by Ifreke Inyang

The fury was plane for all to see. Arsenal fans, tired of marching to the Emirates and boycotting games, took to the skies to register their anger over Arsene Wenger staying on as manager.

At a point, it did not even matter if the team was winning or not. For instance, at the Gunners’ visit to Stoke City as the season petered out, was once more the site for an impromptu flyover.

Wife: "You've been doing a lot of overtime recently. What should we spend it on? A holiday?"

Husband: "Not while Wenger is at Arsenal" pic.twitter.com/ikMgBWZgB5

— Luke Millar (@LukeSkywlkrr) May 13, 2017

Anybody who pays to have a plane fly above a stadium with a wacky fucking banner, should be made to jump out the same plane.

— Gary Macdonald (@Garymac03) May 13, 2017

“WENGER OUT MEANS OUT!!” the airborne banner read. Just incase you didn’t get what we meant the other time, Monsieur.

It looked idiotic at the time, because Wenger’s men won that game convincingly, 4-1.

Let’s take a minute and observe a moment of silence for all those resources wasted.

On Wednesday, the 67-year-old extended his love affair with the North London club for another two years at least. It was always going to take more than all that noisesome pestilence to hound out Wenger after 21 years.

Make no mistakes, at a point I was completely irritated too and demanded change. I was tired of seeing a team of walking dead men putting up abysmal performances every week. Something had to give.

But here’s the thing. It is incredibly impossible to hate Wenger the man. A supreme human being. And it does not matter who is wielding the scales. He is a witty communicator, a brilliant psychologist and a wonderful gentlemen all at once. Wenger the manager is another matter entirely. For a long time, he appeared to be washed-up and trailing behind tactically. He appeared unable to motivate his squad, who constantly looked bereft of inspiration and mental strength.

Just when people like me thought we had seen enough, Wenger reverted to a back three and won the last 10 games of the season. The last of which was the FA Cup final against Chelsea, a team under Antonio Conte who invented that 3-4-3 tactical system in every sport in the world.

It does not matter whether it was complacency or fatigue that hampered the champions, but Arsenal looked irresistable at Wembley. And you wondered what might have been, if the manager was a bit more reactive.

However, he has that chance now. To shove it down our throat. With this new two-year deal, Wenger can dust off his magic wand and prove that he never lost it.

That starts with rebuilding his squad ahead of a Champions League-less season. For the first time during his stay at the club, Wenger will have to play Thursday night football and still strive to compete in the Premier League. It will really be interesting to see how he works around travelling to the backside of Lithuania and then playing away at Kirklees Stadium next season.

I really hope he does well. The joy on his face as he clinched this year’s FA Cup was good to see. I think Wenger should be backed to the tilt this one time. Most people feel he should have left on a high. But you never know. Maybe by the time he’s done, there will be another plane dragging a banner with his praises, high in the heavens.

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‘Ifreke tweets via @Ifreke