Wenger needs to address a problem that is very close to home by Richard Hall

When it was thought that Pat Rice would retire at the end of this season there were a lot of tributes that started to emerge. One in particular stated that his departure would change the dynamics of the club. For Arsenal this could be just what they need.

In accordance with the tributes to Rice it is hard to argue that many people could love a football club like Wenger’s assistant has and that nobody has given so much to the club. This is of course correct, however, when fans of the North London outfit take a step back and look at the problems the club is having, Pat Rice as assistant could be a key aspect.

Mentality has been a key problem at Arsenal this season as it has for quite a few before. This problem stems from the dressing room and the training ground and seeps into the rest of the club over a period of time.

Arsenal have unfortunately allowed a negative mind set to flow through the veins of the club like an incurable cancer. Arsene Wenger is often blamed solely for this current situation and is heavily criticised by the fans and the media. Wenger is not the only person who has contact with the players and he is certainly not the only person to speak in the dressing room, so why is he the only one to feel the full force of the criticism?

A good assistant manager must surely have an influence on the players and therefore be responsible for their attitudes. History will also go to show that this is the case. Many assistants have ended up becoming superb managers as there character and ability has shone through so brightly that it has released them from a world of second place into the lofty heights that is football management. Not Rice however, he has continued to be an assistant at the club he loves. There is no shame in being settled or content with your lot, but being a good servant on the pitch in the past and also performing well years ago does not give any player or member of staff Carte Blanche in their role in latter life.

Pat Rice, it has been argued, has the spirit of ‘Old Arsenal’ in him. The question should be then, why does he not apply that winning spirit or that steel underbelly that the club used to possess into the current squad?

The answer can be but two things; firstly, he is too weak to get his views across and therefore is not strong enough to hold this position. Secondly is that he does not hold these views and is simply a ‘yes’ man to Wenger.

The worst part of this sorry state of affairs for Arsenal is that the solution is staring them in the face. Arsene Wenger whose contract runs out in 2014 has already spoken of who his successor should be “I would love Stojkovic to be my successor, there are a hundred reasons for that,” Wenger had released this information to Serbian paper Vecernje Novosti.

“Our ideas are the same and we both strive for perfect football. I knew he was going to have teams playing attacking football with many passes. He has done that, showing he will be a great coach. I told him that if he could transmit his football imagination to his players he would fly high.” It would surely make perfect sense to have Pat Rice replaced by Stojkovic who could then bounce ideas off Wenger and start to create the Arsenal of the future. Wenger often brings players up through the ranks so why not do this internally with the coaching staff.

There are problems at Arsenal it is true, but there are also solutions to ensure the clubs longevity and its success. Pat Rice does not fit into the next stage of Arsenal’s development and for all intents and purposes it seems that Stojkovic could be both the short and long term answer for Arsenal’s future.

Justarsenal