The saga surrounding Arsenal Football Club continues on to yet another game week, with Wenger preparing ahead of an extremely tough test against Manchester City.
The Gunners remain in their drastically poor run of form since the turn of the year, with the latest Premier League result being that 3-1 defeat to West Brom. The international break was then upon us, but whilst Wenger has had plenty of time to think about the run in towards the end of the season. The players haven’t had a chance to group together and make a plan of action.
The poor spell of form is partially down to Arsene Wenger’s disappointing managerial decisions. The boss has created a real legacy at Arsenal, but he has to own up to the fact he’s made many mistakes over the years. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, it’s become one too many errors and the fans now want him out of the club. The manager is bound to be blamed and forced to take some responsibility for the results but ultimately its down to the players to put in the performances.
The performances from the players this season have gone downhill since 2017 and plenty of excuses have been thrown around the media. Whether it be concern over the manager’s future or incorrect lineups, there is always an excuse besides from the fact that we’ve just generally played pretty poor!
Arsene Wenger has asked the squad not to keep hiding behind excuses and instead face reality that the squad just hasn’t been up to scratch this season. Wenger said: “Being professional is to perform on the football pitch and not to find escape in excuses where I think there are not.”
“Results are not going the way we want, but we have to make sure that the priority for us is what happens on the pitch.”
“I agree that at West Brom we had blind possession – we had 70 per cent possession going nowhere. There was something missing.”
“I want the players to focus on their job. Their job is to perform and for me [it is] to help them to perform and to develop as players. That is, for me, what matters, really.”
Wenger is right in saying the players shouldn’t be seeking excuses, although they are obviously going to be influenced slightly by things such as Arsene Wenger’s future.
I’m glad that in Wenger’s comments he has recognised that there is something missing in the squad and that needs addressing ASAP before the end of the season. Major change is then necessary in the summer where the club can be remodelled on the approach that we want to take at the Emirates.
But what I find ironic is the fact that Arsene Wenger is all too familiar with making excuses and for that reason I find his statement quite hypocritical. Wenger is never shy to have his opinion on the referee, the approach of the opposition, the pitch conditions and even the weather this season; all of which would have also had an influence on the teams that have beaten us this campaign.
Quite frankly these last two months of the season are going to be very definitive for our club’s future for the next few years. Missing out on the champions league or Arsene Wenger committing to a new deal could be make or break for the club’s immediate future, not to mention the fact we could lose several of our key players in the summer.
By AH