Arsenal: Dressing room unrest ended by one thing

There are a growing number of reports stating that Arsenal dressing room is in a state of utter unrest, with the wages of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil causing major issues. There is only one thing that will end it.

Arsenal are in an almighty rut. In fact, even during Arsene Wenger’s most tempestuous periods, I am not quite sure I can remember a time as uncertain, turbulent, and questioning as this. The animosity has subsided. Apathy now reigns, and that is a much more dangerous feeling.

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While fans show their distaste with the absence of their feet, within the dressing room, however, there, per the most recent reports, seems to be a fire and fervour that suggests, contrary to what is seen between the white lines, that the players do actually care.

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The Guardian revealed that a senior player, thought to be Laurent Koscielny, broke down in tears during a players-only meeting in which the help and guidance given by Wenger and the coaches were questioned. And now there are wide-spread suggestions that some players challenged others in the dressing room after the Brighton and Hove Albion loss on Sunday, the Gunners’ fourth loss in succession, which is their worst run of form in 16 years.

Those that were being challenged, reportedly, were Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The issue? Money. Well, sort of. If you read between the lines a little, the issue isn’t really the fact that these three players are on far more money than their teammates. It is more the expectation that being on such astounding wages brings, and their failure to live up to those expectations.

According to their teammates, as the old saying goes, neither Ozil, Aubameyang nor Mkhitaryan are ‘pulling their weight’, a weight that is determined by their wages. That may well be a fair charge. I am not here to say either way. I do not know what was said. I do not know what is expected. But I do know this. There is only one way that Arsenal can fix this dressing room split: Winning.

Winning solves everything. Even individuals who do not like each other can work alongside one another if they are winning. There have been a great many footballing feuds throughout the years that have not mattered because the team is being successful. It is only when success subsides and sadness and anger grow that the cracks begin to deepen, the fractures begin to splinter, and the commitment and togetherness worsen.

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As Arsenal prepare to travel to Milan for the Europa League last-16 tie against Gennaro Gattuso’s enthused and invigorated AC Milan, they have the perfect chance to end the spat. Win, however unlikely that is, and those formerly disjointed, distance and dejected players will come together. Lose, though, and the weeds that entangle this club only thicken.