So here we are. Teetering on the crux of a new season, optimism and genuine belief has engulfed the better side of North London aplenty. While cries for a striker (and lesser so for a defensive midfielder) will never rest until 1st September – and may last until January – there is the general feel-good consensus that the team Arsene Wenger has assembled is capable of sustaining a Premier League title challenge, at least.
Well, “at least” has been Wenger’s mantra for a while now. Signing Petr Cech from Chelsea shows some ambition and intent, but for me he needs to do better to live up to the quality of his squad. Buying the requisite players isn’t the big-all and end-all to winning the league (although some would argue if we even have that). Tactics, player management and motivation carry huge weight in the equation too.
Anyway, bearing this in mind I have put forward my personal expectations on what Arsenal should achieve this season. These expectations are also tempered by a dose of reality – a sense of acceptance that regardless of everything, there are certain things we cannot achieve.
Premier League : Top two
Disagree all you want, but I am of the firm belief that any Arsenal cannot win the league under Wenger (anymore). I believe that any good team in the world needs a manager to rival their standards, for them to win trophies that matter, and Wenger has not been that man for a good five years.
A team can get away with it by winning FA Cups and Capital Ones to an extent, but the big two (PL and CL) is where you get found out. I think we’ll start brilliantly and come flying out of the blocks, but I also think that – spare some huge change in Wenger’s character – we will fall short of first this season, and the next.
If we make the climb nothing like it, but since that seems hugely unlikely, even finishing second with this manager is achievement enough for me. Manchester City have strengthened brilliantly, Chelsea looks a little iffy but should pull themselves together, and United have certainly shown ambition, if not anything else. Toppling any two of these to get second – if not first – is certainly not enough, but under Arsene it’ll have to do.
Champions League : Semi-finals
It would be especially difficult since we’re in Pot 2, but regardless of Wenger’s skills, we’re long overdue a proper Champions League run. We haven’t crossed the semi-final mark since 2009 and haven’t even reached the quarters since 2010 – that’s a huge stain on the club’s brand, which needs to be rectified sometime soon.
Topping the group would be nigh on impossible considering the monsters in Pot 1, but there comes a point in the knockout phases where we should stop focusing on the luck of the draw and think “Right, regardless of whether it’s Barcelona or Beskitas we’re winning this game, and we’re doing it on our terms.”
All I want in this competition is for Arsenal to gain some swagger in Europe, because there’s really no point in aiming for 3rd and 4th all these years if we’re not making a mark when we should. Is that too much to ask?
FA Cup : A ticket to Wembley
While winning the FA Cup was fantastic the previous two years, it’s quite all right if the club don’t make it No. 1 priority. It’s about time we’re destined for greater things, really, and despite the manager and his drawbacks, I hope the players set their sights higher than the FA Cup.
Not to say the FA Cup is an entirely irrelevant competition but come on, if we hadn’t won the trophy these past two years we wouldn’t be calling it “the most prestigious cup in the world”, amidst other exaggerations. No Manchester City or Chelsea take the Cup seriously, and while it’s a nice bonus for the club to achieve it, the FA Cup definitely should not hold the be-all and end-all esteem. Certainly not for a club like ours.
Capital One Cup : Total irrelevance
For me, the Capital One Cup holds nearly zero irrelevance. The competition is more of an opportunity for the lower divisions to face Premier League giants. While the FA Cup has its flaws, it certainly has more redeeming value than the Capital One. Aside from giving youngsters like Zelalem and Jeff some game time, I see no reason why Arsene would take this seriously.
Truth be told, I wouldn’t mind seeing Arsenal leave this competition early and reduce the burden on the team.
Win a major trophy
Everyone enjoys an FA Cup win, but Arsenal fans would be forgiven to ask for something greater to enjoy. And they aren’t misguided – we were sold on the idea of the Emirates Stadium on the basis that it’d help us become a giant club in the future. Well, the future is here.
If Ivan Gazidis meant what he said about Arsenal being on par with Bayern Munich by now, we need to see results of that. This league could be a bit open – with Chelsea losing some depth and City still looking for reinforcements. In addition, even the Champions League could be a bit of an open race.
If we fail to win the Champions League, it’s imperative for us to win the league. And if we miss out on the Premier League, going all the way among the elite of Europe should be a must. This isn’t unrealistic – it’s what we were supposed to achieve by now.
Start the season with that ambition, and we could do wonders this season.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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