Winning

“Winning is not everything. It is the only thing.” Who was it that said that? A quick Google search reveals that it was Henry Russell Sanders, an American college football coach. How pertinent that statement is for our team right now. We are a club that is, quite frankly, in shambles. Everything – right from the management to the medical team, is in disarray. I said last time that I hoped we would hit rock bottom fast since the recovery can begin.

Well guess what? We just took a big, giant step towards doing that. Jack Wilshere, the one beacon of hope, the wonder boy who was to be back in six weeks, now needs to be operated on his ankle and will not be back before Christmas at the earliest. The whole situation has the terrible scent of a Vermaelen-esque injury about it. That makes two injuries this year that were misdiagnosed, with something very similar happening to young Benik Afobe. He too was expected to return from injury in a few weeks, but was later told that he would be out for a few months. There is obviously something wrong with the medical team, since our injury record is getting preposterous.

With Jack, the strategy was to wait a month and see if the ankle heals on its own. Well, it didn’t. So, either we consulted the wrong guys initially, or we just haven’t taken care of that ankle as we should have. I refuse to believe that what has happened is plain bad luck, since it has become a common occurrence these days. We had Vermaelen out for most of last year, and Diaby, Wilshere and Afobe look set to go down that same path. The club, in their statement regarding Wilshere's injury, took some pain to point out that the best doctors in the world had been consulted throughout, and it was pretty obvious that they were on the defensive there.

The issue of not hiring a defensive coach still baffles me. Arsene obviously does not like to spend a lot of time doing defensive training, and isn’t the most astute manager in the world when it comes to organizing defenses. Our backroom staff has been the same for years now – so much so that even the chef and the doorkeepers have kept their jobs throughout. I’m not saying that they should all be fired because they are incompetent. I do, however, get the feeling that there is something of a rot beginning to set in and that we need some fresh faces. Piromac and Pat Rice have been great assistants and are very dedicated to the club, but now might be the time to get in someone younger to join them.

In other news, Wenger has admitted that we will struggle to keep up to FOUR of our best players in the long term - van Persie, Song, Vermaelen and Walcott will all have just one year to go on their contracts in the summer, and we might have to sell them, just like a certain Samir Nasri.

"Our desire is there to convince them to stay", said Wenger. "We tried before and the financial gap on that front has become bigger for us.

I cannot say that if we go to our maximum wage that we are sure to sign a player."  

Surely that is enough for even the slowest and dumbest of people to see that our wage structure is flawed. I have commented on this before and quite frankly, have little more to add. Paying Diaby more than the Spuds pay Modric is just not good economics.

As to the match tomorrow, it is really very simple. We have to win. There is just no other option. Our position in the table is not flattering, to say the least, and it is shameful for a club of our standard. Four points in five games is an outrage. However, we must accept the position that we are in and come out all guns blazing against Bolton. I am sure that we will create chances once more. Our play against Blackburn was at least coherent in attack, and hopefully we see more of that here. The guys have had one more week to gel, to know each other, to work as a unit, and so we are that much closer to being a team. There is every reason to be optimistic, and yet I doubt I would be surprised if we drew. I am not even thinking about a loss, and I fear for the club if that does indeed turn out to be the case.

In the defense, it will be interesting to see who starts at left back – will Andre Santos be given his second start, or will Keiran Gibbs continue? Personally I think it will be Gibbs. Santos needs to work a little bit at tracking back and communication, but at the same time offers more of a threat going forward. Obviously, right now we need someone who can be solid on the left flank, and if Arshavin starts (unlikely, in my opinion), that someone just cannot be Santos.

Expect Ramsey to start alongside Song and Arteta in central midfield. I expect Wenger to field a fluid 4-3-3, with Walcott and Gervinho on the wings. What I would really like to see though is a more solid, structured 4-4-2. Walcott can finally play as striker, a role he has been begging and pining for, and the impressive Oxlade-Chamberlain can be handed a start as well. So here is my expected line up for tomorrow:

Chezza;

Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs;

Song, Ramsey, Arteta;

Walcott, van Persie, Gervinho.

And my desired line up:

Chezza;

Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs;

AOC, Song, Arteta, Gervinho;

Walcott, van Persie.

I do hope Wenger springs a surprise and fields the latter team! 

The only question now is a philosophical one – do we have what it takes to finally win? I honestly do think so. We have been supplied bad news after bad news, and things are fast approaching a breaking point. Bolton at home is the perfect opportunity to get things back under control, maybe even get the media on our side for a while. We could really use some positive coverage right now!

Bolton is a team I respect (although admittedly, they lack common sense – keeping Cahill was a big mistake in their financial circumstances), and I do wish for them to do well overall. Right now, however, it is about us. It is about finding the spirit of football again, about starting to enjoy our game again.

It is pure and simple. This game is about winning.