Kevin Whitcher
The last time I attended a Spurs v Arsenal fixture at White Hart Lane was in April 2004. Some of you may recall that particular 2-2 draw. Arsenal also conceded two yesterday, and enjoyed two attempts on target. Occasional website contributor Ian Henry is a huge Bob Dylan fan and attended a show by the now ageing legend at the London Palladium last night. He opened the show with ‘Things Have Changed’. It was kind of apt in terms of what had gone down before a few miles north east. One of the lines goes “I used to care, but things have changed.”
I decided to take in the game at Tottenham because my son, now 15, had never been before, and this would be his only opportunity before the noisy neighbours return to N17 in 2018 with a stadium that won’t be the same, but in truth, will be better than the Emirates because lessons have been learned about the design of stadiums in the decade plus since its construction. We chose to avoid trouble by arriving a little earlier than the majority, and leaving with a minute of injury time left. It was painless. There was a bit of trouble afterwards, ArsenalFanTV faces such as Robbie an easy target, but it would have been far worse had Arsenal managed to get something from their final appearance at the place that has generated many good and bad memories over the years.
It is interesting to compare the records of George Graham and Arsene Wenger as Arsenal manager there over the years
Graham: Played 12 Won 7 Drew 2 Lost 3
Wenger: Played 25 Won 6 Drew 12 Lost 7
I think the conclusion the above stats give us is that the players in the Graham era were more aware of the significance of this fixture to the supporters and raised their game. So in the early 1990s you had Ian Wright busting a gut to ensure the fans went home with something, and in the latter Wenger years we have the likes of Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott preening themselves and not looking particularly bothered by the result. The passion has pretty much evaporated out of this side under Wenger, who has simply been around too long. Things, for sure, have changed.
The away section backed the team wonderfully, in spite of the paucity of their performance, as long as the score was 0-0. Before they could rally at the concession of the goal, it was 2-0, and you just felt there was no chance of a comeback. Were it not for Petr Cech, this could have been a humiliation right up there with the multi goal embarrassments seen at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Anfield and the Allianz Arena in recent seasons. Spurs, in truth, did not even need to play that well to win the game. The Gunners were just abject. What is the point in starting Olivier Giroud in the 3-4-3 formation, one that cries out for pace up top (and some semblance of commitment and ability, so by that I am talking Welbeck rather than Walcott)? It was obvious before the game began that Giroud was the wrong choice. So why the hell it wasn’t changed at half time is an indictment of the manager’s ability to influence matches with tactical changes.
Mesut Ozil was invisible, Alexis Sanchez playing largely for his own amusement. It was difficult to pick out any good performances aside from the keeper, but when Spurs were awarded a spot kick, you just knew it was going in, so poor is Cech’s record of saving them for the club. Arsenal switched to a back four after it was 2-0, but it made not a jot of difference. All they could muster was a weak effort from sub Walcott in the remaining half hour. It was abject, clueless and passionless. No one in a red and white shirt really seemed to give a f***.
The travelling support decided against singing for the manager’s departure. It was not the venue to wash dirty laundry in public. There are still some who think Wenger can make Arsenal great again. They are entitled to their view but their words have as much credence as members of a Moonie Cult. They are as deluded as the manager himself. There are peaceful protest plans in the pipeline for the Manchester United game next Sunday, and those that want to ensure the club moves on need to put aside their politeness and make their feelings known. Does anyone really want another two years of this tripe?
Wenger has stated he wants to leave the club in the best possible shape when he departs, and yet has resisted the instigation of a football policy structure akin to those at successful clubs. In reality, I am aware that the club are working to get these kind of individuals in and that Wenger will be presented with a situation he has previously stated he would not work under, one that managers at Real, Bayern, Barcelona, Chelsea and Manchester City manage to operate with. The contract has not been signed. The club are actually being truthful when they state that the decision will be made at the end of the season. Wenger is so arrogant he would have let it slip by now if he had secured another two years. Any decision will have to be mutual – meaning that both sides need to agree to it. My feeling at the moment is that Wenger may not even be offered a deal, and in the event he is, it would be under conditions that compromise him and damage his ego.
However, the bottom line at the club these days is the finances. The £50m plus shortfall for dropping out of the Champions League is actually going to make even a certain Stan Kroenke raise an eyebrow. Forget the FA Cup, the income from winning that is less than a grade B home match. It’s a nice day out, an open top bus parade, but meaningless to the board. Good PR but it won’t save Wenger his job.
Ozil and Sanchez will depart in the summer. The manager’s words about holding them to the final year of their deals is complete bullsh*t and an insult to the fans’ intelligence. Ozil won’t be missed. His neighbours in Hampstead could tell you why he may seem to lack energy on the pitch, but it's not something I could repeat here. Sanchez, on current form, is frankly not worth retaining because he has lost interest. He would be worth keeping and the offer of mega wages if the right manager came in, Allegri the obvious candidate. But critically, the gutless preeners need to be sent packing, and contenders rather than pretenders brought in. It was significant that the one performance of any mettle we have seen in recent months was the semi-final last weekend. Because the players want to win trophies and this was an actual opportunity to do so. And they stepped up their game. There is no way that they were playing for the manager at the Lane yesterday. There was at least 10% missing in terms of their commitment and desire. The reason – they think the manager is a joke now. He has lost all respect in the dressing room, a process that began when he failed to control his players as far back at 2008 and has continued apace ever since, in tandem with the rise in football wages. Everyone has their snout in the trough and it takes special players, special managers, to achieve things from a position where you will never have to work another day in your life at the end of the current highly paid contract.
Under Wenger, Arsenal have become rotten to the core, and it will take time and new personnel to rebuild. Yesterday was all the evidence anyone needed that there is no point in delaying that process any longer. When dictators fall, it’s rarely pretty.
If you want a signifier of how bad things are, imagine this. Jose Mourinho expressing sympathy for Arsene Wenger and insisting he deserves respect. By this time next week, it might just have happened.
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