THERE was a scene in the aftermath at Ewood Park that would have struck fear into even Arsene Wenger's most ardent admirers.
A sight far more worrying than watching his Arsenal side ship four goals to Blackburn.
It was the demeanour of the man himself — and it was alarming. His 6ft 4in frame was stooped, his head bowed, his eyes had lost all sparkle.
He didn't just look a beaten man — he looked beaten up.
It's a sad moment that comes to all of us in life, a time when we know our best days are gone.
But that awful dawning of realisation is never more painful than to a sportsman who once bathed in glory.
You can become your own worst enemy with that stubborn refusal to accept the inevitable.
As Wenger stood in that Blackburn corridor on Saturday afternoon he appeared to be a man in need of a good friend and good guidance.
As someone who's known the Frenchman since he first arrived at Arsenal in 1996 it was sobering.
There are few, if any, better, more honourable men in the game. Few who have been more successful.
But he is in danger of becoming a figure of fun.
He tries to exert calm and control, tries to push the positives. And you want to believe him — but you can't.
Maybe he doesn't believe it himself these days. For every upbeat phrase, he qualifies it in the next breath.
He kicked off saying: "There were a lot of positives from this game. We dominated, we created chances away from home and that's not easy."
All true. Arsenal scored three goals, created numerous openings, and should have had a penalty.
But the negatives — conceding four to Blackburn including two own goals and defending like novices — far outweigh them and Wenger accepted as much.
He added: "You cannot say you are not worried when you see the performance we put in. It's not defensively solid enough. We didn't have many weak moments but every time we had one, we paid for it.
"We also scored two own goals and that is unusual."
Again all true — but what evidence is there that it's going to change? "It is important that we get our confidence back quickly."
Yes but how?
"We must focus on our next game, win our next game."
I'm sorry but beating Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup won't fool anyone.
Wenger needs some big wins — and quick — for this is a real crisis. A narrow 1-0 win over Swansea and a goalless draw at Newcastle have been dwarfed by defeats to Manchester United, Liverpool and now Blackburn.
It's Arsenal's worst start for 58 years and results yesterday could have plunged the Gunners into the bottom three.
Wenger admitted: "It's just not good enough and, of course, we are very frustrated. The spirit in the team is willing but if you look at the number of goals we have conceded it is just not good enough. I believe the group will take off but it is important we can get results."
That will be the clincher and Wenger knows his future is being openly debated.
"Speculation is part of modern life, there is nothing I can do about that. My future is focused on giving the best for the club."
The accusation, though, is he wasn't focused enough during the summer — being beaten to key signings like Phil Jones, Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku.
Another criticism is that he unnecessarily prolonged the Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri sagas and was too slow and too conservative in replacing them. And that he stubbornly refused to bring in some wise, old heads — like maybe Brad Friedel, Scott Parker, Jonathan Woodgate, Peter Crouch — to help nurture this latest crop of Arsenal youngsters.
Maybe his hands were tied. Maybe there was no money to buy, or more likely a refusal to pay the salaries that go with high-profile arrivals.
So maybe it's American billionaire Stanley Kroenke and his sidekick Ivan Gazidis who are really the guilty men.
For the frustrating thing about Arsenal is that they say one thing and yet do another.
But at this rate it will be the greatest talent, the most valuable asset of Arsenal Football Club, who turns out to be the unfortunate fall-guy.
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
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