Tuesday 21 March 2017

It's Time For Change At Arsenal

It just seems to be going from bad to worse at the moment for Arsenal as one inept display follows another and the indecision over the future of Arsene Wenger continues unabated. Depending on what you read and what you believe he's either already signed a two year extension to his contract or the club are actively seeking his replacement. Meanwhile not only us fans, but the players too are all left in a virtual state of Limbo.

To be honest there's just no way of knowing what's going to happen and the damage it's doing is there for all to see. I think the failure to commit in either direction is having a direct effect on what he's getting from the players as those who want him out couldn't be bothered and those who don't aren't sure if he's going to hang around and continue to put his trust in them. All the while we're being treated to displays on the field which all point in one direction and that's downhill.

The team are going through their worst ever run of league results under Wenger with four defeats in five games and they have just suffered their most humiliating Champions League thrashing ever at the hands of Bayern Munich. They have lost their top four place as they sit sixth in the table and are only ahead of seventh placed Everton on goal difference even if they do have two games in hand. Those games in hand don't count for much when you can't win a game for love nor money and that's where we are right now.

Of course the top four still isn't too far away and we've all seen Arsenal dig themselves out of a worse position in the table at this stage in the season under Wenger, but this season really does feel different. The amount of goals we're conceding at the moment is alarming and the inability to react to whatever the opposition throws at them is hard to fathom. It's as if they don't work on anything in training except passing the ball from left to right without ever looking for that incisive pass.

That can't be the case, but a team bereft of confidence in themselves and their manager is going nowhere but backwards. I still want them to turn things around and finish in the top four as well as winning the FA Cup, but I have no confidence in their ability to do so. It's not that they don't have the ability, but what has being missing for so long now seems to have become all that's left of this team.

The board and manager seem to think it's just a vocal minority of fans who think it's time for a change of management, but I don't think they could be further from the truth. It may well be a vocal minority who voice their opinions so loudly and obnoxiously as those hurling insults at the manager, but I honestly think the majority of Arsenal fans can see the game is up. Their respect for Arsene Wenger and what he has done for the club means they will not join in with those abusing him, but it doesn't mean they still think he's the best man for the job.

I can only assume Stan Kroneke is content to have Wenger in charge as his stake in the club continues to increase in value. He probably thinks Wenger has never let him down in the past and he is worth sticking with now with no way of knowing what will happen if he is replaced. It's not as if he has ever shown any ambition of winning trophies as the majority shareholder in the club.

It looks like the decision will be up to Wenger and I have a feeling that he might just decide to give it another two years in an attempt to finish on a high. If he left now it would certainly not be on a high, but he might still have some of his reputation and legacy intact. I can't see him making Arsenal genuine contenders again and that would surely mean any contract extension would be a failure.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.


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