Arsenal - A fan's view
Monday, 21 May 2007 18:10
Arsenal In Focus
Good, bad or just the same old, same old? What the fans made of the 2007/08 season. Full Story
Good, bad or just the same old, same old. What the fans made of the 2006/07 season.
If the first goal in a football match didn't count then Arsenal could well have been champions. Arsene's young Gunners went 1-0 down too many times last season and were always chasing their tails as a result. Indeed, the sight of the opposition fans cheering an opener at the Emirates was almost as much a part of the matchday experience as seeing the rich folk in club level scoot off for their free drink five minutes before half-time.
Wenger defends his players to the hilt. "They are still young," he says. "They will come good soon." We still believe him. Arsene knows, as they say in north London, but time is running out. Ending a season with nothing hurts. Ending a season with nothing twice in a row numbs and Arsenal cannot afford to be numbed. If we genuinely believe we are the equals of Chelsea and Manchester United then we must do better than this. We're Arsenal after all.
Grade: B – nothing went massively wrong, we got just one point less than last season, but nothing to write home about.
High Point
After 30 minutes of the Carling Cup final Wenger must have truly believed his patience was about to pay off. His young charges were running rings around the Premiership champions and playing a brand of football that was close to mesmerising. Theo Walcott – an Englishman of all people – had scored a blinder and Arsenal looked on course for a memorable day in Cardiff. Unfortunately a game of football is 90 minutes long.
Low Point
Between February 20th and March 3rd our season fell apart. Just 12 days in which all our hopes were dashed in our late winter of discontent. Walking away from the Emirates after a lacklustre 1-1 draw with PSV was miserable in the extreme. Within what seemed like moments we had lost the Carling Cup and been knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League. We had no hope of catching Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premiership and our Champions League place for next year was basically safe. Our season was over. At the beginning of March.
Fan's Player of the Year
Gilberto Silva.
Gilberto hasn't even got a song at Arsenal. He was berated and hated in equal measure until a few seasons ago – his canny ability to give the ball away proving too much for many among the Highbury faithful. But this year he has been a man-mountain. At a time when the club's supposed captain was making block bookings in the treatment room, Gilberto stood up and was counted. He, a defensive midfielder, was incredibly close to being the top goalscorer and dragged his young team out of the jaws of defeat. Gilberto, we salute you.
Needs for Next Season
It's the obvious answer but Arsenal need some proven quality. Yes, there is bucketloads of potential. Yes, it is great that we haven't 'done a Chelsea' and bought success. But there is just something missing. Henry and Fabregas – and possibly Lehmann and Toure when on form – are the only genuinely world-class players at the club and that is just not enough in today's Premiership. When Chelsea, United and even Liverpool have £10-million players warming their bench there is little other option but to meet them head-on with a great big wad of cash. We surely must be making inroads into our debts after a thrifty few years and now is the time to speculate to accumulate.
We don't need to go mad, but need matchwinners in one or two key positions within the club. A striker for one – that longed-for fox in the box we've always hoped for – and a playmaker to take the pressure off Fabregas' young shoulders. To get what we need we're looking at £25 million plus, but after two seasons of transition it's time for triumph. Get your chequebook out, Arsene.
Martin Ashplant
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