Two good results in four days for the Arsenal has restored a little self respect. I will also most probably be enough to have gained qualification to the lucrative group stages of the Champions League. So, give credit where it’s due – well done, lads. After the defeat to Aston Villa you have picked yourself up and played for the manager. So now what?
Listening to Wenger’s post-match interview, I can’t help but note that the smugness has reappeared. What’s worse is that I detected that defiant streak that emerges every time Wenger thinks he has got one over on everyone. Well, you deluded narcissist, I wonder which look you will have on your face next week after the Spurs game? Spurs aren’t Fulham, and sure as hell aren’t Fernabache. With all due respect, they are both very average sides at best.
From what I have seen so far this season, Liverpool have improved a lot, and should they keep Luis Suarez alongside of Daniel Sturridge they are a force again. Spurs even without Gareth Bale look very solid; their midfield will match anyone’s and their record signing, Roberto Soldado, will score goals. Who knows what Chelsea are capable of, but they certainly have the horses to show! I’ve not touched on Manchester City yet, who, with the changes they have made and barring any monumental signings, will win the league and challenge for the champions league. Manchester United are still the same Man Utd who finished over 20 points in front of the current Arsenal side.
So where does that leave the this Arsenal side that Wenger seems so confident in? Are we the ugly kid that doesn’t know it?
I’ll tell you where we’ll end up – 6th, at best! That is unless we make some significant signings within the next week – I know it, you know it, at least 70,000 other Gooners know it, the media all know it, Alan Shearer, Harry Redknapp, Jamie Redknapp and Alan Hansen all know it, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville both know it and even bloody Piers Morgan knows it! Possibly the only person on God’s green earth who doesn’t is Arsene Wenger.
Sky Sports news, who’s style of reporting news I utterly detest, have made it their mission to keep questioning Wenger about new signings, and the worrying thing now is Wenger’s stubborn streak is emerging again as a result. His answers lead me to worry that he isn’t close to signing anybody and is readying some very lame excuses to go alongside of his old catchphrases like, “quality”, “desire” and “focus”. Ironically all of the things he personally lacks when dealing in the transfer markets to buy players . But again, give credit where’s due; he is great when he is selling them.
In my last blog I was confident that Wenger was not stupid enough to embark on this current season with the same squad that finished so far behind the Manchester clubs last season, and were knocked out of last season’s domestic trophies,by football powerhouses Bradford and Blackburn. Unless he has been practising witchcraft or believes he had acquired the power of healing hands to deal with this seasons injuries , no one can be that deluded – can they?
The frustrating thing about being a loyal gooner now is that we never know where we stand. This off-season began with a hope that quickly turned into frustration as the days and weeks and months wore on, and now has evolved into actual hatred! Believe me, I’m not alone. The reaction after our first home defeat of the season was a culmination of the anger and frustration felt by many of us, especially the thousands of the club’s season ticket holders who feel duped by the lies regarding the now fictional £70 million war chest. If we have been tricked by our board and their chief co-conspirator, Wenger, again, then they better hope Wenger is right about his squad because a home defeat by a Tottenham side full of new marquee signings could start a near riot at the Emirates on Sunday. Wenger can pull all of the Basil Fawlty faces he likes, this man’s stubborn narcissism is leading to Arsenal’s downfall!
I believe that Wenger’s remit this season is to just qualify for the group stages of the Champions league, go as far as we can in order to generate revenues, and then try and finish 4th again in the Premiership for next season. How can I think otherwise? A vicious circle of no trophies with the only winners being the board and Arsene Wenger’s bank manager. Make no mistake, Arsenal have a decent group of players, it’s just that they need vital, and I do mean vital, reinforcements in key areas of the pitch. Wenger and the board know this, but seem quite prepared to take a chance that this squad is good enough to scrape 4th again! Ugh.
Some of this b.s. would be easier to accept if it was not laden with lies which insult the intelligence of most sane supporters and the media, who by the way are now practically mocking Wenger when questioning him about transfers. Have we turned into a bloody joke? When did we become the punchline?
Who in their right mind believes Wenger has honestly not been able to make just one decent signing ? We are Arsenal! We have a transfer kitty of a very minimum 90m, we have qualified for the Champions League, our Manager is one of the highest paid managers in the world and internationally revered. So why have we managed to get rid of 17 players and not attract just one of the players we have allegedly bid for?
I have asked this once but I must ask it again, what are Wenger and Gazedis doing to earn 10m a year between them, and why are Arsenal fans still expected to pay the worlds highest ticket prices when we can’t attract players in front of Napoli and Wolfsburg for god’s sake?
What Wenger and his supporters conveniently seem to avoid now is that Arsenal are simply no longer serious challengers for the major titles. He uses words like “quality”, “positive”, and “focus”, but not in terms now of winning the league.
What is Wenger’s real agenda? Is he just seeking a final fat bonus, as again Arsenal close another transfer widow having amassed another massive contribution to the Arsenal balance sheet.
I want to be wrong , I really want to stop having to repeat my fears, but as the transfer window draws to a close and the Spurs fixture becomes ever closer, Wenger, really now you must do something. No self-respecting manager wouldn’t want to spend £70 million on new players unless he has a vested interest in that money going out. Is there a personal bonus for having achieved Champions League having spent as little as possible for the club? Is that so far-fetched a suggestion?
Chelsea has The Special One. Man United has The Chosen One. Arsenal have The Stingy One.
I’m all for a captain going down with his ship, but when the crew have the power to change the course, sometimes masts have to be broken.
Richie Rich
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