Arsenal FC : The Tragedy Of Arsene Wenger, In Three Acts

Gooners love bars. After setting the bar with the Invincibles of 2003/04, Arsenal are now setting a new bar for mediocrity. Following a 3-3 draw at home to Fulham, Arsenal are off to their worst season start since 1982. Arsene Wengerai??i??s men are already 10 points behind league leaders Manchester United, who have hauled in 27 points to Arsenalai??i??s 17. In 11 league games now Arsenal have drawn as many as they have won: which is to say, four.

Of course, after a frustrating game, negativity tends to be the default. But the fact remains: Arsenal are not a team one want to bet their money on right now. Itai??i??s 7-5 at Reading one day and 2-2 at Schalke the next. The only thing consistent from week to week and year to trophy-less year is the discontent festering beneath those worried faces painted across a sea of red and white.

And that recurring murmur: maybe itai??i??s time for Arsene Wenger to go.

Act I: The Long Transition

Arsenal are a team in transition. Arsenal have been a team in transition for seven years, and at some point ai???transitionai??? becomes less of a consolation and more of a euphemism for decline.

Itai??i??s what one tend to get when their mantra goes: ai???We do not buy superstars. We make them.ai??? Wengerai??i??s commitment to youth development and to investing in playersai??i?? potential rather than passing judgement based on current performance are the cornerstones of a distinctly Arsenal philosophy. The patience of long-term development is what made a world-class striker out of a trouble child named Robin van Persie ai??i?? only to see him go to a hated rival. It is the kind of patience spent on Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, and every other blooming talent and injured genius at London Colney week in, week out.

Patience does not reap rewards in undying loyalty. Perhaps it never did, even in the good olden days of yore. But it surely does not in the fast-paced world of modern football: fast on the pitch ai??i?? and off the pitch in transfer deals and instant recipes for success. Just add money. Instant gratification is the new modus operandi, but Wengerai??i??s Arsenal are still operating according to their own rules. Admirable. But tragic.

Every transfer window makes religious men of Gooners everywhere. Because every time contract talks come up, only divine intervention could keep a Gunner from swapping his red-and-whites for a new set of colours and loyalty. Other clubs have more money, other clubs make more convincing bids for trophies, and so Wenger loses another carefully-nurtured project to the clout of cash well splashed. How can Arsenal compete?

Act II: A Quick and Dirty Fix

An obvious way for Arsenal to get back into the competition is to splash some cash themselves: go mano a mano with the likes of Manchester City and PSG and muscle their way back to the top of the food chain again. On one hand, Wenger has answered the clamours of fans for more investment in tested players: Giroud, Podolski, Cazorla, Mertesacker, Arteta. On the other hand, Arsenal do reputedly have A?70mil in reserve. Often, and especially after dropping points, the fan response is to buy, buy, buy.

The logistical question of wages aside, Arsenal are not a spending club in the manner of Chelsea or Real Madrid. The self-sustaining model is a badge of honour for the club and most supporters, though it has rendered Arsenal at a relative financial disadvantage. The enormous cost of developing the stadium at Ashburton Grove saw Arsenal sign on to long-term sponsorship deals in the mid-noughties ai??i?? which locked the Gunners out of a veritable windfall that rival clubs found via surging commercial sponsorship in later years. These will make Arsenalai??i??s A?5.5mil/year agreement with Nike look like pocket change.

Arsenalai??i??s sponsorship deals will be up for renewal in 2014. The question is what kind of deals Arsenal will be able to attract at that point ai??i?? that is to say, if the brand name will still be able to command the kind of money Arsenal want and need to keep competing in the modern game.

Act III: Staying Ahead of the Game

However,Ai?? a certain high-minded self-reliance is what makes Arsenal so very Arsenal. From Chapman to Wenger, Arsenalai??i??s go-to answer has been to innovate, to find a new and better way of excelling, rather than accepting the current mode of competition and emulating someone elseai??i??s formula for success. Try, not buy.

Or put it this way: if one canai??i??t out-shoot them, then itai??i??s time to reinvent the gun. For all that Arsenalai??i??s crest bears a cannon, the amount of ammunition (in terms of players) that the club can afford is limited. In lieu of fire-power then, technique and precision must be prioritized.

And this is the tragedy of Arsene Wenger: that he may not be the man for this job, as it has become. Wenger is a visionary and a man of principle. His vision revolutionized Arsenal and the English game, in his training and diet regimens, new grounds, new facilities, new stadium. His principles will be his undoing in an unforgiving world. Wenger is not a tactician on the order of Pep Guardiola or even JA?rgen Klopp. It is easier for a tactician to demand beautiful football of his players: they have the detailed foundations upon which to build a broader vision of the game. But Wengerai??i??s tactical fiddlings and aspirations toward beautiful football yield mixed results. In the absence of managerial tactical acumen, the burden of responsibility falls to ai???character,ai??? to individual players ai??i?? and individual performance yields those unpredictable results so characteristic of todayai??i??s Arsenal.

Curtain Call…?

Arsene Wenger has been and is as loyal and dedicated a servant of the club as anyone could rightfully ask. He is the most decorated manager in Arsenal history and beloved of fans and players alike, and for good reason. Wenger is a man of integrity, the likes of whom Arsenal will not soon see again.

No replacement will know the club or the players better than Wenger. And his successor is unlikely to restore the Gunnersai??i?? reign. The choice that faces Arsenal now is a calculated risk: wait out the lean years, wait for new sponsorship deals and Financial Fair Play to kick in ai??i?? or look for a new man, a tactician, a different kind of innovator, to manoeuvre Arsenal through turbulent seasons? A short-term coach brings short-term surges and a potential long-term string of short-term crises. On the other hand, hedging every bet on FFP cannot be advisable. There are always loopholes, and no lack of lawyers to work between the lines.

Arsenal cannot afford to slip so far as to find themselves in an unfavourable position to take advantage of new sponsorship deals when the opportunity finally arises. And Wengerai??i??s legacy deserves better than to be caught between rivalsai??i?? monetary clout and fansai??i?? malcontent. For the sake of all parties involved, it may be time for Arsene Wenger to take his curtain call and bow gracefully out.

Tags: Arsenal FC Arsene Wenger

Arsenal FC : The Tragedy Of Arsene Wenger, In Three Acts

Recommended

How Manchester United could line up under Ruben Amorim

Five players Ruben Amorim should look to sign for Manchester United

Real Madrid and a defence that needs an immediate overhaul

Three potential January Real Madrid targets to cover for Eder Militao

Welcome Back!

Retrieve your password