Robert Miller
So, there you have it. The sleeping giant slips from its ‘throne’ to a place below. Yes, that means Arsenal finished fifth. Our club, our manager and the team we support has failed us once again. The only thing you can guarantee at Arsenal is that we’ll falter, splutter and collapse season after season. I am thankful this season is over and I am hoping we somehow come out of the FA Cup final with some dignity, if not a win. However, what I am more interested in is this forthcoming summer, a summer of reckoning if you will.
This is the time where our club must look at its failure, observe Wenger’s failings and offer answers. We as a fanbase deserve answers and more importantly, we deserve retribution. No longer can the untouchable be left unscathed. Arsene Wenger has to be held accountable. Many will read this, roll their eyes and think ‘The season is over, leave the man alone’. I say, why should I, and the rest who raise their fists in anger stop sharing our fury? Our season was over far before the final day and that’s the cold, hard truth. It is time for the manager to be sacrificed in order for rebirth, just like the fans sacrifice their time, money and emotion. If Wenger doesn’t do it willingly, the board has to do it for him. Although I have no confidence that our board will do the right thing because when you look at our situation from every angle, they’re just as culpable. They’re enablers and they’ve allowed this to continue for far too long. For all the protesting, the vitriol and evidence shown in our results that Wenger’s time is up, it may surmount to nothing.
If they do not bring upon judgement then they are as cowardly as they are perceived. It will confirm that our club is weak and more importantly, rotten to the core. Will Gazidis continue to be a laughable puppet who is more akin to a snake than a lion or shall he break the chains our glorious, most loved manager placed on him? Is the board going to support Gazidis? Are they going to run and hide like cockroaches because there is too much heat, too much danger. The very notion that there are ‘options’ of how our board will act in this situation says it all. There should be no option at all, the manager should go and that is that. How can the board allow a man to disrespect the fans (the lifeblood) and the club (the business) with farcical comments and pathetic displays of behaviour. Even in his last press conference of the season, Wenger showed who he really is, a megalomaniac whose blameless yet fearful that his reign is coming to an end. He acts as a martyr, ‘I have stayed here out of love / I have rejected numerous offers / I take all the blame / I will love this club until my dying breath’. At least his form of martyrdom is profitable though, right? His love, rejection and blame has earned him a wealth many would die for, it has earned him a platform many would dream of and he has been adored globally for so long. Of course he has faced hardship during his career at Arsenal and money doesn’t heal the scars of the ‘suffering’ he mentions when we lose or should I say, when we’re battered. Nor does it drown out the abuse of our fans. However, I am sure it softens the blow and his behaviour alongside his arrogance more than warrants a fiery backlash - he has escaped being burned for far too long, it’s about time he sees the flames, feels the heat and tastes the bitter smoke.
While it’s clear Wenger is the problem, the Arsenal fanbase identify that Stan Kroenke is also leeching life from our beautiful club. Kroenke is a parasite: a greedy, damaging and empty businessman. He cares only for profit, not about real success - trophies and glory. His glory is materialistic, it’s about maintaining his facade of being rich and powerful. He does not care about the club, he does not care whether Bayern smashes us bloody and certainly is far too high in his castle to hear the working-class fans scream and cry for his head, for a better club. The man is a wolf in a disgusting man-suit and his money-making ways, is all he’s concerned with. As soon as Arsenal becomes unprofitable or loses him too much money, he will jump ship. Make no mistake, Stan Kroenke is a form of football evil, he is the dark side of capitalism and an example of how it’s corrupted the wonderful game. It appears, once again, we rely on another force to usurp, this time it’s Usamanov. As exciting as it sounds to have a fountain of money, a conveyor belt of world class players and the potential to have more trophies than our contenders, we have to realise, it’s a dream and nothing more. Let’s be realistic, Usamanov will not take control of Arsenal. It is highly unlikely Kroenke will sell to him and if he does, he’ll make sure it’s a fight and a half, with plenty of money involved. It’s a shame because Usamanov cares about the club, he wants to win and he acknowledges that our performance over the years has been second-best, or should I say fourth-best. Of course there are concerns about his history and background but honestly, the world of business can be vile, shady and deceitful just like life itself. It is after all upheld by humans, the worst of them all!
Besides the manager conundrum, our board’s missing backbone and big-money being thrown across the pond, this summer is also important in terms of player recruitment. Who we bring in and lose will be crucial in regards to what sort of team we’ll be come August. If Sanchez goes, he has to be replaced with a player of his calibre, the same goes for Ozil. If neither of them go, then players of their calibre must be brought in regardless. We need to weed out the average and replace them with winners. No longer can we have players who are content to be bottom feeders, taking the money they demand while putting in patchy, often lacklustre performances. To compete with the big boys, to no longer be an underdog, we have to stop acting like one. Arsenal must show ambition and risk, we HAVE to be ruthless and shameless in the transfer market this year. It’s important to pay the money for the right player but also stop playing the ‘nice guy’. If we want someone, we get them; trampling whatever club(s) is (are) after said player. Arsenal are an exciting, potentially rewarding prospect for a world class player and it’s time we start acting like it. Our club must put the things in place to make it happen.
These upcoming months are vitally important to righting the wrongs of this year. If they’re not corrected, we’re in serious trouble and it won’t just be the fight for fourth and Thursday night football we’ll be worrying about next year. It is time for Arsenal FC to transform, shedding its skin along with its submissive mentality. The club must rise up, taking on our competitors and finally show grit and hunger. We, the fans must support the club through this process and help restore it to its former glory. Make no mistake, we are as much Arsenal FC as the staff, players etc, we are its heart - its core. If the board fails us this summer, if Arsene stays and Kroenke remains, we fight back and revolt. A reckoning is coming and either way, the fans will be triumphant and when that triumph comes, may it be with glory.
