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Originally Posted by Russ
I'm sorry are you really comparing Arsenal to teams who had success almost a generation ago? 10 years ago Arsenal were winning league titles and had done for about the previous 5 years or so, they were the 'Invincibles', trophies etc, hit a barren spell from hell and haven't recovered - without any indication of wanting to recover. Selling your best players to pay for a new stadium is pretty awful going. OK that may not really be what happened but where is all the money they've had from transfers?
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It's not awful going. Look how difficult a stadium has proved for Spurs and Liverpool. Arsenal at least have an ability to compete for a long time to go thanks to the stadium and Wenger kept them in the Champions League during that time. Football can leave great, historic, teams behind quite quickly and Arsenal made the transition quite smoothly all things considered.
Yes they lost today but the season still has 37 games to go and the transfer window is still open. Arsenal need to get on with it and sign some players and if not those responsible will have to be held to account if Arsenal don't do well this season.
History means nothing however. Plenty of clubs have a brilliant history. Doesn't mean they're underachieving. West Ham had some of the best English players ever and they're not going to win the league this year, doesn't reflect badly on them and they even have a new stadium to come. Huddersfield have had two of the greatest managers ever know to the English game: Shankly and Chapman. They're a long way from the premier league. Nottingham Forest are one of our oldest clubs and have won European cups! History is just that. No one is entitled to a dominance or cups irrespective of how great their club is.
I compare them because the expectation should be linked to their realistic ability to compete for the season ahead and not what they've done before.
---------- Post added at 00:27 ---------- Previous post was at 00:21 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ
If United went on to have the next 8 years the same as Arsenal did since their last trophy I'd consider that a crisis. For a team like West Ham what the Gunners have done in that time may seem like major achievements but for big clubs it's pretty bleak.
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Prior to Wenger the difference between West Ham and Arsenal weren't that big. Both classic British clubs. Arsenal won a few more titles and West Ham boasted a history of great players. The real difference between West Ham and Arsenal was Wenger and luck. Wenger rose Arsenal to a level that took full advantage of the explosion in Premier League revenue and, more importantly, access to the millions of the Champions League. Arsenal were one of the big guns at that time, due to Wenger, and as a result they are where they are now. New stadium, one of the 'big clubs', and supporters around the world. It could so easily have been Blackburn, West Ham, Leeds, Newcastle and others.