So what are the bad decisions here?
In 2011, when KSE became the major shareholder, the picture than was a bit different from now.
There was more fo a top four than a top six.
City was emerging and had won its first FA Cup (nay trophy) in decades.
Spurs were flirting with top four – and under Harry Redknapp had built a side with some good players. van der Vaart, Bale, and Modric amongst others were all key in a side that did reach the top four in one season and pushed Arsenal close in others.
Liverpool was in a slump under Hodgson and the return of Sir “King” Kenny Dalglish as manager. The latter won them a League Cup but couldn’t restore them as needed.
And Chelsea was at the height of the Abramovich era, with his monies financing top players with top managers.
So Arsenal was comfortable. It held its own amongst the top and could afford to do so on this model.
Arsenal couldn’t outspend Man United, Man City or Chelsea, but was in a better state than Liverpool and could outspend Tottenham.
Some austerity was self-imposed, due to the stadium debts, but the PL and CL TV monies were enough to tide the club over.
What changed then?
Well, City ramped up their spending.
Tottenham declined slightly under Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood but took a punt on a promising Southampton manager named Mauricio Pochettino who would make them a consistent top-four side and help them reach their first ever CL final.
Chelsea was still strong – and won cups, leagues, and European trophies in this period.
And Liverpool nearly won the league under Brendan Rogers and signed up Jurgen Klopp as his replacement after him leaving Borussia Dortmund.
Leicester won the league in 2016, and since then have sought to sustain themselves in the upper parts of the table.
Everton is a club with much history in English football – but now has the finances to compete.
So the competitive landscape changed, and the club didn’t act to match it.
What’s more is that Arsene Wenger, despite his rightful legendary status at the club, was being left behind tactically by other managers and this showed when the club finished outside the CL places in his final two seasons.
KSE has overseen this ready decline – and they only have sought to correct things until it was too late.
The bad decisions
2014 – No world-class striker in the summer window. The club did get Sanchez – but Giroud needed support and thus the club became also-rans in the league.
2015 – Only signing Petr Cech – the club needed a striker and a defensive midfielder, but then whilst a keeper was a necessity, it was a waste to just do this. this highlighted the arrogance and poor recruitment of the club overall.
2016 – Gaining Xhaka, Mustafi and Lucas Perez for £90m in total didn’t pay off.
2017 – another weak transfer window, with only Lacazette and Kolasinac, bought in this period. However, maybe the club made a mistake in keeping Wenger on fro this period, and he should have gone after the FA Cup final win vs. Chelsea.
2019 – Signing Luiz hasn’t paid off, and signing Pepe was arguably unneeded. the club required a centre-back, and not a wide forward.
The club only got Torreira, as a more orthodox DM, in 2018, despite needing such for many years. and even then, he hasn’t played in his proper position often. This negates his purpose and function in the side.
Another major negative point is that the side has been undeveloped for years – Wenger nor Emery could solve the defensive lapses and tactical mishaps. Yes, KSE isn’t responsible for team tactics. But they are ultimately responsible for the club’s performances in all areas and thus can put pressure on coaches for this to improve.
They may well have, but such pressure hasn’t really manifested properly.
We have rot in our club. And KSE has permitted this to manifest, fester, and grow, to where we are in our current state.
KSE needs to shape up – or frankly go. They are mismanaging and messing up our great football club.
And more to the point, as I write (1st Jan 2020), Arsenal is precariously near the relegation zone. Who has led up to this position? Who has held the ultimate charge in this regard, and enabled a cultural rot to set in? Nobody else can take the flak here.
marblehallstv 