Almunia: Time to end the trophy drought
Written by Jonathan Chong on Saturday, August 8, 2009
After four years without winning a major trophy, goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has called on his team mates to realise the potential within themselves and end the trophy drought at the club. And the Arsenal number one says that captain Francesc Fabregas is the man to lead that trophy charge.
However, Almunia also called on the fans to be patient, saying that whilst there is alot of expectation on the team, it's important to be realistic and supportive when the best laid plans do go wrong. And part of that is giving credit to manager Arsène Wenger, who Almunia says deserves praise for sticking to his youth policy.
It's no secret that Wenger has been criticised for not bringing in experienced players into the team, preferring instead to rely on the wealth of talent coming through the club's youth system.
Almunia said: "People must be stronger as they're older and more experienced.
"Football is a strange sport, you never know what's going to happen. You do not know if you will get injuries or if people will not be fit.
"Let's see how we start the season, then decide our targets.
"I understand the fans must be impatient to have something. I understand that as Arsenal won a lot of trophies before.
"The way the boss is working deserves reward. It's not easy to give chances to young players at a club as big as this.
"With Cesc, this season we'll see the best of him and he'll help us win something. Then he'll be happy to be here and will do what he wants to do."
The last major trophy that the Gunners won was in 2005, when they beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final on penalties. The Gunners taken on Spanish side Valencia in a friendly match tonight in Spain.
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Football is a strange sport, you never know what's going to happen. You do not know if you will get injuries or if people will not be fit.
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