Arsenal; The Story In My Eyes

Football-Talk’s latest Arsenal contributor ‘JPGOONER’ looks back over the past seven years of disappointment at the Emirates.

Written in the stars, a million miles away.

If Tinie Tempah needed inspiration for his Sky Sports match day hit, he would not have to look further than Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. If you want to look up the word “disappointment” in the dictionary, I would suggest that instead you should spend a vast sum of money obtaining a seat at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

Becoming more of an enigma and a further weight on the Gunners backs, the upcoming possibility of an eight-year period without a trophy beckons. For the average Gooner, the memory of the ever-present Patrick Viera dispatching a cup-winning penalty in 2005 vividly appears at the drop of their eyelids. In conjunction to this, the traumas of 2006,2007,2008 and 2011 bring them back to a different time period; reality.

After the Champions League defeat at the hands of the ever-disturbing Barcelona, Arsène Wenger took a bold decision, while transitioning into life at a new stadium, to invest his time, money and effort into a new and younger team. The season review entitled “Young Guns” in the 2006/2007 season confirmed this statement of intent from the Arsenal boss. Despite the incredible efforts from a team with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor, the new look side didn’t have quite enough, a defeat in the Carling Cup final to the hands of Chelsea signifying a sudden downfall.

As legend and record goal scorer Thierry Henry went off to pastures new, the recovering Gunners, with Croatian recruit Eduardo, set off on a familiar path; to win in the Arsenal way. Top of the league and looking (dare we say) invincible, it took a horrific leg break to Eduardo at Birmingham City to fire an initial bullet in the heart of the Arsenal contingent, the resulting bleeding taking place in the following weeks.

Another three years on and it was the same old story for the boys in red. As the man in the suit set out to prioritize all four (sorry five) trophies, the Gunners again succumbed to the challenging Birmingham side, losing the Carling Cup in the most unappealing way.

You can guess what happens next; Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal. The biggest humiliation in Arsenal’s illustrious history confirmed that the red and white army was in disarray.

Your turn Arsène. Mikel Arteta, Gervinho, Per Mertesacker, Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski. Just to name a few of Wenger’s so called “young”, “unexciting”, “cheap” signings. Yet these players have shown experience, resilience and determination, costing the club a significant amount of money in the process. There is strong evidence to suggest that the criticism of Wenger’s transfer policy is unjustified. Condemn the Frenchman’s tactical awareness all you like, but in terms of spending; the wallet is out Gunners!

Time and time again the Arsenal fans get excited, they “believe” as Arsène Wenger may say, yet something just isn’t right. Youth, experience and a crowd of 60,000 for motivation at home, Arsenal’s success is surely written in the stars, yet for reasons, in their own hands, still a million miles away.

What are Arsenal fans thoughts on these past few years? Feel free to get involved in the comments section below.

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