Arsenal in 2007

Arsenal in 2007

With a blink of an eye, the year of 2007 has almost flown by us. It could be said that this is the year of revolution and awakening by the youngsters of Arsenal Football club.

The first half of the year speaks of the forgettable EPL 06/07 that the Gunners endured. We finally finished 4th in the table and made it through to the Champion League. It was a sign that a revolution is needed and changes have to be effected. First team players like Ljungberg, Muamba, Reyes, Aliadiere, Baptista and Henry left while players on loan like Bentley, Larsson, Stokes and Lupoli also confirmed their departures.

The departure of the talismanic Henry signaled the end of an era and brought on the critics in full force. Every ‘manager’ from the salesman to the CEO to the data entry clerk in the world gave the gunners zero chance. Nobody thought that Arsenal will rise from the ashes this time round. Adding fuel to the fire was the ultra thin squad (we only brought in Sagna, Fabianski, Nordtveit, Eduardo and Bendtner back from loan) and no big name signing after Henry departure. The team was amazingly young with an average age of less than 25 years old.

BUT how we confounded all the critics! As we approached the start of the season, the team was brimming with confidence with two pre-season cup wins in the Emirates Cup and Ajax Cup.
It was a joy to watch the young Gunners string passes together and attack with such speed and venom. The swagger was back and the confidence was overflowing with each passing movement and goal. What a turnaround since the post season when we lost the leader of the team!On the field, the changing of the old guards continued with The Crazy Mouth been overtaken in between the posts by the boring and reliable Almunia. With the young and promising Fabianski, more changes may still be coming.

With Henry gone, Robin Van Persie (RVP) was widely regarded as the natural replacement for him. Although fulfilling the early promise with his amazing runs and equally amazing goals, RVP was soon back at the treatment table. With him down, the new ‘Kanu’, Adebayor was able to step up and pump in the much needed goals for our success.

All in all, it is in midfield that the meteoric rise of influence by Fabregas and Hleb helped shaped our season so far. Fabregas even contributed 11 goals until he was injured last month. With the dynamic duo and the destroyer (Flamini) guarding the heart of the team, the Gunners went on an amazing run at the start of the season, leading the table almost from the start till now. The trio was so in sync that the experience World Cup winner and current Brazilian national team captain, Gilberto Silva, was kept on the bench for almost all matches.

As we reached the end of 2007, the team currently sits pretty at the top of the BPL. Although we have lost our way in the past few weeks due to injuries and fatigue, we have shown there is enough mettle in the team to lead the league and stay there until the end of the season!

Go Gunners to a memorable season!!!