It has been seven long and painful years but it is finally time for Arsene Wenger to admit to himself and to his board that the experiment has failed.
Even for the neutrals in the soccer world there has been something pleasant and childlike about Wenger’s believed philosophy, almost as if with a sprog's stubbornness he could simply wish it and make it so.
Even for the neutrals in the soccer world there has been something pleasant and childlike about Wenger’s believed philosophy, almost as if with a sprog's stubbornness he could simply wish it and make it so.
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| Arsene Wenger working on Long term Plan or the things are not working. |
In a perfect world, Manchester City would be looking up at Arsenal. Wenger’s motives were pure and in a perfect soccer world Wenger should be the king. But that, sadly, is not the world we live in.
So that was the week that was, and that was the week when Wenger should have finally realized and admitted to himself that he has taken Arsenal as far as he can.
Jose Mourinho, several years ago, said that Wenger had the best gig in soccer. He does not have to win but he is never in fear for his job. Mourinho was right.
At what other club could the manager not win anything for seven straight years and keep his job? At what other club could you produce overwhelming evidence that the club is moving backwards, that the team is actually getting worse, not better, and the manager keeps his job? At what other club could you be competing for less and eliminated earlier each season and yet the manager keeps his job?
Arsenal and its board are proving it is no longer survival of the fittest at all. The very rules of competition are being turned on their heads at the Emirates. It is no longer necessary to win, only to make a profit.
Arsenal fans are well within their rights to ask, “What is the point of being so profitable if the team isn’t successful?” A sort of “what is in it for us?” Obviously it’s preferable to be profitable but not at the expense of the end product, especially when it appears as if profitability is all that matters.
This is all well and good but for the fact that there are 60,000 Gooners who show up at the Emirates every other week (for now) that might start to see it differently.
Ultimately the board and Wenger are going to have to devise an honorable way for the coach to depart Arsenal with the dignity he deserves. He will not be fired because over the 16 years he has done, won and meant too much that he has earned the right to depart on his own terms. But surely those terms are fast approaching.
February has reared its ugly head yet again as it has done in recent years, indicating the end of Arsenal’s competitive challenge for the season.
It was the Sol Campbell incident in 2005-06. Losing the Carling Cup final and getting knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League all in 10 days in 2006-07. Eduardo’s broken leg in 2007-08. Some of the most humiliating defeats of the Wenger era -- all in February.
Last week the trend continued. Humiliated midweek in the San Siro by a 4-0 final score that somehow flattered them, Wenger’s men then capitulated to Sunderland in the Cup in their last grasp for silverware. But the difference between now and then was that finally Wenger saw it.
Wenger has become the arbiter of not seeing. Whether it was a heavy Martin Keown challenge, a blatant handball, a cynical Robert Pires dive or some other dastardly act, Wenger was always the blind man in Arsenal’s corner. Asked by any journalist after any game about any incident, he simply didn’t see it.
Well, he saw it last week and he spoke about it with a fury and an emotiveness that I have not heard from him before. Speaking as he did about Arsenal’s worst performance in Europe for 15 years, he said: "It was one of those nights you never forget. It is our worst night in Europe. There was not one moment in the 90 minutes we were really in the game."
Arsenal finds itself condemned yet again from every competition before March. And yet his job is safe.
This is Arsenal, which six years ago was playing in the Champions League final. Now it will be lucky to qualify for the right to qualify for next season’s group stage.
Ivan Gazedis and the Arsenal board have a problem. They need their great professor, the man who has brought such glory and beauty to Arsenal, to not want to continue.
The days of Arsenal being the Premier League’s Barcelona are ancient history. The days of Arsenal winning anything are beyond ancient history by footballing standards. The question is, how do you tell a man like Wenger ‘your time is up m’old mucker, your time is up’?
So that was the week that was, and that was the week when Wenger should have finally realized and admitted to himself that he has taken Arsenal as far as he can.
Jose Mourinho, several years ago, said that Wenger had the best gig in soccer. He does not have to win but he is never in fear for his job. Mourinho was right.
At what other club could the manager not win anything for seven straight years and keep his job? At what other club could you produce overwhelming evidence that the club is moving backwards, that the team is actually getting worse, not better, and the manager keeps his job? At what other club could you be competing for less and eliminated earlier each season and yet the manager keeps his job?
Arsenal and its board are proving it is no longer survival of the fittest at all. The very rules of competition are being turned on their heads at the Emirates. It is no longer necessary to win, only to make a profit.
Arsenal fans are well within their rights to ask, “What is the point of being so profitable if the team isn’t successful?” A sort of “what is in it for us?” Obviously it’s preferable to be profitable but not at the expense of the end product, especially when it appears as if profitability is all that matters.
This is all well and good but for the fact that there are 60,000 Gooners who show up at the Emirates every other week (for now) that might start to see it differently.
Ultimately the board and Wenger are going to have to devise an honorable way for the coach to depart Arsenal with the dignity he deserves. He will not be fired because over the 16 years he has done, won and meant too much that he has earned the right to depart on his own terms. But surely those terms are fast approaching.
February has reared its ugly head yet again as it has done in recent years, indicating the end of Arsenal’s competitive challenge for the season.
It was the Sol Campbell incident in 2005-06. Losing the Carling Cup final and getting knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League all in 10 days in 2006-07. Eduardo’s broken leg in 2007-08. Some of the most humiliating defeats of the Wenger era -- all in February.
Last week the trend continued. Humiliated midweek in the San Siro by a 4-0 final score that somehow flattered them, Wenger’s men then capitulated to Sunderland in the Cup in their last grasp for silverware. But the difference between now and then was that finally Wenger saw it.
Wenger has become the arbiter of not seeing. Whether it was a heavy Martin Keown challenge, a blatant handball, a cynical Robert Pires dive or some other dastardly act, Wenger was always the blind man in Arsenal’s corner. Asked by any journalist after any game about any incident, he simply didn’t see it.
Well, he saw it last week and he spoke about it with a fury and an emotiveness that I have not heard from him before. Speaking as he did about Arsenal’s worst performance in Europe for 15 years, he said: "It was one of those nights you never forget. It is our worst night in Europe. There was not one moment in the 90 minutes we were really in the game."
Arsenal finds itself condemned yet again from every competition before March. And yet his job is safe.
This is Arsenal, which six years ago was playing in the Champions League final. Now it will be lucky to qualify for the right to qualify for next season’s group stage.
Ivan Gazedis and the Arsenal board have a problem. They need their great professor, the man who has brought such glory and beauty to Arsenal, to not want to continue.
The days of Arsenal being the Premier League’s Barcelona are ancient history. The days of Arsenal winning anything are beyond ancient history by footballing standards. The question is, how do you tell a man like Wenger ‘your time is up m’old mucker, your time is up’?
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