Arsenal – Where to next?

Being an Arsenal fan has always been a rollercoaster ride filled with stunning lows and amazing highs.

This has always been the way of the Gunner and memories of despair are readily available.

The 2003/04 Uefa Champions League quarterfinal loss to Chelsea at Highbury is one that quickly springs to mind. After an acceptable 1-1 draw from the first leg, and leading 1-0 at halftime in the return, Arsenal collapsed to lose 3-2 on aggregate. A few days earlier Arsene Wenger, sacrificing the FA Cup in favour of league and European glory, had put out a weakened side in the Cup semi-final and Arsenal lost 1-0 to Manchester United thanks to Paul Scholes.

Arsenal did go on to win the league with their fabled Invincibles; however, thinking of what could have been, it was a hollow feeling. Man United went on to beat Millwall in the FA Cup final while the Champions League final was contested by Porto and Monaco – finals which, with all due respect, Arsenal’s side of 2003/04, of Patrick Vieira and Martin Keown, would have won.

Simply put, Arsenal were Europe’s best side; but unlike Man United in 2008 and Barcelona 2009 they weren’t able to maximise their potential.  

2008 saw another episode of heartbreak that was embodied by a 2-2 draw away to Birmingham, a match in which Arsenal’s last great side threw away the league title. To make matter worse Arsenal also lost to Man United in the FA Cup quarterfinals.

Fast forward to 2011 and Arsenal is in a similar position and looking particularly vulnerable.

But maybe it should have been expected; maybe last month’s Carling Cup final loss to Birmingham, despite Wenger’s attempts to sweep it under the carpet, was the ultimate sign of his side’s fall. Instead of being the day Arsenal ended their six-year trophyless run it has initiated a period where they have been knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup and also seen two draws that may have ended their title challenge.

The seeds of this disaster have been budding for a while – ever since Wenger culled the core of his successful side, from Sol Campbell to Jens Lehman, and left Arsenal with no leaders.

Maybe he is a fan of Harry Potter, a fantasy world ruled by boys, but Wenger’s stubbornness is now threatening to spoil his legacy. For a while now it has been pointed out that Arsenal need a world-class keeper and strong central defenders. But Wenger has refused to listen. Granted, he has put the club in a wfinancial position with his careful policies – Arsenal are the third most valuable club after Real Madrid and Man United – but this has slowly become a convenient excuse.

Mark Schwarzer, who has been a consistent Premiership keeper, was available for £500 000 at the start of the season while defender Gary Cahill was available for much less than the £25 million Bolton are likely to slap on his head in the summer. But in both cases Wenger opted out, instead, as he has done recently, chose to splash out on an unproven Laurent Koscielny.

The bigger problem for Arsenal as a club is the diminishing culture of winning. Arsenal more and more pose no fear to opponents. In fact they are the perfect opponent for a manager – a big name that motivates your players but is increasingly toothless. With every failure the fear factor that is so crucial in top combat slips away. To a different extent this is what has happened to Ajax Amsterdam – once Europe’s best side but now struggling to compete in the Europa League. Arsenal are slowly becoming one of the bunch and this is partly why their record in the biggest matches over the past two years has been so poor.

The question is where this policy will land the club. Cesc Fabregas is unlikely to stay much longer and without success the chances of keeping Arsenal’s other talents decreases. Could Arsenal actually find itself struggling to even be a top four club?

It’s not impossible. Manchester City quite frankly will keep spending until they crack the top four. Tottenham have shown their understanding that success isn’t free and players like Rafael van der Vaart and William Gallas have brought with them a winning mentality. Liverpool are also increasingly showing a quality that Arsenal are lacking – namely hunger. And it will be some time until Man United and Chelsea are threatened at the perch of English football.

But it really shouldn’t have to come to this, not with the wonderful structures Wenger has built. But unfortunately at the very highest level you need style but players that will step up when the going gets tough to go with style – even football’s top artists Barcelona can attest to this. They have Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal and Javier Mascherano don’t they?

Of course in life there is no such thing as a ‘complete disaster’.

Arsenal have a crucial two week international break. The Gunners are still only five points behind Man United with a game in hand and are still in with a reasonable chance of winning the league. But that too, along with the mystique that was so valiantly created by players like Vieira, Thierry Henry, and Tony Adams, will be lost if Wenger continues to have blind eye to the uglier basics of football.  

If Wenger continues ignore the benefits of a dependable goalkeeper, reliable centrebacks and experience Arsenal’s dry spell could well turn into lasting drought.

They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.