The Worst of Times?

A timely reminder to all fans sits innocuously around The Emirates stadium to whomever wishes to look at them.

It is a dose of smelling salts to all that no matter what befalls our club in these testing times – we have had it far worse in the past.

And our club is still here.

Circling the stands, we have placards detailing the trophies we have won since Arsenal began. If anyone pays attention to them, they will realise that there are some very large gaps in between the silverware we have held aloft. Far larger than we have suffered in the last two decades during Wenger’s reign.

This blog is not a ‘Wenger In’ statement. The majority of us are painfully aware of the tired tactics and the repetitive excuses that are on a cycle of late. We can see on the pitch that there is something amiss from the peak teams that Wenger has in the past masterminded.

What has gone missing in this ever-broiling debate is when fans declare that this is the worst team Wenger has ever produced and that he is a ‘cancer’ which is killing our club – which couldn’t be further from the truth.

If a healthy debate is to be triggered and maintained – and with both parties only looking for the best for Arsenal then this is the aim – then the truth is all that should matter. Anyone who actually supports this view has had their targets shifted by misinformation and vitriolic hyperbole.

As a club, we had a gap of seventeen years in which we did not win anything. Not a jot. From 1953 through till the Fairs Cup win in 1970, Arsenal football club not only won absolutely nothing, they struggled to stay in the top flight.

The squad was made up with mediocrity, with the odd sprinkle of talent which was just enough to keep Arsenal relevant.

We were then treated to a truly wonderful generation in the early ‘70’s which resurrected the Gunners.

Then, from 1971 through to 1979, there was again a dearth of shiny baubles which normally populate the trophy cabinet.

Then again from 1979 to 1987.

We have had some truly awful teams, players and seasons. Year after year of dire football. This struggle is not new, it is essentially the Arsenal Way.

We of course now enjoy a different set of circumstances which mean we should be challenging for honours. We have money rolling through the club and cash is the lifeblood of clubs the world over. We deserve it.

Whether we like it or not, the larger the bank balance, the larger the chance of success. It is a sign of the times. So expectation to challenge as a Gooner is a right, thanks to the influx of cash in our coffers.

It is Arsene Wenger that has given each fan these expectations through his efforts taking Arsenal through the squall of strict budgets into this land where we can buy the finest players available to us.

Now, we all stand on a precipice. Wenger’s time is coming to an end, and his farewell could be either something glorious and fitting – or he leaves the club with negative memories that override his achievements.

We had the nine year drought, which common knowledge amongst us all tells us was caused by a choking requirement to save and even generate, money. Now, we have managed to escape those cloistering times and we now enjoy freedom to spend.

We have done, and yet that elusive first title at The Emirates seems further away than ever. Frustration burns like wildfire and is spread amongst even the most placid of us. Why haven’t we moved on? Why haven’t the promises of contention that Ivan Gazidis made, come to fruition?

We can all be unhappy, we can all want better. We may even be entitled to it, what with the obscene ticket prices we all pay.

What we cannot lose sight of though, is that our club is NOT dying. It is NOT suffering the worst time we have ever had. It is NOT the end of days.

Our owners seemingly could care less, our manager’s obstinate nature has cost us at times, but even in recent seasons, we have had worse than this.

We should be pushing Chelsea further in the Premiership. We should not be exiting the Champions League with a 10-2 aggregate deficit. Our club is most definitely at a standstill.

No club has ever progressed with a lack of support though – and no club has ever moved on when lies exacerbate the negativity surrounding some supporters.