Where's The DESIRE, Arsenal?

There has been a growing trend recently. Many of Arsenal’s young, unknown players who have one good season think they are suddenly bigger than the club. Then they hold the club ransom and surprisingly succeed. Respect of Arsenal as top European club has been falling, as it is no star player's dream to join Arsenal anymore. They could not even turn the heads of Brede Hangeland or Tim Cahill, while their own players have been openly flattered by the links of Barca, Madrid, and Milans, a certain Beyounce. Many of these clubs have been achieving less than Arsenal recently. Minor teams fancy a game against Arsenal.

Many pundits link Arsenal’s recent decline and "soft club status" to lack of experience and physical strength. I believe it’s more the lack of mental strength, resolve for the club to succeed, loyalty, and passion for Arsenal—or DESIRE as Wenger says. 

Lack of passion for the club was imminent last season in all the games in which Wenger said that they did not really want it and did not show the DESIRE. I believe they lacked it in all of their games.

If the players did not really want it, then they do not deserve to be in there. I think Wenger has really turned Arsenal into a soft club with his defense of under-performing players, suspect transfer policy, and the soft talk of DESIRE.

Who is the person who fills players with venom and ferocity before a game? Who do young players look up to? Cesc Fabregas? Willaim Gallas? I am not so sure.

Their own players enter the field as if going for a daily jog. Wenger's initial success was mainly due to players like Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera, Dennis Bergkamp, etc., whose passion and desire could be felt easily. They do not have any such players now, as they are no longer demanding success from them. Rather they are "developing" them. There is more to developing than improving technical aspects. Moreover who will the players look up to in the team, and who is their role model? Bergkamp is no more an Arsenal player!

This is not really about leadership either, this is more about the self belief 18-year-olds and 35-year-olds have that they play for Arsenal, so they would be really good and have good backup in case they fail. They may not be that good, but confidence makes up for it.

Another contributing factor I think is the presence of a French-speaking clan in dressing room, and then there are "the others." This is really a negative environment as the squad should be cohesive and diverse in origin and age with the right amount of British players to bond the team with the club.

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