Akinlolu Dairo 
It's official. In a matter of days, the curtains drop on our biblical seven lean years of famine, seven trophyless years, seven years of building and rebuilding with the same end-results. Before you decide this piece is an AMG one, I would like to advocate that you finish reading the piece and then make your judgment. What matters is Arsenal. Returning to that height, that pinnacle, that top precipice of football should be our major concern.
When Patrick Vieira netted that final penalty after that pulsating match back in 2005, where we had our hearts more in our mouths than our chests, little did we know we were going into our years of serious drought. So what actually went wrong and what does it take to return to our former footballing heights? When Chelsea beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, the folly of rejoicing in our ‘third-place-in- waiting' finish dawned on me. Here was a team that went through unstable times, looked like they got it all wrong, then they fired their coach, and then the tide turned. Don't get me wrong one bit. I am not suggesting Arsène be fired, and I honestly feel that what Chelsea have now is a temporary fix, but Lampard had been left on the bench way too often, Mikel had lost his place to Oriol Romeu, Kalou had been frozen out of the team, Didier Drogba was being 'phased out'. So when Roberto Di Matteo took the reins and restored the former order, suddenly there was a rejuvenation. Why, you ask; was it simply that they had a point to prove? ‘We are not finished’ they seemed to cry out. David Luiz joined in the act, Gary Cahill wouldn't be left behind, and all of a sudden, Chelsea are back.
We built a stadium and that's our ready point of excuse. Not that I disagree, but also, I think subconsciously, we had to tone down our ambitions. I think Arsène has usually been the most realistic of us all as he keeps insisting a top-four finish is usually a 'success'. Because of the stadium project, coupled with the departures of a great and a legend, Vieira and Henry, Arsène had to dream. This was an opportunity to breed a new generation of young players that would play together for five years, be like a family, play football the way it should be played, pass the ball till death, have bursts of unbelievable creativity and celebrate fantastic goals like no other. Enter Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Philippe Senderos, Gaël Clichy, Alex Song, Justin Hoyte, David Bentley, Nicklas Bendtner, Robin van Persie, just to mention a few. Honorable intentions, but what he did not bargain for was the loss in reputation and the intrusion of petro-dollars into football.
Players started seeing Arsenal as a training ground. Earn your stripes and take a trip. The departures of Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri still leave a bitter taste in the mouth till today. The loss of Fabregas sticks out like a sore thumb, and I am really curious to see what kind of reception he would get on his return to the Emirates someday. It would happen, I'm sure. His departure brought an end to the philosophy behind that dream. Players are going to do what is best for them, and you can only point fingers at them to an extent. The ambitions of the club need to match that of the player, or else, the one would get bigger than the other and a divorce would have to occur.
It's usually sad in our case that it's the ambition of the player that has outgrown that of the club more often than not. The players feel there's no point to prove any more, so they take a walk. Arsène needs to start ensuring that his players have a point to prove. Recently, Aaron Ramsey has been a sorry culprit. His performances on the pitch have been a far cry from his acclaimed talent. Four matches without Arteta, and we have claimed only three points from a possible twelve, and that is one coincidence too many. One single player gets injured, and the whole team struggles badly. Same happened when Vermaelen was out.
Same happened when Fabregas was out injured. This malaise needs to be rectified urgently. Players need to struggle and earn their places on the team-sheet going forward. Kieran Gibbs has been made to look over his shoulder at Andre Santos, and his play actually got better. Laurent Koscielny looks over his shoulder and sees a big German International ready to replace him. Jack Wilshere knows he has got a big battle in his hands with Mikel Arteta’s performance this season. Theo Walcott should be made to understand that he has to improve. Alex Song, though vastly improved, needs to be impressed upon that he can't just show up and give us some walk-in-the-park displays once in a while with some fantastic shows thrown in between. Robin van Persie needs to feel threatened.
The Manager needs to cater for injuries. Players get injured; replacements of adequate class should be made available. We have four competitions to look forward to next year; let’s make a complete assault on them all with as much class-resources as we are allowed. The excuse that Yann M’Vila is not pertinent because we have Alex Song should not be tenable. The club’s ambitions should be primary, and if we need both Song and M’Vila to achieve them, so be it. Get them both.
In the 2012-13 season, we have something to prove. The players have something to prove. The manager has something to prove. The fans have something to prove. The club has something to prove. Reversing the order now, the biblical seven lean years are over. It's time for the years of plenty. Let us up our ambitions and stand up to be counted. Come on ye Gunners!
