Kevin Whitcher
It was all a bit strange. Two and a half weeks after being told he was on his way by the Arsenal board, Arsène was deified by the club at yesterday’s final home match of his tenure.
There was a giant Merci Arsène banner above the front of the Armoury, t-shirts with the same message on every seat, and a sell out for the programme with a 43,500 print run (the average sale this season has been around 5,000, in addition to the 9,000 giveaways printed for the middle tier). People were buying them in threes and fives.
Arsène came out to a guard of honour from both teams. And then we saw a very enjoyable 5-0 romp with very little at stake. Burnley, in theory, could have pushed for sixth place, but for the most part did not resemble the team that Sean Dyche has got performing so ably this season. On a glorious sunny day, they were already on the beach. The goals flowed and ‘There’s only one Arsène Wenger’ had a few airings. It was a love-in as the club had planned when making the decision that Arsène’s resignation should be announced before the season was over (as the manager has admitted, the timing was not his decision, although he has not yet gone as far as to admit that the resignation wasn’t either).
Konstantinos Mavropanos, a player that Arsène hadn’t heard of before being told the club had signed him in January with a view to sending him to Germany on loan for the rest of the campaign, had another start and played well. Wenger saw him train and decided he’d rather have him in the squad. Given his obvious qualities, the poor displays of Mustafi, and the long term injury being carried by Laurent Koscielny, it’s a wonder we have not seen the Greek centre back earlier. Still, it gives hope for the future that Arsenal can now secure better players for their buck than the likes of Xhaka and Mustafi.
Mesut Ozil took part in the post match lap of appreciation, wearing white trousers and a baseball cap. He didn’t play, apparently down to a back injury. I don’t think there is a supporter who believed he would, and the new injury conveniently gives him reason to take the next two games off. Sadly, here is a player who has been coasting for about 80% of the season, more concerned with saving himself for Germany’s forthcoming World Cup defence. The challenge for the next manager will be to get the best out of the player, but a bit of me now suspects the wage deal agreed a few months ago was more with the thought of being able to sell him this summer. Ozil’s wages could pay for those of half a dozen prospects on the level of Mavrapanos. Finding a buyer might be dependent on how he performs in Russia.
So a 5-0 win to sign off, and at home, aside from the visits of the other top six clubs (only Spurs were beaten), this season the Emirates has generally proved a place where the team won their Premier League matches this season, in spite of a lot of crowd apathy, shaped by the results and performances away from home.
In spite of five second half substitutions, referee Andre Marriner did not add on any injury time, sensing the pointlessness of delaying the send off. A number of the Invincibles were there as guests of honour, and the club missed a trick by not at least introducing them one by one. Even worse, with all these guys available, the half-time interview guest was Steve Morrow. Go figure.
I am pretty certain that both Arsène’s wife and daughter were in the directors box to see him off. David Dein and his wife were also allocated seats there among the contingent of Arsène’s invited guests, a final two fingers to the board from the manager. To have been a fly on the wall when Dein met Stan Kroenke, Chips Keswick and Ken Friar in the directors' lounge - the former who abandoned Dein to join the board, the latter two directors when he was unceremoniously booted off it for his failed coup d'etat in 2007.
A couple of giant condom shaped balloons stood poised to be raised with hanging banners of Arsene’s head and the trophies he’s one. Bob Wilson did a speech after making awards to Vic Akers, Alex Scott and the retiring Per Mertesacker (who had an enjoyable cameo for the final part of the match). Arsène came out and did a speech with a microphone that failed at a key moment, symbolically like his defence in a major European tie. He was presented with the mini Premier League trophy the club had been awarded for the Invincibles season. Not being one for baubles, expect to see it in the Arsenal museum in a few months’ time, donated by the recipient.
The end of season lap of appreciation followed. It must have been a rather strange feeling to do it in front of a largely packed house. A few left on the conclusion of the match, but most people remained to give Arsène his send off.
So that is that. Leicester and Hudderfield will see Arsène’s tenure conclude not with a European final, but the damp squib of two meaningless end of season kickabouts, assuming Huddersfield are not in danger of the drop by next Sunday. It is a genuinely sad ending, and ultimately, the board and the majority owner are to blame for the stage we reached this season, with everyone realizing this can’t go on any longer, that Arsène has lost what made him special in his first decade. It was encouraging to hear Stan Kroenke and chairman Sir Chips Keswick booed loudly when they appeared on the screens. They were left in no doubt of the way the fanbase feels about them. They should have done the right thing for the club long before this sh*tshow of a season was allowed to happen, but as long as Arsène was raking in the profits, they allowed him to remain and take the flak for the club’s lack of ability to compete at the top level any longer.
Finally, it was the hit to the profits that did for Arsène. Given the chance to return the club to the top four status, he had delivered for so long, and failing miserably, even Stan Kroenke came to realize Arsène was a busted flush, even it he needed son Josh to come over and check out the situation at the club for three months to come to that conclusion.
With time, the failures of the first 12 seasons of the Emirates era will be forgotten. Brian Clough is remembered for his achievements rather than the decline. The stadium was shrine to Wenger long before the board called time on him, and will remain so. Bob Wilson introduced him as “Arsenal’s greatest ever manager”, and on trophy count, that is undeniable. There are arguments in different ways for Herbert Chapman (revolutionized the game, and built the team that dominated the 1930s) and George Graham (higher success ratio on the trophy count, and delivered in Europe, despite having only two attempts).
What isn’t in doubt is the re-build job from the wreckage the manager has left behind – especially in terms of what has happened to the Emirates crowd. That is an article in itself. The work to be done on the pitch is thankfully easier to address, and the club could be challenging again for the title in 2020-21 with the right recruitment. Anything before then will be a bonus. At this stage, all I need to see is progress and the development of solid foundations, not least it the team’s awareness of defensive basics.
However, plenty of time to discuss that. Yesterday was Arsène’s day. The sun shone, the team won 5-0 with some cracking goals, everyone paid their tribute and we all went home afterwards. One more week, two more matches and the era is over. We await news of the successor…
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