Kevin Whitcher
There was the usual pantomime booing at the conclusion of Arsenal’s home draw with Crystal Palace, but it was half-hearted stuff. The Arsenal fans have stopped caring, their enthusiasm, so evident even as recently as the home match against Leicester, slowly diluted by the reality that, faced with a genuine chance of winning the title, Arsene Wenger’s players do not have it in them to deliver. The sequence of matches in late January and early February that saw them drop nine points out of 12 were not terminal. However, taking one point from nine after the last gasp win against Leicester was. Since then, some nice football, some very questionable defending, and ultimately, the nothingness that was yesterday’s display against Palace.
It felt like not only have the fans stopped caring, but the players have too. Contrast this with the intensity of Atletico Madrid’s performance last Wednesday night against Barcelona, or Liverpool’s 24 hours later against Dortmund.
Next season, Manchester City, Chelsea and in all likelihood Manchester United will have new managers – those that have allowed low spending Leicester to outdo them this season are being (or have been in Chelsea’s case) replaced. Liverpool will be more of a Klopp side as I suspect a lot of summer activity with players coming in and being moved on, whilst Spurs will get the opportunity to prove their improvement is not a one-off. Arsenal will still have Arsene Wenger in the dugout, with a group of players he has failed to motivate this season plus two or three new signings that will not be the characters the club needs to turn the stale unmotivated atmosphere around. The manager won’t sign anyone that might rock the boat. I have not heard the post-match interviews with the manager at the time of writing, but I hope to God he does not use the term ‘spirit’ unless admitting his team have very little.
Guests are like dead fish, I remember a comedian relaying a good few years ago. They go off after a couple of days. And so it is at Arsenal. Wenger has hung around too long and the rot has well and truly set in. The number of empty seats told its own story – and these are seats that have been paid for. Yes, there is an argument that as long as the money is coming in, then the board are perfectly happy, but it is actually the middle tier, rather than the ordinary seats that may determine the manager’s future. Sales to the 9,000 that sit in club level and the hospitality boxes are disproportionately significant in the club’s business plan. And these will prove harder and harder to sell. For corporate entertainment, the city will soon have another option – the Olympic Stadium for West Ham matches. Before you know it, Spurs new stadium will be built and if they are hosting ‘event matches’ (of which the Gunners have enjoyed far too few of since the stadium move), they will be getting a slice of the pie. Arsenal have a relative monopoly where club matches are concerned in terms of the quality of their hospitality operation. However, they will soon have competition. They have to up their game on the field to maintain this significant income stream.
Sadly for Wenger, he has become a joke. The dominant image of him now is of a man that can guarantee you a third or fourth place finish, and a Euro exit as soon as the Champions League gets interesting at the beginning of spring. But the FA Cup is the limit of his capability, and even there, he almost cocked it up on the two occasions he won the trophy with his current players.
It’s not as if Arsenal had nothing to play for. They should be busting a gut to try and ensure there is no qualifier for the Champions League in August, and to try and ensure they haul in Tottenham should they slip up. However, there is a danger that they might actually finish fifth the way they are going. It was a nothingy first half, but all was forgiven with an opening goal when Welbeck’s ball to Alexis saw the Chilean steal in to beat Eagles’ keeper Hennessy with a looping header. Perfect timing just before the interval.
However, coming out for the second half, there was no sign of them going for the kill, finishing off a pretty poor opponent, and working on their goal difference. It felt like a team going through the motions, devoid of drive. Even Alex Iwobi seems to have had the life sucked out of him by extended involvement with the first team.
Petr Cech had very little to do all game, given how poor Palace were, and yet was beaten at the near post from outside the area. It could have been worse. The visitors came close to snatching it at the end. They wouldn’t have deserved that, although in a sense, Arsenal might have.
There is an end of season feeling to the team right now. They have ran out of steam, unmotivated by the challenge of hanging on to a Champions League spot. They failed to break down a very workmanlike opposition defence, the goal aside.
I suspect even more empty seats on Thursday as supporters vote with their feet. One more season of this purgatory is guaranteed unless the board grow some bollocks and give the manager his marching orders this summer. It seems they can take more disappointments than most of us. I guess the money cushions the blow, somewhat.
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
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