English Premier League: Arsenal Begin New Era in Wake of Cesc Fabregas Departure

Just as Patrick Vieira's departure in 2005 signaled the end of the Invincibles era, captain Cesc Fabregas' transfer to FC Barcelona this past weekend brings to a close Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's admirable-yet-flawed policy of winning via youth development.

While it cannot be dismissed as an unequivocal failure, the hard truth remains that Wenger has not delivered a trophy since the FA Cup in 2004-05. While an anonymous journalist's tweet yesterday—which pointed out that it only took Fabregas the better part of 10 minutes to win a trophy with his new club (Barca took home the Supercopa)—was mentioned in jest, Arsenal fans will view that observation with a not-so-subtle twinge of dismay.

Fabregas left Arsenal to pursue titles with his first club—and he's already gotten his wish.

Fabregas was a noted instance of just how successful this policy could be. Snapped up from Barcelona's youth program at 16, the young Catalan wasted little time installing himself as a regular in the Arsenal senior XI. By the time he left, he had become one of the marquee attacking midfielders in the world, known for his sumptuous passing, brilliant technique, and burning desire for victory.

He leaves Arsenal a man. Yet it seems that his tenure at Arsenal—when viewed in future years—appears in danger of being classified as nothing more than a glorified development phase, where Fabregas honed his prodigious skill before entering a glory-filled Golden Age with Barcelona.

His move at 24—the prime years of football—is exactly what Wenger had once feared. The Alsace-born skipper has vocalized his resolve in keeping his youngsters—after all, what's the point of developing them into premier talents, only to have them leave once they've hit their prime?

Forced to invest in cheap, young talent due to the crippling construction costs of Arsenal's gleaming Emirates Stadium, Wenger began reshaping Arsenal in the wake of Vieira's move to Juventus. Wenger had never been able to adequately replace the Invincibles. For every former champion that left, an unproven youngster seemed to take his place.

The transition has been far from seamless. An Invincibles side would never have allowed a loss against Birmingham in the heat of a title race (2007-08), or a 3-1 lead in the North London derby to spiral into a 4-4 draw—at home—(Tottenham, 2008-09), or a 4-0 lead at halftime to turn into a 4-4 draw (Newcastle, 2010-11). Sol Campbell, Ray Parlour, Robert Pires, Freddy Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, et al would never have stood for it.

Yet the youngsters have failed to show enough mettle to hang with the big boys.

A time-tested, fundamental precept of youth, is that it is highly volatile. For every brilliant display, there is a crushing mistake. That's simply youth's nature.

Wenger's attempt to develop a free-flowing, swashbuckling side on the cheap always seemed destined to come up short, like the most intricate Arsenal passing movement around the edge of an opponent's penalty area.

The fact that he has kept Arsenal in the Champions League year-in, year-out, is a testament to his considerable prowess as a manager.

His kids have proved their mettle countless times—Arsenal's squad construction in the Carling Cup is often a who's who of the current crop of youngsters—but they have consistently come up short against Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Chelsea—who have combined to exert a stranglehold on the EPL title for the last decade or so.

Those two squads in particular echo United manager Sir Alex Ferguson's mantra of, "Build from the back." Both have employed world-class keepers (van der Sar, Cech), and sturdy, experienced defenses (Ferdinand, Vidic/Terry, Carvalho, now Alex, among others.)

To say Arsenal has experienced trouble in those two particular areas in recent seasons would be quite the understatement. One need only remember Chelsea striker Didier Drogba tossing about Armand Traore like rag-doll to hammer in the point: would that ever happen to Patrice Evra or Ashley Cole (left backs like Traore)? I doubt it.

So, as Wenger bids adieu to Fabregas and, by all accounts, Samir Nasri—who has reportedly agreed to a deal with Manchester City worth £25 million, with £5 million in add-on incentives and a £200,000-a-week salary—he is forced to take an honest assessment of the status of his program.

Should he decide to continue with it, the new season looks doomed before it's even had the chance to truly begin. Arsenal looked anything but dangerous last Saturday vs. Newcastle, and apart from Theo Walcott's opening goal against Udinese, the Gunners provided little in the way of clear-cut chances for the rest of Tuesday's match.

Carlos Vela and Denilson—both brought in as highly-rated teens with the expectation that they would become mainstays in the first XI—have already been shipped out on loan. Neither has shown the mettle to be a consistent contributor in the rigorous Premier League. For every Nasri or Fabregas, there is a Denilson or Vela. A (relative) failure for every success story.

Because that's what Wenger's policy was: a gamble. You'll win some, but you'll lose much more frequently by banking on the unpredictable nature of youth. A better policy would be to sprinkle a small dosage of youth amongst an experienced side: for example, Arsenal's starting XI in 2007-08—the strongest in recent memory—was just that.

Perhaps Wenger himself has grown tired of his constant exhortation of patience to exasperated Arsenal supporters, who have witnessed recent seasons tumble into trophy-less oblivion. Or perhaps he has learned a lesson from these past six seasons: youth can be instrumental to success, but it cannot bear the entire brunt of weighty expectations.

Some youngsters seem certain to take their chance and succeed in 2011-12—Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere look set to become regular starters in central midfield, and Ryo Miyaichi possesses a blend of breathtaking pace and determination—of urgency—often missing in Vela and Denilson's performances. Miyaichi and new-signing Gervinho both resemble another Barcelona summer signing—Alexis Sanchez—in that they relish the opportunity to take on defenders. Yet they're also sound technically, and should provide more dynamic options on the wing than Andrei Arshavin (inconsistency) and Theo Walcott, who, when not allowed to run at and behind defenders, seems bereft of ideas.

Should the Nasri sale go through, Wenger will have upwards of £60 million on his hands (after receiving £35 million for Fabregas).

Time will tell if he will use the money to bring in much-needed experience to the side. While he has reason to be wary in the transfer market—big-money moves for Francis Jeffers, who turned out to be a bust, and Andrei Arshavin, who seems incapable of trying hard for more than five minutes at any given time.

Yet the transfer market resembles his youth movement in that way: it's a gamble sometimes; but if this current policy hasn't worked, isn't it time to try another way?

Nasri and Fabregas have added to the list of Arsenal players who have left, for pastures greener, in recent years. Emmanuel Adebayor, Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini, and Gael Clichy are but a few of the first-teamers who have flown the coop. True, none of those four would be considered insurmountable losses, but it does raise a vital question.

How many big clubs lose starting players with the same regularity as Arsenal? For every Ronaldo or van Nistelrooy who leaves Manchester United, there is a Rooney or Scholes or Giggs who stays—and wins titles. For every Torres who leaves Liverpool, Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez are brought in. The Scouser captain, Steven Gerrard, almost left in 2005, but has stayed on. Lampard and Terry are still at Chelsea. All fine examples of a simple principle of top-level football:

Big clubs keep hold of their top guys because they win.

It is cheaper to sign an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (although he wasn't necessarily a bargain), or a Joel Campbell, or Carl Jenkinson. But these past seasons have shown that sound fiscal management doesn't necessarily lead to a title. Arsenal are in the clear financially. Wenger has been told he has the money to go out and spend. Now's his time to make some big-time acquisitions, and shore up this Arsenal side, which has seen its figurative mast wrecked by these recent departures.

Who knows, perhaps all it will take are a couple key additions to get those Gunner guns firing again.