Several neutrals and critics have attempted to diminish the significance of Arsenal’s Premier League title success this season, with some suggesting that the Gunners relied heavily on set pieces and did not score enough goals from open play.
This narrative has been used to downplay what Arsenal have achieved in securing the league crown for the first time in 22 years, despite the consistency and resilience shown across the campaign.
Setpiece Debate and Public Perception
In seasons where Arsenal have fallen short in the title race and finished second, they have often been criticised for ‘bottling’ the competition, with little attention given to how goals were scored or the tactical approach used.
However, now that the title has been secured, similar discussions have emerged around their style of play and reliance on set pieces, although the team themselves appear unconcerned by external opinions.
Ladyman’s Defence of the Champions
The men at the Emirates continue to focus on adding more trophies and have received external defence of their achievements, with journalist Ian Ladyman having supported their status as champions. He writes in the Daily Mail:
“When Manchester United won the treble in 1999, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team needed just 79 points to claim the Premier League title. United won ‘only’ 22 of their 38 league games that season.
“That brings some perspective to the performance of the new champions Arsenal over the course of the last nine months. Victory over Crystal Palace yesterday took Mikel Arteta’s team to 85 points and that’s a total that would have won the league last season, too.
“So Arsenal are worthy champions. Their football has not been to everybody’s taste and it has been underpinned by what is statistically the best defence across all of Europe’s top five leagues.”
This perspective reinforces the view that Arsenal’s achievement stands on merit, highlighting consistency across the season and addressing criticism surrounding their style of play while underlining their defensive strength and overall performance as champions.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through this link…
With Pardew having to row back on his daft * statement, I don’t care how we won. The idea that we only managed it because the other big clubs were useless this season is another equally daft view. You can only beat what’s in front of you and 7 points ahead of City and 25 more than Liverpool suggests something good was going on so hats off to Ladyman for his appreciation
Just one more thing City’s financial doping has corrupted. They’ve even perverted people’s perception of winning.
If a squad of players can win the PL title, whilst not conceding one penalty and receive not a single red card all season (yet another record by the way) then this talk about not being worthy champions is utter BS.
Add to that, the fact that we have not a single charge of any breaking of rules against us both currently and in past, regarding the PL and one can see just how much this achievement outweighs ANYTHING that city130 and the chelski cheats have done since our last PL victory under Arsene Wenger.
If it wasn’t for, both the FA and PL wanting to protect their image, then Mikel Arteta would /could/should have now had three PL titles under his belt.