Will Arsenal collapse this season as they have in every other season in recent memory? It's not looking good for them and this season is panning the same as any other. They have drawn Bayern in the CL 1st knockout round and the ravaging the are sure to get will no doubt have an adverse residual effect on their league form. We have seen Arsenal suffer a type of post traumatic stress after CL maulings in recent years which has hampered league form. I fear this season will be no different Their best players having an eye on the door is also one that is alarmingly familiar and won't do the fragile mentality of the dressing room any good. So, what will be the extent of the gunners now annual implosion?
Personally, I wouldn't have started this thread just yet, choosing to wait until Spurs had finished above Arsenal, but as the OP is not a Spurs fan he can be excused that one criticism. However, as the thread has been started it would be rude of me not to offer a comment. I said, a few seasons back, that Wenger's time has gone. If he had any love for the club, he'd have left long before, now. The fact that the old fossil manages to cling on to power is probably more to do with his ability to continually line the Chairman's pockets as it does with anything related to football. Yet, whilst the club has a fan base that is content to never win the title again, and who care only about finishing above Spurs, I cannot see Wenger leaving. Expect him to be around for a very long while.
As much as opinion is split on Wenger amongst Arsenal fans I often find the same amongst opposition fans. Some think he gives stability and has done wonders, others think he holds the club back. There are arguments to be made on both sides that hold weight in my opinion. Whether we will collapse this season is yet to be seen. It's normally an overall good season with two periods of sub standard results holding us back in recent years. To call it an implosion seems a little over the top... Though it is the PL board so I'll forgive you. Other than the teams to win the title over the last three seasons I can't imagine any other team wouldn't swap there fortunes for ours. 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the league, 2 FA Cups, 2 Mighty Community Shields, last 16 each season in the CL. How many teams have done better in the last few seasons?
Since I'm bored I'll do a quick comparison for the current top six: Chelsea: 3rd, 1st, 10th, 1 league cup, last 16 in CL twice and once semi final. Spurs: 6th, 5th, 3rd, no cups, last 16 of the Europa twice and once last 32. Liverpool: 2nd, 6th, 8th, no cups, runners up in Europa once, knocked out CL group (round of 32 Europa) once, one season no Europe Arsenal: 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 2 FA Cups, 2 Community Shield, last 16 CL three times. City: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 2 League Cups, last 16 in CL twice and once semi final. Utd: 7th, 4th, 5th, 1 FA Cup, 2 Community Shield, CL QF once, one year no Europe, one year knocked out in CL group (round 16 Europa)
I think there in lies the problem. And I would go back even further and say 6/7 seasons. Any big club that does that, you expect to be building towards real success. 2/3 seasons getting top 4 then get title. 4/5 seasons getting to Q/F or S/F of CL then be real CL Cup contenders, win FA Cup, couple that with a title and do the double. Clubs that do what you're doing are doing so to build towards something big. That's where you really have failed tbh. Whether it's United, Liverpool, City, Chelsea etc that's what you'd expect if they were doing what you are, and it's the same on the continent. Imo that's what people really mean when they talk about an Arsenal implosion.
It was understandable when they were paying for the stadium but they have no excuse now He's right that I'd like Liverpool to have that record over last 3 seaaons (only because we've been ****e) but he's wrong to think I'd be happy with it continuing
To be fair prior to three seasons ago we were still feeling the effects of the stadium move, having to sell our best players and actually did well to stay in the top four in some of those seasons given the competition. It's only the last few seasons we've been able to really step forward from what had become a stagnant position. I completely agree though that our recent seasons would suggest building towards something better and that's what we have to be aiming for at the moment. If we continue to be nearly rans over the next few seasons we will have failed to take the step forward that we should be capable of.
Definitely did. Whilst those around us could buy top players we had to sell them. It's no surprise really that when the board and Wenger announced we had come out the other end of the stadium stuff that we then started signing top players and having more success. For me there is a clear line between the time we were selling Fabregas, RVP etc and the moment we started signing Ozil, Sanchez, Cech etc...
The problem for Arsenal, and most other Premiership clubs, is money. That may sound daft. But the amount of money in the game nowadays, and especially in the Premier league, has attracted investors from all over the world. These guys are not in love with 'soccer' they couldn't give a toss! They're in this to make money. So long as they see increased profit potential, they will continue to invest. But, when the day comes that they see that it's time to cut and run, they'll sell and disappear with their profits. Arsenal currently have one the worst examples of this behaviour in Kroenke. And, therein has lain part of their problem. The other current problem, imo, is Whinger.
Definite distinction, but was that because you couldn't afford to or because you used a poor business model and chose not to, when you could have? The revenue for Arsenal has always been excellent. As a club were you just being miserly bcos the costs were cutting profits and you didn't want to spend simply because you were risk averse?
I couldn't answer that I'm afraid! To keep on track though we needed to remain in the CL and were hamstrung with players. Whether it was a good decision or not by the board is probably something that will be decided by how well we do over the next handful of years to a decade as the groundwork put in then will show in what success we are able to bring having come through that period.
I'm not sure about Kroenke tbh. He hasn't done anything particularly bad but also doesn't seem to want to do anything particularly good. He does seem like he is happy as long as the club is stable and consistent. It's funny because we also have an abramovich style share holder in Usmanov who has constantly tried to buy the club and offered to pump money in for player purchases. The best type of owner is probably somewhere in the middle of the two: conscious of stability and the future of the club but willing to invest and show ambition.
