A summer for Arsenal straight out of Lord of The Flies

“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast… . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! … You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?”

Transfer sagas run wild. The stars have lost faith in Arsene Wenger’s rationale. The men on £60,000+ a week believe they know better than The Professor. They’re convinced they do. The savage desire for immediate success throws Arsene’s philosophy to the ground. And viciously so.

Wenger, in the past, used the lure of playing beautiful football to bring it all together. But the players have grown weary. “You’re nothing with us, without me. We’re better off under our own rules,” they chime. Like a conch blaring powerful sounds that could once unite a group, Arsenal’s stylish outlook on the game has been unquestioned in the past, but is now fading into an aimless endeavor lacking full support. The idealism, the mold that Arsenal has spent years constructing is on the cusp of falling to pieces. This was meant to be the golden age, the era when it finally Invincibles were reborn. Instead, the playmakers are halfway out the door.

Would the Carling Cup have been enough to keep everyone calm and collected? Perhaps. But in truth, this summer has shown us the dark side of Arsenal. The blame cannot fall on Barcelona, Manchester United, or Manchester City. The players, the ones consistently in the spotlight, have shown us a level of unrestrained disrespect to their club that has yet to be seen in the modern game at a club of Arsenal’s stature. An Ashley Cole-like mentality of leaving to win trophies has tainted the dressing room to a point of no return for a few of the club’s leaders.

Denilson’s quotes in May were the tipping point, but between Nasri, Clichy, Fabregas, and even possibly Van Persie this team has dismantled any sense of progress Arsene Wenger has been attempting to create. Instead, the changes at Arsenal, not just in terms of personnel but also in mentality, will force this next season into yet another transition year for the North London club.

Wenger’s failure to bring any trophies to the Emirates has been tragic and damaging to the club’s reputation, however, the manner in which the players Wenger has groomed into world class talents are leaving is degrading. It’s one thing to want to move on from the philosophy at Arsenal, it’s another to declare a distinct and unmitigated view that the future of that club will be without success. Nasri may want to leave the island of Arsenal, but not before setting fire to the system that made him the player he is today.