Somak Goswami
There's nothing much to say about Wenger that hasn't been said already. By both camps - AKB's and WOB's. If you want to call them such. Of course, the moot point is, perhaps Wenger is the first manager in the history of Arsenal to have polarized the fanbase like this, but we'll leave that debate for another day. Meanwhile, Wenger got shown a banner, and then questioned about it, and the reaction was not exactly unexpected. His veneer slipped, and it became quite obvious that he couldn't believe it. Why, here was his Colney Creche (to borrow from Myles Palmer) having ummm demolished, shall we say, a Dortmund team (with nothing to play for with qualification near assured, but I digress) and absolutely ripped apart the mighty, "financially doped" oil money owned West Brom, so how dare he get shown these kind of banners? Where's the gratitude these days, eh Arsene?
Now, my old man often says that a person's reaction to travesty, or criticism, tells a lot about the person. Shall we put this to test using Arsene?
1) I've managed for 30 years.
That's his standard retort to journos, at least the few times they do ask uncomfortable questions. Arrogance takes over when he's cornered and it shows every time. Usually, the press are only too happy to give him an easy ride but the few times they have asked questions, from Jacqui Oatley to the disaster after Blackburn (or was it Bradford?), his response is "I've managed for 30+ years, made thousands of substitutions ...". Sure, none of us may have worked half a day in football Arsene, but for someone who's been managing for 30+ years earning £8M+bonus/year and still unable to beat Swansea is pretty telling, eh? I didn't work a day in football, by Wenger's definition, yet it was obvious to me that Almunia is no goalkeeper for this level. But the genius that's Arsene tried to sell Almunia for four years before giving up. So why can't Arsene find a proper goalkeeper since the time Lehmann retired? 30 years, eh?
2) Stay with me for seven days and you'll see how hard we work.
Sure. Not saying you don't. But, since I, and plenty of others, will never have that glorious opportunity, we can only judge you from your theatre - on the pitch. And what we see, season after season, is the same groundhog day. You get outdone by our competitors, you get outfoxed by the smaller teams. Your defence has not yet learned how to defend set pieces so they constantly give goals away. Your goalkeeper and defender (Chezer and Gibbs) don't know the basics of communication, clash heads and the goalkeeper ends up being injured. And that's just one instance. Your team constantly get the basics wrong - such as nine of them rushing up the pitch leaving Mertesacker behind. Not even Per's mum would say he's got any kind of pace. So then why? What DO YOU DO in training sessions? Have you ever watched your own team's tapes? Or that of your opponents? Doesn't seem that way to me at all. Oh but wait, what do I know. I haven't worked half a day in football, after all.
3) Show me one other team that's made so many CL last 16.
Aah yes. The second most popular retort from ol' Arsene to criticism. The first being point 1 discussed above. So let's see now. In all those years of CL appearances, Arsene, what's been our takeaway? One final. Which you lost. And a semi. Which you lost too. It's actually damning that despite trying for 17 years, a manager with 30 years of experience hasn't been able to win the darned thing. Or even be a beaten finalist a few times, while Johnny Come Lately's managed to win it. I mean, Di Matteo? And he got sacked for it. You continue to rule supreme. Despite having given up 17 goals away from home to the three other top four teams just last season. Or the 8-2 before that. Or losing to two non Premier League opponents - in one darn season. How about Mourinho? He's won the damn thing twice. And he's been managing for a lot less number of years.
So Arsene, you crowing about CL qualification is more a reflection of your hapless inability to win the thing rather than any kind of glory, other than monetary. And for the last few seasons, we know how the last 16 qualification ends - usually with a thrashing at the hands of a Barca or Bayern or the likes.
4) I've done well in transfers.
Sure you have. But most of it is in the distant past, with a couple good ones thrown in here and there. You got a great deal from a creaky Overmars so you thought you can continue to do it. You tried it with Diaby (yes folks, he was an injury nightmare before Dan Smith - ask his Auxerre manager Santini), you even tried it with Bischoff. Then you still went right ahead and tried it with Sanago, not caring a damn that he almost retired due to injuries. You even had the temerity to put him on 25k/week. How many games has he been fit for so far? You didn't learn - you signed an injured keeper in Ospina and we ended up with a kid keeping for us. A kid. With zero experience. In no other club, would you be allowed to get away with this kind of repeated misdemeanours. I won't even start on the whole youth experiment vanity project that blew up in your face and produced such gems as Denilson and Song. And to top it all off, you actually had the audacity to pull off a Kallstrom. Again, I cannot think of a single other club where the Kallstrom shenanigans would have been allowed. You made money commentating in Brazil when you should have been busting a gut trying to sign a DM. You make money from BeIN network when you should be tearing your hair out analyzing why your team constantly gets injuries year after year. And soft tissue injuries at that. Again...no club… misdemeanours. You get the picture, right?
5) I've given much to Arsenal and deserve to manage Arsenal for as long as I wish (and variants of that propagated by himself and his fanclub).
True. But you've also become a very rich man while at it. You earn more than most managers who have won more trophies than you in the last 9 years. You imply that you have turned down the likes of Real, but you know pretty damn well that you wouldn't last one season at Real and not more than two at any other top club considering the avalanche of embarrassments that you heap on the club you manage, including your touchline antics, your lack of grace and, of course, the results such as 8-2. You would never ever get the kind of power you enjoy at Arsenal at any other club. Stupid, sir, is not an accusation even your most ardent critics can make at you. You're very cunning and you know very well which side your bread's buttered on, so let's please drop the victimhood and martyr cards, shall we?
