s fit but it’s been 10 months. I have to find a way of bringing him back slowly over the next three or four weeks.”
If a high degree of patience seems imperative as Walcott enters the final, vital, phase of his rehabilitation, Sunderland’s manager is showing increasing signs of becoming fed up with his team’s glacial progress.
Poyet’s players have won only one league game this season and, without drastic improvement, another relegation skirmish surely beckons. Asked if significant improvement had really been made since last spring’s “great escape” he demurred, hinting at mental weakness in the dressing room and perhaps beyond.
“Until Southampton I thought we were difficult to play against,” said Poyet. “Against Arsenal we showed glimpses of that but you can’t escape our mistakes. We conceded too many own goals, made too many individual mistakes last season and we’re still doing the same things. That part of our game hasn’t improved at all. It’s still there, it’s inside the club, still inside the group.”
When Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland side played Arsenal on Wearside last September and lost 3-1 they had only one point. Now they have eight but, in what can be interpreted as a damning indictment of a transfer policy orchestrated by Lee Congerton, his sporting director, Poyet suggested the current ensemble is possibly weaker than the Italian’s old squad.
“Are things any better than a year ago?” mused Di Canio’s successor. “It’s a great question. From last year’s team against Arsenal here, seven players aren’t at Sunderland anymore. Seven.” Considering that number includes the previously highly influential Fabio Borini, Ki Sung-yueng and Jack Colback, Poyet has a point.
Yet even though that trio have arguably not been adequately replaced, his comments were unnecessarily provocative. Although Sunderland dismissed reports that the Uruguayan was “on the brink” as “utter tosh” Poyet’s complaints seem unlikely to go down well with either Ellis Short, the owner, or Margaret Byrne, the chief executive.
At least a Chilean destroyer will not await the Wearsiders at Palace. “Alexis Sánchez is a breath of fresh air,” enthused Arsenal’s Mathieu Flamini. “He gives so much for the team. I didn’t realise he works so hard off the ball, not just creating space for others but helping out defensively. He’s right up there with Thierry Henry.”
Man of the match Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal)