Time for change at Arsenal

Arsenal will never win silverware again while Arsene Wenger remains in charge. It is a bold statement, but I believe it to be the case. The last two seasons for the Gunners have followed a similar pattern: remain in the hunt until around March time, and then collapse from there on in.

In 2010/11, the demise began with a shell-shocking last minute defeat at the hands of eventually relegated Birmingham City in the Carling Cup final.  Following that came 90 minutes of futile shadow chasing at the Nou Camp as Arsenal’s Champions League exit was rather predictably confirmed and a depressing performance at Old Trafford ended their FA Cup challenge. The dust finally settled as Dirk Kuyt ran over to the Liverpool fans after his 102nd minute penalty at The Emirates in April, and the prospect of another trophyless campaign became reality.

A degree in quantum physics is not required to work out why Arsenal continue to fall short on an annual basis. The current group of players simply haven’t got it in them to go that extra mile come the business end of the season. However, the root cause is Arsene Wenger, because he has failed to spend money on players that will enable his team to overcome the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea. Characters such as Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown and to an extent Thierry Henry, the dressing room leaders who were integral to Arsenal’s success in the late 90s and early 00s don’t exist amongst the current squad. Those players have not been replaced and the blame for that undoubtedly rests at the feet of Wenger.

Each summer for the past 4 or 5 years, Wenger has been expected to go out and buy the two or three players needed for the Gunners to end their trophy drought and he hasn’t delivered. To his credit, “the professor” has overseen some very shrewd business during his time as manager in North London, but the time for that has ran out and more to the point, so has the patience of the Arsenal fans. Over the course of the last three summer transfer windows, Wenger has splashed out £45m on first team players such as Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin,  Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny. All of those players have ability, but they all lack leadership and crucially, experience of knowing what it takes to consistently win trophies. Those are the two areas where they languish behind Man United and Chelsea. Yes, they play arguably the best football in the country but Arsenal lack the  mental toughness to fulfil their ambition.

Every year since the FA Cup triumph of 2004  Wenger has promised that it would be the year when his crop of young stars finally mature and start to dominate the English game and every year this scenario has not materialised. And in this particular year, 2011, it may be too little, too late. The players who were once youngsters with a future seemingly destined for success at Arsenal, are entering the prime of their careers and are beginning to seek challenges elsewhere. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor jumped ship to Manchester City in 2009 and they have now been joined by Gael Clichy.

While the departures of the above mentioned players have been felt, none have left as great a void which would be created should Cesc Fabregas leave for Barcelona, and after a three year saga, it looks as though that will be the situation Arsenal are faced with this summer. On top of that, Nasri is hesistating over signing a new contract and the thought of him joining his old chums at Man City, or worse, signing for United really doesn’t bare thinking about from Arsenal’s persective. It is a very real prospect that the Gunners may arrive at Newcastle for their Premier League opener on August 13th without their talismanic captain and the at times majestic Nasri. The reason for this potential dilemma is the fact that these two players have realised that perhaps the opportunity for medals has faded away at The Emirates.

Of Course, should Fabregas and Nasri be sold, Arsenal will have plenty of money to spend on replacements. But this has always been the case, and as I’ve explained Wenger has not utilised it in the past and it’s because of this, combined with Arsenal’s hapless end to last season, that his current stars are yearning for pastures new. The frenchman’s transfer activity so far this summer  has seen the talented but inexperienced 19-year old Carl Jenkinson arrive from Charlton, in a deal that reeks of Wenger’s seemingly failed strategy of  continuously nurturing youth. Gervinho, the Ivory Coast winger, who certainly carries bags of potential has also arrived for a fee of £12m from French champions Lille, but he is not the missing link who will bring the Premier League title to The Emirates.

Based on these two signings, it still seems as if Wenger has no intention of spending big on a couple of star names who will take his team to the next level. It is looking increasingly likely that Arsenal will endure another trophyless season in 2011/12 and should that occur then in 12 months it will surely be time for Wenger to move on and let someone else have a go at bringing glory back to the club.