By 2012 We Will Dominate English Football

Yes, I firmly believe that by the year 2012, we will be the dominant team in English football. In order for this to happen, a number of things will have to play out, but looking at the situation today it is entirely plausible that all the pieces will fall into place. So what do we have to complain about? In three years we'll be dominating. How?

The global financial crisis.

Yes, I know it's not a cheery subject, and your head is probably hurting enough already from hearing so many doom & gloom predictions about it all, but if there's one thing good to come from it all, it will be that Arsenal will emerge the strongest club in England.

Take a look at the clubs who are very likely to implode in just the next year. West Ham United are owned by the banks of Iceland. And in case you haven't heard, the Icelandic economy has almost completely collapsed and the government with it. West Ham know this and have been starting to sell players to survive (e.g. Bellamy). But it won't work for long, and in a few months, the club will fall into liquidation.

But who cares about West Ham you say. Well you may care about the other club in a precarious position: Liverpool. The banks who have loaned Liverpool the money to stay afloat demanded the money back last month. Liverpool were somehow able to convince them to extend the deadline until the summer, but then that's it. Unless Liverpool are bought in the next six months then they will be insolvent. The sell of Keane back to Sp*rs is the first sign that things are getting bad for them.

Chelsea are in somewhat less deep trouble, but they too will not last. Today Chelsea's chief exec. warned that Chelsea will have to sell to make money for purchases this summer. You can read all the facts and figures at the link I provided, but basically they still owe about £350m to Mr. Abromovich. When he gets bored of Chelsea (and the indications are this is very much beginning to be the case), then he will pull out and Chelsea will have 18 months to pay back £350m: sure an unrealistic expectation for any club.

Man City will likely follow the same path of Chelsea, so they won't be too much of a concern, Aston Villa are one-season wonders and will drop back into UEFA Cup places next season if not this. Man Utd seem to be in a very good financial position, but they are not. They aren't really the "richest" club in the world, as you may have read, they merely have the biggest financial turnover of any club.

But they are in massive debts that they are attempting to hide. Have you ever heard of a little company called Enron which used to exist a few years back? They tried the same thing, and just look what happened to them. Man Utd are in real trouble. Full stop.

It has been shown again and again, meanwhile, that Arsenal use a self-sustaining financial model. We don't have a rich owner, our debts are so well managed that even missing the Champions League next season will not ruin us. It may tighten the purse strings a bit, but look at the team we have in the injury room waiting to join us: we will be fine in that department.

So assuming Chelsea have collapsed from their debts to Abramovich, Man Utd have gone the Enron route, and Liverpool are insolvent and playing down in League Two somewhere, then that will leave us as the dominant force in English football. Sure, there's the possibility of Man City being around as a power still, but even if they are, that's only one major club we have to compete against.

In conclusion, there is no reason for we gooners to feel anything but optimism. Financially we are sound, and in today's world that is massive. Sure we may be at our best right now, but I would gladly give up performances & results now if it means that in a few years we are the only big four club to still exist as it is today. So keep the faith: Arsene knows, he always has, he has seen this future for years now, and he and Arsenal are already planning and executing the great survival act that will keep us afloat in these turbulent financial times.

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