Arsène Wenger has allowed Arsenal youngsters too much of a comfort zone

Theo Walcott's and Aaron Ramsey's poor performances in Milan symbolise the failure of Wenger's entire development philosophy

Thierry Henry left the pitch on Wednesday night with his arm around the shoulders of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and in possession of the shirt of the man whose performance for Milan had been as decisive as those the Frenchman used to produce on Arsenal's behalf. In what will almost certainly prove to have been his final appearance in the colours of the north London club, Henry had spent 45 minutes trying desperately to help his team-mates out of the hole in which they found themselves at San Siro. It was sad to see a player of such class unable to avert the catastrophe of the club's worst defeat in 222 European matches.

Sadder still was the sight of the 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, thrust into the fray with 25 minutes to go, also striving to rescue a semblance of respectability from a performance of such dismal incompetence that Arsène Wenger's critics will have been sharpening their knives long before the final whistle.

Oxlade-Chamberlain left the stadium clutching the shirt of another prodigy, Alexandre Pato. In his short time on the pitch the £12m forward had proved himself capable of dominating Luca Antonini, Milan's left-back, and produced two excellent crosses, one of which forced Christian Abbiati into a scrambled save. He will be uncomfortably aware, however, that he is part of a team whose performance has fallen far below their own standards. Until a year ago, Wenger's sides won 58% and lost 18% of their 831 matches. Of 56 games over the past 12 months, they have won 47% and lost 30%.

It would be wearying to repeat all the familiar charges levelled against the manager since Arsenal's last trophy was captured in 2005, but there can be little doubt that Oxlade-Chamberlain should have been on from the start against Milan. This was his third appearance in the Champions League, following the home and away matches against Olympiakos earlier in the season, and his first on one of Europe's really big stages. Nothing in his recent displays gave evidence that he would be overawed by San Siro, or anywhere else. He is fast, he is powerful, he has a wonderful technique – thanks no doubt to the tutelage of his father, the fondly remembered former Stoke and England winger Mark Chamberlain – and he seems to do the right thing whenever possession comes his way. Like Jack Wilshere, whose presence has been so sorely missed, he makes his decisions before the ball arrives: a sign of an exceptional football talent.

In one other way he resembles Wilshere while differing from many of the other young men deployed by Wenger in recent seasons: every gesture, every movement betrays a competitive hardness. His physical strength appears to be matched by the mental toughness that prompted him to complain, earlier in the season and after only a handful of months after his transfer from Southampton, about the lack of first-team opportunities. Behind the polite eloquence of his interviews, there is the hint of the very obduracy and abrasiveness that Arsenal need so badly. These are not qualities readily associated with – to name only two of Wednesday's culprits – Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey.

Six years into his career as a first‑team player at Arsenal, Walcott ought by now to have shed the boyishness that so often makes him seem easy prey for experienced defenders. Youthful zest is one thing, ingenuousness is another, and at 22 he should be showing a greater maturity. The same is true of Ramsey, who is a year younger. After an extended recuperation from a double fracture of his right leg, the Welshman has been back in the side long enough for his contribution to be assessed without making allowances, and he is showing little of the inventiveness and dynamism that he brought to the team before his dreadful injury in February 2010.

He, too, betrays clear signs of that fatal boyishness: when he misplaces a pass or scuffs a shot, he dramatises his despair by putting his hands to his head and striking a pose, wasting the seconds in which he should be getting on with trying to rectify his error. An infuriating habit, thrust into even higher relief when the team are performing badly, it is surprising from one whose leadership qualities persuaded the late Gary Speed to make him Wales's youngest ever captain.

It may seem unfair to single out Walcott and Ramsey after a night when virtually the entire team failed to do themselves justice. But by symbolising the dominant thrust of Wenger's player-development philosophy since the end of the era of the Invincibles and the dispersal of such battle-hardened figures as Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams, they embody the failure of an entire project.
Although both are capable of sporadic excellence, one wonders what sort of progress Ramsey, for instance, might have made under Sir Alex Ferguson or David Moyes, both of whom were keen to sign him in 2008. He chose Arsenal after Wenger flew him and his family to Switzerland for talks during which he became convinced that north London offered the right sort of opportunity for his development. Many others, including Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, have come to similar conclusions. Perhaps, however, an indulgent Wenger has provided too much of a comfort zone for his young prodigies, creating an environment in which they can hone their delicate skills but not their core resilience, and in which naivety is too easily forgiven, with consequences that were laid bare in Wednesday's chastening defeat.

Source: Richard Williams, The Guardian on 16 Feb 12