Rain rain go away ... Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is feeling the pressure at Arsenal. Source: Carl De Souza / AFP
As Patrick Vieira hoisted the FA Cup aloft in 2005 few at Arsenal would have had any inkling that eight seasons on they would still be awaiting their next triumph.
The image of the French midfielder basking in the glory of their Millennium Stadium victory is now likely to evoke a sense of longing for the past for Gunners fans.
A time when Arsenal went 49 games undefeated, won the Barclays Premier League title and when they were considered Manchester United’s biggest rivals. Their performances this season paint a picture of a club that is a long way off achieving the same levels of success.
Ahead of their meeting with Aston Villa early Sunday morning (EDT), they sit 21 points below top of the table United with Champions League football now the height of their league ambitions.
Their wait for a trophy also appears no closer to an end.
The loss to Bayern Munich midweek extinguished almost all hope of an unlikely Champions League triumph but the real damage was done on the weekend when they bowed out of the FA Cup with a one nil loss at home to Championship club Blackburn.
It was the second time this season they have been knocked out of a cup competition by lower league opposition after bowing out of the League Cup when they were beaten by fourth-tier club Bradford. The Blackburn loss was the first time boss Arsene Wenger has lost to lower league opposition in the FA Cup in his 17 years at the helm, but despite the setback he remained stoic in his belief that the club’s season was not yet over.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man United | 26 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 65 |
| 2 | Man City | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 53 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 49 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 48 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 26 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 44 |
| 6 | Everton | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 42 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 27 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 39 |
| 8 | Swansea | 27 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 37 |
| 9 | West Brom | 26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 37 |
| 10 | Stoke | 26 | 7 | 12 | 7 | -5 | 33 |
| 11 | West Ham | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | -9 | 30 |
| 12 | Fulham | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | -6 | 29 |
| 13 | Sunderland | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | -6 | 29 |
| 14 | Norwich | 26 | 6 | 11 | 9 | -15 | 29 |
| 15 | Southampton | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | -9 | 27 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | -12 | 27 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 26 | 5 | 9 | 12 | -25 | 24 |
| 18 | Reading | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | -15 | 23 |
| 19 | Wigan | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | -21 | 21 |
| 20 | QPR | 26 | 2 | 11 | 13 | -22 | 17 |
"The season is not over. For you maybe, not for me,” Wenger said after being questioned on whether the loss to Blackburn was terminal for the club’s hopes of silverware for the season. Whilst eager to try and remain upbeat he did provide a frank assessment of where things were going wrong.
"I think we have a great team but this shows we still have to show more maturity on the mental front,” he said.
“We have to understand what it means to win big games. [Blackburn] was a big game for me." Unfortunately for Wenger, his players showed they are no closer to possessing this type of understanding when Bayern Munich won 3-1 at the Emirates on Tuesday night (UK time).
As the lack of silverware shows, this is not a recent problem for the club and raises the question as to why Wenger has been unable to address the issue. It perhaps also explains why some fans no longer adhere to the “in Arsene we trust” motto.
The release of what is likely to be impressive financial accounts this week is unlikely to provide relief. Rather than basking in the commercial success of the club, the release of their accounts is only likely to lead to more accusations that sporting ambition is being placed behind financial gain.
Arsenal is indeed a very successful business.
For the 2011-2012 season they recorded a pre-tax profit of AU$54 million. When compared to Manchester City’s pre-tax loss of AU$293 million it becomes even more impressive.
The problem is that much of their strong financial health is the result of player sales that have severely weakened the squad. Since they moved to the Emirates in 2006 they have actually had a negative net spend on transfers of just over AU$75 million.
Despite all the sales and strong commercial performance of the club, their fans are still asked to pay some of the highest ticket prices in the EPL. Wenger has defended the price of tickets saying it is the only way the club can compete with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea who can utilise their billionaire owners’ deep pockets.
The issue is they aren’t competing and fans rightly want bang for their buck.
Wenger has constantly stated that the club are punching above their weight but this is not strictly true. Arsenal spend more on wages then their Champion League opponents Bayern but you would not have thought so from watching the match.
They have the fourth highest wage bill in the Premier League so in theory they should finish fourth, but fans are right to expect a manager of Wenger’s track record to eke out more to make up for this disadvantage. Sir Alex Ferguson has managed to usually come out on top of rivals Chelsea and Manchester City who spend more on wages and transfer fees.
With Wenger struggling to compete for honours it has led to questions about his future.
His contract is up at the end of next season and with another trophyless season beckoning, the questions are only likely to grow.
The lack of silverware has hurt the Frenchman but his constant refusal to accept the squad’s failings and to rectify them has been just as damaging.
Rather than altering his approach and evolving he seems more wedded to his philosophy than ever before.
One ESPN journalist put it best on Twitter when he said: “Wenger feels like a guy who invented the Internet and got angry when no-one kept their Hotmail accounts.”
It is perhaps harsh on the club’s longest serving and most successful manager but that is football and the memories of former glories will not sustain the club’s fans forever.
After a week that has highlighted their failings, the match against Villa will provide a chance to restore belief.
If it is not taken, the motto ‘in Arsene we trust’ may become a memory just like Vieira lifting the FA Cup eight years ago.
Follow me on Twitter @beaubusch
Watch Arsene Wenger's men try to bounce back against lowly Aston Villa at 1.53am (EDT) on Sunday February 24, via Viewers Choice on Fox Sports 1HD.
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