Hollow ring to Arsene’s protests

HAVING seen Andy Gray’s unbiased analysis on the box of the traumatic 95th minute equaliser at Sunderland, I had some sympathy with Wenger’s uncontrollable urge to vent his anger at the fourth official.

Nevertheless, le Prof’s protestations were akin to the student screaming at his teacher for not allowing sufficient time to pass his exam, when in truth culpability lay a little closer to home.

Moreover, Arsene’s remonstrations felt somewhat hollow, as in truth the Gunners’ dispirited display barely deserved a draw, let alone all three points.

Sadly the annual shareholders’ Q&A with our esteemed leader a couple of nights prior was a shamelessly sanitised encounter, compared to years past. A rare opportunity for some genuine interaction with le Gaffer bit the dust after wildly exaggerated reports of a full-scale revolt last time around when, in fact, it was merely one solitary contrary question that ruffled feathers.

The Arsenal’s own Politburo has nevertheless intervened, castrating the Q&A by restricting the event to questions sent in advance, whereas previously we’ve been privileged to engage our mentor in some meaningful discussion with questions from the floor.

Consumed by their megalomaniacal efforts to exert complete control, they’re now able to redact any issues deemed too contentious.

With Arsenal shares priced way beyond the means of the vast majority of working Gooner stiffs (£10k), some of the inane questions supplied in advance by this privileged gathering, hardly represented the concerns of your average punter, many of whom have been shouldering the burden of the Arsenal wage bill for several generations, long before the arrival of a large proportion of affluent ‘Johnny come lately’ high-rollers.

With his irrefutable red & white heart, it was left to Bob Wilson to raise some of our obvious frustrations as chair of the Q&A. Coming on the back of our pummelling of Braga, from Arsene’s point of view this annual encounter with his subjects couldn’t have been better timed. Singing from his now customary, if a little dog-eared, song-book, trotting out another string of cliches, Arsene reiterated his desire to win with style.

Alluding to the club’s arrival at the “second stage”, that Promised Land of milk and honey having maintained our elite status despite the humungous fiscal implications of our new stadium project, Arsene assured us we were now in a position where we would never be forced to sell our star turns.

Yet in light of what subsequently transpired on Wearside, it was somewhat ironic to hear Wenger reaffirm his conviction that this squad has reached maturity, affording us the sort of resilience that’ll ensure we won’t roll over in any repeats of the humiliations we endured against some of the big guns last season. Arsene also reminded us how important it was we turned up at the Stadium of Light, in the first of five domestic awaydays following midweek Euro encounters.

Much to my disappointment, the Gunners failed to heed our manager’s call to arms. This was rarely more obvious than when Song was booked for his demonstrative display of frustration and none of his team-mates assumed the responsibility for having a word in his ear to keep his cool.

Conceding such a late goal wasn’t nearly so distressing as the lack of determination from those (including a fresh-legged Denilson) who mistakenly believed they’d done enough, but then how can we expect commitment from those who’ve seen our ‘lead by example’ captain withdrawn from the fray so early on, 1-0 up away, as a precautionary measure?

I must admit to wondering about my own culpability. Despite being a disbeliever in the religious hocus pocus responsible for so much strife on this planet, considering the obligation to fast on the Jewish Day of Atonement, perhaps the late goal was merely poetic justice, inflicted by the ghosts of my more religious ancestors, for me having greedily accepted the offer a half-time bacon sarnie? But then religious observance didn’t exactly stand Avram Grant in good stead as his West Ham side still struggled to achieve that elusive win.