Wenger Whines Again

It is not in my nature to necessarily pick on people’s misery, especially if it comes from a person known for his serial whingeries (I take the liberty of ‘inventing’ such a word). But sometimes they take whining to an entirely new level that it becomes hard to ignore.

On the eve of United’s clash with Arsenal, Arsene Wenger let’s fly his agony missiles.

I will attempt to quote some of the stuff on offer, but if you think I may be taking things out of context, then here’s the link to the video of his pre-match press conference for you to see.

“It has been a very difficult week – the hardest of the season. In terms of the decisions going against us, this is the worst I’ve seen in my 11 years at Arsenal. This team has been punished in the last seven weeks more than any team I have seen in England since I arrived here. Every single decision has gone against this team in every single game recently.”

While it is fair to see that they were hard done by two penalty decisions against the ‘dippers, it’s hard to understand what he’s on about his team being targeted like there was some conspiracy against his club. If there was any conspiracy, the London hacks love your club and your brand of football. But then I am not one to believe that either.

It’s okay to say that a few decisions do go against your team, but use of blanket statements like “the team has been punished more than any team” and superlatives like “the worst I’ve seen in my 11 years” make it sound immature coming from a person who’s been labelled as the Professor.

And to balance things out he says:

“I don’t want to make a big fuss of the refereeing decisions because I cannot change that and I do not want to focus on that. I want to focus on what I can improve, but the least you can say that it has not helped us.”

Really Arsene? After using those words, do you think you can be made to look all wise by merely saying you cannot make a big fuss about it?

Arsenal have dropped points like a blind man on roller blades would drop a plate full of eggs. A team at the top of the table five points ahead at one stage, would now go nine points behind if they lose to us on Sunday. They are not just off the pace, but are now third in the table behind a side that’s being managed by a toad.

I am not saying that things are all doom and gloom for the Gunners. They still have a good structure for bringing in youth, but they need to focus on their depth (read: bringing in one world class player or two) and recognise the real problem afflicting their side — which is a lack of leadership and mental fortitude. And Arsene complaining about decisions won’t really help bring out the best in players. (And I don’t want to get started on their captain.)

End of a rare rant on other football clubs. We’ll return to regular United discussions tomorrow. Watch this space for the Arsenal preview and other news.