It’s February again, the last 16 of the Champions League, and right on cue, the knives are out for Arsene Wenger.
This year, though, there could finally be a bloody end to his Arsenal reign after 21 years. Out of contract in the summer, the Frenchman is facing the axe one way or another.
He keeps talking about carrying on, but there is no better moment, no better time to prove he still has the desire, the determination and the dexterity to remain in charge of the Gunners.
For six successive seasons, Wenger’s sides have failed to get past this stage in Europe. A seventh beckons unless they find a way to outwit and overcome their nemesis Bayern Munich.
It is a task by no means impossible, but few fans have faith, few believe as they once did. Wenger has lost trust, lost support.
Ten points adrift of Chelsea, his fourth-placed side are also-rans in the Premier League title race too, with the FA Cup once more their main hope of a trophy.
It’s not enough for fans frustrated by under-achievement in recent years – and it’s not good enough from an Arsenal side with players who can, and must, do better.
Stubbornly or admiringly, the jury is divided, Wenger has always kept faith with a stylish, entertaining playing style and squad he believes in and backs amid the fiercest criticism.
He gives youth opportunities, develops relatively unknowns into stars, and he trusts those that others doubt when big-money signings are demanded.
There is no denying he should have spent more, and spent better, but he has been let down by his players too.
#AintNobodyLikeKoscielny pic.twitter.com/DRAYTpXfis
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 15, 2017
More often than not, it is they who enforce managerial change by their actions or lack of them. Take Mesut Ozil. A prodigiously gifted player, but will never be among the greats because he is not consistent, nor perhaps ever committed enough.
Take Granit Xhaka. He has all the attributes to be a monster in midfield, but some horrific displays and challenges have left the decision to pay £30 million (Dh137m) for him questionable. N’Golo Kante went for a similar fee when he left Leicester for Chelsea, but there’s a massive difference in their displays. These two are not the only ones to fall short of the standards expected and the team have to raise their game. As does Wenger.
It is time to get tough with the flops, dropping those who do not perform, and show he can adapt and improvise game by game – as counterparts like Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have done – to avoid Arsenal being too predictable, too pretty.
There’s nothing wrong in winning ugly. This is now his biggest challenge and failure will only lead to the inevitable.
Now 67, Wenger has been an embodiment of footballing longevity in an era where nothing and no one lasts forever. Members of his title-winning squads already fear the worst. Once revolutionary, now considered a relic, legends like Ian Wright and Thierry Henry are among those who fear his legacy will be tarnished by another campaign where hope ends with hurt; where the season is effectively over this month.
It’s like Groundhog Day with his followers longing for a different, happier, ending. There is still a chance of that, but his players need to help him make that happen. They need to show spirit and unity to go with their skill. Wenger deserves that. When he does go, he deserves to do so with dignity.
