It’s hard to believe that in the last four years, Arsenal haven’t won a title. This has brought a lot of criticism from sports journalists, sympathisers and the fans of the club. Some have questioned if Arsene is still the right man to take the club forward. But being the visionary that he is, Arsene kept assuring fans that this young team he is building will come good. I dare say he’s just the right man for the job and here is why.

Having moved into the Emirates Stadium 3 seasons ago, he knew there wouldn’t be funds to sign so called ‘marquee’ players. The investment that had gone into building the new stadium meant that there would be constrains on the club’s finances. Even when funds were available to spend, it had to be used wisely as there was a huge debt to be repaid. He kept a salary structure that the club adhered to very strictly.

After letting key players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera go, he began to sign young talented players around the globe to build a new team that will compete for honours in the coming years. Some were visibly talented, others had hidden potential that needed time to become the finished article. He new these players needed time and patience to win titles. While fans were often frustrated with the progress of the team, he had to keep believing and reiterating that this team will come good.Some players like Flamini and Hleb felt they couldn’t stick around any longer so they moved on. To give his vision every chance of succeeding, almost all the young players under 25 years of age have signed long term contracts. Also, the financial security guaranteed by the move to the Emirates Stadium in terms of match day proceeds will give the club the ability to compete with any team around the world. It’s already yeilding results as the financial statements in the last 2 years have been very excellent.

The season is not yet over, but this young Arsenal team are still in 3 competitions and there is every chance they can win a trophy this season. But the most exciting thing is that, the pool of young and talented players coming through at the club is cause for great optimism. The experience that these young players get, playing in competitions like the Carling Cup especially and the Champions league will prove invaluable in the coming years.

Looking around the premier league today, no other club is developing young players for the future like the way Arsene is doing it at Arsenal. I really fear for teams like Chelsea and Liverpool who don’t seem to be doing anything at all in terms of youth development. We’ll have to wait and see what happens when players like Drogba, Lampard, Terry cannot compete in the Premier league anymore. Can the signing of £40 million plus players be sustainable in the years ahead? I doubt it in the current financial climate! In that light, it is only the visionaries who have prepared for the future who will stand out.

I am strongly convinced that Arsene has set Arsenal on the right track and it won’t be long until the fans start smiling again. keep faith all you Gunners out there and your stars will shine again soon.

PS: For more updates and resources on exclusive soccer news, don’t forget to check out soccer online.

View on EzineArticles.com

England’s qualification to next year’s world cup was heralded, not surprisingly, by a football mad nation.

They deservedly beat an under strength  and lame looking Croatian team who never showed up right from the first whistle. England were good yesterday but I think Croatia were very poor.

Over all though, England has been very good during qualification and deservedly won all their matches.

However, I think the nation should put all that in perspective. Yes Coach and manager Capello seems to have done a great job on the psyche of the players since that has been their biggest problem over the years.

They must realise that, the countries they played against in their qualifying group are not or should not be the benchmark. They are yet to win a game against the top nations they’ve played against. Loosing to Spain and Germany and forcing a last minute draw against Holland after they withdrew all their top players must be a cause for reflection and not jubilation yet.

The real battle is only just beginning. They need to focus on testing their strengths against teams like Spain, Brazil, Germany, Italy. Its only when they can compete with the likes of these teams and beating them that they can begin to dream of winning the world cup.

The press must stop heaping pressure of the team and allow them to deliver before they call them world beaters because they are not yet there.

We’ll wait and see what happens in the days and months ahead…….