Kevin Whitcher
That Arsenal have been eliminated from both domestic cups by lower league opposition this season – for the first time under Arsene Wenger in each competition – is symptomatic of the gradual decline the team are suffering. Previously, a shadow team like the one played against Blackburn yesterday would have had enough about them to maintain the club’s interest in the FA Cup. However, the depth of the squad is gradually declining with the sale of the better players to maintain profit, and their replacement with inferior options. The chickens are coming home to roost.
#wenger out was trending on twitter after the yesterday’s cup exit, and one interesting tweet by TheRealGunner read as follows - Since our last trophy in 2005, We sold 79 players who brought 52 trophies to their new teams and Wenger made 40 million pounds! Wenger OUT. I cannot verify the accuracy of this statement, but I could believe it. Robin van Persie will almost certainly add to that number in May and Cesc Fabregas will also pick up at least a title winner’s medal. (Ed’s note – Took this from Twitter and the name above the tweet reads as TheRealGunner @AmrGunner1 – there is also a Jules Wheeler @TheRealGunner who some think was responsible for this tweet. Not the case – my apologies to Jules for any confusion and my lack of knowledge of twitter (why two names anyway?) – our publisher does the gooner twitter feed as it is not a world I populate that much)
Arsenal are in a spiral of slow painful decline, a club where complacency is king and change is desperately needed. There was apparently a huge training ground bust up in front of the squad between Wenger and Steve Bould during the week when Bould wanted to do some specific work with the players, but the manager told him he couldn’t. Everyone is under orders to hush it up, but too many saw it and the story has leaked. Bould took the job as Wenger’s number two (having turned it down in the summer of 2011) on the assurance that he would be allowed to have some genuine coaching input. This happened for a few weeks before the manager became fed up of Bould getting the credit for the team’s improved early season resilience, and his ego decided enough was enough. Fitness coach Tony Colbert took a training session when Wenger was ill during the autumn, rather then Bould.
Look at the contrast with Manchester United – a club that also has debts – but also a board that realises winning trophies will lead to increased profits. Alex Ferguson leaves training sessions to his coaching team – which is periodically changed to freshen things up. There is a real hunger amongst the players during a match to compete and win games, something I do not always see at Arsenal. Would a figure such as Sebastien Squillaci be indulged at Old Trafford? Do you think if, say, Jose Mourinho was in charge at Arsenal, the player would have turned down a loan move to Brighton? His life would be so miserable he would either be upping his game to compete for a first team place or take the opportunity to get out at the first chance. Instead, he is allowed to exist in a highly paid comfort zone.
As for the game itself, Arsenal were fairly lacklustre to say the least. Blackburn offered little except some determined defending, but the home team had so much possession that chances were created. They tended to go wide or straight at the keeper, with the exception of Rosicky’s effort that hit the bar. The best opportunity fell just before the interval to Gervinho, a serial misser of chances who is a classic example of how the quality of the squad has been allowed to decline. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain seems to have had the fire he was demonstrating a year ago coached out of him. His development actually appears to be in regression under Wenger. Abou Diaby lost possession an awful lot and the team lacked any cohesion or drive. There was never any doubt that the manager was prioritising Tuesday night’s first leg against Bayern, but the players who started should have easily had enough in them to win this tie. It was still 0-0 when Wilshere, Walcott and Cazorla were introduced.
Then, Blackburn demonstrated the benefits of taking pot shots at the keeper, scoring from a rebound. Arsenal do not shoot enough, too often preferring to pass when within range of goal. So few goals from rebounds. It is a weakness in their attacking game borne of the manager’s obsession with the purity of possession football.
So where do we go from here? People talk about a Chelsea style run of fortune to win the Champions League, but with the team’s weakness in defensive organisation and an error-prone keeper, I just don’t see it. The Gunners have not eliminated a genuine top side in Europe since 2008. I suspect what we are about to experience is the traditional groundhog day feel of the third and final cup elimination of the campaign and the concentration on that precious top four spot. The club’s annual figures will once again show profit thanks to the sale of Robin van Persie. So objective achieved. Arsenal are a fantastic business because they are able to make money selling something that disappoints their customers, who keep coming back for more. As a sporting concern, they are no longer serious contenders, their targets and ambitions on field far lesser that other teams of a similar financial stature. They are pushing very, very hard for a version of financial fair play to be introduced in the Premier League. All the clubs want it, Ivan Gazidis maintains. Well if they did, then 14 of them would vote for it and it would come into being.
Anyway, the manager is a busted flush and the board are not going to end his tenure, so it is down to the fans. If supporters are chanting inside the stadium against Wenger on a habitual basis and fights are breaking out in the crowd over the issue, that is going to be very poor PR for the Arsenal brand. That would force action. It’s horrible to have to do, but needs must. I imagine also that the Black Scarf Movement – having resisted the opportunity to call for the manager’s head so far – might reconsider and get even bigger numbers on their next march. It does need a concerted campaign to effect change.
One idea that came to me yesterday evening is to imitate the Chelsea fans who chanted for Robert Di Matteo at 16 minutes in every game after his dismissal. It may be worth waiting until Tuesday night has indicated whether there is any chance of progression in Europe, but if not, we can safely say it will be eight years without a trophy. Perhaps the Villa game next weekend might be the time to start something. Maybe when 8 minutes of the game have been played (the countdown clock will be at 37.00), a ‘Wenger Out’ chant should begin amongst those who want to effect change. Simplest I guess would be to the tune of the old Alan Smith (or sometimes Lee Dixon) chant. If you get lamped as a result, remember that CCTV is recorded of everyone at every moment during the match. So the AKB that objects to your right to freedom of expression can be removed by the police for assault before half time, assuming you wish to press charges rather than hit them back.
Let’s be honest, it is horrible that it has come to this state of affairs, where fans are being forced to chant against a man who has given so much to the club, but whose time has moved on. But I can see no other way of effecting much needed change and halting the slow tortuous spiral of decline. I would also welcome any Wenger supporter who still believes he is doing a good job and that he can turn things around to submit an article for publication on this website. We are an open church here at The Gooner. But we simply do not get this type of article submitted these days, perhaps because the arguments are more difficult to justify, who knows? There are still people who believe Wenger is the best man for the job. If you are happy with a top four spot and no trophies for the money we are paying and the supposed stature of our club, then fair enough. I think we should be doing better, and my belief for the reason we are not is that things have gone very stale. Sadly, Arsene Wenger is not going to change his ways now, so the day has come when – if the majority of supporters agree that change is needed – it is the fans that have to force change.
And for those who ask – who would you get to replace Arsene? – for an annual salary of £7.75 million a year, the answer is pretty much anyone you care to think of. What the club actually needs is a Jose Mourinho (you want Arsenal to defend again? The deadwood cleared? Remember siege mentality? Trophies?), but I suspect the board are way too conservative for that.
Anyway, ‘Wenger Out’ when the countdown clock on the videoscreen hits 37 minutes each first half for the rest of the season (i.e. 8 minutes have been played), starting at the Villa game. We can’t change the board, but we can force them to take action to address the decline on the field. Just a thought, an idea. Remember, no pain, no gain. No-one knows what a future would hold without Arsene Wenger, except for one thing. Hope might return. And football supporters need at least that.
The current issue of The Gooner will be on sale at the home matches against Bayern Munich and Aston Villa. It can also be bought online here. There is also an e-version of the issue available to read on your ipad/tablet/iphone/android. The app is free and you can download the first few pages of each issue as a taster before deciding whether or not to purchase the whole thing.
PS - There is a new Gooner referendum at the bottom of the home page so you can express your view on whether you want to see a change of manager this summer. Please vote
