If you follow football to any sort of extent, it is no secret Arsenal have fallen from the great power of international football they had wielded in the last two decades.
When you think of Arsenal you think of the great teams like the Invincibles of 2003-04 and the strong sides under Arsene Wenger in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Now you see Arsenal struggling to be taken seriously in its own country, let alone across the continent.
So where did it all go wrong for the Gunners?
It would be easy to point the finger at manager Mikel Arteta and his predecessors, but when you’re in charge of a club riddled with problems from top to bottom there’s only so much you can do. Arteta has been trying to slowly but surely help Arsenal come back up the ranks since he took over from Unai Emery after his disastrous spell at the helm.
He has definitely improved the club on and off the field while trying to teach the squad what it means to play for Arsenal – Arteta played for Arsenal from 2011 until 2016 – while also implementing a game style that brings the best out of many players. He has also given youth a chance to make sure they have the best chance possible to turn in to world-class players.
Mikel Arteta. (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Squad culture is an important thing to any successful sports team no matter the code. As evident in the past three or four years, the Arsenal squad has lacked any sort of winning mentality. Before Arteta’s arrival it seemed many players didn’t know what it truly meant to play for Arsenal, showing in some of the actions from players – Granit Xhaka’s mid-game blow-up last year comes to mind.
Arteta has tried his best to instil pride for the shirt, but obviously there’s still a long way to go.
Although it may seem unfair to blame the fact the players simply aren’t good enough for Arsenal – many would disagree – sweeping changes to the team are needed to elevate the squad to Champions League quality. The defence needs serious sorting out as it is too inconsistent to be acceptable in the Premier League.
The midfield is solid but comprises some players on extremely large wages who need to be offloaded to make room, Mesut Ozil being the obvious example. This midfield sometimes seems to be lost in the game and struggles to stamp its authority on a match. It’s crying out for a midfield enforcer like Patrick Vieira once was.
Finally, attacking-wise Arsenal are quite stacked, and if they can keep hold of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, they have the making of a somewhat solid squad providing the other changes needed are made.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the club is something Emery, the squad and the fans have no fault at all for, and that is the fact that the owner, Stan Kroenke, shows little to no interest at all in making the club a success and is only focused on making sure he is making as much money out of it as possible.
Kroenke was quoted in 2016 saying that he didn’t buy Arsenal to win trophies. “If you want to win championships, then you would never get involved,” he told MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.
When your owner shows a lack of ambition like that it’s little wonder the club often appears uninspired on and off the pitch.
Arsenal is a sleeping giant that could easily realise its incredible potential with changes that the fans have been crying out for.
Damo
Guest
All these clubs are now run as businesses instead of football clubs (that's the evolution of pro sport) but I feel like these 2 London clubs are the worse. The decisions are made around $$$, KPIs and ROIs and Arsenal & Spurs are just shocking at it and the ladder tells the truth with both likely to miss out on Europe.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Real question should be whats going on in North London overall? Both clubs are having shocking seasons for a variety of different reasons. As a Spurs fan normally I would be enjoying Arsenal's struggles except for the fact we are just as bad if not worse. The Mourinho experiment seems to have failed and the club is now reaping what it sowed by moving too quickly on Poch. The lesson both clubs should take from Liverpool is to back their next manager. Arsenal already have a good one in place with Arteta now. Spurs however need to move on Mourinho and start afresh with someone new and young (or even better, coax Poch back, but that is extremely unlikely).
Adam Owsinski
Roar Rookie
As a life long Arsenal supporter and club member in Australia. Some supporters may see 7th as a problem. Many other clubs would love to be in Arsenal's position (as backed up, by comment below). While granted we haven't reached the heights of Herbert Champman, George Graham or even yes, Arsene Wenger, Arsenal are only two positions away from Man United which isn't exactly terrible. I would even argue, Man United are in a worse position than Arsenal atm. Arsenals problem is 'New Fans' and the club's owners who only know about the glory days of the inherited squad of Arsene Wenger. These supporters don't remember or recognise any other time period of the club, good or bad. They also won't recognise that Wenger outstaying his welcome is partly the reason why where in this mess. I have faith in the club and to be honest, Unai wasn't completely terrible. Unai needed the backing of the board to mould his vision. let's not forget Unai got Arsenal into a Europa cup final and bought in the likes of Matteo Guendozi, Bernd Lenno, Lucas Torreira and others. Arteta's biggest crowning achievement so far is signing David Luiz to another year. I'm still 50/50 on whether Arteta is just another boards yes man or genuinely wants things to change. Arsenal's problems are bigger than on-pitch performances, Arsenals biggest problem is its owner and its current management structure. I don't think it matters who's in charge atm the results would be the same. The success on the field often comes from a top-down approach, if the top don't believe and support the club and only treat it is a cash cow, why would the staff view it any differently? The staff are merely a reflection of the employee's environment. However, living in the real world, fans must accept that ownership of the club isn't going to change. Especially while the Kronke's are making money, hand over first regardless of the results on the pitch.
HardcorePrawn
Roar Guru
Sunderland supporter here. I wish my club had Arsenal's problems. I imagine fans of a host of other clubs probably feel the same way too, notably Wigan fans this week.