Official Arsenal reminds me sometimes of the cautionary fairy tale by the great Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen in his story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Since Wenger left in 2018 the club has been spending lavishly on new players (and managers) feeding the Dons and their various henchmen in the transfer market, using hype and PR to convince fans that they are about to conquer the Premier League and Europe. But after 3 years it is evident the club is naked, is empty of something that they once had.
No more proof is needed than this past week when the good and the great in English and international football turned up in London last Monday night to celebrate the club’s greatest manager in a tribute dubbed “Wenger-Dein”. By the way, that was a very clever piece of marketing, i.e. the tying of Wenger’s achievements to his greatest English advocate and sponsor. Even more significant was Dein using the opportunity to further undress the club by lamenting publicly how it was a major failure on their part to not retain Wenger in some major capacity to help the club.
“As the song goes, there’s only one Arsene Wenger. They should have found a place for him within the organisation, make him chairman, make him whatever it is.
“And I think what rankles is the fact that personally, and I will say this openly, that whoever made the decision didn’t think he was good enough for Arsenal, but yet he is good enough to be head of global football development for the world. Frankly, I don’t understand it.”
Even Sir Alex Ferguson, Wenger’s greatest and arguably most bitter rival in the Premier League, was not afraid to take it out on those Arsenal fans who enabled this travesty.
“He kept them in Europe every year and yet he was criticised. The supporters should be ashamed.”
Belatedly the club’s owners (and the manager) are now talking up the importance of Wenger’s legacy. Just over a week ago Josh Kroenke was doing an interview for Sky Sports selling fans the vision of the club returning to the “high standards” set by Wenger during his tenure. He even went further to say that he is committed to spending as much as Manchester City and Chelsea to get back to that level now that his family owns the club 100%. (I have my doubts that this is feasible as explained in the YouTube program but Ehab is more optimistic.)
Amidst all of this Arsene Wenger refuses to have anything to do with Official Arsenal. This is a man who gave 22 years of his best professional years of the club, personally made it possible to undertake and complete a major new stadium, ended with the highest winning percentage of all managers, the most trophies, the most appearances in Europe and in the process transforming the club from a local to a global brand. This alienation from official Arsenal is akin to Wenger quitting French Football in the 80s and disappearing in Japan.
Yet nobody in mainstream and social media, least of all the usual suspects in Arsenal social media, want to discuss this sharp divide between Wenger and the Kroenkes including their current hired guns. Is it that many of them personally engaged in the sustained, even coordinated, “Wenger-Out” campaign that started at least 10 years before he left, which they don’t want to be reminded? After all they argued that anybody but Wenger could make Arsenal contenders for the title. Two years later we finished 8th and 8th. Who needs to be reminded of their predictions and promises coming to such grand failure?
As usual we at Uncensored refuse to be intimidated and distracted from pursuing the truth behind this debacle which has cost our club greatly. While performances have improved recently it has come at great expense. We estimate over £300 million in spending since Wenger left. In that spirit, Ehab and I discuss why Wenger refuses to have anything to do with Official Arsenal in our latest YouTube video. We may have gotten a couple of factual data wrong w but we are sticking to our conclusion; the Kroenkes acted personally and unprofessionally in their desire to separate Wenger from the club and Arsene is having none of it.
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Update
Hat tip to Blackburn George. We erred in the chat about Arsene’s contractual situation when he was pushed out.
He signed a 2 year final deal in 2017 and was sacked in 2018 as has since confirmed. For a man who kept his word to the club and never broke a contract despite several lucrative offers from bigger clubs that must have been a treacherous stab in the back for Arsene Wenger.
Well said,
Why would someone which such high level of principles would want to anything to do with a club that has openly spat on him and his principles?
I dare say the love that he has for the club has not diminished, but it has been cancelled by his disdain and disgust at the people now in control who have, in such a short time, destroyed what he built.
There are many fans like me who feel the same and whose enthusiasm for the club has waned.
I fear that things will get worse, not better.
The same mirage that misled so many at the beginning of Emery’s tenure is with us again and the optimistic rubbish spewed out by many indicates that “once bitten twice bitten” applies here.
Completely agree Jigsol. All this Arteta fanfare will proved to be a Emerysque 22 game undefeated run.
Artetas safety first approach will never take us to the Wenger’s model of attacking free flowing football.
While Wenger staying away from the club is only because the idiot fans will never welcome him.
So it’s better for him that he stays away and let those idiots suffer for another few seasons.
Hi Ros and JJG. You both know am no fan of Arteta as an individual but I reserve judgment on him as a coach. Like you both am not convinced. After nearly two years we have seen him go from pillar to post in style of play; from 4-2-3-1, then 3-5-2 and now 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2. He still seems to be finding his way and anybody who claims to know his preferred style or system is a liar. But, of late, he is doing what is necessary to win games so lets see how this evolves.