By Myles Palmer
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At least the strategy is intact.
Arsenal will win the title again, the Emirates Stadium will be a big, shiny, happy money-making machine, and new stars will be signed to let the good times roll.
Sometimes you have to sacrifice a season.
The failure of the Young Boys of Highbury to beat West Brom signalled the arrival of that season of sacrifice.
Get used to it, Gooners, and stop moaning.
When Thierry comes back, Arsenal will NOT be winning every game 4-1.
Every game this season will be a struggle, including Sparta Prague, a declining club in a weak Czech league.
The Arsenal team has become younger and smaller.
It lacks the power and penetration it had in 1998 and 2002 and 2004.
The team is set up for Thierry, and nobody can replace Thierry in Arsenal’s style, so the goals have dried up.
Talking of Thierry, Arsene has hinted that Sol and Thierry may be brought back in Prague.
Either way, Arsenal are entering new territory.
Today they will get on a plane at Luton airport having just lost to West Brom. They have never done that before. It will feel a bit weird.
Having scored first through Senderos at West Brom, Arsenal could ill afford to lose Ljungberg to a hamstring injury in 37.
Then Senderos made a mistake, heading a cross out to Kanu when he should have headed it out for a corner.
Kanu banged it in for 1-1.
Arsene Wenger does not trust English players, but Bryan Robson does and his boy Darren Carter came on as a sub and was unmarked when the ball came to him.He smacked a swerving shot into the top corner,
Yes, Arsenal had dominated.
But, as with Birmingham and Maik Taylor, most of the shots at Kirkland were a nice height.
He made some good saves and a very good save, but he did NOT make any world class saves.
Arsenal can’t score in open play these days.
Reyes needed a goal but didn’t score.
Five of Arsenal’s goals this season have been scored by – whisper it – centrebacks.
When a sub comes on, Arsene is usually replacing like with like. A quick, skilful player goes off, a quick, skilful player comes on.
Arsene is very stubborn in sticking to his policy, his beliefs, his narrow, quick-passing style of play, a style which has created Goals of the Month for the last nine years.
He was right when he said that his team at West Brom lacked experience and maturity.
Toure and Hleb are 24-25 but he needs six more players in that age-group.
Instead, he has injury-prone senior pros and a bunch of babies.
The babies might be world-beaters in 2009. We hope they will be.
But there are far too many babies and far too few players of 24 and 25 and 26 and 27.
Edu and Vieira have not been replaced, so there is a HUGE hole in the squad.
IN THE MEANTIME, Arsenal are 8th in the table and Martin Jol is says that without Vieira and Henry they are an ordinary team.
After nine good seasons, a bad season was always likely.
Success is hard to achieve, and sustaining it is even harder, especially if you have a £400 million stadium project under way.
In a few months time I expect gutted Gooners will still be ringing me up at six o’clock every other Saturday night, after Arsenal have lost yet another away game.
So 2005-2006 looks like a long haul and a long winter. But don’t let it get you down.
Long term, Arsenal will be fine.They will be champions again.
Always remember : it’s only football.
October 17th 2005.