Hate to say I told you so

At the beginning of August, I told all Arsenal fans that Arsene Wenger's failure to invest in new players (and canny knack of getting rid of world class ones) meant Arsenal were going to have a tough, long year. A quick peek at the Premier League table, and a glance at the contract situation with the record breaking, mercurial Thierry Henry, proves the point that Arsenal might in fact be in a decline, rather than a transitional period.
First of all, the sale of Vieira to Juventus was the first mistake. As Alan Hanson pointed out in his analysis on the BBC website, "It has done as much damage psychologically, as it has on the footballing side". I agree with this 100 percent. The old wise men in the dressing room (the likes of Pires, Henry, and Campbell) will look at the departure of the former skipper as potential "get out clause" should the club continue to falter in the middle of the Premier League table. This could also spark a mass exodus, and the likes of Reyes, Van Persie, and Cole may follow suit. A terrifying prospect, which might leave Arsenal hoping to avoid relegation, rather than challenge for honors domestically and abroad.

It is Wenger's biggest challenge since he arrived at the Highbury outfit in 1996. To be honest, this day had been coming, and every Arsenal fan knew it. The only irony was that this summer, the speculation on Vieira's departure was almost non existent - compared with those other long, protracted summers where the Real Madrid rumors were intensified to near boiling point. In Arsenal's case, lightening struck unexpectedly without the thunder clouds in the horizon. I say that because the euphoria that existed after beating Man Utd in the cup final, and there was also the added incentive of the football the Gunners had displayed over the 4 months preceding the end of last season, which took them back as the only team who were within a yard stick of all conquering Chelski.

All that was a marvelous achievement, and constituted another successful season for Wenger; albeit mediocre. Nonetheless, the performance against Manchester United in the cup final, and the shambolic performance away from home against Bayern Munich, combined with no ambition in the transfer market are the factors one should have highlighted last season. These were small warning signs that Arsenal were facing a bleak, dark period in which results, and good performances would be both shocking and absent in equal measure. The result, and performance against West Bromich Albion proves that theory to a tee. True, the pressure on Wenger's player to help their respective nations qualify for the World cup have contributed to an injury list as large as Chelsea's budget, but that is not an excuse. Greater investment over the summer was needed, and the man with the magic hat did not provide it.

A high flying Manchester City arrive at Highbury this weekend, Arsenal fans will hope Henry's return will provide the ignition needed to get the season kick started. By the looks of things though, Arsenal need the equivalent to a NASA space shuttle in cape Canaveral to launch their chances of catching Chelsea come the end of the season. All Arsenal fans are waiting anxiously for that lift off!