Just Arsenal Fans

It is time for some answers by John

It will be fascinating to know what went through the mind of Stan Kroenke as he sat through Wednesday night’s depressing Champions League encounter against the team who sit in third place in the Bundesliga.

In all likelihood, his only real interest in Arsenal is how much profit it can add to his business portfolio. As long as Arsene Wenger is able to produce major assets that can be sold on at huge profits and guarantee at least £20 million a year by qualifying for the Champions League, then Kroenke is probably a very happy man.

Whilst there has been a distinct lack of passion on the field in recent weeks, Kroenke, Gazidis and Wenger can expect plenty of passion and no shortage of anger from disillusioned Gooners attending Thursday’s AGM.

Enough is enough. The supporters deserve real answers, rather than the same old stories that are trotted out each year.

Selling its best players every season is a sign that Arsenal lacks ambition. Refusing to pay that little bit extra for a top player, such as Juan Mata, is another missed opportunity as is the failure to tie down up and coming players to long term contracts.

In the meantime the money keeps rolling in as supporters are forced to fork out for the most expensive season tickets in the Premier League, to watch players who are not performing.

If the club management are convinced that the supporters regard finishing top four as evidence of a successful season then they are seriously deluded. True, there are only three domestic competitions, but since Arsenal last won silverware apart from the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, silverware has been won by Spurs, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough.

Supporters are told that Arsenal meets the criteria of Financial Fair Play and that when other clubs fall foul of these regulations, then it will be Arsenal that will have the financial muscle to take advantage.

Do they really believe that the big spenders, such as Paris Saint Germain, Manchester City, Chelsea and the wealthy Russian clubs, will be prevented from entering European competitions because they fail to meet FFP? Of course not. These clubs help bring in massive revenue to UEFA’s coffers, so creative accounting and various loopholes will be found to satisfy the authorities; in the meantime Arsenal’s slide will continue.
While it may be sacrilege to criticize or question the manager, surely it is only to right to ask some searching questions about Arsene Wenger’s performance in recent seasons.

There’s no arguing the fact that Wenger was a pioneer, introducing a new dimension to the concept of football management when he arrived at Arsenal; however as others have caught up it appears that the Professor has not moved forward.

He has total belief in his methodology and for that he should be applauded, however there are times when his stubbornness means that he will not change, even when it is obvious that what he is trying is not working.

In the meantime, the most disturbing aspect of the defeats to Norwich and Schalke has been the team’s total inability to create scoring opportunities. The one thing that Wenger’s teams have not lacked until now is the ability to play beautiful football.

If ever there was an opportunity for the players to restore their confidence it is this weekend with the visit of bottom of the table Queens Park Rangers to the Emirates. As important as three points, is the effect on the belief of the players ahead of three away games to follow, against Reading in the League Cup, Manchester United in the league and Schalke in Champions League.

If Arsenal can get back on track in these games then there are reasons to be optimistic; if not then the atmosphere at the Emirates could well turn even more uncomfortable.

COYG!

———————————————————————————————————————-

John Harrow is an Aussie sports fan who has supported the Gunners since he was a boy. He often writes on mnay subjects, including his love of http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/online-pokies/