I love you but Goddamnit….
“Yes! We’ve signed someone, someone BIG.”
Crap-we haven’t, that was on Football manager last night. Oh my lord I wish Arsene would just do what I do on that game. (Spend all the money on big players and *guaranteed* wonderkids). If it all goes Pete Tong, just reload the game without saving. Why doesn’t Arsene do that?
Easy as …
So I’m a lifelong Gooner, brought up entirely on Wenger, and as such I feel that I support Arsene as much as I support Arsenal (although he makes it ridiculously hard sometimes). Don’t get me wrong, I feel much of the same frustrations as many of you do. In my darkest hour I have once muttered ‘Arsene Out’, but deep down I want him to stay on but to change his ways a bit. Goddamit he’s stubborn.
There is a reason for this prologue on the man in charge; I just thought it was important for you to know my thoughts before I continue. I’ve always followed people who chat about Arsenal on social media, I find it gives me my fix when there, inevitably, isn’t any actual Arsenal stuff going on (cough-transfers-cough). So here it is my 2 pennies worth; me adding my thoughts and analysis on an Arsenal situation.
Today I ponder the question, and it’s a big one: is Wenger the right man for us? I’m going to go for a simple ‘for and against’ argument and I’m going to try and not let sentiment get involved. It’s simple, but maybe that’s a good place to start (or it’s all I’m capable of, I’ll let you decide).
For:
– The team’s league position has improved recently. From finishing 4th, to then 3rd, to last season’s 2nd. Any other team would rate that as great progress.
– He has always had a great eye for talent. From Vieira, Anelka and Henry to Fabregas, Koscielny and Bellerin.
-He is a moral person. He knows what he believes, he’s loyal and he believes football should be entertaining.
-Players want to play for him. It’s not like we’re chucking Man City or Chelsea mega wages at players to get them to sign for us (yes it’s still extortionate amounts) but surely it’s the pull of Wenger that attracts a lot of players to us.
Recent talent unearthed by AW
Against:
– Goddamit he’s so stubborn it amazes me how anyone has ever lived with him. His unwillingness to just go the extra mile, to take the risk in the transfer market and just sign the additional players we need frustrates us all. If it backfires, then so be it, but at least you’ve tried.
– He has an eye for talent. If I hear one more story about how Wenger ‘nearly signed’ someone awesome but then decided not to, is eat my own arm. If they were that God then sign them, otherwise you didn’t think they were his enough to sign bad therefore SHUT UP as it makes you look stupid. And when you look stupid, I feel stupid because I support Arsenal and by proxy, you!
– He can’t seem to change with the times. Tactically he is non responsive. It is okay to be idealistic when your team is better than most, but when it really isn’t and everyone else is improving you needed to be tactically flexible and responsive. Something which he hasn’t done enough of for me.
– Lastly, will players want to play for him for much longer? I think the lack of ambition is becoming more prominent in the footballing world and I just wonder if he has the same pull to get the ‘Top, top players’ he’s forever after. It worries me.
Tactics behind the times?
In conclusion, I think he is the man who should remain in charge, after this current contract expires; he just needs to increase his bottle and take a punt on a couple of ‘risks’. What’s life without an exciting risk Arsene? Just say yes* and buy him!
*Wenger should really watch that awesome Jim Carey movie, ‘Yes Man’. I think it will help us enormously.
Wenger the price is this – YES
Thank you for reading my brain guff.
Tas responded to a shout out for new writers at Gunners Town for 2016/17. He is 31 and a school teacher from Southampton. His prize possession is a signed 2003/4 Arsenal shirt and he can be found on Twitter @tas_sasso . So let him know what you think of his first passionate blog written on his phone by the pool in Cyprus.
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