The Arsenal Paradox

When the lanky, much-maligned Dane Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring for Arsenal at the Nou Camp a few days back in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against arguably, the greatest team in the world – Barcelona, I was elated. Being a hard-core Arsenal fan, I had reason to think that this would be one of those famous, unforgettable nights when the Gunners would relinquish their tag of being ‘boys’. And then, stepped in one man (boy?), who has been talked more about in recent times, than Barack Obama. Lionel Messi’s sublime form has ripped apart many a team this season, and by the time the 90 minutes were up, Barcelona had sealed the match with the scoreline reading an imposing 4-1. Another season of disappointment for the Gunners. Another season without any silverware beckons. Even though, the English Premier League race seems very close, it is Chelsea‘s title to lose.

Arsenal

While it is terribly disheartening to see Arsenal doing poorly in terms of silverware, they have kept confounding me, and some critics by even having a say in the EPL title race. Everyone had written them off earlier in the season, when Chelsea won 3-0 at the Emirates. Arsenal bounced back in remarkable fashion. Then Man Utd’s 3-1 drubbing at the Emirates happened, followed by an equally stinging 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge to Chelsea. By this time, everyone felt that Arsenal were well and truly out of the race. It was painful to see, listen or read about the successes of Man Utd and Chelsea. But again, the Gunners refused to bow down and ground out some vital victories, which has given them a chance at clinching the title. Though, such a prospect requires other teams to drop points.

What is truly remarkable though, is the fact that Arsenal have managed to defy the odds time and again, without the presence of any truly big names. Cesc Fabregas is probably the only player in the Arsenal team, who can be in the mentioned in the same breath as Messi, Ronaldo, Kaka etc. When Andrey Arshavin claimed that Arsenal might not win the EPL due to a lack of star players, I thought that he had a valid point. In fact, at 15 million pounds, Arshavin was the most expensive signing for Arsenal in their history. While Arsene Wenger’s decision to be frugal in the transfer market might be in his earnest endeavor to develop youngsters, the reasons are more likely based on Arsenal’s huge investment on the Emirates stadium. This might have tied Wenger’s hands in the transfer market, even though he has steadfastly maintained that he has enough money to spend, if he requires it.

All this time, the EPL big guns like Chelsea and Man City in particular have spent so much money, that the worth of the entire Arsenal squad might still turn out to be lesser. While Chelsea have indeed cut down on their spending compared to their spending in the Mourinho era, they still managed to get their hands on the likes of Deco and Yuri Zhirkov (for a whopping 18 million pounds), and Man City bought enough players to have a Man City – A and a Man City – B. At the beginning of the past 2 seasons, Arsenal had been written off for even 4th place. Thierry Henry’s transfer to Barca was a huge blow, which reinforced public opinion that Arsenal were a selling club.

Among the Big Four, Arsene Wenger is the only manager who has managed to rake in a profit on transfers. Despite losing their big names consistently, Arsenal have managed to maintain a team which has challenged for honors in both, the local level and the European level. People have constantly criticized Arsene Wenger for a lack of investment in players, but to be fair to him, he has done a wonderful job with limited resources. A couple of decent signings (Marouane Chamakh, Mathieu Flamini and Giorgio Chiellini would be perfect) would do the trick for next season. Although, the biggest headache for Arsene and Arsenal would be to retain the present nucleus. If Fabregas moves, as widely rumored, it would leave a gigantic hole to fill. Nevertheless, next season is still a long way away. Keep up the good work and keep fighting for the EPL this term!