I remember some fellow gooners holding a homemade banner up outside Wembley in May 1998, when we were going to play Newcastle to secure the double in Arsene Wenger’s first full season. It read ‘English Grit, Dutch Courage and French Flair.’
This has stayed with me ever since for two reasons. Firstly, it so aptly described our team, with the English George Graham assembled back five and Razor, combined with Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp, completed with of course Anelka, Petit and Vieira. Secondly, because that squad and those Championship winning squads that followed, retained the correct blend of grit, courage and flair.
Now the grit may not have been only English, the courage not only Dutch, and the flair not always, although more often than not, French, but the combination and balance remained.
Somewhere in the years between 2006 and 2011, Arsene Wenger has lost this balance of ingredients that went into the match and title winning formula. The move away from the tall, strong, yet graceful athletes such as Vieira, Lauren, Gilberto and Pires has been noticeable, to be replaced by the neat, nimble and skilful technicians. This has of course lead to delightful football at times, but even at its best it has not come close to the exhilarating speed and directness that the teams of 2002 and 2004 mustered, which lead to domination in games, and matches been won within the first half on so many occasions.
At the same time, the loss of strong experienced Premier League campaigners in the defensive ranks has not been replaced with similar strength or experience. We have found ourselves lacking leadership in games when it was truly required. The Adams, Keown, Campbell or Vieira figures have not been replaced for strength or leadership in this period, and the flair players of 2004, such as Berkgamp, Pires and Lungberg, had the same guile of a Rosicky, a Walcott, a Hleb or an Arshavin, but twice the muscle and character as well.
Which brings us to today and the morning after the end of the transfer window August 2011, 5 days after a harrowing 6 goal hammering at the hands of the team that only we competed with from 1998 to 2004.
So why am taking this rueful look down memory lane today? It is because I think that Wenger, whilst he will never publically admit it, has come to a realisation that he needs to return to the combination of grit, courage and flair and the right balance between youth and experience that served him so well in the past. At the same time he needs to ensure that the team has a backbone of height and power that has been lacking in the recent past.
You can win things with kids, but they need to be blended with seasoned campaigners. You can win things using skill and precision, but it has to be combined with strength and battling qualities. I hope that the acquisitions we have made this summer will advent a new dawn for Arsenal FC, or rather a return to a previous winning formula.
Gibbs and Koscielny will learn from Sagna, Vermaelen, Mertesacker and Santos over time, and one of them blended with three of the others will work when required. In the same way that Gary Neville, joined Bruce, Pallister and Irwin with ease. What has not, and will not work, are Gibbs, Djourou, Kosielny and Sagna, and this is what we have had to fall back on in recent seasons, when injuries have left us with no experience to bring in. This was been Wenger’s fault and he has recognised this now.
I am convinced that with all their combined experience, height and general know how, that the partnership of Vermaelen and Mertasacker will see the end of our woes from dead balls and crosses. That combined with the assuredness of our new number one.
From the former defensive foundation we can now build a midfield and strike force that will also have a vibrant blend of youth, strength and experience.
Mertesacker is going to struggle with the high line which we play. For this great player to shine, we will have to change tactics otherwise he’ll be playing the opposition on-side all the time from having to run back ahead of the attack. There are players who can dribble with ball to feet faster than waht Mertesacker can sprint.
This may not be a huge proble, He may adapt well to our style, but it is a concern at the moment.