Wenger reminds fans of his heydays
LONDON: When Arsene Wenger was asked, at the end of his postmatch press conference, whether he felt he still had the confidence of the Arsenal board, he stood up, fished a small metal object from his right trouser pocket and brandished it in the air.
He held it there for a second as if it were a token not just of validation and vindication but also of revenge. It was a riposte to all those Arsenal fans who have castigated him and hounded him this season. It was an FA Cup winners’ medal. His seventh.
“I don’t think I can answer that question at the moment,” Wenger said, smiling thinly. “For once, I have kept my medal so that means it’s a special night for me. For the rest, we will see what happens in the future. We are adults and we have to accept what will happen. If I am still here next season…” His voice trailed off.
His message was clear. It was a challenge to the Arsenal board, which will meet tomorrow to discuss the management structure of the club and Wenger’s place in it. Wenger, it is obvious, feels strongly he should not be hindered by interference from a director of football. After what happened at Wembley on Saturday, he holds a strengthened hand.
Wenger had stood on the touchline in his pressed white shirt and his smart red tie and gazed upon a rebirth. For 90 minutes, this was how we had all imagined Wenger’s brave new Arsenal would one day become in the best of all possible worlds. This was Arsenal bullying Chelsea with beauty.
It felt as though this performance in the FA Cup final was everything that Wenger has been working towards through all the years of being second best to Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City. This was his dream unfolding before disbelieving eyes.
On a day when Wenger wrote his name into the history books by winning English football’s most famous competition for a record seventh time, the Arsenal boss reminded even those who have come to doubt him why they once loved him so much.
This was one of the best Cup finals of recent years, breathless and full of rare skill, and Arsenal, depleted to the point of crisis in defence and beset by the protests of their own fans, pulled off one of the competition’s most memorable triumphs. Even in Wenger ’s canon of works, this must rate as one of his finest achievements.
So often fragile against the other big teams, Arsenal did not shrink. They had grown to the point where they were playing like giants. When was the last time we saw them this intense and determined? They didn’t just outplay Chelsea, they embarrassed them.
Arsenal were magnificent. They made the Premier League champions look mediocre. They gave them a lesson in incisive, passing football and wonderful movement and sharp, clean tackling and dominant defending.
Alexis Sanchez ran the show. Chelsea simply could not get anywhere near him.
Mesut Ozil did everything his admirers know he can do. He caressed the ball and his opponents into submission. Now and again, he even chased back. It took a brilliant goal-line clearance from Gary Cahill to deny his delicate chip over Thibault Courtois. Only the clunk of a post denied him what would have been a wonderful goal in the dying minutes.
Danny Welbeck was bright and lively up front. Chelsea couldn’t cope with him, either. He hit the post with a header that beat Courtois. He had another effort cleared off the line. Granit Xhaka was rock solid in midfield and we have not said that often this season.
And Per Mertesacker? He had only played 37 minutes all season but against Chelsea, he was a colossus. Playing at the heart of Arsenal’s nascent back three, he subdued Diego Costa for most of the match and made several critical challenges.
Sure, it was the FA Cup final. It wasn’t the Champions League final or the crucial game in a battle to win the Premier League. But Arsenal were playing so well that even the staunchest of the Wenger Out Brigade must have felt their hearts fluttering a little.
Even when Costa equalised 14 minutes from time, Arsenal did not crumble as they have so often before in recent years. This was a different Arsenal. A different animal. In less than a minute, they had taken the lead again, this time through Aaron Ramsey.
It felt as if everything was falling into place. It felt as if Wenger’s vision was being realised. Even if it was too late to influence anything else this season, it was the kind of display and the kind of spirit that afforded a glimpse of what might yet come to pass under more years of Wenger at the Emirates.
So what now? Does this change anything in the long drawn-out saga of whether Wenger stays or goes. As Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke sat in the stands, a white rose in his lapel, he must have been thinking that the club would be mad to get rid of the man he has backed so loyally.
Does this victory not change anything for those ingrates who want Wenger out of the club? Does this not suggest to them that Arsenal are still capable of excelling under the greatest manager they have ever had?
Wenger showed us again what Arsenal are in this Cup final. He showed us what Arsenal could be. He has given so much to his club and to English football. Now he has this masterpiece to add to his collection. Daily Mail