Stagnant Arsenal Need Change In Philosophy To Win
Arsenal have often been criticized for being highly stingy in the transfer market. With half of the winter transfer window over, there are no signs of any new arrivals at the Emirates Stadium. They find themselves in the title race alongside five other teams. Being only eight points behind the league leaders, with a lot to play for this season, Arsenal fans don’t seem to be criticizing Arsene Wenger right now. But all of that could change a couple of months from now.
One would argue that Arsenal should be signing more players to cement their part in this year’s title race. But Wenger, unlike some of the fans, has conveyed that the squad is strong enough and he would back his current squad to mount a challenge this season.
Is Arsenal’s Squad Good Enough?
Every season Arsenal look like title contenders at the half-way stage and then wane out by the end of it. They always look two or three players short of making that big leap to win the league. Many pundits and fans often blame Wenger for trusting his players too much and not getting those two or three top-quality players and winning the league.
This year they’ve got Shkodran Mustafi and Granit Xhaka in, but they still don’t look like the players that would win league titles. Whereas the likes of Rob Holding don’t provide the kind of quality on the bench you would expect from a top quality side.
One of the biggest factors why the Liverpool teams’ of the 70s and 80s and the Manchester United teams’ of the 90s and 2000s dominated was because they didn’t over-rely on certain players. Whenever they had the opportunity to buy top quality players to significantly improve the squad, they did so. It increases the sense of competition among the players, which is vital for any big team.
Keeping Sanchez and Ozil Happy
In modern football where transfers have become more frequent, big money arrivals have more than just the obvious purpose. The top players in your team need assurances that the club is moving forward, else they want to move to greener pastures. Arsenal have lost big names like Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas in the past due to this.
2013 saw a change in Wenger’s philosophy. He went and bought Mesut Ozil for £42.5m, followed by Alexis Sanchez for £31.7m the next year. But it just stopped after that. Although Petr Cech was a top class buy last season, the clear lack of firepower among the outfield players meant that they faltered again in the title race. Arsenal are the only club in the league who start the season on a pessimistic note. And this is the case almost every year. The best day to play Arsenal is the opening day of the season. The fans look frustrated and the players deflated.
The lack of progress in the last two years, in the league and in Europe has clearly frustrated Ozil and Sanchez. These players want to play in the big finals and Arsenal have got to improve to keep them at the club.
The Future of Arsene at Arsenal
Wenger has been criticized heavily by some Gooners. But one would have to realize he is the best option out there. Despite his lack of activity in the transfer window, he is Arsenal’s best hope. If you had told Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United in August that they would finish 4th this term, they would have been pleased with it. But Arsenal fans would be very disappointed with the same. It tells you about the frustration among the Arsenal fans because of the lack of progress. They are tired of having the same type of season every year.
In the past few seasons, almost all the big boys have missed out on Champions League qualification. But Arsenal have constantly maintained their place there under Wenger. Some might say that it is an undervalued achievement, and that does make sense at some level. Even if you ask Wenger to leave, whom do you replace him with? There’s no one out there who could replace him.
But a change in philosophy is required. He needs to realize that his way of running the team hasn’t improved the results for Arsenal. For a team that is always in the Champions League they should be one of the favourites to win it. Only that will keep the big players happy and the fan base content.