This is one of the
saddest weeks for an Arsenal fan. I myself never thought I would ever write
the following words. I never thought I would want to write these words. I
postponed writing about this for 2 days, thinking and analyzing what went
wrong, and who is to blame. But I can't seem to reach any conclusion. Well,
maybe one: Arsene Wenger needs to leave Arsenal :(
There are probably a
hundred million things wrong about this situation. The fans, the board, the
players, the media, the man himself, everyone seems to have had a hand in
spoiling one of the greatest legacies in English football. Nobody seems to care
about what the man has done for the club. There are very few people who seem to
appreciate the magnitude of his contributions to world football, let alone
English football and Arsenal. Or is it that their voices are drowned by the
clamor for him to go, or rather be fired? Remember you talking about a guy,
that created a superclub.
Traditional powerhouses like United, Liverpool were dominating English
football, and he figured out a way to break into the top. He was years ahead of
his contemporaries in nutrition, strength, conditioning, and so much more. He
was the first manager to augur the huge revenues in football. He also foresaw
the need for a bigger stadium at the time when the risks were the lowest and
circumstances most favorable, which clubs like Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool
are still struggling. Dear Tottenham, good luck building your new stadium in
current financial conditions, especially when your squad is so ripe for picking
by the top teams. I can easily see Kane, Son, Dele Alli, and co moving on to
bigger clubs, since you would be hamstrung by strict wage policies, limited
spending in the transfer market, and consequently missing out on Champions
League places. Dear Liverpool, hahahahaha. Dear Chelsea, I think you will be
fine, since you have an owner to back you up. Arsenal did all this, endured all
the hardships that entailed building a cathedral of a stadium while constantly
rebuilding the squad year in year out, and STILL managed top 4. 4th place has
become a meme for Arsenal, but very few even comprehend the scale of this
achievement. I strongly believe, that no other manager(perhaps bar Fergie)
could have achieved such a feat. Has any club broken into the top 10 of the
richest clubs in the world without a sugar daddy at their helms? Arsene did it!
He has been the face of Arsenal Football Club for the past 22 years, during the
good times and the bad ones. Don’t you think he deserves a bit of respect?
So why is there such
a ubiquitous call for him to go? To leave his kingdom? What has gone wrong? Was
Arsene the problem? It began in 2006 and, in my opinion, hasn’t ended yet :(
After the Champions
League final appearance in Paris, Arsenal entered into a period of austerity.
The new stadium placed a huge burden on the club, and financial risk in buying
players was too high. Arsene began project youth, integrating young players signed
on the cheap into the team, and getting decent results. The fans knew that we
cannot realistically compete for the league title and the Champions League, and
would have to do with the League Cup and the FA Cup. Which is a perfectly fair
expectation from a club that is under such heavy financial duress. What Arsene
did not expect is that players not repaying his faith, and leaving him for
greener pastures. Manchester City raided Arsenal continuously and there was
nothing AFC could have done. Arsene rebuilt his squad after every departure.
The squad which we had back then, I am amazed how we managed top 4 every
season. That squad in the hands of a different manager would have been lucky to
finish 7th. This was all okay up until 2011. The departure of Fabregas and
Nasri was particularly bitter. Arsene could have handled it better(though I am
saying this with the help of a wonderful tool called hindsight) We exit UCL in
the round of 16, exit the FA Cup in the 6th round, and finish 3rd. Next season,
we famously lose 8-2 to Manchester United, lose 4-0 away to Milan(this will
continue to be a pattern), win 3-0 in the return leg, crash out of the FA Cup
to Sunderland, and end the season 3rd. The following season, RvP decides the
little boy inside him wants to play for Utd when the transfer season is about
to close. A disastrous start to the season. In the UCL, Arsenal lose 3-1 at
home to Bayern Munich, then win 2-0 away only to go out on the away goals rule.
They crash out of the FA Cup to minnows Bradford in the League Cup, and
Blackburn in the FA Cup. They somehow squeak to 4th place. In the 2013-14
season, Arsenal sign Mesut Ozil for a fee of 42.5 million pounds much to
astonishment of the entire world. Arsenal begin the season strongly only to falter
in February, getting thrashed by Liverpool 5-1, and losing 2-0 at home to
Bayern. March isn't any kinder, and Arsenal find a way to lose 6-0 away to
Chelsea on Arsene's 1000th game anniversary. Arsenal crach out of the UCL with
a tame 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena, with the FA Cup being their only possible
source of silverware that season. Arsenal do go on to win the Cup that season,
after going trophyless for 9 years. Monkey off the back for Monsieur Wenger.
Arsenal do finish 4th by the way in the league. Next season, Arsenal sign
Alexis Sanchez for 35 million pounds, who is a key part of the squad till now.
This season was supposed to be different, and we were finally rid of the
financial shackles, and we could start competing for the title, and the UCL.
Disappointing away defeats to Chelsea, Stoke City, Southampton dented that
expectation, and things did not change in the UCL as well. After getting lucky
with the draw for the round of 16 by getting a relatively weaker opponent in
Monaco, Arsenal were supposed to be in the quarters. Fans were celebrating even
before the first leg was played. Arsenal however had other things on their
mind. They found a way to lose 3-1 at home to Monaco! I mean, I watched the
game, and scoreline actually flatters us. In what was one of the most terrible
defensive performances I have seen from Arsenal, Monaco were ripping us to
shreds. They must have been disappointed with just the two goal cushion.
Arsenal won the away leg 2-0, to restore some pride, but went out on away goals
rule, AGAIN. Can you see the pattern here? No? Let me continue. The FA Cup saw
a different Arsenal, and we won it. In the premier league, we finished 3d, 12
points behind champions Chelsea, and luckily just 4 behind runners up City.
Next season was no different, starting strong, losing steam in February-March,
going out to Barcelona and Hull City in the UCL and FA Cup. That Arsenal
managed to screw this season up is a wonder. All the other top sides were
faltering, and Arsenal, Tottenham and Leicester were the real contenders for
the title. In March we managed to quit this race as well. On the last matchday,
we luckily finished 2nd, our highest finish in a decade. The 2016-17 season is
a foregone conclusion in terms of the title, as we are out of it since new
year's day. Same drab performance in the UCL saw us getting spanked 5-1 by
Bayern, who by the way are playing much below their usual standards. The FA Cup
remains only hope for salvaging this season.
Why have Arsenal
lost steam in February and March for the past 10+ years? Is it the players?
Arsene picked them, he did not inherit them. Is it down to luck? Nah. It has to
be down to the manager, right? Or is it? Arsene is the only common denominator
in this. Arsene hasn’t got the results that he would have wanted. That the fans
expected. Since the financial restrictions were off, Arsenal should be in the
title race at the very least. But it has been the same story over and over
again. Every Arsenal game follows a template: plenty of attacking flair, costly
defensive errors, and points dropped. UCL round of 16 exits are a given. League
Cup is shown no importance, even though our youth and reserve players ought to
be good enough to pull off a run till the semis. Strong starts to the league
falter in February and March before we put on a run of form to pull off our
customary 3rd/4th place finishes. Away defeats at big clubs are the standard
template. Lapses in concentration from the entire 11 is such games is fairly
common. Surely such mentality won't be tolerated at any other top club?
The owner is also
part of the problem. But we know for sure, Silent Stan won't fire Arsene, the
man who brings him profits without
spending much(in comparison to the other clubs). The board lacks the football
knowledge to make such a decision. On the Arsenal board, each and every member
is a businessman at heart. Cold to the hearts of football fans. We don’t even
know what expectations are set for Arsene at the start of the season, and for
all we know, Arsene might be overachieving in the eyes of the board(not in the
eyes of the fans) Arsene has an absolute veto over transfers. He decides who
comes and goes, what contracts players get, and so on. If Arsene goes, we
simply do not have the machinery in place to handle such situations, and this
cannot be entrusted to a new manager(see David Moyes and LvG at Utd) And it
does not seem like the board is preparing for Arsene's exit in the near future.
The major factor
that irks fans is probably the reluctance of the club to take a risk. To take a
gamble on a player, or a manager, and to try to become better on the pitch. AFC
is already very strong off the pitch, it has to be said. The message that seems
to emanate from the hierarchy a the club is that they are satisfied and do not
want to take a risk. A new manager might make us better or worse, nobody knows
it with certainty. But at least we would have tried right?
What about Arsene
himself? Why doesn’t he want to be more successful at the club? I am not
accusing him of not wanting success, but rather of not being ruthless on the
players he placed faith and didn’t deliver the goods. He says he cares a lot
about the club, but the results on the pitch do not seem to be in sync with his
statements. He cut a sad figure after the defeat in Munich. His comments in the
press conference before the next game reeked of desperation. For the first
time, he might actually be considering leaving AFC.
It would be a good
choice for him, away from all the vitriol the fans and the British media spew
each week. He has said he wants to manage next season, irrespective of where he
is. The French National Team job must be enticing, so must be the Barcelona one.
If he does quit Arsenal, he won't have any shortage of suitors. Heck, he might
even have less pressure in his next job, and this must be gnawing at his head.
Imagine he goes to Barcelona. He has a lot of young talent to work with, and
also some of the best players in the world. He will have a transfer warchest at
his disposal. He can attract pretty much every player to the Camp Nou. I am
sure, that wherever he goes, he will find success. Leaving the mess that is
Arsenal Football Club must be quite appealing.
Will it be a good
choice for Arsenal? A manager leaving is never a good choice, not least the
departure of a manager of Wenger's caliber. But it will be a change. It will be
something different than seeing Arsene in the dugout, in the post match press
conference saying, "I did not see it!" and many many other things. We
might even go backwards with the new manager. Players might be reluctant to
stay or come to Arsenal. I can see Ozil leaving if Wenger goes. At this point,
not much is clear. Except for one thing: Arsene needs to go, for his own good
and for Arsenal's.
(Here are words I
never thought I would ever need :( )
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