Have the Arsenal players given up all hope?
While the supporters gave up on Arsene Wenger several years ago, his players seemed to still have faith in the Frenchman’s ability to turn things around.
But given the showing from the Gunners in recent weeks, it would not be surprising to learn that the players have stopped fighting for their manager.
7 – Arsenal have lost more matches in all competitions in 2018 than any other Premier League team (7). Woeful. pic.twitter.com/BtTDE55G9G
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 1, 2018
Arsenal have conceded six unanswered goals to Manchester City in two games in recent days, following up their Carabao Cup final humiliation with a dismal display when given the chance to claim instant vengeance in the Premier League.
Club legend Martin Keown has been very vocal about Wenger in recent weeks and even engaged in a furious on-air row with Sun journalist Neil Ashton on Thursday night, when Arsenal hosted City at the Emirates.
But after his argument with Ashton, Keown pinpointed the precise moment that Wenger lost the dressing room.
Keown claims that the decision to sell Olivier Giroud to Chelsea in January had dire consequences on his relationship with his players.
“Like every great leader, you find the right time to leave the club. That moment has gone since, long ago. Now he’s trying to get a performance from players who are looking over their shoulder at who’s coming in next,” Keown said on BBC5Live.
“Who can Arsene turn to in that changing room now? But he’s put himself in that position, there’s no players for him after getting rid of people like Giroud.”
Giroud moved to Stamford Bridge at the beginning of the year in a deal which saw Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi switch to Borussia Dortmund, clearing the way for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to move to Arsenal.
While Giroud might not possess the superstar status of an Aubameyang or a Mesut Ozil, he was a reliable centre-forward who had been utterly professional under Wenger.
Giroud’s departure not only signaled the loss of an ally of Wenger’s but, according to Keown, threw the dynamic of the Emirates dressing room into disarray as nobody can be fully confident of their long-term future anymore.
