Since the famous invincible side of 2003/04 Arsenal Football Club have not won a Premier League title. Here are the times they’ve been right or wrong about trying to change that.
Negative – Selling players to rivals
It is absolutely shocking to think that Arsenal have sold Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Alexis Sanchez directly to rival clubs. Nasri is perhaps more excusable because he forced the move himself, but van Persie and Sanchez, both to Manchester United, is completely inexcusable. Both were Arsenal’s best player at the time and while they had mixed successes at the Red Devils, both moves certainly harmed Arsenal more than they helped United. With Van Persie, who enjoyed immediate success at United, it was a sign of how far behind Arsenal were, whereas with Sanchez it was very much a ‘not again’ reaction from the fans. You cannot expect to compete with teams if you give them your best players.
Positives – Kept the club attractive to players
Despite the lack of league success in the last few years Arsenal have still managed to recruit well and signed some of the top names in world football. Arsenal have not lost their attractiveness as a club and despite not challenging for leagues and playing in the Champions League, players always seems keen to play for Arsenal. Examples of this include Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who despite Arsenal’s problems wanted to sign and look like they love the club. It cements Arsenal as one of the biggest names in world football and they will need to keep signing these players if they wish to win titles again.
Negative – Failure to get into the Champions League
The best players want to be playing in the Champions League and Arsenal’s four-year absence for Europe’s biggest competition has stopped them signing certain players. Arsenal have tried getting into the top four and winning the Europa League to get back into the Champions League but have been unsuccessful at both. They only got into the Europa League last year by winning the FA Cup and fell at the last hurdle in the Europa League final in 2019. Before Arsenal can think about winning the league again, they have to be back playing Champions League football.
Positives – Developing a young core
Along with Mikel Arteta being just 38 years old, the youngest manager in the Premier League, Arsenal are currently trying to build a young core around the side to try a rebuild the club. Youth has always been important to Arsenal with players like Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere playing key parts at the club. Currently the academy graduates available to Arsenal is incredible with Bukayo Saka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles both already making their England debuts. Elsewhere the Gunners found an absolute diamond in Gabriel Martinelli who had an amazing first season at the club. New signing Gabriel is a young defender who has settled in very quickly and looks a good bit of business. Arsenal’s ability to find young talent now should help them have success in the future.
Negative – Wenger staying too long
There is no question that Arsene Wenger was an incredible manager for Arsenal and transformed the club. However, the last few years of Wenger’s reign were messy both on and off the pitch. While he did not deserve the treatment he received from some Arsenal fans, Wenger did probably stay a few years too many. The ideal time to leave looked like after the Gunners 2014 FA Cup victory against Hull City. It ended Arsenal’s ten-year trophy drought and would’ve allowed Wenger to leave with his head held high. The few extra years he stayed at the club damaged Wenger’s reputation slightly and is probably part of the reason why Arsenal are so far off the pace currently.
Positive – FA Cup success
During this Premier League drought, it is vital for Arsenal that they have kept winning trophies and being successful. Since their last league success, the club have won five FA Cups, including last season where they managed to beat Chelsea in the final despite finishing 8th in the Premier League. These FA Cup victories mean the club has won more FA Cups than any other side with 14 in total. It is important that players in the side have won trophies before, because it slightly takes the pressure off when there are expectations to win. Tottenham are a prime example of a team who despite having strong sides have failed to win trophies and often come up short in finals and semi-finals.
Negative – KSE Ownership of the club
While Wenger divided opinion, the Kroenke’s unite the Arsenal fans because of their terrible ownership. Kroenke Sports and Entertainment took over Arsenal in 2007 and in 2018 took complete control over the club. The Kroenke’s have ruined multiple franchises in the USA and they seem to be doing the same with Arsenal. Stan Kroenke admitted he ‘did not buy Arsenal to win trophies’ and uses the club to make money for himself. The 2019/20 was the first season since KSE joined Arsenal where the club have made an overall loss and no other Premier League team comes even close to matching this. Lack of investment and no care for the fans are just some of the reasons the Arsenal fans are demanding change, but it would take an unbelievable amount of money to take the club over and KSE have no interest in selling.
Positive – Appointment of Arteta
Replacing Wenger was always going to be a difficult task, and while the appointment of Unai Emery did not work out, many journalists, fans and former players think that Mikel Arteta is the man to bring Arsenal back to their former glory. Arteta has learnt from the very best in Pep Guardiola and in his short time in charge has demonstrated his abilities as a coach by beating Manchester City and Liverpool and winning the FA Cup against Chelsea.
Negative – Move to the Emirates Stadium
There is no doubting that the Emirates Stadium is one of the best stadiums in the world, with its 60,000 capacity and stunning appearance. However, it is a soulless place which has hardly noticed a difference in atmosphere with no fans inside. The saddest part is, the club’s former home, Highbury was the total opposite. Highbury was always a noisy, intimidating place to come and it really was a fortress for Arsenal. The tunnel was narrow and set the atmosphere for what it would be like for an away side playing against a great team, with great fans. It is sad to see the fall of Arsenal in the last 15 years and this is perfectly represented by the change in stadium.
