The constant decline of Arsenal over the years!

The departure of Arsene Wenger has affected the club's performance and ever since they have been endured the worst start in 67 years. 

Arsenal comes under the traditional “Big Six” team of England alongside Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham. 

Arsenal is one of the decorated clubs in England, known for its counter-attacking, one-touch passing, and their invincible run in Premier League in 2003/04. 

Every cub has their story from being a top club to fighting in the relegation zone, and the club is in the latter situation as of now and if they continue this subdued performance we might see them out of the Premier League. The Gunners have been relegated once in their history and that came before the First World War.

Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said "Arsenal are more likely to go down than win this year's Premier League, and this season punters are seemingly more than convinced Mikel Arteta's men to have a relegation scrap on their hands."   

The club will be only competing in the Premier League this season after failed to qualify for any European contention. 

Under Arsene Wenger, the Gunners qualified for the UEFA Champions League for 19 straight seasons, out of those 19 seasons in Europe, the team from the Emirates failed to make it out of their group in the competition twice.   

Arsenal's fall from the 'Invincibles' to 'meme material'

Under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger, and club legends such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, and Freddie Ljungberg wreaked havoc on the opponent’s defense.  

They went unbeaten in 38 league matches in the 2003/04 season. They won 26 games, drew 12 and were regarded as the Invincibles of their era. Arsene Wenger was truly the sovereign of Arsenal. 

Arsenal had never finished outside the top four under Arsene Wenger until the 2016-17 season where they finished 5th. Since then, Arsenal has never managed to break into the top four under Unai Emery's reign or under Mikel Arteta.

Wenger’s cogent tactics kept the club within the top four. The club finished second twice, inn 2004/05, Arsenal finished 12 points behind Chelsea. Then, in 2015/16, Leicester City triumphs, finishing 10 points clear.

Arsenal were a powerhouse in Premier League, and 2005 Champions League finalist. The Gunners could attract top players such as Mesul Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to join the gunners because of their consistent qualifications in UCL. While other clubs endured brief spells failing to qualify in UCL, notably Liverpool. 

Gone were the days when Arsenal had their best run in Europe. It was the Gunners turn to suffer; Wenger left after a disappointing 2017/18 season. 

The squad has looked bleak and hasn't looked competitive in big games. Arsenal tried to pull themselves up without a solid base squad and saw a meteoric fall in every game. 

The only thing Arsenal fans got to reminisce about was days of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, or Robin van Persie playing on Tuesday or Wednesday nights to raucous crowds at the Emirates.

Arsenal's worst start to a League season in 67 years 

Arsenal has now lost straight three games of the 2021/22 Premier League season now.

In the last four years, Arsenal spent almost $400m more than they sold over the last five years. This season Arsenal had the most spending around $130m, bringing Center-back Ben White, midfielder Martin Ødegaard and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.  

The signings didn’t prove a worth penny on the pitch, as all the players failed to deliver in the games. However, other bad luck such as the covid-19 outbreak, saw many Arsenal players testing positive. However, the issues are much severe than that

Is there a ray of light at this long and painful tunnel for Arsenal? 

The Gunners need to buckle up before it’s too late, nonetheless, the club has some bright and young players which could be a solace for Arsenal and their fans. 

Half of the players are under the age of 23, which could be a turning point for Arsenal in the future. the average age of Arsenal’s starting XI was just over 24.

On the other side, Arteta should get few chances before he gets sacked. Last season Arsenal were decent reaching the semi-final of the Europa League, this shows a legitimate promise for the domestic side. 

Regardless, the point still stands, will Mikel Arteta make the most out of this? Recent performances show Arteta completely out of his depth. He should find a solution to his destitution, otherwise sooner or later, the club’s faithful may come knocking.