They say the great artists always have a ‘late phase’; a final fling with greatness before their light begins to fade. Arsene Wenger has endured barren times over recent years. Some of it is his own doing: the continuing obsession with finding and blooding youngsters, the inability to buy a Premier League goalkeeper; other issues, such as the loss of David Dein have been beyond his control.
But, what was once unthinkable is now recurrent: the possibility of Wenger departing Arsenal. He has said he won’t go (of course, he would). The board have backed him (of course they have). But there is a cliché that stretches across all facets of entertainment that once you lose the crowd you’ve lost everything. And last season’s murmurings are now growing closer to a crescendo with each successive Arsenal failure.
The cracks at the Emirates became a gorge this past summer with the loss of Fabregas, which again could fall under the category of ‘beyond Arsene’s control’. Of course, Fabregas was only one year into a five year contract so some may say Wenger didn’t have to sell. Contrastingly, across the city Arsenal’s neighbours Spurs managed to hold on to Luka Modric, even after he made it clear he wanted to leave for Chelsea. Without a doubt Tottenham should be lauded for keeping hold of their asset, but, should Chelsea come in again in January and then again next summer they will go some way to experiencing what Wenger, and Arsenal fans have endured with the Fabregas transfer.
As well as being the star and the captain, the Spaniard was the fulcrum of the team. Much like when Liverpool sold Xabi Alonso Arsenal have lost their quartz, the element that kept them ticking.
On the back of this transfer (and to a lesser extent the loss of Nasri) not to mention the 8-2 hammering dished out by Man Utd Wenger broke the rules on his transfer policy. To replace Fabregas he brought in Mikel Arteta. Arteta is a fine player but, there was already a perception around Goodison Park that his best days were behind him. At 29, he was much older than what Wenger usually buys and enjoyed his most prolific periods at Everton when out on the right. During times when David Moyes tried him in a more central role he wasn’t nearly as effective. Whether Arteta can be any more effective in the red of Arsenal will go a long way to deciding Arsenal’s form.
If Arteta is a poor replacement for Fabregas, then equally Yossi Benayoun is an inferior version of Samir Nasri. A productive, tidy player, the Israeli lacks the pace required to be a game-changer at Premier League level. Admittedly, he is only on loan, but with cash in the bank, players like Juan Mata and Eden Hazard were continually linked with Arsenal. It must have been disappointing for the fans to see them sign a player that couldn’t make the grade at Chelsea.
Defensively, it’s a case of ‘what if’ for Arsene. If he can get Mertesacker and Vermaelen in the same team that should help to shore up the back four. But even then Szczesny is still learning his craft and will be prone to mistakes. This is the same for all young keepers. But I feel that Man Utd will overcome De Gaea’s mistakes due to their potency elsewhere on the pitch. Can Arsenal do the same?
But more than the money and the age of the incoming players, for me it was the timing of this summer’s transfers that told the biggest story. Had Wenger gone out and bought Arteta, Santos and Mertesacker immediately at the end of last season (or at least begun his pursuit of them) there might have been optimism amongst the fans that Wenger was finally altering his philosophy and bringing in more experienced players to compliment the talented youngsters. But the fact that he waited until the final days of the window, ignited by the drubbing at Old Trafford (coupled with the sacrificing of his philosophy) reeks of desperation.
Well at the moment i do not think Mr Wenger should be shown an Exit because where Arsenal is now, i do not think whether there is anyone who can manage the problems of Arsenal except him.