In Arsene We Trust ….
The way last season ended, “theatrical” would be an appropriate way of putting it or if I may say so dramatic enough to pass as a Shakespearian work of genius.
Man City being the takers of the loot was well you can say not a well and truly digestible fact for many of its rival competitors, especially the neighbouring Reds who ended with just the Community Shield. The Blues to a certain extent who had their own fair bit of problems; manager issues, Torres’ underachieving tag along with the price and not to forget master Terry’s endeavors of constant attempts of getting into the pants of anything that showed a slight indication of movement and not to forget his new hobby of calling everyone in sight by their skin tone. But then who are we to judge they bagged the Champions League and the FA Cup, quite a shocker, truth be told. It was after this they began their next campaign on quite a serious note, Roberto Di Matteo (an apparent club legend 3 months into the job, and rightfully so) is given a 2 year contract after much consideration. Getting a managerial job at Chelsea is like dating or getting married to Julia Roberts, you never know when you suddenly don’t mean squat to them and get kicked out.
Moving on Chelsea go on a shopping spree, something similar to when you leave women in a shopping mall that has 70% off on everything and the end buying even the shopping carts. Hazard, Jr. Hazard, Marin, Oscar and not to forget Wigan sensation Victor Moses join the blue army with Drogba, Malouda biding adieu to the blue outfit. And still not done, having the continuous rumors of the Brazilian Hulk joining in.
Taking into account the significant others, we do have the likes of Spurs who got unlucky with the Champions league qualification spot. But with Harry having left the building and Modric on the brinks of leaving the club the Champions League does look like only a possibility next season.
Liverpool who, well(Who am I kidding here, I don’t have the time to write 20 years worth of nothing) we can say were just there lingering around as usual but adding a Carling Cup to their not so impressive success story. Newcastle on the other hand turned out to be a surprise offering last season, with some impressive performances against the top teams and coming extremely close to the Champions league qualification berth and Alen Pardew winning the best manager of the season summed up quite a fairy tale ending for them.
And not to forget Arsenal, 7 years and still going strong with an empty trophy cabinet. The only remarkable achievement added is that of Mr. Wenger’s ability to find under aged kids stolen from African jungles, which can run like gazelles, speak French like Mr. Bean and have hideous hair styles. But then one can’t forget some of the young talent that has emerged through the Arsenal ranks.
Here’s a look at the important few who left the Gunners in search for glory -
1) Ashley Cole: Joined Chelsea for £5 million, with William Gallas arriving in part-exchange, in July 2006.
Age when he left: 25
Why did he leave? The defender fell out with Arsenal over wages. It was his claim at the time that Arsenal didn’t value him according to his worth. But it doesn’t take a rocket-science-brain to see how. Cole was furious at being offered only £55,000 a week. He ‘snubbed’ Arsenal in January 2005 and that resulted in an illegal meeting with Chelsea. He moved to Stamford Bridge a year later.
What happened next? He has had an outstanding career at Chelsea and has not decided to leave them since his move from Arsenal. His honours with Chelsea are as follows.
- Premier League: 2009-2010
- FA CUP: 2007,2009,2010,2012
- League Cup: 2007
- FA Community Shield: 2009
- UEFA Champions League: 2012
2)Thierry Henry: Joined Barcelona for £16.1?million in June 2007.
Age when he left: 29
Why did he leave? The French striker had been extremely close to quitting Arsenal the previous summer in 2006 only to vow to lead one more assault on the Champions League. Instead, he left in 2007 after the club’s second consecutive trophyless season. It is said that one of the reasons that convinced Henry to move was because he wanted to win the Champions League, given that at Barcelona he had a more genuine chance to win. And so it became. Business-wise, it was a savvy move to let Henry go. Trophy-wise, a very bad idea for Arsenal.
What happened next? Henry helped Barcelona win the Champions League in 2009. He left Spain in July 2010 and now plays for New York Red Bulls. He returned for a loan spell of 3 months for Arsenal in the latter half of 2012 season. His honours after leaving Arsenal are:-
- La Liga: 2008-2009,2009-2010
- Copa del Rey: 2008-2009
- Supercopa de Espana: 2009
- UEFA Champions League: 2008-2009
- UEFA Super Cup: 2009FIFA Club World Cup: 2009
3)Emmanuel Adebayor: Joined Manchester City for £25?million in July 2009.
Age when he left: 25
Why did he leave? Angered many Arsenal fans by attempting to join AC Milan and Barcelona and then sulked for a season when Arsene Wenger got him to sign an improved deal. Adebayor fell out with large sections of the Arsenal crowd due to what they perceived as lacklustre performances in the 2008-09 season. In mitigation, Adebayor had been struggling for fitness too.
What happened next? The striker soon fell into more trouble. Roberto Mancini did not favour him as he was sent out on a loan to Real Madrid and eventually begged them to sign him but that didn’t happen. A loan with Tottenham followed and now he is again looking to make it a permanent deal. The worst he did after his move was when he infuriated Arsenal with his length-of-the-field celebration after scoring against them in 2009.
4) Gael Clichy: Joined Manchester City for £7?million in July 2011.
Age when he left: 25.
Why did he leave? Initially in an interview he revealed that he had to move on to another club and he would miss the club, its fans and Arsene Wenger who played their part in making him a better footballer. Later on, he revealed that he was sick of loosing year after year with Arsenal and that he wanted to win trophies. The French full-back was branded a mercenary by Gunners fans after having completed his move to Manchester City.
What happened next? The defender had a good first season at Man City. He established himself as first choice left-back after beginning the season as backup to Aleksandr Kolarov and was instrumental at the back in helping Manchester City clinch the Premier League title from their rivals Manchester United.
- Premier League: 2011-2012
5) Samir Nasri: Joined Manchester City for £25 million on 24 August, 2011.
Age when he left: 24
Why did he leave? Arsène Wenger said that he decided to let Samir Nasri leave for “psychological and financial reasons”. The manager said he was reluctant to let the 24-year-old go but admitted he had to be “a realist” given the French international would have been able to leave on free transfer at the end of next season. Nasri claimed that Arsenal lacked ambition, never mind that Manchester City had offered him a bucket-load of money.
What happened next? Nasri made made his presence felt in his debut match itself against Tottenham where he assisted three goals in a 5-1 win. His match winning goal in a 2-1 win over Chelsea in March was one of his most important goals. He wasn’t in the best for forms in the middle of the season but came back strongly to end on a high.
- Premier League: 2011-2012
6) Cesc Fabregas: Joined Barcelona for an initial fee of £29 million with a further £4 million in variables on 15 August, 2011.
Age when he left: 24
Why did he leave? One of the longest transfer sagas of all time, it all started with an intense media speculation about his move to Barcelona at the end of 2010 World Cup. A €35 million bid was rejected and he stayed. He said that he had to leave Arsenal after having given his all for them, and despite knowing that he would have found less playing time at Barcelona, he moved because he felt he needed a special motivation to bring the best out of himself.
His constant display of frustration of not having secured his move to his boyhood club eventually meant that Arsenal had to let go off their inspirational captain even though they wanted to keep him. It was in the best interest of the player that the move was carried forward with Fabregas having to actually chip in with his own money to facilitate his transfer to Barcelona.
What happened next? He was an instant hit at Barcelona and made his debut in the second leg of the Supercopa de Espana, coming on as a substitute against Real Madrid. Barcelona won the tie 3–2 and 5–4 on aggregate with Cesc providing the assist to Lionel Messi’s winner. He scored his first goal in a 2–0 win against FC Porto as Barcelona won the 2011 UEFA Super Cup and his first league goal on his league debut was against Villarreal CF. He played a in key role in Barcelona winning the Club World Cup and Copa Del Rey last season.
- Copa del Rey: 2011-2012
- Supercopa de Espana: 2011
- UEFA Super Cup: 2011
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2011
Not to mention the likes of Alexander Hleb, Kolo Toure, Mathieu Flamini and now Robin Van Persie and Alex Song.The only significant signings made by Mr. Wenger being Lukas Podolski,Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla and the first two games ending in stalemates for the Gunners, the seem to be heading for another trophy-less season.
But one must give it to the fans and their undying spirit and their trust in Wenger. And now not only the fans but all the managers also do say ……
“In Arsene we trust (to spawn the future of our club)…”
