WENGER UP FOR THE FIGHT
ARSENE WENgER came out swinging yesterday. There was even a sly dig at Tottenham for good measure.
But for a growing contingent of Arsenal supporters, it is too little, too late. It’s groundhog Day at Arsenal. When March arrives, so does a crisis. Out of the title race and about to crash out of the Champions League — it’s all so very predictable.
Wenger urged his team yesterday to show ‘lucid rage’ in an attempt to revive their flagging season, starting with victory against Bayern Munich tonight.
But what would that prove? They are trailing 5-1 from the first leg. Even Wenger admitted that his team have just a ‘one or two per cent chance’ of reaching the quarter-finals.
Only a 4-0 win will appease those supporters who are desperate to see the back of Wenger.
Indeed, some fans will vote with their feet tonight. An unprecedented number have made their seats available via the club’s ticket exchange programme.
Wenger is well aware of the dissenting voices. They are getting louder by the day.
The Frenchman wants to sign a new Arsenal contract. But the way things stand, he knows he cannot. That is his problem.
How can he take back control? Winning the FA Cup and finishing in the top four looks the only way Wenger can stay.
He insisted yesterday that he will not be forced out of the club he ‘built up’. Wenger said when asked about his future: ‘I guess I’ll take a bigger picture.
‘You do not make this kind of decision focusing on one result or two bad results.
‘ You have to take a bigger picture and see if you can take this club to the next level, take yourself to the next level.
‘You are ready to pay the price for that, but this decision is not necessarily linked with two weeks out of 20 years.’
Whatever happens tonight, Wenger will be desperate to avoid the kind of humiliation he suffered in the Allianz Arena last month. Another such defeat would surely turn the Emirates atmosphere toxic.
Wenger, though, is finding it hard to comprehend the negativity surrounding Arsenal at the moment — and in making his point he took a swipe at neighbours Tottenham, who failed to even qualify for the Champions League knockout stages.
‘Everything is a negative at the moment,’ he said. ‘Basically the teams that have gone out in the group stage, they are happy, but we have gone through and we are in crisis.
‘What I expect from my players against Bayern is a mixture of lucid rage. What does that mean? Total commitment, but not a silly one because you have to make intelligent decisions.
‘You need a good combination of commitment but as well I think to keep your vision.
‘Let’s not fool ourselves; we have a one or two per cent chance of going through. But you never know. It’s a difficult climate at the moment because we have just lost at Liverpool, so it’s a bit more tense. We have to earn our freedom to play because at the moment we play a little bit with the handbrake on.’
As if he does not have enough to deal with, Wenger faced a barrage of questions about the behaviour
and future of 2020-goal leading scorer Alexis Sanchez.
The Chilean wants to leave the club at the end of the season, as revealed by Sportsmail yesterday, because of his deteriorating relationship with Wenger and many team-mates.
However, Wenger gave the forward a stark warning over plotting his Emirates exit.
‘Alexis has 15 months left of his contract, so the decision of will he be here or not will depend completely on Arsenal Football Club and not on anybody else,’ said the manager.
‘Is he happy? What does that mean? The definition of a happy person is very difficult. I have never found an ideal situation.
‘A happy player on the football front is one who comes out of a game and has won it and has performed well. I hope he will be very happy after Bayern.
‘Will he stay? Let’s not project ourselves too far. Short- term happiness is easier to get than long-term happiness, so let’s just focus on the short term.’