Be careful what you wish for

‘Tis the season to be jolly! And jolly we should be as we embrace the excitement of a hectic period ofPremier League fixtures – three games in a week to be exact, and a key week for the managers as they try to cope with the pressure of not letting their teams slip up over the course of this busyschedule.

After the first round of matches played on Boxing Day, it looks as though all the top teams are up for the challenge. Even so, while table toppers Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all had comfortable wins over their opponents, Arsenal and Liverpool once again barely escaped what wouldbe another dreadful draw which, currently for these two teams, is equivalent to a disastrous result.

In all honesty, as an Arsenal fan, Liverpool not doing well is something I couldn’t care less about, neither do I reserve any bit of sympathy towards Brendan Rodgers if he does get sacked, mainly because of his pompous, arrogant attitude last season when he thought his grip on the title was so firm, there was no way he was ever going to lose it.

The fix that Rodgers finds himself in nowadays isn’t that much different to Arsene Wenger’s troubles this season. Win a game, the fans ride with youfor another week, lose one and they’ll turn against you.

Despite our current standing in the table, including some poor defensive performances and results, Igenuinely believe that Wenger has not ‘lost the plot’ nor his tactical abilities and I’ll take it a step further by insisting that I still maintain the opinion that he is the right man to lead us back to winning trophies again. Call me deluded, blindly biased or anything you can come up with for saying this, but at the end of the day, if I’m proven wrong, then I’d be happy to eat the biggest portion of humble piethere is.

Sure, when the team plays poorly, the manager ought to shoulder some responsibility. For that, hedeserves the criticism that comes along with it as well. That’s fair game.

What isn’t is for him to be called a “Specialist in Failure” or have offensive, foul-mouthed abuse hurled at him while boarding a train by the very own fans of the club he has made what it is today. Doing so is disrespectful, rude and ignorant. Glad to say, clearly the majority of Arsenal fans feel the same, judging by the crowdchanting “There’s only one Arsene Wenger” at the Emirates Stadium in support of the manager after the incident at the train station.

Let me a share with you a chat I had with some friends at the airport recently. These guys are Chelsea and Liverpool fans, and of course we couldn’t help it as the usual friendly banter came up.

The Liverpool fan was told to stop going on about their past glory and start living in the now, which is the post-Suarez era and how they are struggling without the ‘biter’. The one supporting Chelsea hadno comeback when we laughed at his oil-money fuelled club which wouldn’t have any success whatsoever without their sugar daddy, Roman Abramovich. He did give me stick about CescFabregas, but rest assured, I took it like a champion and in a funny way, made sure he knew that they only got our ex-player because we ‘rejected’ him.

When I brought up the achievements of Wenger in paying off the stadium and his consistency in qualifying for the Champions League, all while having to sell off his greatest assets that he had nurtured into top class players, I was hoping they would take it easy on me. I mean, one trophy in ten years for a big club like Arsenal?

Instead of making fun, these friends of mine admitted that Wenger is truly a great manager and that they too, admired him. I never expect to hear fans of rival clubs giving credit to our manager, so that gave me quite a bit of pride and satisfaction.

There is a famous Dennis Bergkamp quote that goes like this – “I really like Arsenal. But you, yes, you. Do you really like Arsenal? Or just Arsenal with trophies?” Nine out of ten Gooners will tell you that they love Arsenal, as would I. What I’m questioning is whether or not these fans acknowledge Wenger’s contribution to Arsenal other than winning trophies. If fans of other clubs can appreciate his achievements, why can’t we do the same?

There is no doubt that a football club is supposed to be about winning competitions, and success isjudged based on the display in its trophy cabinet, but if Wenger has done all the hard work to build a solid foundation which bodes so well for the future of this club, why shouldn’t he be given the chanceto carry it forward without the fans asking him to be let go week in week out?

One can only wonder if the likes of Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, or any other manager for that matter, can do half the job Wenger did with the same amount of resources in nine years. Yet Mourinho is known as the ‘Special One’ and everyone else is readily backing Louis van Gaal atManchester United regardless of how Manchester United will finish this season.

For all we know, the debate of whether Arsene Wenger should stay or leave could last until the end of the season. Everyone is entitled to his/er own opinion, and I accept that one man's meat is another man's poison, but for those who wish nothing but to see the back of Wenger out the door – be careful what you wish for, because with the culture of modern football, you just might get it. – December 28, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.