Hello and welcome to my first post on ESPNsoccernet. After taking over Arsenal blogging duties at this time of the season, I’d love to be writing about how the Emirates Stadium trophy cabinet has been filled and how project Wenger has finally produced the success we’ve been waiting for. Instead, I’m left to write about a club that is coming to the end of another trophyless campaign with fans who face a significant price rise to watch the team next season.

An outsider looking at some of the things written about Arsenal in recent weeks might think the club is in crisis with complaints about the manager and some players. In reality, not everything about Arsenal at the moment is doom and gloom. The problem is, things aren’t how they used to be both on and off the pitch.

This week saw the 42nd birthday of the greatest player I’ve ever seen in an Arsenal shirt. Given he was my first real football hero, I tend to hold Dennis Bergkamp in high esteem anyway, but the way his arrival brought a change in style and a period of success at Arsenal means Bergkamp is the man for me. I’ve got a sense amongst Gooners this week that Dennis typified what the current side are missing.

Bergkamp loved to play a similar passing game to the current side, but that was only part of his game. If defenders tried to rough him up, the Iceman would tackle them back. A good number of his goals and assists came after incidents that were on the edge of the law, but he did what was needed to win. Dennis was also never shy to shoot from outside the box.

He managed to combine steel with style, something we’ve only seen occasionally from the current squad. There was an aura about Dennis Bergkamp that if you got under his skin too much, you’d be punished. That ran through the whole squad with Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Tony Adams, Sol Campbell, Freddie Ljungberg and many more. They were crafters and grafters, the beautiful was combined with the bullish.

As highlighted by the abject showing at Stoke, there is no-one in the current team that seems to have the confidence to attack with pace, play quicker forward passes and try their luck from distance. Modern football generally has a bigger emphasis on retaining possession rather compared to the fast attacking style of the Arsenal classes of 1997-2005. The defence is also noticeably weaker. Without Thomas Vermaelen, no-one seems to take charge and put fear into team-mates to ensure danger is dealt with.

It’s clear the team aren’t as good on the pitch as previous Wenger sides were, however that doesn’t mean they can’t produce superb performances. I challenge any Arsenal fan to find another Gooner who would have said no to beating Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona at the Emirates this season. Arsenal fans should still feel lucky that we can watch the likes of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny every week.

However that leads to another cause of unrest amongst supporters. The ticket price rise means fans might be lucky to see those players just a couple of times a season, if at all. Back in days of Adams, Vieira, Bergkamp and Henry, a large number of fans could afford to go and see great players, despite the size of Highbury. Now it appears most fans can’t afford to go and see a few great players alongside some more average ones.

It seems that Arsenal fans have divided up into two groups; Arsene knows best or Arsene should go. I have always been in the first of those groups and don’t intend to move, however considering how good Wenger’s previous sides have been, supporter unrest isn’t surprising. There is an obvious need for investment in the current squad, and if Arsene does spend money on proven professionals who know how to win football matches, I’m sure doubters will be silenced. To question professional footballers’ knowledge of how to win a match might sound daft, but it strikes me that Arsenal know how to play great football, but not how to convert that into wins. Another solution could be to improve the backroom staff with previous players who buy into the Wenger ethos, like Bergkamp, but match that with winning ability.

As much as some fans are frustrated, they should be careful what they wish for. It’s taken Liverpool almost 20 years to go full circle back to Kenny Dalglish. Arsenal don’t want to be in a position in 20 years where Wenger is reappointed after the club has failed to win the league for a long period of time. If the necessary changes are made, Wenger will lead Arsenal to glory before we feel the need to return to the professor.

I’ll be back after Sunday’s match against Aston Villa, hopefully reflecting on the team regaining some much needed pride after the Stoke horror show.

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