Football is a funny thing. After Arsenal lost the first game of the season at home to Aston Villa, I had really had enough. Villa are a very average side who have since lost their next 3 games. I could not fathom what Arsene Wenger thought he was doing, and quite frankly I was past caring. The incessant Tweeting, the insane searches for any Arsenal transfer news, and that infernal Wenger smirk had sent me over the edge. You know you’ve taken one step too many when you’re tuned to Talksport Drive Time agreeing with Adrian Durham – you know the next stop is the Bighouse with the men in white coats !
The wins against Fenerbahce and a really poor Fulham side cut no ice with me. “Spend Some F***ing Money” was the constant chant encompassing my whole brain, as well as the good part of Gooners, and the more money Spurs spent, the worse it got !
Wenger the Narcissist had completely done my head in, especially when making statements like “this current squad can win the league”. This is the same team that finished 16 points behind last seasons winners Manchester United and behind a Man City side who had just spent a further £100m on some serious players! “This is the same Arsenal side who got beaten by Bradford and Blackburn at home, you deluded cretin,” I found myself screaming in retort at the TV.
As the Tottenham game loomed large, I feared the very worst; I simply could not see Arsenal beating them. On paper it looked to me that like Spurs could simply steamroll us given their new toys and our, well, broken ones. But as the great Bill Shankly once said, “Football’s played on grass not paper.”
Arsenal never looked in any danger of ever losing the Spurs game, but what really struck me that day was that this was the same old Arsenal team, but the players names are different… if that makes sense.
Giroud, who I have always said will be “okay”, is a lot better than that; he seems taller, more confident and has a better grip on the pace of the Premiership. His goal against Spurs was sublime, and dare I say Bergkamp-esque! Last season I wondered like many other Gooners what Aaron Rammsey was doing in an Arsenal shirt, he looked devoid of confidence and as Wenger played him everywhere but in goal, Ramsey looked done.
Ramsey this season has been a complete revelation. His performance against Sunderland was comparable with Paul Scholes at his best. He covered every blade of grass, his first goal was world class, and his interaction with Mesut Özil, Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud was brilliant. And as their chemistry grows, so will Arsenal in stature.
Having watched Arsenal being outplayed and outmuscled by Villa, what has changed so dramatically? They say The Lord works in mysterious ways, but Wenger is truly a law unto himself. Don’t get me wrong, no one wanted him out more than me. In fact, I had become obsessed with it, and even now I am not convinced. Four decent games do not eradicate the last 5 years of Squillaci, Gervinho, Arshavin, and Santos to name but a few, though the signing of Özil did leave me bewildered. No doubt the signing of Özil was inspired, but who inspired it and when?
During the entire transfer window, Wenger had made futile attempts to sign Rooney, Suarez and Higuain. I kept screaming for Fellaini, Richards and Williams – I’ve always thought we can get goals but can’t defend and we get bullied by bigger teams. We currently only have 3 central defenders and I have never been confident in Mertesaker and blamed him for Vermaelen’s dramatic loss of form. Basically, I believed that Arsenal needed a new spine much like Rooney, Fellaini, Richards and Begovic might provide.
I’ll be honest – it never crossed my mind that Wenger would pay 42m for one of the best players in the world with just 30 mins of the window to go, and not cover any of the other positions we are light in. It’s almost like Wenger sets out to confound Arsenal fans and fellow Gooners have greeted the Özil signing like the second coming – hell, after his performance today maybe he is. Games against Manchester United and Chelsea will soon tell us what kind of squad we have, but as we sit top of the league, albeit after only 4 games, either Wenger is wrong or I am. I hope it’s me but I don’t understand how I could get it so wrong.
A concentration of games and the Champions League might put Arsenal’s strength in depth under the microscope, as today’s bench of Frimpong, Gnabry, Miyachi, Monreal and Fabianski – oh, and someone called Akpom – may soon prove costly. That is a seriously weak bench for a top club, with the only game changer there being a mistake by Fabianski. God forbid Giroud gets injured as we simply do not have another centre forward – well, not a proper one anyway.
The signing of Mathieu Flamini went some way to appeasing me for not signing Fellaini – I never wanted him to go in the first place. He is strong, has a great engine and does not take prisoners. He had a great debut against Spurs and I think he had a good game yesterday against Sunderland’s robust tackling.
I can continue to be the prophet of doom or eat some humble pie. If Arsenal were sitting bottom of the league I would be calling for Wenger’s head and many other more valuable parts of his anatomy, but as it stands Arsenal are top so it looks like I am wrong and have written my last negative piece about Wenger and Arsenal until I have very, very good reason to reverse that decision.
I am going to enjoy the prospect of having a team that may challenge again, basque in the glory of beating Tottenham, and revel in the fact that in Özil, Wenger has finally signed one of the best players in the world rather than selling one!
Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, Cazorla, Özil and Giroud gelling completely is a mouth-watering prospect. So the President of the Arsenal Moaners Club will be tabling a vote of “no confidence” in himself. Whatever Wenger’s done, it’s hard to argue with what we have been seeing. And as a new £15m 2-year contract looms for Wenger, if Wenger has not already signed it, its futile for me not to enjoy our current status as league leaders and hope that Wenger really has proven me wrong.
For the time being, Wenger’s launched a coup d’état and overthrown El Presidente
Richie Rich
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