Part 4: What does Arsenal have in store for the upcoming season (2010 – 2011)?
The last season ended in a blaze of eminent disappointment for the North London team, Arsenal F.C. This was because Arsene Wenger’s squad failed to deliver once again, which was essentially due to a lack of preparation, too many injuries and a lack of skills showcased by the players.
There was a point last season when as many as fourteen of Arsenal’s first team players were injured. This injury record saw Arsenal go from being title contenders to barely making it into the top four. Experts strongly believe that this season will be different for the club. Here is a look at the predictions experts have made for the team this coming season.
One of the biggest questions that was being floated around regarding Arsenal was, whether or not their captain Cesc Fabregas would stay at the club this season. Fabregas had been on the radar of every leading European team. The twenty three year old however was most dramatically linked to his childhood team of Barcelona. Barcelona even went ahead and made an offer for the young Spaniard but were turned down by Arsene Wenger and the officials at Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger insisted that he would not let go of the player under any circumstance. This consistency and stubbornness by the Arsenal boss finally saw Fabregas go on record to say that he was going to be an Arsenal player this coming season. What this means for Arsenal is that their star player and play maker will be able to provide his services for another year. According to experts this is by far the best news that Arsenal could have asked for.
Their midfield has now been given a dramatic boost and they don’t need to look for average players to replace the captain. The inclusion of Fabregas in the squad means that with the defensive reinforcements Arsenal would be able to launch their best title challenge since the 2005 season, which is when Arsenal last won any silverware.
Over the years Arsenal has had its fair share of success domestically, the one area where Wenger and his men seem to have lacked was in the European contests. Arsenal have almost always finished in the top four and have always won the critics praise. In European contests though, it’d a different story. Arsenal have only managed to make it to one Champions League final, which was in 2006. Arsenal lost to Barcelona in that final and have since not managed to reach the finals.
According to experts this was due to the fact that the Arsenal squad was not experienced in the Champions League, due to the age of the players. Arsenal have almost always possessed a lower team age average when they compete against a team. The younger inexperienced players have found it harder to play against their much more experienced opponents. According to the experts this could and most probably would be the year in which Arsenal break this curse.
Even though Arsenel are a young team, they are now a highly experienced young team. That means that along with experience they have youth on their side. Arsene Wenger has also brought in reinforcements which would only aid the teams cause. No one would be counting on Arsenal to win the tournament or even make it past the first couple of rounds, which means they would have the advantage of being counted as the underdogs on their side. This could greatly benefit the team since almost every opposition that they face would be underprepared to face them.
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