Have Arsenal Blown it?

As the 2007/08 English Premiership season comes to a close, the title race has been blown wide open, this is mainly thanks to Arsenal’s recent slump in form, which has seen them draw their last 4 Premiership games. The fact that they have been top of the table for most of the season has surprised many as they have a very young and inexperienced squad, and before the season even started they sold their talismanic striker and top scorer for many seasons: Thierry Henry.

Arsenal play a brand of football that is very pleasing to the eye, and in doing so have gained the admiration of netural fans all across the country (except maybe in London due to various local rivalries), but do they lack the grit and determination of Chelsea and the experience of winning the title like the players at Manchester United who have been there before and know what it takes to last the distance? The premiership is a marathon after all not a sprint.

Arsenal have been unlucky with having to surrender some of their best players to the African Nations Cup which, unlike the European Championships and the World Cup, is actually held during the Premiership season. They have also been without influential and exciting young dutch striker Robin Van Persie for much of the season, having been dogged by thigh problems, and have more recently lost another striker Eduardo to an horrific leg injury which will see him out for over a year.

Unlike the top teams in the Premier League, Arsenal have spent very little and instead rely on young players with potential which costs a lot less than the multi million pound transfers of proven players. This in itself is very refreshing and encouraging to the smaller teams who don’t have the millions available to them, but perhaps now is the time to invest in people with more experience to compliment the young stars currently at the club.

Whatever the answer is, Arsenal need to get it right and quick if they are to see off the challenge of Manchester Utd and Chelsea or they will be left wondering what might have been…