Times of Decline- Really?

Going through the thousands of articles on bleacher report website after the rather uninspiring 2-2 draw away at Schalke, I stepped on to this really mind-boggling article about the great team, that is Arsenal. The article wasn't all the great, though, in many ways. For one, it tried to put the recent slump in Arsenal form as the great recent years' decline in Arsenal. They say the spirit which created Arsenal for what it is, isn't there anymore. That this current Arsenal team is filled with nothing more than the shadows of the great men who preceded them.

As one opinion is just not enough to reproduce all my, or your, thoughts, here are three-

The optimistic Gooner-
For all I know, this writer was probably a hypocrite trying to bring down Arsenal morale and hopes. In that case, he should have realized many people have tried that over the last many years and failed. Shadows of great men? Not really. I mean this team has the youngest 100 capper (for Germany!, mind you), a Spanish prodigy (or two), hoards of young potent English first team choices, a league top-scorer,  a proven full-back, proven central defenders, a prodigy who matched Xavi and Iniesta in a decisive match at 19, the list simply goes on. This team doesn't look like a shadow of anything to me. If anything, this is just an inevitable period of form slump, a period only one team in EPL history has managed not to go through, the Invincibles. So the people, who try to bring down Arsenal posting crap about Arsenal in a period of decline should go back a week or two, and remember the team who gunned 13 in 3 matches, gave 3, kept four consecutive clean sheets with a make-shift defense, dominated the holding champions away, and played the most beautiful form of football, almost perfectly. And this recent slump, if anything, is just an amalgamation of people trying to come back from injuries, a bad dressing room atmosphere, new people trying to adjust and a myriad of new injuries.

The Pessimist Gooner-When was the last time Arsenal beat Manchester United, do you remember? When was the last season Arsenal didn't sell a player they still needed, do you remember?  When was the last time you basked in glory for Arsenal, and felt like you could shout Arsenal, Arsenal around in the streets for hours? I has been a long time, hasn't it? Some people will put that time to be a little more than seven years. What happening to Arsenal? We have gone from playing Adams, Bould, Dixon and Winterburn to Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Jenkinson and gibbs. From playing Henry, Pires, Bergkamp to Podolski, Gervinho and Giroud. Where did the Arsenal who were going to be the best in the world go? Clearly change is needed, change in philosophy, personnel, board, if it still doesn't work out, maybe, manager (Believe me, it hurts to even type that). The fans need to step up, show the people there at Arsenal who is the boss, and for who this show is running. The excuse of a new stadium is good enough for a year of three, but 6 years hence, we need more than just some hope. One marquee signing, one trophy, one season with no key players lost, we need it all.

The Realist Gooner-
The world runs on money and glory, doesn't it? So does football, and people go where both go. The people concerned with money, the board, the players and staff, go where money does (with the few exceptions in a hold of ridiculously huge amount of money.) For a club, a board and its employees, the reasonable option would be to follow the sustainable route of running a club, the Arsenal way; and not throwing your life in the hands of a single person with questionable wealth. But that's where glory steps in. The glory of holding gold and trophies, the glory of owning a champion team, the glory of being around the best in the world, and to compete to be the best. Where did Arsenal go wrong, you ask? It tried to run itself on only one aspect- the money. Sustainable in wealth, but not in the balance of glory and money. Sustainable, but not shiny anymore. More like a battle-hardened weapon, like a cannon, one which can be relied upon, but not chosen when you absolutely need to be the best. Then you choose tanks and jets. Clearly, we need to find the right balance between the two wheels of being a successful club, a balance once mastered by the Professor himself. How? Well, that's a broad question. And would probably need an article of its own (or maybe a book)

PS- Being a thousand miles away, I an not able to be a part of the "Where has our Arsenal gone" rally, or the thousands of fans lucky enough to be a part of the home and travelling supporters. But I urge every single one of you to try to be able to be a part of the protest, because it is us, the fans who will ultimately decide whether Arsenal stands the test of time and doubters.