I’m a big believer that mentality is crucial in sport. It can separate the good from the great. That’s why I have stressed that if Arsenal are going to become champions this season, it will be by building up a healthy lead by February/March.
I worry that if we reach the title run-in with Man City only a few points behind, it will be too much for our young squad to handle. Pep Guardiola not only has a group who know how to get over the line, but have done it with a smile on their faces.
Signs of Fragility
It’s just my opinion, of course, but if you ever needed an example of where my fears come from, look no further than Saturday night. Clearly I’m not the only Gooner who’s been burnt before, as with half an hour gone at the Emirates, it was noticeable how quiet the crowd was, with commentators saying you could feel the anxiety around the ground. The atmosphere at our home is something Mikel Arteta improved, but in 2025 it’s gone back to the days of it not taking a lot for nerves to be apparent.
For most of the evening, we lacked the leadership to respond. Players showed fear of the ball; hence, Wolves’ keeper didn’t have a lot to do.
When we needed composure, David Raya was running over halfway to get involved like we had seconds left to play. In reality it was still the first half.
Learning the Hard Way
Our manager looked white in the face, shocked by what he was witnessing. I even sensed at full time the Spaniard struggled to hide his concerns about just how bad we were. Maybe he knows the positives those at the Etihad will find from us struggling to beat a side with 2 points?
Yet the only way a team ever discovers that mentality is by doing what we did in stoppage time. I agree with Martin Keown that when the visitors equalised, the next 6 minutes were crucial in the title race. Dropped points, the nature of the performance and the backlash would have made Man City favourites. Suddenly we rescued the title by the skin of our teeth.
That’s being positive. Deep down, you can’t help but worry if this was how we were reacting in December, what’s it going to be like in a few months’ time?
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Didnt watch the game ,but would have expected a confidence boosting win after last weekends sh1t show .
From what I’ve read it Sounds like another case of playing not to lose ,sounds all to familiar.
Still 5 points clear so not all bad .
Playing not to lose is what Wolves were doing, and doing it quite well, while we were playing to win but doing it poorly.
2 points clear now, thanks (or not) to Palace.
It’s now up to Wet Spam to do us a favour by winning at the Etihad! 😂
That performance was really wanting. Arsenal need to work on their morale if we really intend to lift this elusive cup. I dearly miss Gabriel. The gap he has left is always obvious. All in all 3 more precious points in the bag! Next to the next match, COYG.
The players seemed too nervous to pass the ball to Gyokeres, because he was always surrounded by Wolves’ players and he couldn’t hold the ball nor could he dominate his markers physically
Here are Gyokeres’ stats vs Wolves:
– 1 shot
– 1 foul won
– 50% accurate passes
– 1 defensive contribution
– 2/4 ground duels won
– 1/2 aerial duels won
A strong front-line pivot should’ve done much better to hold the ball and to win duels for his teammates. If the players gave him the ball more often, he would’ve likely lost it too many times and it would’ve likely led to Wolves’ counter-attack
It was different when Merino played CF against Spurs, since Merino possesses better technical skills and aerial ability. He was smartly swapping his position with Eze to lose his markers and give Eze plenty of room to shoot
It might be an overly reductive conclusion, but basically Gyok is a big lunk. That obviously worked well for him in Portugal against lower level teams, where he had less combat to deal with, but it’s not cutting it in the EPL, even against our lowest level teams. I had my suspicions and preferred Sesko between the two – not sure he would have performed much better by this stage of the season, but I definitely think he has more potential. And I also don’t buy that it’s only down to Gyok not getting enough service. Because even when he DOES get it, he’s not proving to have the skill level required. We’re really just holding out until Kai is back again, when Gyok is likely to fall into a supporting role if he can’t come right quickly.
Gyokeres’ playing style and physical abilities are simply not suited to Arteta’s tactics
Gyokeres had better move to a counter-attacking team like Atletico Madrid or Nottingham Forest, where there’s more space for him to exploit
Haaland is much better than Gyokeres in tight spaces and Arsenal should’ve looked for that physically-dominant CF profile
Even Haaland would struggle to score with the terrible service Gyokeres gets, Arteta should be working more on the midfield to give the service he needs, it’s as if when Havertz comes back, Gyokeres will spend more time on the bench, Arteta needs to concentrate on Eze being the playmaker, not Odegaard who is too wayward with his passing, he isn’t the player he was before his injuries, but alas it is only an opinion
If were nervous now in December. What are we going to be like should we still be in the shake up come April/May time. Gulp. 🤦♂️
Ha. If we’re not 6 points clear at the start of April, I for one will be a ball of nerves for a month!
Arsenal have come through a tough run! They won’t bottle it and will be ready for Everton
Based on yesterday mate that will give City a lift
Encourage the guys please for having the balls to win the match the way they did and stop all these your rubbish anytime Arsenal didn’t win or had a bad day
I also noticed how the crowd went quiet in some periods in the game with the score at nil nil.
Arsenal are just not creating enough chances as witnessed in the last 3 EPL games, its like they’re not clicking and lacking some ideas on how to breakdown these defenses. My my main culprits are Gyokeres and Eze, I also thought not bringing in Madueke was criminal by Arteta, He needed to make way for Madueke he’s been really good for me.
To be honest, not many of our forwards have shone this season.
Saka and Martinelli are statistically way behind their previous seasons. Gyökeres is disappointing but ironically his goal tally is on level with the rest.
Apart from Trossard, all our forwards have been shadows of themselves. Ödegaard is the worst of them as his performance dropped already last season (did he get contract extension back then?).
Yes our forwards haven’t shone individually, but Saka is starting to pickup.
Havertz will be back soon and Trossard will be fit enough to start. Completely different team when you take out Gyokores and Martinelli who are to poor technically to be in our first 11. Eze will come good with Havertz infront of him because he doesn’t mind dropping into midfield allowing eze more space and time to shoot. We still lead the pack in both the league and the champions league it’s not all doom and gloom.
Have City won it’s today’s game? Not yet.
Will they? We will see.
How many injuries do we have? I don’t know for sure, but one of the highest, or maybe even the highest number in the league, considering especially our key players.
Would somebody tell us why (some statistics, analysis)? Probably not, almost everyone loves focusing on cheap emotions.
We have 5 players injured including Dowman that rarely plays when fit so realistically more like 4 injuries. Nowhere near the highest
Current average is 4.2 injuries per team in the EPL, taking into account we have a better squad than most teams we actually on par with the average
Seems like you are jist making up things thats convenient….next excuse?
And why season after season, do we have the most injuries.? Not exactly blaming the current staff as this started from Wenger…but strangely not during emery, he just had a disjointed team. Our training and tactics leaves a lot to be desired.
I didn’t see a nervous team. I saw a tired team,particularly through the spine. Rice and Zubimendi have played plenty of minutes and it showed in some of their decisions. Saliba just got back and had to play LCB. A week is sufficient time to turn things around.
Also,I’m tired of all the Man City talk like they are Invincible themselves.This is not the same City side that won the treble. I’ve watched them and they have their flaws. They will drop points.
If it was City that won the game in extra time,we’d be hearing how that is the stuff of champions-to win when you aren’t playing well. As far as I’m concerned,that win was a sign of great mentality.
Saliba and Rice didn’t play midweek
Neither did Timber
Saka didn’t start midweek
We cant used injuries as an excuse
That would be rock bottom.
Saliba has been out and fitness doesn’t just return instantly after being ‘in the cold’. And he played at LCB which he is less familiar with. Ditto Timber. Rice has been ill and it took a late fitness test for him to be cleared. It’s possible that he was still feeling the lingering effects of illness.
These are not excuses because we didn’t lose but possible EXPLANATIONS why we looked lethargic!
Wolves have 2 points !!!!!
I give up, let’s just go with your explanation lol – the players were nervous.
Not nervous????
We have lost 5 points in our last 2 games before wolves in the last 5 mins of the game
You predicted 3-0
When you made that prediction Timber , Rice and Saliba were all doubts
I think we can both agree that the team underperformed. I just don’t buy your explanation that nervousness was the contributing factor to said underperformance. And that is why I gave alternative explanations from what I saw with my eyes.
Prediction is done ‘on paper’ and sometimes players don’t execute the actual football as expected. My prediction before the game doesn’t negate the observations I made during the game.
It does if your now saying injuries are an explanation when you knew of the situation when you made the prediction
Of course it’s an opinion . I just don’t know how anyone can watch that game and not think we were nervous
But it’s your opinion dude
Right, I mean we all have good reason to be a little anxious about City picking up steam given the last 3 seasons. But they have the same task ahead of them as we do, with less depth, and more reliance on a single player so far. Foden’s return to stellar form couldn’t have come at a better time for them. I expect them to keep challenging seriously, after all, Pep is arguably the world’s best manager. But a lot hangs on continued form and fitness.
It’s also underrated the control Calafiori and Trossard give us on the left. It’s always a great balance to have a team of runners and players who are good at controlling and keeping the ball.
But you knew when you made predictions one was suspended and the other was a doubt
How about we just focus on the topic at hand instead of dwelling on something different.Refute the point I’ve made with alternative facts and opinions of your own.
I have stayed on topic
Your saying some have underrated the loss of the Troaasrd and Calafori partnership
So I am understandably pointing you that your prediction suggests that you couldn’t have thought it would hurt us that much
The way City winning at the moment, I feel Arsenal gonna bottle the league by January
Does anyone here think we could play away to in-form Palace and win 0-3? That would never happen, because we crumble so badly under pressure
Exactly my point
City is now firing on all cylinders and now we are crumbling
And if you look on paper man to man then I feel Arsenal has better squad the City
But City has something which we don’t have and that is Haaland
Today also Palace looked comfortable defending deep and hitting City on counter but one good cross from Nunez and Haaland scored
And suddenly Palace will have to come out of their blocks to leave the space behind and that’s what exactly happened
We don’t have that lethal CF like Haaland
Bullying defenders
Holding up 2-3 defenders and still finding the team mate
One cross header, bang goal
If City is going to win the league then because of this defference of CF
Give Haaland to Arteta and he will be ruined within a month. He would push Merino and Havertz as CFs to prove (I dont know to who) how clever he is.
I called it here before even Gyokeres kicked a ball for us that Arteta will ruin him.
Is Gyokeres on the same level as Haaland? Which players has Arteta “ruined” within a month?
How many CFs has he signed….he’s clearly referring to CFs
Exactly Gyokores is his first CF he’s signed since he’s been here .
He did not sign Gyokeres either. The way he set his tactics is to make him fail and in the long run to eventually have an excuse to take him out of the team altogether.
If we win the league all the plaudits should go to him not the star player who is banging in goals every week, like the FA Cup Aubameyang single handedly won it for us before he was ruined and eventually forced out of the team.
Who is this guy 🙄🙄…. Who signed Gyok then?.. can’t just get over your biased towards the coach that you could even make embarrassing comment just to spite him.
Grow up dude!!
If he’s referring to CF Arteta’s Arsenal have signed two players who could be considered CFs at the time of signing. One is GJ who has had injuries and about whom there has been much discussion about his performances even when fit. I don’t think it would be fair to suggest that Arteta has somehow “ruined” him.
The other is Gyokeres who has struggled up till now. It is worth considering why this is the case and having a sensible debate. It is also worth noting that there are not many top level strikers shining at the moment with the exception of Haaland.
However, it is not really clear why HH suggests that Arteta would somehow “ruin” Haaland. It is also unclear why it is suggested that Arteta would deploy certain players just to show how clever he is.
City is too good. Winning 3-0 away at palace. I’m nervous now that city will over take us in the next few games.
City is now firing on all cylinders and now we are crumbling
And if you look on paper man to man then I feel Arsenal has better squad the City
But City has something which we don’t have and that is Haaland
Today also Palace looked comfortable defending deep and hitting City on counter but one good cross from Nunez and Haaland scored
And suddenly Palace will have to come out of their blocks to leave the space behind and that’s what exactly happened
We don’t have that lethal CF like Haaland
Bullying defenders
Holding up 2-3 defenders and still finding the team mate
One cross header, bang goal
If City is going to win the league then because of this defference of CF
City very clinical, they have individual brilliance in their team. Palace were all over City but 1 chance Halland scores and half chance Foden makes it 2. They have 2 players in form of their lives. There’s still weaknesses about this City team, but they keep on improving in every game.
City now just 2 points behind us with Villa 3 points, it’s too tight to call, Villa looking like they are the dark horse under Emery, he’s getting the most out of his players, Rodgers is looking class with 2 goals in the 2nd half to turn it around, they did the same away at Brighton recently, they won’t fear a trip to the Emirates the way they’re playing right now, the next few games are gonna be very interesting, let’s hope Arteta gets his tactics right and we can get a run of results, we certainly need them.
What would happen to us if we hadn’t won yesterday? Even a draw at Everton is not enough to remain top at Christmas.
I would have said title race over
Would have been such a blow
City slight favourites for me
Too early to declare title race over even without reaching a half way mark. Would you say same if Arsenal now have significant lead over City? Why we get scared even of the shadows of City after investing hundreds of millions?
It’s not scared of City it’s wanting something so much you fear failure
That’s why if we do win a title more will follow
This is equally why fans shouldn’t dismiss that League Cup because it’s a trophy and we can quickly fall away In the title race
We have been here b4, 8 pts clear and we bottled it so unlike the rusted on fanboys, will only relax when we hold the epl trophy. Only positives are squad depth and we are panicking NOW instead of April. Time to get things right before the run in BUT I’d have more confidence under a better manager. All diwn to tactics or in his case, lack of…
Gets gyokores but rarely use him to his strengths , natural movement instead of dictated
Remember……he had 2 games to work out what went wrong in previous 2 and he still couldnt. We almost lost 2 more pts to the worst performing bottom dweller. Euro teams are different. The lesser ones dont know how epl works
You’ve already said the title race is over Dan, as you have always said we won’t win anything with Mr Kronkie as our owner.
Dan
Why are you doubting Arsenal that much? Since the season started, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bournemouth, Sunderland, Spurs, have been going neck to neck with Arsenal. But where are they now? Man City and Aston Villa are next. Arsenal will still leave them behind very soon
Remember, in the next 3 matches, Aston Villa will face Man United home, Chelsea away and Arsenal Away.
City and Chelsea have not even met. So, one or both of them will drop points
I have not even talked about second leg where Man City must visit Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Anfield
So, for me, Arsenal are the favourites
I would make City slight favourites at the moment due to experience
If we get to March and only a few points are in it , I would worry
If we win it , it will be between December – Match
Everton game massive
If people are blaming injuries on yesterdays performance, then we are in trouble. An estimated 800 mil worth of talent on the pitch, 250 mil worth of talent on the bench, according to transfer market and we still couldn’t score a goal from open play. Then we will never win the league. Our problems are not down to injuries.
Reggie you are ruining their last hope of an excuse with facts 🤣 i swear some of these fans are hoping for injuries so they have something to fall back on
What phase are we on again?
👍
Today I wasted too much mental energy and resources trying to jinx both City and Villa hoping the two London opponents at least get draws but in vain. Two Sundays in a row ended disadvantaging Arsenal.
Can Arteta beat Moyes and his former Everton away? Hard to blame us if we doubt. Good thing is the in form Everton man Hall (injury) and Ndiaye (Afcon) will not feature v Arsenal. Even so the City man Grealish exerts his maximum to foil our title charge.
Equally everything can look different after one game
Go to Everton and win and Gooners will feel better
I just fear kicking off a point behind Man City will be too much mentally to cope with
Equally huge if we win
Just like always it won’t be easy but I think Arteta and his boys should get down to business.Enough of these injury excuses as if their bones are made of plastics.They can perfect tactically in training under Arteta guidance on feeding gyokeres and not being selfish.
It’s looking like City have started there long winning streak already.
Liam,
May what you said about Havertz be true. Saw Jesus even he’s unreliable at the front. I don’t foresee 4 seasons as runners up. As some point out injuries don’t take all the blame. It’s also dwarfing the toils of Berta who did miracles in the summer. Let’s be brave and be mature in our encounters. An opponent having more goal attempts than us while we had played for more than an hour with a man plus advantage is never acceptable and can’t be expected from a would be Champions.
Ambachew, cast your mind back to our one and only CL final and ask Barca fans if they found it acceptable.
The Chelsea game and the Wolves match will be forgotten if we win the PL, or any title this season.
Havertz
Gabriel
Mosquera
White
Downman
Gyokeres.
Trossard. Odegaard. Saka.
Rice. Merino.
Calafiori. Hincapie. Saliba. Timber.
Raya.
SUBS –
Jesus, Martinelli, Madueke, Eze, Nwaneri, Merino, Norgaard, Skelly, Kepa.
Gyokeres.
Trossard. Odegaard. Saka.
Rice. Zubimendi.
Calafiori. Hincapie. Saliba. Timber.
Raya.
SUBS –
Jesus, Martinelli, Madueke, Eze, Nwaneri, Merino, Norgaard, Skelly, Kepa.
Injuries are not an excuse but we currently have 3 of our center backs injured and that leaves the back at risk.
God forbid, any injury to any defender again and we are in crisis.
Hopefully we get our 5 injured players back fast and we stay fit and injury free for the rest of the season.
We have lost the grip on the title, now we just have to see how the rest of the season unfolds.
I pray we get some trophies.
So why do we have a approx 45 million obligation on Hincapie, if your saying he can’t fill in against a team with 2 points in December?
So who DID fit in against a team with two points in December then Dan?
I’m not saying he did mate
I’m saying he is good enough that’s my point
Same question again then Dan!!
I’m not understanding the question then mate or your not understanding my point lol
No one was good enough yesterday but I’m saying that is based on a weak mentality not because of the injuries
Only Saka was good enough yesterday.
Yeah but that’s not because of injuries
I’m still not sure why Hincapie is being mentioned then, but hey ho let’s move on.
Because injuries are being used as an excuse
I’m saying team we had playing were more then good enough
I too was confused as to why he mentioned Hincapie
Hincapie’s role is back up for Gabriel. He is doing quite a good job so far but the drop in quality is clear from Gabriel to him.
Really? Did Saka play to his full potential then?
No, Saka gave a 6/10 performance for me.
The rest were poor.
We need our best players for each position available for us to stand a better chance of winning many games.
I think this fear of picking up more injuries is a big part of what’s going on, and why the team seems less adventurous the last few weeks. Under normal circumstances there would have been more aggression against Wolves. You can see Arteta is urging to get the players to attack more, but they’re choosing to hold back instead.
Once Gabriel and Saliba are back together, and the other first team players are back, I have a feeling the rest of the team will feel more confident again. As you point out, our defense is teetering this month, but that won’t be the case next month. The title is not lost, keep your head, it’s just a rough patch.
Many pro A came up with the usual hard to play against a low block. THATS SO TRUE especially when your tactics are side to side to walk up the pitch then knock the ball around the top of the box and all your players are in their set static positions then wonder why there is no space?
Noticed on a counter, we usually go to the wing then play the ball back instead of going one on one. Tactics?
In our last 3 games, we have lost 5 points and nearly 7 of 9 in the last 5 mins. Where is the side to side or even simple possession then? Instead we panic, boot the ball up and be undrr pressure again. Tactics?
Havertz.
Trossard. Odegaard. Saka.
Rice. Zubimendi.
Calafiori. Gabriel. Saliba. Timber.
Raya.
So far, Gyokeres and Eze that was brought in to improve our attack are not really doing their jobs well.
Arteta will likely bench Gyokeres for his beloved Havertz when he returns to full fitness, especially if Gyokeres does not start playing better and scoring goals.
Eze will soon start getting used to coming in from the bench with Odegaard being the captain and also favored by Arteta.
Arteta just has to learn to get his rotations on point. And hopefully any player he selects gives a good performance.
SJ,
I fully agree! Seeing City’s Cherki esp today he’s a better unlocker of low block defense than Eze. Bargain buy by City for half the price of Eze who is older than Cherki by 6 years.
Yes, Cherki has more flair than Eze. Maybe it is because Cherki is younger.
Eze has lost his flair ever since he joined us. We really need him to get that flair and skills back to help us win many games.
I believe Eze hasnt lost his flair, he has been micro managed to. Why are his performances for England far better than for Arsenal,? even without a stringer understanding of his england teammates? i feel because of the tactics dictated on the Arsenal players. Every facet of the games needs to be micro managed by the novice.
As some believe City are dumb without Haaland, are we without Maghales both in attack and defence? Next week fixtures and results tell us more.
Yes, the team we had are superior in quality to the Wolves players yet they performed poorly and that is nerve wracking.
There must be something that is happening that is causing the players to be slow, weak and lack urgency at this important part of the season.
I hope it is rectified and they start performing well.
I am surprised by some of the comments. Why should people impute wrong motives on Arteta’s part? Why should he favour some players to the detriment of the team? Is that aensible? I doubt that Arteta has any relative or old acquaintance in the team. Why then would he undermine some players to promote others? If he did that he would either be an imbecile or outright insane! Any unbiased observer can see that Arteta has been under intense pressure because of the increasing injuries in the team. This can take a toll on any human being. However, he has managed to keep the team afloat and might soon reap the rewards of a big squad. This is no mean feat!
On the issue of nervousness, I think this is a human instinct which is difficult to gauge by the naked eye. However, certain actions might indicate nervousness, for example scoring an own goal, bickering among players, parking the bus etc. Did Arsenal display those on Saturday? I would blame the tactics rather than nervousness. I have never been a fan of defending one goal. It is something which teams do and usually end up conceding! It is illogical to rest on your laurels with a one goal difference. Man city tried it with us and the game ended with a draw. It is a cowardly tactic and should only be applied in desperate situations. It is always good to keep the opponent on their toes. The good thing from this is that we have learnt some lessons. So, hopefully we shall not repeat the same mistakes. We should remember that this is still December and not yet even half the season. The team with the bigger squad is favoured to perform better in the second half of the season rather than the one with history, whatever that means! Man city has not had as serious injuries as we have had. Can anyone imagine Man city without Haaland! Compare that with what Arsenal has gone through. We have been without both Saliba and Gabriel in defence. There was no recognised striker in the team. Was that easy? Yet we are still top of the table! We should begin to reflect on our capacity instead of being nervous ourselves! There is a lot to be hopeful about.
Arsenal meet Palace for Carabao QF after next match at Everton. Palace are nothing without Guehi who never gets injured unlike ours.
Yes winning Carabao gives Arsenal the much needed belief and confidence for the title charge. Palace are good in cups as they beat giants to claim FA Cup and Shield.
The injuries are unprecedented. Almost every player in the team has got injured in this season. Don’t know whether it is just a bad luck or Arteta’s man management & training.
But title winning team needs to have fit core for at least 90% of the time
rteta risking Saliba and White for a full 90 is scandalous.
He could have played Salmon, MLS, Norgaard and Ethan.
Arteta needs to quit making excuses and look in the mirror the same way he asks of his players.
These guys are good enough for CL, but not good enough for Wolves?
You mean Arteta is scared of the super high powered Wolves offense which is top of the league with $h*tY?
Play some freshies here and there, and we won’t have Ben and others in the medical tent.
Many others mentioned to set up our team according to how the opposition will play, you can’t play the same 11 every month against different styles and expect different outcomes-draws.
Change a few of the chess pieces, insert fresh legs, and those fine margins can go AFC’s more often than not.
Not even going to go down that rabbit hole with Gyoal, but will help many here who believe he is crap, rotate him with Kai and Jesus. Provide him with some service, crosses in front of him more than 1x in 10 games, and passes on the run for 1 touch or no touch and shoot and he will score enough to help lift AFC to a better place in the long run.
Wonder if AFC will show training pictures on what the players have forgot for the next 10 days.
Arsenal may be “looking nervous”, but they’re still looking down the Premier League at the rest.