Where do you see Arsenal in 5 years? by KM
Hello fellow Gooners. Are you anticipating the final somewhat important game of the season? It is a funny one, because City lost in the Champions League, but with their poor League form they will need a result and this is the decider for third place.
If we win, we guarantee third and skip the tricky CL qualification round, which is huge because it gives an edge when signing top players, because they want to play in the Champions League. A draw will leave it to the Villa game, which should be in the bag, even with our poor finishing.
This feels like one where we’d crumble again as we always do. Arsene is most likely safe with the top four and players are looking towards their vacations, but I hope we capitalise on the fact City played midweek and we get a result.
So what after? What’s the plan? If you ask the Board, they’d back whatever Arsene has in mind. We don’t have a direction and that’s why we stick with the top 4 Arsene somehow manages to deliver yet again. Truth is though we have members of the board, who get immense salaries for an unclear job to me. Arsene gets a lot of money, but he at least does everything at the club! Is he doing it well or not is another matter.
I was so saddened by the fact how misdirected the ‘time for change’ message was. A lot of people took it as personal offense because it was partly aimed at Arsene. As I said though the lack of vision is worrying.
We cannot compete against Europe’s elite, because we are so far off it. Atletico vs Bayern was a game of the highest level. It was so tactical and psychological, a battle of two completely different approaches.
The inventor of tikki-takka vs the master of discipline! Simeone looks like he’s taken from a mafia movie! Incredible how he managed in one season, what Arsene failed to do in 6. He beat Barcelona and Bayern in successive rounds, with a squad that, with all my respect, cannot match the quality of the opposition.
Yet discipline got the better of talent and if he manages the Final hurdle in terms of Real Madrid, he’d leave probably one of the biggest marks in footballing history just like Leicester.
Another thing that cannot go unnoticed is the way Zidane managed a very difficult situation at Real. He replaced a manager that albeit being probably the worse one to win the CL, Benitez has done it. Zidane won the Classico in a situation where nobody gave Real a chance and they haven’t looked back. He acknowledged the fact Real have to challenge for the biggest prizes, set some priorities, used his emphatic career to manage some huge egos at the club and if he wins it it will be a minor miracle in terms of shifting fortunes!
And finally, that little old Jurgen Klopp. What he’s doing to a Liverpool side that looked like it doesn’t have a purpose is sensational! He took over after the season started, manages average players leftover from a manager who lost the dressing room, and he’s led them to two cup finals! If he wins the Europa League, with Champions League football he’d have an entirely different calibre of players available in the market.
Next year is so big, because Klopp will build his own side, Pep and Conte two managers with lots of titles behind their backs are coming and we’re sticking with the past. But the common thing between those managers, and I have to add Max Allegri to the list, is they are young!
They are the revolutionaries of their time, just like Arsene was 20 years ago. They bring modern approaches that enable them to compete at the highest level! When Arsene came he introduced regimes, he added discipline and preparation that was uncommon to most teams and that allowed Arsenal to dominate opposition. Now, most elite clubs have great training methods and newer things come into play.
Most people don’t disrespect Arsene, despite wanting change. We could’ve won the title this year if Arsene allowed people to help him where he is weak. Add a motivating person to do the pep talks, get a better scouting network, allow other people to manage the transfers and the wages, even get some tactical help so we are not so predictable. This could’ve been the change we needed, but it means Arsene loses power. And the boards failure to do anything about the problem is another reason to ask for change.
Regardless of that the question of why we moved to the Emirates comes to mind? Isn’t it because a top club needs a top venue? Didn’t we do it to increase our potential to fight for success? Or did we do it to rip off the fans even more? Was that the real plan all along?
What next Ivan? I’m interested in the Q&A he will be giving to the fans and hopefully someone will ask him to give a true answer about Arsene’s contract and our ambitions in the tournaments we play in. We are having a man heading into his seventies in charge or everything. I have nothing against elderly people, but isn’t it time for us to at least start preparing for the future without Arsene?
Because if we don’t, you can see what happened at United who let Fergie appoint his pal Moyes and we all know how the story goes. So tell me where you see us in the near future? Still stuck where are now or going forward?
Konstantin