OK so I couldn’t just quietly sneak in a write up after such a long-imposed hiatus and i hope i don't jinx our match tonight but you all know it had to take something special to make us break our silence over the white blog board. It's not every day you get to experience the good n bad oxymoronic emotions by virtue of Wenger pulling out a curveball with his agreement to step down as manager at the end of the season. No, it definitely isn’t! I will say this though, it is what it is, le’Proff has finally given you and I what a lot of the fans have clamoured, chanted and even I daresay protested for…#WengerOut. Now we got that, so what next? Whatever it is,it had better be good cuz Gazidis I am looking at you and don’t ask me for recommendations, that’s why you get paid the big bucks mate, init?
22 years at the helm, 3 EPL titles, 7 FA Cup & Community Shield wins and a Champions League final appearance (hopefully another with the Europa League) then add the number of young players who the Boss gave a chance to shine on-to bigger things, some could say maybe not stellar by Peps serial achievers’ standard but definitely not shabby for a non-English coach on a budget so to speak. Wenger has achieved some measure of success and won the respect of many people despite his many failings, he brought that continental feel and put on the global map, the English league. There’s Wengerball for the Cryuff purists of course, Sleek, possessive, attacking footy, so beautiful in the variety of team goals his style crafted…. i mean Kan-U believe it! Aaaah, the beauty of nostalgia. Some may argue against these statements but each one of us is entitled to his or her own opinion and that’s mine. As for far back as 1999 when I was trying to make up my mind on whom to give my support in Chelsea’s Blue or the Red Cannon, Kanu helped swing the vote the Highbury’s way and I have been sold ever since, Wenger cut such an influential figure back then, in fact, some even thought that he owned the club somewhat…..Arsenal of Arsene Wenger. You have to see how hard it is to imagine the Arsenal without Arsene at the dugout but that’s what we have now.
As with all good things, the honeymoon excitement comes to an end, one comes back down to earth as things begin to get stale. The club was no different, the title-winning Arsenal team was replaced with the 4th place scrapping team that sold its best players season after season. It was a heart wrenching to experience the proverbial seven years of famine after the 7years of plenty. Having used up all the luck the gods had given arsenal to achieve the Unprecedented title winning Unbeaten INVINCIBLES We went on a barren spell of no trophies, sold our top players, moved out of Highbury to an empty trophy cabinet at the Grove, lost scandalously 8-2 to ManU, lost a cup final to Birmingham, transfer bungles and misses…the ills go on. The recent FA cup wins that have been the hallmark of the Ashburton grove era couldn’t paper over the cracks of a club that seemed to have made a play for the step up but failed and has stagnated. If you add two consecutive seasons out of the champions league, notwithstanding our round of 16 bows out for 7 straight seasons regardless of the opposition. It was inevitably only a matter of time, just a question of when.
All these being said, I still feel that sad crunch in my gut, it does hurt to say goodbye to the Professor. Watching him being presented the special Gift by SAF, the hugs, handshakes with SAF & Mourinho one can only say it’s such a tribute from one of the EPL’s greatest managers that tells U the kind of respect Wenger commands & I must admit it’s been an overall joy grow up with him, yeah I know he may have lost the cutting-edge a bit, he may have been stubborn and too trusting of his players maybe even naïve but he was and still is CLASS that Mourinho can never be, no matter how many titles he wins. The players, the managers, the fans and even journos alike have poured out largely positive tributes to him, my take is…I am not gonna preview the make or mar game vs Athletico tonight, just WIN him the Europa league as a special send-off and bury those demons of Paris. Change is here Ivan, let's get on with it. Merci Wenger 22…..ciao
