Arsene Wenger must spend money to succeed.’
‘Arsenal play pretty football but where are the trophies?’
‘It’s a results business.’

Just a few of the evaluations of the knives to the heart of yet another season where Arsenal’s ballerinas are battered and beaten again. As it stands, Manchester United are 9 points clear, on the verge of becoming truly the bird on the perch of England. None of the Red Devil’s shambolic away performances, and none of Arsenal’s team goals created of flair and trickery change that. And it is so very familiar. ‘Arsenal bottler’ should be a household term by now.

Of course this really began in 2007-2008 where Arsenal’s younger generation really got going – previously, like Liverpool, they existed on the fringes, scraping in 05-06 to a champions league spot and remaining in 4th the next season.

Suddenly in 07-08, they were brilliant – close to unstoppable. They crushed the champions league holders AC Milan, they smeared the majority of the premier league across the Emirates, they should have won the premier league.

Step forward the calamities – Eduardo’s horrific injury, Clichy’s horror show to gift Birmingham a debatable equalizer in the same game, the madness of their champions league exit against Liverpool (first leg and second leg), the penalty they conceded against United mere moments after taking the lead in a deciding match. The collapse in their form post winter, culminating in a run of just one win from 7 games. Nightmare upon nightmares, raining down on the Gunners.

If any supporter gets the whole scale of ecstasy to mediocre to awful to tear jerking, surely it’s an Arsenal fan, and if any season defines Arsenal at present, it is the 07-08 season. The Gunners are simply plagued by themselves. They are to quote myself a tragic comedy – if as a Gunners fan you don’t laugh you will probably end up crying.

What other team in the world manages to draw a game in which they are 4-0 up at half time? What other team manages to lose a cup final to the kind of goal Arsenal conceded? What other team can throwaway a fantastic champions league group stage position and throw themselves instead into a clash with far and away the best team in the world?

What team can do all these things despite priding themselves on the composure they need to score the goals they do? For a team who are so cool on the ball, they are a team fragile in confidence and character. With just a little attitude, they would not just have the odd trophy in the past years, they would be the dominating force.

And that’s the sad part of this Romeo and Juliet tale is that Arsene Wenger, the man portrayed as villain in this nightmare, is doing an extremely admirable job.

For many years Arsenal have profited in the transfer market while staying in the top four, and nobody seems to realize how huge that is. Hell, losing money in the summer transfer window is a normalcy for most clubs. Making good money there is just crazy talk, except for Arsenal

In fact clubs that spend as much as Arsenal in the transfer market usually get relegated – to be in the top four with that kind of expenditure is a testament to the off the pitch work Wenger does.

And no, Barcelona do not do the same thing. They spend triple the amount on their youth system, they splashed out 70 million plus and sacrificed Eto’o for Ibrahimovic and Villa combined where Wenger’s entire xi probably cost that much to recruit.They can recruit from all over the world where English teams can only sit and watch. Arsenal are as much like Barcelona as Real Madrid are, in a good way.

Wenger, as it stands, is fighting against a world where players transfer costs and spiraling and money increasingly takes over world football. Perhaps, the new financial fair play rules will rectify that. Fact is Wenger has been constantly on the verge of a great achievement – to win trophies playing excellent football using very little money at all.

And to win the premier league with these players would stand as a triumph to eclipse the majority of achievement in domestic football – to win in this age without spending money, while playing better then everyone?

Impossible, people might say even now. But Arsene and Arsenal have been so close since the youngsters began to get a chance at Arsenal. So close to winning something for all their hard work.

So close, yet so far. Doesn’t that define Arsenal to a tee.
Read more: http://soccerlens.com/the-tragic-comedy-th.../#ixzz1Kf9FmMpE

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Added on April 27, 2011, 4:28 amone of the comment:

Arsenal twist.

Arsenal to win any cup would have been a shameful episod for English FA as they do not want Arsenal to win in English field considering, it is a French team. FA can only accept the outfits of English white managers and Engish players with no skill but an attitude of fight and breaking legs. The FA never dream of Barcelona style football and that is what it should be. But for a racist country where colour coded managers and players, it would be hard to swalow if Arsenal win any cup. That is why, Arsenal has to accept a goal at 11+ Liverpool’s penalty and so many Refree irregularities. This is proven beyond resonable doubt at Arsenal. You can see through out the year where a condition suits the refree to make Arsenal lose or draw, he could not hesitate to take it as it is the rule no 1 of FA.

Now it seems it is ok for FA Arsenal to win a cup, provided that you have an English defender (cahil) at the centre point. Arsenal has to get some one who is English but much more famouse and well accepted by FA at the heart of Arsenal, much more bigger than Fabrigas or Van Persie and even than Arsen. For me Arsenal are the English champions. Considering Football and how it should played. Man utd good in determination and chasing the ball. But not played football as how it should be played. Pele thinks the same so does all world class players like Zinadin Zidane.

haters gonna hate