Arsenal Fans Deserve Answers From Wenger And The Board

Arsenal were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Everton at the Emirates on Tuesday night. Here, ‘Lloyd the Gooner’ tells us why the Arsenal fans deserve answers from the club.

All the certainties from this season were evident against Everton on Tuesday. The lack of a physical power in the side; the inability to win the ball from obdurate opponents; the lack of speed apart from Theo; the presence of SO much mediocrity in the playing staff. On the other hand it would be wrong not to acknowledge that we have a team that can manufacture chances from nothing ; a team that keeps going and on which there is something to build. But the building MUST happen.

Given the fact that we so lack a physical presence in midfield you wonder why the man in technical control at the club would sanction the sale of Alex Song. Did he sanction it? Surely such is his power he must have been consulted. But why condemn yourself to a season where you stand on the touchline watching inferior teams keep the ball away from yours? Being bullied in a way that say Man Utd just aren’t  The crowd pays good money and will demand answers regardless of whether we make the Champions League!

The presence of mediocre players is simply a fact as must be acknowledged even by those that would defend the merits of Mertesacker, Ramsey (I know he has improved recently), Walcott (as a winger), Arteta (as a holding player), Giroud or Gervinho (OK I know mediocre is overstating it!).

As fans we are routinely not given the full facts regarding the financial situation. Therefore it is impossible to ascribe blame for our ills. However, the buck stops with the manager for this reason – he is still there. If you don’t like the conditions resign, he hasn’t  so we must assume he approves of those conditions. If we do fail to make the CL this season it would be sad to see Arsene go but you can easily make a case for it happening.

As for the board. If we finish outside the top four the anger is just about to be vented in their direction. The impressive pre-Swansea demo at the Emirates is likely to have been just the dress rehearsal. Silence cannot be an option to the answers demanded by 60,000 regular attenders at the games and millions across the globe.

We now enter the most vital end of season period since the last one! And all because we sell our best players and don’t invest. It is all about players at the end of the day – see above. We have been privileged to see the likes of Vieira, Bergkamp, Pires and Henry. We have lost Fabregas, Song and Van Persie (and OK, Nasri was good for us too) and we now have Ramsey, Gervinho and Giroud. We are not fools!!

One big mistake the board would make would be to mistake the lack of venom towards them so far for some kind of tacit support. It is not. Once our fate is known this season, whichever way it goes, the powers that be will hear from us, will feel the loss in the clubs coffers, will have to tell us what is going on. This is so even if we make the Champions League, in a way that is now becoming almost irrelevant.

As a fan base we try to support, we look for positives, we care. Do not take advantage of us!