Arsene Wenger- What does the future hold?
Before Christmas, a debate came to light over the future of Arsene Wenger, and more importantly, the future of Arsenal Football club.
Arsenals’ campaign so far has conjured up a potion of ‘Total Football’ and downright pub league standards. At times, the speed and fluency of Arsenals attacking play leaves even the neutral football fan admiring Arsene Wengers’ footballing philosophy on playing the beautiful game.
But at other times, Arsenals inexperience and inability to close out a game that was clearly there for the taking so many times in the seasons gone by, is taking its toll on the Arsenal faithful.
‘In Arsene, We Trust’ is still draped and decorated around the stands of The Emirates, but for how long?
Arsenal are still fighting on three fronts; a Champions league spot next season with Everton and their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Barclays Premier League. A fifth round, FA Cup tie beckons with Blackburn Rovers at home. And a mouth-watering, Champions League double header against the German might of Bayern Munich, sets up another ‘do or die’ month for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club.
The likes of Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere have put pens to paper on long term contracts; much to the relief of Arsenal fans after transfer gossip had the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea on red alert for their precious talents. Theo Walcott is repaying the hefty debt having been in scintillating form for club and country, and currently top goal scorer for Arsenal this season with 18 goals in all competitions.
With Jack Wilshere, alongside Mikel Arteta and the dinky Spaniard – Cazorla, beginning to pull the strings in the engine room, the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song and Samir Nasri, for a while, seem a distant memory.
Arsene Wenger, backed by the majority shareholders have installed a club policy of not breaking the wage structure, so that the re – financing of the impressive Emirates Stadium remains on schedule. Mr Wenger has often said that Arsenal are financially, in a more stable place for the future, than the likes of Manchester United and European powerhouses Real Madrid and AC Milan.
“The tides will turn on the top clubs’ inability to keep paying the ever increasing wage demands that players and agents now expect.” Could the tide begin to turn on Mr Wenger himself, if Arsenal fail for an eighth successive season, to land a trophy?
Mike Anscombe
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