The Arsenal Effect

Another summer, another superstar out the door. Although Emmanuel Adebayor’s disinterested performances last term may have alienated supporters, his contribution to the Arsenal cause during his three year stint is undisputed.

Netting 24 Premier League goals in the 2007-2008 season, Adebayor helped maintain Arsenal’s position within the top four and cement a Champions League birth. His displays that season attracted the attention of some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including AC Milan whose rumoured interest dragged through the summer.

To the relief of the fans, the Togolese striker remained at the Emirates supposedly desperate to win silverware and continue on the road to stardom. But his attitude had changed. His head had been turned – and it showed in his performances. He wanted a new challenge and a higher salary. Step forward Man City. The Premier League’s nouveau riche swept in to snatch the striker’s signature from beneath the likes of AC and Chelsea. While his attitude and demeanour are better off elsewhere, the power, skill and general swagger that he brought to the side will be sorely missed and leaves Arsene Wenger with a glaring hole in attack.

We certainly won't miss the man-bags

Every season, a section of fans accuse Wenger of turning Arsenal into a feeder club for Europe’s richer, ‘bigger’ and more successful sides. And there’s some truth to the argument. Every season, one of Arsenal’s best players is allowed to leave and rarely is his loss replaced. In recent memory, Emmanuel Petit signing for Barcelona in 2001, signalled the first major player to exit North London under Wenger’s tutelage. But it wasn’t until Patrick Viera was sold to Juventus in 2005 that the adverse effects of growing youth and selling stars were felt. In Viera, Arsenal lost arguably one of the best players to ever play in the red and white; a leader on and off the pitch captaining the side during their historic unbeaten season. The Viera loss has been the one Arsenal fans and players regret the most. Trophy-less since his departure, Viera’s impact was never adequately replaced by Wenger. But it’s not just the lack of silverware that bites deep. Viera’s move sparked an ethos that three years on has clearly proven unsuccessful. Every summer, a few good men leave and worryingly, fewer arrive. Following on the heels of the Frenchman’s exodus saw Arsenal lose Freddie Ljunberg to West Ham, Ashley Cole to Chelsea, Sol Campbell to Portsmouth, Robert Pires to Villarreal, Matthieu Flamini to AC Milan, Alexander Hleb to Barcelona and most notably, for a bargain price, one of the Premiership’s best ever players, Thierry Henry to Barcelona.

While several transfer windows have come and gone with Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool nicking all the goodies, critical positions left vacant by the departed have yet to be filled. Wenger’s transfer policy is questionable. His ethos has been to encourage the promotion of kids through the youth scheme and hope they return faith by displaying maturity beyond their years.

Arsenal kids look around for leadership

Ending with a few words on Adebayor’s defection. Can Wenger honestly sit back and hedge his bets on Robin Van Persie, Eduardo and the young Carlos Vela filling the void? Many fans are happy to see the back of the lazy, petulant and negative aspects of Adebayor’s game, but will they feel that way if goals start to dry up, so much so that we drop from fourth place, possibly seeing a rejuvenated Man City leapfrog our achievements with the help of the very player we sold?

With only a year left on Wenger’s contract time is quickly running out for both the players…and the fans. We expect Arsenal to win trophies, full stop. The Arsenal hierarchy need to revise their strategy and start signing thoroughbreds to fill the obvious holes we have in defence, midfield and now attack. Dare I say, in one fan’s opinion, it may be approaching the right time for Wenger to pack his bags.

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We at Footy Factor would like to thank A.M. Dupee, an Arsenal fan in London, for submitting this article.