The Nucleus Is There

Not too much to say about the game against Manchester City. The game, to say the least, was extremely boring. The surprising lack of ambition displayed by the visitors, coupled with the lethargic approach of Arsenal ensured that we had a game devoid of any life. Even the introduction of Adebayor, who throughout bore sort of a moronic grin on his face, failed to add any spark to the game.

The only thing that the game managed do was to mathematically establish that we are now out of the title race. With two games to go, it is also more or less certain that we will finish third. It is a definite improvement over the last season, but still disappointing considering we were very close to winning something this year.

However, despite the disappointment, most Arsenal fans I know agree that Wenger has been working under great constraints. A very low budget has made it difficult to have a balanced squad.

And yet, there are also people (mainly in the press) who think Wenger is some kind of a myopic, obstinate idiot who refuses to buy only because he has faith in his youngsters. Do you think a manager of Wenger's caliber is not aware of whether a player is good enough? Do you think Wenger is not aware that his goalkeepers are poor? Do you think Wenger is not aware of how badly Silvestre has played?

Why do you think Wenger didn't invest in a backup to Vermaelen and Gallas, till he signed Campbell in January? Because he does not understand that injuries can happen and a backup is needed? Of course not! He didn't have enough money. As simple as that. One needs to understand that when a 10 million pound worth player is signed, for say 60,000 pounds a week salary, about 12 million pounds are spent on his salary alone, over the 4 years of his contract. There you go - so a player may cost 'only' 10 million, but you have got to balance the player salaries too. With Manchester United and Chelsea consistently purchasing players around the 25-30 million mark, we must understand how far behind Arsenal has been financially, and what a great job Wenger has done.


Great managers win trophies, but how many managers have succeeded in creating a world class stadium without letting the quality of his sides drop considerably? Most would say that the Invincibles were Wenger's greatest achievement, but I think the Ashburton Grove comes very close to being his biggest contribution to Arsenal. The scale of Wenger's accomplishment is not appreciated. The stadium, with capacity more than 60,000 people, has virtually ensured a bright future for us. An increase in 20,000 seats is a straight 50% rise in revenues, all else being equal. For added perspective, please note that Tottenham and Liverpool have been planning a stadium for years, without success.


One of the gripes of many fans is that Wenger has persisted with players like Denilson and Silvestre. Wenger does give more time to players to show whether they are good enough to play for Arsenal. But I think most people wrongly attribute his obstinacy as the primary reason for it. Some part of it may be his stubbornness, but I believe the financial condition, more than anything else, has caused him to be patient with players. If you had Vermaelen, Djourou, Song and Gallas out injured, and had no money to buy another defender, would you not have Silvestre play? Or would you rather play with 3 at the back? I think Wenger has created enough great players to trust him with building a team.


Anyhow, now the financial situation is said to be improving at the club. Of course, we are not in the league of Manchester United and Chelsea with respect to buying expensive players, but (apparently) the finances are still better than they have been for the past five years at Arsenal. This will be a true test of whether Wenger can make signings when needed, and whether he can throw out the non-performers.

This does not mean that Wenger can go ahead and buy a Berbatov for 30 million or Villa for 40 million. He will always buy good players a lot cheaper than other managers do; but now, at least he will be able to get the right player when the squad requires one. He will be able to sideline the non performers. He will not need to depend on Denilson to perform, because he can get in someone better. That in itself will be a luxury for him.

Fans must realise that Wenger's shrewdness in the transfer market and his ability to groom players has provided this Arsenal team a strong nucleus. Fabregas, Vermaelen, Arshavin and Van Persie are 4 players who can get into any side in the world. Song has been fantastic and at the rate that he is improving, he may become one of the finest midfielders in the world next year. In Sagna and Clichy we have 2 very good full-backs. We have a very good side in place, with players who have grown together; Wenger has managed to create this over a lean period. The hope now is that Wenger will have enough funds to finally make those 1-2 signings which will make us world beaters. It is an interesting summer coming up.