Against West Ham, we probably said to ourselves “oh no not again”, when they were leading us. We probably felt Arsenal were going to get beaten all over again. We had our fears; fears that were inspired by past performances. However, the god of football (is there something called that?) had another plan. We showed some fighting spirit and before West Ham knew what hit them, we were winners by three goals to one.
Against Standard Liege, we probably thought we were going to lose this one too. With us going two goals down, it felt like the same thing we always fear was going to happen again. Who would have blamed anybody for giving up? Well, our boys had had enough and were not going to lie low and lose the game; they rallied around, found their fighting spirit, and got a morale boosting draw from the game.
Now, before these two games, we were not known to be great comeback kings; we were always known for bottling it when it really mattered. I have seen games this season where we should be winning and not losing, but could not. We lacked the belief in ourselves, we lacked the motivation and we lacked the fight to win games.
During the week, I read online, how Joe Willock praised Freddie for being a good influence on him. He spoke about Ljungberg being the right person during this period because he has played for Arsenal in the past and knows what it means to put on the Arsenal shirt. Being a player is one thing, being a player of impact is another. Ljungberg was not just a player; he was a player of impact while at Arsenal. He is an Arsenal legend.
It takes a legend to build a legend; it takes a star to build a star. Ljungberg is a legend and it is expected that he teaches the players what it means to fight for Arsenal. The players have to be taught that whenever they don’t show any fighting spirit, it affects the club generally. These lessons from Freddie seems to be yielding results at the moment.
So when next you watch Arsenal play and they seem not to be playing well, please don’t give up on them, because these boys have the fighting spirit in them and they will pull their way through.
Have you given up on the team yet? Please, reprogram your mind, put up a smile and support the team as they fight their way back to the top of the league table. We are Arsenal and we are proud.
Sylvester Kwentua