Could the impending departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri symbolise the end for Arsene Wenger? The Arsenal manager went on record last month stating that if the Gunners did sell the want-away duo then they could not be classified as a 'big club' as 'big clubs' usually hold on to their star players. So with both players apparently on their way on the eve of the new Premier League season, should Wenger concede defeat in terms of his position as Arsenal manager?
The fans, while still admiring his past achievements, are seriously questioning his ongoing reluctance to spend in the transfer market. Six seasons without any trophies, or even second-place league finishes, do not make good reading for a club that wowed the country by going a season unbeaten as recently as 2003-04.
What is perhaps most worrying for the club is the repetition of the past few seasons. Each year Wenger promises improvement, claiming his players are maturing, yet each year the club get knocked out of all the cup competitions and trail off in their league campaigns, resulting in a succession of third and fourth placed finishes. Wenger has stated that he is happy as long as the club finishes in a Champions League position, but for the first time this season, that no longer looks a certainty. With the rise of Manchester City to third place last season, and the greater experience within the squads of both champions Manchester United and Chelsea, Arsenal would appear to be embroiled in a scrap for fourth with Merseyside giants Liverpool and local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
It appears to many that Wenger's players have lost faith in him. The preference of Gael Clichy and Nasri to join City in a bid to win trophies is telling, and the impending loss of captain Fabregas to Barcelona will certainly have a large effect. While all three of those players are young in football terms, they were three of the most experienced heads in Wenger's increasingly fragile looking squad. While Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey are all in place to fill the boots of the departing trio, the major effect will be to make an already too-young team even younger. Wenger's biggest failure in recent years has been failing to bring in experienced players in key positions. The majority of Arsenal's players are under 25, and the older ones, such as Andrey Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky and Sebastien Squillaci have not been central to the team over the past couple of seasons. Robin van Persie is set to step into the role of captain, and while he certainly has the quality and experience, his injury problems will always be a worry.
There is admittedly more than two weeks of the transfer window left to go, but Wenger has yet to bring in the defenders and goalkeeper that the club so desperately need. After seeing Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and the young Wojciech Szczesny all make mistakes over the last couple of years, it is remarkable that he has not addressed the situation with the signing of a proven number one. The return from injury of Thomas Vermaelen should be a boost, but should his fitness fail him, the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou do not look like Premier League winning standard. Elsewhere in the team, Theo Walcott still needs to prove both his fitness and his talent in what is now his sixth season at the Emirates Stadium. Jack Wilshere's debut season was incredible, but it is surely too much to expect the 19-year-old to carry the midfield to success so soon. Gervinho (a rare signing over £10m) should be an exciting option for the attack but he is unproven at the highest level and could well go down the route of Marouane Chamakh and Nicklas Bendtner, becoming a bit-party player.
If Wenger has any intention of finishing in the top four this season, let alone being involved in the title race, he needs to make some major moves in the final days of this summer transfer window. At least one goalkeeper, two defenders, a midfielder and another forward are surely needed for the club to compete with United, City and Chelsea. And not 17-year-olds plucked from Gabon or Switzerland but established, trophy-winning professionals. Anything less than that and I fear that Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board may have to finally bring the curtain down on Wenger's 16 year reign in North London.
