RICHARD OSLEY winces watching Arsene Wenger critcised by his own fans as ARSENAL lose 2-1 to MANCHESTER UNITED at THE EMIRATES STADIUM this afternoon
January 22, 2012
"I'VE been a manager for 30 years and made 50,000 substitutions. I don't have to explain every one of my decisions," Arsene Wenger protested afterwards, clearly ratty and rattled. "I have to justify bringing on the captain of Russia for an 18 year-old who has played only two or three times?"
When the Russian captain is Andrei Arshavin, a player who looks drained of any power he once might have possessed, the answer is probably yes.
Arsenal fans, whose subsidies have been rewarded with three straight league defeats, for example might just want a little more of the enlightenment behind what on the face of it looked like one of his worst ever substitutions.
For a moment at Ashburton Grove today, Wenger was subjected to some of the worst abuse from his own supporters in his own stadium he has ever suffered. It was not pretty. The cusswords were uncompromising. Unfortunately for Wenger, the angriest fans seemed hedged in the seats between the touchline he patrols and the press box, a pride of journalists sniffing the first sign of blood and hearing every fractious word. Look out for the Arsenal crest cracked in two in the tabloids very soon, under the word 'crisis'.
The questions kept coming in the press conference until Wenger finally offered: "I am sorry if I made a mistake." The substitution in question was the introduction of the misfiring Arshavin for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the 18 year-old winger cum striker who gave Manchester United, the champions, headaches all day here this afternoon.
It could be argued that Oxlade-Chamberlain shone not because he was otherworldly brilliant, rather that those around him lacked drive and imagination, notably Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Johann Djourou, the latter of whom was hooked off at half time, dizzy from Nani's tormenting attacks.
When his number was raised, Oxlade-Chamberlain's pace and control had just set up an equalising goal for Robin Van Persie and then another chance which might have been turned in by Rosicky. Arsenal had inexplicably engineered a momentum change in a match they had been severely outplayed in during the second half. At the spear of the revival was Oxlade-Chamberlain. As he left the pitch, Van Persie visibly cried 'Nooo' and frowned. His dismay was the prelude to Arsenal's fightback being punctured. The annoyance in the Gods palpable, the atmosphere in the stadium changed and amid the grumbles Danny Welbeck was able to steer in a winner, late, after good work from Antonio Valencia.
Valencia had opened the scoring in the dying seconds of the first half, picked out by Ryan Giggs's cross for a header.
But it was the withdrawal of Oxlade-Chamberlain, apparently fatiguing but looking more switched on and determined than say Walcott or at times even Van Persie, which led to the anger. There were loud boos as injury time expired with the ball bouncing unhelpfully off Per Mertesacker's head, the defender thrown up front as a makeshift centre forward. In a way, this had been almost as humiliating as losing 8-2 to United earlier in the season.
Wenger said he was disappointed and talked about how Arsenal might have won the game.
The fans believed the only way they could have done was to keep the team's brightest spark running for another 15 minutes.And when you heard the level of discontent at the Emirates Stadium and Wenger's obvious irritation, the flashing daydream of Wenger suddenly calling it a day at Arsenal zips through the mind. Why does he want to persevere with a project now evidently sagging whichever spin you put on it? If he runs out of arguments to convince Van Persie to sign a new contract with Arsenal, he may need to start finding reasons to convince himself.
Yet, if he is determined to leave Arsenal on a high, after a league championship or success in Europe then the process could turn painful. Some even believe the knowing when to go moment has already passed, albeit a view outweighed heavily by people who remain wedded to him as the only answer to Arsenal's development.
He has, whichever way you cut it, seen a team of championship invincibles, feared by United, curl back into a team who United would expect to take six points from per season. A team that lacks the swagger and cutting edge of Spurs.
"People are not conscious that we have ten players injured," he said, answering a question as to why he will not use the January transfer window to bring in more recruits. The idea of full backs, a necessity done without in the last two months, springs to mind.
