By Neil Fry
October 30 2012

The outcome of last season on the pitch was that, after winning one match out of their first six and standing in 17th place in the Premier League table and one place clear of the relegation zone, Arsenal eventually secured third place – a quite remarkable recovery, to Monsieur Wenger’s great credit.  This went to the last match of the season and a win at West Bromwich Albion, 3-2 (which was largely due to a very poor performance by their stand-in goalkeeper and also a match-winning last-minute tackle by Mr Gibbs).  Remarkably, the finish was one place higher than the previous season with Messrs Wilshere, Nasri and Fabregas playing.  Qualification for the European Champions League was, yet again, secured – and automatically.  

[Part 5]

Delivery:  Results

2011 – 2012 season

Local rivals Tottenham, having led Arsenal by 10 points going into the 26 February 2012 derby match (and at 0-2, as it stood, 13 points), finished fourth but were denied a place in the European Champions League.  Their manger, Mr Redknapp, was dismissed.  6^th place Chelsea’s qualified instead, as European Champions League  Winners.  The manager Senor Villas-Boas had been dismissed mid-season for poor performance, Signore Di Matteo was promoted to caretaker manager (now permanent) and went on to win the FA Cup too.  Liverpool’s winning of the League Cup was insufficient to compensate for a poor League eighth place and club legend former player and manager, Mr Dalglish, was dismissed along with a raft of the senior management team by the new foreign owners. 

Compared to the previous season, Arsenal gained two more points and one place.  The highlights were the 5-2 fight-back against Spurs, a 5-3 win at Chelsea, the second leg fight-back against Milan (and a short-term cameo loan from ageing former Invincibles legend Thierry Henry).  Whilst six more goals were scored, the 49 goals conceded was the worst defensive record of Monsieur Wenger’s long tenure.  Ten of the 38 matches were lost compared to eight the previous season and 21 points were dropped against bottom half of the table clubs – including points at home against Wolves, Wigan, Norwich and Fulham. 

At many home games, some 5,000 season ticket holders did not turn up despite the cheapest season ticket costing £1,000.[45]  The previous season’s good away form completely subsided.  The long enduring, second period, problem of being unable to retain winning positions and close out matches continued.  Whilst the previous season’s unbelievable late surrender of a four goal lead wasn’t repeated, the 2-8 away defeat, was followed by a 3-4 defeat at turmoil-ridden, eventually relegated, Blackburn Rovers.  There were also particularly poor performances away at Fulham and Swansea (during the injured full-backs crisis). 

In the Cups, the performance in the League Cup exit at the hands of Manchester City was satisfactory.  In the FA Cup exit at Sunderland, it was abject.  Having pre-qualified for the Champions League, Arsenal then topped their Group (whereas the Premier League’s top two, the Manchester clubs failed to make the knock-out stages).  Despite a spirited 3-0 fight-back in the second leg, Arsenal exited the competition after the season’s most abject and rudderless performance of all (given the apparent strength of the team fielded).  Monsieur Wenger appears to have a reputation for not always being particularly gracious or objective in defeat, but even he described the profoundly embarrassing performance in the 0-4 defeat at Milan as a “a disaster ... a shocking defeat … felt powerless today to get really into the game".[46]

Second period of Monsieur Wenger’s reign

Since winning the 2005 FA Cup, Arsenal have sold 17 top players and gained around £200m in transfer fees.  Whereas Arsenal have gone trophy-less in the process, the departees have won 44 major medals with 11 different clubs.  It is unlikely that Mr Cole regrets his move to Chelsea – having since won 7 trophies including the Champions League and a second Double.  Even lesser departees such as Messrs. Larsson, Diarra and Hleb won medals with the now relegated clubs Portsmouth and, ironically, Birmingham (against Arsenal).[47]

The FA Cup exit in 2012 followed three days after the 0 – 4 defeat against Milan and effectively ensured another trophy-less season – which was confirmed less than 3 weeks later.  The Premier League campaign effectively ended in August and the League Cup was exited in November.  

After The Invicibles 2003 - 2004 season, Arsenal finished second in the Premier League the following season, and then, for the last seven seasons, finished third or fourth.  Although there have been some promising starts to some seasons, these have fallen away in the latter parts of the season.  Previously, there has been something of a pattern of several seasons imploding in a short space of time.  In the 2010 – 2011 season Arsenal lost the Carling Cup final against eventually relegated Birmingham and then exited the Champions League (against Barcelona) and FA Cup (Manchester United) within a fortnight.  The promising Premier League campaign subsequently imploded too.  Remarkably, given the achievements of his Double winning team and The Invincibles, Monsieur Wenger’s claimed that “this is my best squad ever” and “this team has unbelievable mental strength. Similarly, in the 2008 – 2009 season, Arsenal went out of the FA Cup (to Chelsea) and Champions League (Manchester United 1 – 4 on aggregate) in less than three weeks.  And in the 2006 – 2007 season Arsenal exited the FA Cup (to Blackburn) and Champions League (PSV Eindhoven) within a week.

Arsenal, under George Graham, needed to win 2 – 0 (or similar) against Liverpool, the Champions and Double-winners elect, at their Anfield fortress in the last match of the 1988 - 1989 season.  Mr Thomas's dramatic and well executed injury-time goal gave Arsenal the desired result to steal the Premier League equivalent title from their hosts on goal difference.[48]  In welcoming the new signing Senor Cazorla as “a fantastic player”, Mr Thomas, today, bemoaned the absence of a figure like Mr Vieira (having retired as a player at Manchester City, Mr Viera is now a Football Development Executive there) and remains worried over the team’s subsequent propensity to implode.

Arsenal play great football until, say March. They'll be up there. But when the serious side kicks in like the quarter-finals of cups and to win major honours, that's when I think they are a let-down.  Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City will go to the end and contest things.  It's all about your mentality. I don't think Arsenal are hardened enough to win a title. It's down to Arsene Wenger to change that. They are always going to play great football, but there is something missing from the jigsaw.  They need to start winning trophies to give them the belief they can do it. Once they win that first trophy as a young team hopefully they can go on to win more honours.[49]

Having run down his contract and announced he would not sign another one, Mr Van Persie was sold to Manchester United just before the first Premier League match of the new 2012 – 2013 season.  They were, for once, trophy-less having been literally pipped at the post by now well-funded neighbours Manchester City thanks to the investment of their wealthy foreign benefactors.  Indeed, in terms of substantive trophy success over recent years, the old ‘Big Four’ seems to have become a new ‘Big Three’ – Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.   Arsenal and Liverpool appear some way off and jostling for left over scraps – with Tottenham and, last season at least, Newcastle United also joining the fray.  Indeed, as Mr Adams has noted, Arsenal seems to have become something of a ‘feeder club’.[50]  Manchester City have been particular beneficiaries  and also Barcelona and, perhaps now, Arsenal’s bitter rivals of the first period of Monsieur Wenger’s reign, Manchester United.

Prior to his departure Club Captain, Mr Van Persie went even further than his predecessor in criticising the Club’s strategy.  Referring to his meeting on 16 May with Messrs Wenger and Gazidis, Mr Van Persie said in a personal statement:

This was a meeting about the club's future strategy and their policy. Financial terms or a contract have not been discussed, since that is not my priority at all.  I personally have had a great season but my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days … out of my huge respect for Mr Wenger, the players and the fans I don't want to go into any details, but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward.[51]

Quality Control

Monitoring and acting

The pattern of the team imploding at key stages of the season has been matched by an apparent lack of suitable and sufficient and timely remedial action being taken when necessary.  Firstly, for example, citing the problem of, when injuries cleared up, of having too many centre-halves for the 2011 - 2012 season, Monsieur Wenger did not proceed with the much mooted purchase of the modestly priced Premier League battle-hardened, physically powerful, Blackburn Rovers leader, Christopher Samba, in the January 2011 transfer window to shore up the also physically and mentally struggling defence.  Rather, he persisted with his faith in his recent signing Monsieur Squillaci, but who was struggling to acclimatise to the Premier League.   Unfortunately, this was not repaid.  Indeed, his one appearance in the Premier League last season, during the January defensive injury crisis - as an 81st minute substitute, coincided with the late capitulation against Fulham and he now appears frozen out completely.  One can only speculate what may have happened from the second part of the previous season, not least the Carling Cup Final onwards - had Monsieur Wenger been ruthless sooner. 

Similarly, in the 2012 January transfer window Monsieur Wenger considered - but failed to make - a loan signing to tackle the defensive crisis brought about by all four full-backs being injured by the end of December 2011.  Rather, he proceeded to try and play four centre-backs in defence, which, in addition to weakening Arsenal’s offensive competences, enabled the opposition to target players out of position – not least the home defeat against Manchester United.  The month saw a catastrophic return of nil points from three Premier League matches that seriously risked European Champions League qualification – and the terrible economic impact that would have followed and along with it player recruitment problems.  Instead, on the last day of the transfer window, Monsieur Wenger signed the 19 year old attacking midfielder Thomas Eisfield, who had played 12 times in the season for Borussia Dortmund’s Under-19 team – for the long-term future.  

Benchmark / target setting

During the second period of his reign, Monsieur Wenger has repeatedly confirmed that his target and priorities were winning the Premier and Champions Leagues and that he believed that these were realisable priorities.  Indeed, in the second half of the 2010 – 2011 season as Arsenal remained, temporarily, in contention for all four competitions, Monsieur Wenger stated that he believed that his playing staff were sufficiently equipped to win all of them.  This was not borne out by events, nevertheless, after losing the three cup competitions in the space of two weeks, Monsieur Wenger remained confident they could win the Premier League.  When it became apparent that this would be the sixth successive season without becoming Premier League Champions, Mr Wenger appeared to change the target retrospectively.  In response to an April 2011 statement from the Arsenal Supporters Trust, following the seasons implosion, that included “There is of course considerable disappointment amongst all Arsenal fans at recent results in the cup competitions and the long period Arsenal has gone without winning a trophy”,[52] Monsieur Wenger responded,

Let’s hope that in the whole history we will never be more disappointed than that and that, in the next 20 years, they will be exactly as disappointed as they are at the moment.  If the situation remains like that, it is not too dramatic. As long as you are second in the league, I am ready to sign for the next 20 years and stand up for that. We’ve done well for our age and we are second in the league. Is that a disaster? There are teams who invest 10 times more than us – one player cost more than the whole team and they’re behind us.  At every game I find people complaining. I don’t understand why. Do you judge this season or the last four? Some of the clubs behind us have done nothing for 20 years, yet suddenly get a lot of praise.  We have eight games to go and are in a position to fight for the championship. If we’re disappointed at the end, then OK. We’ve been in the Champions League for 15 years. Only two clubs have done that in this country, us and Man United.[53]

After the catastrophic start to the 2011 – 2012 season, fourth place or Champions League qualification appeared a sufficient target.  Indeed, the Chief Executive assured supporters that any failure to qualify for the European Champions League would not be a “knockout blow” and that “our business model is robust enough to take some blows”.[54]

The results of Arsenal Supporters' Trust Membership Survey revealed a significant lack of satisfaction from supporters, since his takeover in May 2011, with Mr Kroenke’s explanation of his vision for Arsenal Football Club. Similarly, there were concerns regarding the performance of Arsenal Chief Executive, Mr Gazidis, and his senior management team regarding their openness and honesty over club finances and financial performance (including growing commercial revenues).  The senior management team appear to be held most culpable for the Club’s lack of trophy success during the second period of Monsieur Wenger’s reign. 

As the then Club captain Senor Fabregas said, in stating that the repeated failings to win a trophy would not be tolerated by other large clubs, “It’s different here … the club values other things … that the team is always in the Champions League … bring through young players, economic stability.”  However, he added, “I imagine there will be a moment when you have to take the plunge … either you win or you don’t win.”[55]

Part 6 the conclusion will follow shortly

Parts 1-4 can be followed by clicking on links at the bottom of this webpage

References

[45]  http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/ football/peter-hillwood-of-course-arsenal-can-win-the-league-this-season-and-spurs-wont-trouble-us-8104267.html

[46]  http://www.bbc.co.uk/ sport/0/football/ 17053396

[47]  http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4498786/ Stars-quit-Arsenal-and-win-44-medals.html

[48]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_0%E2%80%932_Arsenal_(26_May_1989)

[49]  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19931126

[50]  http:// www .standard.co.uk/sport/football/tony-adams-arsenal-are-just-a-feeder-club-8152532.html?origin=internalSearch

[51]  http://www. bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/ 18712651

[52]  http://arsenaltrust.org/news/2011/holding-arsenal-to-account-explanation-of-how-and-when

[53]  http://justarsenal.com/wenger-if-we-are-second-for-next-20-years-im-happy/7393

[54]  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14987610

[55]  http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/arsenal-lack-winning-mentality-admits-cesc-fabregas-2269956.html