Lay off Arsene Wenger

Leonardo Di Caprio in ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is a film for the ages. Not because it’s a classic. Not because it’s a thriller. But because it shows the protagonist in a very positive yet negative light. He constantly keeps moving to evade the authorities: Tom Hanks. Di Caprio was a pilot, a prosecutor and a doctor amongst other things. While the film is based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., Di Caprio essays the role as if he is Frank Abagnale Jr.

Watching Arsene Wenger and Arsenal the other day against AC Milan, one wondered what Arsene Wenger would have killed to not be there in the dugout. His expression was that of Avram Grant on drugs. Would he have wanted to be a player on the Arsenal team that night? Would he have wanted to be an infiltrator: an infiltrator who took care of the pitch designed by the Milan ground-staff. Would he have wanted to be the football? Given how the Arsenal faithful have treated him this year, he has been a bit of a football anyway.

Granted this was the team Wenger built: or something he never planned to build but had to throw in assorted players because of injuries and transfers. Granted he had the whole summer in front of him when he knew Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri, would one way or another, leave the club. Granted he again had the winter window in which he could have brought in a player or two strengthen the team. He choose not to. But was that a really bad idea? The team is in fourth place in the league, is in the 5th round of the FA Cup and qualified for the last 16 in the Champions League. The team was tonked by Milan and may well exit the Champions League. But is that a bad thing? Liverpool doesn’t have any cup exertions in March. Tottenham doesn’t have any cup exertions in March. Chelsea, our direct rivals, may well have if they progress beyond Naples. It’s not as if Arsenal is going to win the Champions League that we should all be disappointed about a loss. Yes, it was embarrassing. Yes, it was painful to watch. Yes, it was comical. But the bile and the rhetoric which has been written by the media following the loss has been nothing short of hyperbole.

To start off with, Wenger’s been criticized time and again for not refusing to delve into the pockets for that player who could make all the difference between a quality side and an average side having a few quality players. How about this: he spent on a structure worth 400 MP not long ago.

While the pain of the fans that their beloved club may not qualify for the Champions League is understandable, it’s not a Wenger or Arsenal birthright to be in there every season. Maybe Arsenal finishes this season in sixth place. The board fires Wenger and brings in somebody new who uses all the cash reserves to go out and build a new team. But still fails to qualify for the Champions League anyway. But the club are then in freefall with respect to balancing the books. I know there are a lot of assumptions in the above statement, but we are always yearning for change without thinking about the present. Picture this: this past week both Rangers and Portsmouth, again, filed for administration. We could be them.

And if reports are to be believed, there could be a few Premier League clubs going down the same route.

Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to talking about money availability at Arsenal F.C. But there is a clear difference between “money being there” and “money being made available”. While Wenger has not said anything about it being the latter case, au contraire, he recently talked about the need to generate a profit of 15 MP every season to keep the books happy. Does that seem like something a board will ask the manager to do? It looks like it.

While I’m not spreading any conspiracy theories, Arsenal made a hefty profit from the sales of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy. Maybe profits well exceeding 30 MP. Arsenal makes about 20 MP every season by being in the Champions League. If they don’t do that next season, the profit is already in the books. The board may well be happy that the profits are already in place while Wenger will have to come up with the latest and newest Ponzi scheme of scouting and taking players under the Arsenal banner: “Victoria Concordia Cresit”.

Much has been made about Arsenal’s trophy drought. Some have rightly pointed out that Wenger’s stubbornness in the market has caused Arsenal a couple of trophies. But are all of you so insecure of your fandom or fan-boyism that you need some collateral or security to continue to support the club?

If that’s the case, you might as well shut up shop, burn the red jerseys, and relocate to the blue-half of Manchester. And enjoy the kebabs while you are it.