Will Franco-German Revolution lead Arsenal to trophies?

Gunners Franco-German Defense, Koscielny (L) and Mertesacker (R)

French Revolution at Arsenal

When Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal he introduced a revolution in the game that was played by the club, while most of the English clubs were attempting to bring-in overseas players, Wenger bought a handful of instant success Frenchmen at the club. Early years for Arsenal under Wenger were a squad of immensely talented Frenchmen on the field at various positions at the club.

The instant French success at the club included the likes of Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit, Nickolas Anelka while players like Thiery Henry and Robert Pires took their time to settle at the club. These players became an integral part of the revolution that Arsenal went through in the late 1990s and early 2000s and set high standards for the players who later joined the club. The club in the past has been associated with German footballers at the turn of the century with Jens Lehmann being the most recognized for his crucial role protecting the goal during the Gunners’ “Invincibles” season of 2003-04. However, in the recent years, Wenger seems to have shifted from his traditional reliance on French players to German consistency.

There are some very good French players in the squad but not enough to call them being part of a revolution anymore – the likes of Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna (now at Manchester City), and Olivier Giroud are the top Frenchmen at the club. Matthieu Debuchy and Loic Remy have been linked with a Gunners move this summer and if that is to happen then, it would result in the growth of the French contingent at the club.

Arsenal add German contingent

Germany has been known to produce some of the best Goal Keepers of the game, but they are not limited to Goal Keepers alone. The German youth players are amongst the most desired players at top clubs of Europe and why would that not be, they are amazing players with high work rate, technically sound; which makes them almost guaranteed success at whichever club they join. That is precisely the reason why the Gunners have been on the lookout for some of the best German talents to boost their squad in recent years.

In last three years Wenger, signed three top level German players; Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil as well as Thomas Eisfeld who is plying his trade in the senior squad with brilliant performances for the reserves. Serge Gnabry has also had a few chances in the Premier League last season where his performances received plaudits from the German Coach Joachim Loew who stated, “Gnabry could possibly be a part of the German squad at the World Cup”. In the years since Mertesacker made his transfer to Arsenal, a host of other top German players have also been linked with Arsenal.

Looking at the way things have developed at the club, Arsenal could well become a hub of German players in the not-so-distant future. Mario Gotze, Lars Bender, Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Draxler, Marco Reus and Sami Khedira have all been linked with the North London club in recent years. Amongst these players, some remain potential transfer targets for Wenger this summer, with Sami Khedira rumoured to be the most likely addition to the Gunners squad this summer after bids for Bender & Draxler failed.

Franco-German Revolution

Such developments and the growing interest of Wenger in adding the German contingent at Arsenal may well be called a step in moving away from his traditional approach of signing French compatriots. They have been benefitted a lot by the Franco-German partnership adding solidarity in the defense and added firepower to the offense. The pair of Koscielny & Mertesacker has established themselves at the back line even forcing the Arsenal skipper Thomas Vermaelen to sit out on the bench.

They worked wonders for the club last season as the Gunners won most of their matches whenever the pair completed 90 minutes of the game. The trio of Ozil, Podolski and Giroud were ruthless when it came to infiltrating the opposition defense. A Franco-German revolution at the club might just prove to be the movement in the right direction.

Judging by the performances of the previous season, Arsenal seemed to have played perhaps their best in recent years and also finally succeeded in breaking the trophy jinx at Emirates Stadium with the 2014 FA Cup. If the Gunners are able to continue their FA Cup run of the previous season, the additions to the French and German contingent at Arsenal might provide the necessary muscle and solidarity to the team which will provide the consistency in the performances that seemed to be lacking in the previous seasons.