Kevin Whitcher
Let me start with an email exchange with Mike Preston that at least made me smile after the farce of Arsenal’s display in the San Siro last night.
MP: That was the fat lady Kevin
KW: If only it were true Mike, if only it were true. Ironic in the city of La Scala though...
MP: Alas, Kevin. I fear you are right, as ever. It's Gotterdammerung, but Wotan won't get off the stage.
Still, on this greyest of mornings for Gooners, I bring good news. Arsenal will see a very healthy profit for the 2011/12 financial year, due to the player trading of last summer. Ivan Gazidis scoffs dismissively at AC Milan’s business model because they spend money on too many star names the wrong side of 30. So who’s the real winner, eh? When Financial Fair Play kicks in in a couple of seasons time, who will be best placed to sweep and conquer all before them? Er… well, if it’s the Champions League we are talking about, that probably won’t concern Arsenal too much by that time, because there is every chance Arsène Wenger will still be collecting £7 million a year to produce profits on the balance sheets.
‘We’re about creating star players, not about buying them,’ Ivan Gazidis said recently. What he didn’t add was the bit about selling them afterwards. Fabregas and Nasri have departed, their peak years ahead of them, replaced with the cheaper Arteta and Gervinho. The hole in Arsenal’s income that would result in the event of failure to make next season’s Champions League will be filled by money made in the transfer market. And as the quality of the squad drops further, so will the club’s chances of re-joining Europe’s elite clubs. Once profits actually start to disappear due to falling ticket sales, Stan Kroenke might actually do something to arrest the decline, but at the moment, what he will see is a sold out stadium at Grade A prices for a meaningless second leg of a last 16 European tie, even if about 15,000 don’t actually bother to take their seats. Their money though, is in the bank.
The first time Thierry Henry departed Arsenal one of the main reasons was that he could not afford to wait for the Arsenal side of 2007 to mature into contenders. He subsequently won La Liga and the Champions League while the Gunners won diddly squat from some highly promising positions, let down by too many inexperienced players and a lack of the manager’s famed mental strength. In 2012, Robin van Persie will follow in his footsteps and make his own exit to ensure the concluding years of his own career are not wasted. And no one will blame him. Imagine waiting for Theo Walcott to come good. It’s like Chinese water torture.
Defensively, Arsenal are too much of a shambles to win a trophy anymore. Their last silverware was when Sol Campbell was in the back four. Without him, the successes after the retirement of Tony Adams (three trophies in three years) would not have happened. So Arsène Wenger got lucky with George Graham’s defence and then by picking up Campbell on a free transfer, but it couldn’t last forever. These guys knew how to organise a defence, but now we are left with potentially good defenders in urgent need of coaching they will never get under the current regime. The result is the kind of space Kevin Prince-Boateng enjoyed in the area for Milan’s opener, or the ridiculous arm across the throat challenge by Johan Djourou that led to the penalty for the fourth goal.
The most damning thing amongst many damning things in the San Siro was the lack of fight amongst this Arsenal team. Where was the drive, the passion, the determination? The midfield just knocked the ball sideways and may even have actually shaded the possession stats. But for what purpose? The second half saw some improvement going forward with the Ox – who should have started instead of Walcott – at least trying to take on the opposition and Van Persie force the keeper to make three saves. But overall, it was pretty lacklustre, a rudderless ship waiting for some wind in its sails. Henry for the second half was worth a gamble, but the service to him was largely terrible, a legacy of the decline in the quality of the playing squad. It’s incredible to think that the club’s wage bill rises year on year when you compare some of the performances these days with those of better times under Wenger’s tenure.
Possession was given away too cheaply too often and at this level, such profligacy often costs. And so it proved. And possession is what Arsène Wenger’s whole philosophy is based upon. This is no great Milan side. The standard of football in Italy has declined in recent seasons, and the team that faced Arsenal in 2008 was a much better one. Hell, Spurs won 1-0 in the San Siro about this time last season. And looking at the two squads in north London now, you’d have a hard job arguing Arsenal have the better one. Yes, they have the stadium and the profits, but somewhere down the line, someone has taken their eye off the ball and allowed things to decline to the point where you wonder if Tottenham will enjoy a run as the top dogs in a local rivalry that has been kind to Gooners for most of the last 25 years.
I’ll finish with the texts I received during the match, and after it…
20.59 (David Oudot) The back cover of the next issue of the fanzine is a ‘Missing Child’ poster, but for Mikel Arteta. He goes missing in every game unless we’re winning against a sh*t non-challenging side. 60,000 for the second leg? No chance!
21.03 (Ian Henry) Wheels truly off the Wenger wagon now
21.37 (Gary W) Djourou – was anyone surprised? Never been so embarrassed or ashamed. I want to get on the plane with Henry to New York for the week (maybe we could get five at home).
21.41 (Pete Mountford) Well that took Wenger’s tactics to a new level.
21.41 (Marc Ollington) Do you know what mate? I couldn’t care less anymore. Never has such a thrashing meant so little.
21.44 (Pete Mountford) Kev, I raise you how many AKBs you get after you post
21.57 (Ian Henry) Difference in class makes you wonder what’s the point in finishing fourth
22.03 (Pete Mountford) So what is the betting we get ‘the players are devastated’ for three days? Set us up for Saturday
And to finish, a favour to one of The Gooner sellers, Alex, who has asked me to let people know he has five spare tickets for the FA Cup game against Sunderland on Saturday. Alex’s contact details can be found here and as he will be at the game, you can arrange to pick any tickets up from him outside the stadium on the day.
The current issue of the Gooner can be bought online here. You can also get an e-version of the issue to read on your ipad/tablet/iphone/android. The app is free and you can download the first few pages of each issue to decide whether or not to purchase the whole thing
