LONDON -- I have watched Arsenal for many years and the painful truth is that the Gunners are not anymore what they used to be. In the recent North London derby, Tottenham have dominated the game and between Arsenal fans there were feelings of inferiority: those could take long time to shift especially if you consider that the team is winless since 2006.
While Tottenhm have gradually got stronger, Arsenal have got weaker and only few regulars players picked by Arsene Wenger will make it to the first team at White Hart Lane. Football Betting has also reflected that shift and in the last North London Derby the price of a Spurs win was as low as 2.20.
Having said that there are still few World Class players at the Emirates: Robin Van Persie for example is much better than Emmanuel Adebayor or Jermain Defoe. The same can be said for Theo Walcott and Wojciech Szczesny (despite few recent errors) but not so long ago you'd be struggling to find a Tottenham player worthy of a place in the Gunners.
Tottenham are now sitting 5 points ahead of Arsenal, and also have a game in hand: although it is still early in the season and there are a lot of games to be played I would bet that this gap can only get wider. If you look at the qualities of the respective teams, it is very difficult to imagine how Arsene Wenger's squad could finish above teams like Liverpool or Tottenham. The odds in football betting are usually indicative of the situation: Liverpool are favourite to grab a Champions League place at 2.20 with Spurs at 2.28 and Arsenal at 5.10. There are also a selection of Free Bets that can be used in a similar market.
Arsene Wenger has always been capable of at least delivering Champions League football to the club since arriving at Highbury in 1996. Many are wondering what will happen if for the first season Arsenal will fail to qualify for the top European competition. Even if this will happen, because of Wenger's amazing record in recent times, it is unlikely that fans will show banners like 'Arsene out' but they will find a more diplomatic way to voice their displeasure.
Arsenal has failed to improve in the last few years and the main concern is how the club has dealt with the transfers: the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri so late in the transfer window wasn't a very clever way of doing business. Arsene Wenger didn't had time to find a proper replacement and the arrival of Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta hasn't resolved the problem.
If Arsenal fail to finish in the top four also Robin Van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Theo Walcott could leave the squad. At this point, also Wenger will probably understand that his time at the Emirates is over.
