The Arsenal Stadium Mystery

By Avenell Dave

It's hard to feel optimistic when all your fears have come true, when your team has failed so limplessly to fight for the shirt us fans would give our right arm to wear in anger.

Even the backing of our phenomenal travelling fans seemed not to inspire them to the basic levels of competency we should expect.

Yes, we can debate the fall from grace of Vermaelen, the ineptitude of Santos, the anonymity of Podolski and why 4-4-2 would work far better for the current crop than the 4-3-3 we're struggling with at the moment.

But the truth is, we have fallen hard, and the board has to take responsibility for that.

Yes, it continues to frustrate me that so many Arsenal fans - those aged 25 or under, think we've always been a powerhouse capable of challenging for the title year after year when the older amongst us recall so many years when finishing in the top 10 was an achievement.

Of course it's hard to compete when Oligarchs and Sheikhs have completely obscured the market.

But we should still be able to compete. And as others have pointed out, the scoreline is about the only thing that's a positive from the game. We haven't lost heavily this season but we could have easily seen our goal difference wiped out at Old Trafford, it was that bad.

Of course, it all goes back to the move from Highbury. 

We needed to move, of course, but we also needed to remain competitive.

We can look at the injuries, the injustices, the pure bad luck and the ego of footballers who have no loyalty in this day and age.

But things are not right at Arsenal and we all want answers.

The fact is, Arsene Wenger inherited a fine team, bolstered it and turned it into a great team and then rebuilt it into a side capable of going unbeaten for a season.

But since we've moved, too many players ahve been allowed to leave and I would like to know why.

Why are first team players allowed to get into the last year of their contract like Flamini, Edu, RvP and now Theo?

Why do we never spend MORE than we earn, ever, even when we look one or two players away from being real contenders?

Why don't the board communicate with us more honestly about their plans, explain the importance in their minds of paying off the stadium (if that is their strategy) which has hamstrung our ability to build and meant that almost every summer we have ahd to sell at least one big player?

None of us would like it if the club said that repaying the £400m or so that the stadium cost was the priority and maybe, commercially, it would mean some fans stayed away.

But in the cold light of day, I for one would appreciate their honesty rather than watch our manager have to make excuses for his inability to coach the team he dreams of fielding.

So often we end up with trolley-dash players who simply don't cut it and then are unable to move them on when better quality players become available.

Are the failure to sign players such as Baines, Lloris or Mata indicative of the frugal nature the current chief executive is imposing on the coach? I suspect so.

Who knows how we will cope in Schalke this week?

We need players back and fast.

But whatever happens this season, much as I love Arsenal and bleed red and white, the same old frustrations of frugality where we need to speculate will frustrate me every time the board hides behind FFP.

The fact is, new commercial deals will not be lucrative unless we can compete and at the moment, we're a long way away from challenging for the title.