Mark Halfpenny
The normal practice at Arsenal is to do things in private. Away from prying eyes. “Thank you for your interest in our affairs” and all that old stuff. But not this time. It is an open secret that our Board of Directors will meet this week, with the main (perhaps only) topic being Arsene Wenger’s contract.
As they sit down, the FA Cup win will be fresh in their minds. Whilst it was a fabulous performance (possibly the best we’ve seen in years) it poses more questions than it answers – primarily why don’t we see that more often?
Even the most anti-Wenger person would have been delighted for him on a personal level, as he lifted the FA Cup for a record 7th time – a record that will probably never be beaten. But (and there is always a but with modern Arsenal) the harsh reality is, this has been yet another poor season, with the mother of all blips from January to April. A quick look through the history books shows that this season has been a carbon copy of every season since 2008. No wonder so many Gooners refer to Groundhog Day.
We may have beaten Chelsea at Wembley but we finished the Premier League season 18 points adrift of them and we are the only team in this year’s top 6 not to have qualified for the Champions League. Add to that, the chastening, humbling 10-2 defeat to Bayern Munich and the fizz goes a bit flat.
Prior to the Cup Final, Arsene Wenger described some Arsenal supporters as “a disgrace”, presumably meaning those of us that had the temerity to protest this season. However, these protests were borne out of years of frustration. Frustration at paying the highest ticket prices in the world to watch the same season played out over and over again.
Arsenal fans have been offered a rosy view of the future so many times since 2004, without any of the promises coming to fruition. For years we were very patient but this year, with all of the uncertainty around Wenger’s contract, that patience ran out. We have a right to criticise and, for once, we took it.
The Board should remember also, the thousands upon thousands of empty seats for the games against Leicester and Sunderland. At least 20,000 supporters didn’t bother to turn up for those two matches, meaning that vast swathes of empty seats were shown all around the world. A club of Arsenal’s size and wealth should be packed to the rafters for any game in May.
It remains to be seen how popular Europa League games on a Thursday night will be but those empty seats should serve as a warning – the modern breed of supporter, the breed that Arsenal have been so keen to attract, won’t turn up to watch an unsuccessful team.
And so – Arsenal stand at a crossroads. Do we re-appoint Arsene Wenger? Or do we look elsewhere and freshen up what has undoubtedly gone stale? Either option comes with a risk, as there are no guarantees in football.
To extend Wenger’s contract would seem to be the safe option for the Board but this risks much more fan unrest, if season 2017-18 goes the same way as the previous eleven. This option risks also, that the outdated methods currently in operation at The Arsenal, see us fall further behind the clubs we left Highbury to compete with.
To appoint a new manager would come with obvious risks but appointing George Graham from Millwall in 1986 was a risk. As was appointing Arsene Wenger from Nagoya Grampus 8 in 1996.
One of the banners held up during the first protest march read “STALE. STUBBORN. CLUELESS”. This wasn’t devised by any of the protest organisers. It was a young Gooner, worked out and printed out of his own volition. It was picked up by the world’s media, as so many people feel that this is an accurate assessment of Arsenal in 2017.
The Board meeting this week gives the men in charge of our great Club a perfect chance to change that perception. A chance to freshen things up. A chance to change direction and move towards competing with Europe’s giants, rather than getting hammered by them.
Retaining our long serving manager, with a new structure around him might placate some supporters in the short term – “hey guys, we have looked at ourselves and realise that change is needed, so we are doing something, honestly” – but as long as Arsène remains, the team will not develop the consistent winning mentality that is needed for a season long title challenge. That is not an offhand comment, it is based on what we have witnessed for 13 years. There is certainly a good argument for appointing a Director of Football, but that alone is not going to change our culture of complacency.
The relationship between the fans and the manager at Arsenal has changed irrevocably. It did not go unnoticed that Arsene was not able to join the lap of appreciation after the last home game, for fear of dissenting voices after finishing fifth. Even during the wonderful Cup Final victory, there was just the smallest chant of ‘One Arsène Wenger’ but hardly anybody joined in and it was not attempted again. A friend in the front row of the upper tier did not even hear it.
When things go awry next season (as they inevitably will) the protests will start again. After many years of patient acceptance, supporters have started to find their voice. The best case scenario is for Arsene to leave on the current high, rather than risk another season of disappointment and dissent.
He wants to take Arsenal to the “next level” but in reality, he has already done that. He built on the solid foundations left for him by George Graham and it is now time for Arsene to let someone else build on the solid foundations that he will leave. We are just one rung below the European giants, but without a change of direction, we will remain one rung below them.
We urge the Board to take this opportunity. To thank Arsene Wenger for what he has done but to accept that it is time to move on.
