In an interview with the BBC this week, Arsène Wenger spoke of his unfaltering belief that the current Arsenal squad is capable of winning the Premier League title this season.
Wenger Believes in his Squad Despite Disappointments
To many, this is probably the most audacious claim in football all summer. After all last season Arsenal had to capitalise on Aston Villa’s disastrous run of form in the final third of the season to manage a fourth-place finish on 72 points, 11 behind third-place Chelsea and 18 behind winners Manchester United.
And this summer they have lost central defender Kolo Touré and striker Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City. Having insisted that the money raised from these sales are available to be spent, Wenger has only recruited 23-year-old Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermaelen. The big-name signings that most Gunners fans believe they must acquire in order to entertain any possibility of a serious league title challenge simply have not materialised so far.
Arsenal's Physical Disadvantage
A particularly low point in Arsenal’s previous season was their Champions League semi-final against Manchester United. The Gunners meekly succumbed 3-1 at home to a rampant United side in a match that was, quite frankly, men against boys. Arsenal were out-witted, out-played and, most worryingly, out-muscled by their opponents. It was bad enough for a particularly disillusioned Arsenal fan to hang himself afterwards.
The impression of a light-weight Arsenal is consistent with the statistical fact that the Arsenal squad is on average an inch shorter and seven pounds lighter than that of the other three ‘big four’ teams of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
The lack of a physical presence in modern football is a significant disadvantage; and in Arsenal’s case it might have something to do with the average age of the squad. Out of the 15 Arsenal players who started more than 15 games last season, only Almunia, Bakari Sagna, Kolo Touré, William Gallas, Emmanuel Eboué and Robin van Persie were older than 25 years of age. And Kolo Touré is gone.
Wenger Besieged
This situation has led many to argue that Wenger should try to blend his youthful talents with new signings of stature and maturity. And the manner of that humiliating defeat to Manchester United, as well as a number of other losses last season, has resulted in increasing suspicion in Arsène Wenger’s tactics, transfer policy, and even his ability in taking the Gunners to new heights.
Blind to Arsenal’s outstanding consistency of finishing in the top four every season since 1996, a section of fans were questioning rather bluntly at the end of last season whether Wenger really believed that a club like Arsenal could go more than four years without winning a major trophy.
Given Wenger’s historical popularity with fans, these criticisms were amazing. No other manager in today’s game exhibits a stronger personal style than Arsène Wenger and no other manager has built a team half as successful as Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal with twice the financial resources. His record with capturing and nurturing young talents and turning relatively low-profile players into world-class stars is unmatched.
What the New Season Holds for Arsenal and their Manager
In face of these prophesies of doom, Wenger appears keen to let his team’s results in the new season do the talking.
This is not to say that he won’t be actively seeking to address the weaknesses in his current squad. Wenger seems to be proceeding on three fronts.
Arsenal's Transfer Activities
In terms of new signings he has already pre-empted Touré’s move by signing Vermaelen from Ajax. Arsenal are also heavily linked to three other players – St Etienne and France Under-21 international midfielder Blaise Matuidi, Bordeaux and Morocco international striker Marouane Chamakh, and the one and only Patrick Vieira, captain and midfield maestro of the invincible era. It is distinctively possible that Wenger will do some late shopping and snap up at least one of the three.
The Growth of Young Gunners
Wenger will also be banking on the young players who played a fringe role last season to step up a few gears and make a more significant contribution this term. Who knows what a more mature Aaron Ramsey, Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs or Gavin Hoyte will be able to do. Based on what we have seen of them and what we know of Wenger, this is not as much a gamble as it may first appear.
The Return of Rosický and Eduardo
Finally, part of the legitimacy of Wenger’s claim to Premier League glory may be derived from the return from long-term injury of two class acts in the shape of Tomáš Rosický and Eduardo da Silva. If, and that is one big if, they can stay fit and get back to the previous level of their games they might just provide the maturity and balance that Arsenal lacked last season.
The Rise or Fall of Arsène Wenger
With Arsenal given an ominously difficult Champions League qualifying round draw against Celtic, many believe that this is the season when Wenger’s time, together with the fans’ patience, runs out.
Strangely enough, Arsène Wenger might well be thrilled by the pressure.
This is a death-or-glory situation for him. Should Wenger silence his critics this season, his methods will be truly vindicated and his name firmly etched among the very great of the game. Win the FA Cup, grab a top-four league finish (make sure it is above Manchester City), reach the knock-out stage of the Champions League – job done.
