If you had asked me just a few weeks ago about Arsenal and the team’s chances of winning a trophy and actually moving up in the football world under Arsene Wenger then my answer would have been a definite negative, but I have to say that my position on the prof has started to soften.
There are still big doubts in my mind about next season being any better or even any different if the Frenchman stays in charge, because we have had to suffer the same old story of unfulfilled promise time and time again, with certain questions coming up year in and year out, but three things recently have at least given some hope that Arsenal could be taken forward by the current boss.
The first is that Wenger has done what I thought he was never going to do and change to a three at the back formation. Whether it turns out to be a system that the Gunners use regularly or anything like as effectively as the likes of Chelsea, we will have to wait and see, but simply the willingness to try it and give us an option signals an end to what many have called stubbornness on the part of the prof.
The second is that, after it appeared that the boss had lost the dressing room and the players were being talked about as not playing for him, there has been a definite change and a working together as a team to put things right. We are far from being back to our best but at least things are getting better and heading in the right direction once more.
The final thing is that we have seen recently that Wenger is also willing to be flexible in his team selection in terms of which players to use. Oxlade-Chamberlain has been the main beneficiary but there have been others like Holding and Giroud who seemed to be on the fringes suddenly getting chances.
At the same time the Frenchman seems to have toughened his stance on some other underperforming stars and I think that is hugely important if he is to get the best from the whole squad. There needs to be strong competition but I think the Arsenal players, especially those favoured by Wenger, have had things way too easy and they have needed a kick up the backside.
Could these three things prove that Arsene really is the right man to take Arsenal forward after all?
Bob.