By Mohammad
Shaaf Najib
Arsene Who? Read the London Evening
Standard headline as Arsene Wenger took charge of Arsenal. Starting with a 2-0
victory over Blackburn, Arsenal finished third in Arsene’s first season with
the club. Wenger became the first foreign manager to win the English Double
when Arsenal lifted the league and FA Cup trophies in 1998. Arsenal did not win
again till 2001, but the next 3 were massively successful as they won the
double in 2001-2002 and the FA Cup again next year.
Having signed only Jens Lehman in the
summer of 2003, Arsenal went on to win the English League unbeaten in 2003-04
and were awarded the Golden Trophy for the unmatched success. The next season
saw Arsenal again win the FA Cup as captain Patrick Vieira scored the winning
penalty with his last kick for Gunners. Arsenal announced next season will be
their last at Highbury.
Shift to Emirates in 2006 though was a
massive step forward; it came with its problems. Arsenal had debts to pay back,
which meant selling their best players every year and buying cheaper and
younger replacements to keep the club in a stable financial structure.
Arsenal came close to winning trophies
a few times but lack of experience and squad depth meant the team always fell
short as Arsenal’s trophy drought extended to almost a decade. The club kept
selling its best players every year failing to attract big names in the
process. The fans who were now habitual of winning due to early success since Arsene
took over, started calling for Wenger’s head. Despite criticism Arsene started building
his third generation of Arsenal team as club bought Giroud, Podolski and
Cazorla in the same window while Ozil was added to bolster the squad next year.
These additions while holding on to key players allowed Arsenal to finally lift
the FA Cup in 2014. Arsenal bought Sanchez in the summer and managed to retain
the FA Cup. After 9 years of drought, Arsenal won 4 trophies within 2 years;
winning the Community Shield both the times as well.
Cech joined Arsenal from rivals Chelsea
in 2015 as Arsenal fans expected a league title this time. Despite being in
contending position till February when they defeated the leaders and later
champions Leicester 2-1 at Emirates, Arsenal finished second for the first time
in over a decade losing the league by 10 points.
Arsenal closed the deal for Polish
midfielder Granit Xhaka early in the window but the need for a centre back and
striker has still not been fulfilled one match into the season. While Arsene
claims he is searching for the right players, the fans again are voicing
concerns against Arsene’s transfer policy.
People who for large part of a decade
were habitual of witnessing their best players leave are now not ready to
settle for anything less than a couple of established stars signing for
Arsenal, following the signings of Ozil, Sanchez and Cech.
Once again, Arsene’s earlier successes
come back to haunt him in a relatively tougher period. Arsene is not bigger
than Arsenal, but Arsenal are certainly bigger because of Arsene and the
standards and expectations he has set for the club are not getting any lower;
not for the fans at least.
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