Siddy Shivdasani
I have to come clean from the start and admit that I haven’t been to a game in a few years, for financial and ideological reasons. But that is the point of this article, representing all the armchair Gooners who are in pain. I apologise for the lack of originality in this but really, it should be Wenger apologising.
I am 44 and I went to my first game aged seven in 1979. I was a season ticket holder and North Bank regular on and off over the years, including at the Emirates, until I'd finally had enough.
But I still love Arsenal and I hate what is happening.
I used to love Wenger. I read several books about him and I thought he was the best thing that had ever happened to the club. But now I find myself missing the George Graham era. He didn’t bring great football but Wenger benefitted so much from his legacy. Forget Millwall, we were Arsenal and no one liked us. When the going got tough, we won.
Now everybody loves us because we try and play good (voyeur) football but there is a civil war going on amongst our fans because of Wenger…
He has actually changed me as a person! I used to be so much more dogmatic but seeing that in him has made me rail against that particular character trait in myself.
He is yesterday’s man. We never change formation or tactics and that is plain arrogant. You can only do that when you have the best eleven, like Barcelona, but otherwise it’s about savvy, strength and sweat, which we seem to always be short of.
I’m writing this after our victory over Palace. Frankly, Giroud’s wonder goal masked the fact that we didn’t create many clear cut chances against a relegation contender.
I actually think we have a squad to compete with anyone in the Premier League and for that I have to admit Wenger has achieved something. But it will all fall apart soon as the likes of Ozil and Sanchez get sick of representing also rans. If we lose either of them then something very unsavoury is going to hit the fan.
We are already a sleeping giant and it’s going to get harder and harder to attract world class players the longer we go without winning the Premier League or Champions League.
Wenger puts his own interests ahead of the club. He has changed so much as a person over the years. He was known as The Professor when he arrived. A bit of a nerd but a happy nerd. He revolutionised football in this country and I think we were actually the best team in the world for periods of the early to mid noughties. And he remained humble throughout.
These days he cuts a grumpy and prickly figure. Arrogant and stubborn. His post-match interviews really grate. If we lose, he is tetchy and irritable, blaming the refs and the opponents' tactics. If we win then he is like the cat who got the cream. I get the sense that he really doesn't know what he's doing, like he's a punter in a bookies, hoping his luck will change.
He is the only one who can change things and I don't think he has it in him.
