THE ARSENAL FAN’S MIND by JA
Hey guys hope y’all having a great week after what happened against Villa and are looking forward to great things against Tottenham.
So with things going well I just intend to talk about the disappointment I feel towards a whole lot of Arsenal fans, with the way they have a lack of faith in our players when things go wrong.
It’s very disappointing when the good things one does are all forgotten in the blink of an eye because one has had a slump in form. In the aftermath of form slumps we hear things like: ‘sell him off’, ‘release him’, ‘and tear up his contract’. Now I understand your emotions but please tell me of a player you know that has a FULL good season? Let alone one that can go two three seasons without any slump. Can you name 10 players off the top of your head that hit the ground running after an injury? How about after a transfer? Most of the World Cup stars (and that was most) have been struggling for form at their respective clubs.
I think we ought to show a little more respect to Wenger and the players because, much as they deserve our applause when they do something good, they deserve our support when they are going through hard times. If not that, then why on Earth are we there to support them? Aren’t we supposed to be encouraging them when things aren’t going their way?
The Szczesny case
Now I know Szczesny has screwed up a couple of times. But before we slay him with the sword of righteousness about how he’s a championship level keeper and should be sold, remember how many points has he won us on his own? I do remember games when he won us points on his own, like at Sunderland, standing behind a defense of Aaron Ramsey at right back, Sagna and Mert in the middle (I don’t remember who was at left back) – and he managed to keep a clean sheet. Now with no wish to disrespect Ospina, when has he faced any sort of fire since he became the regular Arsenal keeper? If Ospina is being protected by a concrete wall at the front, then all Szczesny had was bed-sheets and cardboard for most of the season. Before we slander him for the poor games he’s had, we should remember that at one point, he was the much awaited savior from Manuel Almunia and Co. In this period where he’s messed up, I think we should be of good mind to help him recover his best form, by cheering him on as loud as we can every time he’s on the pitch, and not by slandering him. The goals conceded at Brighton to be honest were goals he could do very little about.
Mertesacker
For real, we really must be ungrateful to slate this guy – and many reading this article are guilty. Mertesacker got his own criticisms earlier this season when he was played out of position, with a different partner every week, in a role he’s not so good at (the aggressor, as opposed to sweeping). At Brighton, crowd favourite Laurent Kosielny was played in the sweeper role with Nacho for partnership and I’ve seen Nacho look more confident than he did that day. I believe it’s because Mert complements every other defender we have at Arsenal most perfectly. We should appreciate the role he plays. With the right partners, Mertesacker doesn’t need to be as fast as Walcott to be good. With the wrong partners, and poor organization, you could have Koscielny and another partner who happens to be faster than Walcott, Bale and CR7 combined and they’d still get played like babies!
Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta
A statement I read on this site from someone a couple of years ago as Wilshere returned from his long lay off will stay with me forever. It was replying to a comment from Aaron Ramsey claiming he was looking forward to playing with Jack and the response was “what makes you think you have the right to step on the same pitch as the Jack you piece of sh*t”. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact user who put it up.
Right now, I’m so sure, if Wilshere returned from injury and expressed the opposite, I believe he’d receive the same kind of insult purely because he isn’t on form right now. But I’d like you to look back and remember how long it took Ramsey to return to the form he’s been at in the recent past, and then judge. Last season we stood on Ramsey. Mainly this season he’s a bench player? People even seem oblivious to the fact that since the Man City game, Ramsey has returned to the kind of play that brings out the best in him. Quietly running things in the middle of the park, and then maybe arriving into a scoring position. But seriously, this guy is doing what he’s required to do. I know the craze with Coquelin and serious kudos to the boy, but Le Coq being on fire is causing most to appreciate Mert even less – but really. Is it necessary? I don’t think so.
Many others, Giroud, Ozil, Cazorla, Monreal and Chambers have proved that we can be wrong and a player might just be going through a bad time where he needs our support the most, and at that point, we need to offer it.
COYG!
Joe