The Doomsday Is Coming, Mikel by Amagore
Football or soccer, which ever term you prefer, is one sport that is full of emotions. A lot of people around the world will agree that once you choose a football club to support your loyalty is difficult to throw out of the window. The attachment that one has to his favourite football club is occultist in a way. You cannot just quit. For me, Arsenal football club is the definition of football and the football club in my world. I cannot see myself discussing about football without making any reference to my beloved Arsenal. However, in recent weeks I have been relegated to the table of football’s laughingstock, where the supporters of rival clubs find joy in mocking everything linked with Arsenal. Long lost friends suddenly found the energy to initiate some form of a conversation with me.
A lot of theories are being thrown around with the sole aim of finding who to blame for the current darkness engulfing The Arsenal. In the various social media spaces, every discussion around Arsenal is full of negative feedback. If it is not about Edu and Arteta’s ineptitude, it will be about the board of directors, let alone Stan Kroenke. There has been a lot of negative vibes since the previous season where the club failed to get qualification for the European places.
The Ozil Effect…………
At one time Ozil dominated debates in Arsenal circles and for some reason his departure marked the end, if not the beginning, of a façade which was projected as a dawn of a new successful era.
We expected to see the likes of Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira among others being accorded a chance to prove themselves whilst representing the Arsenal badge. Surprisingly they were sent out on loan spells which only Arteta and Edu understand. William Saliba, a very promising talent according to those who followed his development in France, was regarded as excess baggage and he was loaned out without giving the Arsenal fanbase a chance to have a look at his abilities. The only people who know why he was send out on loan are the duo of Arteta and Edu.
We all know how Edu-Arteta connived to deceive Arsenal supporters by recruiting Willian who was already on the other side of 30. Arteta tried to sell us a fictitious footballing lesson when he suggested that Willian could play as the creative midfielder replacing the departed Ozil. Mesut Ozil was not my favourite player at Arsenal but to believe that Willian could be the solution to our creativity problems was colossal naivety. As it stands creativity in the squad remains problematic because none of those playing as the creative assets in the team have what it takes to compete at the required level of consistency.
Edu-Arteta recruitment drive versus the reality………………………….
The Edu-Arteta marriage is one made from hell as they have presided over some of the worst performances in the history of Arsenal FC. Their recruitment exercise has seen the club lowering the average age of the squad without worrying about stability and performance in the interim. They have deliberately ignored common sense and the effects of the financial muscle of most EPL teams. I believe the EPL is described as the best league in the world on the basis of commercial deals that have seen English football clubs earning obscenely huge incomes. These incomes have enabled clubs in England to attract and buy decently to strengthen their squads.
What this scenario means is that the big clubs cannot rely on history and tradition to remain competitive. Clubs that are willing to buy big and correctly are reaping the rewards. The current activity and statistics indicate that Arsenal have spent more than the other nineteen clubs of England’s top flight league, but are the purchases made really the solution to all perceived problems? The answer is a big NO because the club is still retrogressing. The club is breaking records for the wrong reasons making all serious Arsenal supporters hopeless.
Deceived by Instant success………
All real football supporters want their favourite football club to be successful and win trophies. For Arteta the instant success in the FA Cup made him a darling of many followers of Arsenal. There were others who still viewed him as an accident waiting to happen. Being the rookie that he was, and still is, it was understandable that some sections of the footballing world doubted his ability to take Arsenal back to the top. All doubters have certainly been proven to be right.
Following the unceremonious departure of Unai, Arteta’s arrival seemed to have revived the team. His mentorship program at the Etihad made some of us believe that the good old beautiful days of beautiful soccer were upon us. I personally believed that Arteta had learnt a lot from Pep who is one of the biggest tacticians in world football. A closer look at how Arsenal have been playing proves that the current manager doesn’t know what he really wants to do or how he wants the team to perform.
Arteta was given a long rope, but it seems he has moved at high speed to tie himself with it. If the team maintains the consistent poor results Arteta will surely have to go.
As things stand there is nothing to suggest that things will improve soon. The doomsday is certainly coming for Arteta and Edu.
By Amagore