Cracks in Wenger’s glossy persona

It was found in a study earlier this week that when Leicester City scored, the eruption of joy from the fans causes a small earthquake. Let that sink in for a moment.

Further south to London if the same principle is used at the Emirates Stadium, home of one of English football’s most decorated clubs, it is quite the contrast.

The boos that rang around the stadium after Arsenal’s loss to Swansea City could not be measured on a Richter Scale but were it possible, then it would be easily quite up the scale.

The mood in North London sure looks sombre.

Add the fact that Tottenham Hotspur are doing better than their illustrious neighbours, it has left a bad taste in the Arsenal fans’ mouth.

It has been yet another year of will they can they for Arsenal. The expectant mood that prevailed before the festive season has slowly changed to anxiety and in some case rage, as shown by the banners, as the team, which was seemingly in the driver’s seat for their first league title in over a decade, slowly but rather predictably crumbled by February.

While they are still in the race and it would be tough to rule out anything considering how the season has progressed, were Arsenal to fail in their attempt to win the league then it would be hard to defend Arsene Wenger, who seemingly has tenure at the club, being in the manager’s seat for the coming season.

The current season was by far the best chance for Arsenal to win the title as all the usual suspects failed to launch a credible title fight.

Wenger too has shown signs of cracks appearing on his glossy French persona even going as far as to lash out at the fans and legendary Thierry Henry for making rather disparaging comments. The polish seems to be wearing off the Frenchman for whom there are no more excuses left to lean on.

No more are they a young and vibrant side that has to be nurtured. No more are they cash-strapped because of the construction of the new stadium.

Over the past three seasons, Wenger has signed just Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech who can be considered world class. As to why he hasn’t brought in a hard taskmaster in midfield or a top centre back or a world class striker remains baffling to this day. All the talk about there not being a player of that calibre available is just smoke and mirrors tactics used by Wenger. There were players available and ones Wenger bid for including Antony Martial and a preposterous bid of 40 million and one for Luis Suarez couple of seasons ago.

Wenger’s failure comes from his inability to see the other side. While Arsenal are capable of playing some outlandish football, the lack of leadership and hard men have been bemoaned by pundits and fans for years. And Wenger’s inability to act on it shows that he has not been able to adapt and morph his philosophy with the changing times, something that keeps Sir Alex Ferguson apart.

The 66-year-old is no doubt a legend at club. The creation of the Invincibles and the tenacity he showed to oversee stadium relocation while keeping the team in the Champions League are commendable achievements but like everything else in the world, there comes a time to move on.

Perhaps Arsenal will win the title come end of the season and this article will all be for naught. But there are some severe holes in the team and a title will only paper the cracks.