Former Arsenal midfielder Ian Selley believes the Gunners possess the mental toughness previously lacking to win the Premier League title this season.
The Emirates’ side have always oozed class but are often accused of lacking the strength of mind needed to succeed in recent years.
Arsene Wenger’s early teams combined style with substance. For Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars and Robert Pires, there was also Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Ray Parlour.
Selley, who played 60 games for Arsenal between 1992-97, thinks Wenger’s squad is the most settled it has been in many years and has the necessary quality to finally win the championship, which has eluded them for 12 years.
“I think they’re poised to win it,” Selley told Sport360. “The good thing in the last two years I’ve noticed is that when they haven’t played so well they’ve still got results. Going back three or four years when they played badly, they lost. Now, they’ve got that grit, they’re mentally stronger.”
Selley broke his leg while playing against Leicester City at Arsenal’s former Highbury home in February 1995 and was sold by Wenger to Fulham in 1997.
He suffered another broken leg there and fleeted around the lower divisions and non-league before coming out to the UAE, where he has been head coach at Arsenal Soccer Schools in Dubai for the last three years.
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The 41-year-old, who helped fire the Gunners to the FA and League Cup double in 1992-93 and was the youngest player on the field as they beat Parma in the European Cup Winners Cup final the following campaign, believes Arsenal are now ready to push on for a fourth Premier League crown after winning back-to-back FA Cup’s the past two seasons.
“They’ve been together a long time so they’re settled. They’ve got a young squad. You look at (Jack) Wilshere, (Aaron) Ramsey, (Theo) Walcott, these lads have played hundreds of games and they’re still in their early to mid 20’s,” said Selley.
“They’ve made a couple of good signings too. (Alexis) Sanchez has made such a difference to the team. (Mesut) Ozil too, who I think will have a decent season. He’s getting better.
“They’ve got a good balance and when you look at them in an attacking sense and the midfield, they’re so strong. (Petr) Cech’s come in so they’ve got a good, experienced goalkeeper, and that adds to the confidence.
“I’m not saying they’ll push for the title but they’ll be closer than last year, definitely.”
Wenger has been hesitant to dip heavily into the transfer market in recent seasons but, with a few days still reaming of the summer window, Selley would like to see the Frenchman splash out on that one star signing that could make the Gunners instant title challengers.
“I’d like to see someone similar to Dennis Bergkamp come in,” said Selley. “We haven’t had someone like him for a long time. He was a quality player, someone who would sit in the holes, produce goals and set people up. There’s been lots of talk with (Karim) Benzema and he, possibly, is that sort of player.
“The problem is money, clubs want top money and if you want to bring a top player in you have to spend a fortune. We’ve seen in recent years sometimes when clubs spend a lot of money they don’t produce.
“Arsene’s known for not going cash crazy. If he wants a certain type of player he’ll take his time. He’s been very shrewd with the players he’s brought in recently.
“I do think a player like Benzema could make the difference but it’s also about fitting him in the team. You’d have to drop someone.
“To bring someone like Benzema in, obviously he’s a quality player. It would be amazing if it could happen. But he won’t be held to ransom for that, he’ll make sure it’s on Arsenal terms.”
