A Bold Approach

For far too long Arsene Wenger has handed far too many players undeserved second chances. This is a partly down to a lack of legitimate competition for places and also recognition of good form over the past few years. You can look at key games where we have failed and you look for accountability in the following game and rarely is anyone made an example of. If you play poorly, you should expect to be dropped but there have been far too many players that have become untouchable. Which is why heading into the tie against Bayern Munich I didn't think it was the time or the place to start changing it up as I thoroughly expected to be on the receiving end of a drubbing. I had a conversation with @modgooner within hours of kick off and we discussed what drubbing scoreline would you take before it got embarrassing. Mod took 3-0 Bayern and I took 4-0. Little did we know that Wenger was going to walk into one of his best tactical, yes tactical performances of the season.

Perfect Timing

Whilst it may have been crazy to suggest that we could drop two regular first teamers in Szczesny and Vermaelen, with hindsight it was the perfect time for change. Why? It was a safe environment to do so, we were expected to lose, so what risk was there? Very little. In a way Wenger had nothing to lose but everything to gain and didn't we gain an awful lot from Wednesday night? Players such as Carl Jenkinson and Lukasz Fabianski must have thought they'd play second fiddle for the rest of the season but after two consecutive clean sheets, how can we consider reintroducing Bacary Sagna? Wenger had to make that call earlier in the season and he didn't hesitate in dropping his newly crowned international defender. I just can't see his decision being that straightforward this time round. Jenkinson worried me earlier this season and it ended with his disaster against Swansea and I still have doubts about whether he can sustain such a lengthy period at right back but he certainly merits being in the starting eleven at present.

Accountability

We suffered against Sp*rs in the North London derby and what was more frustrating was that you kind of suspected that little would change. Look at Laurent Koscielny, he has been on the outside looking in for the most part and his early season injury really has played a big part in his fall from grace. It was interesting reading Tony Adams'comments on all things Arsenal in his interview (here) with The Independant but more specifically when he discussed our centre halves strengths. He calls Mertesacker 'Zonal' and Koscielny a 'man to man' marker but he thinks that is a bad thing but then he did have partners of the calibre of Bould, Keown and Campbell. He doesn't comment on Vermaelen but he's a jack of trades and master of none, he couldn't read a book let alone an attack at present and his style of play is far too reckless, as demonstrated against Norwich last season. 1-1 with minutes remaining in the first half of a must win game and off he trots upfront, Norwich counter and we are 2-1 down. This side has given far too many stupid goals away and we seem to need to score at least two to win every game. Another big part of our own downfall is the poor form of Szczesny. He was like a breath of fresh air when he made his debut in the Premier League at Old Trafford. A player that wasn't phased by such a daunting task and he was our best player that night despite his inability to kick a ball. He was a keeper that won us games, something which Almunia rarely did. However, that habit has worn off and he has been costing goals, valuable points and places in cup competitions. When you look at the transition between Almunia to Szczesny it was never going to take much for us to upgrade in that area but we still don't have the calibre of keeper we need. I don't for one second think that Fabianski is the answer to our goalkeeping woes but at least Szczesny knows he has to up his game.

The Big Dilemma

There have been times when Wenger's selections have been puzzling to say the least, I put this largely down to the lack of reliable players as he never quite knows what his best side is. This is certainly the case at centre half. If you look back at a situation earlier this season, Per Metesacker was brilliant alongside Koscielny in our league game at The Etihad but then he was dropped in favour of Vermaelen returning for our next league game against Chelsea. That game against Chelsea was the first time Vermaelen/Koscielny would start a game together, so was it really any surprise we were all over the shop?

Here are some facts about our centre half partnerships this season

• No clean sheets in the five games that Vermealen and Koscielny have played together.
• Mertesacker and Vermaelen have the best win percentage - 52%
• Mertesacker and Koscielny have avoided defeat in 92% of the games they have played together.
• Mertesacker and Koscielny haven't lost a Premier League game in seven attempts
• All seven defeats in the Premier League have involved Thomas Vermaelen.

Now you can manipulate statistics but one thing is clear is that Mertesacker and Vermaelen have had more than enough opportunities to forge a partnership together (twenty one games in total) and it looks like Wenger has had enoughtoo. It's no coincidence that two of our best displays this season both defensively and as a team were at City and Munich with Mertesacker and Koscielny at the heart of the defence. If you watch our opening goal against Bayern it sums up why they work. Mertesacker challenges in the air, Koscielny picks up the pieces and seven touches later it's in the back of the net.

I doubted Wenger's ability to make such important selection decisions and to be honest I couldn't have been any happier with possibly one of his boldest selections to date. I hope he continues with a unit that works, as it's not always about getting the best players, its about creating the best side. The challenge for us is whether we can sustain having a cohesive unit because inconsistency has haunted us for too long. One thing is for sure though, Wenger knows he has to start delivering and whilst it will be another trophyless season he can at least buy himself another opportunity to rebuild this side.