Why Mourinho's return to Chelsea could doom Arsenal

Courtesy of WhoScored.com

That’s not all, of course. There’s still the actual influence on the players themselves. Mourinho is a master at motivating his players and getting the most out of them. In the graphic above, courtesy of whoscored.com, we see how much better Chelsea has performed under Mourinho. Sure, some of this is down to the players he brought on, but it also testifies to his management. From 2004, we see a sharp spike in points taken per game without much of a change in goals scored per game, suggesting a shrewder marshalling of resources. The residue of his impact appears to have waned a bit over subsequent seasons (save 2009-10), but we’re sure to see a resurrection as he returns. If Chelsea improves its points-taken rate from last year’s two per game to 2.2, this would be enough to claim 84 points next year – enough to have finished in second this year, eleven points ahead of Arsenal. If Mourinho can repeat his impact from 2004-05, Chelsea would repeat its record-setting total of 95. Like him or loathe him, he’s easily among the most successful, if not the best, managers in recent history.

If anyone on Arsenal’s board was anticipating a transfer-window in which we could dither or nickel-and-dime our way to a couple of bargain-signings in the last weeks of August again, Mourinho’s arrival had damn well better shake them out of their torpor. Painting Mourinho as a ominous villain to be stopped rather than joined might be a good place to start. We could point out to players being courted by him that he’s dealt with his own players, legends in their own time like Casillas and Ronaldo, harshly and shabbily. We could suggest that he’s not known for lasting long, wearing out his welcome on a fairly predictable schedule. If these warnings don’t stick, and we can’t make headway with players by contrasting Mourinho’s arrogance, abuse, and depravity against the support, development, and rapport they’ll get from Arsène, well, money does talk, doesn’t it? Players, agents, and clubs are sure to drag their heels, but the sooner we sign a top-flighter or two, the better we’ll be. Again, though, I’m not calling for a Ronaldo or a Rooney. Lewandowski? Cavani? We might have to dig more deeply to sign the likes of these players, but unless we get a head-start, the narrow gap between us and Chelsea could become a gaping chasm.