It has been six years without a trophy, they imminently face losing two of their main stars – including their captain – and now they must qualify for the Champions League. These are troubled times at Arsenal and the coming weeks could be the most important of Arsene Wenger’s time in north London.
There has been a host of superlatives aimed at Arsenal’s style of play in recent seasons but such beauty on the pitch has not been turned into success and trophies. It is a long-running joke about Arsenal’s lack of silverware in recent seasons and the natives at the Emirates are starting to get restless about it.
Wenger looks destined to lose his two most creative midfielders within the coming days, with skipper Cesc Fabregas finally sealing his long-awaited return to Barcelona (2/1 Champions League Outright) and Samir Nasri looking like heading to Manchester City (14/1). Indeed, Arsenal have turned into somewhat of a feeder club for the moneybags side, with Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and most recently Gael Clichy swapping red for sky blue.
Last season the Gunners slipped behind City in the Premier League and are being forced to qualify for the Champions League as a result. Only days into the new season and Arsenal have a crucial clash with Udinese on Tuesday night, with the return leg in Italy a week later (Arsenal 2/7, Udinese 5/2 to qualify). If Wenger’s side fail to make it into the group stages the pressure on the manager’s shoulders will continue to increase. Arsenal are certainly not going to be aided by the fact Robin van Persie and Nasri are both banned for Tuesday’s qualifier.
A lot of eyes are going to be on what Wenger does with his new-found wealth before the transfer window closes. With over £50million to come in from the sale of Fabregas and Nasri, every armchair fan and football pundit will have their ideas of what the French boss should do. Wenger has stuck to his plan of signing young talent with potential over the years but fans are getting a bit sick of this, they want success now rather than players who could be good in five years time.
On multiple occasions over the years the defence at the Emirates has been shown up as an area for concern, while there are still question marks over the goalkeeping situation. Take out Fabregas and Nasri and Arsenal are going to be woefully short in the midfield department. With Nicolas Bendtner also likely to leave the club, they also need strikers. Indeed, the Gunners could ideally do with up to half a dozen new additions if they want to challenge in the Premier League and the Champions League (Arsenal 20/1 to win Outright).
Not long ago Wenger appeared untouchable at Arsenal but things do change in football and fans are getting more frustrated at the club’s spending policy. The trio of Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson have failed to really win over the fans as they want proven top-quality signings brought in to ensure Arsenal do not slip behind in the title race. An English-type centre-half would be welcomed, along with a defensive midfielder in the style of Claude Makelele or Xabi Alonso – a player Wenger famously passed up on.
The last few weeks before the transfer window closes will be frantic times at the Emirates and, while it may seem crazy that Wenger, the man who has won more trophies than any other Arsenal manager, is under such scrutiny, it is worrying times for Arsenal fans and things need to change soon to ensure they do not fall even further behind the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and City.
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