Filed under: Arsenal, Champions League, Premier League, Football
It's easy to criticise Arsene Wenger. He's stubborn, irritatingly one-eyed when it comes to his players' on-field indiscretions and glacially slow in the transfer market, but the majority of Gunners fans would take all that for a repeat of the success they used to enjoy just a few seasons ago.Except that those glory days are more unlikely than ever to be returning to the red half of north London, and for one good reason. And it's not Arsene Wenger, who has received yet more bad news on the injury front by confirmation that Jack Wilshere requires an operation on his damaged ankle and will not be available for selection before Christmas.
Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Thomas Vermaelen, Andrei Arshavin and Johan Djourou are nearing the final season of their contracts and the Gunners board are not among the top wage payers in world football.
Which means the players in question could very well follow Samir Nasri's path out if the Emirates Stadium exit door rather than sign new deals, forcing Arsenal to sell before they become free agents in 2013.
Of course, many fans would be delighted to wave good-bye to error-prone defender Djourou and frustratingly inconsistent forward Arshavin. But losing van Persie, captain and the undisputed jewel in the Gunners' crown now that Cesc Fabregas has left, would be a huge blow. Walcott's pace makes him all but impossible to replace and the injury-hit Vermaelen is missed at the back every time Arsenal have to take the field without him.
And Wenger's hands are tied by his employers' wage ceiling policy.
"We will try to sign them but we have tried before," Wenger admitted. "The gap on that front has become bigger for us. I cannot say that if we go to our maximum wage we are sure to sign the players.
"We will try to convince them. Our desire is there and we are ready to sit down with them. After that we will see where we go."
Of course, much will depend on how Arsenal fare over the next few months in the Champions League as well as the Premier League, where they began the weekend fourth from bottom.
Keeping van Persie would be every fan's priority and the Netherlands international is understood to be on around £80,000 a week at the moment. The Arsenal hierarchy would no doubt be willing to raise that figure but have so far shied away from trying to compete with the real big spenders in the game, the clubs Wenger bitterly accuses of being guilty of financial doping.
He has a point but even if he wins his crusade to enforce a fairer financial playing field the victory will probably come too late to stop Arsenal's current stars from having picked up one big pay day elsewhere.
And that will leave him with no option but to have another crack at defying the odds with talented youngsters. One last crack perhaps. No wonder, then, that Wenger is feeling protective - and grumpy.
"When you have heavy criticism of a young player I am more worried about it," he said. "I am supposed to take the bullets and absorb them. Like a bear. A polar bear.
"In fairness, it does not hurt too much. You worry more about the young player who gets in the team at the moment and gets slaughtered, it's much more difficult. When I was 19 that was much more difficult to take for me.
"I'm a human being and I prefer it when you say I am not an idiot. But I know that it is an emotional game and I have to deal with that. That is why it is important that we do well for the club. That we try to get our fans happy again."
No-one thinks Wenger is an idiot. How could they with his track record? But he will find it increasingly difficult to please the fans as for as long as the board is content with being also-rans financially then the team is likely to be just the same on the pitch.
Owner Stan Kroenke is not short of cash but so far the American has shown Gunners fans precious little of it. Now might be a good time to change that, too.
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