Originally Posted by
the other bob wilson
Arsenal are going backwards though. For ten to fifteen years Arsenal were the team in the Premier League above all of the others that I would make a point not missing if they had a game being televised, but not any more - they've got a few very good players, so there's always a chance that you'll see something special on an individual basis, but they're a pretty ordinary team on that league who I'd say are flattered by the position they find themselves in.
In many ways, Aaron Ramsey is encapsulating Arsenal's decline. I know I'm biased, but Wenger is mismanaging the career of someone who is certainly Britain's best central midfield player and, potentially, one of the best in the world - I don't think I'm going over the top there, after all he was proving he was one of the best in his position in Europe only a few months ago.
Given the way Ramsey has played at times when he has been given the licence to perform as a proper number ten, he is being wasted by Wenger playing deeper and out wide, while a player like Ozil who symbolises the modern Arsenal (talented and sometimes very effective, but ultimately flawed and an under achiever) flickers in and out of the really important matches while doing little to influence them.
Until about a year ago, I agreed with the sort of viewpoint you set out, but now I ask myself where is Wenger supposed to be taking Arsenal, because there never seems to be any year on year improvement and his faith in decent players like Coquelin, Monreal and Walcott who would not have got near his great sides of the early noughties is an admission of the lower standards that he has overseen in the last ten years or so.
I reckon Munich 5 Arsenal 1 might be the result that turns some influential people at the club, who have been supporters of his until now into, against awarding Wenger a new contract - I think we are coming to the end of an era.
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