Arsenal at a Crossroads?

Heading into their Champs League contest with Olympiacos tonight, at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal’s grip on top flight football seems more tenuous than ever. They have been plagued by a failure to win big matches dating back to last year when blown out in Champs League vs Man U, while having already lost to Man U and Man City this season. The gripes over Arsene Wegner’s failure to spend money and criticisms of captain Cesc Fabregas diminishing returns on the field as of late, are growing louder. Arsenal still play the most stylistically pleasing soccer of any club in the world when they are motivated and more importantly at full strength, however, I can’t think of another squad that consistently is trying to fill gaps due to injury issues, or having  to mute locker room squabbles. Perhaps clubhouse harmony is less an issue now that Adebayor is gone. Health will continue to be a determining factor in the team’s success though, with Nasri, Walcott, Rosicky, and Arshavin havng all missed substantial chunks of this season already. Given his fitness history, it’s most likely only a matter of time too before Van Pierse turns up lame.

Arsenal have clearly generated some stellar performances in 2009-10, including the opening day EPL thrashing of Everton on the road. A further upside is that Arsenal are relatively young, with serious talent still emerging from its youth system, and sprinkled throughout  first team and reserve side. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsay, Carlos Vela, and Fran Merida Perez will all make their impact felt soon enough. Yet, will Arsenal fans be patient enough to once again sit through another maturation cycle of promising but inexperienced youngsters, taking their lumps more often than not, while the club continues to slip further down the EPL table and risk missing out on Champs League competition?

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