Bard
The final few days of the summer transfer window seem likely to provide Arsenal fans with more suspense and drama than we will see the rest of the season if the first two games are anything to go by. On one side is an increasingly beleaguered manager desperate to acquire a signing or two to address the gaping holes in the squad and on the other a host of clubs well aware of how much money Arsenal have in the kitty and in full knowledge of how desperate the club are. In the middle are the increasingly frustrated Arsenal fans who sense déjà vu all over again.
Does Arsene stick or twist? Does he swallow his much publicized principles and stump up the cash? This is a strategy that goes against the grain but has the advantage of calming the fans and giving himself an outside chance of competing. Or does he dig his heals in and go into the first half of the season with one experienced centre back and no upgrade on the striker front, claiming they cost too much? This strategy is potentially calamitous. It leaves him a couple of defeats away from fan mutiny. One imagines at boardroom level its also squeaky bum time and all this is before the season has really got underway.
That the club find themselves in this situation is quite extraordinary. True there is an element of bad luck, the injuries to Gabriel and Mertesaker coming together are unfortunate. However this was an accident waiting to happen. How many times has he gone into the season with barely enough quality to get by? Now it looks like this strategy has finally come back to bite him big time. But the truly startling revelation is the extraordinary lack of financial foresight. It would appear the club had no idea that the shedloads of dosh washing around the Premiership would substantially increase transfer fees thereby putting themselves at a serious disadvantage in the current window. I have written before that you didn’t need to be an accountant to see that one coming. What were they thinking?
The bottom line is that Wenger is between a rock and a hard place. He cannot win. He either abandons his principles or puts himself and his legacy in the firing line of mutinous fans. The current demise makes crystal clear just how dysfunctional the management structure at Arsenal has become. Whatever we feel about Wenger the board have a duty of care towards someone who has given so much to the club. The reality sadly is that they have been asleep at the wheel and the manager is likely to pay the price.
