A few days ago I made a comment that the situation at the Emirates is a little stagnant, there were a few dissenting comments so I feel compelled to explain myself.
Arsenal is certainly an organization that has enjoyed a certain degree of stability over the years provided by Arsene Wenger and many loyal players.
Lets look at the last few performances in the Premier League:
2008/9: 72 points, finished 4th
2007/8: 83 points, finished 3rd
2006/7: 68 points, finished 4th
2005/6: 67 points, finished 4th
2004/5: 83 points finished 2nd
From a consistency perspective you cannot fault Arsenal - this is a phenomenal feat to achieve and on the surface these results look impressive but if we look at them differently we can see how far off winning the league Arsenal have been.
2008/9: 18 points behind 1st
2007/8: 4 points behind 1st
2006/7: 21 points behind 1st
2005/6: 24 points behind 1st
2004/5: 12 points behind 1st
My point is that Arsenal are a good side, continually lauded in the press for playing wonderful football, but aside from the 2007/8 season, have not even been close to challenging for the title. Not even close.
Currently the Gunners sit 6 points behind 1st with a game in hand and an excellent goal difference. So the question is: does this Arsenal team have what it takes to close the gap on 1st and 2nd place? I am going to say that no, they do not. I think they will struggle in the last 3/4 of the season and will probably end up in a fight with Aston Villa, Man City and Liverpool for the 3rd and 4th places in the league.
Stan Kroenke has a track record of injecting cash into the teams that he owns and will bring a wealth of experience to the table at the Emirates. He may be able to provide the impetus for Arsenal to change from attractive bridesmaid to actually standing at the altar and winning the Premier League again.
So if I understand correctly we'll win the premier league by standing at the alter?
ReplyDeleteIntelligent football opinion? You have to be kidding.
ReplyDeleteArsenal are a very good team and could have won the league this year if RVP wasn't injured but buying players has never been Wenger way. And the last 5 years we haven't achieved much but we have just build a world class stadium and have a huge debt so we haven't been able to invest alot of money to strengthen our squad.
ReplyDeleteOther Big Four have all however spend more than 150 million in 5 years
The question is, if Kroenke does assume control and injects cash into the project, will Wenger actually spend it? He's displayed a reluctance in the past to buy "the finished article" but surely adding proven quality is the only way to elevate Arsenal from also-rans to Premier League winners?
ReplyDeleteThe purchase of Arshavin last January was a step in the right direction. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of transfer windows.
One thing's for sure: Kroenke certainly fits the description of a "fit and proper person" to own a football club, despite his lack of British nationality. I can't think of a man better placed to make the right decisions over how to run a top-class sports team.
hmmm'THE ARSENAL well may have won the title in 07-08 if they'd not imploded due to being kicked off the pitch & endless dodgy decisions against them & pro MANURE but hey what's new?-what i will say is this-it's nigh on impossible to compete against 3-4 of the worlds richest clubs whe spend shed loads of dosh to aceive their aims as opposed to arsenal acheiving what they do on shirt buttons!so let's get real with the comparisons hey!!! o /
ReplyDeleteOK, making the mistake of describing Arsenal as stagnant once is forgiveable but doing it twice really is silly.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of failings at the club but to judge us over the last five seasons you need put our performances into their proper context. In that period Arsenal have achieved all of the following:
(1) built a new stadium,
(2) remained more financially solvent than any other club in the PL,
(3) stayed out of "sugar daddy" ownership,
(4) consistently stayed in the black in the transfer market,
(5) developed one of the world's leading talent-spotting and development schemes, and
(6) qualified for the Champions' League every season.
Achieving just one or two of these things at the same time would have been impressive, but for the club to achieve them all is magnificent. On the footballing side, I believe no other manager, not Ferguson, Hiddink, O'Neill, Redknapp or anyone else, would have been able to achieve what Wenger has achieved in the last few years: in the last five seasons, with no meaningful resources to fund transfers, we reached the Champions' League Final one year and semis another year, won the FA Cup and in 2008 came very close to winning the title. Plus Chelsea's ill gotten cash has won them trophies properly run clubs could otherwise have won.
Just as Wenger said this week, he has achieved a hell of a lot in the last few years. Of course we would like to have won trophies, and we hope we will resume picking up silverware very soon. But the club has been revolutionised in the last few years, and to ignore that when assessing our last few years defies credibility.
Stagnant? You must be joking.