by Joy English

Created on: November 10, 2010

Arsenal football club used to be one of the greatest teams in the English premier league.  To be sure, this team still happens to be one of the big four.  But the truth is that in recent times, Arsenal seems to have lost a lot of ground to Manchester United and Chelsea football club.

In this article, the facts will speak for themselves.  The last time Arsenal won the English premier league was back in the 2003/ 2004 season.  That was six years ago.  In the six years following that success, Manchester United and Chelsea football club have won the trophy three times each.

Clearly, there are deficiencies in the Arsenal soccer team and these include the following.

Arsene Wenger:

No disrespect intended but it does appear that the Arsenal manager is living largely on past glories.  After over a decade as Manager, maybe the hunger to win is no longer there.  The board of Arsenal may consider bringing in a younger manager who is hungry for success to manage the team.  Mr. Wenger can be promoted to Director of Sports or Director of Football just like Jorge Valdano at Real Madrid.

Veteran Players:

A look at Manchester United and Chelsea’s team list will reveal a useful blend of both young players and respected veterans.  This is a great recipe for soccer success and is clearly lacking in the present Arsenal team.  Arsene Wenger’s youth policy is great on paper.  But in practice, he needs to blend youth and experience in order to achieve success on the pitch.

Strong players:

One glaring deficiency in the Arsenal team is the fact that their players are not as physical as Chelsea’s Manchester United’s or Liverpool’s for that matter.  Every team needs a Paul Scholes, a Javier Mascherano or a Michael Essien.  Arsenal does not seem to have anybody with such an aggressive physicality and this clearly affecting their game.

Players not replaced:

In the great days of Arsenal football club, the team had players like Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergekamp, Freddie Lyunberg, Robert Pires, Sylvian Wiltord, Patrick Vieira and David Seaman. Unfortunately, these players, for certain reasons, left the club and things have not been the same since they left the team. The players who were brought in to replace these veterans have not been able to impose themselves the way the players listed above were able to do.

Lack of shooting players:

One glaring deficiency of the present Arsenal team is the fact the team usually wants to walk the ball into the net. Arsenal does not seem to have players who can, or would want to take shots on goal from a distance. This is problem in the sense that taking shots on goal from a distance can lead to goals. In fact, some soccer authorities believe that every shot not taken is a goal not scored.

These are some of the deficiencies of the present Arsenal soccer team.

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