Arsenal is out of the title race.
Not exactly a new revelation, is it? Indeed this is a statement we’ve all
become accustomed to in each of the past six seasons. Painful? It should be,
but not as much anymore. It is now more of ‘as expected, ok’. Thinking of it,
it really does hurt (me, at least) to the core.
The match against Manchester City
at their Etihad Stadium was supposed to be Arsenal’s supreme test of their
title credentials this season, and predictably or not, they, nay, we fell
short. Full time score, 1-0 to the Citizens. The score can be flattering as it
can be deceiving. After all it’s not that bad losing away by a solitary goal to
the team that humiliated the Premier League champions 6-1 at their own backyard.
Despite all that, I was frustrated and livid, not so much that we lost, but in
the manner which did. Simply agonizing! It has become an all too adhered to
script. Arsenal dominates matches, more so the big games but still and up
losing.
Amid all that there are still
some Arsenal fans that still think the team is still very much in the mix for
the title. I don’t know what to say about that except refer you to my opening
statement above. If that doesn’t sort of settle the matter, I don’t know what
will. We have lost 5 matches and that’s a fact, just 3 games shy off the
halfway stage of the league. The top two, City and United (both of whom we’ve
lost to already) have only lost once each. It’s not that easy (actually almost
impossible) to win the league having lost more than 5 games. Even worse, there
are still 22 more matches to go and of course, barring an outrageously
magnificent run we’re bound to be beaten on at least 3 more occasions. So in a
nut-shell, that Arsenal is out of title contention is not hearsay. It’s a fact!
What beats me is how and why a
team (and manager) that won the league title just seven years ago without
losing even a single match cannot mount a serious title challenge each and
every season after that. I mean, is it even logical? Or was the feat by the
Invincibles a fluke? But no, that’s not it. Before that Arsene Wenger had won
the league and cup Double on two separate occasions. What then? Is the club
jinxed? If not, then who’s responsible for the slump?
Among the Arsenal supporters
you’ll more often than not come across the famous ‘In Arsene We Trust’ line. As
an Arsenal fan growing up, I’ve often associated myself with it with pride. It
has always been an assurance that my interests are in safe hands. Not anymore.
I no longer feel the same way. Instead I feel cheated, short changed and taken
for a ride by the said Frenchman. In an age where I could really do with all
the success that my team can muster, Arsenal has delivered none. Each season of
trusting in Arsene has brought me nothing but disappointment, disgust and
disillusionment. I’ve become the laughing stock of my peers. By the way in case
you’re wondering, this is extremely personal. It is the lamentation of a boy
turning into man battered and bruised by the glaring failures of one stubborn
man, Arsene Wenger.
I know that after posting this
I’m headed for endless bashing of epic proportions by the rest of the Arsene-al
legion. I will be branded ‘traitor’, ‘glory hunter’, ‘hater’ and other
demeaning names. Fair enough, but at least I’ll have spoken my mind. Wenger has
to leave the club. It is that simple. We are no longer a ‘big club’ anymore,
even by his own admission. Don’t give me the famous ‘we have a history’ line.
We can’t feed off that history, can we? The fact we’ve fallen this low irks me.
We now rank not only behind Man United and Chelsea, but behind Man City and
Tottenham Hotspur too. Tottenham? This is hard to take. I can’t.
If ever there was a fixture that
I have been absolutely sure of 3 points always (or of at least not losing), it
was our North-London Derby against Spurs. Such has been the gulf in class,
irrespective of the injuries in our squad. How about currently? Spurs sit
pretty above Arsenal on the log by 5 points, with a match (winnable, I should
say) in hand. That’s nothing compared to the fact that they’ve beaten us in 3
of the last 4 derbies in the league, with the other match being a draw where we
threw a two goal cushion. Quite a far-cry, huh? I see and hear some Arsenal
fans still yapping that ‘Spurs – Forever in our shadow’. Come on, this has to
stop. We now are in their shadow! Let’s not fool ourselves.
The club simply isn’t moving
forward! How can we be, when we sell our best players to other more ambitious
clubs? How can we be, when we get stuffed 8-2 by our sworn enemies? How can we
be, when we rush to buy a quartet of not-so-great players on transfer deadline
day when the season is already underway? How can we, when the manager insists
that there’s no need for additions in January yet the team is evidently lacking
in quality and depth? And how about when our lead striker and Europe’s
deadliest finisher is in title-winning form yet we are still flirting with
fourth place?
Arsene Wenger has done a lot of
good to the club and done a lot to transform it to the global brand that it
currently is. For that, we (and I for that matter) will forever be grateful.
But 15 years into the job, and you get the feeling he’s now become the club’s
stumbling block to success. I tend to think 10 years in a managerial job is
enough for one to have accomplished all that he ever could (leave Sir Alex
Ferguson out of this). To have added 5 on top of that is a bonus. Wenger should
be a gentleman and call it a day and keep unblemished his sterling reputation.
Can he be replaced? No one is indispensible. I don’t want to go into the list
of potential replacements now, that is talk for another day.
I wish Arsenal the very best in
the remaining part of the season, hoping that we finish above Spurs in the
league, win the Champions League and FA Cup and ultimately grant Le Prof a
befitting send off. It’s amazing that I tend to wish for a lot. Anyway my
loyalty to Arsenal should not be called into question. If I wasn’t loyal I
wouldn’t have written this, let alone posting it. Come On You Gunners!
Victoria
Concordia Crescit.
The Dug Out.
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