Stoke City boss Tony Pulis: Arsene Wenger under immense pressure
Tony Pulis has said that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is under a lot of pressure because of the trophy drought and he would be shattered if he fails, yet again, to deliver the trophy to the fans at Emirates Stadium. These comments were made by the Stoke City boss before their clash against Arsenal, but the match has been postponed because of poor weather conditions in London.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tony-c35440 Pulis was talking about Wenger’s failure to win anything since 2005, which makes it five years for the Gunners without silverware. This is a long dry spell for a team like Arsenal, who has a great history and, thus, a big fan following. The fans demand something more than just a good display of football and this is the season when Wenger must deliver for the fans. Also, Wenger’s policy of buying and investing in relatively young players has been questioned by many around the world, and now Pulis has criticised the same methods.
There has been bad blood between Wenger and Pulis as both the managers have spoken out against each other more than often. In the match between both teams last season, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ryan-Shawcross-c31996. The Stoke defender has ever since been in the bad books of Wenger, who keeps on blaming Stoke and Pulis for a more physical style of football.
Therefore, before the match, Pulis came out and challenged Wenger’s title credentials this year. He made it sound like Wenger will have his job in jeopardy if he fails to deliver this season as well. Also, Pulis defended his team’s playing style and said that Arsenal would not be in a position to criticise this year. Pulis said that the Gunners had more yellow cards, more red cards and more fouls than his team’s, this season, which means that Arsenal is the one resorting to physical style of football this time.
However, Wenger was adamant on blaming Shawcross for his ruthless challenge on Arsenal’s youngster. Wenger said that it was up to his young midfielder to forgive the Stoke defender. Wenger kept worrying about his player, who had his career at risk after the injury and is still waiting to come back to first-team football since then.
Wenger's side failed to beat Manchester United last week, which has raised further questions on his team’s title credentials. Although Stoke would find it very difficult to beat Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, the Gunners have shown a poor form at home this season. Therefore, with a little psychological game plan, Pulis’ men can put pressure on the young Gunners and win the match. There is no doubt that Arsenal is feeling a lot of pressure, which has increased manifold since their loss to United.
Something must be delivered to the fans this season, as they have been supporting Wenger passionately for the last five years (an exceptionally long time for anyone to rebuild a team). Nevertheless, the building process has finished, according to Wenger, and the title hopes have come alive once again.
The pressure is mounting on Wenger, and at the same time, his plans are constantly being foiled by the injuries to his key players. Therefore, the match against Stoke carries immense significance as Arsenal is likely to pick some more injuries against the team which is known for its strong challenges. Since the match has been postponed, there will be more to this war of the words, and both managers will keep on criticising each other. In the end, it is important for Wenger to win the match and keep his title hopes alive.
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