In the early morning of January 18, Beijing time, Everton officially announced the signing of Arsenal striker Wolcott, and the "little tiger" who had high hopes ended his 12-year gunner career. Since the 2017-2018 season, with the departure of team elders Chamberlain and Walcott, and with the heart of the core combinations Sanchez and Ozil, Arsenal has struggled in the Premier League's "scramble for four" army, and Wenger, who has been in charge of the Gunners' coaching whip for the 22nd year, seems to be powerless to reverse the team's deterioration.
Throughout Wenger's coaching career, the discerning Frenchman has always been known for his ability to tap high-potential new stars and cultivate young talents, from the early Henry and Vieira to the later Fabregas and Van Persie, all of whom have grown into world superstars under Wenger. The defeat in the 2006 Champions League final became a turning point for Wenger to coach Arsenal, the invincible Gunners who were once undefeated and won the championship gradually became a nine-year championship-free "four-year crazy devil", forced by the pressure of competitive performance and the background of "golden dollar football", many cores of the Arsenal team have left, and after Xiaofa and Van Persie, in recent years, Wenger's young talents have not grown into world superstars.
The five tigers of the gunners who fell apart
From 2010 to 2012, after The departures of Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie and Alexander Song, who were jokingly called the "Four Gentlemen" by Arsenal fans, Wenger faced the dual pressure of competitive performance and rebuilding the Gunners, and Arsenal, who was not financially rich that year, had no capital to bid for famous superstars with their spending Premier League opponents, and the reuse of young players also became the policy that Wenger had to adopt when he was a team building policy.
The famous image was taken in December 2012 and Arsenal officially announced the renewal (from left to right) of five young players, Jenkinson (20), Ramsey (22), Wilshire (20), Gibbs (23) and Chamberlain (19). These five young people who had high hopes for Wenger at the time were also called the "Gunners Five Tigers" by Arsenal fans, plus the young and famous Walcott, this Arsenal team that mainly played the youth storm was once used to compare with Manchester United's Class 92. However, with the passage of time, Arsenal's version of the "92 class" is only a yellow sorghum dream after all, and the "gunner five tigers" who failed to cash in their talents eventually failed to get rid of the fate of falling apart.
Jenkinson, known as "Jen million" by Arsenal fans, joined Arsenal for £1 million in 2011 and spent three seasons with the Gunners, where he was never able to occupy the main position as a defender and was loaned out in 2014.
Ramsey's career development was the smoothest among the Gunners Five, and after the 2010 leg break, the bloodied Welsh midfielder gradually won the main position with unremitting efforts and lifted the FA Cup three times with the team.
As a well-established Arsenal youth, Wilshire was once regarded by Wenger as the core of the midfield after The Departure of Xiaofa, but the "Prince", who is loved by Gunners fans, is also hindered by injuries. After a season on loan to Bournemouth, Wilshire returned to Arsenal this season and had a brilliant performance, with the 26-year-old England talent still having time to prove himself.
Gibbs, the oldest of the Gunners Five, is also from Arsenal's academy and has played for the team for a decade, and in a competition for the position of Spanish left-back Monreal, the erratic Gibbs eventually lost Arsene Wenger's trust and gradually became a marginal figure in the team, and last summer, Gibbs left the Gunners to switch to West Brom.
As Walcott's disciple, the talented Chamberlain has also been highly expected by everyone, and the English winger has also had a stunning performance from time to time, but his unstable state and lack of awareness are also criticized by the fans, and finally last summer, Chamberlain, who was eager for more playing time, switched to Liverpool.
In the blink of an eye for five years, the former "Gunners Five Tigers" are now only Ramsey and Wilshire still in the team, and with the departure of Walcott this morning, the team framework that Wenger painstakingly created for the future five years ago no longer exists.
The mediocre young generation
In the past five years, although Arsenal have followed the pace of other Premier League giants and bought Ozil, Sanchez, Cech, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Lacazette and other powerful stars at a high price, most of them have also sat in the main position of the team with outstanding performances, wenger is still difficult to achieve in the excavation and development of young players, whether it is the stunning Bellerin and Cochrane (the latter switched to La Liga Valencia in the winter window this season), or the mediocre Holden and Chambers in the backline. Or Iwobi, who has never been able to open his mind on the offensive line, has never been able to show the performance that a big team should have.
Looking back on the past decade, the deteriorating team record, the gradual loss of core players and Arsenal's positioning as a giant form a strong contrast, even if this season's Gunners can still rely on the performance of Sanchez, Ozil, Olivier, Lacazette and other mesozoic generations to join the Premier League BIG6 ranks, but the younger generation of "doing nothing" and the team's top management "miserly" have always made Arsenal fans not optimistic about the team's prospects. Perhaps as in the darkness before dawn, Wenger and his Arsenal are going through the most difficult period in 22 years, we can't predict how long the professor will hold out, and the night that belongs to Arsenal cannot be seen in sight.
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