Kevin Whitcher
So, there was no supermarket sweep in the style of 2011 after all. The closing days of the transfer window saw the departures of The Ox, Kieran Gibbs and less predictably Gabriel. But Arsenal failed to add to the two players they signed earlier in the summer. There was a botched attempt to sell Sanchez to Manchester City on the proviso that Thomas Lemar would join from Monaco, a move apparently scuppered by Lemar’s reluctance to join the Gunners, aided by the fact he was on international duty.
Granted, I haven’t worked half a day in football, but given the club were interested in the player, wouldn’t it have made sense to sound him out before deadline day? This ‘catalyst for change’ that was last season’s descent to fifth place has brought in Huss Famy to improve contract negotiations and learn from Dick Law. The early work of Famy (have there been any extensions announced?) and the balls up of the summer transfer window by the pair of them hardly inspire. Then again, we all know who is really pulling the strings. I have been told that Famy is actually a fairly junior appointment rather than a prospective big hitter. No David Dein in the making.
Add to Sanchez the following list that, according to the BBC’s David Ornstein, the club offered out to potential buyers over the summer – Giroud, Wilshere, Elneny, Chambers, Jenkinson. Shkodran Mustafi and Hector Bellerin apparently requested to leave. Ozil is in the last year of his deal and has shown little sign of being willing to commit to more.
The CEO is trying to gee up staff with emails and staff meetings to re-assure everyone that actually, things aren’t so bad. His leaked email stated, “We have had a poor start to the season but have the quality to turn it around and turn around performances and compete for the title.” And if you believe that, then NetBet.co.uk will give you odds of 28/1 on Arsenal winning the Premier League title this season. However, there is an element of Comical Ali about Gazidis’ statements in recent months. Here’s another one from the email: “At the end of the window, reviewing all activity, we have once again improved the quality and depth of our squad.” All this while making almost £30 million in profit on the window and spending less than any other side in the Premier League. Not to mention the lack of motivation in the players. And if the quality is so good, why try and offload so many of them during the summer, only to find no takers?
Can you imagine the atmosphere at the club this week, as a good number of the squad return from international duty? Will they be motivated to put things right? Or just pass time until the manager finally gets the message. Apparently, the protests against Arsène Wenger really did impact on him last season. He may be arrogant, but his pride was hurt. And yet, it didn’t have to be like this. If he had the self-awareness to realize this is only going one way, he would have stated after the Bayern tie that this would be his final season, that he would do his best to ensure the club made it into the top four to give a successor the best possible start and leave Arsenal in some kind of good shape, then the huge section of the fanbase that had seen enough would have forgiven his misdemeanours and got behind the team. Instead, they focused their efforts on discontent, in the hope of change in the summer.
Even without revealing he would depart in advance, the FA Cup Final at least allowed the Frenchman the opportunity of going out on a high. But he was too foolish to take it. He decided to speak directly to Kroenke to ensure that board pressure would not make the American hesitate to give him a new deal. Ivan Gazidis has been made to look very stupid in recent months, but a bit of me wonders if there is, behind the balls-up of the transfer window, a hidden agenda to just let things slide now. Maybe it’s become personal. Maybe Gazidis has effectively withdrawn from the attempt to assist Wenger and just left him to f*** it up on his own, with the endgame that the manager’s position becomes untenable, and he has no choice but to resign.
Of course, a huge part of the problem is that the Emirates Stadium is like a shrine to the dictator that controls everything. His image is everywhere on the walls inside, there is a bust of him in the directors’ entrance, and a huge chain mail divide with his face on in club level. It’s difficult to sack someone like that, and let’s face it, the one thing that the end of May determined is that only Kroenke would have the power to end Wenger’s tenure, and he isn’t too worried about Arsenal drifting as long as they remain in the Premier League. So it will come down to Wenger calling time on himself. I suspect the players may force him into that position before too long with unmotivated performances. They are playing to get a new manager now. There is no fear for the man that picks the team because he will not make anyone accountable, not give anyone a rollocking for messing up, and it’s obvious those under him have no influence or gravitas. It took Petr Cech to give the players a dressing down after the Liverpool game. And you’ve got Lehmann and Bould on the coaching staff.
It’s a recipe for a car crash and the resultant pile up will not be easy viewing. It is utterly predictable. The season already looks a write off and it's less than a month old. I wonder how long this will go on?
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