Morning all.
The last few weeks have been very interesting as an Arsenal fan. I can’t remember if I just said it on the podcast or wrote it here too, but after the 1-1 draw with Man City, Arseblog and Arseblog News was as busy as I’ve ever seen the two sites. People had a LOT to say, and that’s great, by the way.
Part of the reason we do what we do is to provide a platform for people to discuss the club. Whether it’s on the Arses here, or in the comments on Arseblog News, the ability for people to have their opinion, to discuss, debate, argue etc (within the boundaries of our comment policies of course), is fundamental to what we do. We welcome all honestly held opinions, and the only time we intervene is when there are issues with how those opinions are put forward.
Personally, I thought some of the reaction was a bit overblown. I understood it, but I couldn’t quite connect with the level of anger that was quite visceral. I know there was a selection decision that day which irked people, but it was something Mikel Arteta reacted to more quickly than normal with some half-time changes, and ultimately – although it came late – we produced an outstanding goal to equalise.
With a bit of hindsight, it’s probably an indication of how expectations have been raised that people were so furious about a 1-1 draw with a team as good as Man City. As if we should just turn up and beat them at home, no problem. There’s something a bit counter-intuitive about the level of post-game criticism as if we’re terrible if, at the same time, you’re going spare about not beating one of best teams in the league.
Anyway, without wanting to re-litigate all of that, I’ll just say that Man City’s form this season – after those early defeats to Brentford and someone else – has been pretty solid. They have the best striker in the Premier League scoring for fun, as he did in the game I’m talking about, and the idea they’re anything other than serious title contenders is absurd to me.
Anyway, with Arteta being roundly criticised for being too conservative to ever win anything, and the team too defensive in its set up to be considered genuine title challengers, let’s fast forward to now. Arsenal have won 6 in a row in all competitions, scored 13 goals in the process and conceded just 1. That 1 is a third of the goals we’ve conceded all season, and we sit top of the Premier League, as well as in a group of teams with 9 points from 9 in the Champions League table.
Now, you can’t move for commentary about how good Arsenal are, how we’re favourites for the Premier League, and to finally win the big one in Europe. We’re seeing projections about how we’re on course to beat the record for fewest goals conceded in a season. The set-piece goals which were almost like a stick to beat us with are now a source of positivity. I saw them referred to by a pundit on TV this week as a ‘secret weapon’, which made me laugh a lot.
The world’s worst kept secret, perhaps. There isn’t a team or a manager setting up to play Arsenal who, post-game, say ‘OMG, they’re so good at corners! Who knew? LOL!’. Nevertheless, it’s an indication of how things get said in the media which are just patently false. It goes both ways of course. We weren’t as bad as they said when we ‘struggled’ for a draw against Man City, and I don’t think we’re the guaranteed title winners they’re making us out to be now.
I think most people reading this will understand that we exist in a media landscape where everything is polarised to a large extent. When it’s bad it’s really, really bad. End of days bad. You’ve never see it so bad, bad. And when it’s good, as it is when you win 6 in a row and sit top of the table, then you’re so good nobody’s ever gonna be able to cope with how good you are. And of course you’re going to win, but if you don’t win, it will be the biggest choke job of all time, at which point you become really bad again. How bad? See earlier in this paragraph.
It’s tiring really. Not least because it’s October, and there’s still such a long way to go. To deal in absolutes at this point of the season is ridiculous. I understand there’s a discussion to be had about our quality. I think we are actually really good, with a deep squad that has a great chance of winning something come May. We have a really talented manager, some absolutely superb players along with the most solid ‘back-ups’ many of us have ever seen at this club, and given how much we’ve invested, we absolutely should be challenging for the big trophies.
But football, as we know, is quite mad at times. We just have the 30 Premier League games to go, hopefully loads more in the Champions League, and two cup competitions to contend with. I think we’ve done a brilliant job of addressing issues that are within our control, but so much can happen that is beyond it over the course of a season. Two players can bang knees, that’s a bit sore, they get up again and play on. But sometimes your captain banjaxes a ligament in the process and misses a month or two.
I guess my point is that we should enjoy what the last few weeks have delivered, and take confidence from that. I’m not going to go out and order the bunting yet though, and when there’s a blip – as there probably will be sometime between now and May – I won’t be burning effigies and shouting like a lunatic about how everyone needs to be shot into the sun with a cannon. There’s a long road ahead, we’re in good shape, but don’t allow yourself to get pulled from pillar to post by people whose job it is to create sensationalism.
The end. And if you need a podcast to listen to and you haven’t heard yesterday’s Arsecast yet, we chat about the 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid (which was good) below. Look at how we used our secret weapon in that game, blimey!
