Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade
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By: Anne
*Much thanks to Shard and bjtgooner for their research contributions to this article.
Daily Mail columnist (and reigning “Sports Journalist of the Year”) Martin Samuel’s Arsenal coverage beginning on 1 July, 2011 (and particularly in August, 2011) can essentially be viewed in the context of two key themes:
1) Arsenal is in a state of “crisis” (“crisis and anxiety” talking points campaign);
The “crisis and anxiety” talking points campaign that appears to feature in Samuel’s coverage has also been addressed (to some extent) in previous Untold Media Watch Reports on the Mirror and the Mail. I’ve highlighted many of the relevant talking points in the following excerpts from Samuel’s articles. However, I’m also going to list some of the talking points that we have documented previously, just for reference.
From the Mail (taken from articles not written by Samuel):
“out-muscled a fragile, threadbare Arsenal side; The weakness of the squad was demonstrated; TEARS FRAGILE ARSENAL APART; Wenger’s troops look so threadbare.; “STRUGGLING ARSENAL LURCH TO YET ANOTHER CRISIS; Cracking up! Stressed Wenger forced to admit he won’t walk.”
From the Mirror:
“inserted into descriptions of Arsenal’s style of play (McNally uses the words: nervous, hesitant, anxiety), as well as their descriptions of Arsene Wenger on the touchline (worried, wearied, ultra defensive); anxiety that has afflicted Wenger; ignoring the crisis in his club’s midst.; nervous and hesitant when ever the goal; many anxious Gooners is that; the growing crisis engulfing Arsenal.”
2) Arsene Wenger is to blame.
In general, whatever “problems” are raised in these articles are always attributed to Arsene Wenger in some way. Overall, the articles seem intended as more of an attack on Wenger than anything else. He is criticized in numerous ways, and Samuel often hints that he should lose his job. The later articles in this series use fewer talking points and focus instead on attacking Wenger more directly.
Another trend in Mr. Samuel’s coverage that is worth noting (and which I’ve highlighted in some of the articles excerpted below), is that Mr. Samuel often appears to cite the media’s “crisis and anxiety” talking points campaign (as documented in this article and in our previous reports) as “evidence” to further bolster that selfsame campaign.
For example, in his article titled “Face it, Arsenal can no longer attract a genuine superstar,” as part of his evidence for why “Arsenal can no longer attract a genuine superstar,” Mr. Samuel includes the fact that:
“All the chatter around Arsenal concerns the end of an era, not the dawn of a brave new world.”
However, who exactly is responsible for the “chatter around Arsenal” that “concerns the end of an era?” While one could certainly make the argument, as Samuel does, that the actions of the club itself have, in some respects, caused this “chatter” to occur, is it not also true that the media itself is the party that is directly culpable for such “chatter?”
Specifically, if there is, in fact, a deliberate talking points campaign in certain media outlets that is intended to promote the idea that Arsenal is in “crisis,” would not the “chatter around Arsenal concern[ing] the end of an era” be directly generated, at least in part, by said campaign? And by referencing such “chatter” in the above context, would Samuel not actually be using his very own talking points campaign as evidence to further reinforce the message of that campaign?
If so, this would be an important factor in understanding the self-reinforcing nature of such campaigns generally. Overall, this is a trend that appears to recur throughout Mr. Samuel’s coverage of Arsenal, another aspect of which is that, in nearly all cases, Mr. Samuel finds a way to lay the blame for the actions of the press directly at the feet of Arsene Wenger.
This aspect of Samuel’s coverage highlights a potential trend that is certainly worthy of further investigation and analysis to determine if, and to what extent, it exists in other media coverage of Arsenal. So, stay tuned, readers.
ARTICLES, EXCERPTS, NOTES
If Arsene knows, perhaps he could tell the rest of us what is really going on
***NOTE: The following article is Samuel’s match report on Arsenal’s victory over Udinese in the first leg of the Champions’ League qualifier that so offended Shard. The reason I need to point out that this article is actually a match report on an Arsenal victory is because Samuel is so busy discussing “other” topics that the match is barely mentioned.
However, Samuel is not the only journalist to report on this particular match from a similar angle. In our media watch report on the Evening Standard, we reported on a similar article by Dan Jones (covered at the very end of the report) that I think is interesting in relation to Samuel’s coverage here.***
“Perched in the directors’ box following his one-match UEFA ban, watching Arsenal did not seem to agree with Arsene Wenger. Truth be told, it doesn’t agree with many people these days.
The natives are restless, nervous, uncertain. So is the team…They just can’t be sure. Not like they used to be. There is too much that can go wrong these days….
It was not [Jenkinson’s] fault that his arrival came to encapsulate the worryingly threadbare and raw appearance of this Arsenal squad, or sum up the tremendous gamble that has been taken with the short-term future of the club this summer…
They are tottering, they are frail, and the supporters know it. Some passed comment by abandoning this game, played in a stadium with unfamiliarly large pockets of empty seats, others contributed to the general air of tension that pervaded, despite the early lead…
The sale of Cesc Fabregas has resolved nothing. Nobody knows who is in, or out, so nobody knows what to expect from Arsenal this season. Maybe that includes Wenger, who looked no less agitated for his detachment from the immediate action…
For years now, fans have trod the path to this stadium, convinced of the wisdom of the manager until now, when their belief is being tested like never before. …
This frailty will be Arsenal’s cross this season…
If Arsene knows, perhaps he could tell the rest of us what is really going on.”
“Face it, Arsenal can no longer attract a genuine superstar”
***NOTE: TALKING POINT USED AS EVIDENCE:
“All the chatter around Arsenal concerns the end of an era, not the dawn of a brave new world.”
See analysis above.***
“Nobody goes on holiday to a country where the people are clamouring at the dockside for a berth on the next boat out. So why would an elite player, the type that could reverse the growing disenchantment at Arsenal, wish to sign for the club right now?…
With so much uncertainty it is only a matter of time… Chelsea are now linked with Walcott and Jack Wilshere will be next because Arsenal are suffering football’s equivalent of a brain drain. It is a matter of time before a rival pops the ambition question to Wilshere. If not this summer, then soon, unless Wenger arrests the slide.
This is a drama very quickly escalating into crisis because it is too late to reverse the process. After six years without a trophy, players of significance have lost faith in Wenger’s way and any new signing will know he is not working for a manager above reproach, but one whose methods are under scrutiny like never before.
***NOTE: IMPORTANT TREND (THREAT TO WENGER’S JOB):
The following is another significant aspect of Samuel’s coverage during this period, in the sense that he very frequently concludes his articles with some sort of hint or threat regarding Arsene’s continued employment.****
Wenger has talent as an economist, but his primary job this summer is in the marketing department, attracting a new team of champions to the club. If this was The Apprentice he would be in grave danger of not making it into next week.”
“Fail your Italian test and you’ll look even more foolish, Arsene”
***TALKING POINT USED AS EVIDENCE:
“If [Cesc and Nasri] leave, as expected, what point was there…in dragging negotiations out this long? An increase of 10 per cent, at most? Not to be sniffed at, but hardly worth sabotaging the narrative of Arsenal’s summer, now overrun by speculation that Wenger’s squad is falling apart.”
In the following article, Samuel uses Arsene’s “improper” handling of the Cesc and Nasri transfers as “evidence” to support his claim that Arsene has been made to look “foolish.” He is specifically accusing Arsene of “sabotaging the narrative (read media narrative) of Arsenal’s summer” by “dragging [the Cesc and Nasri] negotiations out this long.”
However, is Arsene truly responsible for the fact that the media “narrative” is “now overrun by speculation that Wenger’s squad is falling apart?” In this instance, Samuel attempts to lay the blame on Arsene for this negative media coverage on the grounds that Arsene took too long with his transfer negotiations regarding Cesc and Nasri.
But is the length of Arsene’s transfer negotiations truly plausible as the sole motive for the current media “speculation that Wenger’s squad is falling apart?” Specifically, are we to believe that, had the Cesc and Nasri transfers been wrapped up back in May, there would currently be no media “narrative” alleging “that Wenger’s squad is falling apart?” Or is it more likely that there were other factors in play as well? ***
“There is this smile of incredulity that Arsene Wenger affects when he is asked about the impending departure of Cesc Fabregas or Samir Nasri. It is as if the foolishness of his inquisitors amuses him…
Of late, he has increasingly proved his doubters right… And, currently, as the evidence piles up against the confidence of that smile, he is beginning to look ever so slightly crackers… (*note: this “cracking up” talking point was also documented in our previous Mail coverage [“Cracking up! Stressed Wenger forced to admit he won’t walk.”]).
Arsenal have a huge match with Udinese on Tuesday, yet enter it full of uncertainty. You know Wenger is floundering when he talks as if the media is his enemy…
He is as prone to daft, illogical pronouncements as any Premier League contemporary, but..For such a genius, however, he has spent much of the summer acting the fool….
This is going to be a difficult month for Arsenal…Udinese are a threat, have no doubt of that. ..
***NOTE: THREAT TO WENGER’S JOB****
If Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League, Wenger’s final justification for his methods is scotched. Is there anyone better to manage Arsenal? We would like to think not. Yet in previous seasons that answer would contain no element of doubt. It does now. At what point might that knowing smile become a rictus grin? If Udinese win, perhaps.”
“How can Wenger still be the best if he no longer hits the high notes?”
***NOTE: In this article, Samuel comes very close to overtly calling for Wenger to be fired.***
***NOTE: TALKING POINT AS EVIDENCE:
Arsene “ was equally mistaken in allowing the transfer sagas involving Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to overshadow and disrupt preseason preparations. Maybe had Arsenal not appeared to be in a constant state of flux the club would have looked more appealing to Juan Mata than Chelsea.”
I would personally contend that it was not just Arsene Wenger who caused Arsenal to appear “to be in a constant state of flux” with regard to the Cesc and Nasri “transfer sagas.” Once again, it appears that Samuel is blaming what is, at least in part, a media campaign, on Arsene himself, and then using it as evidence to further bolster his own contention that Arsene should be fired.***
“Who would you have manage Arsenal, then, if not Arsene Wenger? The sentence is phrased as a question, but is usually intended as a full stop; the cocksure closer to any discussion about the rapidly escalating decline of a football club…
So, let’s widen the argument. Who would you rather hear sing Come Fly With Me, if not Frank Sinatra? Well, it depends… If…you’re offering Sinatra in his final years, occasionally forgetting the words, no longer hitting the hardest notes, falling over on stage in Richmond, Virginia, well that’s a different story….
(Photo Caption: They did it their way: Wenger won the League in 2004 (left) but, like Sinatra, time has seen his powers fade)
So the question of who could do a better job at Arsenal than Wenger depends on which Wenger blueprint is under consideration. Double-winning Wenger, Invincible-era Wenger, sure, there are few to touch him; but six-years-without-a-trophy Wenger, played-off-the-park-by-Liverpool-at-the- weekend Wenger, summer 2011 Wenger, scrapping-for-a-Champions-League-place-with-Udinese-tonight Wenger: plenty could do that job…
Of course, Wenger deserves time; but he has had time. He has had seven years since Arsenal last won the League and six since the club last won a trophy.
He is not Carlo Ancelotti, a Double winner in his first season at Chelsea, preposterously sacked in his second for finishing runner-up. He is afforded enormous credit and respect for his achievements at Arsenal and the culture he has brought to the English game; but it is delusional to insist that the proof on which Wenger’s credibility is based is not taken more from the past than the present…we remain trapped in Wenger’s golden era so that his brilliance is immutable, his judgment immaculate, whatever the evidence. Times change…
But who could manage Arsenal as well as Wenger? That’s no longer such a tough one. Right now, name any of the big guys — from Pep Guardiola to Martin O’Neill, from Ancelotti to Jose Mourinho or Kenny Dalglish – and they would bring something new to the party.
Emulating Wenger 2011 isn’t the hard part. Emulating him back in the day would have been nigh-impossible; but not even Ol’ Blue Eyes could hold that note for ever.”
“United shot Bambi and even Fergie felt the pain”
***NOTE: ManU match report. To offer my own editorial opinion, I find the gloating tone and fake sympathy in this article (towards both Arsenal and Arsenal’s fans) to be absolutely revolting, and as a result, I’m not including too much of it. Feel free to read the full article yourself if you want to be further sickened. However, speaking of “sickened,” the “illness” analogy that Samuel uses here is definitely worth a second look because it is very similar to some of the coverage that bob has previously documented in the Guardian.***
“‘You don’t want to score more,’ said Sir Alex Ferguson, and he sounded entirely sincere. All knew where he was coming from…this was difficult, watching his team do more than any other to dismantle the mantra that Arsene knows. United had shot Bambi; and it left a great many feeling uneasy at the bloody scene…
Some boys’ football leagues blow the final whistle at eight goals for fear of turning young men away from the game. Who knows if the callow youth assembled by Arsene Wenger will be affected by this?…
It is like a high temperature, that number. It tells of an infection, a virus, at the club. There is a point when an elite team, a good team, rallies, resists and stems the bleeding…
Yet if there is one statistic, beyond the scoreline, that reflects the depth of the crisis at Arsenal, it is that both starting line-ups had the same average age, 23. Arsenal are still planning for some mythical future; at Manchester United the future is now….”
Arsene and Arsenal have shot themselves in the foot this time
***NOTE: After spending the past five months writing articles criticizing Arsene for not buying players, I think it’s interesting the lengths that Samuel goes to in this article to emphasize that, even though Arsene finally bought players, this does not mean that you should like him any better. Note the particularly nasty “Starvin Marvin” metaphor, and also the fact that Samuel takes care to re-emphasize the exact same points on this subject multiple times, in addition to the usual talking points. ***
“What a difference eight goals make. First, nobody was good enough for Arsenal then, suddenly, everybody was….
(Photo Caption: I don’t know! Arsene Wenger has had the look of a desperate man in the last few days of the transfer window.)
Starvin Marvin was the famished Ethiopian adopted by accident in an episode of South Park but, let’s face it, he could be Arsenal’s new centre half. So could anyone, really, now reality has hit. …
Anyone who thinks there has been a grand plan at Arsenal this summer is deluded. ..The club got it wrong; Wenger got it wrong…Wenger secured the expensive recruitment of…Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who looked pitifully raw in his brief time on the pitch…and pressing weaknesses went unresolved…
If Arsenal don’t get the best players, they won’t win the trophies; if they don’t win the trophies, they won’t get the players. Round and round it goes, a vicious circle, not a perfect one. Do not be fooled. There was no no cunning plan….
Arsenal messed up, Wenger messed up, but there is no mileage in demanding a confession from either side; the events of this week are admission enough.”
Conclusion
So, to sum up, in light of the research covered in the two parts of this article, is Samuel correct in stating that:
“No manager in the history of the English game has been treated with such reverence” in the media as Arsene Wenger?
Or is Arsene correct in stating that:
“The media…is very negative” towards Arsenal?
I’ll leave it to you, the reader, to decide, and I’ll be interested to hear your opinions in the comments section.