Arsenal’s 2011-2012 season was hell. There is no other way to put it. It was a complete inferno.

It began with months of speculation over three key first-team players: Captain Cesc Fabregas, and the two first-team regulars, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri. The Spanish master went to his boyhood club Barcelona, while the French couple went off to fulfill their futures at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Incoming transfers were last minute and unconvincing, with yet another two raw youngsters coming into the squad, and the mandatory Wenger Ligue-1 star signing in Gervinho.

All this was followed by a very shaky pre-season, which saw the team losing its own Emirates Cup, failing to win against lesser sides such as Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls, and eventually losing to Benfica as well in the Eusebio Cup. After this kind of pre-season, fans already knew something isn’t right.

But even before that, things were not looking very positive at all for Arsene Wenger and the club. The team had failed to win a single domestic or international title for the past seven years, and speculation regarding Le Professeur’s future at the club was … Read More »