The Gunners' manager has been accused of being
tactically naive in the past but showed he is capable of adapting his
game plan in his side's 2-0 win over Bayern Munich
By Greg Stobart at Emirates StadiumThe general perception of Arsenal during their nine-year run without a trophy was that Arsene Wenger had become the pioneer who had been overtaken and left behind.
After storming past Manchester United and outwitting Bayern Munich it appears that the old dog is learning a few new tricks. Wenger has finally adapted to modern methods and it could be the shift in attitude that allows Arsenal to once again compete for the biggest trophies.
Once the revolutionary management techniques that had worked so well during his first nine years at the club became outdated, Wenger had struggled to adapt.
But he is far from a nutty old professor who doesn’t know what he’s doing and now appears to be embracing change and new ideas as much as ever.
On Tuesday night, he produced a game plan that allowed the Gunners to beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in a must-win Champions League game in which few people gave the hosts any hope before kick-off.
When the pressure was really on, Wenger produced. He always seems too. It might not be enough to save Arsenal’s Champions League dream after defeats in their first two matches, but the momentum has completely shifted.
Wenger tactically outmanouvered Pep Guardiola, the man seen by so many as the doyen of modern coaching.
In recent years, with far weaker teams than his current side, Wenger has made the mistake of trying to outplay the likes of Bayern and Barcelona in the Champions League with inevitable results.
This time, he set his side up to defend deep, to stay organised and committed, and to attack at pace on the counter-attack using the vision of Mesut Ozil and the pace of Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez.
It worked a treat and it was similar to the tactical approach that brought Arsenal their victory against Manchester City in January which started their excellent run of form in 2015.
At Arsenal’s AGM meeting last week, Wenger said he was “more committed than ever, more motivated than ever” to win major trophies for the club.
The Gunners have won back-to-back FA Cups but their last Premier League triumph was in 2004 while they have never been crowned European champions.
This is the strongest Arsenal team since that time and they can boast top-level players in the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Petr Cech and Mesut Ozil.
Last week, Wenger also stood up to shareholders as he defended his record in his 19 years as the club’s manager and spoke about the new methods he is using to analyse his player, opponents and potential signings.
“In the last few years we have built a core of people around the team who can help us more,” Wenger said. “As manager, I get an unbelievable amount of detail and data on every single game on every single day.
"What was 18 years ago my eye, now I have to select the four or five pieces of information to be efficient. About 20 people working around me every day, who work very hard to get us stronger every year.
“We are equipped around our team to say we are really advanced in the way we work and the way we prepare and the way we develop players.”
Wenger may now be 65, but the moderniser has got his mojo back.
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