Arsene Wenger - Losing the plot?

Is Wenger losing the plot? Well, that’s what you would think listening to his latest press conference before the Bayern game. Add to that the fact that the club haven’t won a single trophy in the last eight seasons and constantly are forced into selling their top players. The fans (I don’t consider Piers Morgan an Arsenal fan) have often voiced their displeasure at the board and the manager. Majority sections of the Arsenal faithful have lost confidence in Wenger and believe it’s time for him to move on. Being a United fan, there’s nothing better than seeing your age-old rivals going down. Chelsea and Man City may have become United’s fierce rivals in recent years, but along with Liverpool, the Gunners remain the eternal rival.

I can never forget the Arsenal team consisting of Ashley Cole, Patrick Viera, Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour, Sol Campbell, Sylvain Wiltord, Denis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. They were a fearsome force and a team that could destroy any opposition on a given day. Most of these players were bought for a minimal transfer fee, with Wiltord being the only one above the £10 million mark. Arsene Wenger led this squad to three Premier League titles and four FA Cup victories, the latest and the last being the Cup win in 2004. Another bad memory that’ll always remain and haunt me is the 2001-02 season when Wiltord scored against United at Old Trafford to win them the League. Seeing your rivals win the League is a pain and seeing them win at Old Trafford made it even worse. It’s something no United fan will ever forget. The 2003-04 PL season was definitely Arsenal’s best one. Winning the league by being unbeaten the entire season is a tremendous feat and they were rightfully called “The Invincibles”. The record of 49 unbeaten games would come to a halt however, at the hands of their biggest rivals – Manchester United.

But things started to take a downward trend after the 2005 FA Cup win. Arsenal started losing players in the subsequent years. Viera left at the start of 2005-06 season for Juventus. Henry, Cole and Campbell left a year later. The core of the team was slowly starting to disintegrate. There was a fresh influx of youth players during those years. Players like Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Mathieu Flamini, Aleksandr Hleb, among others, were signed on by Wenger who, over the years, established themselves as the focal point of the team. But continued seasons of no silverware prompted them to leave the club for greener pastures.

The 2011-12 season saw two of Arsenal’s top players leave the club – Fabregas and Nasri. And the subsequent year, Wenger sold their main attacker van Persie to Manchester United. These transfers certainly didn’t go down well with the fans. The board was accused of selling the soul of the club. Wenger repeatedly reassured fans about the money being available to spend. The last two seasons (11-12 & 12-13) saw him spend over a £100 million in player purchases, but recovered most of them from player sales, notably Fabregas, Nasri and van Persie.

Wenger has treated the club as his child. You cannot question the passion and commitment of the man. He took Arsenal right to the top by adopting the Beautiful Football philosophy; although, they were quite often accused of always trying to score the ‘perfect goal’. He’s always nurtured the youth and has often encouraged players from his Academy to make the big step forward. Despite rivals spending big in the market, he stuck to his ideology of promoting the youth and refraining from rash spending. One of the primary reasons for his downfall, or the team’s downfall, has been the inability to replace the old guard. All of a sudden, there was no experience in the team and the balance was lost. The instability in terms of players didn’t help, with the best players leaving the club.

In terms of finances, they’re one of the few clubs in the PL who are in the green. As a business, they’re run perfectly, which is one of the reasons for the fans’ hatred towards the board. Arsenal have become a business more than a football club. Increased season ticket prices, continuous Champions League qualification, player transfers, all add to the increased revenue and helps them sustain as a business model. Arsenal are forced to settle for a Top 4 finish instead of pushing for the title. While other clubs are debt ridden, the Gunners can boast of a comparatively healthier financial situation. Seeing the amount of money he’s put in lately on the players, it’s quite evident that he has the spending capability. But it’s equally important to keep hold of his star players. It won’t do any good if the board keeps selling it’s top players to ‘run’ the club. He needs the backing from the board even if it means splashing the cash to keep hold of their assets.

Another reason why Wenger’s philosophy has been failing, according to me, is that he’s become stagnant with his ideas. I’m not saying they’ve been ineffective, but just that the other teams have now caught up with the same tactics. Clubs have started investing heavily into their respective academies. The scouting network, the fitness regime all have played their part in contributing to the overall improvement of other clubs. This has resulted in closing the gap Wenger had over others. In this dynamic world of football, you always need fresh ideas that would give you instant impact and Wenger has fallen a tad behind. The crazy transfers around the world haven’t helped his cause. In a world where only results and trophies speak, it is sad to see that all the hard work put into the club by Arsene has been overlooked and the fans are pushing for his departure.

I’ve seen so many comments and posts saying Wenger should’ve fielded a full strength team against Blackburn and not rest them for the UCL tie. The team against Blackburn was a decent one, strong enough to beat them. And Wenger certainly won’t take the UCL lightly. Had things worked against Bayern, the fans would’ve been singing praises. That’s how fickle the fans are right now.

The players are as much to blame as the manager. They’ve lacked that ambition and spirit to fight for the club. The Arsenal of old were knowing for their killer instincts and ability to finish off games, which clearly lacks in some of the current players. The manager can do all he wants off the pitch with his tactics, team-talks and inspiration, but ultimately it’s the players who are responsible for the club’s performance on the pitch. Wenger is a brilliant tactician, intelligent manager and knows how to get the best out of his players. I don’t think there’s anyone in the club who is more committed and passionate about Arsenal as he is. He’s always been loyal to the club and has kept the club above his personal ambitions. He commands respect among his fellow managers and other players. Any club would pounce on the opportunity to have him as their manager (I consider United an exception here).

I feel it’s only a matter of time before he leaves the club (not retire). Having been at the club for such a long time, it’s obvious that he would want to leave on a high note. Maybe a couple of years and then he’ll call it quits, unless he brings a drastic positive change and stay on for a longer time. I won’t be surprised if he takes them to a Top 4 finish this season and decides to leave.

Coming back to the press conference, I read a post on one of the Arsenal blogs which I quite agree with. That press conference can’t be said as an outburst. Wenger has never lashed out at the media. You don’t see him banning anyone or rant about anything. But the media have been constantly on his back, printing out false stories and creating news out of nothing. So it’s only fair that he gets back at them and stop being bullied into. I don’t see any reason what the fuss was all about after that presser. If at all anything, I felt it was a funny one. You can’t keeping creating false accusations and expect no reaction. I mean seriously, what kind of a question is “Do you want to win the Champions League?” That’s what you get paid for?

As a United fan, the Arsenal of early 2000s was a team I hated and respected because you couldn’t ignore the quality they had. Sadly, the same can’t be said of the current crop.