2. Player Retention
Over the past seven years Arsenal have seen marquee players leave for clubs where success and trophies are all but guaranteed. The greatest achievement of Arsene Wenger is to have created two teams; the one that now plays for our rivals and the one that is trying to be among the best in the premier league Those are the words of Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov and sum up perfectly what no success in almost eight years can do to helping a club retain its best players. Consistency and stability all play their part in building a winning team and no club who sells its best players is ever going to realistically challenge for the top honours if they have to rebuild every summer. Since Arsenal last won a trophy they have sold (take a deep breath) Robin Van Persie, Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Alex Hleb, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Thierry Henry to name but a few. You could argue some of these players left for money, others for love for another club but all of them harboured ambitions that they felt couldnt be achieved one way or another at Arsenal any more. It is also worth noting that almost all of them went on to win major honours with their new clubs. If Arsene Wenger wants to increase his chances of retaining the best of his current crop of players he must deliver a trophy to appease their ambitions and reassure them that Arsenal is the best place for their talents.