by Ahsan Naeem
“Imagine the worst situation, that we lose Fábregas and Nasri; you cannot convince people that you are ambitious after that.”
Like many great fallen leaders before him, the defiance with which Arsene Wenger began the summer of 2011, was something akin to complete denial about the situation he found himself in. More worryingly, the Arsenal supporters were sniping in secret at what they perceived to be a situation Wenger had manufactured himself through several years of vacant mismanagement at the Emirates.
Those closest to the professor rallied around him, and for a brief moment in July it almost seemed conceivable that Arsenal FC would stand up to the perceived bullying from the footballing world’s financial heavyweights. Everyone from Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini, to half the population of Catalonia, were given short shrift by Wenger as he bemoaned the lack of class with which these Beverly Hillbillies and Catalonian miscreants behaved. People intent on purchasing his hard work with nothing more than unseemly amounts of cash.
The murmurs of the Arsenal faithful and Fleet Street’s finest though were growing into something louder as July slowly lumbered into August. Everybody’s favourite boy next door, and Arsenal’s own captain marvel, kept his own council whilst letting everyone from Gerard Pique to the English fella who owned the pub in the tiny village he grew up in, speak for him. Fabregas was going home, and it was becoming clearer and clearer that despite Arsene’s earlier defiance, it was simply a question of money. “40 million” they screamed from the rooftops of North London. “You are holding our son to ransom” cried Catalonia.
North of the border and across the channel, another, more brutal game was being played out. Samir Nasri had informed Wenger as early as early June that he wanted to move to Manchester City Football Club. His personal motives aside, both he and Wenger knew that there was scant chance of him being allowed to see out the remaining 12 months of his contract and leave on a free transfer in the summer of 2012. Particularly when Sheikh Mansour was readying suitcases full of money to be sent to Stan Kroenke and Arsenal’s board of directors.
And so it came to pass that one of the game’s true geniuses, a man who had singlehandedly transformed the very principles of the game of professional football in England, was hoisted on his own petard.
The dust settled, the season had begun, and a disjointed, inexperienced Arsenal team made its way to Old Trafford
“Imagine the worst situation, that we lose Fábregas and Nasri; you cannot convince people that you are ambitious after that.
And even if you lose Nasri, to find the same quality player, you have to spend again the same amount of money. Because you cannot say, you lose the player and you do not replace him.
“I believe for us it is important the message we give out. For example, you talk about Fabregas leaving, Nasri leaving. If you give that message out, you cannot pretend you are a big club, because a big club first of all holds onto its big players and gives a message out to all the other big clubs that they just cannot come in and take away from you.“
Both Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas were eventually granted their transfers, with Arsenal FC banking somewhere in the region of 55 million euros from the sale. Reactions amongst the Arsenal faithful were typically myopic, with Fabregas being lauded as a true professional who simply wanted to go home, whilst Nasri was vilified as the archetypal money grabbing disloyal professional footballer. The black sheep of the Arsenal family had been sent up north to quench his thirst for cash, whilst the prodigal son had been returned home.
The dust settled, the season had begun, and a disjointed, inexperienced Arsenal team made its way to Old Trafford having awkwardly maneuvered themselves into the Champions League proper three nights earlier. Commentators and pundits gleefully informed the watching world that Manchester United’s starting XI was so youthful it in fact had an average age which was less than that of the Arsenal starting XI. It was a prescient moment because what followed was the kind of embarrassing mauling which only comes around once every few decades. United plundered 8 goals as Arsenal looked bereft of any real ability, class, or organization.
Hoisted on his own petard indeed. Wenger looked broken and on the verge of tears as he surveyed the damage which United inflicted. It is said that he did not speak a word to his players in the dressing room after the final whistle. Maybe this was because deep down inside he knew as fact, what many people suspected. His team had not been mentally or physically prepared for the game they had just played, and the buck stopped with the manager.
They shopped in the Debenhams sales whilst their rivals had raided Selfridges and Harrods months ago.
The strange post script to this summer of upheaval and uncertainty at Arsenal, was transfer deadline day. Like Harry Rednapp on steroids, Wenger looked to the transfer market to arrest the high velocity slide his team were on. Chu Young Park was snaffled from the medical he was having with French side Lille. Mikel Arteta was strong armed out of Everton. Per Mertesacker was finessed out of Werder Bremen, and Yossi Benayoun was loaned from local rivals Chelsea. Polite observers tried not to draw attention to the desperate nature of each of the transfers. Whilst the real title challengers had identified and captured their transfer targets much earlier in the summer, Arsenal seemed as disorganized as their rivals were opportunistic. They shopped in the Debenhams sales whilst their rivals had raided Selfridges and Harrods months ago.
The window has slammed shut now and the players have disappeared off for International duty. The professor will no doubt be meticulously planning for the rest of the season. It is not something Arsenal supporters will want to here, but those plans will more than likely be about figuring out how to finish 4th in the league ahead of a resurgent Liverpool, rather than anything approaching a title challenge. The more mischievous amongst us may even wonder out loud whether Wenger may be looking a little further ahead to whether he will take a break from football next summer or delve straight into a new challenge once his time at the Emirates comes to it’s inevitable end.
The Patient Must grow A Pair: Arsene Wenger On The Cutter Couch
Barca Resort To Saying ‘Aww Go On, Please Can We Have Fabregas?’
