Arsenal's style of play under Arsene Wenger is 'madness', insists Charlie Adam

1/5
Sam Long7 February 2017

Arsenal's attacking style of play under Arsene Wenger is "madness", according to Stoke midfielder Charlie Adam.

The Gunners have not won the Premier League title since 2003/04 and are unlikely to end their wait for the silverware this season, having fallen 12 points adrift of pacesetters Chelsea.

Antonio Conte's side eased to a 3-1 victory over their rivals at the weekend, which has seen Wenger's tactics and footballing philosophy come under fire yet again.

Arsenal often struggle defensively in the big games and Adam is convinced Wenger does not alter his tactical plans depending on an opponent.

"No, never. It's the same way, no matter if they are playing Stoke, Bayern Munich or Chelsea, they always try the same way," Adam told BBC Radio Five Live.

"It is madness. I think that comes from a personal pride. [Jose] Mourinho gets stick earlier in the season, but he goes to Liverpool, shuts up shop, he's happy with a point.

"I don’t think Arsenal are happy with that. They think they have to win every game," he insisted.

Arsenal's current crop of players are often accused of lacking the mental strength needed to win a title, having failed to last the course in recent years.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Arsenal | 04/02/2017

1/44

But Adam believes a poor balance between attack and defence is also a key reason why the Gunners have not been able to meet expectations.

"The thing for Arsenal, I think it’s the front six want to just go and win the game, and they let the four defenders defend, and that's it, that's how it becomes.

"If you can get the ball back and get up the pitch quick you're straight into their back four, and that's the problem they've got.

"That's the way Arsenal play, and at the moment, it's not happening for them, they are struggling," Adam said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in