Arsene Wenger: The Truth About Arsenal's Trophy Drought

For the sixth year in a row, Arsenal are struggling to win trophies. Three chances of doing so were wasted in a matter of two weeks. Who is to blame?

Anyone but Arsene Wenger.

In 15 years, Arsenal has achieved just enough to match the famous Herbert Chapman side of the 1930s that dominated England. Seven trophies won under Wenger, just the same amount as the 30s teams.

Yet, six years of trophy drought stand like a gaping wound in the heart of anyone who cares about Arsenal, a club that has won the Premier League 13 times and many other trophies, including the European Cup Winners Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, but not the most prestigious one: the Champions League, the tournament that grants clubs the permit to call themselves giants of football.

For many years Arsene Wenger has failed to secure the trophy that could signify the real growth of the North London club. In fact, he has not won anything for six years, despite being close on several occasions.

What is wrong with the Arsenal?

Simple: It’s financial. It’s a business.

While the FA is concerned about spreading the popularity of the English Premier League, the clubs are left to do similar tasks themselves.

In 1999, following a spectacular double the year before, the administrative board made a decision to build a new venue capable of hosting over 60,000 people—a stadium that would bring Arsenal closer to the image of a big club, closer to the biggest clubs on the football stage.

It was a clear signal that work is being done to ensure Arsenal becomes one of the best, if not the best, in the world.

In 2004, construction of the stadium situated at Ashburton Grove began. 390 million pounds were needed to fulfill the immense project, and most of the money was borrowed from banks.

In 2006, the Emirates Stadium was built and its naming rights sold for 100 million pounds for the next 15 years. On top of that, business spread its hands from football and to property development in the place of the old iconic stadium Highbury.

The total cost of both projects amounted to an astounding 470 million pounds.

To make matters worse, the credit crunch gave birth to the economic crisis in 2007.

Despite all the obstacles, by means of rigid savings which have annoyed fans on countless occasions—inactivity on the transfer market, low players’ wages and others—the club has unbelievably managed to reduce its enormous debt to peanuts.

It now has no property debt, and the debt still looming for the Emirates project was cut to 206.3 million by February 2010.

The debt is continuing to diminish and, at the current rate, it will be fully repaid in a couple of years, with the new stadium left to generate clear profit.

With the Emirates business move, Arsenal has become the best-run club in England and is financially rivaling giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Arsene Wenger has been a key figure in that transition becoming possible.

Frugal, he’s been called, stubborn for refusing to buy expensive new players, and other epithets derived from the frustration of fans who only see results on the field.

As teams like Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City sink into more debt, Arsenal are on their way up and out of it.

The French manager has managed to keep the team title-competitive in times of financial crisis. It's undoubtedly a big achievement and its long-term effects should not be underestimated.

Despite selling key players throughout the years, despite living through hard times of trophy drought, Wenger is on the right track.

The squad looks much closer to completion than it did last year. Yes, great disappointments were suffered in a matter of two weeks this season, but what should not be forgotten is that Arsenal is on a road to join the biggest football clubs in the world.

It’s funny how the club is already considered to be in the top 10, despite not winning anything for six years.

This year, although the nightmare of injuries in crucial times is beginning to affect performance, Wenger’s men have been consistent enough to have the chance to battle for the Premier League title once again.

Wenger is a man on a mission to help transform the club for the better and to leave it in a completed state before his departure.

Doubts dispersed, he should not be relieved of his post before he completes his mission. Fans should not overlook his work behind the scene.

Arsenal: Observations of a Fan on the Gunners' defeat against Chelsea

In the most anticipated match in this round of the English Premier League, Arsenal travelled to Stamford Bridge to face the current top of the crop team, Chelsea. Expectations tilted towards the team clad in blue as they were not only in a great form but also their opposition, Arsenal, was struck by unfortunate injuries.

Key players, namely Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelen, and Theo Walcott, were not available for Wenger’s selection - a fact that might have caused an annoying headache for Le Professor.

But, for once, I’m not going to talk about what happened and how it happened. I will tell you what a prejudiced Arsenal-minded fan, me, saw of it.

As I was preparing myself to sit down and watch yet another disappointing match - let’s face it, it all pointed toward another disappointment - I couldn’t help but notice a small tint of warmth forming in my chest. The kind of warmth that keeps you going despite all the setbacks.

Let’s call it hope.

Yes, I had hopes for this match.

Despite all the rationalities - the form of Chelsea, the injury-crippled Arsenal, Diddier Drogba, Lukasz Fabianski, and all the other factors that pointed towards extending the victory-less run of the Gunners - hope was finding its way into the light.

I almost got used to being taunted by friends’ remarks and comments about how Arsenal were going to get thrashed by Chelsea, but what was strange was that I simply left the events to unfold, knowing that they might be both right and wrong at the same time.

As the match progressed, that small positive feeling began to get confirmed. Arsenal were playing well enough: organised at the back, good passing, creating the occasional chances. They were countering Chelsea’s tactics very well. Still, I knew that anything could happen when football is played at this level.

The battles on field were exhilarating, the tempo leaving you with little time to think through what has happened. Unquestionably, it was a clash of the highest level - one that all the fans enjoy seeing each and every time.

Then it happened: Ramires sped on the left flank, crossed the ball, and with surprising agility Diddier Drogba sent the ball rolling behind Lukasz Fabianski.

The first rationale came true.

Drogba once again scored against his favourite opposition. This time, it looked like it was accompanied by a little more luck than his previous successful Arsenal endeavours. Luck or not, it was 1-0 to Chelsea.

Still, that comforting feeling was there, refusing to disappear.

As half time break approached, I thought about the possibilities that could get us back into the game. The first half was not that bad: Wenger’s side passed the ball well without making mistakes and looked like they have as many chances to score as their opposition.

We had Tomas Rosicky, Carlos Vela, Denilson, and Emannuel Eboue on the bench, who could be used as attacking options . With the absence of team captain and playmaker Cesc Fabregas, the weight of organising the attack landed on Samir Nasri, youngster Jack Wilshere, and Andrei Arshavin. Maybe with the involvement of Rosicky, it all looked like Arsenal’s attacks will improve.

The second half started, Rosicky was not on, but the Gunners stormed forward. For 20 minutes, they held Chelsea back, who I must admit looked very comfortable with the situation. The possession was 60 to 40 to Arsenal. Chances came and went, but the goal evaded them. Kudos to the good organization by the Chelsea defenders.

And then, around the 60th minute, the Gunners eased the pressure on the pedal. Did they get desperate? Did they lose faith that they could come back into the game? These and a lot more questions flooded me. As I saw it, their incessant infertile attempts demoralized them. And that’s when my hope, that they will come back, began to fade. Still light beamed, almost getting completely obliterated by a mistake made by Squillaci to allow Anelka to squander a perfect opportunity in front of an empty goal.

As I was watching Rosicky coming on, I knew he will not change a lot. He’s been below par in his recent games. Another thing that worried me was that Samir Nasri played below his abilities as well: he started making mistakes resulting in several counter-attacks by Chelsea; his imagination was wailing, failing to provide that killer pass.

Ten minutes from time, it all became obvious, and my fears were confirmed. Alex’s piledrive from a free-kick ended it: 2-0. In truth, no one could be blamed about this goal. Fabianski could have hardly done anything to reach it. It was a nicely executed free-kick that Chelsea had obviously worked on in training. Flaurent Malouda squeezed in the wall only to get out of the ball’s way when the free-kick was taken.

No one could have done anything to save that shot.

It was all done. It finished 2-0. Arsenal lost and continued their run without a win, not stretching to three games. As expected, Chelsea won the battle, but also, as expected, hope was still hanging around despite the signs pointing towards defeat.

Undoubtedly, I will still feel this way - no matter who Arsenal are facing. Hope never dies for a fan. It is still too early in the season to count them out of the title race; key players will return, and with little luck will stay fit. All that is needed is a little luck and hope because no one can refute the simple fact that the Gunners have the team to win the title.

Chelsea won the battle, but not the war. It’s far from over.

Arsenal: Injuries Continue to Torment Arsene Wenger’s Side

Seven games into the new season and signs of last few years' problems begin to emerge again. It has always been a worrying factor, a most of the times deciding as well, that Arsenal’s players drop like flies with injuries throughout the season.

So far, nothing has been done to change that. Currently, Arsenal, along with unlucky Sunderland, are the team with most injured players in the Premier League.

Acoording to the assembled injury table of physioroom.com, here’s how it looks:

1. Arsenal – 9 injured players: Gibbs, Fabregas, Vermaelen, Diaby, Walcott, Van Persie, Frimpong, Bendtner, Ramsey.
2. Sunderland – 9 injured players: Gyan, Richardson, Ferdinand, Turner, Campbell, Mensah, McCartney, Gordon, Meyler.

Further down the table, here is how things look for Arsenal’s rivals:

5. Tottenham Hotspur – 7 injured players: Corluka, Kaboul, Gomes, Defoe, Dawson, O’Hara, Woodgate.
7. Chelsea – 4 injured players: Benayoun, Kalou, Lampard, Bosingwa.
13. Manchester United – 3 injured players: Hargreaves, Valencia, Carrick.

Things look grim in that department, and have looked so for several years now. Hope that something will be done to fix that before it becomes a major problem is the only thing left for the Gooners.

The full table can be examined here.

Arsenal Avenge On Tottenham In The Carling Cup With a DVD-Worthy 4-1

The much anticipated fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal was undoubtedly the main event of tonight’s Carling Cup games. Two years ago, the Spurs enjoyed a terrific result against their arch-rivals, but they knew the past could not be dwelt on for tonight’s match.

Despite the never-absent electrifying atmosphere, both managers decided to save the energy of some of their more important players for the Champions League clashes next week and fielded well balanced teams of youth and experience.

Arsene Wenger had to serve a one-match ban after his improper behaviour towards the fourth official in the game with Sunderland. This seemed to be a small obstacle since modern technology provided him a way to communicate with his assistant Pat Rice.

Parallel to the battle of the minds, on the field, the fact that this was a Carling Cup clash did little to alleviate the pressure between the players.

Arsenal stung first when youngster Henri Lansbury took advantage of a frozen Tottenham defence to open his tally at the club. The provider of the assist, Jack Wilshere, then found himself on the receiving end of some committed sliding tackles, but he impressively remained unshaken by them.

The rest of the first half proceeded in a subtle battle of tactics. Arsenal had the possession of the ball for most of the time, but met a sturdy well-organized resistance from Tottenham.

After the break, Harry Rednap decided it’s time to use his benched lethal weapon—Robby Keane. And it paid off. With the clock showing 49, Keane took full advantage of a splendid through ball by Kyle Naughton, and put his team on equal terms.

With strengths pretty evenly distributed, Wenger decided to counter-act. It took him approximately ten minutes to get his wishes through to Pat Rice though and in the 72th minute Maroune Chamakh and Andrei Arshavin replaced Tomas Rosicky and Carlos Vela, respectively.

Rosicky did well to start the build-up for the sole goal, but in the second half his passes struggled to find their targets. Carlos Vela also had a quite game in the face of some recent outstanding performances.

The two new men’s impact was almost immediately felt as an attack from the left, starting from Arshavin, caused havoc in the Tottenham penalty box.

However, the winner could not be decided in regular time and the game was forced into extra-time.

Tiredness had sunk in by the time the first period started.

And it started with an explosion. Only 30 seconds after the whistle, Samir Nasri was about to get away when Sebastien Bassong brought him down in the penalty box.

Memories from the missed penalty against Sunderland flooded the minds of the Arsenal fans, but Nasri responded with a resounding: I’m the one who has to take penalties. Coolly, he sent the keeper to the other direction and put Arsenal one up.

Four minutes later, Tottenham might have thought they were witnessing a deja-vu. This time Chamakh was released by Andrei Arshavin only to be held back by Steven Caulker.

Referee Lee Probert did not hesitate to give Arsenal another penalty. Dispersing further doubts why he has to be the one to take penalties, Samir Nasri executed perfectly to put his team two goals up.

Having perceived where things are going, Harry Redknap tried to enforce his team replacing Sandro with Niko Kranjcar, but it all came too little, too late.

A quickly executed free-kick sent Arshavin advancing towards the corner of the penalty box from the left. With a well-placed low shot, he made the result bubble up to 4-1.

Harry Redknap now looked grim on his seat; the Tottenham fans started leaving the stadium; and the players clad in white looked to have accepted their fate; and Arsenal were playing out the rest of the game.

However, the Spurs had a couple of more chances to come out of it with dignity intact.

First, David Bentley frantically missed after a header from two meters, and then Roman Pavlyuchenko saw his shot denied by Samir Nasri on the goal line.

It didn’t work and it finished 4-1 to Arsenal. A result that came as sweet revenge for that game two years ago and important boost for their confidence before Saturday’s game against West Bromwich Albion.

Arsenal Stumble Against Sunderland: Luck, Dismissal, Injury, Dubious Decisions

Arsenal’s travel to the unwelcoming Stadium of Light must have been filled with hope, and yet, with determination to come home with all the three points. They must have known a difficult fight was ahead of them. What they probably did not know was that they would have to do it without their captain Cesc Fabregas for the bigger part of the game, and with a player less than the opposition.

First whistle blown, Lady Luck smiled on the Gunners.

After an attempted clearance by Anton Ferdinand, the ball bounced off the foot of Cesc Fabregas, travelled about 40 yards, and landed in the net behind Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet.

What a curious way to open the scoring, indeed. But what is strange about luck is that it comes and goes at the most unexpected moments.

Twenty minutes after the goal, Cesc signalled for a substitution. Tomas Rosicky came in to replace the captain who had received some type of injury in the deflection-caused goal.

The huge blow changed the game of the Gunners and they gave the initiative to their opponents.

Smelling blood, Sunderland immediately reacted and launched themselves forward like mad. Facing the oncoming pressure, the Gunners did not fold, managing to keep the defence organised and minimizing the mistakes to a minimum. Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia had to make some crucial interventions and he did his job without a flinch.

But the wheel had started turning.

Alex Song stole a ball from a Sunderland player in the midfield, but then referee Phil Dowd blew his whistle after the player went down. Song reacted angrily enough to spur Dowd into booking him.

Song’s reaction was partly justified by the replays which showed there was no contact between Song and the fouled player, but Dowd’s mind was in another dimension.

After the half-time talks, Arsenal came out a transformed team with one thing in mind: to finish the game off.

Ten minutes deep into the second half, Sunderland repelled another Gunner attack and started to organize a counter-attack. The already-booked Alex Song had little time to move out of the way of speeding Steed Malbranque and a foul was awarded. What was strange was that Phil Dowd decided the action of Song was worthy of being showed a second yellow card. Considering the easy first yellow card, many would find Dowd decision doubtful.

Arsenal was left to deal with hyper-active opposition with ten men until the end of the match. Sunderland mounted pressure, and on several occasions came very close to scoring.

The hostile atmosphere, though, turned out to be the perfect environment for the new figures in the Arsenal defence to show what they can do. Laurent Koscielny, Bakary Sagna, Manuel Almunia, and Sebastien Squillaci all battled well to protect the fragile lead of their team. Gael Clichy made a few mistakes, but nothing that could not be repaired by his well-performing team-mates.

With 20 minutes left, the referee was close enough to see Samir Nasri getting tripped inside the Sunderland box and awarded a penalty to Arsenal.

The weight of the task fell on the substituting captain’s shoulders—Tomas Rosicky. However, it was too much for him and he squandered the perfect opportunity to end the argument.

Stress continued to mount and all hell broke loose seconds after the decided injury time ran out. In a huge melee in the Arsenal end, the ball found its way to Darren Bent after shaky clearance by Gael Clichy, 1-1.

A point to each side.

Arsenal may regret missing the golden chances to finish the game off. That, along with some dubious decisions by the referee, leaves them one point behind league leaders Chelsea who have a game in hand.

Arsenal: Meet the Jolly Good Vela, the Next Big Thing at Arsenal

For he's a jolly good Vela
For he's a jolly good Vela
For he's a jolly good Velaaaa!
Which nobody can deny.*

Carlos Vela, a 14-year-old unknown Mexican at the time, was given birth to his football career at one of the most successful clubs in Mexico, Guadalajara FC. He was accompanied by the presence of his brother in the team.

It took three years for his beam of talent to shine through the cloud of uncertainty and blind the eyes of the scouts, but mostly that beam shone with its greatest intensity at the U-17 World Cup with his international team.

Not only did his team managed to win the World Cup, but Vela snatched the Golden boot, finishing the tournament with five goals.

That, of course, drew the eyes of the world onto him, and a team from London, praised with having one of the best scouting networks in the world, were among the first to drool over the prospect of Carlos Vela.

Eventually, in November 2005, an offer was made by Arsenal which secured the services of the young El Tricolor. Due to his tender age though, Vela was ineligible to receive the work permit that would allow him to participate in English games.

He was loaned to Celta de Vigo in attempt to encourage his development. The Spaniards returned him soon after, not having used him once. Once again, Vela was loaned out to another Spanish team—this time Salamanca.

Good fortune smiled upon Vela in his Salamanca endeavour.

He gained valuable experience participating in 31 games, scoring eight goals, and making many others. His good spell meant great news for Arsenal, and after a year of success, he was loaned out to Osasuna for another year-long spell.

At Osasuna, where he was predominantly used as a winger, Vela drew the lauds of many football lovers, managing to snatch another 32 invaluable games.

On 22 May, 2008, just two months after his birthday, he was granted the work permit which led to his return to Arsenal.

Three months later, in a match against Newcastle in the Premier League, Carlos received his first taste of football in a red and white shirt substituting Arsenal star Robin van Persie. Then, a month later, his skill flashed like a lightning in a game against Sheffield United—three bright flashes, a hat-trick, his first for the Gunners.

Transformed into a fan favourite because of his bright start, Vela still struggled to find playing time, but that did not stop him from showing off his skills. By the end of the season, he already had bagged another two goals, one of which was a beautiful chip shot considered to be one of Arsenal’s 50 most beautiful goals.

In the next season, he managed to get a few more playing time with which to contribute with some more good goals and assists.

And then the 2010/11 season dawned.

In his first entrance near the end of the match against Blackpool, the young El Tricolor kept his composure to find the net with a nicely placed shot. His enthusiasm was so infective that you could not help but smile to see him scoring. Ten minutes of Premier League action; one goal. And it was just the beginning.

When Europe came knocking at the door, Vela opened with a smile.

He was once again used in the Champions League match against Portuguese team Braga. This time the 21-year-old had double the time to play and double the trouble to give Braga—twenty minutes as he replaced Andrei Arshavin in the 70th minute.

“20 minutes! No problem.” is what he might have thought.

Vela’s positive attitude and enviable composure in front goal pushed the score to a mind-boggling 6-0 in favour of Arsenal. Two goals in twenty minutes. So far, Vela has played for 30 minutes scoring three goals—that makes it one goal every 10 minutes.

With such a bright displays so far, who could know what this boy could do if he is used more often? Surely, if his performances continue to impress, Wenger may decide to scrap the £400,000 he has to pay his former team, Guadalajara, if Vela is to get 50 first team appearances.

Surely, even at that point, Arsene Wenger must give Vela the chance to shine, with that same intensity that drew Arsenal to sign him. The Jolly Good Vela, the next big thing at Arsenal?

I’m sure he will be, and so is Arsene.

*This is a chant that the fans of Arsenal have composed for Calros Vela.

Arsenal-Bolton: A Few Things to Think About After a Top-Notch Performance

How Things Turned Out

In front of home crowd, basking in the tranquil September sun, Arsenal continued their winning streak on their quest for Premier League glory.

Arsenal clashed with Bolton, a team in which current manager Owen Coyle has tried to implement an Arsenal-like style of play.

Owen Coyle has planted a good seed in Bolton. Their football was joyful to watch, with plenty of movement and passes. This meeting though, resembled a master giving a lesson to his disciple.

It was pretty much Arsenal all the way.

Four goals scored, once again reminding of the firepower in the red-and-white attack. I, for one, was amazed at how easily they passed the ball among the Bolton players. The cutting passes and through balls were beautiful to watch and painful for the opposition, and if it wasn’t for luck, the result might have escalated to four or five much earlier in the game.

After the somehow dubious dismissal of Gary Cahill, it was all over. Don’t get me wrong, it was all over even before that, but a 10-men Bolton was no match for the masterful team work of Arsenal.

The crowd was enjoying the football and urging their team to continue their passing spree. It was in one of those perfectly executed one-touch football displays, the ball reaching almost every member of the team clad in red, the fifth and final foal of the match was secured, 4-1 to Arsenal.

A symphony at its best.


Things to Think about

While the attack was on the right track, there was an air of unpredictability about the Arsenal defence.

And how couldn’t it have been? The pivotal stone of the defence, Thomas Vermaelen, was out injured.

Laurent Koscielny made a costly mistake in the match against Blackburn before the international break. And Sebastein Squillaci was making his debut game, experiencing English football for the first time.

Worries were confirmed after another misjudged intervention by Laurent Koscielny led to Arsenal sustain an equalizing goal. Squillaci, on the other hand, did well, despite the pressure he was put under on numerous occasions by the Bolton forwards. He showed that experience can compensate the lack of speed. Let’s hope that would be the case for his future games.

So, all in all, nothing major to twist here, but just as a note, why not give Laurent a nice retrospective one-match break and put Johan Djourou in his place?

Another man to think about is Tomas Rosicky.

The ever-so-influential Czech did well to distribute the ball to his team-mates, and not that his job is to finish the Arsenal attacks, but once again he was found lacking in that aspect.

As in the last match, he once again found himself absolutely alone against the goalkeeper and missed the goal. Of course, that can happen to anyone, but Tomas could improve his finishing game.

Going further down, why not give Carlos Vela a chance?

He is still very young, but for the little time he participated in the match, he managed to score a goal and captivate with his enthusiasm. With a smile on his face, he showed deadly accuracy and speed to secure Arsenal’s fourth goal.

For a 10-minute display, I would say it was pretty well done. Why not give him some more playing time now that the speed of Theo Walcott is missed up front?

Andrei Arshavin, much like Rosicky, was quite ineffective in front of goal.

He could have definitely done much better. On several occasions, he just couldn’t find the frame of the goal when faced only by Adam Bogdan, the Bolton goalkeeper. Although we have seen how inconsistent Arshavin can be, he is definitely an integral part of the first team because of his flashes of inspiration that can surprise any opposition. We couldn’t ask for him to be put on the bench.

Another thing to think about is the use of rotation.

It is a proved effective way to save the energy of players and protect them from injuries. It’s known that fatigue increases the chance of getting an injury and if this problem is solved, we might at last see Arsenal not crippled at some point later in the season.

Seven new players started against Bolton as compared to the last game. Keep rotation going, Arsene.

And finally, the captain, we couldn’t help but notice the form of Cesc Fabregas, the captain who was linked with a transfer to Bracelona this summer. He was raging free with defence-splitting pin-point accurate passes.

Against an open team like Coyle’s Bolton that may have come easily to him, but keeping this form further on, and especially against harder opposition, will prove to some suspicious fans that he is totally committed to the Arsenal cause for the new season.

With season’s dawn just passed, the time has come for the manager to keep analyzing and for the players to keep believing, so in the end, they might finally reach the sunset crowned as champions.