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Between the crosshairs

Comment: 0 September 5th, 2011 by: admin

Only a few things in this world are more interesting than watching a 61-year old in water trunks rocket his floppy body down an inflatable water slide like a 9-year old.

Especially when that 61-year old is Arsene Wenger.

The photos, taken early last June, show the manager vacationing somewhere in the Mediterranean.  Wenger, already targeted with accusations of slipping as a manager, was seen sliding down a water slide, into the ocean.

Burning thoughts come to mind when viewing the photos today.  Some of those thoughts might be of Wenger oblivious to Arsenal’s downward slope (much like the slide he was on).

Or perhaps he knew (like everyone else) but decided to ‘Take it Easier’ – which was incidentally the name of the yacht.

Or perhaps a slight wondering if he could have foreseen that months after, he would watch his club experience its worst bludgeoning in almost 90 years.

The 8-2 mauling that Manchester United gave Arsenal Sunday is the biggest story in the football community.

And the general consensus?  Arsenal has gone weak, perhaps beyond any repair that new signings can provide.

Aside from this, it’s that Arsene Wenger – with his flimsy tactics and floppy skin – must go.

Slipping and sliding

The sentiment is not unanimous.  But with Sunday exhibiting the worst version of the Gunners since 1896 (0-8 against Loughborough), the cracks on Wenger’s 15-year dynasty begin to appear larger than they used to.

This, after the club and it supporters watched in agony as Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were let go.  Whatever sliver of optimism came only from the £70 million Arsenal earned from the transfers.

One would have expected Mr. Wenger to take that massive amount, plus the brutal 8-2 wake-up call and use them to jolt his squad back to Premier League glory.  Instead the once-great figure spent that amount on new signings that are a collection of names that perhaps most managers would have skipped going down the list.

And amidst all the mess and humiliation was an adamant Wenger who, while apologetic of the loss to Man United, insisted that he will not simply walk away.

‘I’ll make the right decision for the club and I will contribute to try to do that,’ was his statement after receiving a right amount of resignation calls.

It is doubtful that fans could easily forgive and forget all of this (despite the lure of free away game tickets).

The question of how Wenger could rebuild the Gunners back into significance seems to have become irrelevant.  For a growing number of people, it is all about when Wenger will head for the door.

No shine, no excuses

‘You know me well, you should give me more time.’

Such were Wenger’s words after the game, addressing increasingly-distressed fans and critics all calling for his exit.

Initial spite came from the Gunners’ want of silverware ever since clinching the FA Cup during the 2004-2005 season.  Six years on, and the club is yet to claim its next piece of silverware.  One wonders how much time Wenger actually needs.

And for fans and critics alike, the 8-2 game was the most accurate and the most painful representation of the club that Arsenal have become: weary, bleak, unimpressive to say the least.

And facing the stream of criticisms, Wenger stepped up and insisted that the high-scoring game was the result of the unique challenges placed on the club’s shoulders during the game.

‘Big scores are humiliating and difficult to swallow, but I don’t think they have a special meaning,’ Wenger defiantly, defensively said.  ‘They are always under special circumstances.’

Missing a few key points of the sport, Wenger was referring to the missing players (Song, Gervinho, Wilshere) and the ones that had departed (Fabregas, Nasri).

Those key points included the fact that a club in the Premier League goes into battle with everything put to the test: including its resilience and tenacity as a squad.

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, who seemed to understand the reality of it better than good ol’ Wenger, admitted the problem and saved the club some credibility.

‘It was an honest result, if you look at the game,’ he said.  ‘It sounds crazy maybe but Manchester United were much better than us and they punished us hard.’

‘We were simply not good enough,’ van Persie continued.  ‘We have to deal with that.  I don’t think we can hide behind injuries or suspensions.  It’s no excuse.  [Manchester United] had injuries too, this is football.’

The atmosphere at in the Arsenal dressing room must have been interesting afterwards.

 Bringing down the men

The pain that came with Cesc Fabregas’ sale was the fact that in no way was it for Arsenal’s benefit.

Let Fabregas’ sentiments of homecoming bet put away for a moment: Wenger not only let the captain of an already hobbling team walk away, but he did so at a discounted price.

After holding firm at a £40 million tag price for Fabregas, Wenger caved at £35 million: a £25 million up-front payment, and a possible £4.3 million that depended on Barca’s performance.

‘If Cesc is for sale and you can make an auction between Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City, you will certainly get more money,’ Wenger had said after selling Fabregas.  ‘But he just wanted to go to Barcelona.’

Wenger let his club leader go because he got homesick.

‘Cesc went because he was desperate to play for his hometown club, where he was educated,’ the Arsenal manager said, perhaps forgetting the six-year title drought.  ‘Maybe he will come back one day to the club, you never know.’

The point is that Wenger’s actions further pummelled the club’s already struggling level of trust, assurance and perhaps even self-esteem as fighters on the battlefield.  A period of stagnation threatening of a slow, steady decline is not the period to get sentimental.

Fabregas and Nasri should not have been allowed out the door.  It was either that, or maintain an elaborate charade of lights, sounds and magic, anything to somehow keep the lot of the team from noticing their absence.

And it seems Wenger let the summer break just drift by without bringing in a few men to compensate for what was to be lost?

Because in their current state, Arsenal now stand broken, unthreatening and abandoned.

And despite the excuses of missing players and special bloody circumstances, the reality is that in this case, the blame lands not on the players.  Forget the suspensions, forget the transfers, forget the injuries, because they are in no way special, in fact they happen every week.

Blame the leader who cannot get his remaining squad together and keep them working together.  He couldn’t do it for 90 minutes; how can he do it for one whole season?

Not much to go on

Unless it brings something surprising and miraculous, Wenger’s post-game panic buying should be the last straw.  They lose to the Red Devils and suddenly Mr. Manager has brought in five players.

For a cheeky bugger who once preached about football is not a supermarket, Wenger did a supermarket dash picking up dented players and rickety hopes from second-rate individuals.

Upon losing 24-year old Fabregas, Wenger brings in Mikel Arteta, a 29-year old midfielder whose knee can give out at any time, for a four-year deal.  He brings in 31-year old Benayoun, whom many may argue could be labelled as Chelsea spoils.

And then there are Per Pertesacker, Park Chu-Young, and Andre Santos – all registered Arsenal signings in the span of 48 hours.  None were first choice, despite about £50 million unspent and expendable budget even after bonuses, fees, wages, and other add-on payments.

‘This smacks of a dereliction of duty rather than prudent business,’ wrote Wayne Veysey.

‘For this, Wenger is, of course, culpable.  He has the final say on all aspects of the club’s transfer policy, and his is the most significant voice on the players’ salaries.’

In terms of the budget, the player acquisitions, and everything else regarding Arsenal, at the end of the day Wenger is responsible.  The excuse of missing players is not only unacceptable, but should be stricken from the language of any self-respecting manager.

In its current state, Arsenal could do with major changes; and if a change of management is needed – as the case seems to be – then either Arsene Wenger be shown the door, or be forced to shift his tactics.

Whatever he is doing is not good enough.  No lengthy speeches; and Wenger does not have the luxury to ask for more time.  When six years of stagnation are followed by a sharp plummet, time is no longer on his side.

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