Has coach lost art of nurturing talent?

Alistair Tweedale on the players whose stock has nosedived under the Arsenal manager

Arsene Wenger built his career and reputation on developing talent, but it is difficult to see which, if any, of his current Arsenal team have improved on his watch. Here, we look at key players from every part of his side to see whether they have improved or regressed.

THE GOALKEEPER Petr Cech

One of the great Premier League goalkeepers, who came to Arsenal past his peak. Proved an astute signing for 18 months to two years, but has shown signs of his age this season. His save success rate has plummeted from 76.2 per cent in 2015-16 and 75.5 per cent in 2016-17 to a woeful 62.9 per cent this term. Not only that, he has committed four errors leading to a goal in 27 league appearances this season; more than in 69 games over his previous two seasons.

THE DEFENDER Shkodran Mustafi

Has always seemed a strange Arsenal signing, and one not helped by rumours he was never Wenger’s choice, but that of STATDNA, the data company the club bought in 2014. The meekness with which he was bumped away from Claudio Bravo’s punt upfield by Sergio Aguero at Wembley on Sunday was unforgivable, and his reputation is now far below what it was when he joined for

£35 million.

THE MIDFIELDER Granit Xhaka

What kind of player is Xhaka? He is not defensive enough to screen the

back line sufficiently on his own, he does not create, and he is not a box-to-box midfielder. What is for sure is this: he is the most frustrating player in the squad. Erratic and performing far below the standards that convinced Arsenal to pay Borussia Monchengladbach £30million, the Swiss is not helped by being ill-suited to playing in a two-man central midfield.

THE CREATIVE FORCE Mesut Ozil

Since being made the highest-paid player in Arsenal’s history last month, Ozil has been poor. Arsenal need him more than ever, and need him to control games as we know he can, but Wenger does not seem able to stir fire in the German’s belly. Has he at any point in his time at Arsenal been better than the player who won La Liga at Real Madrid, or helped Germany to third place at the 2010 World Cup? While he may not have regressed, his stats suggest that he has not progressed since going to the club, with his output dipping slightly over the past two seasons.

THE STRIKER Alexandre Lacazette

Came to Arsenal a 25-goal-a-season striker; came away from the north London derby a broken man. Last summer he was a record

£52 million signing; now he is second choice. Lacazette has so much to offer, but has shown his class all too fleetingly in recent weeks, scoring only once since Dec 3, while there is little evidence that Wenger can get his team playing in a way that suits a quick, direct centre-forward.