Missing element for Sunderland is silverware

Nov 21 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

Arsenal are ravaged by injuries as they head to Sunderland but Phil Bardsley tells Chief Sports Writer Luke Edwards why they will still be a formidable foe

WILL there come a point when the kind words, envious glances and extravagant superlatives for the way Arsenal play football count for nothing?

The Gunners have won nothing but admiration since 2005 when Patrick Viera’s spot-kick brought Arsene Wenger victory over bitter rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup.

Yet, they arguably remain the team to be jealous of, where style does carry more weight than substance, where supporters are treated to the sort of free-flowing attacking football we all aspire to and where young players are encouraged to play with the freedom of expression by a manager who has a better eye for talent than any other in European football.

Arsene Wenger is the ideal Premier League manager. While the trophies may have dried up, Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League every year since 1998 with him at the helm and flourished financially as a result.

He is a chairman’s dream, buying young players cheaply before shaping many of them into world-class stars with a sell-on value which brings in millions of pounds in transfer fees.

This is a manager who paid £500,000 for Nicolas Anelka and sold him to Real Madrid for £22.3m two years later. More recently, Wenger brought in almost £50m this summer with the sale of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City to no obvious detriment of a team which currently sits in second place in the table and has comfortably scored more goals this season than anyone else.

In many ways it is sad for the romantic in us all that they have not won anything, a drought which will stretch to five years by the time they have a chance to lift a trophy this season. But this is sport and, ultimately, it will always be about winners and losers.

Arsenal win more than they lose in the Premier League and in Europe, but when compared to Chelsea and Manchester United, they are losers. Winning things, they will say at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, will always be more important than how you try to win them.