And Then There Were None… Wenger and the Collapse of Arsenal Football Club

- Tom Thomas

Arsène Wenger will be feeling very sad tonight. Not just the sadness you feel when you’re disappointed with yourself, but a certain sadness trailed by the desperation and helplessness of knowing you’re in a corner and you may well have put yourself there. After the clinic Manchester put on today at Arsenal’s expense, the questions that have been circling the Emirates for weeks will now intensify, and I’m not sure I know a sane man on Earth who would like to be on the receiving end of what Wenger’s about to face. Should Arsène Wenger be fired? I don’t really know the answer, but what I do know is that Wenger is a better coach than the image currently being displayed. Nevertheless, Arsene is still largely to blame for the present position in which he finds himself.

Wenger came to London in 1996, with great success following almost immediately. In the 1997/98 season, Arsenal finished atop the League and won the FA Cup that year for the first of two doubles under Wenger, the other coming in 2001/02. A prototypical Frenchman, Wenger brought with him more than just a shrewd brow and a thick accent from his home country; over the course of the next several seasons he would introduce several very successful French imports to the Premiership. Nicholas Anelka, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, and Marc Overmars were added to the Arsenal squad in the first real restructuring under Wenger in 1997, each proving to be successful for the Gunners for several years. Freddy Ljungberg and Thierry Henry followed suite in 1998. Although Arsenal found an impediment to the league title by way of Manchester United in 1999, 2000, and 2001, another restructuring in 2001 led Arsenal to another surge to the top. The departures of Anelka, Overmars and Petit were countered by the arrivals of Sol Campbell, Lauren, Ashley Cole, Robert Pirés, and Sylvain Wiltford. By now, Henry had become one of the most successful and prolific goal scorers in the Premier League. Arsenal would win the second double under Wenger in 2001/02, become the first team in 20 years to defend their FA Cup title in 2003/04, and the first team since Preston North End in 1888/89 to win the English league title after a blemishless campaign (26-12-0). During the 2005/2006 season, Arsenal may have lost the Premier League to a strong Chelsea side, but were nearly unstoppable in the Champions League, becoming the first London club to reach the Champions League final, a match in which they lost 2-1 to Barcelona. The same year, they also became the first English club to top Real Madrid at the Bernabéu.

Several things changed after that. Most notably, in 2006, Arsenal moved from the Highbury, their home for nearly 93 years, to the newly completed Emirates Stadium. Similarly, the 2006/07 season saw a shift in personnel, as Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Lauren, Freddy Ljungberg, and Thierry Henry left the club. Nevertheless, a new crop of players, including the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Eboue, and Andrei Arshavin, slid into place with ease. A historically succesful side under Wenger, Arsenal’s ability to close seasons began with the finish of the 2006 season. They team finished 4^th, 3^rd, 4^th, 3^rd, and 4^th between 2006/07 and 2010/11 respectively, the first times Wenger has finished outside the top 2 during his tenure in charge of Arsenal. Something about the 06/07 transition had not stuck as well as in previous years of rebuilding.

Despite inconsistent play and a lack of mental toughness, Arsenal seemed to be maturing during the 2010/2011 season. Things were bright in December 2010. Arsenal had just defeated Barcelona 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League matchup, were a strong 2^nd place in the Premier League, and were sitting in a position to end the season with a quadruple. What happened to Arsenal after that point is primary point of contention. By May 2011, any chance of a trophy had been ruled out, and Wenger’s squad was struggling to hold onto 4th place int he league. We all know the story.

As the summer began, Arsène demanded the blame for the late season wilt to be placed solely on his shoulders, and many critics were more than obliged to meet his invitation. Of course, a few, including myself, felt that Arsene deserved a bit respect. He could be trusted to realize his squad’s deficiencies, right? However, I am still searching for signs of a revival, some proof of things are changing. With three days left now before the transfer window closes, Arsenal looks in shambles with the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, without adequate reinforcements. No disrespect is meant to Gervinho and Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the way the transfer sagas of Nasri and Fabregas were handled, the indecision of Wenger to confront the exodus, and the lack of ambition in the transfer market are not good signs as we progress into the 2011/12 season. Arsenal could use the services of a Javier Pastore or a Christopher Samba, but Arsene seems content to sit out the next three days.

When you see teams like Manchester City and Chelsea splash heavy cash to bring in heavy talent, you wonder why Arsenal seems so hesitant to sign a check. City are looking very dangerous right now as Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and newly acquired Samir Nasri look the part of legitimate title contenders.  Chelsea have added Romelu Lukaku, Juan Mata, David Luiz, and Fernando Torres to their side and seem to have revived or at least begun a revitalization of a top flight team that had gone flat as of late. Obviously, these squads spent extravagant funds on their reconstruction programs, and there is some dignity in refusing to get drawn into the world of large transfer fees and wages. However, the Chelsea’s and Man City’s of the world are Arsenal’s direct competitors. If Wenger wants to develop his youth, that’s fine. If Wenger doesn’t feel he should have to spend an exorbitant amount of money, that’s fine. But if that is the process he wishes to undertake, he should look at Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United who have accomplished a balance and seem to be the best team in the Premiership right now with regards to their performance and promise. Say what you will about how much money Manchester United may have respective to Arsenal, but what Manchester has done and spent in the past several months is nothing Arsenal couldn’t have replicated; that’s a fact.

Perhaps Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy were always going to leave. Some might claim that they would have stayed if Arsenal won silverware last year, but the bottom line is that they didn’t. I’d like to think Wenger did everything in his power to keep a hold of these players at Arsenal, but it doesn’t seem that he did. Money could have been spent, and last year’s squad could have been reinforced enough to make a strong case for a 2011/12 campaign. Even if Fabregas was always going to leave, Nasri might have stayed if someone like Javier Pastore had been brought to the club to help fill very apprent voids. If a player like Christopher Samba had been brought in, Gael Clichy might have been convinced to maybe give it another go. Even if none of these players had stayed, their transfers could have bought Pastore, Samba and Gervinho, and a completely different discussion might have been occurring right now. How about Eden Hazard? Obviously, this is all speculation, but if Arsenal refused to approach talent players, then there’s a problem. If they tried and failed to get the same talented players, Arsenal fans should begin jumping off the sinking ship.

It’s simple: Arsène Wenger needs to hold on to the few players he has, inquire about a number of stars to fill in gaps, and close deals before the transfer market closes. Last season’s squad was immensely talented, but flopped once a few moments of bad luck drained away the organization’s confidence. A few reinforcements could have gotten the squad through those rough patches, but Arsene refused. He has rebuilt Arsenal successfully in the past, but all of his past successes can be forgotten in a heartbeat if things continue in the same manner. At the end of the day, when the other London and Manchester teams are buying and selling and winning, Arsenal must follow suit. Otherwise, it will be “Adieu Wenger.”