Why Unlucky Darren Fletcher Is an Example To Arsenal's Young Pretenders

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Darren Fletcher didn't need to make the challenge that ultimately renders him ineligible for the Champions League final. The fact that he did says everything about a player that has emerged from inauspicious first steps in a United shirt.

Arsenal had already been well and truly buried by the time Cesc Fabregas finally breached an otherwise impermeable Manchester United defence. The Scottish midfielder could have let Fabregas score what would have been a mere statistic.

But his mind was on the task in hand. He won the ball cleanly, but the referee, who had been awful all night without booking anyone, plucked out a red card that condemns Fletcher to the stands come May 27.

When Fletcher first started appearing in United line-ups in 2003, the opposition sensed a weak leak. He was ridiculed by his own fans, even in mock appreciation after scoring the winning goal against Chelsea in 2005. No one ever expected him to become a fixture in the United's team.

But he has filled the spot vacated by Owen Hargreave's majestically as a makeweight in midfield that allows Ronaldo and company to flourish. The likes of Alex Song, Denilson and Abou Diaby could do worse than study the case of Fletcher, now 25-years-old.

The debate within Arsenal lies here though. Fletcher has been surrounded by players that eat winners medals for breakfast.

The only players that have tasted glory in the Premier League at Arsenal are Kolo Toure, William Gallas, and Mikael Silvestre. So do you keep faith with a crop of youngsters and let them develop, or do you buy experience to help them along the way.

Arsene Wenger argues that the latter would potentially stunt their growth. But maybe he needs to decide which players have the qualities of a future Fletcher and which will meet David Bellion-esque oblivion.

My guess is that Song might have what it takes, although he is still some way off the barometer set by Matthieu Flamini last season. Others are yet to make their mark.

Arsenal can point to injuries compared to their visitors' full strength side. But Arsene Wenger did not anticipate Ronaldo's position upfront and did not react to it either. Ronaldo reduced Toure and Djourou to schoolboy status, which doesn't help when the average age of the team barely eclipses that of a sixth form's.

Arsenal were overzealous in attack in the first ten minutes. Keeping a tight ship for the first half, George Graham style dare I say, trying to take chances when they came along, would have been given United more to think about.

Considering patience seems to be key with Wenger's whelps, the same principle does not translated onto the pitch. The same can be said of Wenger's frugal transfer policy and Arsenal's uneconomic back four.

Clearly, Arsene Wenger's teams have rarely played with defence in mind, and it has cost Arsenal three times against more canny English opposition in Europe over the last five years. You won't see Chelsea trying to win the match in the first 10 minutes against Barcelona.

It is a good achievement for the Gunners to reach two semi-finals after a turbulent season but it is hard to measure the team's actual progress given that neither path in the FA Cup or Champions League was particularly testing.

When faced with the biggest challenges, Arsenal have fallen woefully short on two occasions, making barely an impression in any of the semi-final games. The only way Arsenal were going to score was from a generously awarded penalty.

Ironically, United benefited in similar fashion against Spurs two weeks ago, a moment that probably represents the turning point in their season when you consider that they were 2-0 down. Karma? Not for Fletcher.

Arsenal's fledglings might yet fly but after five trophyless seasons, patience remains key. Can, or will, Arsenal's fans match Wenger's?

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