How Arsenal lost their title as the pride of London football by Lagos Gooner
Several years back, Arsenal ruled London and to an extent, England. London being a glamorous city, always needed a football team that was glamorous in its play and in its winnings. Arsenal always made London glow whenever they were involved in a football game; especially in the Champions league. However, all that seems to be in the distant past for now.
One remembers with sweet nostalgia, how our dear club Arsenal ran ragged over anything in London, that challenged it. One remembers how the fans always looked forward to watching Arsenal and how London stood still whenever Arsenal won a trophy. What has happened over the years? Where did we go wrong?
On Monday, we will be playing against West Ham; West Ham is a team domiciled in London and they seem to be in a little bit of good form at the moment. How will Arsenal fare against the team from London? Are we going to start our revival against them or are we going to lose our prestige, some more?
Right now, one team in London seems to be the pride of London. Chelsea football club, in my own opinion, has won more prestigious trophies for London than Arsenal in recent years. This is a sad truth; one that makes you wonder why things don’t seem to work anymore for Arsenal. In 2005, Chelsea’s revival started. After 50 years of going trophy-less in the premiership, they finally won the title and ever since then they have been on the rise, while Arsenal have been on the steady decline.
In the past, Arsenal FC always ended the season above Spurs, but in the last three years or so, we have found it difficult rising above the shadow of Tottenham Hotspurs and this may well continue this season, especially now that they have hired the self acclaimed special one. Hiring Jose may not be a problem, as long as we concentrate on winning games; a thing we are finding hard to do at the moment.
With teams like Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham doing well in London, backed by the so much money in the league, will Arsenal ever regain their tag as the pride of London? Before we can think of that, then we need to start playing like a team with ambition.
Sylvester (Lagos Gooner)
I believe so, if we manage to avoid relegation and sell the underperformers in the summer
The team has to be rebuilt with our youngsters as the foundation, as what Tottenham and Chelsea did
I seriously doubt it…. right now, I’m just wondering if we’ll ever win a game again!!
The way things are, I can’t ever see us being like we were before – winning the league, invincible… we’ve gone from that, to not being able to win away, playing in the EL, and now not even being able to win at home!
I can’t remember the last time I looked at a fixture and said (confidently) of course we’ll win that!
If we do end up going down, we’ll lose all our ‘best’ players and will rot down there….
And I’m sorry for being negative, but I’m just being honest… ☹
We will not go down 🙂
What has happened is, the rouge owner cream off the arsenal due to the achievements of the invincible, arsenal became a very attractive club and were making a lot of money but they forgot that to keep that high standard going, they have to invest in the club by getting in good players and build foundation that will make the team highly competitive for a long time
Sue, your boy Joshua did it yesterday, that was a boxing masterclass.
It was indeed, Lenohappy!! 👍
Arsenal lack ambition, the owner don’t care so will the attraction of The club that created the initial appeal start dwindling and will see arsenal going down, it’s only a question of time, if things continue like this as I expect it to be, since the club hardly showed genuine ambition to win, endorsements funds will reduce drastically because they won’t be in a position to negotiate huge contracts with sponsors, arsenal will end up as a mid table team or worst be relegated
I remembered vividly this line from fergie, when the only thing that matter to many arsenal fans then was WENGER OUT!! BE CAREFUL WHAT U ASK FOR, well change is inevitable in life buh one should be bold enough to live with the choices we made,WENGER OUT became loudest after we finished 2nd behind Leicester city , it was the shot that breaks the camels back,it was labelled a disaster and a failure,they succeeded in creating a toxic atmosphere and our greatest ever manager became an object of caricature,little did we know that we will be fighting to stay up just 18 months after the departure of the much malinged legendary manager, every loss was exagerated and every win was undermined, it was any one but Wenger,the narration then was “we have great players we only lack a coach” its painful we find ourselves in this mess buh the truth is that some people need to look at themselves in the mirror and judge if they acted diligently!! We got exactly what we bargained for ,we should live with it!!
Yeah, yeah.. Wenger had to go we just penny pinched on getting a manager who was right for the club. The Emirates wad supposed to propel us forward as a force and make us even more competitive but the club (Wenger) went cheap on players and allowed our best to leave! We had the stadium, we just didn’t match it on the field!
The stadium came at a cost,selling his best players was part of the sacrifices, no coach will cherish to sell his best players without adequately replacing them, funny some of the cheap players were by miles better than most of the expensive signings, Wenger managed every thing we had with the best of his abilities and it worked,i repeat the events of his last year was more of distractions than ability, another coach with such distractions might struggle beyond measures yet we got to 2 semi finals, one finals and ended 6th in the league,I know Wenger had to go buh the lies perpetrated against him and the disgraceful ways we handled it was beyond shame!
The club wanted to pay off the stadium early by refinancing the loan at an earlier date. That was why players were sold! I understand that. But, the team suffered and mediocrity became an issue. The best left fir greater things and we became stagnant. My point is, the fans were told that we would be competing with the best! We have only declined and been surpassed by so called lesser teams who have been managed much smarter. Fact!!
If Wenger was still in charge we would have been relegated last season.
Emery finished a point away from CL in the PL and made the EL final.
Unfortunately he was not allowed to buy his own payers because
Mislintat and then Sanllehi buy the players.
Emery wanted Nzonzi and would have preferred a top class CB.
But Sven Mislintat bought Socritis and this season Sanllehi bought Luiz and Pepe.
So Emery got lumbered with Socritis Luiz Mustafi Xhaka Torreira and Pepe.
Emery tried to sell Mustafi Elneny Ozil and Mkhitarian but none would leave.
Why didn’t we get relegated since that 22/years Wenger was here,some people really need their brain checked
Because there were only 4 top clubs that competed; Man city, Man utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal.
Now Liverpool returned, spuds growing up and Wenger finishes outside top 4 when there’s more than 4 teams.
It’s not all his fault, but he certainly has his part in our slide. NO ONE properly addresses defense; not Wenger, not Emery (not even in training as was reported), Raul got Pepe, and Edu, a former player, and he should know better.
U mean the Liverpool of Alonso,mascherano,Gerard etc wasn’t a strong force,u mean the martin oniel Aston villa of ogbanlahor ,Ashley young, bent etc wasn’t a strong force, there have never bn any time EPL points was a party gift,u always fight to get it,its shameful how u guys failed to give credit,now the poor nature of our league was the reason w
Wenger succeeded ,what a load of rubbish,Wenger was amazimg he’s ingenuity was the reason we were @ elite level, another coach like emery could have relegated us with the quality of players we had,Wenger created an amazing plan a wonderful structure ,the reason most guys that left arsenal struggled under another coach, learn to give credit mehn!
Arsenal are a great club with a great history but now sadly in decline. We are spiralling ever closer to the relegation zone and if relegated I cannot see us getting back to the Premier League any time soon because we don’t have the necessary players who can fight for their lives. The only good thing that can come out of being relegated is that season ticket sales will plummet, with weekly attendances dipping below 30,000 forcing Kroenke to sell the club as his stock takes a dive into oblivion. Man U, spurs, Wolves and other ‘big’ clubs have all been relegated in my living memory and returned to the top flight with Leeds getting back up too next season. If we go down I really find it difficult to see us coming back. The Emirates will be a very quiet, half empty edifice of what was once a great football club. How shocking is that?
I remember people praying that we finish out of the Top 4 / CL. People would say that they wished we would finish outside of the Top 4 so that it could force the Kroenkes to lose CL cash hence forcing them to invest big to get us back fighting for the Title and CL trophy seriously. Or that us outside of the TOP 4 would haemorrhage money for them hence forcing them to Sell Up as they are only in it for money, blah blah. The prayers were answered and we have not been a TOP 4 club for like 4 seasons. It keeps getting worse and the Kroenke are still here.
Now we have people hoping we get relegated into lthe Championship and that would teach Kroenke a lesson.
Once we make it into the Championship will people then wish we get relegated into League One and that will definitely teach the Kroenke a real lesson?
Then if they persist, would we then wish we get relegated from League One into League Two? Conference leage and so on?
In times of desperation one has got to take timeout, relax, breath in and out and try to stay sane. Decisions made when under desperation are not always the best.
Lol
What a stupid post. Who on earth would want us to get relegated and where did anyone say they hope it will happen? It would be a total disaster for a club I’ve supported all my life, and would break my heart if it happens.
No one is “hoping” we get relegated to the championship! Just stating with the way things are going it might happen… there is a difference!!
Me too, GB… I would sob my heart out.
How can you say we lack ambition we spent the most money in the summer it was down to the manager .if we ad a good 1 he would of knew we needed 2 top CB but he bought a winger instead so you can’t blame the owner for that
Sanllehi bought the players.
Emery had no say in player purchases.
You don’t know that for a fact and nor do any of us. You MAY be right, you MAY be wrong but either way, your post is merely your own opinion until we know for a fact. And you do NOT!
It’s a fair enough opinion though jon. Emery had to take the fall, but when are these underperforming players going to be held accountable?
Word is they are not supporting Ljundberg, just like they undermined Emery. So much for “professionalism”!
We could just leave Freddie in charge and write off this season altogether.
Go as far as we can in the EL and FA Cup but don’t sweat on it.
To be fair being out of Europe would mean we could run a smaller squad and like Leicester
have a week between games. Its working for them now like when they won the title in 2016.
In the summer sell Auba + Mustafi. Sell either Torreira or Xhaka.
Strengthen CB DM and buy a quality number 10.
Get Pochetino in
Not with this owner and not in my life time.
If Real Madrid are offering a swap of Auba for Jovic and money we should take it.
Jović is 21 and will be a star while Auba is 30
Why would RM sell a 21 year old who is going to be a star and money for a 30 year old?
Didn’t we loan a potential star called Ceballos from RM? 🙂
How did that work out?
Now if you said PSG is offering Mbappe and money for PEA well yes
SHORT ANSWER TO THE ARTICLES QUESTION IS “YES”. When will this happen though, not for some considerable time. Reality! Inj life only a fool says never say never. If we could predict the futue with certainty we could all be millionaires in a month( stock market, casinos, horse races and so on). But, none of us can !
So Jon-any chance of an answer to the question I asked you on George Graham? Or are you going to yet again shirk away from it?
In case you have forgotten what I asked ( which I doubt) it was how you reacted to the player in the early seventies when he has openly admitted he put into the team as little effort as he had to, prefferring to use his energy in being in the right place for his game.
Can i have your answer without mentioning Ozil. Did you openly vilify this player at the time? Because if not you are without contradicting your self-promoted importance ( yet again) and completely contradicting yourself in what you expect from ANY player who pulls on an Arsenal shirt ( yet again).
Phil In thE early seventies I was in 20 years old and was a completely different, unworldly nonwise and a less intuitive and perceptive person. I imagine you and all other older fans were too, as this is perfectly normal. This site and social media did not exist. I do remember saying that GG was lazy,which was obvious to ALL fans, in those more REALSTIC times, which answers your red herring question. I note you forbid me from mentioning your hero, so I will not name him. But he and many other current players have a sense of entitlement, borne out of being among the young and generally snowflake people who have never had to work really , really, hard and do without what they “need”(not “want” by the way). Most of these people are lacking in character, some more than others, with your has been hero prominent among them. Lastly Phil when I was a young boy I expected SANTA CLAUS TO BRING ME PRESENTS. I AM NOW, AND HAVE BEEN FOR DECADES,A GROWN UP. Are you?
Probably a bit more grown up and worldly than what you might believe,but let’s leave that there.
Just remember your opinion is just that, YOUR OPINION, and not necessarily the opinion of others.You well preach believing you are the word for everyone but your not.
So as I got no obvious answer from you, just round the houses as you often do, I will assume that George Graham, a very fine footballer, is excused your abuse because………
It’s no mystery, nothing to do with Wenger either.
Abramovich bought Chavski in 2003 they go on and win shed loads..
Kroenke buys shares in Arsenal in 2007 and we go on to become midtable..
#KroenkeOUT
I`m not advocating that we get relegated, but if we did and Kroenke sold up to an Arab state who would possibly invest billions then …………………………..
Kroenke is the terminal cancer of our great club and I`d take some really harsh medicine if it meant him selling up !
It would be a massive task to win promotion back without a complete change in mentality in the Club.
That question is hypothetical because there is no empiricism involved. Anyway my feeling tells me Arsenal will go back on top again. You need to go no further than Liverpool which had been nicknamed “Loserpool” not many years back. Look how it is kicking everything in its way and threatening to be the new invincible. In life anything is possible. I and some others on this site could foresee a messy situation after Wenger. That was why we always called for caution. Others had come to believe that after Wenger all problems would cease, that Arsenal would start winning for fun. Instead the reverse has happened! This is not to say that Arsenal will get relegated or even finish in the bottom half. I don’t believe that will happen. There are still more games ahead than those which have already been played. Thus Arsenal still has chance to recover and redeem itself. We may not get Champions League but we shall be in the upper half of the League. Will Arsenal will games again. My answer to this is definitely, perhaps 15 wins. There is nothing I’m possible there. I don’t believe that our players are that hopeless. They have only been lacking motivation to set them in motion. Once this is done they will start winning games again. Perhaps now our fans have learnt their lesson and will tread more carefully in the future. Be careful what you wish for should be a guiding principle.
Good one Rusa
Corrections Will Arsenal instead of will should be win
I’m possible should be impossible.
We wont even be the pride of Islington while kronk is owner let alone London.
It’s complicated. We have the Owner(s) and PGMO to deal with.
YOU see people still choose to blame Wenger for all that have gone wrong in Arsenal till today, even though it glares them on the face that it has been the fault of the owner(s) and the board all this while.
One thing I know for certain is that Arsenal can never win the EPL again as long as the PGMO remains sacrosanct. Every recent team that won the EPL got a lot of help from the PGMO. But PGMO is an avowed enemy of Arsenal.