So thankfully, the season is almost over. It’s been a long, brutal season for Arsenal fans. So many false dawns. One thing has saved the season for me. Step forward Claudio Ranieri and his magnificent team.
For Arsenal, it’s clearly been a season to forget. We have dropped so many stupid points. Our record against the leading clubs has been half decent (we took 6 points of the champions). But dropping points against the likes of Sunderland, WBA, Swansea, Norwich and believe it not Chelsea who beat us twice, has proved fatal. Another lost opportunity.
The record in the cups is best forgotten and yet again the annual injury crisis has killed us. We have been without Wilshere, Welbeck and Carzola for long periods. Can you imagine Spurs being without Ali, Kane and Eriksen for much of the season? But it’s been more about injuries. The spirit in the team has been lacking. We lack leaders. That undefinable spirit you need to pull you through difficult moments in games. Managers hardly need to be tactical gurus to make life difficult for us. Get amongst us, press high and suffocate the life out of the game. Easy.
So while things are clearly not right in the dressing room, they appear an oasis of calm when compared to the unrest amongst the crowd. The atmosphere is toxic. A visit to the Emirates is no long approached with enthusiasm and expectation. There’s a deep malaise in the crowd. A unescapable feeling that the club is stagnating. There isn’t a fresh, optimistic mood amongst players and fans alike.
I went to the game against Norwich. I simply left the ground relieved that we had won. I feared the protest would overshadow the game completely. While it gained a fair amount of publicity before and following the game, it was a pretty lukewarm protest. I visited the roundabout outside the Amoury where the protesters where to hand out their ‘Time for a change’ banners. One of them seemed pretty enthusiastic when I asked for two banners. ‘yeah mate, 12th and 78th minutes, get them up, we want to send a message’. I was only collecting them for my nephew and his school mate.
I had no appetite to join in. Don’t get my wrong, I’m concerned at what awaits us next season. City, Chelsea and probably Utd will be energised by new managers. Spurs will be stronger, as well Liverpool under Klopp. The likes of West Ham and Southampton will improve and naturally Leicester will benefit from the greater funds and a huge boost to their confidence. But I want Wenger to see out his contract. The Wenger haters will scream at my apathy in not wanting him sacked. But I simply don’t want to see his reign end in such a manner. In any case, he’ll hardly be dismissed by our compliant board. Wenger’s been bringing CL and the vast fortunes which comes from playing in Europe for 18 years now. I do sense there is a strong demand for a new direction. We want change, but we desperately want our greatest manager to leave on a high.
It’s probably the extreme personal abuse which Wenger has faced that has led me and many others to be overly protective of our manager. Some of the chants against him have been pretty sickening. The supporters wanting him out can’t wait to appear on their YouTube channels to scream their vitriolic criticism. The abuse has been counterproductive. The vocal majority, which had been largely silent up until now, voiced their supporter for Wenger at the Norwich game.
Will Wenger reinvent himself for his final year?? Highly unlikely. He’s stubborn and I sense he’s set in his ways. He’s far too loyal to his players. The likes of Giroud, Walcott, the Ox, Flamini and Ramsey have let their manager down. But he steadfastly believes in them. If we avoid any injuries to our players during Euro 2016, I can’t see any significant purchases. I genuinely believe that Wenger sees our current squad as good enough to win the title. We need a commanding center half and a natural finisher up front. It’s pretty worrying as I just don’t trust Wenger’s desire to bring in the reinforcements we need.
So, I’m just relieved for Leicester securing the title. Arsenal fans resorted to cheering them on during the final few weeks. I’ll be eternally grateful for them to holding off the challenge from Spurs. The scenes outside the KingPower stadium were a joy to witness. Such a feel good story. Witnessing such scenes outside White Hart Lane would have killed me. I just don’t want to experience yet another season like the one we’ve just endured.