Are Arsenal worthy of being contenders for the title this season? It’s a question that’s been asked of them every season for the last five years. Are they ready to finally produce what seems to be Arsene Wenger’s ongoing, never-finished project?
This season, Arsenal are an interesting prospect. Once a dominant force in the Premier League for a number of years, they’ve had to make do with merely qualifying for the Champions League the last five seasons rather than add to their trophy cabinet. The last silverware the Gunners saw was the 2004-2005 FA Cup in which they beat Chelsea.
In the days of yore, when Arsenal were winning Premier Leagues, FA Cups, and Carling Cups with distinct regularity, their team always had an air of exceptional quality. Players like Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, and Robert Pires made the headlines each week for carving other teams apart with graceful skill.
This was the era of “The Invincibles,” a time when Arsenal could not be beaten and wowed their opponents. Wenger had so much to do with their success by having one of the greatest eyes for natural talent and potential. So much so that it seemed even as the old guard moved on one by one, the new recruits seemed just as talented and skilled to take their place.
After Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas would have to be the best example of Wenger’s good eye. A young Barcelona reject, Wenger plucked Fabregas from seemingly nowhere, and he’s since grown into one of the finest midfielders in the world. He now captains his team, and at the young age of 23 looks to be a born leader. This is a good thing because the rest of his team is barely older than him.
This has been Arsenal’s greatest blessing, while also being it’s greatest curse. There’s no better spotter of young talent than Arsene Wenger, but the last number of years have been all growth and no end product. The team continues to dazzle like no other (perhaps Barcelona being the only comparison), but for one reason or another, they have failed to progress past coming up second best, whether it be in the league, the Champions League, or any of the cups.
This year things have got to change. The fans are tired of waiting and despite their trust in Wenger, patience is growing thin seeing if he will produce a team capable of challenging for honors. They’ve made few signings in the transfer window and have just narrowly avoided losing their best player in Fabregas.
That being said, the majority of this team is made up of players from the last few years that were always too young to be the final product. They are now all a few years older, a few years wiser, and perhaps finally ready to compete. Theo Walcott, for example, has been a peripheral part of the Arsenal first team after being a massive signing a few years back. He’s started this season at a blistering pace scoring a hat trick in a 6-0 rout against Blackpool.
Every season for five years has been the season that Arsenal will have a mature enough side to fight for a trophy. This season looks to be truly make-or-break for Wenger and his Gunners. After a shaky first outing against Liverpool where they were fortunate to get a draw, it looks as though their season has kicked off with that 6-0 demolition of Blackpool. We’ll see if they can continue the good form all the way to first place.
Daniel Lawrence a writer for Yard Sale Search. Check out the site to find garage sales in your neck of the woods.
