----- ARSENE WENGER HAS TO GO …NOW !!!!! --------
By Andre E Baptiste
Arsene Wenger ….Arsene Wenger…Arsene Wenger!!!!
The Arsenal manager is yet again experiencing a poor start to the new Premiership football season in England , and with it , certainly one hopes, the final full recognition that after 16 years , it is time for change when not only is the team changing , but also it appears standards are dropping.
Last season, even as I called on Wenger to leave the post and move upstairs into the boardroom, where his financial background could be useful, many Arsenal fans were critical, as the team finally finished third with the last kick of the season and in the last match, a 3-2 win away to West Bromwich Albion ensuring some saving grace…an automatic Champions League spot again (yes again).
But while last season, goals from Robin Van Persia, the then Arsenal captain masked the inefficiencies and many shortcomings of this team, his subsequent and unforgivable sale to Manchester United has brought home reality to most, who doubted my thoughts last season. The fact is , having watched the writing on the wall last season , with 11 matches completed this season , Arsenal are in eight position on 17 points , which based on this statistics does not endear any confidence for the rest of the season.
Wenger’s team of 2012-2013, is on paper (and perhaps in reality), his worst team in the last five years. Not only are the following talented players missing : Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasir,Gael Clichy , Alex Song and Robin Van Persie , but as well Wenger has opted to leave out intentionally until recently , one of the most attacking and skillful players left in the squad- Theo Walcott-. It is amazing to listen to the often wise looking Wenger make thin veiled comments on Walcott’s absence from the team, even as the England Management pick him without blinking.
Wenger in my opinion, no longer has the free flowing individuals to play his style of aggressive attacking football, instead he has acquired a bunch of newcomers that do not know each other, they have not played together during the youth days and so are unfamiliar with not only each others style of play but also the pace of English Football.
Let us face , the facts , why I believe Arsene Wenger stands accuse of ensuring Arsenal’s demise to an also ran team, with only potential but no measurable results ( via trophies ) to show for their threatening moments of inspired performances .
No Manager of intelligence and proven understanding of the world of football, would have allowed Robin Van Persie to leave at this stage …if Wenger was confident in his belief of the quality of his team, he would have allowed Van Persie to play this season and ensure that he won a trophy or two which would have convinced him to stay. But that was never done and from the time , Wenger went into the market for Lukas Podolski of Germany ( even before 2012 season was over) and then quickly for French striker Oliver Giroud , there was a sense that to Wenger and Arsenal , Van Persie was expendable and for sale . This to me was wrong and is what should ensure at the end of this season, a new forward thinking manager is appointed at Arsenal.
To be fair (and in football, there is nothing fair about judgments, except it is based on results) some of the players acquired this season were far better than those acquired last season, in particular, the pocket dynamo, that is Santi Carzola is a very exciting proposition, who once allowed to grow will be a very talented servant for Arsenal in a few years. So too may be both Podolski and Giroud. For instance – Gervino -, this season, has been much better than last season, both in terms of goals and durability.
But there are other mistakes made by Wenger , that are also inexcusable , such as to allow Alex Song to leave , because , this was a versatile player that was both creative and defensive , and while Mikel Arteta is hardworking and reliable , he will never have the vision of Song , just ask Van Persie. Instead Wenger has continued to invest in the injury prone, lanky and weak player, Frenchman Abou Diaby. Did, I hear someone say, that Wenger is also from France. Perhaps a job coaching France would be good for Wenger at this stage.
If Arsenal is to ever regain their rightful place atop the English Premiership and with some new trophies as well, then Arsene Wenger has to go, whether he is pushed or pulled out. It is time, and the facts are revealing …a new thinking is needed in Arsenal Football.
:: AB
