Arsene Wenger v the fans

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. A name with considerable length and belonging to a player who has already achieved a lot in such a short space of time since beginning his career. 43 games and 10 goals for Southampton between his debut at just 16 years and 199 days old on March 2nd 2010 and August 2011, when he left for Arsenal in a £12m deal. He has also represented England at under 18, 19 and 21 age groups, with seven caps and three goals for Stuart Pearce’s side. However, since joining Arsenal in the summer, he has made only limited appearances in the first-team, with Arsene Wenger keen to protect his latest wonder-kid from the hype of a thousand eyes.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has played nine games for Arsenal, scoring twice

Yet by throwing him into the bear-pit of the Emirates, whose fans were admittedly practically comatose until the 74th minute on Sunday against Manchester United, Wenger has unwillingly created a division between himself and the fans, with the young winger a pivotal part of the rift.

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s guile and direct wing play, a direct contrast to the under-performing and frustrating style of fellow Southampton graduate Theo Walcott on the opposite flank, was one of few impressive aspects to an Arsenal performance still showing an obvious hangover to the 8-2 drubbing seen at Old Trafford in August. The creator for Robin Van Persie’s equaliser, Oxlade-Chamberlain was seemingly untouchable and, with the enigmatic and puzzling Andrey Arshavin warming up on the touchline, it appeared to a man that the obvious withdrawal would be Walcott, not the lively newcomer. Yet just three minutes after Arsenal equalised following Antonio Valencia’s first half opener, Oxlade-Chamberlain was withdrawn from the game, to a chorus of boos and overall disapproval.

This disapproval wasn’t just left in the stands. Van Persie himself, captain of Arsenal and Wenger’s star man, key goal provider and a senior figure in the dressing room, was seen looking displeased with the tactical substitution, mouthing the word ‘no’ when the fourth official displayed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s number.

Wenger, however, has defended his decision by stating “I have to justify [substituting] a guy of 18 who’s playing his second or third game? I have to stand up for the substitutions I’ve made. I’ve been 30 years in this job and have made 50,000 substitutions and I have to justify every time I make a decision? I do not have to explain to you every decision I make.”

Arsenal fans first booed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s withdrawal, then rose to applaud the youngster’s exit from the pitch, an appreciative gesture for a sparkling cameo. Arshavin’s entrance was met, conversely, with boos, a fitting reception for a player who Gary Neville claimed after the match on Sky’s coverage to be “the most disinterested player in the league... Arsenal fans don’t want him out there.”

Wenger's decision to withdraw Oxlade-Chamberlain was met with boos

But is Wenger right? Do the fans have a right to criticise a manager’s tactical decision? Some would argue that a manager’s decision, right or wrong, should be respected. After all, he is in the position of responsibility afforded to him, so should therefore be supported with whatever decision he chooses to make.

There is another school of thought however, which says that the modern fan is well-versed in the tactics of the game, and knows when a substitution should, or rather should not, be made. The saturation of football on television means that fans are consuming more of the game, and therefore having a wider opportunity to discuss individual decisions and tactics in pubs, bars, concourses, offices, on forums and in homes across the country. Throw into that a stronger media focus on the tactical outlook of the game (the Guardian’s chalkboards, blogs, plus the excellent Zonal Marking website to name but a few) and even the fact that a generation of fans have grown up outsmarting friends and strangers on games like FIFA, Pro Evo and Football Manager, and the modern fascination with tactical decisions is born. The more knowledge an individual, or a collective, possesses, the more opinions they form and thus the more likely they are to contend any decision they would not have made. In Wenger’s case, this arrived on Sunday to a crescendo of boos at the hands of 55,000 Arsenal fans.

This incident aside, it isn’t the first time that a substitution involving Oxlade-Chamberlain has thrown Wenger’s tactical beliefs wide open. In the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford, Arsenal were trailing 3-1 after 62 minutes. With the game delicately poised, and Arsenal managing to survive despite a growing injury list, Wenger opted to withdraw young central midfielder Francis Coquelin for Oxlade-Chamberlain, thus removing the one man who was shielding the Arsenal defence. Half an hour later, with Arsenal’s midfield disrupted, Manchester United had run amok and sealed a dramatic 8-2 victory.

In the recent 3-2 defeat at Swansea, Wenger tried to rescue the game with eight minutes remaining by withdrawing central defender Per Mertesacker for Oxlade-Chamberlain, resulting in an obvious reshuffle. Although no more goals were scored, Wenger’s decision to weaken the defence, and therefore the midfield, played into the hands of Brendan Rodgers’ counter-attacking Swansea side, who came dangerously close to adding a fourth. Arsenal were unable to grab a point, but Wenger did himself no favours in trying to provide confidence to the fans.

Arsenal fans have always been more than willing to support Wenger, given the brand of football he prefers and the philosophy he imposes. But two key grumbles, a lack of investment in the right areas of the team, and tactical decisions such as yesterday’s introduction for Arshavin for a sparkling Oxlade-Chamberlain, are starting to create significant cracks in the relationship between the two sides. Failure to hit the top four could be very bad news for Wenger.