|
|
Crisis of Faith Among the Arsenal Faithful
“We’re getting less and less people here as Arsenal get worse and worse,” Emily Burr, 19, the bartender, said of the thin crowd before Tuesday’s Champions League match from Germany began on the pub’s big-screen television. It had been a humbling start to the season, one victory in four matches in the English Premier League, a stunning 8-2 defeat to Manchester United, Arsenal’s worst loss since 1896. Humiliated, the club offered free tickets to another away match to Gunners fans who watched in embarrassment at Old Trafford. “The next day at work, there was no banter, only pity and understanding,” said Albert Davies, 50, a government employee. “That’s even more of an insult.” He sat in the Chapman pub, named after a former Arsenal manager and decorated in the team’s red and white colors, awaiting the start of Tuesday’s match against Borussia Dortmund, the defending Bundesliga champion. In 2006, Arsenal reached the Champions League final, but those days seem distant, perhaps irretrievable. These days, Arsenal fans are confronted with the notion that one of England’s most successful teams is on the decline. On Monday, Arsène Wenger, the professorial <a href="http://newerahatstock.com/lacoste-hat-c-9.html"><strong>lacoste hat</strong></a> manager, had offered a sober assessment: even with new European rules aimed at responsible spending, prudent Arsenal might be a runner losing touch with the lead pack, unable or unwilling to match the financial stamina of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City. “I wouldn’t rule it out yet, but it’s too early to speak about winning it,” Wenger said of the Champions League at a news conference. “Saying that would raise a lot of skepticism around the team, and I don’t think anyone would believe.” Arsenal has lost its most creative players, Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri, who departed last month for Barcelona and Manchester City. The vision and speed of midfielder Jack Wilshere, 19, will be unavailable for perhaps three months because of an ankle injury. The other day, Wilshere unveiled a tattoo of a woman in prayer, perhaps hinting that his — and Arsenal’s season — will need divine intervention. Five signings made before the transfer period ended, while welcomed, have given fans little confidence that Arsenal will win the Premier League, as it has done three times under Wenger, most recently in 2003-4 with an unbeaten team known as the Invincibles. Wenger said he was hopeful but also understanding of the prevailing anxiety. “We have had five players coming in and nobody knows how good they will be,” he said. It is widely believed that one month into a Premier League season that will stretch into spring, the Gunners are already playing for third place at best, maybe fourth, the lowest spot that would gain qualification again in 2012-13 for the Champions League, the world’s top club tournament. “If <a href="http://newerahatstock.com/coogi-hat-c-11.html"><strong>coogi hat</strong></a> you offered us fourth place now, most fans would be happy,” said Henry Milton, 23, a teacher. Arsenal’s only Premier League victory came last weekend on a 1-0 gift from Swansea City — a ball rolled from a goalkeeper into the heel of a defender, then a pouncing response from Andrey Arshavin, who stuck out his tongue impishly upon scoring, acknowledging luck over design. “Confidence goes quickly and comes back slowly,” Wenger said. He is widely respected and has kept Arsenal powerful with free-flowing soccer and a strategy of finding young or underappreciated talent, nurturing it and selling it for a premium, rather than paying extravagantly for established stars. But, in his 16th season, fans and reporters have grown fidgety. Is Wenger’s approach outdated? Did he wait too long to make roster moves when it seemed inevitable that Fàbregas and Nasri would leave as this season began? Did his late signings of Mikel Arteta, 29, and Yossi Benayoun, 31, in midfield represent a practical departure from his usual methods or full-on panic? In financial terms, Arsenal is considered one of the best-run soccer <a href="http://newerahatstock.com/mlb-hats-c-20.html"><strong>mlb hat</strong></a> clubs. It is ranked fifth in the world based on revenue by Deloitte, the financial consulting firm, having earned 374 million during the 2009-10 season. Fans seem truly proud of the club’s judicious spending. At the same time, they want to see a manager waving trophies, not merely a healthy balance sheet. Failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League could cost Arsenal 50 million or more in revenue, financial experts estimated. And, fans fear, it would become even more difficult to attract and keep top players. “We’re in a mess,” said Nick Spicer, 49, a building projects manager. “We’ve become a feeder club, developing players for everybody else.” A number of fans have expressed puzzlement about Stan Kroenke, the American billionaire and sports impresario who owns a controlling interest in Arsenal. His vast wealth is matched by his reticence. A reluctance to speak publicly has brought him the nickname Silent Stan.
|
Hybrid Mode
