05
By: Harry Lee
This year, to be fair has been pretty mad in the English premier league. Liverpool FC that has never won a premier league title before, is on its way to winning it. They never won it with Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso in their midfield, but now, they are beating all the tables with the likes of Henderson and Milner. No disrespect to the current midfield of Liverpool, but there has been a far better midfield before who couldn’t win the premier league.
When you go some way down the table, there is Manchester City. We won’t dwell into their ongoing FFP fiasco, and their achievements over the past years should not be undermined. Similarly, there are Spurs, Chelsea, and Manchester United fighting for 3rd and 4th place every season to make it to European competition.
Where’s That Red London Club?
Yeah, a good question. They are there too, but quite a bit down in the table. Who’d have predicted this future of Arsenal when they witnessed greats like Vieira, Bergkamp, and Henry, rattling the Highbury, and every away field in the league. What they did in 2003 has yet to be repeated from any other club. Their invincible season, cherried with the exclusive Golden Premier League Trophy, has been dreamt about by many clubs, but no one has realized that dream as yet.
But, it was not the only achievement of big Frenchman in English football. He revolutionized it altogether, after his arrival in England. It is tough to argue with the fact that the modern-day recognition and playing style of the English Premier League was a gift by Arsene Wenger. He made it a more competitive and pound-to-pound league with advanced techniques and physiques of his stars.
But, the revolution that blessed the Premier League didn’t last much longer in Arsenal itself. As the more money moved in, other managers were supported well financially by the clubs, but not Wenger. He, even with limited funds, managed to keep Arsenal competitive for years, but eventually, Arsenal became just another club with the only ambition of qualifying for Europe every year.
It is important to note that, even between all that doom and gloom, they were still winning FA cups, and Wenger is the most successful manager in the history of FA Cups. But as the shine eventually faded, the second decade of the 21st century started with the chants of ‘Wenger out.’ Pioneered by longtime Arsenal fan, Piers Morgan, this chant was almost on every Arsenal fan’s tongue.
The big man, however, resisted and persisted, probably knowing that what will happen to his beloved club once he leaves. He, yet again, won 3 more FA cup titles in this decade, but with time the pressure mounted, and it was decided that he’d step down at the end of 2017-18 season. He won his concluding match, got a big standing ovation, which was probably more of a relief sigh from gunners instead of an ovation out of total respect and tribute.
Arsenal fans started dreaming again, with the new manager and fresh enthusiasm. They dreamt of conquering England and Europe with their new manager, Unai Emery. While the European glory wasn’t anything new for Emery, it has been the Holy Grail for Arsenal since forever.
Let Me Tell You Something, My Friend. Hope Is A Dangerous Thing.
The hope that came with the arrival of Spaniard was, least to say, a hope. As often as we cling to hope and as often as it fails us, there was this grey area to be hopeful about for Arsenal fans, along with a fear of ‘what next if he fails too?’.
However, the structure at Arsenal was the same, and players not much different either. But this time, Emirates Stadium rose again with all those gunners’ flags and chants, which before Emery had only been boos and woes for last decade or so.
They sell it very well for a season. The fanbase was buying into the idea of ‘reconstruction’ of the playing system. They kept buying it because of the aesthetic of playing, which, in fact, was hiding what was actually going on.
We all have bought so many things in life, that made no sense in hindsight. When we go back and think that why we bought them in the first place, it is always the artistic side of them.
Going back to football, and Arsenal, this is what the Kroenke has been doing with the Arsenal fans for quite some time. Emery then had even worst win ratio than the bad days of Wenger, and it all seemed falling down. Arsenal flagship player, Mesut Ozil, was perpetually benched by Emery, and none of his alternative in midfield was outplaying him either.
Now, the fans started turning on Emery as well. Before the question could have expanded and facts sought about the upper management, they had to get rid of their new manager as well. Emery was fired, or as in footballing term, sacked. And as I told you earlier, hope is a dangerous thing, and nobody knows it better than an Arsenal fan.
What Came Next?
A new manager, an ex-player of good days of Arsenal, Freddie Ljungberg, was appointed an interim manager, while the search of new manager continued.
The results were not changing. Ljungberg had a hard time, to begin with, and eventually, Arsenal sought his replacement, Mikel Arteta. It can’t be denied that on a managerial level, Arteta had only one merit on his side, to have been an assistant to a very successful manager. This again was a sugar coating, and poor Arsenal fans bought it yet again.
For someone who is into football, it is straightforward to understand that a manager can’t change things overnight. But, it is also a fact that fans want instant success, and when things aren’t going right, the first in the firing line is the manager. Arsenal has now replaced three managers in the space of 2 years, and it has given their fans great joy, even though no trophies.
Just like the right product boxes asks for good packaging design, a proper football club with such a rich history deserves a lot better, an appropriate design. An excellent footballing structure, an adequate academy funnel, quality scouting, right investment, and players’ dedication is needed for a club to succeed. All we can say for now is that it is all mental. Football is mental. Fans are mental. And, most of all, Arsenal is mental.
