Arsenal: Olivier Giroud And Crew Just Returning The Favor

Arsenal players are coming from all angles to assert their wishes for Arsene Wenger, but isn’t this just a bit of returning the favor?

Arsenal’s complacent nature has many causes, none of which are exactly an easy solve. But one thing that I do not think is a problem is a recurring theme that has recently flipped around to be on the other foot.

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It has always been a club policy, like it was for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, to not speak to the press negatively about the players. Both Fergie and Arsene Wenger obeyed this religiously. They would never openly attack a player to the press, in front of a camera, or anywhere that the public could get their eyes on it.

Instead, they would openly say that everything was just fine and then, when the cameras were off and the doors were closed, there would be conversation about how to fix the problem.

There are always going to be problems within a club, but going public with those problems is never going to bring about any sort of solution.

As such, we have had to sit by and watch Wenger defend Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and the whole crew. Even when we saw them perform poorly, the boss would never throw them under the bus. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

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Now, Arsenal players are coming to the defense of Wenger, saying they want him to stay. With Alex Iwobi, it was different, because he said some other daft things as well, but for Olivier Giroud to come out and defend Le Prof, as well as some others, it’s perfectly normal.

If there are problems, they will be addressed behind the scenes. Taking those problems public is never going to produce a solution.

It’s the right thing for guys like Giroud to do. He, like everyone else, has had some bad days, some bad months even, and the boss has always been there to defend him. So now that Wenger is having a terrible year, the mature thing to do is to step up and stand with him.

Even if you want him gone, even if you want to see the club gutted, this is the right thing to do. You stand with the people who stood with you in the public eye.

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It’s just a matter of returning the favor. Try not to read into it too much.