3rd Place + Champs Lge. Football = Reason to be Happy??

            What a week it has been in the Barclays Premier League! I am not competent enough to comment on it the magnificence of the drama.

            This article may seem pessimistic from a Gooner’s perspective. And people may question the timing of this article. People may be happy and satisfied at a 3rd place finish and automatic Champions League qualification, but I am not! Period.

             Agreed that it has been a tumultuous season for Arsenal(to say the least). If you would have asked me about 3rd place finish and Champions League football in November, 2011 I would have been very happy with it(because it was a distant dream then). But what about the answer if I would have asked you the same question in August, 2011? I am sure the Emirates faithful would not have been satisfied with it!
             I don’t care what AW says about Arsenal being a stable club(it may be financially stable). It's more stagnant rather than stable. Okay we have qualified for the Champions League for the 15th consecutive year(and that is genuinely an outstanding achievement).
            In Wenger's own words,"And to be fourth is playing a qualifier, which every year is more difficult. Therefore just to be in the group stage straight away is fantastic." And that’s where the problem lies. I think AW has lost his hunger for titles, desire to win a trophy. Otherwise he wouldn't be satisfied by just Champions League qualification!

Where has the desire of 1996 disappeared?

                 http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wenger-i-can-sleep-better-at-night-now

             Taking a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson’s book- Finishing 2nd and enduring a trophy-less 2012 is like a FAIL season in MUFC terms! Look at his burning desire even after 25 years at the club. HATS OFF to SAF! That’s the kind of desire Arsenal must re-inculcate and not be satisfied at finishing above the Spurs(because we are a way better team than the bloody Sp*rs).
            According to the noted cricket analyst H. Bhogle, “Manchester United and Tendulkar and Federer they are condemned to be weighed in different scales. A second place for Valencia or Arsenal would be a moment to celebrate; for Barcelona or United, something to grieve over.” Why this?
            Let me be very frank. Our Arsenal squad has way too many SQUAD players. Not many World- Class players having the ‘X-Factor’! Okay they are World- Class players in the making(I completely agree that some of our young talent is awesome). Others like Denilson, Bendtner, Vela, Diaby don’t seem to be deserving the Arsenal shirt once worn by the likes of Vieira, Pires and Bergkamp!

The Difference in class and talent is there for everyone to see

           First of all AW says that Arsenal is financially very stable, and then we cash-in on a Samir Nasri(agreed he is a C*NT).
           Also AW is seen to be very over- protective of his players. This is good as well as bad. Good for the confidence of the player and bad because he is not demanding of his players
           AW must use Sachin Tendulkar’s exemplary hunger for success and spell- bounding desire to improve every time. Improvement in the sense skill- wise and also not committing the same mistakes again and again! His thirst for success has never been quenched. Tendulkar has this knack of “I want more!” The main culprit here is Ivan Gazidis(CEO of Arsenal FC)who once said that inability to qualify in the Champions League will NOT be considered a FAILURE! WTF is that bald guy talking man!
          Taking a closer look at the EPL table..

           Just take a look at the large Gulf between Arsenal(3rd) and Man Utd(2nd). It’s a massive 19 points. Have we ever been so adrift of the top of the table? And 1 more thing worth noting about our poor(to say the least!)defense is that we have conceded the max no. of goals among the top 8 clubs! And also this tally of 49 goals conceded is the maximum Arsenal have ever conceded in a Premier League season!(This I just cannot tolerate.)

           Now away from the gloom. The ‘Gates of Dawn’(my favourite song from Advaita)seem to have finally re-opened in AW’s mind. He is a fantastic manager to say the least, but has grown to be too stubborn over the past few years. Okay. He has committed a few mistakes but he deserves a reprieve for the fantastic(not in the last 7 years) work done by him at Arsenal.
           I do think that we have a decent squad(better than Chelsea, L’Pool and Spurs)which needs to be complemented with WORLD- BEATERS which requires a splurge in the transfer market!(Is AW listening?) And AW needs to get his transfers done at an early stage to allow the player to settle and blend well with the squad(I think a full pre-season is required for a new signing to settle in).

LUKAS PODOLSKI = PERFECT EARLY SIGNING + WORLD CLASS 

           ‘Prince Poldi’s’ arrival means a player has been added to the WORLD- CLASS category. M’Vila 99% wrapped up is also massive news. Finally AW seems to have learnt his lesson and is planning to spend money(not just spend but spend lavishly) on quality recruits!
           And credit to AW for preventing an L’Pool or Chelsea like debacle. He has managed to give us 15 consecutive seasons in Champs Lge in a financially tight period(Emirates Stadium construction).

            I think the aim for the next season should simply be the be highly competitive in the Barclays Premier League and at least 1 trophy. Is that too much to ask for from a highly talented bunch?
           Okay that brings us to the end of a magnificent Barclays PREMIER LEAGUE(Isn’t it by far the best league? Much better than the ‘2 horsed’ La LIGA!). I can proudly say that I witnessed the best ever EPL season.
            Common you GOONERS.. Confident of success in the next season. And we need to gain control of the ‘C- word’. Not the one describing Cashley Cole and Samir Nasri, but the one describing Man Utd.. “CONSISTENCY”.. Lets hope for it next season, and surely the next season may be ours! Am I being over- optimistic? If the answer is ‘NO’, then you have no right to be satisfied by this season(and hence approve of this piece). If the answer is ‘YES’, then you have no right to be a GOONER!

I am confident the Gunners can again start firing!

                                                                     Keep the faith!