EPL: Booed by the fans, Wenger stands alone

Around the 75th minute of the vital game against Manchester United, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger decided a change was in order. His side had looked down and out in the first half but they had managed to show some fight in the second half. Andrei Arshavin, the Russian playmaker of vast talent and little drive, had been warming up on the sidelines. As the fourth referee put up the number who was coming off, a huge collective gasp went up at the Emirates stadium. It was 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who was being asked to come off for Arshavin, who has long been out of the good books of the fans. At his best, Arshavin can run circles around the opposition but at the Emirates, he has looked lost. In comparison, Oxlade-Chamberlain had just given the through pass to skipper Robin Van Persie, who scored the equaliser. He had been running around all game and making a greater impact than Theo Walcott, who had run aimlessly for most of the game. If there was a change to be made – it was Walcott not the 18-year-old who deserved to go out. But Wenger, perhaps in what is increasingly looking like arrogance, chose to take Oxlade-Chamberlain off. The gasps of shock soon turned to boos. Even skipper Robin Van Persie was seen to mouth “no” and shake his head as Arshavin came on. “I made the decision because he started to fatigue and because Arshavin is captain of the Russian national team and if I have to justify that he comes on a substitute for a guy of 18 years old playing his second or third game, let’s be serious,” Wenger told reporters after the game. [caption id=“attachment_191029” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Wenger during the match against Man United. Getty Images”]  [/caption] “People pay for their tickets and are free to express their emotions and we have to live with that, but that doesn’t mean they are right. “I have to stand up for the substitutes I made. I have been 30 years in this job and made 50,000 substitutions and I don’t think I have to justify to you every time I make a decision.” Arshavin, though, did turn his back on the advancing Antonio Valencia who provided the pass for Welbeck’s winning goal. “Don’t expect me to blame any individual,” Wenger said. “I will not do that. We win together and we lose together.” As of now, losing together seems more likely than anything. In Arsenal, Wenger’s word is generally not questioned. But expect more of that in the future. For a club as big as Arsenal, anything less than a Champions League place is just not acceptable. Arsenal trail leaders Manchester City by a massive 18 points but the prospect of failing to qualify for Europe’s elite competition next season, a scenario described by Wenger earlier this season as a “disaster,” moved a step closer. Arsenal could secure their place in next season’s competition by lifting the European Cup in Munich in May, but that looks highly unlikely after failing to beat the likes of Swansea City and Fulham in the Premier League this month, let alone European giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. Asked about his team’s Champions League prospects, Wenger said: “It leaves us in a very difficult position, it was a match we could not afford to lose today.” With inputs from Reuters