You would have thought that the funny nature of football, the overt ironies and the constant unpredictability of the sport would have made the phrase 'don't write anyone off' a universal wisdom used throughout our sport but it seems people love to do the opposite, quite frivolously at times and especially so this year concerning Arsenal.
I am not just talking about the typical negative/ banter views of rival fans, those who dislike arsenal or love to disagree for the sake of it (we all know the type I mean) but also the views of the neutral, reasoned fan, people who I know have no bias and you can be guaranteed to actually have a productive conversation about football with. Recently I have noticed people of both dispositions genuinely writing Arsenal off.
The reasons usually given for writing us off are quite numerous and familiar. Here are a few:
Our last 2 seasons were disappointments, last year we only had a sniff at the carling cup and didn't win it whilst being nowhere in everything else.
In the last few years we have had a Leeds Unitedesque exodus of our best players without replacing them and have now sold Henry leaving a team without any top players.
We have lost David Dean, Wenger’s future is in doubt (with his departure will be the end of days) and everyone will leave when he does and Arsenal will be doomed to mediocrity.
The main reason given by many who care to delve most seriously with their views is that we are not evolving with the rest of the premiership. Our policy of not buying big and spending big on the best players may have worked in previous years but it will not work anymore as other clubs have upped the ante. There is a takeover revolution going on, clubs like Man City, Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, etc are now equipped to pay top 4 amounts in transfers and wages and have been, whilst Man Utd, Liverpool and Tottenham are spending money like it will be worthless tomorrow. This new money mania has rendered our philosophy obsolete and we have to follow suit or we ourselves will become obsolete.
'Arsenal have bought 3 unknowns to boost a mediocre, inexperienced squad whilst everyone else has been buying the cream of Europe' to quote a pal.
These are the big charges laid down, among others, and there is truth to some but I do not think they will reflect so negatively on the club as everyone else does. Here are my thoughts on the subject.
The last 2 seasons were not disastrous for us. 2 years ago we were in the Champions League final to the envy of all the other British teams. We stole the show that year, Chelsea winning the title only got 2 days of back page coverage, we had the rest and make no mistake that Chelsea would have swapped their title to have a go at winning the holy grail. Sadly we didn't win but it was a courageous performance and it was an unforgettable journey along the way.
Last season Man Utd and Chelsea were immense, fair play, yet we finished on the same points as Liverpool without the combined threat of Henry and Van Persie for most of the season. We widened the gap against Spurs and if it were not for poor finishing across the season we would have finished much closer to the top. Our Carling cup boys did us proud too and showed us that the future is bright.
We may have sold some key players recently but they were either getting old or it was just their time. We have not replaced them with established stars but they were not established stars in the first place. The fact that our 2nd team reached the CC final beating full strength teams such as Spurs, Liverpool and Everton shows that the money we have spent has been spent well.
The only problem I think we had last season (minus injuries) was consistent finishing. That was all and a minor problem (in the grand scheme of things) at that. If our players finished the countless chances we created we would have been title contenders and we would not be written off so quickly today but we didn't and now we are here. We just need to be a little ruthless on goal (Da Silva) and we should be sorted.
Most teams have countless worries to do with their play and we have one, finishing, i am happy about that and when we sort that out (which i am sure will be this year) we will be an undeniable force.
This team, bearing in mind Henry and VP sadly were bit parters last year may not have "top players" (in the fashionable sense) but they played like a top team and did well considering their perceived "status" according to many.
This year we have lost Henry yes (legend, please retire number 14) but we have RVP back, the team of last year has a years more experience to it's name and we have 3 new signings who have alot of potential and unlike other teams who have bought lots of players we have bought few so that we do not disrupt this ever improving and maturing squad. Overall things look positive not negative.
Briefly (as this is worth a thread in itself), Wenger is monumental concerning this club success but if he does leave it will not all be over. If he leaves it means that a takeover will be 100% guaranteed. We will get in a top manager, play the buying big game and because of our tradition, fan base, location, stadium and quality of current team we will be a better prospect than the other newly taken over clubs and therefore get the players. It will be different but we will still be up there.
The main argument I keep hearing about not evolving is based on the view that our unique philosophy is negative and detrimental to the club but I firmly believe it is positive and will be until we cease to abide by it.
The players which we apparently should up the ante and pay for such as Torres, Tevez, Bent, Eto’o and the others we were/are laughably linked with in the press are players we just wouldn’t buy anyway. The reason Wenger never buys them is because we already have them, they may come under different names, be younger and as yet unheard of but they are waiting to come through the ranks and they will be top class one day, the only difference is we will not pay the overpriced privilege to use them now. While other clubs pay high fees for a player that may produce but is unlikely to ever give them a profit if sold we buy young, wait for them to mature and then see what impact they can make and if they are not quite the grade or are fantastic and believed by the boss to be at the right time to sell we nearly always make a profit, how many other clubs can say that?
Fabregas would be sold right now for £20 million +, we bought him for £500k I think. We could have spent £17 million on the Carricks, Hargreaves, and your Riberys of this world but instead we have someone better and we picked him up along time ago for a nominal price. Also now these new players in other clubs have to come in and justify their price tag which can have a negative effect on some players, whilst our players will not have that pressure on them, one less thing to worry about.
While some people complain that we are not spending big on certain positions I am certain that there is someone we have not heard of sitting in our youth team or a teenager that will soon be brought in quietly who will make waves in the next three years. People may say, where is your multimillion pound player in position x? but in 2 or 3 years time when an unknown has come through, played amazing and become a talent worth multi millions people will be saying “oh, there he is, he was there all along, well done Wenger”.
Plus whilst all the other newly rich clubs will be all demanding success and will be transferring and trading away to the extent you will think it is supermarket sweep we will keep the bulk of our squad consistent and in place. A club which buys 6 players, does ok but not well enough, decides to buy 6 more the next season after selling 4 and then repeats the cycle (which will happen because not everyone can win) is in a much worse state than one that buys little and bonds the quality they already have. This is where our philosophy is positive and superior to the new evolved big bucks buying game and is why we are in such a better state than most other clubs. The fact is that we don’t waste money, we put other teams to waste.
It will happen again and again until Wenger leaves the only immediate question is “can the current team /squad do us justice in the short term and I believe it most definitely can. Our young, depleted squad last year did exceedingly well whilst playing attractive football and most of the time without Henry. This year they are older, wiser, better and have a few, hopefully quality new signings to complement their play. Things look up for me and not down.
Let’s see if the teams who move to their new £500 million stadiums in the future and end a bit strapped for cash and need to put the brakes on spending can use their money to produce the same results we do. I very much doubt it and by the time those teams finish their stadiums, due to our economic prowess we probably would have paid off our stadium and have more money than we desire to spend anyway.
These are some of my counter arguments to the charges often laid at my door. Sorry if I have rambled on a bit or am preaching to the choir, this is my first article and hopefully will be forgiven any shortcomings.
What are people’s thoughts on the subject? Do you agree/disagree with me? Genuinely concerned by any of the issues stated (or others)? Or wish to elaborate on any points I have made?
Please feel free, long live the gunners
Reverend Gooner