It’s March, which can only mean one thing … Arsenal are stuttering once again!
It’s become something of a joke in recent years, that the club fails to perform when it comes to the defining matches of the season. They bottle it.
I don’t often write opinions about my beloved Gunners, in fact, until now i have never on my website that I am a fan of theirs, and I try to be as unbiased as possible when it comes to talking about them, but as it now seems that the club is heading into an uncertain oblivion, I feel I have a right to express what’s within my heart and mind.
After our 2-1 loss at Home to Swansea City the other night, the fans on Twitter exploded into a tirade of hate towards the club, mainly aimed at manager Arsene Wenger. One absolute idiot even went as far as to suggest that the owners should “liquidate the club”.
While it is understandable that the fans would be angry at times like these (hell, I was kicking and throwing clothes around the bedroom like a moody teenager to vent my frustration!), it is perhaps unfair to only blame Arsene Wenger for the recent slump in form.
Two defeats in 5 days is an often unheard of tale at our club, however, the reality is that we are just not good enough to challenge for the title, even when teams like Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United aren’t doing as well as they should be.
The players have to face the blame too.
The exceptional Mesut Özil alone, can not win games, he needs somebody in front of him who will provide the goals game in, game out and whilst I myself am an avid supporter of Olivier Giroud and have never been one of those people who call him ” Piss poor” or “a Championship level Striker”, I must admit that his recent form has been nothing short of tragic. 0 goals in 10 games speaks worrying volumes.
Even the clubs (in my opinion) best player, Alexis Sanchez is having a tough time right now (although I’d argue that he’s still not quite match fit after his injury) and this itself is enough to get alarm bells ringing, as when he’s not on his game, those around him struggle too.
It’s all well and good sitting behind the screen of your phone or iPad screaming ” Wenger out” every so often, but how much do you really know about those that hold shares in the club?
For me, ever since the hapless Yank that is Stan Kroenke walked into his office and took charge of everything, having as much knowledge of football as I do about Disney princesses (so none whatsoever, just to be clear!), he has been nothing short of diabolical in terms of being a proper majority shareholder. He’s barely ever at games, and if he is, he seems distant and very uninterested in what’s taking place on the pitch. In my opinion he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Emirates.
And then there’s Ivan Gazidis, who in fairness, unlike Kroenke does at least acknowledge that the club hasn’t spent anywhere near what the other “big clubs” have spent in recent years, but still lacks the type of power to take control and manage the financial side of things. Sure, he comes out every summer and January transfer windows and states that “Wenger will be given money to spend, lots of it in fact” but we never see the effects of these statements take place.
To then go and charge the fans the highest price for tickets in England, ( they can cost up to nearly £3,000 a season for a season ticket) is absolutely ridiculous and should be lowered immediately. People work hard everyday of their lives and give and give to the club, but their hard earned money which is being pumped into the foundations of Arsenal is not being used wisely at all.
I for one say give Alisher Usmanov (the Uzbeki billionaire who just so happens to be a club shareholder) the chance to take control of more of the shares, because he seems to have much more knowledge on the state of the club than any of the others do. Whilst it may be true that he does look a shady character to be dealing with, times have proved before that men like him, who aren’t afraid to speak their mind or take drastic action when they have to do so, have turned their clubs into world class establishments, take Abramovich at Chelsea for instance, yes he’s arrogant and a little bit OTT at times, but he knows what he’s doing, whether the fans agree with him immediately or not.
In my opinion, Wenger is undoubtedly not only Arsenal’s greatest manager of all time, but one of the world’s greatest of all time too. His ability to bring unknown players into the club and build them up into the world class players that they are today will forever be one of the many reasons that I have admired the man over the years he’s been at Arsenal. He’s not afraid to give people the chance if they deserve it, but perhaps now it’s time to start buying world class players rather than waiting a couple of years before someone turns into a world class player? Other clubs are doing it, so we have to do it too in order to compete!
Other clubs are changing managers and starting afresh too, with Klopp at Liverpool, Van Gaal at United, Hiddink back at Chelsea for the time being and Guardiola about to take the reigns at Manchestet City, so perhaps it is time for change in our management now?
Getting rid of Arsene Wenger will bring a tear to my eye, as it will probably feel like the loss of a father, but nothing lasts forever and I believe that it is about time that the board of directors realise that. Results over sentiments.
The main worry is that all the managers that I would have like to have seen take over at the club, have been snapped up by our rivals, as we’ve waited so long. Klopp or Guardiola would have been ideal in my opinion as they fit the bill in terms of allowing the team to play the type of free flowing football they have played for many years now.
The only other two men that I would consider for the job are Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) and Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid) as they seem to be two managers who have the right mixture of experience and skill to take over at Arsenal. Many fans have called on Dennis Bergkamp to return to the club, only this time as a manager, but I would argue that it is far too early in his managerial career for him to be doing such a thing (as much as I love the man).
To close, I’d like to say that no matter what happens, I will always be an Arsenal fan, through the good and the bad, 12 years without a title hurts, but it could be worse I guess … I could be a Villa fan!
Posted by Arron Fôn Evans.
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