Raffi Salama
If we're being honest, despite his unfortunate allegiance to Manchester United, Gary Neville is probably the most astute pundit to grace our TV screens every weekend. Unlike the monotonous anti-Arsenal drivel that is regularly spewed out by the likes of Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen on Match of the Day, Neville usually manages to give an insight that does not scream of a perennial grudge harking back to some mysterious event that took place on May 26th 1989. Mark, Alan, guys, really, whatever it is, just let it go. In fact, I notice that Lawrenson has been handed a ‘reduced role’ on Match of the Day this season, so that might make it a little easier.
Anyway, back to the point, and some delicious Neville analysis that took place after the Newcastle game at the end of last season. During a rousing speech, he summarised precisely that peculiar and restrained joy that was flowing through the veins of Gooners.
"They're celebrating - and rightly so - but let's not forget they finished fourth. This is Arsenal, who have set a standard in these last 15 years under Arsene Wenger and they've now got to go for it."
And why shouldn't it happen? Why can't we go for it?
In a Bergkamp-esque wonderland that fills the Arsenal bubble in my brain, the last several years have all been part of a Wenger master plan to create a stable financial basis. By the end of that first phase, the stadium debt would be paid off meaning that somewhere, somehow, a group of Gringotts elves in full Arsenal kit (including shin pads) would close their accounting books and give a gentle nod to Ivan Gazidis who would then proceed to blow the dust off his chequebook in order to splash out £100 million on new troops.
That may have sounded like a dream but what happened in reality at the start of this summer wasn't actually too different, apart from those elves and perhaps the chequebook (I can't help but feel that that sort of thing happens electronically these days). We had almost freed ourselves from the mighty shackles of stadium debt and strong rumours were circulating on sites other than goal.com of seriously big money being spent.
We seemed on the verge of going for it.
And then the rest of July just happened. Player after player after player that we had been linked with was ending up at another club. It is a sorry moment when you are genuinely aggrieved that a Brazilian bloke called Bernard is probably on his way to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The season does not start in August; it starts as soon as the transfer window opens.
‘But wait!’ I hear you say, we captured the injury-prone services of a young French hotshot for a nominal fee. Now that sounds more like the Arsenal I know.
By the time the transfer window closes, we are likely to have signed some more players but that’s just not good enough. If you want to really 'go' from the off, then surely the worst possible way to go about things is exactly what we did in July. Perhaps the most excruciating Wenger quote of the summer is not the ‘we don’t need new signings to challenge for the title’ but this one;
‘Apart from Manchester City, nobody has done anything [in the transfer market]’.
Firstly, it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing, if this summer nobody had signed anyone at all and stayed at the same level then, by definition, we’d probably end up fourth once again. More importantly, it’s just not true! Chelsea have bought Schurrle and Van Ginkel, Daniel Levy has captured Soldado and Paulinho for Spurs and even Liverpool have beefed up their ranks.
Ritually, we spend all summer second guessing the names of people Wenger wants to sign but it’s fair to say he spent most of this one going after Suarez. I know it’s not that simple to sign a player like Suarez but at the same time surely it can’t be that hard.
It still seems unlikely, but if we ever had a shot at the title surely it would be in the season where the three teams that always finish above all have new managers. It would be a shame to have compromised that ambition so early on.
Twitter @raffisalama
