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| photo by wonker |
- by Fidel Leblanc, writing from Miami, FL
How the times have changed though. Six years without a trophy (as if we haven’t heard this enough from the commentators on television) is starting to take its toll on the club, both on the pitch and in the stands. Fans have turned against each other, against the manager, and against certain players and its sad to know that Arsenal arguably have the worst home fans in the league. Constant booing, quiet tension, audible groans of discontent rather than simple disappointment at a faltering passing move have most definitely had an effect on the football side of things; its not coincidence that the Emirates was far from a fortress for this football club.
Many supporters have completely turned on the manager, forming a “Wenger Out” brigade of sorts. Now we all have our frustrations with Le Boss. Even I, one of his most faithful followers, find myself doubting him at times. Doubting his ideology, his philosophy, his stubbornness, and it makes me feel ungrateful and fickle. When one stops to think of what this man has achieved at this football club, it really is quite incredible. I don’t even have to name all the credentials and platitudes he has won in his time at the club; a simple “49” would do. Greater still, perhaps, is what he has set in motion at Arsenal. The move from sacred Highbury to the hallowed Emirates was the crux of his long-term (too long-term for certain fans) plan for the club. We’ve found ourselves prioritizing the payments on the stadium over the football side of things (no matter how much Wenger, Ivan Gazidis, or Peter Hill-Wood try to deny it) and its definitely showing. However, I don’t think many fans understand the scope of what will happen once the Emirates Stadium is paid off. Arsenal Football Club will become the most financially powerful self-sustained football club in Europe. Obviously, there will be the Manchester Cities and Malagas of the world, the Chelseas and the Paris Saint-Germains; the sugar daddy clubs. While those clubs will depend on their tycoons, Arsenal will depend on no one but itself. That’s such a frighteningly delighting concept. Who’s plan, who’s actions, who’s philosophy has set this in motion? Monsieur Arsene Wenger.
Despite faltering on the senior side of things in terms of football, Wenger must also be given credit for the work he has done in raising youth prospects from the Arsenal academy in his own vision, in his own mould. There is no better example than young Jack Wilshere, the boy with shoulders on which the hopes and ambitions of Arsenal are built upon. Wilshere is not your archetypical English midfielder either. While he does possess the grit, determination, and fight that typifies English footballers, he is also gifted with supreme technique, control, skill; whatever you want to call it, everyone saw what this player was capable when he went toe-to-toe (and arguably bested) Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets during the Arsenal-Barcelona match in the knock-out rounds of the Champions League. This player is the epitome of Arsene Wenger’s vision and, having been at the club since he was nine years old, was nurtured under Wenger’s watchful eye. We cannot neglect academy products such as Emmanuel Frimpong, Kieran Gibbs, and Henri Lansbury. All of them have been brought up in the Arsenal way, and their technique (even in bruiser Frimpong) is greater than that of most other English youngsters.
Arsene Wenger has made history in England with his revolutionary vision and he will leave history in his wake once the inevitable time comes where he decides to step down from the club he so loves. Obviously, fans are allowed to be discontent, and to show their discontent at times but it would be much more productive to show support to Wenger, the players, and the club. Think about the long-term benefits of what Wenger is doing and Arsenal’s future successes will be that much sweeter.
We as supporters need to stick together. Remember the club motto: Victory Through Harmony.
