Goal.com Arsenal Fanview: ‘Arsene Wenger is a genius but if we still fail to win something this season maybe all good things do come to an end’

Fans share their thoughts for the season ahead: First up, David Oudot...

19 Jul 2010 07:49:00

More On :  Arsenal FC
With the start of 2010-11 season approaching fast, we asked a supporter of every Premier League club to share with us their hopes, dreams and fears for the season ahead.

Arsenal Fanview | By David Oudot, The Gooner



The target: Major silverware

Winning the League. The manager has gone to great pains to tell us for the past two summers that his team of jockey-sized inside-forwards and children are ready to win the Premier League and/or Champions League, so with his contract coming up for renewal at the end of this season, he has to deliver one or the other this time around.


My thoughts on the gaffer...

The man is a genius. What he has done on a limited budget is to a certain extent a miracle, and he has revolutionised football in this country since his arrival in 1996. 

However, with the stadium debt manageable, and the debt on the Highbury Square development wiped out, there is money to spend and no excuses for him anymore.  He has money to spend to strengthen the squad and if he ignores our obvious deficiencies (in goal, lack of cover for Alex Song, paper thin and disorganised defence) and instead puts faith in those inadequates he has so backed until this point and we STILL fail to win anything then you have to ask whether all good things do come to an end...


Our key man this season

As Cesc Fabregas’ future is currently up in the air, the mantle of ‘Key Man’ falls on Robin van Persie who is entering his seventh season at the club and has never completed any of the preceding six without getting a serious injury.

He is our most potent attacking force and we need him to step up and deliver the 30 goals and 20 assists his talent has promised for so long.


Youngster to watch

If he doesn’t go out on loan to Bolton and Fabregas does depart these shores then Jack Wilshere will be thrust into the first team squad sooner than even he may have hoped. 

Cited by Fabio Capello as the future of the England team, expectation levels are high and it’s time for young Jack to step up.  The infuriatingly inconsistent Gael Clichy may be best advised to look over his shoulder at the returning Kieran Gibbs as well.


A player who must deliver

After a thundering start to his Arsenal career, Andrey Arshavin had a woeful 2009-10. 

Largely down to being played out of position either on the left wing or in the Emile Heskey role for most of December and January (despite being 5ft 4in;  chin up, Arsene), admittedly, but poor nonetheless. More will be expected of the man who scored four at Anfield and has a habit of creating the spectacular out of nothing.


Our Achilles' heel

Where to start!? The goalkeepers we have on staff at the moment are hopelessly inadequate and Wenger is set to deal with this before the start of the season, as he will the centre of defence. 

However, I am deeply concerned that he has placed far too much faith in his central midfield. Fabregas and Song are first class, and should he come back from his injury fully-fit, Aaron Ramsey will surely fit in as well.  However, the manager will continue to persist with the truly awful Denilson and the footballingly inept Abou Diaby despite neither of them being anything more than a ‘one game in eight’ player.




"Wenger has told us that his team is ready to win the league or Champions League, so with his contract coming up for renewal, he has to deliver."
Fixture I am looking forward to the most...

Chelsea v Arsenal on 2 October. Looking forward to is maybe not the right expression but we travel to Stamford Bridge on my 30th Birthday and it will be that game that will show us if this squad of players are good enough or not.
Our toughest opponents will be...

Manchester United and Chelsea, obviously. I’m not overly worried by Liverpool under Roy Hodgson and the egos that run their dressing room, but Manchester City look as though they are strengthening in all the right places and then some, and Harry Redknapp will be given money to spend at Spurs as well.


Player we love to hate
I fail to see the point of either Denilson or Abou Diaby, but outside the Marble Halls I detest Steven Gerrard (if he was half as good as he thinks he is he’d still be overrated) and Didier Drogba (best centre-forward in the world yet continues to cheat). 

Ryan Shawcross  (according to our media, the Holland team from the World Cup final are barbarians, but talentless, lager-swilling thugs like Shawcross are ‘not that kind of player') will get a good going over when Stoke visit in December as well.

My verdict
It depends on what business we do in the transfer market in the next six weeks or so.  If we buy who we need (‘keeper, cover in the midfield, first choice centre-back), we could win it all. 

Regardless of that though, my heart says first in the League and a last-minute winner against Barcelona in the Champions League final (Fabregas own goal), but my head says third in the League and a crushing exit in the Champions League quarters to a Mourinho-inspired Real Madrid.
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