Emmanuel Fyle
I have written a few articles for the Online Gooner over the past few months, highlighting the complete absence of any fact-based argument for keeping Arsene Wenger in his position.
Events over the summer to date have given credence to the chasm that has developed as Arsenal FC continues to see its’ grandiose stature as a big club eroded, day after painful day. The multitude of incidents that have taken place over the past month are all indicative of a club awash with mercenaries, and a group of disinterested disparate individuals, with no respect for the club, and no understanding of what it is they are supposed to represent.
Arsene Wenger’s entire youth project has collapsed spectacularly around him and with it, Arsenal’s standing, respect and most crucially identity, continue to spiral out of control. Wenger’s premise has always been based on getting a group of youngsters growing up together, who develop an affinity for the club and a telepathic understanding on the pitch. What has transpired however is a spectacular reversal, whereby not only do the players have no on-pitch cohesion whatsoever, but we now see a multitude of instances whereby Arsene Wenger’s whole ethos has been exposed as ill-conceived, naïve at best and incompetent at worst.
Various examples of the attitude and behaviour of Wenger’s alleged commendable, perspicacious volte-face policy since 2006 can be summed up through the following incidents, all occurring within the past month of so:
• Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal captain, taking off to the Catalan GP and then posting pictures on Twitter whilst his team-mates were playing a Premier League match.
• Nicklas Bendtner openly declaring that Arsenal was not a club conducive to his career progression.
• Denilson stating that he needs to join a club with a winning mentality, more tailored to his projected career aspirations. Yes, I said Denilson – the same one that would probably struggle to get a game at Barnsley (with all due respect), let alone Barca.
• Arsenal’s Player of the Season Samir Nasri openly courting the idea of playing for Manchester United, and allegedly invoking a third party intermediary to explore the offer on the table from them.
• Gael Clichy, whose numerous calamities have cost Arsenal an untold amount of points, threatening to quit the club unless given a Galactico salary.
• The players having an end-of-season bash a few days prior to the Aston Villa home debacle.
• Alex Song - a footballing non-entity, with no medals, no trophies, and no international reputation, openly showing dissent to Samuel Eto’o in the dressing room whilst on international duty with Cameroon. That’s correct, that would be the Samuel Eto’o with 2 Champions League trophies, Three La Liga titles, One Serie A title, two African Nations Cups and a plethora of individual honours. That Song had the audacity to allegedly address Eto’o in the manner that was described, is indicative of how deluded he must be as to his place in the footballing echelon.
There was a time when playing for Arsenal was a privilege to be bestowed upon a player, whilst being Captain was the ultimate accolade: leading the biggest club, in the biggest city, in the biggest league in Europe. What Arsene Wenger’s shambolic policy has now done, is to inflate the egos of so many mediocre, trophyless players to the point of brazen arrogance.
The latest we hear is that Abou Diaby is openly comfortable enough to admit to a national publication, that he wears a Spurs top in the comfort of his own home, or when not in the presence of crowded spaces where Arsenal fans may spot him. Now. Many players have played for clubs whilst supporting others e.g. Carragher is an Everton fan, Raul was an Atletico fan, Lee Dixon is a City fan, Tony Adams was a West Ham fan, as is Jack Wilshere etc.
The primary difference here is that players like Adams and Dixon (and Wilshere to an extent); understand the honour that it is to represent a club like Arsenal and irrespective of their personal allegiances, they give everything on the pitch for Arsenal and no one could ever doubt their commitment. The case of Diaby is an absolute disgrace, but not because he apparently supports Spurs….what is more telling is the sheer stupidity and carefree attitude of the player, who was more than happy enough to admit to wearing Spurs shirts. Before later intimating that he would be open to a move to Spurs in the future.
Please remember that this is the same Abou Diaby who said of the Arsenal fans that they are ‘too nice’. The same Diaby who was ridiculously sent off at Newcastle; the same Diaby who plays with a lackadaisical, comatose nonchalance that makes lying on the beach seem like six rounds with Floyd Mayweather. And remember, the same Diaby whom Wenger has remunerated handsomely since 2006, the same one who has been awarded a contract that paid him in excess of a reported £52k per week.
Perhaps Arsenal fans will now wake up a little more to the reality of what is transpiring around them, and perhaps some will stop being so tolerant of unacceptable performances from a so-called elite athlete.
Worst of all with Diaby, is that when he returns to Arsenal for pre-season training, is there a single player that will reprimand him for this? Tony Adams would have hounded Diaby on his holidays for the insulting offence he committed. Yet Cesc Fabregas likely does not care enough to bother, as his mind is in Catalunya. Just like at Blackpool, when neither the manager, nor captain, nor manager’s assistant had the testicular fortitude to give Diaby a dressing down for his stupidity at booting a ball away: it was Van Persie who had to do it.
Arsene Wenger has, unlike Ferguson, failed to imprint an Arsenal culture upon the current players. Thierry Henry often spoke about how Ray Parlour would drum into him just how important the North London derby was to the fans. How many derbies did Henry lose then?
At Man United, every new player repeats how the likes of Scholes and Giggs hammer into you from day one, what it means to represent Man United and how nothing but the best is acceptable. Wenger’s massive failing is to fail to pass down such a tradition – who is doing that at Arsenal then? Silvestre? Squillaci? Which of these players understands the meaning of a North London derby? This could possibly explain how Arsenal capitulated in not one, but two North London derbies this season…
Wenger is 100% to blame for every single aforementioned situation because make no mistake, every single situation that has transpired are a direct consequence of his idealistic and fruitless policies. It is Wenger who has decided to excessively pay the likes of Diaby and Denilson. Since around 2009, I have been consistently baffled to see the likes of Diaby and Eboue especially, perform absolutely atrociously, only to be rewarded with a place in the starting eleven the following week. The complete absence of a discipline-based meritocracy from Wenger at the club, results in a group of egotistical individuals with no fear of consequences.
