There is one major problem with footballing dynasties — they end.
Liverpool’s dominance in the 1970s and Eighties, Manchester United’s in the 1990s and noughties.
All over. Gone.
They have all been replaced by an eternally desperate scramble to create another.
At Arsenal , Arsene Wenger built a club around himself.
Somehow, he managed to balance paying for a new stadium while qualifying for Champions League football year in, year out.
That’s some feat.
But strip away the 22 years he spent in charge of the north London club and what is becoming blindingly obvious is the vacuum he left behind.
Nothing got past the Frenchman when he was in charge. It was set up for him. He chose the people around him. He rubber-stamped every signing. He was the voice and the face of the club.
And, when any football club is dominated by just one man, it hides imperfections.
“We’re not producing players” – doesn’t matter.
“Our scouting system’s not up to scratch” – doesn’t matter.
Those howls are lost in the wind because the first team is producing.
But strip away that success, that security, and what’s left?
There is another obvious example: Manchester United, post-Sir Alex Ferguson.
The club was firing on all cylinders as the Class of '92 came through.
That held United together for at least 15 years. Ferguson even persuaded Paul Scholes to come out of retirement – that’s how crucial that particular crop was. But, as their power naturally waned and Father Time tapped his wristwatch at the Scot, what has happened since?
Exactly the same as Arsenal are now experiencing.
United’s recruitment has, generally, been woeful. Their scouting system isn’t up to speed and, for a club that both prides itself on presenting opportunities to their academy graduates – Marcus Rashford apart – the majority of them are falling short as well.
It is six years and counting now since the Premier League trophy was paraded around Old Trafford. The vacuum, too, has not been filled adequately since.
This is the situation now facing Unai Emery.
And whoever is making the decisions, in the wake of Wenger’s exit, is having a shocker. Allowing Aaron Ramsey to quit for nothing and handing Mesut Ozil a £350,000-a-week deal are the two most glaring mistakes. But the defence is shaky, the midfield not good enough – and the kids, while a few show promise, look well short of the standard required for future Champions League qualification.
Toss in a restricted transfer budget and the options to make sweeping change are limited, at best.
The only area where the Gunners are blessed is up front.
But the body language of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – their twin striking terrors – was a dead giveaway on Wednesday night.
That pair didn’t sign up to be whupped out-of-sight by Chelsea in Azerbaijan. Nor did they sign up to face a battle to finish in the Europa League standings. These players want to be competing for the big prizes.
If Emery isn’t careful, both may find themselves the subject of considerable attention this summer.
Despite the “this is only the start” post-match message from the manager after the mauling in Baku, it could be the beginning of something else if Arsenal aren’t careful.
The beginning of the end of them as a top-six force.
