WENGER CAN’T KID ANYONE, HE IS TO BLAME FOR THIS MESS
top players no longer view Arsenal as an attractive prospect, a place where they can become champions. Arsenal have fallen behind the Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea. Even with Sanchez and Ozil wanting to leave, the club could have saved face by tying down Jack Wilshere but he must feel insulted by the terms offered to him. You do not give a pay cut to a player who is rediscovering his best form. I am surprised that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would want to join a club in such a state. Even if he does sign, Arsenal are still yet to address the frailties in their defence or their soft centre in midfield. If you are an Arsenal fan paying top dollar
for tickets you would expect a team who are battling for the title, not a team struggling to get into the Champions League. Jamie Redknapp wrote in The Verdict that this is the worst Arsenal team he can remember and it is hard to disagree. Wenger has got himself into this mess by allowing his three best players to enter the last year of their contracts at the same time. The problem ultimately lies with the Arsenal board for allowing this to continue. For at least a decade now the club have been regressing. Last season should have been a wake-up call but instead of re-emerging as genuine title contenders, the ship has kept sinking. At what point do the board realise enough is enough? There may have been a raft of appointments behind the scenes this season but I do not see Wenger’s power being diminished. Until he goes, there is no way any real structural change can take place. When Wenger took over in October 1996, Arsenal had finished fifth. In his first few seasons he revolutionised both the club and the Premier League. After the Invincibles season of 2003-04, he could never have imagined how bad things would get. Wenger is in real danger of leaving the club in a worse position than when he found it.