Thursday, March 22nd, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade

By Tony Attwood

Arsenal have not won a major trophy for 350 weeks (give or take).  Liverpool have not won a major trophy for 3 weeks (ditto).

As we know (because the media keep telling us) winning is everything.  Trophies are everything.  And yes, because I have been at matches like the League Cup final against Birmingham, and I have watched us in a cup semi-final at Wembley lose to Tottenham,  I know how much I want us to win something.

But the contrast with Liverpool’s situation just now is one that throws a highlight on this point.   As matters stand Liverpool have won a trophy by beating a second division club in the last second.   Not that the manner of the victory or the opposition really matters.  They did it, and it is in the record books.  We have to acknowledge that they have done something we have not done for a number of years.

Against that point, they are currently 12 points below fourth spot and so quite unlikely to qualify for the Champions League next season.  They will play in the Europa, due to that Cup win.  (At least I think that is how the rules go).

Arsenal on the other hand will win nothing this season, but look quite likely to qualify for the Champions League next season, continuing a staggering run of appearances under Mr Wenger – a run which I believe is only equalled by Man U and Real Mad.

Of course everything that can go wrong has a chance of going wrong, so I am not counting chickens, but just on the balance of probability I would suggest we will qualify along with either Tottenham, Chelsea or Newcastle.

And that leads me back to the question: would you prefer to have the League Cup on display or the two long runs of excellent results we have seen this season, after a poor start, which has led us to probable European Champions League entry again?

Additionally, if we do qualify, it will be on the back of a set of wonderful displays including the now sometimes forgotten 7-1 victory at home to Blackburn, and all the games that have followed.  Plus that run of 8 league matches unbeaten which included the 3-5 victory at Chelsea.

But I think there is more to this comparison.  Liverpool sold big and bought big last summer, and I am not 100% convinced they got it right.  Looking at their displays of late I would not have confidence that this team can drive forwards to greater things, and I think they need to buy more just to keep up with the top clubs.  But with Arsenal (and of course I know, I am hopelessly biased, so comparison is difficult) there is now so much light at the end of the tunnel I can’t see the tunnel any more.  (That is not to say we won’t buy more, but I don’t think that we desperately have to buy).

I think particularly of…

• The re-birth of Rosicky
• The brilliant full back partnership of Vermaelen and Koscielny (would anyone care to recall some of the things said about Koscielny last season?)
• The excellence of Arteta in holding things together – it looked like a panic last minute buy but it was a staggering buy.  If this is panic buying please can we have more of it this summer?
• The end of the endless cries to spend £25m on a new goalkeeper.  Sitting in block 99 (upper tier to the right of the north bank goal) I get a fine perspective of goalkeeping activities and I have been stunned this season by Szczensy.
• The emergence of Oxland-Chamberlain.  What a staggering player!
• The emergence of Ryo – from the little I have seen this season on TV.   Can we really play four wingers in every game?  We need to with Theo, Ryo, Ox and Gervinho
• The backups at full back.  Of course we know that no matter how many full backs you have you can run out of full backs, but when I have seen Santos, Jenkinson, and Coquelin they have looked fine, fine players.  Coquelin in particular looks a dream player to me – just as he did when he appeared for the first time in our Austrian training camp.
• The emergence of our reserves such as Miquel, Ozyakup and Yennaris – plus the mountain of players out on loan.  History tells us that every year one or two will come through to stun us.
• Jack
• Robin
• And beyond players, the growth in marketing.  Of course it is easier to read the playing staff than the marketing plan, but I wouldn’t mind betting that our marketing growth in the next 18 months will be greater than any other club, with us taking Japan, India, China and Malaysia by storm.

To me this is an extraordinarily exciting situation.  Of course next season, as this, as last, we have to battle against the financially doped Man City and Chelsea.   Will they abide by Uefa’s financial regulations?  I doubt it very much.  I suspect their view is that they are too powerful to be refused entry into the Champions League in two years time.  So we have to compete with that.

But just be thankful we have Mr Wenger.  Because of him, and all he has done, young players of brilliance queue up to come to our club, when they could go to any club.  OK, sometimes we lose them to the obscenity of Man City’s wealth, but that’s how it goes at the moment.

To return just for a second to last night – what fans occasionally forget is that Arsenal and Everton’s role could have been reversed.  They could have signed a manager with the vision and ability to take them to the very top.  They could have had a board with the foresight to build a state-of-the-art stadium ahead of the rest, and a youth system to die for.   We could have been confined to the mid-table mediocrity into which the club sank after the 1971 Double season, and which was our lot under Swindin and Wright in the 1950s and 1960s.

Last night we had 62% of the possession, and 14 goal attempts to Everton’s 7.  We restricted Everton to 1 shot on target.

Shall I repeat that?  One shot on target.

That is what I call domination.  And to answer my own question: I would much sooner be in Arsenal’s position today than Liverpool, even  though they have a nice shiny pot to polish.

At a moment like this it is important not to crow at the misfortune of others

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