Matthew Bazell
When we lost the first game of the season against Aston Villa those of us who have wanted Wenger out for some time said - we told you so. Then we went on a run of victories to put us top of the league and the supporters of Wenger said - we told you so. Then we lost two cup games in the space of a week along and the Wenger detractors said - I told you so. As we beat Liverpool on Sunday the AKB’s shouted we told you so – but it would have been a vice-versa scenario if we had lost.
Surely the only sensible standpoint for both sides of the argument is to reserve final judgment until at least further on into the season? Some people will say that eight years without a trophy is time enough, and that’s a fair point. But the start the team has made to the league season has surely earned the management and playing staff the right to be judged later in time. After a handful of games, I’ve seen both sides of the debate totally jump the gun. Wenger is not going anywhere until at least next summer, so we may as well stick together until then and make a judgement which will hold far more merit.
I’m coming from the side of someone who would have liked to have seen a change in manager at least a couple of years ago (not to mention the owners). If at the end of this season, an AKB tells me - I told you so, then that’s water off a duck’s back compared to more glory at the Bridge. I want to be proved wrong rather than see Chelsea rise to 5 league titles and us to remain on 13. Due to the £10 tickets, Tuesday night last week was the first Arsenal-Chelsea match I have attended since the Highbury years. I found it horrible to watch the Chelsea fans walk around our manner with a swagger and cockiness that years ago could not be backed up - now it can. Okay they’ve got a mediocre history but they don’t seem to be too bothered about that as they ask us the question: have you ever won the European Cup? If we can win the league this year, and it’s possible, we’ll eat that humble pie and enjoy it.
In turn, if the team goes another year with no silverware and too many signs of weakness, then the Wenger loyalists have surely got to be open-minded about change. More than anything else, they need to stop calling those who do believe in change ‘fake Arsenal fans’ or come out with nonsense such as “Go and support someone else.” Not only is such an accusation insulting to people who are true Gooners, but it’s also not an argument.
The argument here is that we really don’t truly know how good this Arsenal team are just yet. And when I say ‘good’ the measuring stick is genuine title challengers. Gone should be the days when 4th place is considered a good season. Wenger has chosen to stick mostly with the same players who have won nothing in the previous seasons. This may be complacency and a huge mistake. On the other hand it may be a smart move as the team know each other well and are gelling better than before (for example Ramsey has got better with experience). I don’t know how it will fare, but I’ll make no predictions and reserve judgment until the second half of the season.
Matthew Bazell is the author of Theatre of Silence: The Lost Soul of Football.
