Old Wenger

Do you remember that Friends episode when the other five find out that Phoebe has never seen the end of tear-jerking films such as Its A Wonderful Life and Old Yeller, never realising that Old Yeller is shot by his owner. Something struck me as odd last night listening to the reaction of the Arsenal v Barcelona Champions League tie where the Spanish holders won 2-0 to be in the driving seat before the second leg in three weeks time at the Camp Nou.

If Arsenal are eliminated it will be the sixth consecutive season they have been eliminated from the first knockout round of Europe's most prestigious competition without troubling their rivals.  True, they have been unlucky in drawing the elite clubs. Yet that is always the risk you take in predominantly finishing second in the group stages.

It happened again this season, when Arsenal were on the back foot immediately after losing in Prague and then at home to Olympiakos. Yes, they finished second but the risk of drawing a Barcelona was very real.

What was surprising was the way Wenger are '95%' through today and how frustrated Barcelona would be that they did not firmly put the tie to bed with a more emphatic scoreline. Yet Wenger's honourable reaction to the defeat not making excuses and virtually falling on his sword for his players own failings was eyebrow raising.

Following the desperate performance at home to Hull City in the FA Cup at the weekend, which came less than a week after the euphoric home victory against Leicester City, you do wonder why Wenger struggles to motivate his players and why he fails so often with bad selection policies.

From playing Olivier Giroud as a lone striker when a quicker forward like Walcott or even hard working Danny Welbeck to press high up the field and pester the Barcelona defenders would have played into a gameplan. Instead the Giroud selection smacked of tried and tested, failing to see the necessity to innovate or try and disrupt Barcelona's tempo, too much respect was given to the Catalans.

Wenger strikes me as a manager on his last legs, one who is living off of past glories and bereft of inspiration in terms of formulating a plan, a manager too loyal to players who do not warrant it and a man who looks like he is running out of time.

The past two years of FA Cup victories have given him a stay of execution. The golden chalice is the Premier League title, something that has not been in his hands for 11 seasons. And now he stands on the brink of losing that to not only a competitor but his club's fiercest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. A team led by a vibrant young manager full of tactics and an insatiable hunger to succeed.

Arsene Wenger seems to think he has a divine right to the title and to challenge for it, and yet with the failings of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool as challengers the title was there for the taking for Arsenal, and yet he slipped on his lines and failed to get the purchases in either transfer window to support his injury prone squad.

Should he lose the title to Tottenham, there will be a huge sense of embarrassment and bemusement at the Emirates. He might well retire or be put out of his misery; and just like Old Yeller, Arsenal and Arsene never saw it coming.

The Future's Oxlade

England drew valiantly with Brazil 2-2 in the Maracana Stadium in Rio last night, and no doubt would have lost on penalties if this was a tournament match-up.

However, following on from the drab encounter against the Republic of Ireland last Wednesday, England came away with some much needed credit to their name after being described as going backwards as they stuck to a 4-4-2 formation.

In this day and age of fluency and flexibility, the requirement of players and coaches to adapt to in game changes must be prevalent and the need of utility and adaptability is paramount from all concerned.  Players need to have many strings to their bow and not just be very good at one facet of play.

Roy Hodgson should be applauded as well for going for broke in Brazil, with the Samba stars taking the lead  through Hulk, many expected either Brazil to push their advantage home or for England to wilt in the stifling conditions.

Yet the England manager decided to be bold and took the initiative substituting Glen Johnson for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Arsenal, this allowed Phil Jones to revert to his more familiar right back position having been a part of England's three man midfield - along with Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard - and struggling to maintain possession.

This allowed Oxlade to play his preferred central position behind Wayne Rooney with James Milner and Theo Walcott threatening from the wings.

Oxlade was exceptional in his brief time on the field, he played with passion, a desire to get the ball and distribute it keenly and with intent to those around him.  Rooney appreciated this play to feet as for much of the first half - link play was disrupted by Walcott's wasteful possession and poor decision making.  Oxlade's injection of confidence to a flat-lining team paid dividends with him scoring his first international goal away from home, a crisply struck drive through a sea of players that left Julio Cesar no chance to thwart.

Oxlade's influence of counter-attacking had a hand in England's second goal scored by Wayne Rooney with a slight deflection - crisp quick passing from a Brazil corner led to link up between Walcott to Milner to Oxlade who freed Rooney to run with the ball and curl in a shot that with the deflection escaped Cesar for a quick turnaround lead.

England's lacklustre defence however, could not keep Brazil at bay and parity was restored when Paulinho converted a half-volley unmarked past Joe Hart, whose first half performance deserved more as he kept a rampant Brazil led by new Barcelona signing, Neymar and Chelsea's Oscar at bay with some fine saves and brave blocks.

Whilst this performance as a whole did not warrant a victory, it did give us a glimpse of England when let off the leash - an attacking threat which with the right personnel can be impressive and ask questions of any team, although this Brazil side is not the greatest vintage as they are going through changes themselves in preparation of hosting the World Cup next summer.

Call it is his lack of experience or perhaps the innocence of his play, but Oxlade-Chamberlain is a breathe of fresh air compared to his club-mate Theo Walcott who is a frustrating blend of expectation and a lot of overblown hyperbole.  Walcott has pace and speed to burn and yet unlike contemporaries Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale, he seems unable to run with the ball at this feet nor be able to make a decision that does not involve shooting at goal.

If Lennon had not picked up another injury it was likely that based on his overall level of performance could have started one of these internationals, Lennon's final ball and delivery is vastly ahead of Walcott's yet Lennon does not have the shooting boots Walcott has something that is most helpful in an international tournament.  With Michael Owen retiring due to a series of hamstring injuries that caused him to slow down and end with a career somewhat unfulfilled, perhaps Walcott should take advantage of his potential now before his first serious injury causes him to slow down and burn out.

Whereas in numerous international appearances, Oxlade has shown himself to not be over-awed by the occasion and looks like the sort of individual who after another season in the battle of the Premier League will become a better player.

Albeit by this time next year as Hodgson runs the rule over his final 23 for the World Cup (should England qualify -fingers crossed), Oxlade will not be a secret weapon but nevertheless be the sort of player who can make an impact coming off the bench.

And in this age of rampant commercialism amongst football, pardon me if I use a pun.  For England, the future is bright, the future's Oxlade.

England v San Marino Preview

Roy Hodgson is at the start of his first tournament qualification experience with England.  Having experienced a tournament proper without the burden of slugging through deepest darkest away days, he is sampling over the next five days the best and worst of international football.

On Friday night in front of a full house Wembley Stadium, Hodgson will be sending his team out to score goals goals goals against the feeble San Marino, who have not scored in four years and not won since their only international victory against Liechenstein in 2004.  Along with Bhutan and the Turks & Caicos Islands, San Marino are the lowliest ranked country under the umbrella of FIFA.

Hodgson must send out a team who firstly will find the game a test and be motivated to compete against semi-professional footballers.  Hopefully the home crowd can help suck the ball into the net.  However, like any England manager, Hodgson has to contend with selection headaches.  Already deprived of Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson through suspension; you can now add Frank Lampard (knee) and Ryan Bertrand (throat) to that list, as well as the ongoing furore surrounding Ashley Cole's supposed punishment for his tweeting against the FA last week.

Hodgson also lost captain John Terry to international retirement yet has gained newly installed captain, Wayne Rooney to the side after he missed the Macedonia/Ukraine games owing to the large gash he suffered on his left leg.

So what should Hodgson do with his formation?  The loss of both Gerrard and Lampard has deprived Hodgson a chance to look at one without the other following on from another dismal performance together at home to Ukraine.  This may give Tom Cleverley a chance to cement a position in the side, or alternatively allow Rooney himself to play off a front man such as Welbeck where he can gather the ball from clubmate Cleverley or Carrick and dictate play with his enthusiasm and zeal.

Who should play up front with Rooney, or in front of him?  Club mate Danny Welbeck has a good partnership with Rooney as the start of last season showed, yet the purchase of Robin Van Persie at Old Trafford has meant less starts for Welbeck who often plays on the wing coming into play rather than an out and out forward meaning a dip in form.  Perhaps Andy Carroll is the answer, returning from a hamstring injury, a 60 minute burst against the minnows of Marino where his height and strength will be overbearing may be the right result.  Then just when they have seen the back of that man mountain on comes the wily Jermain Defoe who is scoring consistently for Tottenham, and is known for scoring late junk goals in one-sided defeats against tired defenders.

But what of the wings, should he play both Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott from the start to bomb down both wings and offer support alongside Welbeck/Carroll with Rooney sitting deeper.  Personally, the sight of Carroll nodding headers down for free runners will be a good one and a certain amount of variety to proceedings.

As for the defence it picks itself right now owing to Terry's withdrawal, yet I would be prone to rest Ashley Cole and play the more in form, Leighton Baines of Everton who is in a rich vein of form and offers quality from set pieces and can get forward when necessary.  As does his right back counterpart Kyle Walker who is full of attacking threat but does not refuse to defend, unlike Johnson.

Suggested starting XI: Hart - Walker, Lescott, Jagielka, Baines - Carrick, Cleverley, Rooney - Walcott, Carroll, Oxlaide-Chamberlain

Follow me on twitter: @JamieGarwood