The Premier League season which has brought us some incredible games came to an end last week and the players will finally be able to relax and enjoy the greatly anticipated holiday period.
For some, it will be a celebration of the season’s achievements but for others, it provides some time to reflect on what was lacking in their game. The latter is especially true for Arsenal players, who have finished out of the top four for the first time during Arsene Wenger’s 21-year reign as the club’s manager.
There have been a lot of raised voices around the Emirates recently demanding change. Starting from lack of consistency of some players on the pitch, the possible transition to the new manager and finally the takeover of the club’s shares by Alisher Usmanov – who has bid £1 billion in the hope of buying the remaining shares from current majority shareholder Stan Kroenke. This might sound like a terrible ending to the season.
But let’s look at this from a different angle. A large portion of the fans demanded change and, ironically, they will get it. Arsenal will be playing European football which, while not as desirable as playing the Champions League, will be a breath of fresh air for the side as they stand a stronger chance of qualifying for the final stages of the competition, rather than exiting the round of 16 as they did successfully in their last 7 seasons.
Make no mistake, the Europa League will be far from a walk in the park for the Gunners and success cannot be taken for granted, as next year’s competition will include some of the strongest sides of the European elite including Milan, Lyon, Marseille, and Villarreal.
With this in mind, a cohesive team and dependable performance from key players, as well as Arsene Wenger’s vast experience in Champions League football will surely help him cope with the different environment of the Europa League and he will be in a position to efficiently rotate the squad to compete for domestic titles as well.
A trophy is a trophy, and if Arsenal can win the Europa League next season and lay the groundwork for a strong push for the Premier League title, most of the fans will eagerly shout their praises from the stands as loudly as they have derided them toward the end of this season.
In the meantime, there is still chance for Arsenal to lift the FA Cup (and their fans spirits) should they beat newly-crowned Premier League champions Chelsea at Wembley on 27 May which would clearly leave a positive note to the end of the season. There have been bigger surprises in football.
