Sale of Key Players
Arsenal lost their two best players last summer - certainly in a creative attacking sense - in the form of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard's transfer had an air of inevitability to it and few could begrudge a move back to his childhood club - then the unqualified best club in the world. However, Nasri's decision was a huge disappointment - coming from an injury-prone player who had finally began to justify his early hype. But no sooner was the France midfielder playing well then he was out the door and signing for a club his one-time fans love to hate - making snarky remarks on Twitter as he went. Due to the club's tight fiscal policies and the relatively late decision to sign off on the transfers, the club found itself making replacements that were less than glamorous. Mikel Arteta is certainly a gifted player, but one several seasons passed his peak, whilst the loan signing of Yossi Benayoun felt like a total panic buy (albeit a shrewd one). The Gunners also lost record signing Andrei Arshavin, who seemingly forgot how to play football overnight and was unceremoniously shipped back to Russia - reputation nearly in tatters. So how did Wenger steer his team to third place? Of course the Arsenal manager and fans are by now used to this struggle to hold onto the top players. Petit and Overmars were poached by Barcelona back in the day. Anelka, then a promising youngster with his best years well ahead of him, fled for Real Madrid the previous year. A decade ago you couldn't pick up a newspaper without reading about Patrick Vieria leaving for whichever top European club would take him, whilst even Thierry Henry's love affair with the club had a price tag attached. That's without mentioning Reyes, Hleb, Clichy, Adebayor and Toure. Indeed it looks as though Robin Van Persie will be this year's loss, perhaps along with Theo Walcott - particularly if the latter has a good Euro 2012 with England. But this team is consistently greater than the sum of its parts. No sooner has one star player (usually the captain) departed, than another excels with new freedom and responsibility. Wenger always somehow rebuilds and gets the club back into the top four, with last season's finish representing a triumph against the odds. That an almost entirely average Arsenal squad, robbed of their best players, should finish above the reinforced likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham is a cause for wonder.