Arsenal have been unable to replace this midfield marshall

Arsene Wenger has spent over twenty years at Arsenal but the second decade of his reign has not witnessed much success as those recorded in the first.

It is not an understatement that good players make up a good team and the lack of that has been the bane of Arsenal’s progress in the last ten years.

On his assumptions as Arsenal boss in the October 1996, Wenger was among the first foreign coaches in the Premier League and he became a household name after taking England by storm with the crop of players he brought on board.

Players like Nicolas Anelka, Christoper Wreh, Gilles Grimandi, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira – whom he influenced his signing before becoming the Gunners manager – brought about Wenger’s success in his first decade in England.

But since the departure of Vieira in 2005, Arsenal is yet to find a like for like player in the mould of the French tough-tackler. None of the players brought in have been so effective like the French midfielder.

Viera joined Arsenal from AC Milan in August 1996, aged 20, for £3.5 million. He made 297 appearances at the club, winning three Premier League titles, including captaining the famous invincibles of 2003/2004 season. He also won four FA Cup titles.

He joined Juventus for €20 million for a year before spending four year at Inter Milan and later moved to England and retired at Man City but his years at Arsenal are the peak of his career.

Coincidentally, Arsenal have not won the league since he left and have only the FA Cup – won in 2014 and 2015- to show in the last 12 years and those two even came after nine years of trophy drought. Arsenal are now contenders for the 2017 FA Cup so netbet promo code could come in handy for the punters.

Viera was a maestro for Arsenal in the middle of the pack. He shielded the defence and nullified opponent attack. He is a combination of technical prowess and athletic excellence.

The signing of Granit Xhaka was expected to be the answer to the problems that defied solutions for many years but despite possessing the talent and claiming Vieira is his idol, his deliveries has not been up to expectations.

 

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Comments

  1. Not being harsh, you seem young and I’m not here to knock you, just provide constructive feedback.

    I think you will be hard pressed to find a replacement for PV4. You focus on the defensive aspect of his game but he could start an attack from a defensive position almost in one movement. It was tackle and bam, through ball.

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