Premier League: Champions 2001/02, 2003/04; Runners-up 2000/01, 2002/03, 2004/05
Champions League: Runners Up 2005/06
FA Cup:  Winners 2001/02, 2002/03, 2004/05; Runners-up 2000/01
League Cup:  Runners-up 2006/07
Charity Shield:  Winners 2002/03, 2004/05; Runners-up 2003/04, 2005/06

‘The Noughties’ in bland form, the silverware totted up and placings confirmed. A decade of achievement by Arsenal Football Club, on and off the pitch. The success of the earlier years has become an millstone around the necks of the current squad, the stick with which they are beaten. As the squad produces some of the best football seen in the history of English club football, abuse is disguised as opinion with the level of support degenerating to booing our own players.

The word ‘support’ disappearing from the vocabulary, replaced by an ‘I know best‘ mentality that if followed would lead to the bankruptcy of the club, with no silverware to show for it. If the team is perceived to be in decline, the curve that some of those who purport to follow the club has morphed into a sheer drop.

Against this backdrop, a rebuilding process is coming to fruition. A title challenge is being mounted, ‘The Teens‘ will soon show if that is genuine or a false dawn, the end of January / start of February sees Arsenal entertain or visit three rivals in the current top six. Shades of the turn of the last decade with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United encountered in an 8 week period, one point gained, two goals scored and eleven conceded. High hopes exist that such results will not be repeated.

What has this decade meant for Arsenal? It is not the most successful in the club’s history, the period 1930 – 38 saw 5 league titles, 2 FA Cups and 1 losing Final. Comparing the two decades, especially one from such a distance, is futile and impossible to say whether a title means more now than it did then. Essentially, a league title is a league title and winning requires a level of consistency which has not changed. Cups are a different issue but the FA Cup earned its reputation in times long ago, now a poor second to the upper echelons of the Premier League when compared to the Champions League.

The biggest event of the decade took place off the pitch or rather the pitch was moved. Relocating to The Emirates was necessary but came at a cost. The squad disintegrated and Wenger followed the path of investment in youth, bringing through inexperienced players, unable to compete in a hyperinflated transfer market. The seeds for this moment had been planted early in his reign, gradually building a scouting network, re-invigorating the previously successful youth academy at the club, taking that process forward using the League Cup in its various guises to blood players in the hope that they would be ready for the first team in the league.

There has been substantial investment in the squad to compliment this. Theo Walcott and Andrei Arshavin were not free; Vermaelen was not cheap whilst William Gallas was a makeweight in the deal that saw the nefarious machinations of Ashley Cole come to fruition. The problem Wenger had, and still encounters, is a generation of supporters who do not appreciate such frugality. Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have freely spent in that period; Manchester City are about to embark on that path. Money is limitless in their realms but the latter trio are encumbered with huge debts.

Wenger has been firm in his belief that football is an art form, winning is compatible with style, recusant in denying those who consistently demand neanderthals in midfield or defence; denying their insistence that only big name players will satisfy their lust for glory. This is the antithesis of everything Wenger has achieved in the first decade of his reign. Rarely has he ventured into the market to buy big name players. Regularly, he has taken a raw talent and polished them into outstanding individuals.

The finest hour of the decade lasted nine months, a mixture of stylish football, determination and mental strength. A foretaste came two seasons earlier, undefeated away from home for the whole campaign. 2003/04 added undefeated at home to that process; The Invincibles were nonpareil in modern English club football.

Yet so easily could the train have been derailed. A treble was quite conceivable but three days in April saw that aspiration disappear at the hands of their closest rivals. The FA Cup semi-final was lost by a one goal margin whilst a one goal advantage at home to Chelsea in the Champions League reversed. A home league match with Liverpool proved to be the perfect antidote, deficits overturned before running out 4-2 winners. The mental resilience of champions shone through.

2005/06 could have been that moment. A phenomenal run in the Champions League ended in Paris, ten men following Lehmann’s dismissal took the lead, should have extended it but in the end, Barcelona were able to peculate the trophy, two goals in the final quarter of the match sealing an undeserved victory.

There were many other great matches during the last 10 years. FA and League Cup wins over Tottenham in the semi-finals; titles won at Old Trafford and White Hart Lane; Juventus taken apart twice in Europe, victories in the San Siro, Bernabeu, Stadio Olympico; Seven put past Everton and Middlesbrough; 5-3 over Middlesbrough; 6-1 at Goodison; 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup; 3-1 and 6-3 at Anfield in a matter of days with too many more to mention.

Many great goals along the way also, 997 in all competitions. The best to my mind being Bergkamp at St James’ Park. Which is the crucial element of the whole period – the players. We have seen many superb players, some appreciated, some under-rated. The stalwarts such as Keown, Parlour and Dixon supporting the technically gifted Henry, Pires, Hleb, Fabregas, Rosicky, van Persie whilst new generations continue to thrive. Players at the peaks of their careers such as Campbell, Gilberto, Toure, Lauren, Ljungberg and Vieira.

The undervalued players such as Edu, van Bronckhorst, Wiltord and Kanu provided as much to celebrate with their efforts. Even those such as Reyes, Upson and Manninger who flattered to deceive in their times, not quite able to settle into the side or the country. The pick of the bunch? Bergkamp; a Dutch genius, someone whose memories are not tarnished by seeking lucrative offers from others although behind the scenes, they surely came his way.

This is the essence of the last decade. So many great footballers, a privilege to watch them to the extent that it is almost taken for granted that we will continue to see their like. Perhaps in time, the current squad will be remembered in such terms. They are on the path to glory, needing our support to help them take the giant step to achieve that. The past is gone; the future is now.

Happy New Year to you all, enjoy 2010. May it bring health and happiness to you and your families / loved ones.

’til Tomorrow.