
Originally Posted by
AFC Leveller
Details of a team meeting (players only) following our cup final defeat:
he speech was delivered by one of the senior players in the Arsenal dressing room but he did not finish it. He was too choked up as he reflected on how such a talented squad had come to resemble a bunch of drifters. He said his children were asking him why Arsenal were so bad. That was the moment when the tears welled in his eyes.
Another Arsenal player stepped in. “We are a big club,” he said, tapping into the rallying cry theme. “But we need more help from the coaches.” That was when the damning judgment was articulated. It had actually been the motivation for the players to gather in the first place – without Arsène Wenger. “It’s not going to happen,” one of them said. “We need to find the answers ourselves.”
It was Tuesday of this week – the day of the first training session after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final humbling against Manchester City. The meeting of the players at London Colney was not aggressive in its tone, even if there were frank exchanges. It was more plaintive; coloured by soul-searching and a certain helplessness. It shone a glaring light on why Wenger’s time as the manager is up.
It is too easy in times of crisis to say the lavishly rewarded modern footballer does not care. The Arsenal squad do care; they beat themselves up over how they have slipped from Champions League to Europa League level. It embarrasses them that the fans have been so unhappy with so many of their performances. This is their livelihood. They have professional pride.
(The Guardian)
-ceri