Arsenal’s patient approach should reap rewards - hopefully

There has been a lot of soul searching among Arsenal fans recently as they come to terms with yet another season without a trophy.

The defeat to Barcelona was greeted with disappointment naturally, but also with that mutual respect football fans give to an opponent when you have been fairly beaten. Arsenal fans held their hands up, Messi was just too good. Indeed, Messi is so good his was almost singlehandedly responsible for Argentinean’s World Cup betting odds tumbling after that club victory.

But the defeats that really hurt Arsenal were against Spurs and Wigan, setbacks which killed off any lingering hopes of the title. This has lead to the inevitable enquiry and apportioning of blame.

Many point to the board, others look at key injuries or underperforming players, while more and more look to Arsene Wenger, whose frugal transfer policy and reliance on youth has failed once again.

But I would like to believe Arsenal, despite their trophy drought, are on the right track. They may not have signed too many players for big money in recent years but they have made one massive investment - the stadium. This is an outlay none of their title rivals have had to make, but it was essential if the Gunners were to compete in the long term.

However, a new stadium doesn’t guarantee success. The past two decades are littered with examples of clubs who moved to shiny new stadiums, thought (and bought) ahead of themselves, only to end up at the wrong end of the league, drowning in debt, playing in a half full white elephant.

By building the Stadium Arsenal had to take on debt, and the club are actively looking to pay that off season after season.

This has restricted Wenger in the transfer market yet, despite the lack of silverware, he has still kept Arsenal in the top four and consistently taken them into the latter stages of the Champions League.

It is widely agreed that a revolution isn’t needed at the Emirates, in fact one only or two experienced additions, to add strength and guile to their youthful skill and panache, could be the difference between perennial nearly men and genuine Premier League title challengers.

By keeping the Gunners ticking over while the board have paid off debt Wenger has been cementing solid foundations from which to build on. Foundations which are certainly more solid than the leveraged debts of United and Liverpool, or the reliance on sugar daddies at Chelsea and City, both of whom could face oblivion at the whim of one very rich man.

Once the stadium debt is down to a manageable level it is hoped Wenger will be able to spend a figure more befitting of a club that has annual turnover akin to that of Real Madrid and Manchester United.

In this era of instant success and kneejerk sackings I really hope this patient approach, so at odds with what is happening in the rest of Premier League, meets with the success it deserves.

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