Every time Arsene Wenger takes his place in the dugout between now and the end of the season, he will be fighting a battle he simply cannot win.
Victory away at Brighton on Sunday? Anything else would’ve been unacceptable. Wins at home to Watford and Stoke City within the next month? What difference do they make in the grand scheme of things?
How about a defeat to the newly-promoted Seagulls? Well that would be catastrophic. And, say, a draw with Watford followed by a defeat to relegation-threatened Stoke? Arsenal Fan TV’s entertainment value would hit new heights.
But don’t for a second feel sorry for the Frenchman. This is completely of his, and Arsenal’s, own doing, through years of incompetence and stubbornness.
There is simply no silver lining for Wenger between now and May, whatever way you dress it up. But he has brought that pressure and scrutiny upon himself through his unwillingness to make changes, whether that be to his training methods, style of play or personnel. While others have progressed around him – namely Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City – Arsenal have regressed, alarmingly.
With a minimum of 12 games – Arsenal’s Europa League participation means that could increase – between now and the end of the season for Wenger’s side, the outlook is bleak.
Man City players celebrate Bernardo Silva’s opener at the Emirates.
But in recent seasons, the Gunners have delivered when there is nothing left to play for in the league, each time doing just enough to save Wenger and extend his stay in London. Three FA Cup triumphs in the last four seasons are surely all that has saved Wenger from being in the Gunners’ board’s firing line.
Last season Arsenal picked up 21 points from a possible 24 in their final eight games. In the only game that really mattered to fans, Wenger’s men suffered a gutless defeat to north London rivals Spurs. Although a 2-1 defeat of another London rival, Chelsea, at Wembley papered over the cracks.
In 2015/16, Arsenal had allowed Leicester City to move into an unassailable lead at the top of the table before going unbeaten in their final 10 games of the campaign. The year before that, they lost just one of their last 14 games, again once any hope of lifting the title had evaporated.
In 2014, they won their final five games having previously endured a run of two wins in nine, that had seen them slip from first to fourth in the table. In three of those four seasons, the Gunners and Wenger had cup success to fall back on.
Of course, that may be the same again this season thanks to the Europa League. But would that be enough for the Arsenal board this time around? With the personnel changes that have gone on behind the scenes in recent months, it looks distinctly like a club preparing to head in a different direction to the one it has maintained the status quo since Wenger’s arrival in 1996.
On Sunday at Wembley – in a cup final no less – Wenger’s side were overwhelmed by a far superior Man City side, which highlighted just how far the Gunners have fallen. They are currently 10 points behind arch-rivals Spurs, who occupy the final Champions League spot, never mind the 30-point difference between Wenger’s men and the City side who blew them away in the EFL Cup, and again four days later.
Wenger needed a performance in Thursday’s league fixture – he implored his players to give him one – but what he got only strengthened the feeling that it’s time for the Frenchman to go. His side were shocking. They had no answer against a side full of speed, skill and precision – the same characteristics Arsenal had many years ago.
And here lies the problem for Wenger between now and the end of the season – if he makes it that far . Even a win against Pep Guardiola’s side at the Emirates would have meant very little following the nightmare at Wembley just four days previous. To produce the performance they did was simply unacceptable.
Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola share an embrace after City’s win on Thursday.
It’s around this time, every season, that the calls for Wenger to go are at their loudest.
Once the pressure is off, the players perform. Wenger stays. Then the same problems hit the following season, at exactly the same time. It’s a vicious cycle that has left Arsenal fans wholly disheartened and angry with the way their club is being run. And they let their feet do the talking with empty seats everywhere on Thursday night – despite the audacious attempts of the stadium announcer to claim the attendance was 58,420.
Next Thursday presents Arsenal with their only chance to save this from being their worst-ever season under Wenger.
Defeat to a resurgent AC Milan in the Europa League, in which Arsenal will be without over £100m of attacking talent in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, would mean Wenger and Arsenal would have to endure eight meaningless league games with the atmosphere growing more and more toxic with every poor display and disappointing result.
Even victories would mean very little. It’s time for Wenger to accept that it’s over. If he’s not ready to do that, the board must throw in the towel for him.
