Kevin Whitcher
At the end of a match in which Arsenal had been totally dominated, my thoughts went back to the trip to White Hart Lane in the late spring of last season. It would be the final match the Gunners played at a venue where they had, on occasion, achieved remarkable things and played some excellent football. Yet, on the last chance they would get to do that before the conversion to a stadium that will be unrecognizable on the same plot of land, they were anonymous. Tottenham won 2-0, but the scoreline was generous to the visitors. What a contrast with some of the previous displays Arsenal sides had given.
It was at the fag end of a season in which Arsenal dropped out of the top four for the first time under Arsene Wenger’s tenure, and with his deal expiring at the season’s end, this writer felt that at least we would have something different to look forward to after the summer. It wasn’t to be. The team played with desire and commitment in two matches at Wembley against Manchester City and Chelsea to win the FA Cup. The contrast with attitude and lack of quality displayed in certain of the fixtures played in the Premier League was remarkable. The trophy saved the manager’s job, and we hoped for better this season, with the evidence that these players were capable of going toe to toe with the clubs that had finished above them in the table.
I say hope. Maybe blind optimism is more like it. Deep down, I suspect most Arsenal fans knew how this season would pan out. More inconsistency. Some great wins and some rank defeats. Arsene lost his mojo a long time ago and it wasn’t coming back anytime soon. Still, perhaps a silver lining came out of the woeful 90 minutes we witnessed on a wet Saturday lunchtime at Wembley yesterday. There can be few who can argue that next season is going to be any better if the manager remains to see out the last year of his deal. Fortunately, the club are gearing up for change, and the necessary departure of Arsene this summer will see a few heads roll both on the playing and coaching staff, but such ruthlessness has been lacking at the club for far too long.
The game? Arsenal made two changes with Wilshere and Eleneny coming in for Alex Iwobi and an injured Aaron Ramsey. The former did at least create a couple of very decent chances, one in the first half for Aubameyang who was wrongly called offside when he had a one on one with the keeper, the other for late substitute Danny Welbeck although he failed to control it. Jack also had a very decent shot palmed away by Hugo Lloris in the second half. Until injury time, that was about it for Arsenal’s attacking threat.
Tottenham only had one chance of real note before the interval, when Harry Kane failed to get a clear header on target. Arsenal were cagey, focusing on stopping the opposition rather than playing much football themselves, which was a perfectly acceptable approach given the goal threat of the opponents.
That was the first half. Things began to unravel quickly in the second, as the home side took control. First Cech almost gave the ball away in his own area trying to dribble the ball round one of the Spurs’ players. They got away with that one, but not too long after Harry Kane, with three players around him, climbed higher in the box to beat Cech with a quality header. The players claimed a push on Koscielny, but although Kane’s hands did make contact with the Frenchman, it was once he was up in the air meeting the ball. He didn’t actually push the defender. I’ve seen referees favouring one side give a foul in that situation, but that’s clutching at straws.
Kane had two more good chances very soon after as Arsenal were on the ropes. One he headed wide, the other, a volley, produced a great save from Cech. The keeper, in spite of his worrying continued attempts to play football in his own box, was all that stood between a single goal defeat and humiliation, pulling off a string of saves. But that 200th clean Premier League sheet is going to have to wait a while longer.
There were more chances. Vertonghen, Dele Alli, Lamela and Trippier all should have scored. Near the end of the game, we got an alarming stat. The home side had notched up 19 attempts on goal (eight on target) to Arsenal’s four (one on target). That stat tells you all you need to know. It was noticeable how Mauricio Pochettino’s side were hungrier to win the ball back, a real contrast to Arsenal’s strollers. As was said to me later, “It’s not a team”.
The consequence was that we saw a half of football in which the team went to pieces defensively. It was hide behind the sofa stuff. Where was the pride? The determination? How come these players can do it sometimes, but not habitually? We know they have it in them because we have seen it.
Lacazette and Iwobi replaced Elneny and Mkhitaryan as Wenger chased the game. The number 9 had to wait a long time to have any impact, but had two very decent opportunities in the dying minutes to salvage an unwarranted point. The first, a penalty area volley with no-one near him, was ballooned over the bar. The second, a one-on-one with Hugo Lloris from the angle that he rolled wide.
So much for the hopes that Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan could turn around the season. I titled my piece on the victory over Everton, “Another New Dawn”. We’ve has several false ones since the stadium move. For example, when the club signed Alexis Sanchez to join Mesut Ozil, it looked like there was some genuine team-building going on. Yet the following summer, Arsenal failed to sign a single outfield player. Leicester went on to win the title in the season that followed. And that should have been the final straw in terms of the board and Arsene Wenger, but finishing above a collapsing Spurs on the final day of the season gave the fans a happy ending and the fact the club had allowed a relative minnow to finish ten points clear of them was quietly forgotten.
Arsenal were rank in a game that should matter to the players. There was no sign that it meant anything to anyone aside from Wilshere. And they played like it. There are eleven remaining Premier League matches this season, a League Cup Final and probably four or six Europa League games. Surely if there was any doubt that these should be Arsene Wenger’s final fixtures as manager, that should have been dispelled by a soulless display at Wembley in a unique North London derby. There really is no good reason to drag this out any longer than is needed.
If Arsene Wenger loves the club as much as he professes (rather than a deeper affection for his bank account), he should call it a day. That isn’t going to happen before the season’s over, and if he doesn’t, the board need to do what’s best for Arsenal and give him his golden handshake of a year’s salary on May 31st. It’s time we all moved on… unless there’s anyone out there who wants an unfortunate third part to this away North London derby trilogy when the Gunners make their first trip to the rebuilt White Hart Lane next season.
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