Arsenal Will Not Make the Wholesale Change that Fans Want

It is often said, "The table doesn't lie," and this season's table shows Arsenal finishing third while main rivals Chelsea romped away with the title, and Manchester United sitting comfortably in second.

The table may not lie, indeed, but it can certainly bend the truth. Sometimes it shows a loss when in fact the best team were frustrated by bad luck, bad refereeing, and losing through little fault of their own. A loss may be the truth, but the truth is also that sometimes the 'best' team loses. Those occasional sometimes' can build up into 9 or 12 points over a season, and that can make a big difference.

That Chelsea deserved to come top is probably in no doubt, given that most of their players are at the top of their careers. I wrote much earlier in the season that Chelsea would win it, and was roundly criticized—but I was right (it doesn't happen all that often so I'll take my own plaudits on this one). But did Manchester United deserve to come second?

Goals

Man Utd's second top goal scorer was own goals. An utterly bizarre statistic, and one which may never be repeated.

Arsenal conceded 41 goals—a stat that Wenger was quick to point out, saying "I believe you don't win the title when you concede 40 goals." However, Manchester United were champions in 99/00 having conceded 45, and champions in 96/97 when they conceded 44.  It's not impossible, but you have to score more.

Scoring more is a problem when your star striker spends half the season out injured. Van Persie has never topped 11 goals in a season for Arsenal, a fact demonstrating not his poor striking abilities, but his being out at least half of every season; by far the more shocking statistic.

The last striker to score more than 20 in a season for Arsenal was Adebayor, and that was his one good season for the team. Before him it was Henry, and that seems a long time ago.

Arsenals top goalscorer this season was Fabregas—the midfield captain who himself spent half the season injured. Next up was Bendtner, the young up-and-coming striker who also spent half the season injured.

The goals have to come from somewhere.

When the team was fit, they were scoring from all over the park, seemingly at will. Much earlier in the season it seemed as if Arsenal would win the league by a landslide (of goals).

Injuries

Can injuries be blamed for Arsenals inability to win the title? Perhaps to some degree. Supporters of every club in the country will loudly shout about their side having at least the same injuries as Arsenal, but the detailed stats don't support their arguments.

The stats tell their story about how many first team players have been out and for how long. The simply answer without listing all the detailed stats is, too many and too long.

For much of the season, as at other clubs with some injuries, Arsenal coped well without their star players. As time dragged on however, and other teams saw their players return fully fit while Arsenal didn't, the backups' ability to cope faded away.

"Too many and too long" had not only an effect on the playing field but a demoralising effect.

Courage

This season has often seen a young Arsenal side praised for their grit and determination—certainly coming back from a losing position (too often) this season has demonstrated their desire to win.

Something may have happened though following a demoralising defeat to Manchester United at home, and a similarly demoralising defeat away to Chelsea. The two main rivals exposed Arsenals defensive and tactical frailties and the cracks began to show in their facade of courage.

The team came back well to record more wins of course, but by that time the damage was done. Damage that had not successfully healed by the time they faced their "main European rivals" Barcelona. Of course everyone compared the teams—they were both based around the Dutch "total football" philosophy, and admired all over Europe.

Barcelona proved a number of points, the biggest being to demonstrate Arsenals defensive frailties again. Whilst some grit and determination were shown in the second half of the first leg, the ultimate score told a clear story.

What followed can only be described as an ignominious collapse as the season ground to a halt. Top of the league at 31 games, with 7 left to play, they ended 10 points behind Manchester United in third place. Such a dramatic turnaround, whilst not unprecedented, cannot but leave a bitter taste in the mouth of many a supporter.

Building on Success

The Emirates was far from full for the last match of the season, a fact not unnoticed by the Arsenal management team.

The support was muted too in the face of a collapsed season, and an almost meaningless end of season game. Fans are often a fickle bunch, and the manner of the collapse has caused hurt which will not be quick to heal.

Football is, after all, sports business very much more in these modern times, than it is a simple game. Fans need to be entertained and wooed with winning football.

Many have written about Wengers beautiful football experiment, and this season has been another step in a long building processes. A painful end perhaps, but a season of ups and downs that has seen progress. At the start of the season many were writing Arsenal off, yet they finished in third place guaranteed Champions League football next season, and five points ahead of their nearest rivals—hardly failure in any absolute sense.

Next season will be tough for many clubs facing the new premier league squad restrictions, yet Arsenal look set to cope better than most. A graphic example demonstrated in the last match of the season with the startling second half substitute performance of Henri Lansbury. Lansbury, an England under-19 star, showed poise, strength and skill, and should give hope to those waiting to see Arsenals future.

It seems likely that during the summer, Arsenal will sign one or two players. Chamakh looks a certain arrival, and some defensive boulstering will take place.

However, with Ramsey, Wilshere, Lansbury, Eastmond, and Gibbs having premier league time this season and demonstrating their worth at the highest level, the future of Arsenal looks very bright without the wholesale changes many Arsenal fans are shouting for.

Complain about waiting five years for a trophy, and it may be another year yet - but when the future arrives, it will be bright for a very long time.