Wenger has learned important lesson after Alexis Sanchez injury saga?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you
must know by now that Jose Mourinho was
sack—er, left Chelsea by ‘mutual consent’,
sad news indeed for those among us who
wished to prolong his misery and see if his
overweening ways would actually drive
Chelsea into the relegation zone, if not
outright relegation itself. I won’t go so far
as to suggest that Arsène is finally seeing
the fruits of a master-plan, but it carries
many of the familiar signs of just such a
plan.
Although we watched in
furious agony as that
prodigal son Fàbregas
returned to London and
won a Prem title, there
were signs of deeper
plans. Yes, Fàbregas and
that entire squad raced
out to an early, could-
they-match-the-
Invincibles start to the
2014-15 season, and
there was earnest/naïve
talk of how Fàbregas
might eclipse Thierry
Henry’s record for assists
in a season. However,
none other than
Newcastle laid waste to
the first, and Fàbregas, who had 15 assists
in January, finished with just 18. For as
good as he was in that first half, his
disappearance in the second half begs
certain questions. Did he elevate those
around him, or was he hitching a ride? He’s
become Nosmas—Samson in reverse: the
longer and more luxurious his hair grows,
the more his strength wanes. More and
more, it seems that letting him sod off to
Stamford Bridge was a master-stroke by
Arsène.
This past summer, we plucked Petr from
under Mourinho’s nose, exposing an
apparent rift between the Specious One and
Abramovich. At first, it might have felt like an
underwhelming move (aside from the
symbolism): it was clear that Courtois had
become Mourinho’s first-choice keeper,
and Čech had been reduced to second-
fiddle. However, I had suggested that Čech’s
departure would undermine Courtois in
several ways: one, Courtois would no longer
feel the challenge to earn the starter’s role,
even if Begovic is a solid keeper in his own
right; two, Courtois would no longer have a
master from whom to learn the subtler
points of the position. I won’t go so far as
to suggest that the departure of Čech was
akin to pulling out the wrong pin from a
Jenga tower, but maybe there’s something
in that. After all, Chelsea’s now conceded 26
goals from 16 matches after conceding just
32 in 38 last season.
A quick digression: in the last several
seasons, Chelsea has seen the departure
of Čech, Lampard, and Drogba, among
others, depriving the squad not only of
experience but of leadership. In the
meantime, they’ve added any number of
highly-talented players who can scintillate
but can’t take the squad by the scruff and
lead it to higher levels. There’s no chemistry,
no spine, no grit left in this squad. The only
man left in it who might possibly step in,
John Terry, has undergone what is almost as
much a Mourinho trademark as voyeuring
Wenger: passive-aggressive manipulation. In
recent seasons, it seems that Mourinho’s
ego could not be sated without the
slaughter of a sacrifical lamb, someone to be
made an example of in order to
demonstrate Mou’s power. Ask Casillas or
Ramos. Ask Juan Mata. Ask John Terry.
That kind of manipulation and megalomania
might deliver results in the short-term—and,
let’s face it, Chelsea did win the Prem last
season—but look at the shambolic state
they’re in. They can thank f*ck that they’ve
advanced to the Champions League
knockout stage, or they might see a few
players bolt in January. Whoever it is who
replaces Mourinho—Hiddink has been
mentioned as a caretaker, for what that’s
worth—will inherit a demoralised,
depressed squad that’s just as likely to
throw it all over as it is to put its shoulder to
the wheel. Most of its members have
endured three—okay, two and a half—
seasons of being bullied and belittled, and
it’s going to take some time to recover from
that.
It’s almost enough to convince the most-
stubborn of Arsène’s adversaries to admit
that there’s some value in planning for the
long term. Fourth place, even if it’s not quite
first, has been nothing short of guaranteed
for the better part of the last twenty years.
We won’t even go into the financial
comparisons. We’ve been there before, and
both sides of the debate agree to the facts.
Rarely has there even been as wide gap in
class as there is between Arsène and
Mourinho. Sadly, for as superior off the pitch
as Arsène has been, Mourinho has almost
always been superior to him on it. Then
again, Mourinho has never committed to
anything except the best squad someone
else’s money can buy. It’s a pity then that we
at Arsenal may have to settle for besting him
in the Community Shield while he hides
behind the Mike Dean-enabled “win” at
Stamford Bridge. We won’t get a chance to
see Arsène beat him at the end of January,
but that’s what bullies-cum-cowards do.
When the going gets tough, they turn tail
and run to where the grass is greener.
Arsène’s never done that.
He may have missed his best chance at
beating his nemesis, but losing that battle
might just be worth winning the war.