Written by @Arsenal_No10 Sunday, 09 October 2011 20:38

GunnerTalk Blog

By @Arsenal_No10

There seems to be a bit of a split amongst the Arsenal fans at the moment as to what the hell is happening at the club.  Some say that Wenger must go, others that we need a change at board level and some who think we need a complete overhaul of manager, board and players.  Obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this is my take on the current situation.

We all knew that while the stadium was paying for itself that Arsenal would not be able to compete in the transfer market.  Although we were all willing to take Champions League football and maybe the odd cup I feel that now enough is enough.  The current run of form in the Premiere League is worrying, but I think it is all too easy to blame Arsene Wenger.  I know some of you will be thinking straight away that I’m a blind follower and believer of  “in Arsene we trust” and all that garbage.  Well I’m not but I also think that the stick that the manager gets is unfair. 

A lot is made of 6 years without a trophy but when you look at the time in between now and 2005 we haven’t done badly. Since 2005 we have qualified every year for the CL, got to 2 Carling Cup finals a couple of FA cup semis, a Champions League final (which we led with 10 men for most of it) and had some decent runs in the CL.  We also have made decent efforts in the Premiere League a couple of times.  Granted, ultimately we have lacked the quality and depth to see it through but we were up there.  With a bit of luck along the way we could have easily not had this “6 seasons” bullshit following us around like a bad smell.  If that was the case would all the “pundits” and some of the fans be calling for Wenger to be sacked, probably not.  Having said all that there is now a real possibility that we will not qualify for the Champions League this year. 

Last week Ivan Gazidis came out and said that not qualifying won’t be the end of the world.  Well in my opinion that is a load of toss and is ultimately where the problem lies.  I don’t care about whether the club can deal with it financially, I want Arsenal to be playing in the Champions League not the Europa League like old bacon face and the spuds.  That comment from Ivan for me highlighted just how the powers that be at Arsenal think.  They couldn’t give a frig about the football, it’s all about the brand and the balance sheet.  I’m also sick and tired of hearing people say that Arsene has money and HE won’t spend it.  That’s rubbish, AW is the manager but he is not the boss.  He gets given objectives by his bosses and like all of us in our jobs he has to achieve them.  I have no doubt that behind closed doors Arsene goes to the board and says “I want so and so” and the board reply “we will try but only at the right price”.  A recent example of this would be Juan Mata.  On deadline day it got reported that he was in talks with Arsenal but we took too long.  This is not Wenger’s fault, he doesn’t pay the wages or decide the fees, Ivan and the board do that and they fuck it up time after time.  Phil Jones last January, we could have bought him for less than what UTD paid in the summer.  Gary Cahill we were a couple of million away.  It is not Wenger that is saying that we won’t pay more, but because Wenger is the one in the press conferences and interviews he gets battered. 

It is no wonder that Gazidis says that AW is safe in his job because he is basically a human shield for the board.  People say that Wenger shouldn’t have left it so late in the summer to sign the players he did.  That’s rubbish as well, because Arteta said the other day that he had known about the Arsenal interest for a couple of weeks.  So how is that AW’s fault?  Obviously the board took too long deciding whether it made good business sense or not.  The only thing that I think AW is guilty of is being unrealistic about keeping Cesc and Na$ri.  We all knew that Cesc was going and Na$ri, well he’s just a c’’t.  Other than that though I think the board are to blame. 

Don’t get me wrong I am glad we are not reckless like Citeh and Chelski but I also don’t think that our FOOTBALL club should be run like some kind of property Development Company. When AW says in a press conference that “we have internal solutions” we all sit there and go “why can’t he see what we all see”, but he does.  He is merely towing the line in public to keep his employers happy.  Of course he wants the world’s best players at Arsenal he loves us.  I think that there needs to be much more clarity at the top as to who the hell owns what, who is in charge, who wants us to spend and who doesn’t etc etc etc. 

Also I think that Wenger has really missed David Dein.  DD always knew what the club needs and what the fans want and was brilliant at making it happen.  I don’t know what it will take to get him back but all I would say is “do it, whatever it is do it”.  Also Arsene has had a tough time off the pitch in recent years.  He has lost both his parents who he was very close to and other crap that we don’t need to go into.  All these things have taken their toll on him and it shows. 

So gooners please don’t lose faith in him because I genuinely think he is not to blame.  The man is a gentleman and a Gunner through and through and if he was to be sacked it would tarnish everything that he has achieved and done for us since he arrived.

I think that the bottom line is that none of us know for sure what is actually the case, but something has to change and who knows come January maybe we will see that a change has been made.  One thing is for sure, if I am right and it is the boards fault no manager that comes in will do a better job than Arsene Wenger.  I hope that with the last transfer window debacle and our poor start to the season, that  those responsible have learned some lessons and know how we can go forward and get back to where we belong.

P.s f’ck of you spuds