This article is a re-post and merge of my now defunct OurFootballBlog football writing blog from 2010 – 2011.
The result in last nights London derby has gone a long way to handing Chelsea the title and ending the unexpected late attempt Arsenal were making for the Premier League crown.
Underdogs
It has to be said that Arsenal were underdogs right from the start of the season, they were still being included in the fabled ‘top 4′ but their position here was being questioned on the back of another poor season and recent investment at Manchester City, the only person who thought they had the slightest chance was Arsene Wenger – we should know better than to ignore his opinions by now. We also shouldn’t forget about the strong finish by Liverpool last year, for the first time it looked like turning into a top 3 as Arsenal just didn’t look like they could compete. For many the writing was on the wall for Arsenal this season, myself included, I’ve discussed on numerous occasions with friends the perils they would face dropping out of the top 4 and not picking up the 4th Champions League spot and it appeared a real possibility that they would go the way of Leeds United. I’m sure this is a topic we’ll pick up on again regardling Liverpool in the coming weeks.
Too Little Too Late
Arsenal started the season in fine form, that’s unquestionable, but that quickly waned with the loss of Van Persie early on in the and a large patch of mediocre football ensued. The subsequent loss of Fabregas and Gallas at other key points has really stretched this squad to its limits and I think it’s fair to suggest that most teams in the world would miss those 3 players. However the replacements to come in just haven’t been good enough for long enough, the injuries really exposed the lack of depth in the Arsenal squad and goes some way to justify those calls for Arsene to spend some money on experience to bolster the ranks something he tossed aside when he had the chance in January. Playing the youth team is great, but problematic when they get injured and there’s no youth team to select replacements from.
2011 Contenders?
So, with a strong finish this season and assuming a full compliment of players next year are Arsenal realistic contenders for next years title? No. It’s hard to ignore the improvement Arsenal have made this year and next year they will be better again only if marginally so, but Even if Arsene goes potty with the cheque book and signs three world class players this summer I still don’t believe they have the strength in depth to sustain a season long attack on three fronts (Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup). Moreover I think their close call this year has been down to two major external factors, firstly United and Chelsea being under par – both sides won’t drop as many points next year as they have done this and secondly the demise of Liverpool’s season.
The overall bad performance of the other top 4 clubs has excentuated Arsenals improvement this year, I do think they improved and will again but assuming we get more consistency from Manchester United and Chelsea next year and Manchester City and Spurs come back even stronger then I think we could be looking once again at Arsenal slipping out of the top 4. This season might signal the end for Arsenal as a ‘top 4′ club and the stewardship of Arsene Wenger in one fel swoop, given the season the Chelsea and United have had, last nights loss was undoubtedly the footballing definition of a missed opportunity.
