Michael Atkinson
We knew this was going to happen one day, but it still hurts. After a magnificent two decades of cheering for Arsenal in the Champions League, we have to watch them file off to the sidelines while the rest of Europe’s great teams fight it out for the top crown. Perhaps the worst part was the false hope that was dangled in front of our eyes, with the slim chance that Liverpool and Manchester City would stumble at the final hurdle, but their easy wins mean that they get to join Chelsea and Tottenham at the Champions party we’re no longer invited to attend.
So how did it come to this? Well, the first stop in apportioning blame has to be Arsène Wenger, the same man who rightly gets most of the credit for the 20-year stint of success during his 21-year reign as Arsenal’s manager. He’s already accepted some of that blame, saying, “It is annoying, but we had a spell during the season that was difficult and it was difficult for me in my personal situation.”
Some Gunners fans might shrug and say it’s no big deal, that qualifying for the Champions League simply means you finished fourth in the Premier League. After all, even in the Olympics, you don’t get a prize for coming fourth. That’s not the case, though. Wenger himself has previously ranked the trophies that are on offer: “Premier League, Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League.”
Now that he has failed to claim that trophy, it is interesting that he did not feel it was time to move on. Did he think to himself that he might not continue? There was a hint at Arsenal’s last game against Everton, when despite their 3-1 victory he refused to join the team on their lap of appreciation. Instead, he stood on the sidelines, watching in stony silence with his arms folded. Many had a feeling his behaviour in the final weeks of the season indicated he would not be returning next season, but the club’s statement four days after the FA Cup Final finally resolved the long-running saga. Arsene isn’t ready to go anywhere yet.
It’s not fair for Gunners fans to get too angry about exclusion from the Champions League. Finishing fifth in the Premier League is a long way from clutching the wooden spoon and the team’s wins in the final five games of the season prove they are still more than capable of top form. However, many still felt it might be time for fresh blood. To put the length of Wenger’s tenure into perspective, as 888sport so aptly points out, since he began in October 1996 there have been 150 other managers in the top position at other Premier League clubs.
The FA Cup final against Chelsea offered a sizable consolation prize, even if Wenger ranked that trophy as fourth, just behind qualifying for the Champions League, although his team were certainly chasing it hard. Before that game, he said he would discuss his future at the club, a future that might be highly dependent on the result. His words indicated he’d like to stay. “I love this club enough to do my best every single day,” he said. “One thing you cannot question is my love for this club. I’ve turned down every club in the world to stay here.”
If we are going to blame Wenger for this season’s shortcomings, we certainly can’t let that failure overshadow his tremendous successes. The only reason we’re so concerned about missing out of the Champions League is that an entire generation of Gunners fans has grown up taking our inclusion for granted. For that, we owe Wenger a lot.
