Last night’s edition of Britain’s Got Talent was delayed while Arsenal completed their penalty kicks victory over Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup semi-final. However, a question that may have been going through the minds of some could have been has Arsenal got enough talented players? And has Arsene Wenger lost his magic touch?
Last night’s edition of Britain’s Got Talent was delayed while Arsenal completed their penalty kicks victory over Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup semi-final. However, a question that may have been going through the minds of some could have been has Arsenal got enough talented players? And has Arsene Wenger lost his magic touch?
The Financial Times took the subject so seriously that they got their political correspondent, Janan Ganesh, to write a full length feature article on the subject under the heading ‘Patience with Le Professeur of the Premiership wears thin.’ Actually, I suspect that Ganash may be a Gooner and that it is his patience that is wearing thin.
It certainly sounded like the complaint of a fan when he wrote, ‘Arsenal suffer the same problems every season: under investment in the squad, tactical naivety against serious opposition, injuries so numerous and persistent as to defy any explanation grounded in “luck”‘.
Ganesh points out that Arsenal charges some of the highest ticket prices in the world and has a cash reserve of more than £120m: ‘The directors use hints and codes to tell frustrated fans that there is money to spend – and that it is Wenger who resists out of principled disdain for an inflated market.’
Wenger looked like a caged bear as he paced the touchline at Wembley yesterday. A two year contract extension is on the table, but will he take it? Ganesh comments, ‘He has lost face to a younger generation of coaches at the vanguard of tactics, physical conditioning and organisational structure.’