In the build up to the first leg of the 08-09 installment of the North London Derby, two of Arsenal’s leading lights – Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas, gave interviews to Loaded magazine.

In these interviews Adebayor stated how "every player feels sorry for Spurs because at the moment they are really bad.” Upon remembering Arsenal’s 5-1 loss at White Hart Lane in the Carling Cup last season, Adebayor went on to say "we hope the result is the reverse and we can put a DVD in the Arsenal shop on Friday." Not to be outdone, Fabregas claimed that the Arsenal ladies team “would get a point” if they came up against Spurs, who were languishing at the foot of the Premier League table at the time.

Lo and behold, derby-day saw Tottenham score two goals in the final four minutes at the Emirates to snatch a draw in the face of imminent defeat. Humble pie was eaten. While Tottenham has since moved from strength to strength (killing our beloved triangle joke in the process), Arsenal’s subsequent failures have begun to frustrate the Gunner faithful who must surely be wondering if there are really eleven men on the pitch. Such is the lack of physical and mental toughness, lack of motivation and lack of leadership that critics are beginning to wonder if this team is even interested in competing for silverware this season. Gone are the days when wave after wave of Arsenal attacks tore opposition defenses apart. This bunch seems quite contented with connecting ten or more passes together. Goalkeepers can now breathe a sigh of relief if any Arsenal forward is played through on goal, since nine times out of ten he will turn away from goal to look for a killer pass.

WTF is Clichy doing?!

It goes without saying that the Arsenal squad contains a proliferation of immensely gifted youngsters. However talent can only take you so far. Talent allows you to win matches on your day, but you need to merge talent with combativeness and experience if you want to win titles. Much is said about Arsenal’s young guns every time they win a Carling Cup match. The media lauds Wenger as a master in developing young players and we frequently encounter comments which suggest that the youngsters in the reserves might be as good as the first team players. Well, if this means playing fancy football and not winning any trophies year after year then I agree completely.

WTF is Clichy doing?!

Arsene Wenger has often publicly declared his desire to play beautiful football, but would a defensive midfielder and a strong central defender really hurt? Bloody hell, if anyone in that midfield made a tackle or two per match, or if any of the defenders managed to head the ball out of the danger area once in a while then Arsenal would likely be top of the table. It appears that with all the emphasis on playing beautiful football, none of the players want to do the necessary dirty work. They are much too concerned with being “prim and pretty.” Fabregas might have been right after all. Maybe Spurs did only manage to get a point against the Arsenal ladies team on that fateful derby night in late October.

It really is a sad sight for those of us who are used to seeing Arsenal fight valiantly for the league title. How dreadful it must be, to know that in mid-November your team is already out of the title race. You Liverpool fans can empathize. Surely every player feels sorry for Arsenal because at the moment they are really bad. The amazing thing is that while the entire football world is acutely aware of the need for one or two experienced defensive-minded players, Wenger has made no attempt to sign anyone. Whether he is limited by the need to repay the loan on the Emirates stadium or he is just incredibly stubborn, only he knows. It is unthinkable that one of the most brilliant managers the English game has ever seen is unaware of this fundamental flaw in his squad. This has led some pundits to believe that despite the Arsenal board stating that Wenger has cash to spend, maybe this is actually not the case. These declarations could possibly be a public relations stunt for the sake of calming the Arsenal public. When speaking to News of the World, Wenger himself stated unequivocally that "the strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players...We manage at Arsenal to maintain all our football ambitions - national and European - while having to free up - for 17 more years - an annual surplus of £24million to pay for our stadium."

Whatever the situation might be, you have to wonder how long Wenger can keep up the excuse that he is building a squad for the future. For Pete’s sake he has been building the same team for over four years and even now it is almost exactly the same as when he just began. It is clear that the Arsenal directors are more concerned with paying off their loan and qualifying for the Champions League rather than lifting any meaningful silverware. That way the board gets more money to cover debts, the fans are placated by a good “cup run” and more of the same can then be scheduled for the following season. How long will the players tolerate the pain of not winning any silverware season after season? Only time will tell. Flamini and Hleb already left, don’t be surprised if Fabregas follows them out the door next summer.

See you at Barca

_____________________________________________
Would you like to write for Soccerclips? Click here for more info.