Arsenal fail the ultimate test – again
Posted by Chris Rivers on February 1st, 2010
Despite convincing victories over the likes of Blackburn and Bolton most Arsenal fans know that the true test of their side’s title credentials is when they come up against one of their rivals for the Premier League crown. That feeling was not lost on Arsene Wenger who talked up last Sunday’s clash with Manchester United as much as he did when Chelsea visited last November.
Unfortunately for the Gunners they came up woefully short on both occasions. Back in November Chelsea romped to a 3-0 victory at the Emirates and looked like champions-elect. On Sunday a United side, supposedly weakened by the loss of Ronaldo and injuries to Vidic and Ferdinand, were similarly dominant, to the extent where it looked like men against boys at times.
Credit to Arsenal they recovered from that Chelsea setback to re-assert themselves in the title race and they could have overtaken United with a win on Sunday. In fact ever since Arsenal briefly reached the summit with a win at Bolton last week there has been a feeling among the fans that this could be their year.
But all too predictably the wheels came off the Gunners title charge once again. In a performance similar to the one seen in last year’s Champions League semi-final United ripped through the Arsenal defence to finish the game off with just minutes of the second half played. This left Arsene Wenger and the fans to question whether they have enough quality to match the country’s best.
It would be easy to blame individuals, Almunia put the ball into his own net, Clichy looked vulnerable against Nani and Arshavin was isolated up front, but it seems that the side lacks a match winner to force the issue in the biggest games. Dare I say a Thierry Henry type figure?
United certainly have a match winner in Wayne Rooney, who again demonstrated why he cannot get injured if England are to have any chance of winning the World Cup next summer.
Wenger can only look on ruefully at such talent but with a reported £30 million in the bank, the time has now surely come for Wenger to splash the cash and buy a proven match winner. If not then results like Sunday’s could become an all too regular occurrence.
The football betting suggests that Arsenal will now have to settle for a place in the Premier League top four and the club faces another season without a trophy unless they can do something special in the Champions League.
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February 1st, 2010 at 7:54 am
quote:and the club faces another season without a trophy unless they can do something special in the Champions League.
comment: no, we CANNOT, that’s 200% guaranteed, else it would be the biggest upset in the CL history, given that we do not deserve it this year
February 1st, 2010 at 11:04 am
No! If Porto can win CL, why not Arsenal?
It depends on whether madness can kick out ManU, Chelsea, Barca and R Madrid before Arsenal goes to the final…
February 1st, 2010 at 11:29 am
Waited a day to post as I was too worked up over yesterday’s result. Went to my club game right after the match and all my teammates kept asking, “Why are you such an a-hole today?” Jeesh. Didn’t brake anyone’s ankles but I was itching for it.
Look, this is more or less the same stuff we have been getting every year since the Untouchables were fully dismantled, that last of the greats shipped elsewhere. The club has been doing good “business” but not winning trophies. Yet it is not perceived as a crisis. Why? I’ll tell you why: At the end of the day, football is a “business,” and Arsenal are running a conservative shop that isn’t going to collapse like a house of cards or be prone to some billionaire’s hissy fits.
Still. We are right to be disappointed. And I think we are also right to direct that disappointment at Wenger. He’s let one or two many good veterans go early and he is far too confident in his young guns. The squads is so, so painfully thin. Healthy and early season, I’ll take our first eleven against anyone in the world. But year in and year out we lose in the spring as the young men fall to injuries, too much playing time, and a lack of mental fortitude to see the season through. And it is this last part that irks me the most. Why? Because we could go on the marker and get some grizzled veterans—English or otherwise—that may not have their past abilities but lead by example on and off the pitch. How does United keep winning? Because they have guys like Giggs and Scholes and others around that show them young ones what it takes. Who is that for Arsenal? Are captain is 22 for goodness-sake! I would have loved to see Wenger have held onto a Flamini or Gilberto, as well as brought the likes of Vieira back to the club. He seems to be going this route on his central defense (with Sol and Silvestre) but why not up front or in the middle, too?
In my view we have not been the same club since we left Highbury and that just so happens to coincide with the departure of my favorite Gunner of all—Dennis Bergkamp. I recall Henry Henry talking once about how much Dennis meant at the end of his career in terms of showing everyone what it took to work hard, stay fit, and focus in the big matches. Maybe it’s time to go after Henry and ask him to come back and take on the same role. I don’t know—someone.
So here’s what the rest of the season will bring: A third place finish and a loss in the final eight of the Champions League. It’s that way every season, isn’t it? I was angry we bailed out (again) of the Carling and FA Cups so easily. This is the ONLY hardware we really have a shot at winning and I wish we’d get one of them, preferably the FA Cup, of course. Come on, Wenger, let’s get this thing fixed during the off season.
February 1st, 2010 at 12:55 pm
1. sell denilson he is to weak we need someone bigger!
2.buy a tall (good on header) striker i suggestion kanoute shouldnt be to expensive!
3. buffon and kameni whats to leave their clubs and right now they are the best on the market that got class if u compare with almunia both is better!
P.S. if they really wanna win CL they should buy David villa it is time for arsenal to make a good changing this summer!
February 1st, 2010 at 1:21 pm
i would be sooo surprised if arsenal win the CL… like no… they are not good enough… and by no means deserve it by the way they have been playing so far. its true… men against boys was sunday night. Europe can only be worse.
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:49 am
@jc
Wenger is the Best ‘Businessman’ in Europian Football.