Rwanda president hits out at miserable Arsenal defeat at Brentford in EPL opener
London, Sunday
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal technical director Edu both look to be in a precarious position over the coming weeks as results on the pitch and deals off it come under intense scrutiny — not least from Rwanda president Paul Kagame.
An Arsenal fan key to the club sporting Visit Rwanda on their shirt sleeves, Kagame launched an extraordinary Twitter tirade criticising the club’s leadership in the wake of the Brentford defeat on Friday.
President Kagame, who has spent millions of pounds on Arsenal and French giants PSG as being part of their jersey sponsors to market his country to the world through the ‘Visit Rwanda initiative’, tweeted: “What!
Brentford deserved to win. The fans don’t deserve to get used to this… NO !!!I say this as one of the big fans. The change has taken too long to come!
“It’s been a struggle of a decade’s ups and down until this point. Can’t we have a plan that really works?? One part is to look at how we deal in the market.
“We must not excuse or accept mediocrity. A team has to be built to win, win, win.
I am sure we all know on whose shoulders the heaviest burden rests. I hope they know too or even accept it!’
It is unclear whether his criticism was aimed at owners Stan and Josh Kroenke, who have presided over a decade of decline, or the manager, but it is a further embarrassment for the club.
Fans are also outraged and bemused in equal measure at Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira being so disengaged with the club that he tweeted a picture of himself enjoying a Madrid fairground with his family as his team-mates were slumping to defeat.
The immediate pressure on Arteta and Edu, with the Arsenal board having backed the pair to turn the club’s declining fortunes around over the summer.
With the international break in October the traditional point for clubs to sack failing managers, the 2-0 defeat at Brentford already makes Arteta look vulnerable.
And the next two weeks will tell whether the confidence placed in Edu by the board to improve the squad this summer was justified.
The pair will hope the potential arrival of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid will improve matters although they have missed out on Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, who is off to Roma. But the fixture list may be their worst enemy in establishing momentum. -Dailymail
