Let me
start off by saying I have utmost respect for Arsene Wenger, and I have always
wished him well. What he has done for this football club puts him in the
pantheon of greatest managers of all time. He deserves a statue for sure. The
day he leaves Arsenal FC will surely be sad, and I'll always thank him for all
the magical moments he has given us, and not to mention the beautiful
Wengerball, which we absolutely adore.
Needless
to say, Arsenal FC are in a slump of a whole new magnitude unseen in the
entirety of Wenger's tenure at the club. Form is nonexistent, results are
predictably negative, performances have dropped below the standards usually set
by a team destined for relegation. Fans have nothing to cheer about, players
don't seem to care. The manner of every defeat has remained the same over the
past few years. A culture of mediocrity has developed at the club where
excellent was the minimum requirement. The board is seemingly happy with this
mediocrity.
Throughout
the banter era, Arsenal were ridiculed as just a top-4 club. They looked like
they are in for the title, but fade out of all competitions in February, and
somehow manage to end the season strongly to give renewed hope to fans and
players about the next season. Though the banter era has ended, the pattern of
the seasons hasn’t changed. One marked difference: we managed to win a few FA
cups along the way. Our performances in the league and European competitions
are still below par. Heck, I would say they are worse than in the banter era,
where we at least went out to better teams.
What has
this club come to? What happened to my beloved Arsenal? Where are the players
who used to set the pitch alight with their irresistible performances? We used
to look forward to Arsenal games, now I just dread them. I can't bear to watch
Arsenal lose to teams great and bad. Why am I still watching them then? Hope.
The hope
that this group of players is capable of turning it around. Because I have seen
them produce some magical football, sometimes against the top teams of Europe.
The individual talent is there, each and every player has won some of club
football's greatest prizes, and some have even found glory on the international
level. So what is going wrong?
There is
a general lack of identity to Arsenal these days. The slick one touch passing
we gooners have become accustomed to, is not there anymore. The team looks
bereft of new ideas. Attackwise, we are as disjointed as a Sunday league team.
Our midfield doesn’t tick anymore, and defence needs an upheaval on a massive
scale. Tactics are too predictable, and game plans are non-existent. Game
management is a long forgotten skill which Arsenal don’t seem to want to
employ.
How
does one go about fixing this? Is this even fixable? Who stays, who goes? Who
comes in? Some of the work has already started, with Sven Mislintat and Raul
Sanllehi hired for the roles of Head of Recruitement and Head of Football
Relations(which seems a placeholder for Director of Football). Huss Fahmy has joined to handle player contracts, while Dick Law has
moved on. Nothing about the on pitch changes yet. I expect the next set of
changes to be the manager and players.
Surely, Arsene
Wenger's time is up? He cannot seem to get the players motivated, he seems
unable to turn the tide around, and he has been the common denominator in the
great decline. He has had absolute control over transfers, player contracts,
tactics and match day squads. His teams have not made progress in the league or
the Champions League. Heck, even in the Europa league, we look unconvincing.
Replacing one man
should be a cheaper option, and maybe a different man at the helm can get a
different response from these players. One thing that will be guaranteed
though: we will see some fresh ideas. We could see players playing knowing that
their places aren't warranted. They might fear being dropped following bad
performances. Could that lead to better results? Who knows? I mean, it hasn’t
been tried yet. We have hit a nadir so low, we might as well give the reins to
a different person.
Changing the manager
isn’t certain to bring back the positivity. But it might just reignite interest
among the fans. It might rejuvenate the players. Right now, the fans couldn’t
care less. The stadium was empty for a clash against Manchester City, which is
one of the premium games of the season. The rest of the crowd booed the team
off the pitch at the end of the dismal first half. What can a different manager
get from the crowd, and the players?
Hope is all gooners
have left now. Deteriorating hope, but hope nonetheless. Whatever happens,
Arsene Wenger needs to go. He deserves a royal farewell, for all that he has
done for this great club. I hope he does one last great thing, and sees what he
is doing to his legacy, and realizes his mistake.
Victoria Concordia
Crescit!
Comments
Post a Comment