Why Arsenal need to crash out of the top 4 for their greater good

So yet again as we head closer and closer towards an exciting season finale in the Barclays Premier League, we are being made to witness a thrilling three-horse race for the remaining two UCL spots up for grabs. As the three London powerhouses fight to remain in the top 4, it is observable that Arsenal are in quite a pickle this time, with Chelsea and Tottenham having better chances of qualifying as they have games in hand. That said, looking at the pattern that Arsenal have established over the last several seasons in terms of where they finish in the Premier League table, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Gunners scrape through to the top 4 for the umpteenth time against all odds. And yet again this extremely frustrating period of monotony will be extended by another year. So is there a way to stop this series of unconvincing top 4 finishes, which lead to a fresh release of false promises for the season to follow? It’s time to analyse the situation critically.

Over the past eight seasons, Arsenal has failed to win a single trophy. Now, for any other club possessing the class, history and pride of the Gunners, that would be a serious problem for the entire management of the club as a whole. Of course, Arsenal has been jolted by this trophy-drought, but not quite strongly enough. The truth, in its bluntest form, is that it is a massive failure for a club of Arsenal’s standards to not have won anything for such a long time. However, ‘failure’ has been considered to be a rather unsuitable term by the Arsenal board, several football pundits and countless Gooners when trying to describe their predicament. Why? Let’s rewind a bit.

In July of 2006, Arsenal moved from its 93-year-old stadium in Highbury to a larger, more modern and state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium at Ashburton Grove. A lot of financing was required for the maintenance of this beautiful stadium that boasted of a maximum capacity of 60,361 seats. The club was going through a tight financial situation which was expected since such a big, progressive step was taken. The club had to incur large debts which Arsene Wenger, being the astute economist he is, has ever so brilliantly helped Arsenal to recover from. Hence, today, Arsenal can boast of being one of world football’s most financially stable clubs with the highest quality training facilities provided to its players. All of this, though, has come at a price which has been the infamous ‘trophy drought’. Right from 2006 to 2013, the club has seen a lot of change in terms of the stadium, personnel, ownership, management, squad, etc. Yet, two things haven’t changed – Arsene Wenger’s position as manager of the club and his incredible record of never having finished outside of the top 4 in the EPL. Hence, many of Arsenal’s sympathisers resort to these points when justifying the seemingly inappropriate usage of the term ‘failure’.

Which leads us to the present-day Arsenal, yet again fighting to keep Wenger’s record intact. However, this time it’s different. In the initial years after moving to the Emirates, Arsenal truly were struggling to financially compete in the market and were going through a relative slump from the heights they had reached earlier. Yet, that can be attributed only to the period between 2006-09 which is perfectly acceptable given the massive change the club witnessed. The next 3 seasons, however, have involved a series of countless, careless mistakes both on and off the pitch which resulted in under-performing, choking, etc. Many point out the chief culprits to be the board and the manager who lack ambition. This can further be illustrated when Arsene Wenger controversially stated at the beginning of the season that the top 4 spot is as good as a trophy. There is growing frustration among fans, and the disappointment of having underperformed even though resources have been aplenty is palpable. In a situation like this, one would wonder whether there’s any solution to the problem. To be honest, there is one, but for that Arsenal will have to take the bitter route.

Even though I am a big admirer and supporter of Arsenal, I do hope the Gunners fail to qualify for the UCL just once. For far too long has the team been giving up on its chances to win silverware too easily, and it has become a mental state now. All these years Wenger and Arsenal supporters have had that ‘top 4′ cushion to lie back on whenever someone questioned Arsenal’s failure to win trophies. However, even Arsenal fans have grown frustrated now and the top 4 spot isn’t as satisfying any more. Wenger, Stan Kroenke (Arsenal’s majority shareholder) and Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis though still seem to be content. Hence, a change is needed; a change that will be very bitter to come to terms with initially, but will only lead to a brighter future.

If Arsenal fail to make it to the top 4, they will lose out on UCL action for next season which will seriously jolt their revenues and most importantly, reputation. Wenger’s position as manager of the club will be seriously challenged and he will be shaken out of his comfort zone. The same can be said of Kroenke and Gazidis with Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, Britain’s richest man and Arsenal’s second-highest shareholder, waiting for a chance to claim majority stakes if he has a valid enough reason to do so. Also, this will prompt some serious transfer activity in the summer as a large amount of quality reinforcements will finally be made given that Kroenke will be kept on his toes by Usmanov. A lot of unwanted, below-par players like Gervinho, Squillaci, Andre Santos, etc. will hopefully be sold off which will clear up the wage complications.

It’s not a necessity that you have to be in the top 4 to attract quality players. If that were to be the case, a player like Jan Vertonghen wouldn’t have moved to Tottenham; a Loic Remy wouldn’t have moved to QPR; players like Moussa Sissoko, Yoann Gouffran, Debuchy, etc. wouldn’t have moved to Newcastle United. There are countless more examples. The players will finally have a burning desire to succeed in the next season and win silverware. Hence, it is only logical for Arsenal to take the plunge in order to soar high.

The night is darkest before dawn, they say. Unfortunately for Arsenal, it just isn’t dark enough at the moment.

Disclaimer: The opinion in this article is that of the author and not necessarily of Sportskeeda.