Arsenal: Arsene Wenger Must Relinquish Anger, Strip Cesc Fabregas of Captaincy

There is an undercurrent of annoyed attitudes making its way throughout the Arsenal fan base. Fans have patiently waited for “the professor” to carefully choose his team, groom them, and bring them to another EPL title.

Arsenal fans have waited, and waited, and waited for six years to celebrate something, anything tangible.

The time is now. Not next January. Not at the end of August for last minute transfer window bargains. No, Arsene Wenger must make some significant moves by the middle of July before they depart for their preseason Asian tour. He needs to rejuvenate spirit throughout the club.

Arsenal fans have reached their boiling point. Like a hot teapot that gets hotter and hotter until it screams like a train’s whistle when it begins to boil. You can hear Arsenal fans worldwide begin to rev their voices for an ear-piercing scream.

The rise in ticket prices across the board of 6.5 percent has turned up the heat under the Arsene Wenger teapot. The promising first half of the campaign seemed to rectify belief in the Frenchman’s philosophy and why Gooners are just that, Gooners.

Proving ‘experts’ and pundits alike wrong, Arsenal was at the top of the table in the first half of the season and remained in a two-horse race with Manchester United for most of the season.

But every time their northern rivals opened the door, Arsenal's youth prevailed, showing their inability to seize their opportunity by time and time again tripping over their own legs trying to get through to the other side.

Going into the New Year, the team was still competing in all four fronts with the FA Cup, Carling Cup, Champions League, and the EPL all reasonably attainable in their own right.

Yet, a two-week span knocked Arsenal back to just one competition and proved to kill the morale of a young team learning how to win.

Arsenal still is a young team, very young in fact, learning how to win together. However, in the last couple of seasons they have seemed to find countless new ways to lose and gut their fans.

The team took huge strides in progression in the first half of the season, but faltered in the second half and regressed. Samir Nasri’s performance throughout the season was an indicative synopsis of Arsenal’s season.

Now is the time for Arsene Wenger to sift through his squad and cut some dead weight.  The cream has risen to the top with such players like Jack Wilshire, Aaron Ramsey, and Theo Walcott.

The likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Manuel Almunia, Sebastian Squillaci and Tomas Rosicky must be sent on their merry way out the door.

Arsenal has a squad in place that can win plenty of silverware, but lack the proven experience that needs to be intertwined into the squad.

Arsene Wenger must sign some veterans who have played in the EPL and have shown constant leadership on and off the pitch.

There is an abundance of talent in the squad, particularly at midfield. The three biggest needs for Arsenal begin with a physically imposing, no-frills CB who will command the back four and light a fire into the squad.

The second need is a top-class striker to play along side Robin Van Persie up top or fill the boots during his absence. Robin Van Persie has suffered from a repeating ‘glass ankles’ syndrome throughout his career at Arsenal.

The third need is a new captain. Whether Cesc Fabregas stays in London or moves to Barcelona he must be stripped of the captain’s armband.

A captain should be the ultimate leader. He must lead through his play, be vocal on the pitch, and place the crest on his shirt before himself. Fabregas only demonstrates the first quality.

Now is not the time for Arsene to pinch pennies and haggle over a couple digits in the transfer fee. They must sign up some players to one, keep up with the rest of the league; two, revive the crushed spirits of the locker room; and three, cool down the Arsenal fans by giving them something to be excited about.

Arsene must not wait too long after the July 1 official transfer date to make his moves. A marquee signing, for Arsenal standards, not a developmental signing like Carl Jenkinson or a let's-hope-he’s-the next-Messi-or-Ronaldo signing like Ricky Alvarez, will have a resolute impression upon the squad.

Samir Nasri, who seems to be playing the pay-me-more-money game, would likely be convinced to stay in the fold with a poignant buy.

This is Arsene Wenger, though, and he likes to play by his own rules. And with the inflated prices around Europe, rest assured he is in no rush as he sifts through inflation.

All Arsenal fans can do at this point is hope the Frenchman’s transfer plans will work when the 2011-2012 season.

Those plans certainly were not curtailed to please the fans or any individual on the squad. Let’s hope, for once, Arsene Wenger operates outside his norm.