World Gaming Magazine

41 WGM #57 2018/04 wgm8.com 2 017/18 赛季的战火硝烟到五月份才会淡去。在剩下 的若干周内，阿森纳依然有可能取得一些重要的胜 利，比如欧联杯的冠军依然在阿森纳的掌握之中。 如果他们捧起欧联杯奖杯，则可以凭借这一成就晋级下赛 季的欧冠联赛，最终错失联赛前四的失望也就不会那么强 烈。 但是，不满温格的声音每天都在变得更响。经验丰富 的温格教练当然会从曼联传奇名帅弗格森身上找到认同 感，尽管两人曾经是非常激烈的竞争者。从某种程度上， 温格无比羡慕弗格森。当老爵爷离开老特拉福德时，带着 新鲜出炉的英超联赛冠军，并顺利将教鞭交接给了钦定的 接班人大卫•莫耶斯。这对温格来说简直是童话般的大结 局，也几乎是他在北伦敦无法实现的梦想。 温格在阿森纳的职业生涯从1996年起步。在这期间 他三次问鼎英超联赛冠军，七次称霸足总杯冠军，但自从 2003/04赛季最后一次拿到联赛冠军后，他们从未真正挑 战过有分量的冠军奖杯。并且在欧洲赛场，他们看上去也 不再有真正的实力和欧洲豪门抗衡。2016/17赛季前连续 七个赛季，阿森纳都止步欧冠十六强，这已经是在欧洲整 体实力下滑的迹象。 2016/17赛季情况变得更加糟糕，这一年阿森纳只在 联赛排名第五，完全丢了欧冠参赛资格。这也是千禧年以 来，温格的球队第一次错过欧冠联赛小组赛的资格，19个 赛季的完美参加欧冠正赛纪录就此告一段落。 时钟在滴答作响，温格在北伦敦的任期，已蒙上了一 层巨大的阴影。在连续几年较为平庸的表现之后，阿森纳 似乎最终走上了无可避免的下坡路。本赛季30轮过后，阿 森纳落后榜首的曼城整整30分，比排名第四的利物浦少了 12分，联赛成绩比起上赛季恐怕进一步退化。 有很多原因导致阿森纳近年状态的下滑，其中最关键 的原因，当然就是球员转会问题。今年冬天，球队损失 了最核心的桑切斯，而换来了在曼联打不上主力的姆希塔 良，暴露出阿森纳最为尖锐的弊端——留不住世界级球 星，而引援却并不足以稳住球队的表现。 每个球队都可能会面临核心球员流失的问题。利物浦 留不住苏亚雷斯和库蒂尼奥，而巴萨自己也无法阻止内马 尔加盟巴黎圣日耳曼，C. 罗、贝尔都放弃了各自英超梦， 加盟了皇马。 然而，最让阿森纳球迷担忧的是，温格似乎对于斥巨 资购买世界级球星并不热衷。1996年10月初登英超，温格 T he 2017/2018 Premier League season runs until May and in the remaining weeks, Arsenal might still achieve some vital results. The Europa League title, for example, remains within reach and if they can qualify for next season’s Champions League by lifting the trophy, the pain of missing out on a top four EPL finish may be eased after all. Nevertheless, Arsène Wenger’s dissenters are getting louder by the day. The veteran coach will certainly find solidarity in legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was once his fiercest competitor. But to some extent, Wenger must envy his old foe. When Ferguson retired from Old Trafford, he had just won another Premier League title and passed the baton to his handpicked successor David Moyes while still at his peak. It was a fairytale finale that Wenger is almost certain to miss out on in north London. Wenger’s managerial career at Arsenal, which began in 1996, has seen him win the Premier League three times and FA Cup seven times, but since his last League title in 2003/04 the London club has rarely challenged for top honors – nor has it ever looked like rivaling the big guns in Europe. For seven successive seasons up to 2016/2017, Arsenal was eliminated in the last 16 of the Champions League, a clear sign of their diminishing European power. It got even worse in 2016/17 with the Gunners finishing fifth in the league to miss out on the Champions League completely. It was the first time this millennium that Arsène Wengerʼs men had missed out on the UEFA Champions League group stage, halting a 19-season run. The clock is now ticking, casting a dark shadow on Wenger’s tenure in north London. After years of relatively mediocre performances, Arsenal are now on a clear downhill path. After 30 matches of this year’s Premier League season, Arsenal was trailing leaders Manchester City by a massive 30 points while there was a 12-point gap between them and fourth placed Liverpool. Their domestic results continue to deteriorate. There are many reasons for the decline of Arsenal in recent years, the most significant being their transfer