Do Arsenal need to toughen up?

Well now we know. Arsenal are cheats who scream like little girls when they are tackled!

That is the outrageous claim made by Bolton striker Kevin Davies about Arsenal. Of course, for about three seasons on the trot Davies has given away more free-kicks than any other player in the Premier League so he should know how players react to a firm challenge!

After Bolton’s 1-0 defeat at The Emirates on Saturday, Davies was fuming and damning in his verdict of the Gunners’ players,

“Sometimes it feels like they are trying to earn you a booking. A few of them let out a big scream, which is a bit embarrassing because it is a man’s game. Kolo Toure did one, and he is big, strong man. He was screaming ‘my leg’ which is a bit unnecessary – but they get the free-kicks. In my eyes that is cheating the referee, they have conned him, but they are good at that and you just have to get on with the game.”

Thursday sees a press conference at Arsenal and a club spokesman has said that Arsene Wenger will reply to the comments made by Davies. That should be interesting!

History

There is some history between Wenger and Davies and a tackle by the Bolton striker on Gael Clichy back in September greatly upset the Arsenal boss.

Despite the slightly ridiculous nature of Davies’ accusation there may be a serious point that he has made. The question is, do Arsenal need to toughen up if they are going to sustain a challenge at the top end of the table?

Whether or not Kevin Davies is right in what he has said, the likes of Lee Dixon, Steve Bould, Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Nigel Winterburn must be shaking their heads in disbelief at this type of allegation against their old club. I can’t even begin to think what the likes of Patrick Vierra and Ian Wright would make of it.

Reputation

The fact is that Arsene Wenger has made a reputation for himself. He has made the reputation of being a fantastic coach and manager but also as a bit of a moaner. I hesitate to bring up the ‘I didn’t see it’ side of Wenger because that is old hat and boring. For all that, it was true as well.

Although Arsenal’s disciplinary record has been far better over the past couple of seasons there was a long period of time under Wenger when it was one of the worst in the country. He has managed many players who ‘like a tackle’ and nobody has any problem with that.

The problem arises when, as seems to be happening more and more, Wenger complains about and criticises the team’s who play against them.

Wenger is constantly referring to the misdemeanours of opposition players and complaining about their ‘dirty’ play. He even criticises teams for going to the Emirates and defending! After the Bolton game Wenger said,

“When I came in 1996, everybody had a go at you and there was space up and down the flanks. Sometimes you lost the game, but you could see more chances than now. You go back 10 years and everybody played a strict 4-4-2. This year I can’t remember any team coming here with two strikers, except Hull who played like that just at the start. It’s maybe one of the weaknesses of the top Premier League sides this year that teams have learned only to defend away from home, the leading clubs have all struggled with that – even Manchester United, with all their offensive force. What’s interesting in the game is that every new problem you face, the teams have to work to find the answer. That problem will only be temporary I think because it’ll force the teams to work on movement, the technique and the creative side. It’s important that these teams don’t get away with only defending any more and they have to start to take risks as well.”

As Rafa Benitez said about Sir Alex, maybe Wenger should stop worrying about what others are doing and concentrate on his own team. It is nothing short of ridiculous to suggest that less talented teams should go to Arsenal and go all out attack. They would get beaten and football is a results business.

Moaning

Wenger says that all the top teams are struggling against defensive teams but I don’t hear them moaning about it. A look at the league table will show that they seem to struggling less than Arsenal.

I have no doubt that Arsene Wenger will be absolutely seething about the comments made by Kevin Davies and it is fair to say that the Bolton striker has been a little out of order with what he has said.

Achilles heel

Unfortunately for Wenger and Arsenal it is another in a long line of things that paint a picture of a divided team who are young, inexperienced and most definitely not up for a fight. No team could bully Manchester United or Liverpool or Chelsea, and they wouldn’t bother trying. If teams have found that a physical battle is Arsenal’s Achilles heel, then who can blame anyone for trying to exploit it?

Davies might be wrong to say what he has said, but it might just be that Arsenal do need to toughen up.