I have heard this theory before from some Arsenal fans, usually with the addition that it would convince the club to call it a day with Arsene Wenger as the manager. This weekend the former Liverpool, Man City and Germany international midfielder Dietmar Hamaan has suggested once again that it might actually benefit the Gunners to finish outside the top four of the Premier League this season.
The reason, as reported by The Mirror, is not to get rid of the boss or even to give Arsenal the beefit of fewer games that nearly helped Liverpool win the EPL title. The former defensive midfielder believes that it might be the kick up the backside we need.
Hamaan thinks that Arsenal have gone a bit soft and lost some of our desire to win, merely qualifying for the Champions League each year. And he points to Wenger’s decision not to sign a really top class defensive midfielder in order to compete with Chelsea and Man City as evidence.
The German pundit said, “Over the last few seasons, Mikel Arteta has been doing that job – and, with all due respect to Mikel, he is a player who used to be given a free role on the left by Everton.
“It’s square pegs in round holes – and a team with ambitions of winning the title won’t get away with that in such an important position.
“The top two positions are decided, but there’s six teams going for the next two Champions League places. I think that Arsenal will do it because they have so much quality, but maybe they need a season of finishing outside the top four to give the whole club a kick up the backside.
“We all saw how serious Manchester United got in the transfer market after the disappointment of last season. Maybe Arsenal need that because, as a club, they are in a comfort zone. That defensive midfield position I was talking about illustrates where Arsenal are as a club – they’ve gone a bit soft.”
As Arsenal fans, of course we want the team to do as well as possible, but I do think that Hamaan has a point, although it would be much better if Wenger and the club got the hunger back without us having to drop into the Europa League to do it. What do you think Gooners?