When I saw the very public way in which the whole ‘Thierry Henry coaching at Arsenal’ announcement came out yesterday, I couldn’t help but think that it seemed very ‘un-Arsenal’ in terms of the public nature of it all. There were rumours about the decision to have Henry as a coach being vetoed by Arsène, but up until yesterday this all seemed like a minor footnote that nobody would really bother paying much attention to, until there was a news story released on Sky Sports which effectively stated that Henry was rejected after the initial offer had come in from Arsenal. I can’t help but wonder if it was Thierry that instigated that, which was followed by an announcement on his Twitter feed that he respects the decision and wishes the youth team all the best for the coming season, that all seemed a little PR staged.

Of course, the whole of Arsenal Twitter then seemed to want to debate it and as is usually the case, the battle lines were drawn between Arsenal fans either in favour of the decision or against it, depending on their stance towards Arsène Wenger.

I have to tell you, I’m starting to grow incredibly weary of the narratives on both sides, because every decision that the manager makes doesn’t have to be an example of his genius or incompetence one way or another. I know we are at the stage where people want to see change, but treating any decision that he makes with a “see! See! See” 11-year-old style virtual finger-pointing session is just tiresome. It’s wasted energy at a time when we should all be fasting on football so that when the season starts again we’re all uber-excited at the prospect of watching Arsenal each week.

Towards the end of last season, when the familiar failings enveloped the team, I became really quite drained by it all and couldn’t wait for the summer. But now that I’m three days in to the barren period when all we have is transfer tittle-tattle to tune in to, I’m already starting to get excited about the new season, which makes me glad. I’m glad because I’m hoping that my apathy at the end of last season is starting to wash away, which means hopefully by the time that first game at home to Liverpool comes along, I’ll be positively salivating for football.

Stories like the one that unfolded yesterday mean little in reality. A former player who has a very prominent role at a media company, has been told he cannot work at the club, probably because a conversation took place about the amount of time he could dedicate to a position. That’s it. It’s not an example of the manager pushing everyone away. It’s not an example of Arsenal rejecting yet another former player. It’s just not a fit that was convenient. 

I do think there is something in getting more ex-players involved in the set up at the club though. It perhaps doesn’t have to be in a coaching capacity, but we should certainly have more players who have involvement and perhaps that is something that is on Arsène, who hasn’t done enough in that regard. But I don’t see the Henry situation as one which has any real bearing on this train of thought because I think it’s very special circumstances. Were Henry to be out of work, do we really think he wouldn’t have kept that role in the youth set up? Of course he would. 

Anyway, like I said, this should be treated as it is: a minor footnote in the summer off-season.

Or perhaps it’s because the other ‘stories’ that are coming out at the moment are so fictional, we all have to talk about something that is real, eh? We’ve had Draxler almost every day for the last two weeks, then there was Higuain in a swap deal with Giroud, Plus there’s been rumours of Koudibally. It’s all just the stuff of fantasy. Arsène will go for a striker that isn’t obvious, we all know that, right? That’s what he does. So people need to just accept it.

I think the reason everyone’s starting to get twitchy, is that some of the clubs are already making moves, like United and the Spuds, for example. They’ve both brought in a couple of players and because naturally as fans we look to those teams around us in terms of league position, the worry is that we’re going to do nothing and be left behind. Last summer didn’t help dampen that mood when we didn’t sign anybody outfield, granted, but the fear still remains to the Arsenal fans I speak to, of Groundhog Day, and the inevitable ‘just one or two players short’ that we hear from just about everyone who talks about Arsenal.

I’d like to give you comfort and tell you that there’s no way we won’t make any more additions to the team, but we have last season as a precedent, so I can’t even offer you that I’m afraid. What I can offer you, though, is that if you’re anything like me, by the time we get to August, you won’t give a monkeys about who we’ve signed. You’ll just want that first ball to be kicked in anger.

Catch y’all tomorrow.