With every improvement in performance from Arsenal and every game we win to keep climbing up the Premier League table, thoughts inevitably turn to whether the current version of the Gunners is good enough to emulate the sort of success that we had in the first decade under the managerial reign of Arsene Wenger.
We don’t expect them to repeat the feat of the famous Invincibles, but it would be nice if we could win the title that last came to north London in that amazing season. Two of that team can certainly see it happening sooner rather than later and that is because of the quality now on show in the current Arsenal squad, with Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg each highlighting the players that they feel can lead us to the top.
As reported by the Daily Express, Ljungberg sees something very special in Aaron Ramsey who is becoming a great source of goals from midfield just as the Swede was. And our former star thinks that the fight and mental strength shown by Ramsey already to overcome adversity as well as his youth means that he will only get better.
Freddie said, “At the beginning of his Arsenal career it didn’t go so great, but for me that shows he has great mental strength to keep on going.
“Then to explode like he did last season was unbelievable and no one was more happy than I was for that, and I think he has the potential to be a top, top, top player.
“He is already – but to keep going from season to season.
“I know his history extremely well; he was young when he broke his leg that hampered him for almost a year.
“And if you think about it he lost a year of his [football] education and he’s still at the level he is, he’s going to get better and better.
“If Arsenal develop as a team and we can start winning the Premiership again then it’s easier, but as a player he’s one of the leaders in the team already and I think he’ll develop into one of the best players in the Premiership.
“That’s what I would almost demand at Arsenal. If you want to play at Arsenal you need to be top, top, you need precision.
“But he showed last season and this season what a great player he is and he should be there.”
Pires has been talking about our record signing Mesut Ozil in an interview on the Arsenal website, after the midfielder put in a Man of the Match performance against Liverpool. Pires has been training with the German so has seen at first hand just what an amazing talent we have on our hands. Pires also reveals that Ozil loves the club and is determined to bring us success and that sounds pretty good to me.
Pires said, “For me, the man of the match was Mesut Ozil. And I am so glad that he proved his critics wrong.
“Too many people have criticised him this season and overall since he arrived at Arsenal. I train with him regularly and I can tell you that he is one of the best players I have seen.
“He loves this club and cares a lot about it. He wants to win trophies here and wants to make the fans happy, like he did against Liverpool. First, there was his wonderful pass for Aaron on the first goal. Then he scored that wonderful free-kick for the second goal.
“Again, I am not sure Mignolet can do much better because the strike is so clinical and goes out before coming back in. But Mesut also worked hard for the team, he defended, he was precious on the ball and he was simply instrumental.
“You can see that his understanding with Aaron, Santi, Alexis or Olivier is perfect. I love seeing Mesut, Aaron and Olivier exchanging those short passes.
“Liverpool could not cope with our pass and move in this game. We overrun them in midfield, pressurised them at the back and contained them up front. This is a very important win for the rest of the season but also for next season.”
Football is a team game of course but do you think that keeping Rambo and Ozil fit could be the key to Arsenal becoming champions next year?