Arsenal FC 1886-2008/09?

In 1886, as a large number of historically minded Gunners will tell you, a group of workers set up a football club in Woolwich, going under the original moniker of Dial Square. Some years later, 122 years to be accurate, this club (if you didn't know already) had become Arsenal Football Club. In those years between, the club had changed name (several times), moved grounds (3 times to date), survived 2 World Wars, amassed the odd trophy here and there (13 League Titles, 10 FA Cups amongst them), and played a bit of football in between. To date the club has had 19 full time managers, countless playing staff, and was only months ago unveiled by ex-financial director Ken Friar, as arguably the most financially bankable club in the world. 

Arsenal FC has come a long, long way from those early grease and Cornish Pastie days. From a small London club, Arsenal has seen a growth that has engulfed millions upon millions of supporters, stretching to the furthest reaches of the globe. Players, supporters, managers, Directors, Chairmen etc etc have all come and gone, but still, Arsenal Football Club exists, etched into the fabric of Footballing History, weathering any and all change. This year it will be no different.

Unlike the financially bankrupt visions of clubs such as Leeds Utd or Wimbledon, or the morally corrupt workings of Juventus, Fiorentina, AC Milan or Lazio, Arsenal has steadily pushed itself forward into the modern age of football, providing both fans and the neutral spectator with World Class players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, whilst simultaneously generating an increasing level of financial affluency and stability, upon which future generations of Chairmen, Directors and Managers can work, continuing to provide fans, both the hardened and the merely curious, with a Football Club of which to be proud. All of this, it must be noted, without ever compromising its integral moral and ethical structure.

The current generation of players, though overtly youthful, have become as much an investment into the future of the clubs success (even beyond their eventual exodus from the club) as the construction of the Awesome Arena in which they currently preside. They have be carefully selected, plucked and molded into an increasingly coherent Team body, which despite the storm of bad Omens by an overzealous media market, came so close to Winning, at the very least, the Premiership Title. The competitors that eventually won out, had carved their team through costly acquisitions, playing the role of a Chinese Dresser screen to their underlying financial vulnerability. 

Despite the tied of doomsday warnings  emanating from the Halls of the Emirates stadium in the Summer of 2007/2008, the eventual seasons close brought with it a palpable sense of disappointment. So close, but really, was it that far? The immediate crushing sensation of losing a league title, and failing to touch that elusive European glory, inevitably brought with it wistful calls for reinforcement. Gilded armour and a few cloaked daggers to complement the teams tried and trusted blades. Some might say however, that 2 in, 3 (4?) out are sure signs of a step back. An ageing talisman and an ineffectual presence taking up rank on the wing (that should surely be going to someone who can score and assist) moving on, are certainly not handicaps, but rather further encouragement that the team is taking shape into a body of assurity. By stripping away the fat, the club continues to develop the team into an increasingly effective and efficient unit. Want-aways must also go, regardless of their previous exploitations, after all, with a team so young, very few have proven themselves as anything yet, at least not at club level.

There is no doubt that the club do require one or two purchases, but to make them world beaters just to prove the doubters wrong, or to make a hard stamp of intention to furrow the brows of rival clubs, is without question, the wrong move to make. Flashing about heavy sums of the clubs revenue in a careless, flippant exercise of footballing emasculation, is not the way, it's not the Arsenal way. Strength is needed in the middle of the field. A bold, courageous head at the back, perhaps. But not a great deal more. 

In 2008, not so many people seem to know, Arsenal Football Club is in rude health. Whilst other clubs fight tooth and nail to hold their accounts, as much as hold face in lieu of the world of footballs great scrutinises, Arsenal FC, our Club, remains steady and undeterred in its course for future greatness, as much as immediate success. With so little spent on team growth, but honours barely a kick away, surely it is up to us now, to play our part, and show faith in a system so few are running with. We want the trophies, oh yes we certainly do, but should we short thrift the clubs illustrious history for a quick buck? Arsenal was here before all of us, and so it will be after we're gone.