Arsene Wenger has long said that buying big expensive footballers do not guarantee you trophies. He did not say it, but at the time, he was probably referring to expensive flops like Juan Sebastien Veron, Andriy Schevchenko, and possibly even Sergie Rebrov. After last night, I agree with the Arsenal manager - buying expensive players does not guarantee you success; buying good players, on the other hand, does - and sadly they normally command higher transfer fees.
That conundrum was in plain view last night. One need only look at the United bench; compare it to Wenger's fledglings. Arsenal : Fabianski, Silvestre, Diaby, Denilson, Eboue, Vela, Bendtner. Man Utd : Kuszczak, Evans, Scholes, Tevez, Rafael Da Silva, Berbatov, Giggs.
Such is the stark contrast that many on the Manchester United bench would slot straight into Arsenal's first 11, and the vast majority on the Arsenal bench would not get anywhere near the matchday squad of 16 of Man Utd.
But where, when, and how did Arsenal's disintegration begin? Many experts believe that the inevitable but hastened break up of the "invincibles" is the focal point, and I agree. If you look at the investment Ferguson has put into his side since the Beckham, Keane, and Van Nistelrooy era, versus the lame, sheepish amount spent by Wenger in the wake of the collapse of the invincibles squad, the contrast is staggering. Arsenal's biggest purchase post 2004 is Samir Nasri, for a meager 15 million pounds. Just last year, having won the league and European cup double, Ferguson saw fit to spend 30 million pounds on a striker who does not play every week. There in lies the biggest difference between the two sides.
But money isn't everything. Ferguson's side were much hungrier than Wenger's Arsnal over the two legs. I also think this is a reflection of the strength of Sir Alex's regime and his own personal character. Contrast the way Ferguson handled the Ronaldo situation and the way Wenger handled the Adebayor saga. Ferguson stood firm, came out to the media from a position of strength and authority. Wenger, meanwhile, continued to dodge questions about the Togolese forward and side-stepped the issue. Look at the difference between the two players over the course of the season, Adebayor has looked a shadow of his former self last season, while Ronaldo just goes from strength to strength and his virtuoso performance last night proved why he is currently, along with Lionel Messi, the best footballer in the world.
What annoys me more about Wenger's approach and philosophy is the fact that he is exempt from the same criticism that the likes of Rafa Benitez and Sir Alex come under when their teams don't perform well. Everyone says : "Oh, look at the average age of the side, they're still young" - but how long can that excuse fly? Up until last night, I used to think that the traditional argument about Arsenal not winning a trophy was flawed and that the real critique should focus on Arsenal's league position. In the last 3 seasons, (2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008) Arsenal have finished an average 16 points behind the league leaders. This really tells a story, nonetheless, last night demonstrated that even in cup competitions - when we have nothing to go for with regards to the league - Man Utd can still beat Arsenal, at a canter. That is embarrassing, but it's an all too familiar story. In 2006 Barcelona were league champions in Spain, and they still defeated us in the final. In 2007 Chelsea were going for a quadruple - yet they triumphed in Cardiff. And last season, Chelsea and Man Utd both finished above us in the league, despite their Champions League exploits.
Those two crucial facts combined, our inability to consistently challenge in the league, and our frequent collapse in big cup competitions at the moment of truth, really sum up the numerous problems at Arsenal. The scary thing is, that even if Arsene were to invest heavily in the summer, let's say 40 million here and there, we still wouldn't be able to catch Man Utd. Ferguson has invested season after season at United, always thinking a step ahead. The cold truth is that, as Oliver Holt pointed in the post-match press conference last night, the gap between Arsenal and Man Utd is getting wider... and unless something drastic happens, the gap will widen further until the two teams will be totally unrecognizable from their previous rivalries.
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