Arsenal and Bournemouth played out a very memorable draw at the Vitality stadium on Tuesday night, which saw the Gunners fight back from 3 goals down to claim a very unlikely draw. If there exists a vault labelled ‘English Premier League’s Classic Games’, then this game will most definitely make its way into that vault soon, if it hasn’t already.
Neither side left the field happy after the game. It’s easy to understand Bournemouth players and staff being disappointed. Throwing away a 3 goal lead to earn a draw is not exactly something to celebrate, but coming back from being 3 goals down to finish with a draw, most definitely is. This is why the distinct lack of any semblance of joy on the Arsenal side, at the end of the game, was all the more telling.
Far from leaving the game with a sense of pride about the comeback, Arsenal fans left with a feeling of having bottled it again, of having dropped two more points they could ill afford to have dropped at this point in the season.
It is a feeling they have gotten to know a little too well for their liking over the years. Arsenal fans expect the team to be fighting for all the major trophies every year, but the team has consistently fallen well short of those expectations.
Arsenal’s failure to make it beyond the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions’ League seems set to extend into a 7th consecutive season (#BayernMunich), the team has already been knocked out of the EFL Cup (not that winning it would mean much anyway), anyone talking about Arsenal as the likely winners of the Premier League this season will richly deserve his straightjacket … and the season has just entered January!
Also Read: Arsenal's Champions League round-of-16 story: Lambs in the first leg, Lions in the second!
So where lies the problem? Is it that Arsenal consistently fall short of expectations, or is it that the expectations of the fans are too high and unrealistic? Even the Arsenal fans think of winning the UEFA Champions League more as a fantasy than expectation, however, the Gooners do expect the team to win the Premier League or compete for the trophy all the way.
To be effectively out of the title race at the start of January is just a betrayal of those expectations.
The reality, however, is that Arsenal is just not ready to win. The evidence is in the long running contract extension saga of their two star players – Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. The media is not always accurate in these matters, but the word is that the two want a substantial pay rise to reflect what they bring to the club, and Arsenal are not willing to offer the duo those wages.
This is a scenario that is unlikely to play out at another club in the Premier League which is expected to win the league. Arsenal’s rivals for the title do not hesitate to pay their stars exorbitant wages if that is what it takes to keep them at the club and this, in turn, helps those clubs to win trophies. That Arsenal would prefer to bargain their way to the title, doesn’t exactly spell out that killer instinct, a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
Arsenal want to win the big trophies but are either unwilling or unable to afford the kind of players who could help them win those titles. Barring the exception (some may even call it an aberration) of last season, it is the trio of Manchester United, Chelsea & Manchester City, the heavyweight spenders, who have won every Premier League title in the past decade.
It seems that Arsenal just don’t have the money power it takes to win the Premier League these days. Or, is it that Arsenal don’t have the will to do what it takes to win titles.
Last season’s Forbes football rich list showed Arsenal to be the 5th most valuable club, behind only Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern and Manchester United. However, the Gunners have been consistently financially outgunned by teams like Chelsea and City, who are ranked lower than Arsenal on the rich list.
It seems that that the North London club regularly failing to meet the fans’ expectations is more a question of will than means. Arsenal clearly have what it takes to compete with financial powerhouses, but seem reluctant to spend the money, to go the full length and do what it takes to win the major trophies.
Arsenal have been stuck in this cycle of negativity for so long, that even after a resurgent performance like against Bournemouth, the fans see the game as yet another failure to win, instead of a heroic comeback. Arsenal will have a shot at redemption of sorts when the FA Cup starts soon, however even winning the FA Cup is unlikely to fully satisfy the fans.
Once again the Premier League 'giants' find themselves in a fight for 4th place and not the title, and their top stars seem reluctant to extend their contract with the club. It has all the makings of a story Arsenal fans know only too well. That this plight is seemingly caused by a seeming lack of will rather than lack of resources is what the fans find it hard to accept.
