Kevin Whitcher
Arsenal made a fist of it in this game in the second half for about 15 minutes after the entrance of Theo Walcott, although I’m not sure how much the switch had to do with that. Maybe United sat a bit deeper out of fear of the number 14’s pace, allowing more space for Arsenal to create. Even then, they still could not register a shot on target. United’s second goal and the dismissal of Jack Wilshere soon afterwards had me wishing for the full time whistle with 20 minutes left and Arsenal two goals down. Hardly the same feeling as last Tuesday night against Reading.
Cazorla’s last kick of the game consolation put a respectable gloss on the result, but the truth is that for the most part, the visitors were never really a threat. They can certainly no longer be described as title contenders. Arsenal going to Old Trafford feels a bit like Aston Villa coming to the E******s. The visiting team are not on the same level, an away win a possibility, but rarely expected. The Gunners have fallen from grace, the height of their ambition the pot of money offered by the Champions League.
Arsene Wenger told the shareholders at the AGM that if you are not in the Champions League, you cannot attract the top players. Eh? At times, there don’t seem to be many coming to the club these days, although the ones already there seem to be leaving. The standard of the team has eroded gradually, with the mix of over-reliance on potential and the prudent approach to the transfer market, with the likes of Xabi Alonso and Gary Cahill passed up as millions of player trading account cash stockpiles in the bank.
United’s opening goal was down to an individual error, as were Chelsea’s two goals against Arsenal a few weeks ago. Vermaelen is not having a good season, but it’s a huge decision to drop the captain on form, and frankly, who amongst the back up options is any better? Andre Santos, highlighted as the weak link in the build up to the game, actually defended better than expected, but his play when joining the attack reflected that of his colleagues. So many hit and hope crosses that failed to find a team-mate. Creatively, Arsenal were abysmal. Let’s not pretend. United let them have possession in areas where they could not hurt them, but the failure to penetrate determined defences that get tight to the midfield players is becoming a bit of a theme this season.
United should certainly have scored more. Maybe not the eight of last season, but easily five or six. Defensively, it struck me that Arsenal have not been the same team since William Gallas departed. He may have been an oddball with few friends in the dressing room, but the man could defend. It is significant that when Arsenal’s challenges for honours in latter years tailed off, it was often because Gallas was injured. Vermaelen looked a good player in his first season at the club, but he was alongside Gallas at the time.
The decline is painful, like Chinese Water Torture. Arsenal can no longer compete with United, who have not spent a lot more in recent seasons when their net transfer outlay and wages are combined. Certainly, their successes have been disproportionate to the gap in spending between them and Arsenal when you look at the amount of trophies they have won. Which indicates that Alex Ferguson gets more for his money and prepares a team better for matches. The decision of Ferguson to remove Tom Cleverly whilst Arsene Wenger allowed Jack Wilshere to remain on the field was rightly highlighted. I used to think United won more trophies simply because they spent more money, that there was nothing special about Alex Ferguson. I was kidding myself. His ability to freshen things up and evolve new teams is something he has continued to do. It is something Arsene Wenger only managed to do once really. He had two great teams, but failed to build a third. Ferguson has probably had four, and this looks to be a fifth in the making. The gulf in quality between the two line-ups was marked. It didn’t use to be this way.
I received an email after the game, asking “How much longer can this go on for?” I responded “Wenger runs the club, the answer to your question is - how much longer does he have to live?” I think Arsene Wenger, aside from stress, lives a very healthy lifestyle. I am only in my 40s, so I believe I will live to see another manager in charge of Arsenal. I suspect that might be after Jack Wilshere has retired though. It’s going to be a long old haul, with a good few more defeats at Old Trafford to look forward to in the meantime. Change is required desperately, but folks, I can’t see it happening. Stan Kroenke owns the club, but Arsene Wenger runs it. The board exist for the formality of ratifying the decisions of the commercial team, and wield no power in spite of their pronouncements at the AGM. The decisions that affect the direction of the club are made by the manager. The board’s focus is on making the club a tourist attraction, and it is no co-incidence that staff training is done by the same company that fulfil that role for Disneyland Paris. Football ambition is down to a manager who treats the club’s money as his own, and buys loyalty by paying his players and staff sums that most of them would not have a cat in hell’s chance of achieving elsewhere. It’s not a good use of money.
I’ll end with a bit of light relief, and God, do we need it. I was amused by Wayne Rooney’s post-match interview, when he used the term ‘late doors’, derived from ‘early doors’ to describe the closing minutes of the match. It’s weird how this ‘doors’ phrase to mark a passage of time has become a part of football language. And its instigator was the last United manager to put out a team against Arsenal before Alex Ferguson, one Ron Atkinson. That was in August 1986, and George Graham’s first league match as Arsenal boss. The Gunners won 1-0 with a late Charlie Nicholas goal in bright Saturday afternoon August Highbury sunshine. In the return fixture that season, Arsenal were actually riding high in the league – in contrast to United, but at Old Trafford lost 2-0 when an inexperienced David Rocastle was sent off. It was Ferguson’s first match against Arsenal as United boss. In a sense we’ve come full circle, except for one thing. Arsenal then were a team on the rise…
