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Home›General›Arsenal in crisis? You’re having a laugh

Arsenal in crisis? You’re having a laugh

By Michael Price
August 30, 2012
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Ed note: I have been amazed at how early people continue to jump on the Arsenal in crisis bandwagon. Year in and year out we are told that Arsenal will surely decline and year in year out they are still there. Are they winning titles? No. But they are hardly the relegation fodder the naysayers and pundits would have us believe they are.  I set out last night to write a post on just that subject only to be jumped to it by the folks at the great site The Daisy Cutter. Rather than reinvent the wheel, the folks at the Daisy Cutter have kindly allowed us to run this article. To them we say thanks and to you we say enjoy!

Having a league table in August is quite plainly just stupid. For media pundits and supporters alike to then make judgement calls based on this sham order of merit is even more ridiculous; as pre-emptive a strike as proposing marriage on a first date. Before the hors d’oeuvres have even arrived. Before you’ve noticed the discreet EDL tattoo on her ankle. Before you know anything about this person other than she has a cute wonky smile and her hair looks nice.

Yet just like The Jam sang way back in 1977 this is the modern world. The days of settling into a season, enjoying the new kits and the new signings who adorn them, and embracing the return of football after a summer of discontent are long gone.

Now the 24/7 rolling news, multimedia hysteria and ill-informed opinion and tittle-tattle starts up the very moment a ball is kicked. Only at this stage there is nothing to constructively or deconstructively report with anything resembling certainty so their views amount to shouting into thin air.

After just 180 minutes of competitive action it is impossible to gauge whether Brendan Rodger’s Anfield turn-around will be successful. There is no way of knowing if Southampton will hold their own in the top flight. Teams are still in the process of tweaking their systems, acclimatising to them, accommodating new signings, and – despite a thoroughly prepared pre-season – honing their match sharpness in the full pelt pace of the Premier League. All we can ascertain from the football we’ve witnessed so far are clues and hints but unfortunately there are newspapers to shift and pub gossip to participate in so Mark Hughes’ job is already on the line whilst ‘Arsenal Look To Readjust After Loss Of RvP And Song’ will never be chosen by any sub-editor worth his salt. ‘Arsenal In Crisis’ however gets the readers in.

Because yes inevitably there has to be a club firmly entrenched in crisis before an autumn leaf has even fallen and this year – just like last – the premature doom-mongerers have sharpened their scythes and headed for the Emirates.

Last season the Gunners started their campaign appallingly with a home reverse to Liverpool followed by that humiliating massacre at Old Trafford. And it wasn’t only the freakish scorelines that concerned or delighted depending on your allegiance, it was the haphazard defending and the evident absence of belief or spirit that prompted

many to number Wenger’s days. Writing off Arsenal in late August may have been wildly impetuous – as was proven by their impressive revival that resulted in a Champion’s League spot – but it was at least justifiable in that circumstance.

This time out however they are reconciling themselves to the catastrophic losses of Van Persie and Song, a striker they set their entire system around and the driving force in the centre who was pivotal to that system working efficiently.

Any team on the planet would miss players of such outstanding calibre.

Furthermore they have drafted in a new-look forward line, three players of undoubted quality but who all have their own unique playing styles that need to be accommodated into the Arsenal set-up. It will take time for team-mates to adjust to their movement and preferences not to mention time for the players themselves to adapt to the hustle and bustle of the English game.

They are in essence a team in mini-transition and for any side to keep two consecutive clean sheets while this occurs is something to be admired, not lambasted. This is especially pertinent when you consider that one of these stalemates was at Stoke, a renowned Achilles heel of a venue that is often used as a stick to beat Arsenal with for their supposed ‘soft centre’.

To form any conclusions after just two games is nearly always farcical reasoning. In this instance it borders on the absurd.

Arsenal in crisis? As Paul Weller sang on that 1977 song, ‘I don’t give two f***s about your review’.

 

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17 comments

  1. Caribkid 31 August, 2012 at 00:50 Log in to Reply

    Once we get through all the points for and against Arsenal, Wenger, Kroenke and the Board, transfer deadline day will tell us all we need to know about our beloved club and it’s ambitions.

    Tomorrow will indeed determine whether we are are a selling club, a top of the table team or merely a once mighty team with ambitions for securing CL place to placate Kroenke’s and Gazidis version of the Denver Nuggets, a perennial also ran which continues to increase Kroenke’s billions.

    Until then my friends!

    • Kiwi 31 August, 2012 at 01:54 Log in to Reply

      @Caribkid, Agree. Unfortunately when Wenger says we have a large squad he’s right. It’s just it needs to be trimmed – and he seems to have got himself into a knot he can’t quickly untangle. Too many players on too high salaries who other clubs don’t want. So….it makes it hard for Wenger to bring in new players without getting the player costs out of balance. Wenger’s youth project combined with his sentimental attitude to crocky players has come home to roost.

      • tAi 31 August, 2012 at 04:57 Log in to Reply

        @Kiwi,
        And I believe by now, we all can agree on ONE thing. Wenger’s youth project was a failure OVERALL. We lost young talented players like Cesc, Nasri, and put Song in the list if you will. And got young ones like Hansbury, Bendtner, Theo and etc, who failed to make it at the top level YET. The cost incurred while having these players for years on the roasters (wages and etc) has our hands tied.

  2. Nizam 31 August, 2012 at 00:08 Log in to Reply

    Agree with James about Wenger. The fm is lucky to be at Arsena;. At any other club he would have been sacked years ago.He is deluded if he thinks his self sustaining model will bring the gunners to the forefront.
    The latest is he says Walcott loves Arsenal. We saw RVP kissing the Arsenal insignia. We know what happened. I believe Walcott has had enough of Wenger and will leave when the opportunity beckons.

  3. Perspective 30 August, 2012 at 23:05 Log in to Reply

    To fans like James dll. They’re obviously spoilt by the successful era of late 98 till 05. To state that Arsenal won’t win a thing with Wenger is as easy as discrediting what the great man has done. Sure he had his mistakes but you also have to remember where this club was when he took over. Understand that first or you’d look really amaturish.

    • Kiwi 31 August, 2012 at 01:51 Log in to Reply

      @Perspective, …or perhaps he has a longer perspective. AFC won before Wenger. And a significant element of Wenger’s success was from an earlier manager’s hard work.

  4. Kiwi 30 August, 2012 at 22:18 Log in to Reply

    Nice to have a bit of varied discussion from Vibe and Steve.

    I think we’re in danger of reducing every discussion on Arsenal and its aspirations to questions framed by finance. And I think that is unnecessarily limiting.

    I’ve said recently, and before, that the team with the biggest (current) purchasing ability does not always win. Arsenal successfully battled the 80s-90s powerhouse Liverpool to titles and cups under GG. Even Wenger had to dethrone Manchester United – and he did. Neither success was achieved by outbuying the reigning power – it was done by a combination of clever stealthy buys and appropriate tactics. Just look to Germany and France to see other – current and recent – examples of clubs with a smaller buying ability outperforming financially bigger fish. It happens regularly.

    Back to Berbatov. You know I like to flog a dead horse. We could easily have bought him as part of the RvP package. 20m plus Berbs.

    • Ty 30 August, 2012 at 23:15 Log in to Reply

      @Kiwi, You are 100% right but the margin of error ManC/Chelsea/ManU have bought is nearly impossible to overcome.(ManU only kinda falls in this catecory) ManC has Aguero/Dzeko/Tevez/Balotelli as striking options if 3 of those guys get injured you still have a stricker on the pitch that is world class. That is unprecedented in modern day football. You can’t be clever against ManC you better be ManU who is clever and have a butload of money (I have to wash my mouth now)

      • Kiwi 31 August, 2012 at 01:44 Log in to Reply

        @Ty, Interesting though, that ManC only squeaked in for the title by the most narrow of margins.

        The thing to remember is that the title race is not a head-to-head battle against the ManC and Chelsea’s – it’s a long race against the 19 other teams. The winner is the team that accummulates the most points against all the other teams. I think Wenger and Arsenal are clever enough and rich enough to assemble a squad better able to win points and therefore to challenge. I think the strategy Wenger adopted over the last 7 years has proven to be unoptimal. It hasn’t used our significant resources and reputational pull to the maximum value. We’ll never know what might have happened if Wenger had taken a more pragmatic strategy and spent his 10m’s on Giroud’s and Koscielny’s instead of the Walcott’s, Bendtner’s and Denilson’s. My guess is we could have won trophies – I think he got the strategy wrong. But we’ll never be able to prove the counterfactual.

  5. vibe4arsenal 30 August, 2012 at 17:10 Log in to Reply

    ‘Crisis’ is relative. If you have to go all the way to the ‘we’re not relegation fodder’ end of the argument to make a point, what point are you really making?
    Other than that you have to go a really long way to make a positive point about the current Arsenal.

    So let’s deal with what ‘crisis’ means in the non-hystercal terms most of us would probably consider appropriate.

    As a member of the so-called Big Four, Arsenal has not won anything in (going on) 8 years. Has not been close winning anything meaningful (as AW would define it) since ’06. The trend has only continued downward, last year featuring the clubs worst start in, what? 60 years?

    This Summer’s window has been better. Again, ‘better’ being a relative term, based on Arsenal’s more recent disappointing standard. But the overall policy has left the Gunners is what feels like a perpetual state of re-building. We’re well past the idea that a Youth Policy was slowly, methodically building the foundation of club that would strong and self-sustaining for years. (Remember all those arguments? Seem like a million years ago now, eh? Whither thou LDE, Artie3shed, Wayne, et al?)

    The new mantra is ‘Well, we just need to wait for the new boys to get adjusted to each other.’ Okay. Except it feels like we’re already of out contention and it’s not September yet. And recent history suggests it will be yet *another* crop of new boys getting adjusted next Fall, once we’ve sold off this season’s who either do 1, Really well or 2. Sweet FA. Leaving us building on a block o solid ‘Meh’ again next Summer.

    No, it’s not a crisis by, say, Reading’s standard. By that we’ve even started judging AFC by that low standard is all the evidence of an *Arsenal* crisis one needs.

    • highburyterracesteve 30 August, 2012 at 19:14 Log in to Reply

      @vibe4arsenal, Hey Vibe….

      Your point about the big 4 is interesting seeing as none of them won the
      league last year(!)….

      Chelsea (obviously) is different and is most poised to compete with the
      noisy neighbor (City)….Winning the CL last season will give that
      bunch the thought that anything is possible. And they’re off to a nice
      start already. Is Victor Moses better than Theo? He well might be, and
      at least you’re not giving money to a “direct” rival…..

      The other big 4 members (United and Liverpool) differ from Arsenal in
      that their owners and managers are clearly not in lock-step. All
      three have American owners who (maybe) don’t know the game very well
      and place trust in management, but only Arsenal are playing the zero sum
      money game. As such, the manager’s legacy is tied to his success WITHIN
      those constraints. SAF, Benitez/Dalglish/Rodgers, as well as Mourinho/
      Grant/Ancelloti/AVB/DiMatteo, should ALL do better, either competitively
      or regarding their own careers/legacies….And at least a few of the Chelsea
      managers have found some soft landings (or better)…. Big test on Sunday for
      Rodgers and his new look Liverpool (will 70 million pounds worth of Carroll,
      Downing, Henderson and Enrique start for them? I’m pretty sure our own top
      signing–Arshavin–won’t for us)…..

      It’s not very sexy….It sucks to be a selling club, which means you’re a
      constantly rebuilding club and you have to suck up “good business” for players
      like Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Clichy, Nasri, RVP and Song (Cesc is a hair
      different, but just a hair). For me, it’s fascinating to watch it unfold and
      I comfort myself with the idea that there will be changes ahead in competitive
      structures and that we shan’t be victims of “short-termism”.

      A crisis it is not….BUT given that we’ve got a pretty tough CL draw AND we
      could use a (fucking) trophy (even one of those little English ones) AND we’ve
      got money from recent sales, I wouldn’t mind seeing us use some of it to deepen
      the squad for the rigors ahead. How about that defender from Montpellier
      (Yanga-Mbiwa)? How about some Spanish prospects like that ‘Isco kid at Malaga?
      I’m heading there (Spain, not Malaga, but nearby….) next week so any extra
      (Spanish) interest in Arsenal will help in my efforts to watch (and talk about)
      the team….

      • vibe4arsenal 30 August, 2012 at 20:00 Log in to Reply

        @highburyterracesteve,

        @highburyterracesteve,

        Hi Steve.

        “Your point about the big 4 is interesting seeing as none of them won the
        league last year(!)….”

        The notion that ‘the Big Four’ may be becoming obsolete and/or we need to revisit who would be included under such an umbrella is part of the point. Whether or not Arsenal should be considered among the very elite class, or on the next tier just below, is very much at the heart of what most Gooners would define as crux of ‘the crisis’.

  6. highburyterracesteve 30 August, 2012 at 16:50 Log in to Reply

    Buried again (lol)….And lol at many elements of the guest column….Too many things about it are too true, and the “Arsenal in Crisis” is only slightly less predictable than Stag being through with the team, hoping they lose, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah….Only the silly money clubs have any sense of stability here in August and even they are fragile these days. Early points have gone to Chelsea but are they now going to “build upon” their CL/FA cup double?….Let’s see who everybody gets in the (CL) draw in a couple of hours here and talk again in January…..

    What’s interesting, I think, beyond the momentary emotion of the window slam and the early results is how teams are morphing in pursuit of their individual goals. It’s (somewhat) subtle, so not nearly as fun as “the sky is falling, the sky is falling”…..

    For example, suspect at the back AND losing their midfield maestro, Spurs are going big, fast and powerful under AVB. Players like Bale, Walker, Dembele, Sandro and Livermore (not to mention Ade, and little speedsters like Defoe and Lennon and even Assou-Ekotto) will make them good in the wide open games but maybe less so against teams that park it. Early on, we look somewhat the opposite, some even invoking the “boring, boring” tag….

    Having gotten up for third last year (after the “crisis”) we’re seem to be solidifying and any buys we make might be for depth in areas of suspect fitness (2nd keeper, right back/holding mid). Obviously there are huge questions about whether or not we can really compete AND it’s maybe not as exciting as seeing who a new coach favors/rejects (see again, AVB at Spurs, Rodgers at ‘Pool) but it’s maybe also not so bad…..

    A huge chunk of Arsenal support was spoiled by unprecedented success during the early 00s and longs for those days. Just as the shifting of the landscape from the days of “soon we’ll have a big stadium just like United” was incremental, improvements must be likewise. Not as exciting as “Buying blank (and blank and blank and blank….) wins us the League” but probably more realistic….

    • Ty 30 August, 2012 at 17:20 Log in to Reply

      @highburyterracesteve, Amen!!! Very well said. The hysteria and hyperbilics are just annoying every year. I think we aren’t in contention this year without another Player of Cazorlas caliber though and we again made a profit on the transfer market. I don’t wan’t them to bet the motage on a player but if we can’t make acquisitions without selling a player for equal value we will not contend. Its simple standing still you going backwards and you can’t make up the quality of sold stars with diamond in the rough signings.

  7. James 30 August, 2012 at 16:27 Log in to Reply

    Arsenal only won 1 of the last 5 games last season, so it’s 1 win in 7 now. Can’t you see a trend? Under Wenger, Arsenal are on the slide. 20pts behind 2nd place last season, pathetic. Arsenal will never compete for a major trophy again with Wenger, he needs to be sacked by this spineless board.

    • Uncle Mike 30 August, 2012 at 20:16 Log in to Reply

      @James, And replaced by WHO, exactly? A better manager? There isn’t one. Anywhere. Ferguson? Not available, and if referees and linesmen tried to get every call right, he’d have been sacked years ago. Mourinho? Even if he is better, he’s not available, and he’d poison the culture at the club, like he does everywhere; he wins, but briefly, and each club he manages ends up paying an awful price, figuratively and financially. Louis van Gaal? No longer available, and has never managed in Britain. You want an English manager? There are NO good ones. Redknapp? 30 years, 1 trophy, and he destroyed that club to get it, and ruined 3 other clubs.

  8. Nizam 30 August, 2012 at 16:14 Log in to Reply

    With some tough fixtures coming up and if the gunners don’t get maximum points,it won’t be a laughing matter. By the time the gunners meet Chelsea,I expect the blues to draw or lose .
    Simple . You can’t be winning all the time. The sequence will have to be broken at some point.Hopefully the gunners could have started scoring and winning.If not,fans will be screaming for Wenger’s head.

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