Of course as an Arsenal fan, any win over the top teams and in particular our North London rivals Spurs is a big achievement and one that leaves a smile on our faces for days on end. However, as before when we beat Chelsea on boxing day and went on an impressive run, the positivity and belief soon ran out as we failed to win against the “smaller” teams.
We have been so inconsistent this season that honestly for me it is hard to tell what sort of performance the players will put out on each matchday.
We beat Chelsea and Manchester United, yet we lost to Manchester City, Wolves and Aston Villa (who did the double over us) and drew against the likes of Burnley and Crystal Palace. No disrespect to those we lost or drew against, barring Manchester City of course, but we should have won those games with the players we have and at times the dominance we showed.
For the players to believe we can get a top four finish, to them I say its brave and ambitious. Maybe had we not drawn or lost the games we have in recent weeks then I too would say it is a reasonable target, however I can’t see it happening, as much as I want it to.
At the end of the season I am sure we will look back at those lost and drawn games and think ‘what if’. But if anything can be taken out of this season it should be the character and mentality that the players have shown in recent games.
The records with the top teams have been much better than in previous seasons. The only downfall is we need to try harder to also beat Liverpool and City as both losses to City were narrow losses of 1-0 which we could have come out with a point at least.
One thing is for sure, if the character of this team does not change, yet improves and if we keep going with the positive winning mentality and consistency to believe that we can win no matter the opponent. If we can actually show it with the work rate on the pitch on matchdays then I have no doubt that next season, although there will be some ups and downs I am sure, that we will have an even better season where we become successful on many fronts.
Heres hoping hey Gooners?
Shenel Osman