To experience everything that ESPN.com has to offer, we recommend that you upgrade to the latest version of your web browser. Click the upgrade button to the right or learn more.
All used to be so simple in top flight football United Kingdom. Six or seven sides hoping to challenge for the League, and others will see Europe’s place as a great achievement, something that is a bonus. There are also two Cup competitions, with the chance for a day out at Wembley is probably the most interesting prospects for the season.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty ImagesArsenal past months have seen accidents shooter out of the Champions League and the FA Cup, but somehow the Gunners are on a high–a clear sign of how priorities have changed in modern football.
Now the situation is more complex. The expansion of the Champions League at the turn of the century created an entirely new pattern for Premier League clubs. Most obviously, it has widened the gap between rich and poor–now it seems impossible that small clubs could penetrate the top four–but also changed priorities.
Arsenal past months have summed up the nature of modern bizarre football. By the standard of 15 years ago, this period will be considered a disaster, with the defeat of Sunderland FA Cup and European Cup exit at the hands of Milan. Yet somehow the Gunners on high. They had beaten Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle in a League fixture that seem complicated, and now they have a great chance to finish fourth. Or maybe even third. And value come third or fourth in the League, unfortunately, is greater than the value of the won the FA Cup.