Arsenal: Massive Arsene Wenger Ban Fantastic For Title Hopes

Arsenal are often seen as too relaxed and too okay with poor results. So seeing Arsene Wenger serve a suspension would really rattle that.

Arsenal has been far too often accused of being too calm. When they are losing, there’s no urgency. When they lose, there is no remorse. It’s what caused Alexis Sanchez to essentially lose his mind last year, calling out the team for their lack of hunger.

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I think the world of Arsene Wenger, and we all should, considering what he has done for this club, but part of the blame falls on him. With consistency comes complacence and there were times where it felt like the club was just okay with lackluster results or with finishing third or fourth.

It’s an accomplishment, sure, but obviously it’s not enough.

Having such a consistent, calm figure in Wenger can also lead to complacency. Especially because Wenger is not an excitable guy. Other than a few random outbreaks, there is no getting him riled up. We don’t know what happens behind closed doors, but it’s safe to assume there are no rants following poor losses. Lectures, maybe, not nothing fiery.

We saw a different Arsene Wenger on Sunday against Burnley. After being told to exit the touch area (which is surprising enough), Wenger proceeded to ignore this before being escorted off by the fourth official. Wenger stepped into the tunnel and turned back, clearly intending to stay in that location for the duration of the match. Which, to be fair, was only a couple minutes.

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But the fourth official indicated that Le Prof had to leave. That’s when it got testy. Wenger pushed the fourth official and told him that he needed to pay attention to the game.

You don’t push an official. And numerous voices out there are calling for Wenger to serve a suspension. And a big one. As of writing, nothing has been leveled, but the biggest speculation I’ve heard is a six-game ban. Which would give Wenger a chance to have some quality time with Granit Xhaka in the stands. It’s also lop-sided considering Alan Pardew served a two-match ban for shoving an assistant referee.

Wenger never gets suspended. He shoved Jose Mourinho and came out fine. But refs are of a higher level of humanity than the Special One and he will probably be looking at a massive ban here.

Which is wonderful. The team rarely ever gets to see Wenger fired up and he was nothing if not fired up against Burnley. And you can bet that everyone will be seeing it.

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To see such passion and hunger from Wenger is going to resonate with his players more than a post-draw lecture ever could. This could be a huge moment for the club and their title hopes if they can glean from this how much the boss wants it.