Anyone who caught their somewhat stilted performances in the Emirates Cup on ESPN at the start of August may already have had suspicions that all was not well in Camp Wenger, but they surely couldn’t have anticipated the depths to which Arsenal’s season has so rapidly sunk.
Arsenal’s season couldn’t really have started any worse. The protracted transfer sagas of Fabregas and Nasri finally came to a close in the manner that just about everyone had expected without many players being bought in by way of replacement. Then, an unfortunate home defeat at Liverpool was followed by the most comprehensive defeat suffered by an Arsenal team since the 19th century.
Yet, any team was going to struggle with the loss of its two finest performers, and Arsenal will, inevitably pull it around sooner or later. Even in the depths of the gloom, there are reasons to be cheerful.
First of all, Arsenal are, without a debt, the best run team financially in the league, whilst this might not be of much consolation for the fans, it should be. With an enormous new stadium, excellent youth facilities, and consistently running a surplus, Arsenal are what a top football team should look like, it’s just that they’re ahead of their time.
Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona – the three finest teams in Europe – are carrying debts that would collapse a small country, whilst Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal’s two main rivals in the league, would be in a similar state were it not for the wealth of their respective owners. If UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rulings have any teeth, Arsenal will benefit immediately, even if not, as the world economy has recently shown, bubbles collapse, and the sort of levels of spending going on around the Premier League and Europe’s top clubs cannot be sustained.
Further, Arsenal have a generation of young talent coming through that is promising (as they always are) and Wenger is showing signs of looking to address the major flaws in the team. What has to be remembered is that 1) the club has just lost its captain 2) nearly all the players are top class, just low on confidence 3) having players who don’t want to be at a club is impossible 4) out gunning the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool when it comes to spending power isn’t easy 5) the club have some of the best facilities in the world and 6) regardless of all else, Wenger is the second most successful manager in the Premier League era.
