CanadaGooner
It has become a bit of an embarrassment, this seeming inability to be able to match wits with Mourinho! A few more opportunities coming next season I suppose!
A few weeks ago, after losing to Tottenham, I was sat in the pub with some of the locals who support Tottenham and while they were gloating away, I told them that by the end of April, they will be a minimum of five points behind Arsenal. They had a good laugh, but I bet they knew in their heart of hearts, that it was a fait accompli. Some of the younger ones in the group (20 years+) had never, in their entire lifetime, witnessed Tottenham finish ahead of Arsenal in the league. That is the enormity of what Wenger has done to them. He has destroyed the North London derby, replacing it with a predictable outcome, with a shocking degree of consistency. They must be praying for the day he departs.
Perhaps the most sensible observation I’ve ever heard made by a Tottenham fan (and believe you me, that is indeed an extreme rarity!) was when a lad sat up and said he is waiting for the day that Tottenham will show a little bit of ingenuity, instead of trying to go the easy way. His example was that Southampton went out there and brought in a manager from Espanoyl, who were not even doing so well at the time, and he (Pochettino) came in and did wonders for the Saints. As opposed to going out there and doing the same (i.e. finding someone), Tottenham felt they have found a magic wand, and swooped to take him off to Wasted Lane and off Southampton went again, to get a man who was well known as a player, but not that tested as a manager (Koeman) and he has done very well indeed. So much so, that for the better part of the season, they were well ahead of Tottenham, and even now, are only two points behind. He likened this to Arsenal bringing a relatively unknown Arsene Wenger in, who has singlehandedly ended the North London rivalry.
If we end up with the FA Cup for the umpteenth time in Wenger’s era, and back to back, it would have been an achievement, especially, with Wenger’s net spend in his near 20 years in charge at the Arsenal, being something of an anomaly in modern day football where the Mourinhos of this world have to have a sugar daddy holding their hands, and spending uncontrollably. However, no wins in 13 attempts is no longer just a fluke, but an indictment of the lack of variety and adaptability, that has come to characterize Arsene Wenger. It’s like a mental block! Even a deflected goal or a wrong penalty call or anything! PLEASE!!!!! Anything to wipe that smugness off Mourinho’s face, but unfortunately, we all knew that the best we could hope for was a draw. It has become our most painful reality. A right horror show!
If we close out the season in second or third (to avoid the silly CL qualifier double-header) and win the FA Cup (back to back), it would still have been a wonderful season, and perhaps all we can hope for under Wenger. All the other teams will take some positive steps to get better next season, we will talk, and talk, and talk some more; then make one last minute purchase over summer, while hoping to win the league next season.
