Following their elimination by Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, Arsenal are still without European club football's biggest trophy, but what if they had been triumphant in their only final appearance in 2006?
Check Out: Iconic Football Rivalries: Wenger vs Ferguson
The wait continues for the Gunners in their quest to clinch their first-ever Champions League as seven years on from their infamous Allianz Arena humiliation – they lost 5-1 on that occasion for an overall aggregate score of 10-2 to the Bavarians – the north Londoners were thwarted once again in the German city earlier this week.
Heart-wrenching for Arsenal fans, but perhaps these continuous eliminations would not be so bad had they been able to hold on to their 1-0 lead on that faithful night of 15 May 2006 in Paris. That was the club's one and only appearance in the final of Europe's premier club competition, and after Sol Campbell had put Arsene Wenger's 10 men in front in the 37th minute, it looked like they were going to finally be crowned continental kings.
If they were able to see out the remaining 14 minutes of that match, not only would they have been the first team from London to win the tournament, but it would have meant that a lot of their star talent would have chosen to stay at the club.
The Gunners would have entered their new stadium as European champions and would likely have kept hold of one of the world's best left-backs in Ashley Cole. The England international, and Thierry Henry the season after, would leave Arsenal, but with European champions added to their respective CVs, they would have likely been patient enough with Wenger to build another competitive side.
Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie were emerging young talents and in the case of the Spaniard especially, he had illustrated that he was a big-game player at a young age. Despite the economic restrictions that came with moving to a new home ground, the Frenchman would've still needed to focus more on recruiting ascending talent, but still would've been able to lure some big names based on the allure that comes with being a Champions League-winning manager.
Players such as Samir Nasri would have still arrived, but without the precedent of clubs that were regular competitors in the league and Champions League poaching Arsenal's top talent, they would have likely stayed and worked towards more illustrious silverware.
Cole would not have joined Chelsea, Henry may have snubbed Barca, and Fabregas would also not have left for the Catalan giants. Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Nasri may have not all left for the Etihad Stadium and Van Persie might not have had to go to Manchester United.
The influx of oligarch- and sovereign-funded clubs would have perhaps still been hard to compete with, but Wenger would have been given more time. He may have even decided to call it quits at Arsenal a lot sooner than he did, because ever since that defeat to Barcelona in 2006, it felt as though he was trying to rectify that failure.
Ultimately, none of this was to come to fruition as Frank Rijkaard would introduce Henrik Larsson in that final and the Swede would assist two goals in the space of five minutes that ultimately doomed the English outfit to a 2-1 defeat. Arsenal would begin a long and arduous process to return to the showpiece's decider, which is yet to take place as a consequence.
Check Out: Reaction: Xavi Barcelona Should Be Ashamed!
However, in the midst of the club's fall from grace, Wenger did sign a technical Spaniard from Everton on transfer deadline day at the beginning of the 2011/12 season and his name was Mikel Arteta. While he was not quite a world-class player, he would retire at the club and return to be a world-class manager, and perhaps it is he who will bring the coveted UCL title to the English capital.
Disclaimer: SNL24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on SNL24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of SNL24.
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH VIDEO:
