Arsenal, what's next?

   In previous season's I have been rather critical of Arsenal F.C and their lack of consistency, lack of silverware and real quality in their side. However last May saw them come from two goals behind to beat Hull City at Wembley Stadium and win their first trophy in 9 years. This was a huge step forward for the club, supporters had become frequently disappointed with no silverware, but they finally delivered and I don't think they have looked back since.

 This season has seen even more improvement to Arsenal's performance and results have gone in the right direction. Currently sitting second, I think the fans can be very pleased of the progress. It goes back to the game vs Manchester United in November Arsenal have only dropped 11 points in the Premier League since that day. That 1-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium was daylight robbery and I think the squad felt this and as a result have subsequently pushed on and performed admirably in the League. Obviously the Champions League exit was a huge disappointment to Arsene Wenger's men, I felt that they would wipe the floor with Monaco, who haven't impressed in the French League this year. But careless Defensive errors late on at the Emirates and some unlucky spells in the south of France meant that they were eliminated at the last 16 stage, and defiantly leaves them with something to improve on next season. The F.A cup has proven to once again be a kind trophy to Arsenal this season, after getting past some difficult away ties such as Manchester United and Brighton, where they played out a hard fought 2-3 victory. They will go on to retain the cup again. With Great respect to Aston Villa I fell it will be extremely hard to dismantle Arsenals great form.


   But what is the future of the North London side? Is it with Arsene Wenger? Has his time come to an end? I feel a huge amount of gratitude and admiration has to go to Wenger, people forget that he has only spent a net amount of £9 Million over the last 10 years, built one of the best stadiums in the world, and managed to maintain the champions league spot throughout his Arsenal Career, a fantastic achievement. I think Arsenal fans often forget this or simply are not aware of these figures. They have nearly payed off the debt from the stadium and this has seem them make some huge signings in; Mesut Ozil (£42.5M) and Alexis Sanchez (£35M). They have both been hugely influential this season, especially Alexis Sanchez who has 20 goals in all competitions this season and a number of important assists (Soccerbase).  Arsene Wenger has used his money well I feel, where other managers in the league such as Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino who have wasted huge amounts of money on players. 

   The dilemma that I think the Arsenal board could have is the fact that Jurgen Klopp is available, and may not be when Arsene eventually decides to retire. A truly extraordinary manager who in my opinion is up there with the best in the world. The question is can they justify bringing him in and getting rid of their greatest manager of all time in Arsene Wenger? For me no, not in a million years, yes Wenger hasn't won a huge amount of silverware in the last 10 years, probably on of the lowest out of the top 20 managers in the world, but he has truly transformed the club. The mentality, stadia, economic grounding and youth system. But as I've stated in previous blog's, success in football is generally measured by how many trophies you have won, and I think Wenger still needs to gain more in the next 5 years in order to stay in the job.
    I think he will, as I have mentioned you can see the visual improvement in the Performance of Arsenal and the consistency in results. This is due to the players they have added to their squad over the last few years, real top quality, and that is essentially what you need to compete with the other Premier League superpowers. If you look at the 2011/12 season arsenals Midfield consisted of; Alex Song, Andrei Arshavin, Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott. Now their Midfield contains players such as; Alexis Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey, real quality throughout, and that quality as transcended into winning a trophy and improving their overall seasons performance. I really believe that the future is bright for Arsenal, and if they keep their best players and recruit some world class defenders they can challenge for the title and various other cups next season!