Sam Oliver
Completely out of ideas for material and having an ache to write again after recently finishing my AS levels, I emailed the editor of the site if there was anything in particular he wanted to write about. I was expecting a response maybe asking me to write about potential transfer targets, or who I think should leave the club in the coming season; instead, I have been asked to predict what I think will happen to Arsenal in the next three seasons. This seems a ridiculously challenging task, and I imagine I’ll be proved wrong by September, but here goes. I’ve got the crystal ball out; here’s what I’ve seen…
2013/2014
Transfers
In: Yaya Sanogo, Gonzalo Higuain and Toby Alderwield. Out: Johan Djourou, Nicklas Bendtner, Vito Mannone, Andre Santos, Francis Coquelin, Maourane Chamakh and Park Ju Yung.
After Laurent Koscielny vowed to stay at the club despite interest from Bayern, Gonzalo Higuain also put pen to paper for the Gunners, in a £22 million deal. After beating Villa 1-0 and Fulham 2-1 in uninspiring but winning performances, Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur. A last gasp equaliser from Aaron Lennon meant the sides drew 2-2 after Gonzalo Higuain scored a brace for his new side. Dumped out the Capital One Cup early on by a Championship side, and having narrowly scraped through the Champions League Qualifiers, things weren’t looking good.
However, four Premier league wins on the bounce before the trip to Old Trafford put the Gunners in a good position to challenge the league leaders. A poor performance added disappointment to a 2-0 defeat, and the Gunners were left in third place, already eight points behind leaders Manchester United. Arsene Wenger announced a three year contract extension, which led to a mixed reaction among fans. After A 1-1 draw with Cardiff followed by a game of the same scoreline the following week against Hull City, fans were calling for big signings in the January window. Only eight points were picked up in the five games during the run up to the window, and fans were desperate for new blood. Captain Per Mertesacker had been singled out for criticism, as had Wojiech Szczesny. Santi Cazorla had also been unable to carry on his good form from the previous season, with Gonzalo Higuain, Laurent Koscielny and Kieran Gibbs the stand out performers. With Thomas Vermaelen out with a long term injury, Toby Alderwield was purchased from Ajax to provide quality backup to the centre backs Koscielny and Mertesacker.
After three wins out of four in January, Arsenal were still 12 points behind Chelsea, who now occupied first place. A gritty performance in the Champions League meant Arsenal progressed to the last eight for the first time since 2010, but were to go no further after being knocked out by Real Madrid. Arsenal’s league form continued to improve however, and despite still being eleven points off the top, they were third and eight points ahead of fifth.
A heart breaking FA Cup Semi-Final defeat to Manchester City on penalties meant another trophy-less season for the Gunners. Their league form remained fine but unspectacular, finishing the season with a 3-0 win over Norwich City. Gonzalo Higuain ended the season with 20 league goals in 36 games and the club finished the season in 3rd place, with Chelsea in first, thirteen points ahead of Arsenal, and rivals Spurs finishing 5th.
2014/2015
Transfers
In: Ettiene Capoue and Victor Valdes. Out: Mikel Arteta, Thomas Vermaelen, Gervinho and Lukasz Fabianski.
It was a frustrating summer for many Arsenal fans, many of whom wanted more players brought in; however, quality was certainly added to the squad, with Capoue seemingly the tough-tackling midfielder the side had been missing the last few years. Valdes was brought in to challenge Wojiech Szczesny in goal, with youngster Damian Martinez occupying the slot of third choice Goalkeeper. The season began brilliantly with the Gunners, winning six out of their first seven games in the League. Per Mertesacker seemed to be relishing his role of captain much more than previous season, with himself and Laurent Koscielny looking imperious at the back; however, the men who were really catching the eye were Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, both of whom appeared to be showing why they were so highly rated as youngsters by the club. Arsenal were yet again knocked out of the League Cup by a Championship side early on, after a poor performance from an inexperienced team, which led to many fans calling for an improved youth set up. Serge Gnabry and Kris Olsson appeared to be breaking into the first team set up, both of whom had made substitute appearances in the league.
The Gunners first league defeat came away to West Ham United, after a perfectly good Lukas Podolski goal was ruled out by the referee. This left Arsenal two points clear of second placed Manchester United, who they would face at the E******s in three weeks’ time. Before that however, Arsenal had breezed through their Champions League group and emerged victorious from Stamford Bridge. A last minute equaliser from Olivier Giroud earned Arsenal a well-earned point from the game against Manchester United. Santi Cazorla was playing some great football, as he picked up November player of the month. Things were looking good.
A tough Christmas period left Arsenal in second, after dropping points away to Spurs and Fulham. Progression in the FA Cup was achieved with minimal effort, and there was seen to be no need to strengthen by the Manager as no transfer dealings were done in January. A tough Champions League draw saw Arsenal lose to Bayern Munich, but it was now a three horse race between Arsenal, United and Chelsea for the title; FA Cup glory was looking possible, with United, City and Chelsea having all been knocked out.
Arsenal’s league form began to slip, with Gonzalo Higuain struggling for goals, Jack Wilshere out through injury and a severe loss of form from goalkeeper Victor Valdes. Chelsea retained their title, winning 11 out of 11 towards the tail end of the season, playing some blistering football in the process.
Arsenal again finished third, but this time they were seen as genuine title contenders. Tottenham were relegated and driven into bankruptcy by their new manager Tony Pulis, after he spent all the money from the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid on Kenwyne Jones, Andy Wilkinson and Ryan Shotton, which totalled at £84 million (well, you never know).
There was however, the impending FA cup final against Liverpool. Arsenal came from 1-0 down at half time to win 3-1, after a superb second half display, led by Santi Cazorla; Arsenal’s trophy drought was finally over.
2015/2018
Transfers
In: Sebastien Corchia, Kurt Zouma and Dimitri Payet. Out: Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny, Lukas Podolski, Kris Olsson, Toby Alderwield and Bacary Sagna
With the vast majority of the club’s stadium debt paid off, most fans were hoping for more spending from Arsene Wenger; they were upset that another winger and a striker were not brought in. The manager had put faith in Serge Gnabry and Yaya Sanogo to step up to the first team. Certain fans were also upset at the departure of Laurent Koscielny, as he finally succumbed to Bayern Munich’s interest. Kris Olsson was also seen as a loss of an exciting young player, but most agreed that his lack of physicality would always be an issue. Most accepted Sagna was past his best and Corchia was brought in, seemingly to compete with Carl Jenkinson for the right back spot, whilst Kurt Zouma was seen as an exciting signing. Despite rumours, Per Mertesacker retained the captaincy.
Difficult fixtures meant that at the end of September Arsenal sat in 5th place, and were also struggling in their Champions League group with 3 points from 2 games. However, things picked up over October and November, with Gonzalo Higuain in the form of his life. Arsenal sat in 3rd place, 6 points off the leaders in before December, having already progressed to the 5th round of the Capital One Cup, with Yaya Sanogo having scored 5 times in 3 games in this competition. Arsenal also scraped through their Champions League group.
16 points out of a possible 18 left Arsenal two points behind leaders Man United, and the two sides faced each other on New Year’s Day; Arsenal came out victorious against Man United for the first time since 2011, with Dimitri Payet scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory. The title was in Arsenal’s hands. Furthermore, Arsenal were through to the final of the Capital One Cup, having faced just one Premiership side in the run in. However, Wenger stuck with the young players who got him to the final, and they were well beaten 4-1 by Chelsea, with Serge Gnabry scoring the consolation goal.
League form continued to be strong, with Arsenal four points ahead of second, and then beating Porto in the last 16. FA Cup defeat to Manchester City was a disappointment but fans remained optimistic. The last eight of the Champions League pitted Arsenal against Real Madrid, where a crushing penalty defeat at the E******s looked to have stripped Arsenal of all confidence. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain continued to play superbly however, and he would pick up the PFA young player of the season, after being nominated for both awards.
Arsenal ended badly, winning only four out of their last 10, finishing in fourth, but merely seven points behind eventual Premier League winners Manchester United. Mentality was clearly an issue, with the squad looking like a far worse group of players after the Real Madrid defeat. Despite ending trophy-less, many agreed the team had masses of potential.
So there you go, what I think will happen to Arsenal in the next three years. In short, more Champions League Football without winning it, an FA cup and a shed load of French players. I’ll probably be entirely wrong. Up the Arsenal!
