Enough is enough now
Something has got to change at Arsenal, and last night’s result only reinforces this statement.
Arsenal were dumped out of the Champions League in the Last 16 Round once again, but this time in humiliating fashion. In 180 minutes of football against Bayern Munich, the Gunners conceded 10 goals and scored two, and people believe we are a ‘big’ club. I’m sorry to say that we are no longer that, especially when it comes to competing in Europe.
Arsene Wenger has come under a lot of criticism since after the Invincible season. It died down a bit after we won back-to-back FA Cups in 2014 and 2015, but during this time we still failed to lift the Premier League title. It’s now 13 years since we’ve done this and it looks to continue with the way things are going.
The Arsenal fans are divided on whether Wenger should still oversee the club next season. His contract is set to expire this summer but a two-year deal has supposedly been offered to him by the board. Whilst we are on the subject of the board, they clearly don’t give a damn about what the fans think. These business men/women only care about one thing and one thing only and that’s the money they generate through the club, that’s it. They know absolutely nothing about football or the club’s history. They need to go. Whilst they continue to control the club it remains static and on a straight path to mediocrity. Now this is not to say that Wenger should remain at the club beyond the summer. It’s sad that it has come to this, but he needs to step down now before he embarrasses himself further and, more importantly, tarnishes his legacy even more. I don’t know what the agreement is between Wenger and the board, but I’m guessing that a top four finish is the minimum both parties expect as this is what we have seen since the Frenchman’s arrival back in 1996. A top three finish guarantees you Champions League football for the following season, while ending up in fourth spot requires you to play a qualifying round (which we usually get past). Now a lot of people are afraid that Arsenal are in danger of not qualifying for the Champions League this season. I’m not. What does it matter if we qualify for it or not next season? All it guarantees us is money for getting into the competition which we never see or hardly use anyway. What is the point of qualifying for a competition year in, year out, only to become the laughing stock of Europe? Every big club in the Premier League such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have failed to qualify at some stage in the past five years or so, so why would it be embarrassing if Arsenal fall into this category this season? The fact is we have been in the Champions League for the past 19-20 years or so and what have we got to show for it? One final in 2006 and humiliating losses to massive European clubs to which we are nowhere near on their level. I’d rather we not finish in the top four just to see if anything changes because as long as continue to do so, nothing will.
A quick word on the players. There are a few in the current squad that haven’t got the heart or desire to do better than they have been. Only two or three players want to play for the club, that’s it. They are not motivated enough to do better and unfortunately this comes down to Wenger ultimately. However, the players need to recognise that they are playing for ‘The Arsenal’. There is no way that the team of 10-15 years ago would have suffered such a heavy aggregate defeat as they did last night. I don’t know if there is something going on behind closed doors or if there is friction between the players as reported recently, but this needs to be addressed. Every time we lose, all we here is the same thing, ‘we need to start better’, ‘we weren’t motivated enough’, ‘we will bounce back’, enough of these cobbler excuses already. These guys get paid hundreds of thousands of pounds and should be doing a lot better.
Things are not right at the club since we left Highbury. Expectations have dropped, the manager has become tactically stale and the players don’t care. It’s got to stop. A fresh approach is needed to revive the club. Hopefully this comes next season.