Arsene Wenger’s dodgy eyesight was the biggest joke in football for years… now Arsenal manager is the one being laughed at
Frenchman's typical post-match reply of 'I'm sorry, I didn't see it' is no longer the biggest bit of comedy in North London
OVER the years it became the longest running standing joke in football – Arsene Wenger’s eyesight.
What was your view on the offside goal, the sending off, the handball in the box, the over-the-top tackle that went unpunished, Arsene?
Every time, without fail, the answer would be the same - even if it happened right in front of the dug-out…”I’m sorry, I really didn’t see it.”
You knew it was coming. You knew it was rubbish. You knew he was simply ducking the issue.
Although, ironically, all the ones which went AGAINST Arsenal seemed to be crystal clear.
Well maybe Wenger was actually telling the truth all along. Maybe he genuinely didn’t see all those controversial incidents.
Maybe he DOES have shocking vision after all.
At least that would explain why he can’t spot what’s going on under his nose at Arsenal now – namely a giant of a club crumbling by the day.
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How can anyone NOT blame the manager for that cheat of a display at Anfield? How can in NOT be the worst performance of his 14 years in charge?
Point the finger at the players, by all means. But the buck stops with the man who picked them, the one who went with such a wayward system.
The man who didn’t start with the record goalscorer who had hit the ground running against the worst backline amongst the big guns.
The man who let the Alexis Sanchez situation drag on when he should have sold him and brought in a replacement.
The man who has allowed Mesut Ozil to enter the last year of his contract, who still can’t get him to show the work-rate to match his talent, almost taking money by false pretences.
Yet he starts with Alex Oxlade-Chamblerain, a player he HAD to know was on the point of leaving. Madness.
Arsenal’s owners have rightly come in for flak over the years, but Wenger can’t say his hands have been tied money-wise. It’s just that he hasn’t spent wisely - or enough of it.
How can he NOT see the areas which need strengthening. Petr Cech aside, every single aspect of that side has weaknesses. Why has he not addressed them?
There is talent in the squad, for sure. Not enough of it, but it’s there. What they lack is any sort of leader. How can anyone expect to be a serious challenger without that?
United have had the likes of Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona.
The great Liverpool sides had men such as Graeme Souness, Steve McMahon, Phil Thompson.
Arsenal themselves have had more than most... Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Patrick Vieira to name but three. Great players, but great men to get you out of a crisis as well.
And that’s what the Gunners are in right now. An ever-deepening one.
Yet a rudderless ship will always hit the rocks – and that’s where they are definitely heading.
That’s why Stan Kronke has to grab the bull by the horns and swing the axe now. Their greatest ever manager’s reign has run its course.
Everyone in football isn’t slow to tell you what a long old season it is. Unless Wenger goes now, this one will seem the longest of all.
