Arsene Wenger moved uncomfortably under a tartan blanket which covered his cold, elderly knees. He was suddenly alerted to the referee’s whistle when his hearing aid made an ear-piercing screech.
He swapped his normal trainers for a pair of comfortable slippers, the Velcro variety. Then, halfway through a key match went in search of the toilet. He stood, using his Zimmer frame and shuffled off down the tunnel, only pausing briefly to look at the scoreboard which showed his team to be in deficit.
Yes, I’m being ridiculous and it’s all because Wenger has suggested that he is being viewed in a discriminatory way because of his age.
Sir Alex Ferguson was 71 when he retired and age was never an issue all the time he was scooping up the silverware at Old Trafford. To be honest, I’m not sure many football fans knew or cared how old he was.
In fact, if Ferguson had wanted to carry on, he’d still be in the dugout now, questioning the ref’s parentage, harassing the officials for extra time and chewing gum like a half-starved Aberdeen Angus.
This new and surprising claim by Wenger is a trifle worrying because while the game has had its issues with the abuse black and gay players, strangely age discrimination has never been seen as a problem.
Wenger told BeIN Sport:
“When you age, you focus on doing well for your club and ignore all the rest. The older you get, the more it becomes age discrimination.
I accept if the results are not good enough then you have to take the consequences. But overall that perpetual thing of how long you have been at a club, how old you are, I find that a bit difficult to take.”
If Wenger is having a crisis of confidence, then that is one thing, but to claim that age discrimination is the reason for disgruntled fans reactions towards him is unacceptable.
He is in the results business and is judged on the team’s ability to compete at the highest level.
Recently, it has been underperforming to a huge degree and that I’m afraid, has nothing to do with age, it has to do with his management. If Arsenal were in the champions league and were 2 points behind City with a game in hand, he’d be a hero.
The crowd would be calling for a 10-year contract extension, they’d be packing out the Emirates and calls for him to quit wouldn’t leave the lips of an idiot but they aren’t. The truth is as unpleasant to hear as it is to watch and Wenger’s time is short to repair both the damage to his reputation and Arsenal’s.
I’m thankful for all he has managed to do for the club and even for the Albatross known as the Emirates, which has cost supporters and the club dearly but this is not an age-related issue by any means.
