LET US BELIEVE UNTIL THE END! by Aziz
They say it isn’t over until the fat lady sings… and the Arsenal team and fans should take that old mantra to the last game of the season on 19 May 2024 against Everton at the Emirates whist maintaining their winning streak in between.
For all Gooners out there, this season is “special”. Special in the sense that two teams, either Arsenal or Manchester City, can clinch the 2023/24 EPL crown. I am “sorry” for Liverpool and their fans, you’re out of the race after bottling it at this finishing line and important stage of the season despite claim from one of their players boasting about their mentality to do better when it matters!
In more staggering statistics, Arsenal can win all its remaining games, and yet we can finish second with 97 points behind the “mighty” Manchester City at 99 points in a 2-point difference! How crazy it is going to be!
Although this campaign is incredibly intriguing and different from past seasons, the eventual champion may not be revealed until the season’s closing day.
Arsenal’s yesterday win against the “noisy neighbours” Spurs was the pinnacle in galvanizing any hope of achieving something special this season after a 20-year wait despite a nerve-racking ending to the game in the 3-2 win. Credit to the team this season compared to the previous few seasons, they have shown the nerves of steel to overcome a stubborn opposition in a derby game. A very palatable victory and the north London continues to be RED!
We should also remember, that Manchester City has to go to the Spurs’ own turf on 14 May after their 3-3 encounter at the Etihad back in December 2023, a game that they (Spurs) played so well and deserved to win. As the biggest “bottlers” in the city and the entire league as they are, they couldn’t win it! Let’s hope they will get it better this time around at their home ground. Am I a dreamer here?!
As insanely as it sounds, we hope Spurs can reluctantly do us an “unlikely favour” and get something out of this game as they chase for a top-four finish with Aston Villa for a Champions League place.
The game against Chelsea was a must-win, and the boys emphatically delivered: The 5-0 against a £1billion team sounds handsome and added an important goal difference over Manchester City.
The 2-0 victory for Arsenal at the Molineux Stadium was far from easy, despite what some may assume. It’s a challenging and unpredictable venue to face off against Wolves at their home patch. Securing this win was just as significant as any other win at this critical stage of the season, and it has allowed us to stay in the running for the championship.
For the record, the Wolves beat Manchester City 2-1 at the Molineux on 30 September 2023. [(For your information Manchester City lost only 3 games so far, against Arsenal (1-0), Aston Villa (1-0), and Wolves (2-1))].
Maybe, just maybe, we pin our hope on them (Wolves) to do us a big favour against Manchester City at the Etihad. We know this is a big ask and task for them, but anything is possible in football! Come on, Wolves, you can do it!
I know how disappointed we were when we couldn’t beat Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on 14 April 2024. We lost 2-0. The outcome of this has caused a split among Arsenal fans regarding their expectations for this season, especially considering the remarkable results seen since the beginning of 2024 following the Dubai camp. Both the “die-hard” and “armchair” fans had their opinions about the team.
Some opinions were reasonable, but some were harsh and overboard. I can continue to emphasize that many fans have conceded defeat and raised the white flag, evoking memories of the disappointment from last season when everything crumbled!
Who knows that these 3 points Villa had taken from us would make Spurs fight even harder vs. City in their way to get top four against the same Villa! Life can be crazy, sometimes!
Before going to the Spurs’ backyard on 14 May 2024, Manchester City will need to overcome unpredictable Fulham on 11 May, 3 days before the Spurs game! In these two games, I can envisage something good for this Arsenal team!… MIND THE GAP! and keep our fingers crossed!
Whatever happens after the Manchester City vs. Fulham and vs. Spurs games, if Arsenal doesn’t do its bit on the remainder games, it’s going to be bonkers! That is why we should keep believing until the end, by winning our games whilst waiting for “something special” (albeit in a negative!) to happen to Manchester City in their remaining fixtures!
COYG!
Aziz Senzia
A Gooner Fan in Tanzania
Let us not pretend that sunday’s NLD result was far from convincing and extremely fortunate. Romero could and should have had a hat-trick. We were gifted our goals and took them very well, yet why was a 3-0 lead made so uncomfortable? I refuse to give Spurs any credit for the way they played, we should’ve defended better.
We could easily have been on the wrong end of a 4-3. It is now up to the team to not repeat that and to win the remaining games as safely as possible and hope something happens to city.
@Ben What’s about goals we gifted them? What’s about the goals we miss? That game could have been 6-7 goals had we taken our goals. You don’t any constructive criticism!
Ben, apart from Raya’s & Rice’s errors we actually defended well (we needed to), and I’m sorry to contradict you on this, but Spurs did play well, and their press beat ours for much of the game.
@Ben
Spot on…👏🏾
Arsenal on 80 after 35, City 79 from 34.
So I make it 89 and 91 points max?
What game did you watch Ben.
Gunners dominated bar one error which we excuse. Spuds wouldn’t have scored
Raya redeemed himself
Still not sure about him.
I think Ben watched the same game as me as I thought his post was spot on. Not only that, we were extremely fortunate with referee and VAR decisions as spurs could easily have had another two penalties. Yes a fortunate win for us BUT it was about time some decisions went in our favour whilst our noisy neighbours are losers again.
It’s the supporters who must have nerves of steel, not the players. Fans are kids, they don’t understand football, so in their case it doesn’t matter. It’s a big difference between supporters and fans.
Jack, of course, we have, credit to the fans!…imagine the last 25 minutes in the NLD how crazy the fans were?!
But at least, they (the players) did their bit and crossed that finishing line in triumph. It would have been a “disaster” not coming with all 3 points against Sp*rs.
Although Spuds started the game trying to bully and kick the hell out of us, it became a non fluent game, but good news for us is that we are the set pieces champions and that won us the game.
The Spuds like most other dirty teams know they usually cannot create as many chances as Arsenal and tend to try and disrupt Arsenal’s rhythm by kicking them.
The bias refs know this and are usually happy for Arsenal players to sustain injuries from being too lenient with the opposition by allowing this to go unpunished, especially against players like Saka, who is the most fouled player in the league that goes unpunished by bias refs, and that’s a fact.
Never the less apart from the recent villa slip up, we continued to show commitment to the cause that was unfortunately lacking this time last year.
Last year Arsenal got bullied during the last 4 or 5 games and did not recover from the kicks and bruises during those dirty tactic games. This year (apart from the villa game) there’s a fire in their belly and they’re up for “the fight”. Sorry Spuds, but your embarrassing dirty tactics did not work, even your manager looked embarrassed by the way you played the dirty game.
Let us pray!
This has proven one thing and that we are a more mature side then last season
We are seeing out games when we are not out our best
Seasons gone and we would ha e dropped points
Imagine what we will be like next season if we keep growing a d learning
20 years of hurt and this season we are taking the champions all the ways to the end
We still have a shot of being champions even though we need city to draw or lose in the last 4
Boys, manager and club the fans have given me so much pride back over the last few seasons…Well done everyone
Let’s take max points from the last 3 games and if city win all 4 then they will deserve it but let’s make them work for it
Onwards and upwards
City don’t even have to lose, as draw will do just fine.
@Jax
I stated this before. One draw from City and goal difference takes us over the line. Given we win our remaining matches…
It was the loss to Villa that took fate out of our own hands.
Previously we were top and just needed to handle business, City was in the rear view mirror.
Now we are in the unenviable position of needing City to lose; a draw and they are still top.
Which would be a better season;
Finishing second to City again and no trophy
Or
Finishing 4th and winning the FA Cup?
Personally I would take the FA Cup and CL qualification over second and no silverware. I’m curious what others think.
If City draw any of their remaining games and Arsenal win all of theirs, then, surely the title is coming to the Emirates stadium except if City have better goal difference by then. Fact!
Durand
I respect your opinion but we had to many seasons like that in the past
Fighting for the league and being in with a chance is where I want to be
Don’t get me wrong winning something is fantastic and great for the team and most fans but dogging it out with one of the best teams if not the best team I Europe or world is another thing
It proves we have come a long way and talked about in the same breath about potentially winning the league.
It would be ironic that the spuds do us a favour and nick a point from city and set us up
Onwards and upwards
4th and an FA cup? No thank you.
I prefer to finish 2nd because it clearly shows that we are a very serious and strong team. 4th place means we are a banter club again.
Stay in and around City and we are more likely to at least fluke a Title win in the seasons to come while 4th place means we are back in the stagnant times. I had enough of that for more than 15 years.
I still have the optimistic feeling that the Gunners will clinch the title by a tiny margin (by superior goal difference I mean). Come May, Arsenal and City will be locked on 89 points each, with goal difference giving the Gunners a slight edge over them. I just don’t see City not dropping at least 2 points in their last 4 games, whereas I’m confident Arsenal will take maximum points from their winnable last 3.
I don’t engage in football betting as a principle. However I wish to comment on our title run-in against Man City. Most commentators aver that City will win all their games and, thus, beat Arsenal to the title. But I wish to contradict this school of thought and state that Man city will draw or even lose one or even two games. Let’s, for purposes of debate, assume that Man city draws one game and we win all our remaining games. What will be the outcome? It will only be one outcome. We will win the EPL. Why? We would both have 89 points but with our better goal difference we would come out on top. Thus, we should not become despondent. We still have a big chance to win it this year. I strongly feel the chances are even.
😲!
I see Jax is amused but let me extrapolate my argument. If Arsenal win all three games it will be 80+9=89. If Man City win 3 games and draw 1 it will be 9+1=10. 79+10=89. We are tied but if you factor in our better goal difference then we shall win the title! I hope you now see my argument.
Am no visionalist, but I’d like to add more into this.
*Arsenal is winning this Battle with goal differences..
DAVID I SEE US AS FAVOURITES tbh. I think it highly unlie;y that Cty wi,beat bitb Fulhame and Spurs away. City are notloking good right now AND i do nt envsgae then beating Spurs, quite probably losing there and its tough at Fulham too.
I expect us to win all three games though. UNITED ARE SO OPEN YOU COULD DRIVE A FLEET OF CHIEFTAIN TANKS right through their so called “defence.
I expect us too thrash them and expect our most tricky gamethis weekend whenBournemough come to us. A narrow win for us and then to beat Everton to win the title, possibly by a point or more likely two and at least on goal difference. I am very optimistic actually!
David Rusa
Good point
But let’s not forget City can recover the goal difference against Wolves, Fulham and West Ham
I am very confident we will win the league
Let’s keep believe and win our games…something can happen to us.
Man City vs Fulham and v Spu*s are never a forgone conclusion…Spu*s needs top 4, so who knows?!