Arsenal Season Preview
By Uche Amako
The 09/10 Premier League Season will be the most important season for Arsenal to date. It’s been four years since they last won a trophy, which considering the history of Arsenal, is far too long to go without winning anything.
Arsene Wenger has been untouchable since his arrival, but now the Arsenal fans are growing impatient at the lack of silverware and have made their feelings known by booing the players at the end of matches, and heavily criticising Wenger at a Shareholders meeting towards the end of the season.
The Arsenal squad is a squad full of quality and depth, despite what any pundit says. The average age of the squad is very young but don’t confuse age with experience. Most of the squad have been together for two to three years, have enough experience in the Premier League and Champions League, and are key figures in their national teams.
There is no reason to make wholesale additions, because when the players play to their ability, there are few teams better. Arsenal doesn’t have the money to make many signings anyway. The lack of money is not Wenger’s fault, but the result of now having one of the best and most profitable stadiums in the world.
The Emirates Stadium had to be built because Highbury wasn’t making the money that Old Trafford gets for Manchester United. There was no way that Arsenal could go out and buy players for £20 million when they needed all the money they could get to build the Emirates. So Wenger had to adopt a different transfer strategy, and buy young players from around the world, and build them up into world class players.
The Unbeatable squad from the 03/04 season were all at the peak of their careers. It is unfortunate that the building of the Emirates coincided with the end of their domination. The likes of Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, and Abou Diaby had to be brought in to reinvigorate the team. Fabregas learned his trade under Patrick Vieira and Walcott under Thierry Henry. This experience would have been invaluable towards their development and this is why they are the players they are today.
Emmanuel Adebayor has been sold to Manchester City for £25 million and it gives Wenger money to spend but it’s difficult to see who would significantly improve the team. Perhaps a striker is needed to replace Adebayor but with Robin Van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo and Carlos Vela still at the club, there doesn’t appear to be a need for a new striker.
Maybe a defensive midfielder is needed, but for the second half of last season Alex Song played in the defensive midfielder position and he was very good. The fans had got on his back heavily two seasons ago and wanted him out of the club. But his performances forced those fans that criticised him to back down and he quickly became a key member of the midfield.
The squad is well equipped to win trophies this season, and with a bit of luck with injuries and better concentration at critical moments, it could be the season which sees Arsenal go on to dominate English football just like their predecessors.
