The curious case of Arsenal

The recent highs and lows between Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola over the transfer of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas makes one recall the issues concerning the Gunners for a long time now.

The biggest worry for this English Premier League side is their inability to remain consistent for a whole season. Being one of the leading clubs of English football, they are expected to perform much better than they have done lately - Arsenal haven't won a single title for the last 6 years now and even the most ardent admirers are losing patience.

One still recalls the times when Thierry Henry's goals made Arsenal a team to fear, a team to look out for. It's not even been a decade since the Gunners experienced their best possible period in the League - they won both the Premier League and the FA cup in the 2001-02 season and then replicated their Premier League success in the 2003-04 season without losing a single match in the tournament.

But the wait for the return of the wonder years has been a long one since. They haven't won a single title since, neither home nor abroad, leading to an exit of many of their star players. It started with Thierry Henry's transfer to Barcelona four years ago, coming down to Gael Clichy's move to Manchester City recently. Clichy left the club after being with them for 8 long years. He said that his reason for leaving the Gunners was the "trophy drought" they have been going through.

A reason that has also left midfielders Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, also the captain, unsettled at the club. The two men are key to Arsenal's gameplan and that is why the London club has made every effort to keep them. Manager Arsene Wenger is trying his best to stop Fabregas from leaving, despite the Spaniard making his desire to return back to Barcelona - his youth club - clear. Barca have also been adamant, gunning for Fabregas since about 3 years. If the deal does go through, then the Gunners will definitely be at a big loss.

In the last season, when Arsenal fans were highly hopeful of a Premier League title after 6 years, Wenger's boys as they have done in the past faded towards the end after making a bright start to their campaign. In the Champions League, they came up with a fantastic effort but fell short against the best, being beaten 4-3 on aggregate by Barcelona in the round of 16. While in FA Cup they were downed by Manchester United in the sixth round.

Coach Wenger has been the critics' favourite for some time now. After Arsenal finished fourth in the EPL last season, Wenger shouldered the responsibility for the team's slump. He said, "As long as we can be hugely disappointed to be fourth, which we are, but we have to make sure we can climb up the table. I think this year was the best chance we had for five or six years."

Wenger, at the same time admitted, that it was the toughest season of his career. "The last part was the toughest season in my career," he said. "Emotionally, it was very difficult because we were on a low and then you could see the last three or four weeks were very difficult," he added.

But one wonders whether the coach should really face the axe for a team's performance, because in the end it's the players who make it all happen on the field. And with someone like Wenger, he is a man who has proved his potential a number of times in the past, if at all winning matches and titles are considred to be yardsticks for a good coach.

So what is holding back Arsenal's young side? Are the players not in the best of their forms? But then how would they be in contention for the title, getting close enough, just not being able to wrap it up.

Besides that, one also notices the under-utilisation of certain players. The best example of this can be Denilson - the Brazilian who went back to his native country due to lack of opportunities to play in the first XI of Arsenal. He spent half a decade of his career in Arsenal but without getting too many chances to showcase his talent on the field. While leaving the club he said, "I will be playing in Brazil next season as I felt that this is a good opportunity for me to play regular first-team football".

Despite all this mess, the Gunners have enough to keep their heads up. Wenger being a man who has always believed in new signings, said that he would like to change the fortunes of the team in the upcoming season by bringing in a couple of new players. He has lived up to his words with three new signings and is hoping to bring in more.

The Gunners have already given a boost to their offense by signing two new strikers - Ivory Coast's Gervinho from Lille and Costa Rica's Joel Campbell. In defence, they have brought in Carl Jenkinson from Charlton Athletic.

While Ivorian Gervinho is looked upon as a potential scorer and a rising player, the young Joel Campbell from Costa Rica, known for his speed and dribbling skills was at the brink of a signing with the club. Carl Jenkinson, on the other hand can prove to be a good potential for the future as this young player was skilfull enough to find a place in the England national time.

Apart from the new signings, the Gunners also have plenty of talent in their reservoir in the form of Dutch forward Robin van Persie, who is never short on scoring goals and of course Nasri who is the finest dribbler in the side and good enough to lead the midfield, or even go ahead to score some goals to complement the strikers.

As Wenger continues to boost the squad by adding fresh talent to his squad, senior players like van Persie are looking hopeful of a good start this season. "Hopefully a good pre-season can give us a good start because we need a good start," he said while the team arrived in China for the final leg of their Asia tour recently.

So, with the combination of all the efforts put in by both the team management and the players, the Gunners are looking ahead to the beginning of a new era. And, all that the Arsenal faithfuls can do is back their team as they have done all these years, and enjoy the beautiful game that Arsenal are known to play.