Arsenal: Arsene Wenger can’t ever have understood crisis

Arsene Wenger has stated that his Arsenal team are out of their crisis from earlier in the season. Well, if he genuinely believes that he can’t ever have understood it.

It has not been the season that Arsenal were wanting. Even the more hesitant of fans entering the year would have been hoping for a greater top-four challenge than the pitiful one that the Gunners showed. Considering that the club, through Arsene Wenger, Ivan Gazidis and even Stan Kroenke, expected a title challenge, this really was a crisis-inducing campaign.

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That crisis came to a hay from late January through to early March. Disastrous losses to Bournemouth, Swansea and Brighton saw them slip out of the top-four race; Manchester City dismantled them in the Carabao Cup final, before doing the exact same just four days later in the league; Spurs dominated in the North London to establish their superiority in the local rivalry.

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But in recent weeks, there has been a slight recovery. Arsenal were very good in two legs against AC Milan to make their way through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Two successive 3-0 wins in the Premier League stemmed the downward tide somewhat, even if the scoreline belied the performance somewhat.

And Wenger has now stated of his belief that he and his players have recovered, or are at least coming into the fruits of a recovery, from that crisis period:

"“We were very disappointed with our result against [Manchester] City. It takes time to grieve and to recover. But because the mentality in the team is very good, strong and healthy – we’re recovered. I think always you judge a team by the way they come out of a crisis. On that front, I believe that is very positive on our side.”"

In regards to the short-term problems that the team was facing, I would happen to agree with Wenger. Certainly, there is a greater confidence and assurance in their play on the pitch. But the crisis was never really about the form of the team, however concerning that was at the time.

The crisis was about the standing of the club, the disparity between it and other domestic rivals, the spending power of the title-challengers, the stagnation of mediocrity, the wallet padding of the board, the inconsistencies, the contract mismanagement. The list goes on and on and on. The crisis was not about the form.

And yet, Wenger seems to think it was, or at least his answer perhaps suggest. I would posit to you that if that is the case, then, actually, he never understood what the crisis was about in the first place, he never really understood the gripes of the fans, he never really understood the deep-rootedness of the problems.

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That is worrying for the future of this club. If Wenger cannot recognise the extent of the problem, how can he be expected to fix the problem?