Written in the stars? by Dan
I’m scared to dream too much because I don’t want to set myself up for a massive fall. It’s noo different if you get hurt in a relationship; you find it extra bit harder to trust that next person who enters your life.
This time last year we all thought Arsenal had a great chance of returning to the Champions League, only to bottle it in the race for the top 4.
I been scarred so many times I won’t believe it till I see it.
We still have to go to the likes of the Etihad, Anfield and Saint James’s Park in must win conditions.
Yet take the emotion out of things, if I wasn’t a Gooner and was judging this title race as neutral, I would be saying the manner of how Arsenal are winning games suggests that it’s their destiny to be Champions.
For the second time in less than a month we won a game 4-2 and 3-2, having come from behind to score in the dying seconds.
Like at Villa Park, if we lift the title in May, this Saturday was a fixture that will be looked back on for years to come.
Against Aston Villa it a long range strike from Jorginho which made him accepted within the Arsenal Family. This weekend, our winner came from someone who has grown up at the club, who’s injuries mean he’s played little part in our first team squad this season. Yet Reiss Nelson’s half volley could be played in montages for years to come. Whatever happens no one can take away that moment from the 23 year old.
If we win the Premiership, rival football supporters might not quite understand the significance of those two comeback wins. Not just were we seconds away from dropping crucial points, it’s what it would have done mentally to a young squad.
When Bournemouth went 2-0 up, we were heading towards dropping points in 4 out of our last 7 League encounters.
It would have seen the gap between us and Man City be reduced to just 2 points, put a spotlight on our team for the next week, put massive pressure on our trip to Fulham next Sunday. It would have put serious question marks on whether we have enough leaders in the dressing room to cope with ‘squeaky bum time’.
Instead, every time we win in this manner, our character and self-belief increase. The team will take more positive’s winning like this compared to if they had won 4-0.
Even Partey’s and White’s goals screamed of fate being on our side. After Neto could only punch away a corner he should have caught, Partey benefitted from a teammate blocking the defenders view therefore not seeing his run into the box.
White’s first ever goal as a Gunner wasn’t obvious at first, but goal line technology confirmed his strike had gone over the line by inches. Villa hit the bar it bounces too safety, we do the same it deflects in off Martinez’s head.
That’s the margins between and success and failure, so tiny. Which Is why I love sport.
My stance was after we lost to City, survive the next two tricky away games and then 4 out our next 5 League encounters are at the Emiraites against sides battling relegation.
We comfortably saw off Everton in midweek and the assumption was we do the same against the Cherries. Some of peers even spoke about this being a chance to reduce City goals difference advantage over us.
Bourenmouth reminded us that at this stage of the campaign nothing is straight forward and there will be twists and turns along the way.
Something else for our young squad to learn, that if a side who started 19th in the table can rock up and cause you a headache then zero games can be considered a formality.
It wouldn’t be Arsenal if we didn’t make things hard for ourselves. Yesterday, every fan was put through every range of emotion. From thinking we were losing control in the title race to coming back from the dead.
Unless your emotionally connected to the club, you can’t appreciate the context behind this weekend. Rival fans might see the results and/or see League positions, yet even the most famous Prem winners had that moment In a season where something magical happend, like divine intervention.
Man United fans will tell you so many ‘what if’s that nearly happend for the Treble to have never happend.
We didn’t go unbeaten without some luck like at Old Trafford, Portsmouth at home, etc.
Yesterday felt like that moment.
Reiss Nelson ….loaned out to prove himself.
Injuries making him unfullfilled potential.
Not always guaranteed a place even on the bench.
A debate to be had if he warrents a new contract.
On the fringes ….. he hits a ball which 9 times out of 10 flies wide ….. But on this day ….a special day ….flies into the corner.
A goal with a legacy which will live forever, which gives him a place in immortality.
Shakespeare couldn’t write yesterday! I’m exhausted!
Is it written in the stars?
Dan Smith
Watch Arteta’s full emotional reaction to Arsenal amazing comeback against Bournemouth – “It was madness!”
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My prospective is bit different here…
I might sound negative here but we are riding our luck far too much time…
We rode our luck against Villa
We rode our luck against Bournemouth as well..
This should be looked by our player as vulnerability in recent games.
We shouldn’t concede sloppy goals which we did against Villa and Bournemouth…
All these games especially yesterday’s game our players should take it seriously as wake up call…
You can’t ride your luck every time..
We need to start playing the way we were before we run out of our luck
This
I’d only believe our EPL title winning chance if we win all our games this month, hold Liverpool off at Anfield and defeat Chelsea at the Emirates
We also scored during xtra against man u at the emirate. Dnt u think its way too many to be luck considering we hav played 26 games
@kedar
RealTalk 👍🏾
I beg to differ. The game is 90 minutes. The fact that we push to the very end shows our Champions quality and mentality.
To come from 2 goals down and win in the last 30 minutes shows our quality.
Weak mentally teams give up when all seems lost. Champions fight to the last second.
We pushed because it was Bournemouth…
Imagine if that would have been Brighton instead of Bournemouth…
We would have been 2-0 down at the half time only…
You can argue that save from Ramsdale wouldn’t have been there if it would have been Brighton because Brighton has much more quality than Bournemouth..
Yesterday we won because it was Bournemouth…
I am sure if that would have any other slightly better team then 3 points were dropped
We need to up our game..
We need to play the way we started the season..
We dropped our performance lately…
We cannot rely on these late winners anymore…
You cannot be always lucky..
Excuse me but dont you think you are relying too much on what ifs to make your point? Ignoring the reality in the process?
We beat Man City it is 3 points. We beat Bournemouth it is the same 3 points.
Yes you can not always be lucky but so far have we been?
Can you really call 3 goals luck?
We won because we are Arsenal not because it’s Bournemouth. We won against United in the 90th minute as well. We left it late against Fulham at the Emirates too. You don’t have to be too negative just because u don’t wanna ride on your horse. We won because we deserved victory. We played well. Thank you. Don’t be scared to say it, we are the best team in the League. We’ve collected 15points from loosing position.. those are the qualities of a champion.
Agreed
Every word u said is right @Dan. The same thing u just said a friend and a Chelsea fan also said this could be destined. Too many luck and coincidence that am starting to doubt if its actually either of them or its destined. It will be a sweet story though if we actually become champions this season.
Nice article
Do dodgy decisions or lucky goals work out over the course of a season? I suspect they do. The match lasts 90 minutes and whilst scoring with the last kick of the game appears lucky, it isn’t. Bournemouth scored after several seconds. All within the 90.
Glossing over our weaknesses will be our undoing.
That may be so and I take your point absolutely. It does, however, mean that apart from the 2 Manchester clubs, no others are near which means that our weaknesses are fewer than theirs. That is not me taking on a complacent air.
I have to agree with you Kedar but Man City too have underperformed recently and were fortunate against Newcastle who missed two big chances , and with the Foden goal taking a deflection.That said, we need to tighten up and yet a quality defender like Tierney continues to warm the bench?
I agree with your point about Tierney…
I still believe Tierney should start as LB and Zinchenko as CM with Partey…
Zinchenko is far more superior in terms of keeping possession and controlling proceedings of the game through midfield with his vision..
His pass for Saka against Everton was true class….
Also we shouldn’t care about what is happening with City
Whether they are lucky or not that’s not our problem or business…
My point is if we are winning our matches consistently and convincingly then no one can stop us from lifting that title in May..
To support my point, I would give you an example… We Beat Liverpool at Emirates, and we beat Bournemouth at Emirates…
Both had same score line but we weren’t lucky against Liverpool… we were pretty confident and convincing against Liverpool…
Some would argue about that penalty decision but then again it was dicey call…
Jesus cleverly won the ball ahead of Thiago and made sure that Thiago’s boot is hitting his leg…
That’s was a penalty…
Yesterday it was Bournemouth so they allowed us to get back into the game..
If that would have been Brighton then gap between us and City would have been 2 points..
Even next weekend if this happens again against Fulham then we are not winning that game for sure…
Not sure it’s luck, 81% possession 31 shots 15 corners, played to the final whistle and won 🤔 however it would be better to destroy teams in the first half….
My point is simple..
We had that possession because it was Bournemouth…
We wouldn’t have that possession if that would have been slightly better opponent…
Bournemouth lack any quality and that allowed us to got back into this game
We need to up our game the way it was at start of the season…
I agree with you Kedar. That game is one luck too many. A more quality team would taken the 3 points without apology. Bournemouth game was a reality check. Players and especially, Arteta should wake up. This is not the time for being emotional or playing preferred players. I wonder why Tierney should be rusting on the bench. Martinelli ‘s game took a dip in the absence of Jesus and Tierney. Zinny will be better as a CM than Viera. Again, our wing backs should know the heights of the opposing CD to know how to cross balls. A situation where by you kept on crossing high balls without success is sickning.
Hello, can someone tell Odegaard to stop too many touches. He know when to pass ball and when to shoot.
Not convinced yet. We’ve lucked our way out of a losses on several occasions which is unsettling. The way we are getting beat by these so-called small teams in the first half points to mentality. If we dont fix our overall approach to some fixtures then we wont win it. Sorry.
There is no luck when we are leading for the whole season nearing its end in tge toughest league in the world.
We are the best team in the country this season. And that is not an opinion it is a fact with unquestionable evidence to back it up.
Dude it’s not near to the end..
It’s still long way to go..
12 games still to be played..
Long long way to go..
We were hoping for top four. Let’s play to be unbeaten and wherever that would land us we take it. There’s believe in the young team.
Not written in the stars, written on earth by Mikel the Magician or Mikel the Matador or Mikel with the Midas touch! What we see today on the pitch is the effort of hard work/dedication and discipline, which you and your band of nobodies ridiculed and criticised him on each and every single post, just because he was putting the ducks in a row and those who refused were shipped out. You and your pals are fair weather fans, I’ve backed Mikel the day he dumped out the uselessly useless. What I see today does not surprise me, I knew Mikel will have his day of glory. Mikel is not your normal Professori of shame. Which 40 year old can transform a club in tatters, to currently the best club in England? Ask your favourite Gerard or, Lampard. Show some appreciation for him.
I absolutely respect your unstinting support of Arteta. I’m not sure I could have been as absolute as you in your assessment of Arteta’s abilities but I have been a supporter from the start with a couple of wobbles when a couple of niggly doubts crept in early on last season – but not after the 3 losses. I’m glad he overcame the calls for him to go.
Yes, he is in a different league to Lampard and Gerrard – and plenty of other long serving PL managers who I wouldn’t have wanted to be at the Arsenal. Arteta had
an incredible steely determination from the start and dealt with those who upset the dressing room. The rest relied as well on not just the financial backing and Arteta’s vision but the realisation that early on a lot of the club’s problems emanated from the owner not hiring the best executive staff which has now been put right.
It’s a team effort
No it’s called standards mate
What we are doing now doesn’t change my stance that 8th, 8th and 5 th were not sucess
DAN what you are too pig headed to ever accept, is that NO Gooner ever claimed that 8th,8th 5th WAS success.
What we perceptive fans saw very early on, which you still do not, is that Arteta had the steely resolve to clean our club of the self entitled coasting cheats and charletans like Ozil, Auba and the trouble maker Guendouzi, that was the vital FIRST STEP towards making the dressing room the vibrant and cohesive place it NOW is .
Full of warriors and real men, who care for the team more than for themselves. You simply do not have the intellect to see that truth!
Lol
DK what is there to laugh out loud about in my post? Why not say what you mean to say and not hide behind “lol,” which could nean anything at all?
It seems to say, unless you tell us differently, that even now you do not accept the widely acknowledged truth that Ozil and Auba were killing our chance of dressing room harmony and our present fabulous all together spirit.
ARE you saying that?
My LOL was aimed at Loose man ,not you jon .
Well the abuse I got for saying it wasn’t and not true many called 5th sucess and progress based on finishing 8th
Including Vini which he should get sacked for
Funny how now we are top 5th isn’t progress ?
Like I said it spurs finished 5th and called it progress we laugh
Dan
Picking up from JF, the league positions didn’t make good reading but nor were the last throes of AW’s reign or the terrible 18 months under another highly experienced manager in Unai Emery. The rot had very clearly set in and at an executive level too. Weren’t your expectations just set a little too high in expecting anyone at all to have sorted it all out instantly? I remember all the calls for Rodgers, Potter, Conte and Ancelotti.
TenHag is turning ManU around and was suggested by several posters but that was more or less it, and he did to Ronaldo what was needed to restore the dressing room as Arteta has done for us
TenHag is having a torrid afternoon
Rubbish.
The first 8’th was a half séason, where Arteta improved us from 12’th to 8’th in his time.
5’th last season was also a fine performance, as we were building the youngest and most talented team in the league. The foundation for what we are seeing now.
If you want to claim anything about standards, don’t keep repeating your false 8-8-5.
That is for sure setting a low standard of argumentation.
He finished 8th in his first full season
Now your calling 5th a fine season ?
Yet other readers are saying no one is saying 5th was good
Calling last season a fine performance is laughable,yes there was progression from the season before (that wouldn’t have been hard )but we choked ,it was a disastrous end to the season on par with Emerys 5th place finish :
Fine performance! 😂
A shepherd will always have his flock .
Thats not exactly fair because you are only using those finishing spots in relation to Arteta when the likes of Wenger and then Emery were taking us the wrong way which you conveniently forget to mention. I wonder where Emery would have finished if he hadn’t departed when he did? I doubt he’d have got us to 4th and we’d have then had an even bigger mountain to climb because it would have been worse than 8th
But they were not
Emery finished 5th , Arteta finished 8th then took us back to ,5th which Emery got sacked for
Wenger got terrible abuse on this site for only finishing 4th
He’s doing brilliant this season
But that doesnt make anyone wrong for saying 8th and 5th were poor
Emery never got the sack for finishing 5th, he was sacked when after a run of defeats we were mid-table, and there was a fractious changing room.
Hallelujah
That’s not the point originally made
The accusation was Arteta finished 8th because that’s where previous managers were taking us
Wenger finished 6th in his last season
Emery 5th
That doesnt make it okay for Arteta to finsih 8th and then 5th
Look where Spurs were last season when Conte took over? They were not heading for top 4
Bet we wouldn’t call 5th progress if Spurs finished 5th would we ?.
SueP, it would seem that some people can’t/don’t understand the work that Arteta and Edu had to undertake to get us to where we are now. Getting rid of players that are a disruptive influence, players that aren’t good enough and then replacing them with players you actually want, for the system you want to play, takes time and money. You, I, and a few others on here realise that, and our patience hopefully will be rewarded come the end of the season with the PL trophy.
👍
If Spurs finish 5th
Let’s see if you call that a fine season
Dan, couldn’t give a monkeys where the vermin finish this year. Remember that last season they were top after the first 3 games, while we were bottom. They still needed to win their last game to finish above us.
Point was Arteta took a team who finished 6th and took them. 8th , 8th and 5th
And yet you argue that’s okay because Emery was taking us that way
Spurs finished 7th were heading nowhere under Nuno yet Conte took Spurs 4th so by your logic
If Arteta finishing 8th 8th and 5th was progress so would 4th and 5th be
When Arteta was appointed Head Coach we were below 8th. Yes the following season, his first as the manager, we also finished 8th, but as I posted previously, him and Edu were still sorting out the club. Did you expect them to just wave a magic wand and everything would just fall into place for us to be challenging for the PL ? It took Fergie longer to sort out Utd and for them to challenge for the PL than it has for Arteta.
Remind me, how long has Conte been a Manager/Head Coach ?
No surprise there is no reply there. Dont bother with the 8 8 5 because for some to get your point they will have to accept they were wrong in those 3 seasons. Its not going to happen.
AndersS, well said 👏👏
Well said HH
🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼, Maybe poster above has a special chant 😂
If you’re post is meant for HH, try actually using the correct reply button.
Well you could see it was ment for HH as I said HH 😂.
But i apologies for not hitting the right reply button buddy ,”Must do better “.
Apology accepted. Also try using the quote marks in the right context and positions next time 👍
Haha
I totally agree with @kendar, if it were Brighton, believe me we would have lost the game yesterday. Brighton is still coming to the Emirates and they will give us a game. Saw them play westham off the park like Barcelona of old. Arsenal thought bourmoth would be a walk in the park. We need to up our mentality to see every opposition as man City then all this sloppy play will fade away
When you have won games in the manner of yesterday with all things considered, surely Arsenal deserves to go on and lift the big jug.
Back from the ashes to wrestle away all the spoils ,this is the best game had seen played at the Emirates in my life time,
But the writer is right nothing is straight forward and am now scared we will never see the gaffer rotates again for this season
Well, Dan is at least right on one thing he wrote. SHAKEPEARE could indeed NOT have written yesterday, as he has been dead for centuries.
The fight and spirit in this young squad is testament to what MA is doing! The fact we are leaking some pretty sloppy goals though is a worry. Eventually our fortunes will change and we will lose games! Need to get tighter as a defensive unit or we will allow City in!
C,mon Liverpool, didn’t think I would say that 🤔😂😂😂
Anthony dirty player…
Former American President Ronald Reagan once said that luck favours the brave not the faint hearted. If we have ridden our luck it’s because the boys have been relentless to the end. Most games are won both in the head and on the pitch. If you are mentally weak you will not have that luck. You need to believe that despite the odds you can still do it and that takes a lot of guts. If Arsenal had accepted that the game was lost at 2-0 down they would not have staged that come back. It was a real test of character.
Perhaps many people have forgotten that we staged a similar come back against Man U at Emirates when we went behind 1-0 through a Marcus Rashford goal and then had to fight off their onslaught to win 3-2 in the dying minutes. All this is down to a resilience that our team has developed. If we keep this spirit we shall stand up to any team,
I might order Crates of 7up for the entire man united squad, staff and ex players like Gary Neville.
Surely the 7 up should be for Liverpool ! A drink named 7 DOWN would be right for United!
31 shot on goal only 9 shots were on target and 3 ended up as goals…Bournemouth had 4 shots and all were on target!
I have seen so many times we have reached 20 shots on goal so many times and not just this year but even last seasons too.
I think this Arsenal side is suffering from this ‘comeback fever’ because there is some need for upping the quality of striking to ensure we are clinically aligned. By now it would have been we are approaching Alpha Centauri with this league with everyone else trying to beat gravity on earth if we have an improved goal to shots on goal ratio.
Perhaps, the return of Folarin Balogun would herald that we fast-track him into the first team. Maybe it may also need us to recruit real competition for Gabriel Jesus. With 20 shots on goal we should be speaking 5-6 goals and under the circumstances we would be in the 70th mark already by now. What quick fixes right now? I’m not sure,.