THE BIRTH OF AN ERA

Since the Invincibles of the 2003-04 season, Arsenal has looked short on all fronts. Patrick Viera left with his imposing charisma and agility in midfield; so did Dennis Bergkamp with his creativity and clinical finish. Over the years Arsenal have sought to replace these players but that has yet to materialise. Lately a lot has been said of Arsenal’s leaky defense as a reason for their continued below par performances for over a decade. Some point at the fact that Arsenal have never really replaced the likes of Gilberto Silva and Patrick Viera which is to a large extent true.

The Invincibles were an offensive weapon not a defensive rock.

Questions have been raised over Arsene Wenger’s decision to convert players from positions where they were previously deployed before being bought. Many have questioned Arsene’s judgment: his substitutions, signings, policies, and so on. But while people fail to remember that Arsene successfully converted Kolo Toure from a right back/ defensive midfielder into a solid centre back, and Lauren Etame Mayer from a midfielder into a right back, they should not forget that 21st century Arsenal is Wenger’s revolution. These criticisms were nonexistent because at the time Arsene had the Midas touch, so to speak.

Glory days 2003-2004

Over the years Prof. Arsene, after an embarrassing defeat or a resounding victory, in his post match interview lays emphasis on the way he wants his team to play, and time and time again he has stuck to his philosophy of free flowing football. Arsene’s philosophy has revolutinised the English game. More and more teams in the English top flight now try to adopt Arsene’s philosophy of football on the ground. The English game, in part to Arsene’s philosophy, now has the largest viewing audience worldwide. What then has gone wrong with Arsenal?

In no means do I intend to completely extricate Mr. Wenger of Arsenal’s slump over the past decade, but I must state that over the years he has tried tirelessly to make things right all by himself, albeit with very little success. Today, there are changes to Arsenal’s backroom staff to ensure that the club come out of mediocrity. Arsenal now have a new head of recruitment in Sven Mislintat, a new contract negotiator in Huss Farhmy , and a new head of football relations, who starts his role on Thursday - former Barcelona director of football Raul Sanellehi, who replaces Dick Law. This team is required to get Arsenal back on track.

Arsenal hope to build the team around Oezil.

On the pitch, Arsenal have been able to manage a dire situation commendably by getting Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester United. They have also been able to commit Mesut Oezil to a new deal. What Arsene Wenger’s critics have failed to identify is that he has never built his Arsenal team on the strength of his defence. His most successful teams have been built on the way he wants his team to play- “ entertaining football with lots of goals”. Hence the need to break the club’s transfer record in two successive transfer windows for a striker. With the capture of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsene will hope that he has eventually got the missing piece of his jigsaw puzzle. I dare to say that in coming weeks the goals will begin to come in and more and more attention will be focused on the forward line and very little attention on the defense.

Mhkitaryan was in sensational form at Dortmund.

Aubagoal - Bundesliga's topscorer last season

Hopefully, Arsene’s prolific frontline can fire Arsenal to glory in coming seasons.