5 Reasons Why Arsenal are Still Trophyless

Coming from a long-time Arsenal follower (strictly NOT a fan), this article is not easy to write; but at the same time, if any fan of football today chose to watch Arsenal play, you would have seen a pattern emerging like this:

“Arsenal takes the lead through an attacking move with less than 6 passes (the most common move of scoring a goal, as stated in Inverting The Pyramid) and partly due to an error by an English keeper. Minutes later, a corner from Robin Van Persie and a simple header by Arshavin gives Arsenal a 2-0 lead”, and that’s precisely where the problem begins!!!! Because it all starts to end there.

Title winning squads require three things: quality, luck and mentality.

The current Arsenal squad has the first one. Over the past few years it has become evident that Arsenal always possesses enough fire power up front. Their midfield and attack are always packed with plenty of talent. They have extremely talented players who have the ability to score and create goals for fun. The current Arsenal squad is no different. They possess abundant quality up front and have already scored 100 goals in all competitions this season. In midfield they have players like Nasri, Fabregas, Walcott, Arshavin, Wilshere, all players who are capable of changing the course of the game single-handedly.

Even in attack they have the likes of Robin van Persie, Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner, players who are extremely talented and capable of carrying the team forward on their own. But mere quality is not enough to win titles. If that was to be the case, then Arsenal would have been lifting trophies for the past several years.

So what precisely is the problem that stands between Arsenal’s embarrassment of talent and the bare trophy cabinet, that’s for the premier league, since the historic 2003-04 Unbeaten League Championship 7 seasons ago or the complete emptiness since the 2005 season;

Here are my list of 5 reasons why Arsenal are trophy less since the Invincibles of 2004:

1) Cesc Fabregas :

Simple. If Cesc Fabregas can’t help you win trophies, the only other way is to try without Fabregas. From where Arsenal are at the moment in context of the last 6 years, change can only be progressive. The only plausible reason why Arsenal would consider retaining Fabregas, in this mish-mash of a situation, could be to stop Barca from becoming an almost UNBEATABLE side.

2) WENGER & The Youth:

Ordinary players donning the jersey, Almunia a case in point. Poor defence set up. Mishandling of contracts, Nasri will testify to this. Plus no concrete thought of replacements post the exodus of Henry and Viera. Finally, if a team having the likes of Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri and van Persie are called “youth” and are given a staggering number of opportunities despite failing to step-up when required. It’s time Mr. Wenger steps down. Wenger’s sheer involuntariness to bring in an English type center back often is the witness to their defensive weaknesses of recent times.

3) The Mindset:

They are notoriously getting famous for throwing away matches which can/should be won by the most handsome of margins. Remember the Newcastle game last season when Arsenal, after leading 4-0 at halftime ended up drawing the game. The end season draws and add to that the failure to bury Barcelona despite beating them in the first leg shows Arsenal’s growing mental weakness. With the aforementioned pattern of play they don’t look good enough to come close winning the league. For the fans, Winning and Challenging are as different as chalk and cheese. Runners Up finishes are practically useless, ask the Indians about that fateful night at Johannesburg in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

4) Injury:

Injuries and Arsenal are something that we have grown accustomed to. It would be a shock if Arsenal fielded a fully fit squad in the next two to three years. And that is something they have been unable to do in a very long time. Arsenal have been missing some player or the other at some point or the other.Thomas Vermaelen has been out since October. Robin van Persie has been shifting between the pitch and the treatment table. Fabregas’s hamstring cannot hold up for more than two months and Walcott’s ankle is broken or sprained more frequently than Chelsea’s revolving managers. Add to that Mr. Wenger’s ability to play with a shallow squad, or the lack of it to bring in some depth to the squad gives answers to most of the questions being asked off the gunners.

5) Highbury:

Ever since the move from Highbury to Ashburton Grove a.k.a The Emirates Stadium, the gunners have failed to pack a punch. The “GUNNERS” have been Gunned more often than they would have liked!!! Blame it on “VAASTU SHAASTRA” or “FENG SHUI”…the groove has not yet been found at the “GROVE”.

Edited by Leelaprasad