By Asser Ghozlan on Monday, August 18, 2008

The highest league position I could find amongst the football pundits and journalists for Arsenal this season was 4th ... and only just! What I find more astonishing, amusing in fact, is the fact that these are the same vultures waiting to prey on Arsenal this season as they were before the opener against Fulham in 2007/2008.

Okay, you can argue - well, you would have to agree that the critics of last season were right - as the sole objective of the much-pressured world of top-level football nowadays is to win trophies, and that we indeed failed to do after a spectacular downturn of form and luck from February onwards. But what irks me most is the dire repetition of how to assess Arsenal from season to season. Young, inexperienced, lacking squad depth, aesthetic without a clinical, ruthless touch, etc. The fact that we have apparently not spent enough money this close season is supposedly the final nail in Arsenal's title challenge coffin.

Our apparent lack of transfer spending money has been discussed many times before. But is £16 million on quality technical players like Samir Nasri and Aaron Ramsey not big money? They may be young, fairly unproven players at this level, but this was not the first time Wenger had delved into such a policy. The fact that a central midfielder is almost certain to arrive disproves any theory suggesting that Wenger is too stubborn to truly pinpoint our squad's shortcomings, though Denilson has been impressive so far.

Chelsea may have spent money on over-priced internationals, with Deco past his best and Bosingwa, though a good full-back, cannot surely be triple Bacary Sagna's value, but their core remains the same, whilst Manchester United have not exactly gone out all guns blazing either. Chelsea and United's squads may be well-established, but we did not exactly disgrace ourselves as many had predicted last season, nor will Wenger be ready to so meekly relinquish his status as a footballing legend this season.

Wenger, the players, everyone knows that this is a big season for the future of Arsenal Football Club. Trophies are desperately needed as reward for three years of patience, seemingly never-ending transition and free-flowing football with no end product. The criticisms and negative press about how we might fare this season have mainly stemmed from the departures of Flamini, Gilberto Silva and Hleb.

Flamini had certainly made the defensive midfield role his own last season and his loss on a free transfer seems like a bit of a shambles to me. Nevertheless, he is not irreplaceable, and thus the need for a top-class defensive midfielder is my most pressing concern ahead of the new campaign. Where this midfielder will come from remains a mystery, especially with Alonso, Barry and Yaya Touré all having been cup-tied in Europe after appearing for their respective clubs last week. But then again, this is the true essence of Wengerism; the element of total surprise when it comes to unearthing a new star and discovering a player's true attributes.

Whilst some have regarded Hleb's loss as a disaster-in-the-making (mostly non-Gooners it has to be said), I never really saw a consistent level of technique or flair to make me lose sleep over his departure, and Gilberto's time at the top had evidently come to an end, fully appreciating his great service to the Club.

What I am trying to get to here is that a player is not world class due to his transfer fee from one club to another, but through continuity, stability and the true freedom and trust to do the talking on the pitch, another Wengeresque mark on Arsenal. Carlos Vela and Jack Wilshere's promotion to our first-team fold has been greeted with scepticism by the national media, whereas Messi and Bojan's introductions to the Barca first team ranks were hailed as stardoms in the making by the Spaniards.

This is a very simple and true example of the hypocrisy that we have had to face up to simply due to not shelling out £20 million plus on a "world star". And this is what Wenger has got to work against with all his powers to be ready to prove the doubters wrong once again.

Wenger's main flaw is his honesty; a depressing reality, considering what a true virtue of humanity it is in a modern world so bereft of honesty. His honesty in winning football matches the right way, in pleasing the loving masses with a type of football that few sides had ever dreamt of producing has recently left him, and ultimately, the same loving masses I had just mentioned, let down and broken at the dénouement of the season.

Wenger's honesty in not swamping the club with a painstaking debt, always negotiating his way into buying world-class talent as economically as possible can be contrasted with Sir Alex Ferguson's approach, where splashing near £30 million in securing Carlos Tevez's permanent ownership rights and leaving the rest to the Glazers is a case-in-point.

However, I can see many parallels between our situation as it stands today and Fergie's own plight three years ago. Facing criticism about how he had "lost it" and how he would never be able to build another great United team again, Ferguson has delivered the perfect gobstopping response with two Premier League titles and a European crown to boot. Wenger is capable of emulating his great rival, if not outgunning him, with a batch of players still on the cusp of their peaks for many years to come.

If our bunch of young, inexperienced stars managed to finish four points off the best team in Europe last May, I would love to see how well we can do with the past season's experience and the Professor's eagle-eyed thirst for much-craved glory ahead of us this season...our most important summer additions.

User Comments

32

PJ

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 12:14 PM - Reply

Good article. Apparently Wenger recognises that we gave away too many goals last season through the high ball down the middle. I see the problem being a lack of aerial dominance both in midfield, where I am concerned we haven't got enough dominance full stop, and at the back. Therfore the answer would appear to be to bring in players who can provide this i.e. a central midfielder and central defender who can dominate the game. Alonso is not the answer to this problem. Regarding the lack of creativity, I am not convinced that this is the problem some make out. Cesc is highly creative, and I think Nasri and Walcott are too. When Rosicky comes back he will add further creatvitiy. No, it's are inability to dominate the central midfield and defence against the top (and some average)teams that is our problem - as it was last season. Unless this is remedied I forsee a similiar outcome as last season - not quite good enough when it comes to the crunch!

31

George

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 09:10 AM - Reply

I agree with the article.
Why is everyone harping on about alonso? He's cup tied and he isn't that good. I'd prefer someone with more aggression and stronger to help with the defence.

30

jp20

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 08:49 AM - Reply

all we need is 5 or 6 match winners who can change the game at will.we dont need to spend the kind of money chelsea spends

man u got ronnie,rooney,tevez,van der sar,rio,hargreaves

chelsea got ballack,drogba,lampard,terry,essien,joe cole

liverpools got torres and gerrad and alonso now maybe keane,

and unfortunately we've got only cesc,toure and gallas,

though i am sure walcott,ade,ramsey,nasri and the rest will be up there with the best but it may take time and then we'll be up with the best.thats where the manager comes in ,how quickly does he make the youngsters confident and comfortable and give them that belief that they r here to win.my estimate is that it will take at least till december, and i suspect after the squad is comfortable ,wenger might go for a big player.

though i think chelsea have got the best chance to win this epl,i think we r good enough for second and third place at least.man u 's fortune depends on how soon their players recover and theirs talks of getting berbatov for rooney.so if we get a good lead now,man u will find it hard to defeat us.

abt liverpool as long as they have benitez they'll play defensive and they wont be much of a threat.

i really think if gunners play smart and play with their hearts out,we have a good chance in the epl

in the champs league,things r a bit more difficult bcos real is trying to be the chelsea of spain and barca r getting new players.

maybe inter with jose might be a threat but i dont think that italy will have other prospects

29

Ade

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 11:13 PM - Reply

Utter rubbish. Fed up with with all this undue optimism. How can you expect us to win the title with this thin squad especially come injuries? We are out of the title race before it starts. We did well last year until we met the big teams and injuries struck.

28

Henry

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 11:12 PM - Reply

Good article but I believe Chimango is spot on. Hleb, for all the stick he took for not shooting, was a luxury worth having. He is seriously one of the most talented players not only on the ball but also intelligent moving off the ball- he is a major coup for Barca. He tore Man United to pieces at Old Trafford in the first half last season with an awesome display when it mattered; played sumptuous assists prior to the assists (such as cutting through-balls for Bacary and Fab to slide through), he created clear-cut chances for our inefficient strikers to miss (it worries me that now Hleb has gone we will create less chances and ultimately fail to score in games) and most impotantly made the midfield tick.

With Rosicky, Fabregas, Hleb and Flamini in the midfield (sometimes with Van Persie linking up) we looked unstoppable. However, injuries happen, particularly in the case of Van Persie and Rosicky, yet if we didn't have the resources in terms of quality back-up to win comfortably last year then I can't blame the pundits in thinking we will crumble away again even with the positive additions of Nasri and Vela.

However frustrating, Hleb was a massive player for us, and Wenger knows it, it's a shame because he could have achieved great things with Arsenal in the coming seasons- although that's not to say with a midfield of Xavi/Iniesta, Hleb, Messi, Yaya that he will not do great things at Barca.

Is it because people are bitter at his departure that fail to appreciate the huge void left by Hleb (I believe Diaby or Alex Song has the potential to usurp Flamini if they manage to stay fit for a run of games) or is it ignorance of his talent? The guy was a class act, extraordinary, unique, and it will take some player to match his level of skill, vision and ability to beat three and four players when in trouble that is required at the Arsenal right now.

27

Chimango in Leicester

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 05:12 PM - Reply

I don't agree about Hleb. Last season Arsenal had only two creative midfielders: Cesc and Hleb. Now that Hleb is gone, we have only one (unless, of course, Nasri turns out to be more creative than what we have seen of him so far). With Hleb gone and without a defensive midfielder, Arsenal will struggle mightily to hold the ball and breakdown even mediocre teams like WBA in midfield. Good examples are the two games we played so far this season against Twente and WBA. As a loyal gunner fan, I fear we are going nowhere this season, unless we decide to make the Carling Cup our top priority. We are thin in defence and midfield. Our strikers need a dozen chances each to score one goal in one game (in other words, our strikers do not have killer and predator instincts needed to compete at such a high level - given the chances that Ade and RvP get on this team Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen would be scoring like there is no tomorrow). I fear this is another season in which our preoccupation will be to get a place among the top four in order to play in Europe next season. As great a manager as he is, I wish Wenger could buy good, established and experienced players. It will be a pleasant surprise to see our team on the podium with a trophy even if it is just the Carling Cup.

26

Gunners811

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 04:35 PM - Reply

The reason why we are tipped as incapable of challenging the title is that we haven't really shown improvement after the invincibles. Nevertheless, I support Wenger's football philosophy!

25

Solid Snake

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 04:28 PM - Reply

If Arsenal sign a quality CM and get Rosiky back (and if he and RVP can stay fit) we will challange for the title, we just need to replace Flamini - Nasri will prove a better player for us then Hleb and Gilberto was past it!

24

usainBOLTgunnerBOLT

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 03:01 PM - Reply

rosicky, fabregas, van persie, eduardo, nasri.

if they perform to their expected level and remain injury-free and consistent, then im sure we'll win the title. plus theres sparks like theo, ramsay, vela etc to help us out. also, our deffense needs to stop being slow and sloppy. gallas-toure looks awesome on paper, somehow on the pitch they hardly seem a world class partnership. if we tighten up at the back, it'd increase our chances by that much.

i still have faith. COME ON YOU GUNNERS.

23

tigercore

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 02:23 PM - Reply

your comment is 100% right edward ibrahim lets stop lyeing to ourselves and pretending that we dont need to buy players and that wenger is some sort of magical wizzard who will click his fingers and make silverware apper out of thin air. we need to spend money on proven class players not kids who we hope might come good someday.

22

Yusuf Sulaiman

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 10:00 AM - Reply

I like this Arsenal club since Arsenal still struggling in BPL, maybe never finish above 10th. Arsenal is a unique football team. I want Arsenal to win something, but I'm with Wenger regarding winning with beautiful football. I like beautiful football. I will never be Italian's supporter because the way they play, eventhough they can win everything in this world. You can count on me on that.

21

Adewale

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 09:26 AM - Reply

asene wenger has done a good job over the years back, but we still need silver ware, we need to win the title and the europe crown (champions league) as one of the biggest club in the world.

pls we need a player like alonso to hold our centre half, asene wenger should go for alonso.

And i predict arsenal for the title this season.

thank you

GUNNERS FOR LIFE....................

20

Femi

Posted on 19 Aug, 2008 at 08:05 AM - Reply

I don't think it's really about big names but a squad with depth. Adebayaor has clearly developed an ego problem and will not likely do well as a team player and Van Persie has lost his cutting edge. Eduardo is injured and even when he returns cannot hit his prime until later in the season. Betdner has no reason being in Arsenal's firsTt team. So on a serious note a striker is needed. The defence is seriously short-staffed 'cos to be frank since Kolo Toure came back from ANC, he's been VERY suspect.

Let all this nonsense stop about mounting a good title challenge or hitting 80+ points. It's about WINNING titles.

19

johnny2

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 07:44 PM - Reply

well lads,,
when you look a it two mistakes at the back against Chelsea and man u cost us the title last season and thats it,, i believe Wenger will pull sum thing out of the bag for us again he always dose and to all who say we dont have match winners in our team pull on a different shirt!!!

18

Don

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 06:55 PM - Reply

I believe you are right. AW's next 1 or 2 signings will, i believe, be the most important signings of his career at Arsenal. The youth is in place. The future is in place. The experience will deliver the here and now.....which is why the next 2 signings are so important.

17

Luke Holland

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 06:25 PM - Reply

You are one fo the first people to speak some real sense to me. I really enjoyed this article and I am glad that some people aren't making the same mistakes as I've seen before.

16

Kisaka

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 05:02 PM - Reply

Truthfully speaking i have no choice but to wholeheartedly agree with this Post, in truth if one is to truthfully analyze Arsenal the real answer would be that we are top-class, however we failed to clinch the title last season but on the whole we played the best football surpassing every other team in the Premier league. However i see the problem with Arsenal is not inexperience but rather the fact that we lack a match winner, we lack a player of the callibre of Messi, Kaka, Ronaldinho(in his prime), and Ronaldo. Players who can take the weight of the team and single handidly carry it on their own shoulders even when the other players are playing under-par, just take a look at the way Messi carried Barcelona against Manchester despite them losing the match you cannot deny the brilliance put on display by Messi and the sheer luck of Manchester....as a whole i believe Arsenal is capable of clinching the Premier League and Conquering Europe if we can keep our best players constantly fit(it surprises me how when our players get injured they are always injured for a long a** time...do we possibly have a Sh*t Physiotherapist?)and kill off games when we have the chance to, in other words we have to be more clinical in front of Goal..........GO GUNNNERS!!!!!!!!!

15

topgunner101

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 04:22 PM - Reply

considering the money that man u and chelsea spent on their squads,i think last season was a actually not realy a good one for them. the champions league won on penaltys and neither of them more than a few points above arsenal.with the investment and effort they should have left us trailing by at least eight points,lead for longer and won their trophysa damn sight more convincingly.ill stick with wengers way.and never be accused of buying success.thankyou.

14

Ole Gunner Bergkamp

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 04:21 PM - Reply

Solid, solid solid article. People focus so much on the here and now that they forget the future.

If you are a student, why. If you are just starting your employment, why. If you have been employed for years, why. You are all working for some ultimate goal, let Arsene do his thing and you will only have a few years of struggle to complain about.

13

eagled-eye

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 03:01 PM - Reply

im not an 'eagled-eye'..... haha
ARSEnAL to WIN THE TITLE BUT shhhh dnt tell anyone!!!

12

Abubakar

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 02:45 PM - Reply

pls wenger go for alonso or else please and please leave.

11

Istvan Kiraly

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 02:41 PM - Reply

Who cares what the press say, they are the same narrow-minded xenophobic individuals who criticize arsenal for having 'too many foreigners'. arsenal play the best football, i repeat the best football around and that is why i support them. get behind our team and ignore the media, this season we will prove them wrong

10

BOY BETTER KNOW

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 02:24 PM - Reply

What I would like to say is.I think you are being very blind if you think this team is as good as untd and co it simply is not and as for winning things dont be so sure it will happen anytime soon.There are far to many shit squad players in this side which would not get in any of the other top 3 sides or there reserves.Money in football nowadays talks alot and wenger not going out and spending makes us alot more weaker then the rest.I dont know what wenger is trying to prove hear but it is making us the paying fans look like complete cunts when we are supposed to be a big club and not win a thing for the past 3 years it is an absolute disgrace.

9

GWelch

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 12:43 PM - Reply

Well said Asser!!! Someone who know's what there talking about....

No one says we are gonna win everything, but for anyone who thinks that Arsenal are not capable of mounting a challenge this season need there brains tested. Just like an ex-hero of mine, Mr Ian Wright!! I have now read three articles this summer written by him and they basically say we aint good enough, yes Ian, you need a cat scan. Why any Arsenal hero would be putting us down I do not understand anyway, seems you love for the club has faded Three strikes and your out my son... Oh and I am 110% sure Titi would never choose Manure, the statement you made just shows if you were still good enough you would sell your self to the devils! --- Traitor

8

Gare Kekeke

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 12:28 PM - Reply

Great article. You have spoken for true intelligent Gooners.

I don't believe in this policy that you have to spend big money on big name players. Wenger has proved in the past that he can bring in good experience players at modest prices and they develop into top-class players. The latest example being Bacary Sagna from Auxerre for £7.5m, now seen by many non-Gooners as the best right-back in the country.

The British media are not only hypocrites but also lack intelligence. When Arsenal sign young experience players like Sagna, Nasri & Eduardo, they are described as 'unproven'. Yet nobody in the media bat an eyelid when Man Utd signed a teenage but brilliant Anderson who had two years worth of Portuguese football before the move to Old Traford.

As for the players who have left, Flamini had one season in four. For all of his skill & technique, Hleb was not as effective as his mate Fabregas and his reluctance to score goals was also frustrating. And Wenger saw as I did that Flamini brought more energy into the midfield and the best in Cesc, where as Gilberto Silva, for all of his good play didn't.

When Wenger signs another good young, experienced defensive midfielder that is only known to a few football followers around the world, the critics will eat their words again.

7

Rob C

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:47 AM - Reply

As a life long Gunner I am desperate for us to win something this season but sadly I think his reluctance to buy an established central defender will be our undoing again this year because we will not be able to shut out the opposition and will continue to give away simple goals. I do think he will be signing a defensive midfielder this week and perhaps this shore up the defence. The other concern is Theo. When is he going to deliver?

6

Terri

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:47 AM - Reply

I admire Arsene Wenger. He sticks to his principals which not many people do in this day and age
Also unlike Rafa when he leaves the club he will not leave them with huge debts. It is no good spending what you cannot afford and managers like Benitez could eventually bankrupt the club
Thank god we have got a manager who has got sense

5

tungamirai bizah

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:42 AM - Reply

well said,thats the best football article i have ever read,

4

Anurag

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:26 AM - Reply

I agree with you. I was taken by surprise when I watched BPL preview shows and was even more surprised when some pundit said that Wenger doesn’t desire the BPL trophy and he thinks he can’t win it. Although we have a young squad we have a lot of experience which many people fail to notice. Also the same bunch of players have been together for some 3 seasons now ,which means we have established continuity and after coming within 4 points of the eventual champions last season I cant accept that we will finish 4th. If we were a young side three seasons ago and have kept the core group of players together how can we be still an inexperienced young side – Don’t our players age? I believe we will be in the thick of things and will be challenging for the title. You are spot on in pointing out how the transfer amount and wage budget determine how good a player is. For e.g As per the pundits David Bentley’s transfer will bring great things for the Spurs but Vela (who has already spent two seasons at the La Liga perhaps the best league technically) will fail to have an impact. Good article Nice insight … keep them coming

3

Jack

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:24 AM - Reply

Charlie Nicholas from Sky Sports News reckons we will win it!!!

2

Ole Gunner

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:22 AM - Reply

I think the issue with Arsenal is the tension between two approaches.

Approach 1: Rack up debt and spend big, buying both quality and crap. Chelsea spent £20m on Wright-Philips.

Approach 2: Buy quality at bargain prices. £3 million on Adebayor.

Approach 1 is not sustainable. Approach 2 depends on a good manager and shrewd transfer dealings.

United and Chelsea each of about £700M. We owe about £250m. If we spent half of the difference between our debt and theirs, we could buy Pele, Maradone, Johann Cruyff and Beckenbauer.

But should we rack up debt for short-term success? We're ultimately a business. We shouldn't.

1

edward ibrahim

Posted on 18 Aug, 2008 at 10:19 AM - Reply

a whole load of rubbish. You need experience and a big squad to win titles. Four years without trophies is as bad as it can get. The Gaffer should stop theorizing and experimenting and get real. It has been proven time without number that there is a direct correlation between money spent in the market and trophies delivered to the cabinet (wanna ask manu, chelski?). Lets stop talking nonsense and face facts.

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