Is Wenger a Genius or a Mad Man?

Wednesday night saw the coming together of two of the greatest footballing sides in the world, and against many peoples expectations, Arsenal emerged victorious.



"Come home Cesc" "I'm a little busy right now amigo"

For Wenger it was vindication that his "philosophy" of attacking football could triumph against “The Best Team In The World” (that tag isn’t getting tiresome at all!), and at last put to bed any lingering doubts that this side wouldn't be strong enough when the going got tough.

To trail 1-0 to an at times mesmerising Barcelona, and come away with a victory was fine work. And apart from a 20 minute spell either side of David Villa's opening goal, where they couldn’t get near the ball, Arsenal stayed competitive and confident enough in their own ability to come back at Barcelona all night, a mentality Wenger has been publicising of his team all season.

Sure, they had a couple of close shaves; a penalty claim and an offside goal, not to mention Messi’s miss just before Villa had given Barcelona the lead, but Barca were always going to create chances; it was a case of Arsenal restricting them by defending well and maintaining their own game plan of attacking at pace on the break, which they did to good effect.

With 20 minutes to go, Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola made the surprising decision to bring goal scorer David Villa off. Whether this was the catalyst for Wenger's substitutions or whether he would have made them anyway, who knows, but off came Alex Song and Theo Walcott and on went Andrei Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner, and the balance of the match switched.

It was a brave move, and Wenger admitted as much after the game, saying he went for broke because “We had to score 2 goals”. A 1-0 result from the 1^st leg would have meant Arsenal were gonners, and had Wenger's plan not worked, or they conceded another goal, it would have been even worse.



Wenger's philosophy will be defined by trophies he wins

And so Wenger; genius or mad man? On Wednesday night’s evidence you’d have to say the former. He factored in that Barcelona would tire, and when Villa was substituted he seized his opportunity, took off the defensive shield Song, and went for broke. You can always say, “what if it hadn’t worked?” but such are the fine-lines between success and failure, titles and trophies are won and lost on such decisions.

Wenger has been criticised in the past, even by Arsenal fans, for the lack of trophies over recent years. Wenger has always guaranteed that success would come to this team. At an AGM a couple of years ago, Wenger told shareholders this team would win a trophy by 2010.

He was wrong, moving friends of mine (Arsenal fans) to tell me that he should be under more pressure from the board to deliver on his promises and he should be made to invest more money in the team. Ok, but top 4 finishes every season, with all the money being invested in players at other clubs, is hardly a sackable offense is it?

The Arsenal team of 2011 that Wenger has built over the past few years is his vision of how the game should be played. A philosophy that is exemplified by his most trusted lieutenant; Cesc Fabregas.

I almost find it awkward watching Fabregas playing for Arsenal against Barcelona at times. He is Barcelona. From La Masia, where he and all the other great Barcelona players grew up playing and learning the game together, Fabregas at times looks like the boy who had to switch sides to make up the numbers.

Wengers vision. The talent in the team is undeliable. Can they win the top prizes though?

Wenger and Fabregas have created this idealistic style of football, with which they are looking to beat Barcelona at their own game. If they succeed at the Nou Camp they progress only to the quarter finals of the Champions League, but their philosophy will be vindicated. That will rank higher than victory over Birmingham in the Carling Cup surely?

Maybe it's taken longer than he expected for some of the players to fulfil their potential. Perhaps injuries, to Van Persie and Walcott especially over recent seasons have hampered them.

Maybe, with Wilshere and Fabregas dictating play in midfield this season, pushing the team forward, an Arsenal equivalent to the Xavi/Iniesta axis, maybe this is the season for Wenger and his team to realise their philosophy?

Or maybe it was just a good win over “The Best Side in the World” that will quickly be wiped out at the Nou Camp on 8th march?

Lose in Barcelona and we might see Wenger's philosophy fail, for his Lieutenant will surely leave this summer if no significant titles are won this term.

So genius? Well perhaps, but a lot is riding on the next few games.