Tag Archives: Arsène Wenger

What has happened to Arsenal’s British core?

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In December 2012, Arsene Wenger thought he had cracked it. That he had found his answer to Fergie’s Class of 92. Or the Arsenal of the late 80s / 90s. The Frenchman thought he had found and developed the future of Arsenal, the future of England.

They were known as ‘the British core’.

Five young British players. All signing long-term deals on the same day. Standing behind them a smiling Arsene Wenger. The quintent of talent he hoped would define the club’s future.

The future looked bright.

Five years and three FA Cups later the investment has not been the unilateral success Wenger had banked on.

So what has happened to Arsenal’s British core?

Aaron Ramsey

Two FA Cup final winning goals will forever give Aaron Ramsey his place in Arsenal history.

The Welshman is the only one of the five who can even be determined a relative success. But into his 10th season at the club, Ramsey has not delivered on his youthful promise on a consistent basis.

The sickening broken leg injury suffered at Stoke in 2010 delayed his progress. After joining as a pacey teenage winger from Cardiff, Ramsey developed into more of a central attacking midfielder.

In 2013-14 he was named the club’s Player of the Year. A return of 16 goals in 34 appearances hinted at a breakthrough year, and the unlocking of his vast potential.

It is fair to say, though, that in club colours he has not kicked on, despite being a key performer for an overachieving Wales side at Euro 2016.

Constant injury setbacks have disrupted his progress, so too the lack of a defined role at club level. With Wales he is the link between midfield and attack, at Arsenal he is just another given licence to roam with little responsibility.

Jack Wilshere

Sitting front and centre of the picture, there is no mistake that Jack Wilshere was the central pivot of the British core.

The great hope of both club and country, the young midfielder was fighting fit once again after an injury-ravaged 2011-12 season.

But ever since that first major injury, Wilshere has not been the same player who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Xavi and Andres Iniesta at the Nou Camp in the Champions League.

Injury has defined him. His loan spell at Bournemouth last year was only the second time in his career he had featured in more than 25 Premier League games.

In the three seasons prior to his temporary move to the Vitality Stadium, he had made just 19 league appearances.

The 25-year-old does not currently fit into Wenger’s first-team plans, and was recently sent off in an appearance for the Under 23s.

An England recall still seems a distant prospect, so too the possibility of a new contract to extend his stay with the Gunners beyond the end of this season.

Kieran Gibbs

The loss of Gael Clichy to Manchester City in 2011 was viewed as little more than a minor setback by Wenger.

In Kieran Gibbs the Arsenal boss felt he had a ready-made replacement to become the new first-choice.

His initial judgement proved astute. Gibbs provided the energy and pace demanded by the position.

Injuries — a constant theme here — prevented Gibbs from nailing down the spot. The signing of Nacho Monreal in January 2013 eventually relegated the England international to second-choice.

The 27-year-old has been little more than a bit-part player in recent seasons and could leave before the end of the window this week.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The capture of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the summer of 2011 was seen a huge coup for Arsenal.

Wenger lavished £12m on an 18-year-old with enormous potential, a more muscular proposition than the last teenager they had acquired from Southampton — Theo Walcott.

The early promise of his debut season earned him an England call-up at Euro 2012 and hinted at a bright future. He was direct and dynamic with the ball, with searing pace to boot.

But, as ever, injuries have prevented Oxlade-Chamberlain from delivering on that potential thus far.

A return of only nine goals in 132 Premier League appearances is way down on expectations, but at 24 he is still well primed to develop further.

That he sees that next step up as away from Arsenal is damning for Wenger and his inability to extract the potential of his British core.

Carl Jenkinson

Plucked from the Charlton academy in the summer of 2011, many scratched their head when he signed. But he was young, English and Arsenal.

After just 62 largely fairly average appearances for the first-team, Jenkinson has just embarked on his third loan spell away from the club.

He did impress a few years ago when on loan at West Ham, which encouraged the Hammers to make a £10m, which ultimately fell through.

The 25-year-old’s career has nose-dived since the early promise and looks set to leave with little fanfare with the club struggling to find a buyer.

Keenos

 

The Arsenal are a complete shaambles

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Well no shocks in this transfer window.

What started off looking optimistic with two early signings, the transfer window slammed shut with plenty of ITK’s and gormless main stream journalists looking as foolish as Wenger’s die hard fans.

It should never be a shock that we make a profit in the transfer window. We have heavy form for that, but at a time where the financial constraints were deemed to be over 3 years ago, it has kick started even the most mild mannered head in the sand supporters.

I don’t blog much these days, leaving more or less all of it to Keenos. I get on with the Facebook page, Twitter, shop and 2 young kids who seem to run all over my gaff quicker than Stan getting out of an AGM and on a flight back to the States. But after the shambles this summer I felt the need to get things off my chest…

Stan, our Billionaire majority shareholder. What is left to say about a man who runs sporting franchises which all seem to fail where it matters on the pitch/rink. A good ‘Business’,(as much as I hate that term when speaking about a football club) needs firm strong and often charismatic leadership, Stan offers none of these. Add his complete lack of knowledge of the game and his hands off approach, it leads Arsenal to be an almost rudderless ship.

Our board, who in the past could sometimes reach a half decent decision, is now just the old men and tax exile lady who he allows to sit on it in name only. None of them are in a position to make a decision. They just sit around smoking cigars, drinking whiskey and patting eachother on the back over an ever increasing share price.

Make no mistake, Kroenke’s decision to let Wenger stay another 2 years is baffling and to have no succession process in place is incompetent and threatens the future of our once great club.

The decisions by people who pretended to love the club like fans which lead to him being invited into the club and then allow him to take control are completely to blame for this mess we are now in. The former share holders who sold out to both him and Usmanov have a lot to answer for. They got rich(er) selling their shares, and walked off into the sunset.

Our dear CEO, Ivan, the master of spin, the catalyst of change…now I do feel in the past I may have been a bit unfair on him (apart from any role he has played in ticket price increases). He has an employee that’s really his boss, he has a boss whose always absent and right now he must seriously be considering getting a big brown box putting his personal effects in it and driving off into the sunset.

I bet every time a UEFA or FIFA vacancy pops up, he ponders whether to Apply Now through LinkedIn.

No-one will ever fully know what he does for the club. His main role seems to be that of Alistair Campbell in Tony Blair’s Labour government. Trying his hardest to spin yet another bad news story and to give him some credit he tries and tries and some do fall for it – he is always the man who puts his head above the parapet.

He tried his best for change, apparently. It is likely it was even him that leaked stories about getting in a director of football and telling players there would be a new manager this season. All decisions it seems he was left out of when Stan and Wenger had a cosy chat in the summer.

Gazidis could be a great CEO, but under the current messed up Stan/Wenger love in he will not get the chance to prove it, but I guess the pay packet and bonuses for turning a profit makes up for his lack of any real control.

Wenger, oh Wenger, I really have nothing to say on him that I haven’t said for the last 6 or 7 years. He has played a blinder. He has Stan around his little finger and he still has complete control of the club.

The next 2 years will be more of the last few years – which FA Cup victories aside, has felt like we are jumping from one disaster to the next on the pitch.

Round holes in square pegs, not learning from past mistakes and a pigheadish approach to anyone who  would dare question Wenger.

If he truly loved the club he would look in the mirror and leave before he goes even more nuts than he is right now. But then at £10m a year, why would he resign? The board are not going to sack him. He is onto a good thing. Unaccountable and paid handsomely.

Everyone knew another contract was a big mistake. Even the most hardened of the ‘Arsene knows’ wet blankets excused it by saying there would be changes and help would be brought in to ease his work load. Wenger, of course, was having none of that and sadly Stan agreed.

It seems the way it went was Gazidis wanted a Director of Football. Wenger said he would not stay if a Director of Football was bought in above him. Kroenke sided with Wenger and quashed Gazidis’ idea, and Wenger stayed.

The next 2 years (if he lasts that long) will be hell for him.

The next few games will be very toxic no matter the result. Once that has died down, and we have maybe put a run together, the abuse in the terraces aimed at him will return after every defeat.

The sooner he goes and the fans can unite behind getting rid of Stan the better – or him leaving might force Stan to step up and support the club to move forward.

Protests…The problem with them right now is too many seem to want to talk on social media then not turn up. They would rather stay in the pub (Keenos has said this a few times “cant be bothered to protest, I would rather get another pint in” – although his opinion is changing).

Too many others want to be “fan famous” and position themselves front and centre, ensuring they are on camera, even if it is them recording themselves. This leads to others not turning up to protests as they do not want to be associated with the wannabe self proclaimed Super Fans”.

Others are too scared to lose any club access they get. They will not criticise the club to aggressively for fear of not getting an invite to a meet and greet, or not having their next book put in the membership pack.

Too many up late to the party that the clearing up has been done, everyone has had a nap, had the hair of the dog and cooking a bacon sarnie. Then of course we also have the ‘wrong time’ merchants, those who are worried any protest before the game will put the players off, worried it looks stupid to protest after the game if we win.

Before a game is the wrong time, during the game is the wrong time, half time is the wrong time, after the game is the wrong time. The wrong time lot will never agree there is a right time.

Personally, I will not be partaking or encouraging in any nicely organised walk around the ground then sit at the roundabout waving a few banners with people who just want there boat in the papers and on film who then stream off nicely into the ground and sit on their hands.

The club do need to know how you/we/I feel and the best way of doing that is by not going into games, but I understand this is hard to do.

With 66% of the ground being season ticket holders who have paid £1000+ for their seat, and the rest having to book up 1-2 months in advance, I understand why people will want to waste something that they have spent their hard earned cash on. And the club already has their money, so it is a bit futile.

There will never be a mass boycott of any game, and why should people who spend their hard earned cash not watch the game they have pair a fortune to watch!

History does show the best way of getting rid of a manager and putting pressure on the owners is withdrawing money from them. But sadly this is hard for Arsenal fans to do. The season tickets are paid for in advance, and for every silver or red member who boycotts, another one will happily purchase a ticket in their place.

So like the title says, we are a shambles, from the majority shareholder, to the board, to the CEO, to the manager and to a fanbase who will never agree on the same course of action…..This would never have happened at Highbury…..

The only hope is that we can get through the next 2 years with as little collateral damage as possible. That Kroenke does not get tempted to offer Wenger another extension. And that we are sitting here in 2019 with a new manager and new players who actually want to play for the club.

Up the Arsenal

SheWore

Why the Arsenal board are not to blame

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I am still not sure why the board are getting blamed for Sunday’s debacle.

They did not sign or coach the players, they did not pick the team, the formation or the solitary tactic. In fact, they do not interfere in that at all, they back the manager 100%, give him more cash than he ever wants to spend and total freedom on how it’s spent in both transfer fees and contracts.

There are plenty of supporters out there who would love to have our board in charge of their clubs.

Apart from the money they themselves nick each year in wages, expenses and “consultancy fees” – which is itself a much smaller % of the clubs income nowadays than anything David Dein et al ever helped themselves to and at lot less than what the Glazier’s take out of Manchester United.

The only thing you can criticise them for is giving Wenger a new contract. But when he papers over the cracks with an occasional FA Cup win and so many of the club’s customers – like the extended supporter base on Twitter – refuse to see what has been so painfully obvious to the rest of us for years now, then also who can blame them?

The simple fact is that if we had won the league by a dozen points last year then nobody would even be talking about the board.

Yes, the entire club is rotten to the core, but there’s only one man with “complete control of the football side of the business”. Complete control means just that, along with both complete credit and complete blame.

Wenger out.

*EM*