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The Season Ahead Part One : Arsenal
Published by Ian John on August 20, 2009
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Arsenal
Prospects for 2009 :
Having made a superb start with their 6-1 demolition of Everton at Goodison Park, followed by an impressive win at in Glasgow against Celtic in the Champions League, many experts now feel the Wenger Bus’ eventual destination could be the league title. Certainly they should be there come the end of the season. However one wonders if the squad has the depth required to sustain a realistic challenge, especially if injuries hit the team as hard as they did last season.
2009 is a big season for :
Cesc Fabregas : With Barcelona supposedly waiting in the wings, the Spanish international will be at the heart of Arsenal’s best displays once again. He will need to play a key role throughout the season to ensure Arsenal maintain a challenge in the league and Europe. The problem for Arsenal is that if Fabregas does this well, it is only likely to make Barcelona all the more determined to sign him.
Guaranteed to irritate in 2009 :
Arsenal fans who consistently chant “boring, boring Arsenal” as if they have just discovered the meaning of irony. Look chaps, you have a wonderful team who play a beautiful flowing game of football. They are a credit to the club and the game. However that does not change the fact that pretty much since the late 1960’s through to the end of the Bruce Rioch era, Arsenal were the most mind-numbingly dull team most seasons, and during that period they were up against some unutterably boring competition. Let us not forget that George Graham’s Arsenal side were the footballing equivalent of Mogadon. Root canal surgery, without anaesthesia, was more entertaining at times. So please, knock it on the head. It was funny once, but any comedian soon discovers that telling the same joke time and time again just bores the earlobes off people. The same can be said for shouting “Hooofff!” every time an opposition clears the ball against you. Although it has to be said, if any set of supporters should be well versed in the art of watching a team hoof the ball to a large target man in a less than stylish way, then it certainly is Arsenal’s loyal followers.
Things they’ll moan about in 2009 :
Arsene will no doubt have a moan about officials at some point. He’ll point out that his side are not allowed to play football because other teams dare to tackle them a bit too hard at times. He will bemoan that officials missed a clear penalty, yet his myopia will return when he “did not see” one of his players commit a foul in the box or indulge in some petty schoolyard spitting or thumping incident. He’ll moan that Stoke, Blackburn and Bolton are too physical, other teams play long ball football against them and that he isn’t cheapening the FA Cup and Worthington Cup by playing reserve teams in it, but rather that he is giving young players a chance.
Song that sums up their chances in 2009 : “The Pretender” by the Foo Fighters
Judging by their start, Arsenal are not far off. They are very close to being a genuine contender and if they can keep their first team together then they have a good chance to improve on last season. I am not sure the strength in depth is there to sustain a full title challenge but certainly this is a team that will be involved in the title chase and latter stages of the Champions League, at the end of the season.
Image Courtesy of ***eamoncurry123 *** at Flickr.com
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