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Opinion

When will Arsenal ever learn?

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7th December, 2020
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You have to feel sorry for Arsenal fans. They have had to endure endless pain for countless years now.

There’s just no clear path for success to be set up, no long-term objectives and no ambition to return to the ‘invincible’ days of the early-mid 00s.

The 2-0 loss to Spurs on Monday morning highlighted that there are still underlying issues that have not been resolved both on and off the pitch.

The old saying of ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result’ is very much relevant for this underperforming club.

It is one thing to have a solid financial budget, but it’s another to actually spend that money appropriately in areas where reinforcements are needed the most.

The defence has been a massive problem which has always been ignored and the stats back that up over the past ten seasons in the EPL.

On average for goals conceded, Arsenal rank sixth and have let in 45 goals. Defences win titles, so no wonder the Gunners have struggled for silverware.

For every transfer window that comes around, I am stunned that world-class/up and coming centre backs are not even linked to the club. Why aren’t they targeting the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Dayot Upamecano, José Giménez, Marash Kumbulla just to name a few?

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It is this stubbornness to consistently spend big on the attacking third without trying to build from the back which is important for any club aspiring to achieve great things that is ultimately holding them back.

Rob Holding, Gabriel, David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi are the best Arsenal can come up with? Really? It seems puzzling that this area has not been taken care of and it’s really worrying for anyone associated with the Gunners.

Nicolas Pepe was signed from French club Lille for a club record €79 million last summer, and this season he has flopped massively contributing to one goal and one red card. They signed Willian over the summer who plays in a similar role and already have Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Lacazette as options up forward.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

It has never made sense to me for years. The transfer strategy is just flat out wrong and non-existent. Where’s the plan for the future? Are they going for youth or experience?

Why couldn’t they use the €79 million payment to instead spend on two or three quality players in positions they need fixing? It is confusing to say the least.

Of course, these decisions come down to the Arsenal board, which is the next problem that needs to be talked about.

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The owner, Stan Kroenke, needs to shoulder most of the blame for the decisions that have led Arsenal to mediocrity.

Since building the Emirates Stadium, he has used the excuse of not having enough funds to splash the cash for transfers because the club needed the pay off the stadium first, which supporters actually accepted for a while.

It’s only been roughly the past couple of seasons where he has decided to spend, but the problem is that although he obviously has business expertise.

He doesn’t have the football IQ to properly make football-based decisions which is a real concern. What’s also a concern is that he is the owner of multiple franchises in the US, spread out in different codes which means his focus, time and money is often spent elsewhere.

No top club is going to dominate domestically and in Europe with an owner like that, but I understand that it’s beyond difficult to just get rid of an owner.

Former CEO Ivan Gazidis was often used as a scapegoat for the decisions surrounding the transfer market and club decisions, but ever since being appointed CEO of AC Milan, he has been one of the keys successfully being able to stick to a plan of developing youth and looking towards the future with Milan.

Milan have the youngest squad in Europe’s top five leagues and are in first place in Serie A, being five points clear.

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This makes me think that the issues are more based within the Arsenal board which should’ve all been released from their duties after failing to sack Arsene Wenger who was only signed on because of his loyalty and reputation.

This includes the transfer scouts and football directors who have not been able to help this club move forward and build a modern brand of football that is capable of challenging the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

There’s just no foundation to build from.

As I said at the start, most people would be sorry to be an Arsenal supporter, however they are also part of the reason why the club has failed to achieve great things.

Arsenal recruit Nicolas Pepe.

Arsenal broke their club record transfer fee to recruit Nicolas Pepe from Lille. (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

For the past decade, Arsenal have always stated that qualifying for the top four would be seen as a success. They’ve managed to scrape into those Champions League places and be content with themselves, as fans would celebrate the ‘achievement’ as if it was an actual trophy.

They even celebrated outside the stadium multiple times when they finished above their arch-rivals Tottenham like it was another piece of silverware. I would’ve thought that maybe aiming to win the domestic league would be the end goal perhaps?

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If you’ve ever watched Arsenal Fan TV, the one person who irritates me and makes me cringe the most is Ty. I can’t help but laugh at the fact that he always defends his team no matter how poorly they perform and can come with such ridiculous excuses.

“We mustn’t forget that it was raining” sums it up for me. It’s not just Ty, because there are plenty more supporters who have let Arsenal off the hook too easily.

If that’s the attitude and mentality they have, then quite honestly they deserve to be where they are.

Then there’s the other half of supporters who have protested over the years for Arsene Wenger’s sacking and demanding change at the top hierarchy.

It demonstrates just how divided the supporters are when it comes to opinions about which direction is the right one and it has created this toxic environment where there is no unity within the football club which has been missing for a long time now.

A real identity has been lacking at Arsenal and it will stay that way until changes are made on the board, the transfer strategies and the fans’ mentality.

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Yes, I agree that they have played some great football especially under Wenger a few years back which was entertaining to watch, but it wasn’t on a consistent basis and it didn’t lead to success on the pitch. It has got them nowhere because there was no plan in the first place.

Mikel Arteta is under pressure now after a few bad results, but the Spaniard cannot be blamed entirely for the issues that have haunted Arsenal for many years.

Until this is all addressed, don’t expect anything more than challenging for the top four. After all, that’s all Arsenal fans care about, right?

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