NFL
By: Edwin Duodu
Last week, fans worldwide saw the likes of dominating displays in the semi-finals of the top two European competitions. Manchester City opened up the party for English clubs to succeed, putting away a Paris Saint-Germain team at home and winning 2-0. City defeated a side without Kylian Mbappe and a team that dominated the defending champions, Bayern Munich. Chelsea followed that performance by cruising to a 2-0 victory at home against Real Madrid, who are fighting for a La Liga title this season. Both teams will represent England in an all-English final for the UEFA Champions League. Transitioning to the Europa League, Manchester United dominated AS Roma, putting the tide away in the first leg and ultimately winning on aggregate 8-5. United booked their spot in the final with ease.
Then there’s Arsenal. A team that nearly escaped the clutches of Benefica in the Round of 32. A team that struggled in the first leg against Slavia Prague. Facing their stiffest test yet, Unai Emery’s Villarreal. Emery hadn’t lost a knockout round ever in the Europa League coming into this matchup against Arsenal, and the streal lives on.
The Gooners have now reached another low point of the club’s history, failing to qualify for European competition next season. Their last time failing to qualify came in the 1995/96 season. Questions are arising, and tempers within the fanbase are flaring. The club, from top to bottom, requires a drastic change. Many fans blame the board, claiming all of this chaos has spread since the Kroenkes joined the club. His unwillingness to spend and import funds to improve the squad has shown how far off the quality has fallen since the days of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp. Ironically, it’s those three legends who are trying to restore the feel-good factor in Arsenal with the help of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. However, who knows if their plans will advance to severe talks? The entire board needs a fresh start, one that can make critical decisions. Unfortunately, they haven’t done that yet, as Mikel Arteta has struggled throughout his tenure as Arsenal’s manager.
Arteta had no experience coming into the job. His tactics and decision-making show, with the latest coming in the first leg against Villarreal, where he deployed a “false 9,” a formation that Arsenal seldom used all season. Arteta has also made multiple questionable decisions, including subbing off Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after nearly scoring twice in the game. Then there’s the overall squad, who possessed more quality on paper than Villarreal but suffered a home draw in a game where the Gooners needed only one goal. There have been many times this season where the players have performed down to their competition. The team has constantly made the opposition seem more dangerous than they really are. They watched as Unai Emery’s side celebrated on their home turf. Painful, but this is their new reality. Do they have the right mentality and passion when it comes to big games? Apparently not.
For Arsenal to launch back into being relevant again, crucial changes must be made. It doesn’t help that the club doesn’t have an owner willing to invest and spend for improvements. It doesn’t help that such a great team historically is now going through the growing pains of a novice manager who has not yet proven that he is the man for the job. In regards to the players, we all knew Arsenal needed an injection of quality in certain areas. Over the weekend, the Gooners defeated West Bromwich Albion, restoring a short feeling of happiness. The real issues still reside, and this victory does nothing more than covering the club’s cracks.
