Arsenal, unlike Liverpool, can still call themselves a top four team, yet it is clear that changes are in desperate need as their ambition for silverware (or lack of it), has seen them end another season empty handed.

The once exuberant team have looked lacklustre, as well as tantalising at points this season and it is a clear lack of consistency that has allowed a confusing season to play out for the gunners.

February saw the North Londoners scratching their heads as they took in their League Cup failure to Birmingham at Wembley, in a game that challenged their mentality to play beautiful football and win doing it.

Having been clear contenders for the league at one stage, their season hit a new low as they lost third and a Champions league automatic qualifying spot to Manchester City on Tuesday.

It is no surprise that Arsenal fans have been in uproar as the rise in ticket prices coincided with their fall to fourth spot, as the board ask for lump sum payments by the 1st July.

Many would suggest it is about time that stubborn Arsene Wenger took off his rose tinted glasses to wipe the dust off arsenal’s shelves, as that FA Cup victory of six years ago against Manchester United gets further and further away.

Looking into the changes Arsenal could make in order to compete for silverware next season, there are a few things Wenger could consider:

1)      Invest in a Centre Back to form a strong partnership with Thomas Vermaelen

Having missed Vermaelen for most of the season, arsenal’s defensive record has suffered dramatically having conceded the most goals in the top four. Despite the strength and vast experience of Sebastien Squillaci he has never looked up to par and after a relatively promising season Johan Djourou lacks the vital experience of a trophy winning defender.



Arsenal’s attacking ability was evident more than ever in the 4-4 draw at St James’s park against Newcastle in February. On the other hand, a poor defensive structure reared its ugly head once again in a game that saw their early 4-0 lead blown away in just 19 minutes of the second half.

2) Address and Cure the recurring injury problems

It is clear that Arsenal have an issue with injuries as it continues to plague them season after season.  The way in which the players are prepared for the gruelling physicality of the premier league needs to be looked at as the injury numbers were high once again this season. Maybe the most fragile of the arsenal squad such as Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie could endure specialised training, in order to prevent overtraining and avoid the loss of pivotal players next season.

3) Take the pressure of 21 year old Wojciech Szczesny

Occupying Arsenal’s most criticised position is a lot to deal with for a player that only recently entered adulthood. The youngster made a promising start to his career following his debut at Old Trafford, after Lukasz Fabianski suffered a hip injury. But it is clear that there are selection problems as far as goalkeeping is concerned, as the 21 year old is not quite ready to take the pressure of the number one jersey on his own.

4) Find a decent partner for Robin Van Persie

Van Persie is playing his part as Arsenal’s top goal scorer at 17 goals so far, along with the most shots in total and on target. However, with the nearest striker being Walcott with 8 goals, the need for a more prolific goal scorer to accompany the outstanding Dutchman is evident. Chamakh has shown great potential at times this season but has yet to form a formidable partnership with star man Van Persie.   

5) Better Leadership

This is one of the most overused clichés in English football, as the premier league tries to uphold its reputation as the league of the traditional hard man such as, Gerrard and Terry. Yet Arsenal lacks that die hard leader that a title winning team demands. Although both Van Persie and Fabregas wear the armbands as Arsenal’s best players, they are not leaders.

The lack of commanding voice in the team is an underlying issue when there is nobody to bring the team together when all appears lost or a motivational voice to inspire a team of otherwise introverted footballers.

Captain Cesc Fabregas was full of praise for the Arsenal fans as he revealed he understands the pain as another season with no trophies will end on Sunday.

Speaking to the Official Matchday Programme, the midfielder explained that many are those who travel all over Europe to follow the team they love even if they have families, jobs and other commitments in life, something that is wonderful to see.

Even if criticised by some, the 23-year old was especially full of praise for the home support as he declared that they were amazing when the Gunners played against Chelsea, Barcelona and Everton at the Emirates this season.

Ahead of next season, the Catalan concluded by saying that he understands that the fans are suffering because of the lack of silverware, adding that the players will make sure that this will change, next season.

On the Arsenal fans, Fabregas said:

Quote:

I want to thank the fans, whether they follow us at home, away or both. Away from home, we often feel as if we are playing in our own stadium; so many people travel all over Europe with us despite having families, jobs and other commitments, and their dedication is remarkable. What they do is wonderful and we appreciate it a lot. Our home fans have constantly amazed me too – I think of the sensational atmosphere they created against Chelsea, and then against Barcelona. The match against Everton also stays in my mind – we were 1-0 down but they pushed us so hard to help us turn it into a win. We understand how much the fans have suffered through our not winning trophies for a few years, but we will make sure this changes.

Just days after Arsenal fans were given the stunning blow of talismanic central midfield playmaker, Denilson threatening to leave the club, the Gunners were dealt with another painful blow, a one that might prove to be even worse in the long run.

In Denilson’s case, Arsene Wenger still harbors a slight hope of keeping the Brazilian but after hearing the news that Nicklas Bendtner too will not be playing for the club, Wenger is reportedly planning on quitting as Arsenal manager.

Bendtner did not decide to quit the club but was instead banned from playing football for the next 20 years by FIFA and UEFA, who had grown jealous of the Dane’s majestic skill and brilliant technical play.

The head of UEFA, Michael Platini, who himself was a useless player back during his days was so infuriated with the skill possessed by Bendtner that he convinced the UEFA to ban the talented striker.

Bendtner will be allowed to play football when he becomes 43, and it is reported within certain circles that Barcelona already have a pre-contract agreement to sign Bendtner when he becomes eligible to play football again.

This season he has been Arsenal’s best striker by a mile and has easily been the league’s best striker. He has been banging in the goals left, right and centre and to put it lightly has been unstoppable.

Bendtner was banned after Manchester United and Chelsea filed a petition in FIFA claiming that Bendtner was too good to play against players like Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Didier Drogba, Paul Scholes and his superior ability had enraged the players to such an extent that some went into severe depression and some were even told be suicidal.

It was last season that we got a true glimpse of Bendtner’s as he was Arsenals’ Player of the season. Arsenal’s highly overrated and fragile striker, Robin van Persie got himself intentionally injured, in order to save himself the embarrassment when Bendtner would replace him in the first team.

It was Bendtner’s stunning performance against Burnley that propelled him to the world stage and it was in that performance that we found out that he was the world’s greatest striker. In that match, he created close to 10 chances for himself with his lightning pace and trickery but in the end he spurned these chances in order to give Burnley a fighting chance of drawing the match and snatching at least a point.

Bendtner’s rise has seen the Gunners adopt a new 9-0-1 formation as his attacking abilities far outweighed the combined contributions of Arsenal’s lazy players like Fabregas, Nasri and Wilshere who simply don’t possess the skill and heart of Bendtner.

Bendtner’s rise has to be attributed to his new personal sports psychologist who has provided him with some much needed confidence. Ever since he was a kid, Bendtner did not have confidence in his own abilities and doubted himself too much. His lack of confidence meant that he would often pass the ball even straight to the opposition goalkeeper when through on goal.

But his best performance came against Leyton Orient and it is now believed to be one of the most acclaimed performances the world has ever witnessed. Orient is widely believed to have the best defense in the entire World and yet they were helpless to stop Bendtner who scored a hat-trick within the first five minutes. The game was stopped after that when the entire Orient team walked out of the pitch, in tears after being humiliated by the Dane’s stunning play.

It was following such majestic displays that we have seen several top players go to Arsenal to see the world’s best striker in action.

Earlier this season when Fernando Torres was struggling to score goals, his Spanish friend, Manuel Almunia advised him to come to London to see Bendtner play so that Torres could learn something from Bendtner.

Torres took the advise of Almunia to heart and made a move to Chelsea so he could move to London in order to see Bendtner play more often.

Ever since coming to Chelsea, there has been a remarkable improvement in Torres’ form as he has hammered in the goals for Chelsea.

But despite being the best striker in the world, Bendtner remains unassuming and has still retained his greatest quality, his humility. When asked by some reporters if he felt he was the greatest striker of all time, Bendtner, being the large hearted man he is, said that the greatest stiker in the world could only be Benni McCarthy, whose lean and mean figure, could frighten opposition into surrender.

On the whole it is understandable why Bendtner was banned from football. Football remains interesting only when teams have an equal and fair chance of winning. Already these days there is hardly any economical equality among teams. We have clubs like Arsenal who are willing to splurge the cash in the transfer market and then we have frugal clubs like Manchester City and Real Madrid who spend so prudently that they are setting a benchmark for financial fair play.

Now if you add players like Bendtner into the mix, players with such astounding ability that it ceases to amaze, then clubs like Arsenal are bound to win every football match and tournament, which has bound to be the case this season.

But Wenger and his Arsenal squad do not care one bit. The players and the manager have started a fast until death and are ready to call it off only if Bendtner is allowed to play for Arsenal again.

The value of Bendtner to Arsenal cannot be stressed enough. Bendtner is the heart and soul of Arsenal and he is the embodiment of everything Arsenal stand for. It gives me the shudders merely imagining an  Arsenal team without their lynchpin.