By IAN WRIGHT
ARSENE WENGER has a massive job on his hands. Again.
The Arsenal boss is relying on a squad who in some cases are not up to it — and this worries me.
I completely understand why the club’s fans were furious with Andre Santos for taking Robin van Persie’s shirt at half-time.
But apart from the fact Santos is not good enough and doesn’t appear to care, Wenger has other major problems.
It is baffling that Theo Walcott is repeatedly starting matches on the bench.
The time has come for Theo to not only start but to get a run as a central striker.
Having played in that position, I would like to think I have a good idea of what it takes to operate there.
With Theo’s pace and ability, I absolutely guarantee he will score goals if he gets three or four games up front.
It seems obvious to me and Theo should have had the chance years ago.
He’s a natural. Theo is a quality finisher, as he proved against Reading last week but don’t forget that he has scored goals against all the big clubs.
It doesn’t make sense to keep him as a winger. I understand why the guy has become frustrated with his lack of opportunities down the middle.
It’s annoying as Wenger keeps talking about playing Theo there but never actually does it. I think Olivier Giroud may come good up front but it’s not as though Arsenal have loads of other options.
I find it strange Theo has not played regularly since being unable to agree on a new deal.
It’s a shame, as he seems desperate to stay, unlike some of the stars who have left in recent seasons.
With Theo in the final year of this contract, he really needs to be given the chance to play in the position where he made a stunning impact as a teenager for Southampton.
The results over the last few weeks have shown something has to change.
Arsenal have not been good enough.
The form of defenders Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny has been poor.
Bacary Sagna, back again after a broken leg, is a quality full-back. But even he has voiced concerns over the number of big names leaving, so I guess he could be next.
Wenger has said that when a top international player signs for Arsenal, he only asks about if the team is in the Champions League and not whether the club has won a cup.
I don’t know what Wenger is going on about — and I’m still waiting for those top players to arrive rather than go somewhere else.
Over the last six or seven years, Wenger has not signed the players who will take the club back to where it should be. Arsenal have lost out on the likes of Juan Mata and Eden Hazard.
Everyone keeps telling me how many caps Lukas Podolski has won for Germany — but I don’t care about that.
Podolski started well for Arsenal but he needs to be more consistent.
Wenger did incredibly well to take the club to third last term after a tough start but these are testing times.
Santos is a poor left-back. It’s been a long time since I have seen an Arsenal defender play this badly on a regular basis.
He gets roasted by opponents, caught out of position and goes to ground too easily. But the shirt incident on Saturday was really annoying.
I was lucky enough to swap shirts with Lothar Matthaus, Zinedine Zidane and George Weah — as you’d expect, the exchange was always made at the end of the game.
Had I asked for the shirt of Eric Cantona at half-time at Old Trafford, the boys in our team would have ripped my head off in the changing rooms.
But I would never have asked in the first place.
Santos was disrespectful to the supporters, disrespectful to his team-mates and disrespectful to the Arsenal badge.
I felt embarrassed for Santos.
The most worrying aspect of this unbelievable incident is it appears there is not enough discipline under Wenger.
Whether Santos asked for the shirt or it was offered by Van Persie is irrelevant — he took the item.
I hope Santos got abuse in the dressing room from his team-mates — but he probably didn’t. And that’s a shame.
I get loads of stick from Gooners but I love the club. I have to ask whether some of the current players really care.
