Arsenal enter 2016 top of the pile and with the obvious
pressure of not winning the league title in over 12 years. Yes the last one was
a memorable one…P38, W26, D12, L0. No one will forget that in the next 100
years possibly.
In the last 12 years, Arsenal came close only once to
winning the title. The Year 2007-08. Arsenal had just beaten Blackburn at the Emirates
2-0 with Adebayor banging in the goals and Hleb, Flamini and Cesc playing
triangles around teams and winning games.
Until Birmingham happened.Eduardo broke his leg. Gallas imploded like a cry baby on the center circle and suddenly Arsenal
lost the plot and with it lost everything that season.
The team that Wenger put
out that season:-
Goalkeeper: Alumunia
Defence:
Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy
Mid-field:
Walcott, Flamini, Cesc, Hleb, Van-Persie/Eduardo
Forward:
Adebayor
Average Age:
Approx. 24
The only so called leaders in that Arsenal team then were 2-
Gilberto and Lehmann. Unfortunately Lehmann had a injury-filled campaign and
Gilberto found it increasingly difficult to get into this vibrant, strong,
pressing Arsenal line-up. The repercussions were obvious. Whenever the going
got tough, Arsenal just got hammered.
Arsenal had lost their talisman Thierry Henry in the summer and no one gave them any chance. Chelsea had
lost Jose Mourinho in September/October 2007 after a 0-0 at WHL. Manchester United was on the
up. Tevez, Ronaldo and Rooney were good but Arsenal had set the pace and was well
on course come February with 5 points clear. They were in the FA Cup quarters.
Champions League quarters too after beating a great AC Milan side 2-0 at the
San Siro. But Arsenal just lost all the momentum with some key results. Also volatile characters like Gallas, Lassana Diarra did not help the cause.
Some key results from that year:-
2. Birmingham Away: A 2-2 draw after being 2 goals up and that too against 10 men. The red card shown to a Blue after the tackle had broken Eduardo’s leg. Gallas lost the plot in a penalty incident in the 93rd minute to further complications as Gallas was the so-called leader of the group.
3. A couple of draws against average opposition at home after the Birmingham result meant the chasing pack was on to them.
4. A bad bad result at Anfield in the champions league. 2-2 after a majestic run by Walcott after 84 minutes, and Arsenal were ahead on away goals but Eboue conceding a penalty after 60 seconds of Adebayor’s goal.
The inexperienced Arsenal team showed loads of promise but the Final result in May 2008 was Arsenal finished 3rd on the
table behind eventual champions league finalists Chelsea and double-winners Manutd.
So why am I dwelling into the past and talking about
something which happened 7-8 years ago. Well that was the last time when Arsenal genuinely
challenged for the title. And 8 years later they are at the same street again.
Some similarities, well Mourinho has been sacked but only this time Chelsea are way off the pace. ManUtd are more like a Liverpool of the mid-nineties, loads of signings but not much impact on the ground. But the real
obstacles for the Gunners come in the shapes of Manchester City and Tottenham
Hotspur.
Let us look at the line-up Wenger has used this season:
Goalkeeper:
Cech
Defence:
Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koschielny, Monreal
Mid-field:
Ramsey, Coquellin, Cazorla, Ozil, Sanchez
Forward:
Giroud
Average Age: approx 28.
What strikes me when I look at this line up is the team has
WINNERS and EXPERIENCE. It also has the
energy of the 2007-08 season but as a collective it has those winners who have
done it all. Sanchez, Ozil have had tough times in Spain competing for titles
and have won them too. A Mertesacker , a Cazorla and a Monreal who have been in
fights before in their respective pasts and have brought their experience at
vital times. And most importantly a Cech who has been on the top of the ladder
and won things playing the hard way and has given the confidence to the rest of
the team. Plus a Flamini whose name is not mentioned there who is the only
surviving member of the 2007-08 implosion who left Arsenal the same year to
Milan and has come back with a calmer head and has till now played a pivotal
role.
Yes Arsenal have a clutch of away games to come this year.
WHL, OT, Etihad, Anfield (the next one) to name a few but also some games like
Upton Park, Goodison, Britannia Stadium where the mettle will be really tested.
And not to forget the home games will not be any easier in a league where any
team can beat any team.
But somehow this year you'd think Arsenal will win the
Premier League. It will not come easy and there will be some hiccups along the
way the wealth of experience that Arsenal has in their line-up and the bench
coupled with Manchester City’s existence in all competitions, Arsenal do stand a
very very good chance. Experienced heads coupled with great squad camaraderie mean that Arsenal can withstand the pressure. I also think that Arsenal's draw in the UCL against Barca is also good news. It might mean our early exit and considering Man City's draw against Kyiv gives us the advantage in the run-in.
Also something that history tells us, no team has won the
league after getting beat 5 times or more.City losses till date: 5
Humor aside Arsenal do have a real chance and I think
they’re going to grab it with both hands, and just maybe we might see a certain
Pep walking down to North London to take over the biggest club in London. The
system Pep likes to play as illustrated by Thierry’s analysis on Sky Sports. Arsenal’s
squad can cope with Pep’s demands and above all make Arsenal an irresistible
force in the next 5 years.
This is the YouTube link which I found fascinating where Thierry talks about how Pep demands that his players trust him till the final third and post that they can whatever they want: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svh5lMUfotc
Looking at Manutd post Fergie is a cause of concern and I know Arsenal will eventually be facing a similar dilemma soon. But if there is anyone who can grab the bulls by its horns and step into Wenger's shoes and maybe even outdo Wenger it has to be Pep Guardiola.
With Arsene in entering his final few years of contract I do reckon that
Arsenal’s board will attempt the biggest coup. It would be bigger than Pep
joining Bayern after Bayern had won a treble. (At least that is what I hope).
Picture Credits:
1. www.arsenalarsenal.net
2. www.guardian.co.uk
3. www.dailymail.co.uk
4. www.telegraph.co.uk
5. arsenal.com
6. gettyimages.co.uk
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