What has caused Arsenal's decline?

“Wenger considers Henry loan move!” That’s the headlines football fans woke up to this Christmas morning. The now 34 year old Henry may not be the player that ‘Va Va Voom’ himself once was, nor is he the perfect player that Wenger needs. By my best guess, judging strictly by means of utility, his return to Arsenal might mean he might be used, if he returns, the way Henrik Larsson was used, when on loan at Old Trafford.

Of course, the ‘feel-good’ factor that Henry will bring to the club will be immense.

Looking at it, I cannot help but feel that Arsene Wenger is trying to make amends for the things he got wrong over the last few years, that have seen the club fall from the blinding heights of the 2003-04 season. Yes, we all know about the heavily publicised and highlighted excuses for the plight the club finds itself in:

· sale of many big name players including Henry, Fabregas, Nasri, Cole, to name a few

· over-indulgence of youth in the senior squad and lack of bench-strength

· reluctance of Wenger to spend big on players

· lack of a world class goalkeeper and more importantly lack of a leader on the pitch!

As Roy Keane wrote in his biography, “Every football match consists of a thousand little things, which added together, amounts to the final score.” In hindsight, I honestly feel a lot more damage has been done to the club by various other factors, that many at the club and the fans have turned a blind eye to.

Here, I present a few of those:

Sale of Flamini and Hleb

The damage done by the exit of these players cannot be exaggerated. The two were easily the best players for the Gunners during the 2007-08 season, forming formidable partnerships; the former with Fabregas at the center of midfield and the latter with Van Persie. Their contribution to the club’s performance was impressively significant, beyond what statistics show, which invoked interest from the big clubs they eventually joined.

Yes , they brought in some money (a combined 20mn euros) but left a gaping hole in their midfield, which Wenger, with his tightfisted spending policies, never managed to refill.

Exit of Gilberto Silva

Why would Arsenal sell one of the longest serving players at the club, the most experienced head, and from a tactical perspective, a defensive midfielder, when Flamini had already left for Milan? Gilberto’s ability was never in question as he was always a first team regular in the Brazilian national team line-up as a defensive midfielder, a position he held onto till the 2010 World Cup for the Selecao.

In his position, Wenger played two youngsters in the form of Diaby and Song, but in Silva they had lost a capable leader and a calm experienced head, a quality that they still lack at the club.

The pursuit and capture of Arshavin

It is such a shame that Arsenal broke their transfer record and endured a long overdue transfer saga over Arshavin. Agreed, he was a quality player and that he was at the peak of his career, but then and there lay the exact reason why he was not the right player to bring in. At the age of 27, splashing 15mn pounds on him seemed senseless.

How many productive years did Wenger expect out of him? 3? 4 at the most. He had already touched his peak at the Euros, why bring someone in when his career graph is surely going to fall off the tip?

Arshavin’s pursuit could have been so easily directed at any other potential recruitment, who could serve the club longer at a much cheaper price. The fact that he never really performed at the Emirates, except for a few games here and there, just makes it even more shameful.

Departure from Highbury

It was an unavoidable move for Arsenal, but it undoubtedly took its toll. The move to the Ashburton Grove meant larger revenues from their home ground, but the aura of Highbury which reflected in an eerie manner on the Arsenal game was impossible to recreate.

Be it the proximity of the stands to the pitch or the shrill scream of a woman whenever the opposition was close to scoring (yeah, we miss her), it all added up to the football. Thierry Henry once said he always knew where the goal was at Highbury, even with his back turned!!

Arsenal are yet to win a trophy since moving away from Highbury.

Lack of a plan B

What do Arsenal do when they lead? They pass the ball around. When they are level? They still pass it around. And what if they are trailing? They pass it even more.

The lack of a plan B has meant Arsenal are pretty predictable as a footballing unit. The fact that they have enough quality in them to see their side through in most matches, works favourably in their argument. But football can be played in many ways, it is a pity Wenger fails to acknowledge any way other than his own philosophy would permit.

To his credit, Wenger indeed added personnel in the form of Adebayor, Bendtner and Chamakh, to play the direct kind of football should a need arise to do so. But Adebayor was too good to be left on the bench and too robust to be accommodated into their patient passing style of play. Bendtner and Chamakh? The lesser said the better.

Do Arsenal breed and sign injury prone players? Or is it just the medical staff?

I will admit this one is a conspiracy theory that I have concocted on my own. But it is one worth giving a thought to.

Over the last few years, I have never seen any one, among the likes of Van Persie, Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, and so on, have a decent and injury-free season at the Emirates. Think about it. Not even one! There are always some in the nursing room, some on the verge of recovery and some on the cusp of picking up or aggravating an injury.

Now, I do understand that clubs deal with injuries all the time, but at the Emirates the injury list is perennially and unusually long for such a big club. I have never heard any one of the so called TV experts or others close to the club complain about Arsenal’s medical staff (except one by Fabio Capello regarding Wilshere’s injury a few months ago). But it is certainly not a moot point.

Do they buy injury prone players (say Rosicky, RVP, Cesc)? Or is it the medical staff that rush the players back too soon?

The fact that they never had a deep squad to dig into for replacements, made matters only worse.

Apart from those I mentioned here. there are few others as well, some would argue, most notably being their inability to perform at the business end of the season, or as Sir Alex puts it “squeaky bum time”.

Let me confess that I am a through and through United fan. But first and foremost, I am a football maniac. As long as I love football I’ll always love Wenger and his style of play, always! But then somethings need to be done, some beliefs need to sacrificed, some pride needs to be swallowed.

Footballers and fans, as part of our contemporary society, crave success. Wenger has been an amazing ambassador for the game and the club and deserves all the plaudits he gets. If only he could bring back the glory days to Arsenal back again. For now, he is the captain of a sinking boat, a boat that he himself has engineered.