3 Unavoidable Question Marks for Arsenal
Arsenal have failed to win the Premier League for yet another season. It’s been 13 years since the Gunners’ triumph in the season of the invincibles and they have been a completely different side since those glory days of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and all the other invincibles.
Arsene Wenger has had a lot of pressures to deal with in that time, with the Gunners moving from Highbury to the Emirates, there was a lot of debt to the club and so, they had to sell some of the club’s biggest names.
Fast forward to the present, Wenger has clinched the club’s 13th FA Cup and the 7th of his time at Arsenal, history created yet again, which spread a few smiles in what was an underwhelming season for the Gunners who finished outside the top four for the first time in over 18 years.
Arsenal’s positions in the league table in recent years might suggest that the Gunners have done well, almost always finishing 2nd or 3rd. However, the 2016/17 campaign saw them finish outside the top four for the first time since Wenger took over. There will need to be some drastic changes at the club if they’re to be challenging for the title anytime soon.
Keeping Alexis and Ozil should be a priority for Arsenal
Since signing for Arsenal, both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have been the club’s most influential players on the pitch.
Sanchez has been scoring the goals on a regular basis and Ozil has taken care of providing the assists as well as the creativity for the rest of the team. The Chilean has been on the end of many of the German’s assists and continued to do so in the 2016/17 campaign.
There has been a lot of talk surrounding the contracts and futures of both players at the club and while no player is bigger than the club, with all the money the star players earn at other big clubs, Arsenal needs to reward their star players as well.
Owners need to spend more on Arsenal
Arsenal fans for many years now have criticised the owners of the club for their lack of spending towards improving the team. Despite, huge fees to sign the likes of Ozil, Sanchez and more recently, Granit Xhaka. Still, It is clear that this Arsenal side needs spending and needs quality in-depth before they can challenge for the title once again.
They need to give Wenger the financial freedom he needs to sign the players he wants, to improve the side as a whole. Assuming that Sanchez leaves, the club will certainly have a very hard time finding a replacement for the hard-working Chilean.
Another star who could leave is Ozil and a departure for the German could leave a huge hole in the creative department, therefore it is important for the club to tie them down with renewed contracts or spend the required fees and get the players that Wenger wants at the club.
Wenger for another two years – what can he do?
After multiple reports confirmed that Wenger had agreed to a new two-year deal to stay at Arsenal, it is now up to the Frenchman to leave Arsenal in the best condition possible.
Wenger’s tactical switch to a 3-4-3 system has been particularly impressive, in the latter stages of the season. The Gunners had lost just 1 out 8 games and won the other 7 in that formation and it’s a clear indication that Frenchman needs to sign players suited to that formation for the next season.
The French boss needs to help his players improve their fitness and that means a tough pre-season should be the aim for Arsenal. Only a rigorous pre-season of training sessions and rehabilitations would allow the players to remain fit for the entire campaign, Wenger only has to look to his rivals, Spurs, for the perfect example.
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