Civil war at Arsenal

Pat Rice as No. 2 at the end of last season, has become increasingly marginalised at the club’s London Colney HQ in recent weeks.

It is believed the title-winning defender, whose salary of £1,5million is half that earned by the England manager Roy Hodgson, has grown frustrated at his lack of input into first-team matters.
Certain players are also understood to want more defensive-based training sessions on a regular basis.

Distance between Wenger and Bould, a former Arsenal defender, is so big that, when the boss missed training the day before Arsenal were beaten 2-0 at home by Swansea, fitness coach Tony Colbert took the session.

Pressure on Wenger is at an all-time high following Tuesday’s humiliating Capital One Cup defeat to Bradford, a League Two side made up of 10 free transfers.

Speaking on Wednesday former Arsenal player Stewart Robson, who was employed by the club up until last year, added weight to the talk of training ground problems.

“Arsene Wenger, because he has got a massive ego, because he’s a dictator when it comes to Arsenal Football Club, he’s not allowing Steve Bould to do any work,’ said Robson.

“He’s got a reputation for developing players. Maybe he did that six, seven years ago. He’s actually putting players backwards now.

“I’ve seen Gervinho play for the Cote d’lvoire before he came to Arsenal, he was a good player. I saw (Andrey) Arshavin play for Russia and Zenit St Petersburg, he was a good player. I’ve seen (Aaron) Ramsey play for the Welsh Under-21s, he’s a good player.

“Arsene Wenger is not doing enough on the training field. He’s not coaching the players, they have got no game strategy and, because he won’t let anyone else do it, Arsenal are going backwards and some of their players are going backwards.

“Sir Alex Ferguson is not a coach. He doesn’t know how to put on a session, so people tell me. But what he does know is about the game, and he realises that, to get the best out of his players, he has to get the best coaches.

“That’s why he’s had some Dutch coaches underneath him.
“He’s made sure his number two is not just a yes man, which Arsene Wenger likes to appoint. He’s appointing people that are going to be tactically superior, who are going to take all his players out on the training field and work hard tactically and technically with the players.”

Arsenal stars also fear Wenger’s relationship with his new assistant Bould is breaking down.
Tensions are mounting and cracks appearing in the Gunners dressing room.

Tuesday’s humiliating defeat to League Two Bradford has exposed the unrest, with some first-team players becoming increasingly sick of trying to play pretty football with no bite or cutting edge.

Wenger went ballistic at half-time in the Capital One Cup tie, accusing his stars of “lacking focus and application”.

The manager also tore into Gervinho for an atrocious first-half miss.
But it was to little effect and after the shootout defeat the players talked of increasing strain between Wenger and No. 2 Bould.

Former player Bould only replaced long-term servant Pat Rice in the summer. A source said: “There does not seem to be much communication between the two.

“It is a shame because all the players are behind Wenger despite the results but equally, they all respect Bould. Things are strained.”

The source said that Wenger is still in total charge of the players.
They added: “Bould worked with the defence before the start of the season but he has not done too many sessions since.

“Wenger remains in complete control over everything.”
This belief is backed up by former Arsenal star Robson, who called Wenger a “dictator”.
Wenger has already reacted angrily in public when asked about Bould’s involvement. Some of Arsenal’s players are also frustrated that the team are continually encouraged to play like Barcelona when it is not working.

Meanwhile, Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has given his total backing to under-fire manager Wenger amid the backdrop of training ground tensions. — Mailonline.