For what started off as such a promising season has now lost its wing and is spiraling down towards what we can all associate with, a typical Arsenal season. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Where do I even begin? Too many holes in this club that my two hands are severely inept at preventing this sinking ship; all hands on deck! What you’ll find listed below are three imperative ideas (which I find) must be implemented.
Before I get started, I’d just like to make it known to my readers that this is not a rant.
1. Save our youth
England are a footballing nation far behind other major ones, and when it comes to nurturing talent its fair to say they completely miss the boat. Why are England so inferior to the other nations? Easy answer, as a nation their football knowledge is not wide enough.
How many players in this current England squad have ventured abroad to broaden their footballing horizon? (An uncomfortable silence proceeds). There are so many lessons that can be learned abroad, yet English clubs choose to loan their young prospects out to the lower tiers of English football. Yes they get first-team opportunities, but I’m afraid that’s where the lesson stops abruptly.
Adhering to this notion, Arsenal, who themselves have excellent youth system and facilities, need to reel in their prospects to avoid the detrimental exposure of the media limelight. This speaks high volumes to their English talent who are so young, yet overwhelmingly revered.
For the rest of the English talent, all of the blame cannot reside on Roy Hogdson, the commander in chief. It’s not his fault that England as a nation struggle to produce enough top talents. Take Wilfried Zaha and Raheem Sterling who have been pushed to the national side without (in my opinion) being ready.
I cannot emphasize on how imperative nurturing the youth is. Arsenal do pretty well of achieving this, however, their problem is that they struggle to keep their players when they finally reach maturity. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Arsenal, the fostering home for football. Not a nice name to be affiliated to a club is it?
2. Build a team around Wilshere
There is no doubt that Jack Wilshere is one of the greatest facets to emerge from the Arsenal youth ranks. The intangibles that this man harbors are quintessential for a leader of a club. The brains of Dennis Bergkamp, the heart of Tony Adams, the courage of Martin Keown, the stamina of Ray Parlour, the control of Robert Pires and the left foot of Liam Brady – all the key attributes of previous Arsenal greats bestowed onto this young Englishmen. Quite spectacular.
Since coming back from such a long and frustrating injury, Wilshere has shown that he hasn’t lost his competitive edge. A man who puts everything from first minute to last; a trait that is phantom to the rest of the squad.
Quote me on this, but I strongly believe that if the rest of the squad played up to the bar that he raised then the club wouldn’t be underachieving and I wouldn’t be writing to let you know. Undoubtedly, he will be the future captain of club and country. It’s just a matter of when.
3. Winning breeds more winning
Whether it’s the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy or the Capital One Cup, winning gives birth to hunger for more winning – hunger that spreads like wild fire amongst an Amazon forest.
Let me cast your mind back to February 27th 2011, Arsenal faced Birmingham in the final of the (what was called back then) ‘The Carling Cup’. Just before kick-off, life as a Gunner was rosier than the cheeks of an embarrassed female. At this precise moment, The Gunners were firing on all cylinders in all four competitions.
However, the shock defeat in the Carling Cup final ensued one of the biggest choking incidents in sporting history (no hyperbole). The fortnight that preceded this loss to Birmingham saw Arsenal bow out of the other three competitions quicker than a drunk hits the ground. One can only imagine what might have happened if things ran smoother in that Carling Cup final.
If Arsenal are to change their tragic misfortune, then I think they may need to take a meticulous look at improving the internal components of the club. Throwing money at the problem i.e. bringing in new players might be beneficial in the short run, but not in the long run. Though all is not lost at Arsenal and my faith in this club is certainly not lost, every dog has its day.
This was just one man’s opinion about the club he so dearly loves.
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I firmly believe that no person is more important than the organization that employs him. I believe that a player no matter how good he is should never be more important than the manager. But having said that I also believe that everyone need to be treated fairly. Is it fair that the board and management get paid good salaries and bonuses for under delivering. After all the fans are the most important above the board management and players. Without the fans the team would not exist. No one to spend their hard earned money to watch the team. That means no sponsorships, sponsors use the team as a platform to promote their business and sell their products. In short nothing will be possible without the fans. So why the hell are we being disrespected in this manner? We the fans are Arsenal everybody else including shareholders work for us. Without us they can do nothing. It is time shareholders, board members, management, players etc. Realise this. We deserve respect and we have the right to demand it for WE ARE ARSENAL!!! Players demanding outrageous salaries without really proving their worth, shareholders filling their pockets at our expense, management that think no trophies is acceptable, players who come here and make a mockery of us. We will fire you. Do not think we do not have the power to do so. Shape up or ship out. FOR WE ARE ARSENAL!!! SO RESPECT THE JERSEY RESPECT THE BRAND!!!
Too many dead wood in the team… Waste of salaries! Squillaci, Djourou, Chamakh, Ramsey; Players just earning salaries without really adding value to the team. Mediocrity! What annoys me more is that Wenger has become comfortable with Mediocrity! Wenger has lost it! For Arsenal to bounce back to greatness, drastic decisions have to be made.
This is a good point..
“if the rest of the squad played up to the bar that he raised…”
I quote John Wooden of USA Basketball legend –
“A player with fight in him never loses a game, he just runs out of time”.
When the contingent of players in AFC shirts that harbor that in their DNA returns, we will be back to our 2004 standards.
Boy have we been lucky consistency in the PL this season has been so poor. I have not felt confident we were going to win any game this season. I defy anyone to tell me they are confident we will not concede when under attack. Kos is better than Merts (bar the hight advantage) and I think Miguel should be give more games when Kos and Vermalen are out
The reason Mert gets games over Kosc is not just the height difference but also the fact that Kosc and Verm are too similar in their style of play. Both like to make runs and get in the box during attacks. Mert doesn’t. Usually Sagna and Gibbs are up too that left no-one in defence. Mert rarely joins in the attack unless its at a corner and he’s stayed up. That’s why he’s in the team. The last line in the defence until someone else can get back.
Also Miquel is not a good defender. There was a time when he started to show some promise but then Barca were like “we want him back” and he became naff. There are better prospects in our youth system that deserve a chance over him
Sad times for a gunner and something tells me worse days are to come…I just hope we don’t fall as much as Liverpool have..I actually feel sorry for them..
Some lavish praise on Wilshere and I hope he goes on to challenge the 722 appearances made by David O’Leary!
VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT