Gavin Garthwaite
(Ed’s note – This piece was submitted before the Dortmund game) At present, everything is rosy and the answer to the question is probably a little easier to reply to. Arsenal are currently sitting top of not only their domestic league, but of their Champions League Group as well and also came through a potentially tricky League Cup tie at West Brom - fielding some promising (and unproven) youngsters.
Let us cast our minds back to 1996. Were Arsenal a fashionable club? No. '94/'95 was an horrific season for us. You had the George Graham scandal, a poor league finish and then, of course, the loss of a Cup Winners Cup Final (and we all know how that ended!).
Bruce Rioch pulled back a little bit of our credibility with the signings of David Platt and Dennis Bergkamp and with qualifying for the UEFA Cup, but Arsenal weren't yet the global entity they are now. They weren't playing the glowing football that they are now renowned for having played in recent years and were struggling to fill a 38,000-seater stadium at times.
Enter Arsene Wenger. I always remember the 'Arsene Who?' headline that one of the major tabloid newspaper's ran, shortly after his appointment. He revolutionised the game almost immediately. He prolonged the careers of Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Bould, Adams and Keown and almost immediately the whole squad became athletes and were producing some of the best football of their careers, with his scientific approach. With the sprinkling of unknown gems such as Vieira, Petit and Anelka, Arsenal were well on their way to hitting the heights that is always expected of them.
The winning of the Doubles in '98, and '02, the FA Cup wins in '03 and '05 and, on top of this, the 'Invincible' season of '04 - great times for the club but it was the way we won these trophies that was most pleasing. Pires was an incredible buy and his telepathic understanding with Cole, Bergkamp and the phenomenal Henry, will be extremely tough to replicate, ever.
I think this now brings the subject on to the last eight years. Our own supporters are quite rightly not happy with the lack of silverware. Arsenal Football Club demands success and eight years without a trophy is not good enough. There have been near misses though. Fifteen minutes short of winning the Champions League in '06; the '07 League Cup Final; and the League should have been won in '08, in my opinion. The quality has always been there but, as if proving a habit, we always seem to fall at the final hurdle.
I believe Arsenal took a risk in moving to Ashburton Grove. Wenger had a vision and perhaps knew that, by moving, the success of the team might suffer for a number of years. Indeed, he may not have known to what extent, but then the board could have been more proactive. Since '06, Arsenal have had to balance the books. Cole, Campbell, Pires and Bergkamp left, Henry left, Clichy, Touré and Adebayor left, Fabregas and Nasri left and then, last year, van Persie left. All commanding reasonable transfer-fees and thus saving huge wages.
Wenger’s hands were tied during this time. He is the face of Arsenal and sometimes bore the brunt of the criticism. He went for the route of bringing youth through, but this doesn't cater for experience and know-how in the biggest games. We are starting to see fruit with the reinvention of Ramsey, while Wilshere will only get better. The signing of Őzil was a major signal that the times of watching the pennies is over, and the feel-good factor is back - you can sense it.
We are all fans of the club, we all love the club. Let's get behind the team and behind the Manager and with everyone pulling in the same direction, this could be our year. Wenger is the most successful manager is Arsenal's history, he has provided the club's greatest moments and unveiled some of our greatest players and, in my eyes, he is still the man for the job.
I hope you all agree.
