Simon Lloyd
So, with depressing familiarity, and to howls of “we told you so” from all the usual suspects, our ‘quadruple’ season enters its death throes. All the arguments as to why have been discussed at length in many other articles, and by and large they all draw the same conclusions. We need to strengthen and add experience in all areas of the pitch. This of course means spending some serious money, which is something not seen at Arsenal for many seasons. The arguments then take two distinct paths. Arsene knows best or Wenger out!
The driving factor behind all this debate seems to be the media obsession with the continuing trophy drought. A look back through Wenger’s history will show that Arsenal are a club that have short periods of success, followed by a period of rebuilding and then some more success. The difference this time is that the current rebuilding phase is about to enter its third stage. The only explanation I can think of for the media obsession is the perception that Arsenal are a big club, and as such carry big club expectations with them every year. But in reality are Arsenal currently a big club, and is the expectation every season justified? For me it all depends on what criteria you use to decide if a club is big or not. Here are some of the main arguments about what makes a big club based upon the perceived media big four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool.
“A big club wins trophies.” Sometimes they do, but since 2002 the League Cup in whatever guise it was at the time, has been won by the big four plus Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Spurs and Birmingham. In 2008 the FA Cup was won by Portsmouth, and this year’s final is between Stoke and Man City. None of these teams are classed as big clubs, indeed some of them have fallen on very hard times since their cup win, yet they all have a recent trophy to their name.
“A big club wins the Premier League.” Yes they do, with one notable exception, Blackburn in 1995. Since the Premiership began in Sept 1992 only four teams have won it, and only four others have been runners up. Two of those - Blackburn and Aston Villa - were both in the first few years, the other two are Liverpool and famously, Newcastle.
“A big club qualifies for the Champions League.” Usually they do, but there have been exceptions. Leeds, Newcastle and Spurs have all played in the CL. Everton lost in a qualifying round.
“A big club is a buying, not a selling club.” Of the big four only Arsenal buck this trend. Many other clubs have far exceeded Arsenal’s spending in the last few years, most notably Man City. In contrast Arsenal have sold the likes of Henry, Toure, Hleb and Abebayor for vast sums and only invested a small proportion of that money back into the team.
Other arguments include ground size, global fan base and gross income. If you take all these criteria and apply them to the last five years, then the only club that could truly be called a big club is Man Utd. Of the other three Chelsea are the nearest, with Arsenal and Liverpool in third and fourth place. However it is a different story if you go back ten years, when Arsenal and Man Utd were neck and neck, Liverpool were more or less where they are now and Chelsea were still awaiting a sugar daddy to bail them out of their financial mess. I think it was this period of success culminating with the Invincibles, that has been a big club millstone around our neck ever since.
It is obvious to all football fans that our recent trophy drought has coincided with the move from Highbury to the E******s stadium. During the last five years the club has dedicated itself to reducing the stadium debt, whilst remaining competitive on the pitch. The fact they have achieved this, even though the global recession seriously reduced the revenue from Highbury Square property sales, is nothing short of a miracle. We are UEFA’s model of how to run a football club. In the same period Chelsea and Man City have been recession proof and spent fortunes. Man Utd have also spent big where necessary, paid for mainly by the world record transfer of Ronaldo for £80m, but they have also been put into serious debt by the Glazers’ takeover.
I don’t agree with the ‘Wenger out’ argument because despite all the upheaval of moving to a new stadium and the global financial problems, we are still perceived as a big club. In achieving this we haven’t spent ourselves into oblivion like Leeds and many others, or needed a sugar daddy bailout like Chelsea, or had a potentially ruinous takeover, yet we are there or thereabouts every year. If we had collapsed like Liverpool the expectations would be much lower, and the media would leave us alone to rebuild. The current media lovefest with Spurs is all the proof you need that moderate success, coupled with low expectation is more appealing to the headline writers than a well run, overachieving but ultimately trophyless club.
When I weigh up all the arguments I have to conclude that at the moment Arsenal are not quite in the big club league, and the expectations placed upon Arsene Wenger and the team are unjustified. To a large degree we are the victims of our own success. The unbeaten season was an achievement that many thought impossible. Arsene Wenger didn’t. He predicted his team would do it and was only a year out. Since then his every move has been unfairly compared to that unique season. In the face of all the media scrutiny and the growing chorus of discontent from the fans, he has stuck to his principles and has only just fallen short. I think he has done a remarkable job, and deserves the chance to reap the rewards of five years’ groundwork over the coming seasons. AKB.
