This is what a REAL crisis looks like, Arsene
ARSENE WENGER is firefighting after just one league game following Saturday’s embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Villa.
And if Arsenal flop in Fenerbahce tonight, the Gunners manager could soon be the Guy on the bonfire as fans’ fury fans the flames at the Emirates.
It would be easy to bemoan modern football and blame the “I want it now” culture that pervades fandom these days for this latest “crisis”. It would be easy to point to how Wenger has proved his critics wrong by qualifying for the Champions League 16 years in a row, despite selling good player after good player.
But this time it feels different. This time the excuses scream bullshit. This time Wenger looks worried – and so he should be.
#WENGEROUT was trending on Twitter on Saturday night.
The shit hasn’t so much hit the fan as covered it completely.
The Gunners set up tonight’s qualifier in Turkey by the skin of their teeth last season, pipping Spurs by a point to take fourth spot.
Since then, they have let SEVENTEEN players go and brought in one – Yaya Sanogo – on a free transfer.
“Spend, spend, spend” read the banners at the Emirates on Saturday – and it’s easy to see why.
Arsenal lack a leader, a defender or two, a convincing goalkeeper AND a goalscorer.
Yet, despite three months to solve the problems that are as blatant as Wenger’s sleeping bag coat is shit, SO Man United didn’t curl up and die to mark David Moyes’ first proper match in charge. Shocker. Not that it stopped the criticism.
The 4-1 win over Swansea was said by many to be testament to the winning mentality Alex Ferguson instilled in the side.
And that’s Moyes’ problem – he won’t get any credit when it goes right, yet plenty will point the finger when it goes wrong.
It’s going to be a long season for Mr Giant Eyes. nothing has happened apart from the doomed attempt to lure Luis Suarez from Liverpool and a desperate crack at signing Yohan Cabaye from Newcastle.
Gonzalo Higuain and Luiz Gustavo also slipped through the net.
On Saturday, Wenger tried to bite back at the critcis, but in doing so he just made things worse.
“We are there to spend money,” he said. “People say, ‘Buy players, buy players, buy players’, but who? We analyse every single player in the world and work 24 hours a day for that.”
Desperate
Who? Well, if Arsenal were seriously in the market for a goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic shouts loud.
Gordon Banks rates the Stoke No.1 as one of the best and you suspect he’d be willing to swap one end of the Premier League table for the other.
Are fans really supposed to accept that there isn’t a player in the world who would improve Arsenal when the club is sitting on a kitty of £70million?
All Wenger’s dallying has done is make Arsenal look desperate. So clubs will try to squeeze more out of any deal – and players will think twice about walking into a shitstorm.
It’s a shitstorm that could sweep Wenger off his feet if it goes tits up in Turkey tonight.