Wenger’s farewell: The good, the bad, the weird

Arsenal ensured Arsene Wenger bowed out in style in his final home match in charge of the Gunners with a comfortable 5-0 win over Burnley.

It was a big occasion at the Emirates Stadium as Wenger took charge of his last ever game at Arsenal’s ground, so here’s our round-up of the good, the bad and the weird from this emotional day…

The good

In the context of a disappointing season as a whole, this might not seem like much, but it was great to see Wenger get this send-off from the home fans.

With the sun shining and nothing left to play for, Arsenal shone in the relaxed atmosphere of a typical end-of-season dead rubber, but that made it the perfect exhibition match for them to do their thing and play the kind of football Wenger’s sides become so renowned for.

Special mention as well for Jack Wilshere, whose assist for the Sead Kolasinac goal was pretty sensational, as you can see here.

Arsenal fans were also raving about young defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, who looks a big talent and who could be a real gift for the next manager after becoming one of Wenger’s last signings, and a low key one at that.

Oh, and then there’s this – a reminder of the entertainment we’ve been served up under this great manager. Merci, Arsene.

The bad

Mesut Ozil was missing from the game, with many on Twitter agreeing that he was probably faking an injury, sparking fury from Gooners after his invisible performance against Atletico Madrid in midweek.

Ozil arsenalArsenal fans were not happy at Mesut Ozil missing Arsene Wenger’s last home game.

With the World Cup coming up it may be that Ozil wants a little rest before representing Germany at the tournament in Russia.

If that is indeed why he decided to sit out Wenger’s farewell game at the Emirates then Arsenal fans have every right to be livid with him for such a selfish stunt.

Ozil certainly needs to up his game after going missing in such a crucial tie in the Europa League and this continued lack of trust from the club’s fans suggests the next manager will have plenty of work on his hands there.

The weird

One will no doubt be left with plenty of questions about Wenger’s last few years at Arsenal and some of the decisions he’s made, but today two more players really showed they could have been given more playing time this season.

Mavropanos Arsenal U23s debutKonstantinos Mavropanos looks an exciting talent for Arsenal

As already noted, Mavropanos really impressed Arsenal fans this afternoon – how is it that the clumsy and unreliable Shkodran Mustafi was able to keep his place for so long with this guy waiting in the wings?

Of course, the young Greek remains untested at this level and has only played two solid games, but given the lack of other options fans would be justified in wondering what could have been if he’d been trusted by Wenger earlier.

kolasinac arsenalWhat has Sead Kolasinac got to do to get a game for Arsenal?

Kolasinac scored another fine goal and has generally impressed whenever he’s played this season. And yet, he’s largely been overlooked by Wenger for no obvious reason.

These are perhaps questions for another time but the pair were superb today and it is puzzling to think of the quality Wenger has for some reason been depriving his side of this season.