FiveThings That Will Define Arsenal

As I've mentioned previously, Arsenal are a team in transition. Whether they move back to experiencing sustained success on a longer basis or remain a consistently frustrating team depends on the following five factors:

1. Will Arsene Wenger learn to buy good defensive players over the summer? Wenger's best buys have traditionally been attack-minded players with a penchant for flair. Pires, Henry, and Eduardo all come to mind. With the summer looming, the Gallas situation has to be resolved.

He is probably leaving the club, and is now playing out of his skin to make himself as attractive as possible to potential suitors. Who will replace him? Djourou still has not proven himself as being consistently reliable, while the only thing reliable about Silvestre is that he spends more time injured than on the pitch. 

In addition, not replacing Flamini with a top-class defensive midfielder was a critical error on Wenger's part that everyone else was able to see. Diaby has potential, but it remains to be seen whether his body will last the rigors of a full season. 

Arsenal needs good defensive players who can contribute to the team immediately, not more kids who may contribute one day.

2. Will Arsenal be able to hold on to their best players? A worrying development last season was that Wenger was unable to hold on to two players he truly wanted—Flamini and Hleb.

Hleb is less of an issue in my mind—the club has plenty of attack-minded midfielders—but Flamini was a real loss. Plus he was only 24, with his prime years still ahead of him. Many factors conspired against Arsenal keeping him, not least the massive salary AC Milan offered him.

Was his departure a one-off, as players have traditionally moved on from Arsenal when their best years are past them, not before them? Or is it the start of a broader trend?

Can Wenger hold on to his core group, or will Robin Van Persie and the rest once again make subtle hints that they are open to transfers to more successful clubs that will also pay them more?

Will Fabregas not be able to resist the allure of Barcelona, particularly if the spitting row does not die down? Arsenal's recent run of games has calmed the speculations for now, but we shall see what happens over the summer.

Arsene's grand plan is predicated on a team that has worked together right from a very young age, and is undermined if Arsenal is seen merely as a feeder club for bigger teams.

3. Will Wenger learn that winning is as beautiful as the passing game? Arsenal have a manager who has revolutionized their approach to the game, making them far more enjoyable to watch.

At the same time, many of the bread-and-butter teams in the Premier League have figured out how to neutralize and grind down Arsenal. Arsenal seems to do their best against other top teams that want to play football, not shut the game down.

But the League is won not just with victories against Manchester United, but also with victories against Middlesborough, Hull, and the rest. Will Arsene continue to believe his approach is best, or will he learn to adapt his tactics against teams that have historically shut down Arsenal?

4. Will Arsenal get rid of the players that infect the dressing room?

Thank goodness the Gallas situation will probably resolve itself naturally over the summer. Gallas was never a good fit for Arsenal, despite being French. His penchant for going public with dressing room disagreements have effectively isolated him within the team.

Kolo Toure, one of Arsenal's most loyal servants, famously handed in a transfer request in January. Gallas may be a great defender, but his departure could actually strengthen the team.

Another concern is Adebayor. Seems like one season of 30 goals and a super-sized contract has really gone to his head. He has not looked dedicated to the cause all season long. If he plays for Togo and gets re-injured, Arsenal should sell him, if anyone wants him. Seems like AC Milan might do Arsenal a favor in this regard?  

5. Will the team develop a winning mentality?

Success breeds success, it is often said. And there may be some truth in that regard.

During Arsenal's 2004 season, Arsenal usually had a psychological advantage going onto the pitch—not many teams expected to win against the Gunners, and that in itself was worth half-a-goal. This season, despite a current League unbeaten run, four of those games were goalless draws, not exactly the stuff of intimidation.

At the same time, the young players have heard for four long years now that they are "full of potential," and only need a little more time to develop, or realize success. That must play on their minds, and it only eats away more at them the more the club goes without a trophy.

At some point, potential turns into wasted opportunity, and it seems to me that if Arsenal does not win anything this year, the "potential" plea will have truly outlived its welcome.

Arsene claimed that his players could make a statement in their second leg with Roma. While all credit to the players who hung on grimly to a 1-0 defeat and finally went through via a penalty shootout, it was perhaps the least convincing performance by an EPL team.

The only statement made is that Arsenal is the team every other club wants to face in the remaining rounds of the Champions League. 

In sum, the answers to the five questions I pose above will determine whether Arsenal are being set up for another glorious era like the one experienced from 1998-2005, or whether Arsenal is destined to be known as the weakest member of the Big Four EPL teams.