Arsenal: Why the Future is Not Enough

There used to be a theory that with the departure or retirement of Arsene Wenger, the collapse of Arsenal Football Club would soon follow. The supporting reasoning was that once Wenger had gone, the young - mainly Francophone - starlets recruited by him would desert en masse.

Having been plucked at young ages from obscurity by Wenger, carefully reared by him and raised under the ethos of 'beautiful football,' the fledgling Gunners would fly the nest along with their mentor, seeing no reason to remain in an uncertain future at the club known in pre-Wenger times as 'Boring Arsenal.' In short, Arsene Wenger was the only glue holding together Arsenal's young United Nations.

Recent events have given the lie to that old theory. The departures of Mathieu Flamini and Alex Hleb, along with threatened abandonments by Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, and Emmanuel Adebayor over the course of the past year has shown that Arsene's discoveries are only too happy to exit the club before he does.

Those originators of the idea that the Arsenal children would leave with their football father forgot that loyalty is thin on the ground in world soccer, and that North London is not immune from that global trend.

Nor can one blame those players who decide to go elsewhere in search of trophies. When players such as Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry left Arsenal for Juventus and Barcelona respectively, one could understand that those aging players are getting itchy feet and wishing for what could be their last big move while they still had their powers.

However, when Hleb and Flamini, players in their prime or approaching it depart, there is cause for worry. It gives the impression of a sinking ship - a notion which was wrong in the past. Fredrik Ljungberg made the claim a year ago, and is still wrong today.

The problem is that predictions of Arsenal's future domination had always been made assuming that the club would build upon the young players that Wenger and his scouts had done so well to acquire. But if the club cannot hold onto those youngsters, then the very foundations on which the future Arsenal dynasty were to be constructed are gone.

The longer that Arsenal go without silverware, the more likely it is that the club's young players will begin to heed the advice being whispered in their ears by agents, the scouts of rival clubs and suchlike. The club manager recently stated that:

"I'm in a position to spend, but we have done such a great job with the
young players that I'm concerned we'd kill a young player by bringing
 another [more experienced] one in."

Though this shows an admirable trust in the club's youth, what Wenger apparently fails to appreciate is that if Arsenal continue to fall short, those same young players may lose trust in the club. The young team is close, but not complete enough to win the Premier League and other honours.

One obvious conclusion to be drawn from last season was that Arsenal's thin squad is in need of improvement. Considering the departures already certain, together with the injury problems of Robin van Persie, Eduardo, and Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal have barely consolidated the 2007-8 squad, let alone improved it.

No Gooner wants to see good old Arsenal make a metamorphosis into a soul-less, corporate juggernaut like Chelsea Inc., but an acknowledgement that it does take some money to bring success would be welcome. The continued insistence that ''we are there'' is naive at best, and dangerously complacent at worst.

Watching from the stands at the Emirates Stadium, the frustration felt by the fans is both tangible and audible. The fans appreciate watching the passing game that their team play, but can also see from the errors and frailties on display that we are not there. The groundwork has been done, but it is clear that more is needed to make Arsenal the dominating force that has long been promised.

Our young players are undoubtedly talented, and I think most would agree that they have a bright future. However, what I want to know about is the present. We have been talking about Arsenal's future for several years now, but as a trophy-craving Gooner, this writer would like to see us win some silverware now.

That is not unduly demanding, especially considering the extremely high prices at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal fans are a patient bunch - much more so than supporters of many big clubs across Europe - and will always appreciate what Mr. Wenger has done for the team they love.

However, it is a little unfair to ask those who turn out and pay for the dearest tickets in the Premier League to continue to wait for glory, while having to enviously watch other fans around them celebrate. "In Arsene We Trust", as the mantra goes, but of glory we dream. Let that dream take shape soon, before the tired lose faith.