Fatigue and Indefatigability

Another wasted opportunity to improve the club’s chances has been and gone

So another transfer window shuts on Arsene Wenger’s unfinished opus, and the feeling I have is that the journey has taken precedence over the destination in the mind of our legendary, controversial and increasingly divisive manager. Opportunities have been spurned and the club now faces an uphill battle to regain the ground it has lost on its rivals since land was broken at Ashburton Grove.

The story is well known. The expense of the stadium forced short-term belt tightening so that the future could be a prosperous one. We had, still have if you ask me, the best man for the job driving Arsenal forward: a man with a flair for spotting and developing young players and who prioritises a seductive brand of the game that did much to draw the sting of reduced competitiveness.

But as with all painkillers, it can only go so far. We are ensconced in the Emirates, paying through the nose for the years of plenty we were promised, which have not strictly arrived. We must accept that things don’t change overnight, that Man City and Chelsea have shifted the goalposts somewhat, and that relative to 88 other clubs, ours is hardly an unfortunate position. Maybe we are being just that little bit impatient as we wait for big signings and big victories but the manager has done little to discourage it of late. Despite his contract extension, the long-termism of his squad management has us wondering how much closer we are to winning the league again and still threatens to draw his time at the club to an unfortunately sour conclusion.

Melodramatic? Maybe, but dissatisfaction with Wenger is at an all-time high, the gap between Arsenal and the top two is still as wide as last season and the competition from below is stronger than at any other time in Wenger’s Arsenal career.

This transfer window was a chance for Arsenal, for Arsene, to fix problems that have been all too evident to onlookers. It was a chance to push us right back into title contention as United and Chelsea had another quiet summer. It was a chance to insulate ourselves against our wretched injury plague and a winter that includes European ties in midweek followed by away games to Chelsea, City, Sunderland, Villa and United.

While I won’t belittle the possible contributions that can be made by Chamakh, Koscielny and Squillaci this squad is still worryingly flawed and fragile for one with realistic intentions of winning something meaningful in May next year. We have little chance of coping with extended absences for Van Persie, Cesc and Vermaelen, injuries to two of our top centre backs exposes the permanently crocked Djourou or significantly weakens our midfield through the redeployment of Song and, most importantly, we continue to rely on a goalkeeper who is more likely to cost us five points a season than save them.

Arsenal has the money to do things differently. There is simply not the desire. This might not just be about Wenger’s preference for proving wrong those that doubt his young charges. The board have ignored a tangible sense of divergence between the manager and the fans by extending his contract already, so they can clearly live with healthy P&Ls and no silverware. But, when the manager clearly ties his lack of activity in the transfer market to his concern for not stunting young players’ development, he places himself and his project in the firing line.

Djourou, Denilson and Diaby can be identified as players to whom Wenger has given the benefit of the doubt. In doing so, three have faced increased scrutiny and less patience from the stands with Diaby the closest to redeeming himself but still with plenty to do. Add Sczeczny to that list. With a handful of marquee keepers with plenty in the tank – Buffon, Stekelenburg, Lloris – ignored for a 38 year old for whom £5 million was eventually thought too much to spend, it seems clear that Wenger wants to leave the path for the young Pole to assume the number one role relatively clear, perhaps as early as next season. The pressure on him is growing already, and there’s no guarantee he will thrive under it. In the meantime Arsenal’s hopes rest in Almunia rediscovering and then improving on his form of two seasons ago (and remaining healthy so that we don’t have to endure Fabianski). If he doesn’t, and it is unlikely, then the fans will most likely be forced to suffer for another season, many conscious that the short-term has been sacrificed again for the untested potential of youth.

Arsenal have made a decent start to the season. A creditable if blunt point at Anfield and romp in the sun against Blackpool told us little, while victory against Blackburn spoke of renewed enthusiasm and determination. But the season has hardly started. The churn of games, the arrival of high-pressure clashes with fellow title contestants is on the horizon and this squad will need to show steel it has not yet managed. The run of fixtures and competition from elsewhere in the league is more intense than ever, but Wenger’s principles have not bowed. For everyone’s sake, including his but especially ours, let us hope he is proved right.

Source: Will O’Doherty, The Online Gooner on 2 Sep 10