He who shall remain nameless

I am surprised at how venomous the ‘Arsene Knows’ camp can be towards any criticism. When an Arsenal supporter is concerned about the present and the future of the club there has to be a general correlation to this concern with the manager and his running of the team and squad.

To be critical of Arsene is not a case of so called plastic fans jumping upon some sort of bandwagon of negativity, it’s a viewpoint based on performance, selection and decision making.

Money and financial handling seem to be the main motivating forces at the Club, not winning trophies.

Let’s get one thing straight; the money that is not spent is our money, the money that pays players who are clearly not of the right quality is our money. The wages of a Manager who is failing to manage his resources effectively is our money. The money that floods into the club on a match day generated by purchases of Arsenal products and catering is our money.

When Arsenal concede the FA cup that was a realistic target given that Manchester United and Liverpool were knocked out earlier, it is not value for money or value for fans.

Some of the AKs call it heresy to question the supposed Genius of Wenger. Since when has being an Arsenal supporter meant that you can’t have an opinion?

I hear players being criticised week in week out. Who decided that you are only allowed to criticise players not the person who signs and plays them?

Almunia is not good enough yet Wenger made him first choice. Silvestre is not good enough but Wenger broke his self imposed age policy to bring him to the club. Denilson is not good enough but Wenger chose to lose Gilbeto, Diarra and Flamini as he has belief in his squad.

If Arsenal go another season without a trophy Wenger will still be immune from fair criticism because the books will balance. He will be immune from criticism for what he achieved in the past. But it is that glorious past that we are judging him by; the very standards he set.

To be critical of Wenger is not the act of a traitor as it is a criticism borne out of frustration and a cold hard look at facts. It’s not because we hate Arsene it’s because we love Arsenal.