Arsenal’s uninspiring defeat at the hands of West Ham over the weekend could be a sign of harrowing things to come for the Gunners. Since their 4-2 victory over their North London rivals back at the start of December, they have not beaten a side that is not fighting against relegation. With their current transfer policy and pool of players, it is not too pessimistic to predict an imminent decline in the club’s performance.
For the first time in decades – par its forwards – it felt as if Arsenal’s players like-for-like are not as good as the ones of a mid-table side; Fabianski could easily start ahead of Leno, Declan Rice and Noble is a better match than Torreira and Guendouzi, Nasri is more dangerous than Xhaka and Felipe Anderson consistently outperforms Iwobi. Arsenal’s high wage policy have left them little room to strengthen the team and are constrained to seek out potential loan deals – not dissimilar to mid-table Premier League clubs. They are set to lose one of their most loyal servants to a team which will value his qualities more, and they are also considering signing Benatia, another over 30 year old defender to add to Sokratis, Koscielny, Lichsteiner and Monreal. Aubameyang – the marquee signing supposed to take Arsenal to the next level – is turning 30 this year, which is considered relatively old for a player who relies on pace and is supposed to change the club’s fortunes in the coming years. There appears to be no coherent framework in place to move the club in a particular direction, both on and off the pitch.
Despite the club’s poor showing over the last few seasons, Wenger’s aura was able to lure in high profile names; Özil, Lacazette and Aubameyang have all stated that he has played a major role in convincing them to sign for the Gunners. However, le Professeur’s absence has drastically reduced Arsenal’s appeal for potential big signings in the future.
While Arsenal are making minimal attempts to better their situation, historically lesser clubs – including Wolves, Watford, West Ham – are making a more concerted effort to accomplish European football in the future. Apart from a couple of exceptions, Arsenal continue to make similar signings to ones they made 10 years ago, meaning their overall squad quality is declining relative to the rest of league. Initially, it wasn’t good enough for the title. Then it wasn’t good enough for the Champions League. Will it not be good enough for the Europa League either?
It may be absurd to consider Arsenal becoming a team fighting over 10th and 11th place, but year-by-year they are heading in that direction. Obviously, they have the criminally underutilised funds of Stan Kroenke, however, the Premier League seems to be moving on without Arsenal.
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