Gunner be a Great Year?

The Premier League title is wide open and many believe Arsenal will finally realise their potential, buoyed by the decision of Cesc Fabregas to give it at least one more shot?

Arsenal can realistically have no more excuses about age and more importantly - finance. None of their closest rivals have been able to spend at the top-end of the transfer market, leaving it to a battle on the pitch rather than off it - something all Arsenal fans will relish.

It’s a pivotal season in many ways, but there are three key issues that stand out.


Back Him or Sack Him – Arsenal’s goalkeeping issues are well documented amongst the popular press. Manuel Almunia has been indifferent at best in key matches in both the Premier League and European competition. Is there enough evidence to say that he has cost them silverware in the long run? Probably not as much as there was against the legendary David Seaman, but it is an area of the team probably in need of an upgrade. The defence in front of the keeper has changed, with William Gallas, Sol Campbell and Mikel Silvestre all leaving the club.

Not a great loss some will say, and Laurent Koscielny will be expected to adapt as quickly as Thomas Vermaelan did last year. A dominant keeper would make the transition much easier though. Arsenal fans would love to see their manager make a big name splash in the transfer market, but Arsene Wenger loves Lukasz Fabianski’s potential, which is the oft used stick to beat him with in terms of the squads ability to mount an immediate challenge for real silverware. He needs to make a tough call between the sticks sooner rather than later – rumoured interest in David James, Shay Given, Cagliari and Italy keeper Federico Marchetti, aswell as an audacious bid for Liverpool’s Pepe Reina has done little to quell the speculation surrounding what is a key position in a defence undergoing a transition.

Goals, Goals, Goals – For the past two seasons, Arsenal have relied on their goals coming from a variety of sources. Top of their Premier League scorers list in 2008/09 was Robin van Persie with 11 goals (Emmanuel Adebayor a close second on ten), last season it was the skipper Cesc Fabregas who weighed in with an impressive 15 goals from midfield. For a top four regular side not to have a recognised striker troubling the 20 goal mark for two seasons must be a concern, especially when the side creates such a wealth of quality chances begging for conversion.

Can Marouane Chamakh be the man to take over the mantle from Henry (or, whisper it, Adebayor)? Untested at the top level, Arsenal fans are left wondering about the potential of their newest acquisition. With Eduardo leaving, Nicklas Bendtner looking out his depth at the World Cup and Theo Walcott with everything still to prove, the pressure is on the new man at the spearhead of the most creative front four in England. What striker wouldn’t love to be the gunslinger pulling the trigger on the bullets provided by Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin, Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky etc.?

The Grass is Greener? – Wenger recently openly discussed the possibility of leaving the Gunners in an interview with the Observer. Entering the final year of his contract, the manager admitted he will probably retire at 65 giving him another four years at the top after this season ends. Time enough for a crack at building something elsewhere? The thought of him plying his trade away from the Emirates is hard to imagine. A relative unknown when he took the helm in 1996, no other Arsenal manager has amassed more silverware than the Frenchman, and his status as a true legend of the game is secure. One can’t help but wonder, however, if the length of his reign and overall footballing control at Arsenal is due to his success, or the reason for it. Would his passion for nuturing youthful talents translate to a more demanding environment in terms of immediate success?

Approaches from Barcelona and Real Madrid have been rebuffed in the past, and surely to succeed in such hot-seats a completely new approach would be required. These jobs are unlikely to come around again in the immediate future, but looking around Europe, Italy may seem an attractive proposition in terms of clubs of stature.

The Milan clubs can’t yet be said to be set on their current head coaches, as is the case with Juventus. Where else? Bayern Munich? Maybe not. PSG, Lyon and Marseille in France are far from competitive in terms of finance on the European level. Russian teams would probably be willing to throw a lot of money his way, but that’s about it. There is the dilemma for Wenger this season. See out his final few years at Arsenal, knowing that a trophy or two will keep the fans onside and preserve his legacy, or roll the dice and hit the road somewhere. Can 'The Professor' learn something new, or does he already have it inside him? Will we ever find out?

It will be good to watch if Wenger’s track record is anything to go by, whatever he decides to do.