Arsenal suffered a surprise 0:1 defeat against Championship side Blackburn in the fifth-round match at Emirates Stadium. Clearly, Arsenal is missing consistency over the past years and many fans ask themselves: “Is it time for manager Arsene Wenger to go?”
Blackburn suffered a 7:1 beating the last time they visited Emirates Stadium, but this game was totally different. Blackburn scored on the 72nd minute and Arsenal threw everything at Blackburn. However, it wasn’t enough. Arsenal will face another tough match in the Champions League against Bayern Munich. So, Wenger faces a lot of pressure, but admits: . “Unfortunately [the FA Cup] will not happen for us now and we can only look at ourselves and not complain about anything else. We have to come out with a strong response on Tuesday. First you have to rebuild the confidence because we are not playing against Blackburn in midweek. We play Bayern Munich so a lot of confidence will be needed.”
Wenger’s Philosophy
The Frenchman’s philosophy of buying young players and nurturing them throughout their time at the club does not seem to be working and it is safe to say that it has not really worked for a number of years. As a result of this, Wenger is also notorious for refusing to panic buy in the transfer window, even with supporters urging him to spend, preferring to do things by his own ruling. Despite this, he spent big in the 2012 summer transfer window, bringing in Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolsiki and Olivier Giroud, costing around £45m for the three. However, these large signings have failed to help Arsenal transform into the title contenders they hoped they would become, leaving many fans questioning Arsene Wenger’s actions. The Gunners currently sit in 6th place in the Premier League table and are 4 points away from the Champions League places and rivals Tottenham. It is almost certain that there is no chance of them winning the title this season as they trail leaders Manchester United by 21 points and form is poor, with only three wins from their eight games in January.
It must be admitted that the Arsenal squad has took several heavy blows over recent years due to not being able to hold on to big players such as Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie, but it should be said that Arsene Wenger, who has been at the club since 1996, has enough experience to be able to carry on regardless. The club has been hit even harder from the news that academy director Liam Brady will be leaving his role in May 2014. Brady is the man responsible for nurturing such talents as Cesc Fabregas, Ashley Cole and Jack Wilshere. Of the last 100 players to make their Arsenal debuts, 47 have come directly through the club’s academy, showing just how important the network is. Arsenal will certainly struggle to find a replacement of Brady’s calibre and they will need to do so in order for their “Arsenal philosophy” to live on.
It has been reported that the Arsenal board is fed-up with the stagnant improvement at the North London club and the fans are definitely tired of waiting for Arsenal’s first trophy in seven seasons, so it is evident that Wenger may need to change the way he does things at the club or he may, eventually, be forced out – only time will tell!
