Inexperience, nerves and pressure are mounting, but it’s not over yet by Konstantin Mitov
Well lovely Arsenal people, if there ever was an emotional rollercoaster, this season is it. We’re 2:0 up at Anfield, and they show us the desperate face of Van Dijk and I felt like it will happen. It’s written in the stars!
Fast forward a week later after dropping 2-0 leads twice in a row I’m really in the dumps. I started following Arsenal and English football closely in 2006. So this is my first proper title race. One I am actually emotionally invested in and I’ve fully followed.
Let’s get it out of the way, I’m hugely disappointed. Every way you look at it it’s 4 huge points dropped. In this title rice that’s equivalent to swimming with a wound leaving a bloody trail, with a hungry shark following it.
My PTSD is telling me to just accept that City will win it, I’ve tried to do it all season to avoid the pain if we don’t. But in reality 7 games remain, City are now everybody’s overwhelming favorites and with good reason – experience and current form backs them.
But we are not dead in the water just yet. Arteta has the biggest job on his hands. First of all we must beat Southampton and it won’t be an easy game. The mental battle right now is as difficult, if not more, than the physical is.
We need a result, but more importantly we need a performance. In a game of tennis what separates the great champions like Djokovic and Nadal from the rest is that when the pressure is on, they summon their best game.
We need a solid win. The overarching feeling is that City are going to win it. We must turn the tides of that. If we win at the Etihad and I know it’s a mammoth task, it swings the tides massively in our favor. It’s like going to the hydra’s lair, cutting it’s heads off and going out with the treasure.
If we lose to City it’s done. If they get their noses In front they won’t let go. Ask a Liverpool fan if you don’t believe me.
So what do we need to do? We need to lift Saka. He had a terrible game, and the penalty miss summed up our whole week – missed opportunities.
We need to improve our ball controll. We missed Zinny against West Ham just to help Partey on the ball. Also Holding is not Saliba. Our defense is a chair that has 2 make shift legs right now and it’s wobbling.
We also need to just calm down. You think Bukayo misses that penalty if it’s gameweek 10? Right now nerves are getting the better of us. Xhaka at Anfield issued an emotional battle we had no chance of winning. We need to cool our heads a little.
We need to defy some parts of history and reaffirm others. Obviously our record at the Etihad is terrible, that has simply got to change. On the other hand, out of the last titles wins have happened at places like White Hart lane, old Trafford and Anfield.
We need to remember that this is what you play for. To be in the title tussle. We’re now the underdogs. The haters are finally getting what they wanted, we’re bottling it. Last year all over again, but maybe we can use that pain as motivation. We’ve defied the expectations all year, so maybe the narrative will be changed one last time.
Or maybe not… As you can see anything can happen in a week of football. It can be boringly long or extremely short. Whatever happens next Wednesday will likely decide the title. Comparing to last season, I strangely like the fact that we must go to the Etihad and get something.
Last season we had a “free hit” at Spurs and guess how that turned out? We can’t rely on others all the time. “It’s all in City’s hands” is all I’m hearing, when in fact it’s just as much in ours.
We’re massive underdogs in that game, but heck, let’s see what we are made of. We have to prove that we deserve it.
But let’s not forget Southampton first.
Konstantin
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I think we can only score at the Etihad through Magalhaes or Holding
Has Saliba trained? I reckon he’ll miss the City game as well..
We need to bring in Milan Skriniar from Inter to rorate with Saliba. He will be available for free and the lack of transfer fee involved will fund giving him a lucrative contract. Apparently he’s currently making just £100k a week.
I noticed this season City’s most used defenders in the Premier League are Ake and Dias, appearing just 22 times out of 30. They’ve heavily rotated defenders in all competitions which has made their defense quite stable. In fact, only Håland, Ederson, De Bruyne and Rodri have appeared in almost every PL match, forming their spine.
We on the other hand have Gabriel and White who have started every PL match, and Saliba too until his recent injury. Lack of rotation (and trustworthy options?) has lead now Holding starting and us drawing the last 2 matches. Holding isn’t a bad player, but just isn’t Saliba and isn’t starting material for a title challenging team.
Disclaimer: I don’t state that changing a winning formation is necessary a good thing but playing the same team week in and out, will have trouble if at some point some of those starters end up injured and the replacement hasn’t played in consecutive matches all season long.
Agree with everything you’ve said except that I really don’t think Skriniar will come here to become a rotation player. It’s never gonna happen
I agree with you in Holding.
We need more quality players to rotate
I can’t help but still feel angry with the ridiculous way the team let slip two very important points at this stage. It is the way they failed that is unforgivable. I am done with them and they don’t deserve the title even if they win it in the end.
Hmm. I can understand your frustration. Feeling the same here. They let slip 2 important points at a crucial time but, must we forget the other many times they made us smile this season?!
Think Arteta’s subs in last 2 games have been questionable aswell.
Inexperience both on and off the field.
We still have chance to win the title, it’s still in our own hands!
Anyway, started support Arsenal in 1985, and have been on lots of ups and downs through the years.
Will cry if we don’t get the title, but are already immensely proud of the season any results in the end.
Last 2 matches game management by Arteta and the players was a big factor.
Arteta was right about possession without purpose in 2nd half of those matches, poorly managed by the players.
So why sub on Jorginho and Vieira if that’s the case? Zinchenko better as a CM, ESR is a level above Vieira and has proven by last year he can impact matches coming off the bench.
Arteta has to be more ruthless managing these tough stretches.
Trossard has been brilliant, so why keep on Saka when he’s dropped form badly last 2 matches?
Subbing off Jesus and Martinelli when they were the only two attackers that were dangerous?
Why not ESR as a 10 to sub in for Odegaard?
I just didn’t see anything changing or turning around when Jorginho and Vieira came on the pitch. Our midfield continued to get overrun, and Vieira isn’t going to create any magic like we needed.
Party and the Arenal midfield have shown serial lapse and we must accept the danger of loosing quick-witted Saliva to injury. Arsenal drop of 4 points from being 2 goals ahead of opponents in back-back matches is a mentality challenge of relapsing from effective attack to defective defence. Arsenal may have improved beyond our expectations but setting two negative records of the quickest goal deficit and match-after-match drop from 2:0 to 2:2 is poor.
The shark will eat them at Etihad. They (Man City) have already smell blood and they are going for a kill. They beat Arsenal at home, convincingly. You can guess what will happen away at Etihad.
The recent form of both teams says it all. The one is peaking up the speed and momentum and the other is falling apart and the legs have no strength. That says it all. Both teams are not on the same level. So, we should not put unnecessary pressure on the young team. They are already under pressure.
I like the article in the sense that it is trying to motivate the supporters and the players. But in the absence of strength and experience, this is all futile. City has been there before….been there and done it. Liverpool tried but their strength has faded. Don’t kill the young team by trying to make them believe on the impossible, bcos when they fail to do it, their motivation and belief will forever be dented. We don’t want to do that. The team might end up where Liverpool is now….
I think Arsenal have done well this season and we need to accept that they still need to learn a lot. The manager is still young, so as the team. Next year they will get experience playing in the champions league….and that is what will count to them becoming one of the greatest teams in Europe. But not now….they still need to build that experience.
JA any chance you can let us know david coote its on VAR duties against city same ref that that failed to see rice controllingthe ball with his hand leading to wh pen, and every 50/50 duel went westham way etc ,..
Nice article I enjoyed the read, also I liked what Major777 had to say. I’ve nothing much to add really, I’m trying to convince myself that I honestly foresee a 1 – 1 prediction v you know who. First up is the Saints, come on Arsenal, no more mickey mouse crap
For once the author has come up with a a positive article which is refreshing to see given our recent setbacks. Major777 is unnecessarily negative. can’t see anything sensible or positive in what they have written; unless of course they are a Spurs or Man City fan.