In a recent conversation with a friend, we happened upon the debacle that is known as Arsenal. As he is a Chelsea fan and I a Manchester United fan, this was an easy and enjoyable topic to discuss. However, I felt that Arsenal’s misery is something that must be addressed, because it affects those fans who follow the English Premier League year in and year out.
Now, if you are not familiar with the recent history of the Arsenal Gunners, let me refresh you. In short, they have a history of having big-name players and building a lot of hype, then falling short of any silverware. If this story sounds familiar to you, it is. As a fan of baseball, Arsenal reminds me of the one and only Chicago Cubs. The Cubs, as you may or may not know, have not won a World Series since 1908 and continually disappoint their disillusioned fans. They sign big-name free agents thinking they will reverse the Billy Goat Curse, but every season they fall further and further into the depths of the NL Central standings.
While Arsenal have remained near the top of the EPL table, they still fail to produce based on their budget and expectations. While their trophy-less streak doesn’t go back as far as 1908, it has been since 2005 since Arsenal won anything of significance. This six-going-on-seven year drought is unacceptable in a “What have you won for me lately” league. As a fan of this league, I always wonder how such a talented team on paper seems to fall so far short of winning; whether it be the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League or even the Carling Cup. Even though I root for a rival team, I wish that such talent would somehow mold itself into a championship contender out of pity for those who root for the Gooners.
Furthermore, recent events continue to put a damper on the hopes of Arsenal fans. Arsene Wenger (whose name, you would think, fits perfectly for this club) has fallen into a lose-lose situation. As a well-respected manager, he brought Arsenal to the position they are in now through his “trust in the youth” policy; however, he has not quite taken them to the promised land over the last few seasons. No matter what lineup he assembles or what he says in the media to motivate his squad, nothing seems to work. I was one of many who said that Arsenal needed to rid themselves from Wenger after last season’s latest fiasco. My reasons were unique; I thought that he had fallen into a place where nothing he said would change the losing mindset, but he was not (entirely) to blame for the follies of his team. From a psychological standpoint, bringing in a fresh face may help to ease tensions and to put the team back on pace to seriously compete in this league again.
The Cubs have similarly fallen into a cycle where no manager or front office personnel are safe from scrutiny and criticism. The “curse” of losing has taken the forefront of everyone associated with this club, all the way from the ever-annoying fans all the way to ownership. Both the Cubs and Gunners will have to find a tabula rasa; erasing recent and long-standing history may be the only way back to glory for both franchises. And unless this clean slate is found, fans of these storied squads are in for a long and bumpy ride.
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