Nigeria Content Online

Arsenal have not
won a trophy in five years and judging from their performances in the
early part of this season, that drought will most probably last another
year. If it does then Arsene Wenger’s time at the Emirates Stadium
could come to an end.

I know it is too
early to make predictions, but I am pretty confident that with this
group of players, the Gunners won’t be celebrating any silverware by
May, 2011.

What baffles me is
that Wenger has had several seasons to invest in his squad, but has
decided against it. The French manager continues to insist on relying
on young players who have won little or nothing in their careers.

It’s easy to start from the back when we try to break this down.

No keeper to call upon

Since Jens Lehmann
left, Arsenal have been without a top-class goalkeeper – a ‘keeper that
can come up with big saves to preserve victories and avoid silly
mistakes that cost points.

That keeper is not
Manuel Almunia. We all know that and so does Wenger, so why has he not
gone out and invested in a new goalie? He courted Mark Schwarzer this
summer, but that wouldn’t be an intelligent choice looking at the
future of the club. So why not go for someone like Fiorentina’s
Sebastien Frey, Genoa’s Eduardo or Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax?

Their defence is
also missing a world-class player. Every big club around Europe has an
experienced leader at the back, while Arsenal have no-one who fits the
bill. Even when William Gallas was there, he was not the team player
and the reference point that a young team needed. This summer Wenger
brought in Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, both good players
but neither will make or break their season.

Need for a midfield enforcer

Midfield is an area
of the pitch where Arsenal are renowned for having some of the most
talented players in the English Premier League. This is the engine room
where many say the best football in England is created. I agree the
Gunners have many skilful players and Cesc Fabregas is a fantastic
footballer. But there has been a key piece missing in the center of the
park since Patrick Vieira, a defensive midfielder par excellence, left
the club.

In order for Cesc
to blossom he needs someone to cover his tracks. At Barcelona, Xavi has
Sergio Busquets. At Inter Milan, Wesley Sneijder has Esteban Cambiasso.
But who does Fabregas have? Alex Song. A talented young player for sure
but he lacks the character and strength to do the job against the top
teams on the continent.

Up front, it’s a
similar story: a lot of style but not much substance. Robin van Persie
is a top player but he’s not a pure striker who will get 20 goals per
season. Andrei Arshavin blows hot and cold and you never know if you
are going to get an inspiring or frustrating performance from the
Russian international.

Marouane Chamakh
was signed this season and he has added some much needed muscle but is
still not the reliable forward player this team needs at the highest
level.

So what has to be done? Wenger must realise he may have to start
from scratch after this season ends. He may have to sell his fringe
players and bring in two or three established internationals that can
gel with the talented youngsters in the squad and create a winning
side. If he doesn’t do it fast, the Frenchman may be heading for the
exit door when the board realises the trophy drought has gone on for
too long.