Arsenal’s fall from continental champions to B Metropolitana football | OneFootball

Arsenal de Sarandí, a team that once left its mark on the First Division and became a continental champion, has confirmed its relegation to the Primera B (Third Division) of Argentine football one matchday ahead of schedule, unable to halt its sporting decline.

The club, founded by Julio Humberto Grondona, a historic president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), suffered another demotion, this time more painful, as with its 2-1 defeat to Deportivo Madryn, it will return to the (extinct and well-known) B Metropolitana after 33 years.

The team led by Darío Franco had traveled to the city of Chubut with the dream of securing three points that would keep their hopes of maintaining their division alive. However, there was no miracle against the leader of Zone A, who is accumulating chances to ascend.

After a balanced and friction-filled first half, the team from Puerto Madryn found their rhythm and scored two quick goals in the restart. Nicolas Mana and Diego Crego celebrated for the home team. Arsenal's reaction with a goal from Tomás González brought hope, but it ended there.

Arsenal's return to the Primera B Metropolitana represents a drastic turn in the recent history of the institution. The club enjoyed a period of splendor in recent decades, with five titles to its name, a prominent presence in the First Division of Argentine football, and on the international stage.

Since its relegation from the top tier at the end of 2023, Arsenal only managed two campaigns in the Primera Nacional. In 2024, they barely escaped, but no longer had the strength to fight in the present. Over the two seasons, they only secured 23% of the points they contested, a statistic that illustrates the team's stay in the category.

With this outcome, the team from the southern part of the South Zone will close its participation in the competition next Saturday, October 4. It will be in front of their home crowd, at the Julio Humberto Grondona Stadium, against Alvarado, who is in the relegation zone and will fight to avoid it.

Arsenal de Sarandí's titles in the First Division

Locally, the Viaducto won three trophies, with the 2012 Clausura Tournament being the most important. In addition, they extended that good moment by winning the Argentine Cup in 2013 and the Argentine Supercup 2013. In terms of CONMEBOL competitions, they surprised everyone by winning the 2007 South American Cup and then reaffirmed it with the 2008 Suruga Bank.

The campaign that led to Arsenal's relegation to the Third Division

In this tournament (Primera Nacional), they only won seven of the 33 matches they played. The first victory came only in matchday 19 (3-1 against Los Andes as a visitor).

Although their performance improved with the arrival of Franco as coach, it was not enough to build a comeback.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.