The last ten years have been largely frustrating for Arsenal fans. ‘Wenger out’ cries are often met with laughter and derision from opposing fans but it’s easy to see where the annoyance stems from. Make no mistake about it, Arsenal is a massive club and 3 FA cups in this time frame is nowhere near good enough for a team of its stature. Arsene Wenger remains partly culpable but several extenuating factors have been overlooked by both fans and the media.
In spite of the dissenting voices, I still believe Arsene is the best man for the job and feel he will be sorely missed when he finally packs it in. He brings stability, ensures tradition is upheld and is far more tactically astute than people give him credit for. This is not to say the man is blameless. Arsene has a stubborn streak and an uncanny knack for being blind to the obvious. He has become increasingly idealistic and seems intent on winning the league with a squad lacking balance just to prove a point. The ‘Wenger way’ has proven futile in both the Premier League and in Europe to the frustration of many but with the recent FA cup successes, I wouldn’t bet against the great man adding another league title to his bow before he leaves.
‘The Positives’
The last decade has been the greatest period of transition in Arsenal’s history since its move from Woolwich to Highbury in 1913. This severely hampered the amount of money Arsene couldn’t spend, but despite this, he kept Arsenal competitive year in, year out. He rarely ever complained or emphasized the financial constraints – perhaps to his own detriment. I sincerely believe that even Pep or Jose would have struggled to bring success to Arsenal especially in the early years after the move to the Emirates. Wenger has ensured Arsenal have participated in the Champions League every year for the last decade, something only achieved by one other English club (Chelsea). He managed to reach a Champions League final and also made another Semi-Final appearance. Not the best record I know, but it is not something to be scoffed at. He would agree he could have done better in Europe and as we will see later, his naiveté on the grandest stages is one of his fatal flaws.
As an outsider, many Gooners will point to the fact that I don’t feel for the club like they do and thus can’t really understand their frustrations. Fair enough. However I feel this gives me a balanced perspective about what has been going on in London’s biggest club. Despite the emergence of Chelsea in the last decade, Arsenal remain top dogs for me and that is mainly down to Arsene. He exudes calmness and always speaks with equanimity, even during the toughest times. Unlike some of their title rivals, Arsenal is a club steeped in rich tradition- Arsene takes pride in and pays homage to this. Despite the exorbitant spending by his closest rivals, he still does things the right way. He is not scared of spending as we’ve seen with the Ozil, Sanchez and Cech signings but most importantly he supplements this with youth. In these modern times, it is a questionable strategy but one I admire him for. A look across to Arsenal’s traditional rivals – and my club, Manchester United shows us how easy it is to abandon tradition while chasing success. For this alone, Wenger deserves credit.
For example, Arsenal has a tradition where all the players on the pitch must mirror the captain’s choice of wearing either long or short sleeves on match day. A few years ago, Flamini failed to adhere to this by cutting his sleeves and Wenger admonished him for it. This might seem minute in the grand scheme of things, but such gestures ensure that the club maintains its identity even as the sport seemingly loses its own.
‘The Negatives’
Although I admire it, Wenger’s unwillingness to spend heavily has drawn attracted criticism from many sectors. As I pointed out earlier, Wenger believes there’s a certain way of doing things, which is admirable, but when you mix this with a stubborn attitude, it causes problems. He has become increasingly idealistic in this era of Sheiks and Russian oligarchs, which has often left the club playing catch up. The likes of City, Chelsea and now United are adopting a win at all costs attitude and maybe it’s time for Wenger to start thinking the same.
With the recent signings, we thought a new trend was emerging but by the end of the window, Wenger again showed his unshakable belief in a squad many would say is lacking. This is his problem; he sees the game in a certain way and isn’t going to change. Having ‘yes men’ around him doesn’t help either, as there is no one to tell him that having a team largely filled with small, fleet footed number 10’s will not win you the league. The squad clearly lacks balance, especially when you compare it to his squad of ‘beautiful giants’ where the likes of Vieira, Petit and Henry bullied opponents whilst wowing audiences. Wenger is a very clever manager and is aware of this change, but he is running a one-man crusade against the likes of Jose Mourinho to show he can win the title in this manner. It has been 11 years since the ‘Invincibles’ and we are still waiting to be proven wrong, although the back-to-back FA cup successes show something might be brewing at the Emirates.
Despite the unceasing bad luck with their draws in the knockout stages, Arsenal should have done better in the Champions League. I know I gave him credit for constant participation, but Arsenal fans understandably demand more. For such an experienced campaigner, Wenger’s tactics in this competition are very questionable. He lacks flexibility and is so one-eyed that he only wants to win a certain way. There were signs last year that this was beginning to change with the win at Manchester City for example, but games like Anderlecht where Arsenal lost a 3-0 lead and the elimination at the hands of Monaco are quite frankly, criminal. Until Wenger becomes more pragmatic in Europe, Arsenal’s quest to be the 2nd team from the capital to bring home the European Cup will remain on hold.
‘The Conclusion’
Arsene Wenger is far from perfect as I have shown but I feel the saying, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got till its gone’ applies here. The grass isn’t always greener and as we’ve seen with other clubs recently, changing managers is hardly a guarantee of success. I have heard many Gooners call for the likes of Klopp and other big names, but it is impossible to know how that’ll turnout. There is no such thing as a sure thing. Wenger has handled the last decade as well as anyone else could with all the constraints on the club, and now the shackles are off, success is returning slowly to this great club. With a little patience, I am sure Arsenal will add title number 14 to their collection sooner rather than later.