Take yourselves back to the 2003/2004 season. Arsenal went
one nil down to a Paul Dickov header half way through the first half, before a
Ashley Cole earned his team a penalty after a majestic pass from the non-Flying
Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp. Theirry Henry found the net from 12 yards to become
the first Gunner to net 30 league goals in a season since Ronny Rooke. Wenger
flicked the switch and the style was turned on. Yet again, Bergkamp assisted
Patrick Vieira who scored the winning goal and sent Arsenal into the history
books as the only English team to have gone unbeaten in a single league season.
Those were the days for Arsene Wenger.
Now, over a decade on, Arsene Wenger has a new dose of
problems to contend with. His failures in the transfer market have worried the
fans even though the victory in the FA Cup Final softened the blow. Even if we rewind a year, Wenger was sitting pretty at the top of the table 5 points ahead of Liverpool but the lack of a striker and a defensive midfielder allowed Arsenal to peter out of contention.
On Saturday 8th, Wenger faced something that he has never occurred to him in his years as Arsenal manager before, his own fans hurling abuse as he boards a train back from Stoke. Looking at the match, Arsenal were very poor. Defensively they were all over the place and could have easily been four down if Anthony Taylor had allowed Bojan Krckic's second goal to stand. Peter Crouch bossed Mertesacker off the park, and at set pieces, five Gooners were unable to prevent the former Spurs man from directing a header towards Jonathan Walters to make it 3 nil. Although it Arsenal were able to make the score look respectable, it was to no avail.
What followed after the match is what I am particularly interested in. I'm sure everyone reading this article will be aware that a small group of Arsenal fans gathered at the train station as they were preparing to head back down to North London. They waited and ambushed Wenger to a torrent of abuse, as well as telling Joel Campbell to 'escape' while he can. Was the abuse just the heat of the moment after a very disappointing abuse? Does Arsene need to leave for the benefit of his reputation and the club? I'll give you my opinions, but I would also like to hear yours.
My first reaction was that this was an abomination to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club, but as I'm sure you're all aware, if you delve deeper, then there is always another side to the story. I thought the actions showed a complete lack of respect to a man that has achieved plenty of trophies with side that went unbeaten an entire season that I have already pointed out. Because the man has led Arsenal to glory, then he should receive criticism in a more dignified manner.
Wenger led Arsenal to arguably their most successful era between his arrival and 2005, battling it out with Sir Alex Ferguson. In that time they netted no less than 11 trophies, before he added another 2 in the past year. Surely for all the good times that Wenger has given Arsenal fans he should be given respect? It must have been sole destroying for the Arsenal manager, who has dedicated over half of his managerial career at the club, to see fans hurl insults at him after all he has achieved at the club. During the time when the club was in the process of relocating to the Emirates from Highbury leaving Arsene to operate on a low budget, yet he still ensured that the North London club were consistent Champions League contenders.
On the other hand, Wenger has made so vital managerial errors over the past few years. The world and his granny knows that Arsenal need a defensive midfielder, yet Wenger seems to be blind to this fact. In addition of the midfield problems, Arsenal have a lack of depth in the centre of defence, so it was baffling to see him give up club captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona so easily. This season, Arsenal have looked vulnerable from set pieces, whether this is due to a lack of quality or a lack of height leaves me questioning and this was epitomised by the first half performance at the Brittania Stadium.
Rumour has it that Cesc Fabregas had a buy-back clause inserted in his contract when he left for Barcelona, so when he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp in the summer, I was amazed that he seemed to pass up the opportunity to bring an Arsenal legend back to the club. While the capture of Alexis Sanchez can be considered a coup for Arsenal, Wenger has been less than impressive with his dealings in the transfer market over the last few years.
We are forgetting that a managerial career is a heated environment and I reiterate the things I said in the article about Brendan Rodgers. Managers always come under criticism and they have to respond in a way that silences their doubters and Wenger has done just that. I thought he made a very honest and clever reaction to the events by asking the Arsenal fans to "judge him in May, not at Christmas." This leads me to believe that if he is unable to turn Arsenal's fortunes around, he will step down as manager at the end of the season.
The fans have every right to be upset with Wenger's management, as he has broken countless promises to the fans as well as suffered embarrassing defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in recent years. Some would say that the fans have every right to have a go at Wenger as would those humiliating defeats have caused 'harassment' for the Gooners on the receiving end of it? I think it would have. No matter what club it is, the fans always reserve the right to call the manager out on mistakes that have been made. The fans pay money to see their beloved club play so they should have a say in the club that they support.
On Saturday 8th, Wenger faced something that he has never occurred to him in his years as Arsenal manager before, his own fans hurling abuse as he boards a train back from Stoke. Looking at the match, Arsenal were very poor. Defensively they were all over the place and could have easily been four down if Anthony Taylor had allowed Bojan Krckic's second goal to stand. Peter Crouch bossed Mertesacker off the park, and at set pieces, five Gooners were unable to prevent the former Spurs man from directing a header towards Jonathan Walters to make it 3 nil. Although it Arsenal were able to make the score look respectable, it was to no avail.
What followed after the match is what I am particularly interested in. I'm sure everyone reading this article will be aware that a small group of Arsenal fans gathered at the train station as they were preparing to head back down to North London. They waited and ambushed Wenger to a torrent of abuse, as well as telling Joel Campbell to 'escape' while he can. Was the abuse just the heat of the moment after a very disappointing abuse? Does Arsene need to leave for the benefit of his reputation and the club? I'll give you my opinions, but I would also like to hear yours.
My first reaction was that this was an abomination to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club, but as I'm sure you're all aware, if you delve deeper, then there is always another side to the story. I thought the actions showed a complete lack of respect to a man that has achieved plenty of trophies with side that went unbeaten an entire season that I have already pointed out. Because the man has led Arsenal to glory, then he should receive criticism in a more dignified manner.
Wenger led Arsenal to arguably their most successful era between his arrival and 2005, battling it out with Sir Alex Ferguson. In that time they netted no less than 11 trophies, before he added another 2 in the past year. Surely for all the good times that Wenger has given Arsenal fans he should be given respect? It must have been sole destroying for the Arsenal manager, who has dedicated over half of his managerial career at the club, to see fans hurl insults at him after all he has achieved at the club. During the time when the club was in the process of relocating to the Emirates from Highbury leaving Arsene to operate on a low budget, yet he still ensured that the North London club were consistent Champions League contenders.
On the other hand, Wenger has made so vital managerial errors over the past few years. The world and his granny knows that Arsenal need a defensive midfielder, yet Wenger seems to be blind to this fact. In addition of the midfield problems, Arsenal have a lack of depth in the centre of defence, so it was baffling to see him give up club captain Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona so easily. This season, Arsenal have looked vulnerable from set pieces, whether this is due to a lack of quality or a lack of height leaves me questioning and this was epitomised by the first half performance at the Brittania Stadium.
Rumour has it that Cesc Fabregas had a buy-back clause inserted in his contract when he left for Barcelona, so when he was deemed surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp in the summer, I was amazed that he seemed to pass up the opportunity to bring an Arsenal legend back to the club. While the capture of Alexis Sanchez can be considered a coup for Arsenal, Wenger has been less than impressive with his dealings in the transfer market over the last few years.
We are forgetting that a managerial career is a heated environment and I reiterate the things I said in the article about Brendan Rodgers. Managers always come under criticism and they have to respond in a way that silences their doubters and Wenger has done just that. I thought he made a very honest and clever reaction to the events by asking the Arsenal fans to "judge him in May, not at Christmas." This leads me to believe that if he is unable to turn Arsenal's fortunes around, he will step down as manager at the end of the season.
The fans have every right to be upset with Wenger's management, as he has broken countless promises to the fans as well as suffered embarrassing defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in recent years. Some would say that the fans have every right to have a go at Wenger as would those humiliating defeats have caused 'harassment' for the Gooners on the receiving end of it? I think it would have. No matter what club it is, the fans always reserve the right to call the manager out on mistakes that have been made. The fans pay money to see their beloved club play so they should have a say in the club that they support.
Talking about silencing his critics, Wenger's Arsenal have recorded to astounding victories over Galatasaray and an inform Newcastle side. The 4-1 result against Galatasaray would have pleased the fans particularly as Turkey can be a very difficult place to go and play. At the weekend, Olivier Giroud produced a solid performance as he aims to show Wenger that he is a proven goal scorer and that he has fully recovered from his injury that kept him out since August. The score finished 4-1 to Arsenal which included a deft panenka penalty from Santi Cazorla. I doubt that these results will have changed the thoughts of the fans that were at the train station, but they could go along way to restoring confidence in Wenger's abilities. Wenger takes his troops to Anfield on Sunday and will be hoping to banish thoughts about what happened in this fixture last year.
It is truly a curious case for Arsene Wenger. He wants to be judged in May, and I think he should be given the time to prove his worth, but this must start with a successful Christmas period and a spending spree in the transfer market to strengthen in defensive areas. In short I believe that Arsene Wenger should have left at the end of his FA Cup win with his pride intact as everyday longer he stays, he seems to be turning Arsenal fans against him.
It is truly a curious case for Arsene Wenger. He wants to be judged in May, and I think he should be given the time to prove his worth, but this must start with a successful Christmas period and a spending spree in the transfer market to strengthen in defensive areas. In short I believe that Arsene Wenger should have left at the end of his FA Cup win with his pride intact as everyday longer he stays, he seems to be turning Arsenal fans against him.