da roleta： By Arsenal’s high standards, it has been a disappointing season in the Premier League so far.
da esport bet： The Gunners currently sit in 5th position just one point from Man Utd in fourth but 13 points off top spot. They still have a great chance to defend their FA Cup crown with a fourth round trip to Brighton and are still in contention in the Champions League. The last 16 tie against Monaco is a fantastic opportunity in a winnable situation for Arsenal to make the quarter-final stage for the first time since 2010.
Whilst the club have made 17 consecutive Champions League group stages under Arsene Wenger, it is about time they started to challenge for Premier League titles and progressing further in Europe. Arsenal haven’t finished above third position in the Premier League since 2005, and whilst although finishing in the top four is no mean feat, a club with the resources that Arsenal possess should be challenging for the title consistently.
Perhaps Arsene Wenger has become a victim of his own success, taking over a fairly inconsistent team back in 1996 that had finished 12th just two seasons prior to Wenger’s appointment. He is obviously their most successful manager, taking charge of over 1000 matches and winning plenty of silverware including three Premier League titles and five FA Cups. Not forgetting finishing runners-up in the Champions League in 2006, where they were narrowly beaten by Barcelona.
Wenger has done an outstanding job during his time at Arsenal but the harsh reality is that the longer the club fail to push on for titles then the more fans will demand for him to leave. Plenty of money has been spent in recent seasons with over £70 million invested into the squad last summer. Mesut Ozil was purchased for a club record £42 million in 2013 and it is safe to say hasn’t quite repaid the club for that enormous fee. Alexis Sanchez has been a big hit though, scoring 18 goals so far.
But it is in defence in which Wenger has failed to strengthen, centre of defence in particular. Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen left the club over the summer, and whilst Callum Chambers has impressed at times, his inexperience has shown as well. Mathieu Debuchy has spent most of the season on the sidelines and it is there that he has returned. The Gunners really lack in both leadership and quality at the back.
Many Arsenal fans seem to have lost faith in Arsene Wenger but the truth is he needs to stick around for at least the next 18 months to try and build this team before passing it over to anyone else. Currently there doesn’t seem to be too many options around for a top quality manager to take his place, with many of the game’s biggest names fresh into tenures at other clubs.
It is a big couple of months coming up with crucial Premier League and Champions League matches taking place. Top four should still be achieved, and whilst many fans aren’t happy with just coming fourth every season, one must remember that there are at least two world-class teams ahead of Arsenal at this current time. Patience is needed and title challenges will come again soon, the only question is if Wenger will be in charge by then.