WAS THE N.L.D. A FALSE DAWN OR A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? by ken1945
Having just got home from the game on Sunday, I have read the articles and posts that were made on JA and also had the opportunity to listen to the “experts” on the radio.
First of all, I have to try and convey to those who weren’t lucky enoough to be there, just what the 50,000 odd Gooners were like and how their support for the team, Arteta and each other was something I haven’t seen for a long time.
There was an inevitability amongst the crowd about the performance and outcome of the game and the atmosphere was electric, fully thirty minutes before the kick off.
The chanting never stopped the entire game and “The Library” rocked, cheered, sang, laughed, gloated and became MA’s 12th man for all to see.
Even after the game, walking away, the chanting was great to hear and, as far as I can see, this hasn’t been acknowledged properly.
We are always told how wonderful other fans are… let me tell you, we rivalled any set of fans I have witnessed, that’s for sure!!!
I felt proud to be part of the crowd that silenced the Spud fans into oblivion…. along with the players of course!!!
Secondly, I listened with amazement to our dearly beloved pundits and experts, as they tried to explain away our total and complete dominance of the game… not just the first 45 minutes by the way…but the whole game, as simply because the Spuds were rubbish!!!
Here’s where I get so angry with the media.
Our terrible start to the season (for whatever reason) was seized upon as the greatest disaster ever to befall our club – MA not good enough – Players not believing in him – signings that were not good enough – money wasted.. it was going to be a relegation season.
However, after three wins, out come the same beloved pundits and experts to tell us Gooners, not to over react – it was only Norwich, Burnley and the Spuds who we had beaten….yet who were they comparing us with, when we were at the bottom of the PL?
Yes of course, it was the Spuds, the PL champions, the winners of the CL and Brentford… who, by the way, are no mugs themselves.
Now on to the players and the game.
What a joy to watch the commitment, energy, game plan and comradeship shown out on the field.
Every player knew what they were doing, what their team-mates were doing and how MA wanted them to play.
We have got some great players and our signings in the last window seem to be superb.
The defence was as tight as a drum, and for all those who said we have overpaid for any of them, I hope you watched them yesterday.
Those who said that the players were doubting MA and were not backing him – watch again the celebrations from everyone involved after the final whistle.
It was clear and evident to me that MA is, indeed, bringing his vision to the club and the players are backing him 100%
The next claim, that we didn’t punish a team that was there for the taking – give me strength!!!
Did anyone expect them to just lay down and submit after that first half humiliation?
Of course they came out trying to restore some pride – we just played a wonderful game of containment, with a defence that was well-drilled, talked to each other and controlled the game… with Partey and Xhaka providing the cover they needed when necessary.
MA got this game 100% right from the back to the front and it was, quite frankly, a demolition derby.
Finally, every Gooner does know that this game hasn’t suddenly made us world beaters and neither does it excuse the mistakes MA has made and I have been one of those who has done this.
We should continue to question him when he makes errors, as we did with UE and AW.
But we should also be excited and chuffed by the way we completely outplayed our noisy neighbours, let’s all enjoy it.
I saw the beginnings of a squad of players who believe in the manager and, when all fit, they should/could give any team a fight – and that’s the message that our 50,000 plus fans sent out yesterday – Give us that kind of 100% performance and we will back you 100% – we now know what you can and should be doing every week.
I salute the manager, players and the wonderful Gooners who were lucky enough to be there yesterday – I hope it isn’t a false dawn and I have a feeling that the next few games will prove that isn’t the case… please don’t let me have to eat my words.
ken1945
U won’t bro😁😁😁
Wonderful positive article Ken. The part about the supporters is great to hear. Glad you had a good time at the Emirates.
Coming to the Article itself, I am still apprehensive because we did saw a false dawn with the Chelsea performance last season. The players have belief in the manager there is no doubt, but you may notice that we did ditch some part of Artetaball that at the start we were playing still, the overuse of slowly reworking the ball to the left and ineffectively crossing inside the box. With our injury prone LB having no support from the LW, this was what led us to be vulnerable at the back to counters. Now I am glad to see a more balanced approach.
Coming to the pundits, experts and media you know that they are always biased against The Arsenal, and we used to habitually make them eat their words. I still remember the Comical Wenger Tshirt, lol. I hope we will shut them up as the season progresses. Finally, I agree with your point that MA has to show a lot a consistency, flexible tactics like here, give players free hand as and when required and win matches inorder to get supporters behind him. Our start was not all down to him, he was handicapped as he said, but as the manager of a big club, he might have done better to prepare for such a scenario. The performances were very bad uptill City, where we did atleast show some fight. Anyways I hope he will utilise his fully fit players and wish both him and the players success.
Cheers!
Honestly Sid – that’s why we need the likes of Wrighty, Dixon, Keown on the various panels – otherwise we’d get slaughtered. If you don’t support Arsenal, chances are you don’t like us!
We are all a little euphoric atm – chances are a little realism will soon return. Deep down we all know Sunday was the “perfect storm” and it won’t be a weekly occurance. But this young exciting team should improve, and the most encouraging two thoughts I have had are that I saw Arteta’s process working for the first time, and now that we have done it once, we all know this football with this team is possible, so we can do it again…and again.
One thing for sure is that every fan sees the club season from his and hers unique perspective. For many fans roller coaster best describes the first 6 weeks of both Arsenal and Spur’s season. For Spurs after 3 straight wins it was “our players are Gods the Manager is a genius”. After 3 games many of our fans were saying our players are useless and the manager is clueless. 3 games later the roles are totally reversed. Kane, Nuno and Levy out while at the Emirates it’s “Arteta is king Arsenal are the best”.
Until the next run of outs 🙂
But for some of us old heads we don’t ride the roller coaster any more. We know it’s a long long season as the old maxim states “nothing is decided in November” .. and its not even October.
So for me I was not upset about our slow start nor am I geting too excited about our latest run of wins because I have realistic expectations.
Arsenal will not win the league nor will we be relegated. We are very unlikely to make top four or finish in the bottom half. We are likely to finish between 5th and 8th probably 6th/7th..
I find I can enjoy our losses as much as our wins. I believe we are on course for a 20 win 7 draws 11 loss season which would get us EL football.
And that for me given the strength of the top 4 and many others is plenty good enough.
Fairfan – you take a lot of knocks my friend and are invariably up when we are down, and realistic when we are over-confident.
Pretty good forecasting so far this season, and I’m still giddy from Sunday, so happy to go with your analysis!
Terrific post fairfan. And such wonderful – though so often rare on this site- REALISM!
What a wonderful weekend it was. The Blues lost. United lost. Liverpool scored 3goals yet, they couldn’t win their game. Arsenal blasted the Spuds back to the stone age. 😆
I’m still feeling cool and no loud mouthed pundit should tell me rubbish. They had all written us off, after three straight losses.
They expected us to be swimming in relegation waters by now, but that hasn’t happened.
It’s early days yet, but our signings aren’t looking bad at all. Out with the backwards and sideways passing. Arteta should allow these guys play direct football.
Onwards and upwards!
Good article Ken – written with real passion. Is it safe to say you had a good time?
What do you put the incredible support down too – better than I’ve seen in several years, and that includes BEFORE kickoff (so its not reactive its proactive)? The covid absence? NLD? The hope the fresh new players are giving us? Recent results? Arteta’s process seemingly starting to deliver? Or the sudden organic realisation that we love our club and we want to show it rather than stay silent or moan? Interested to hear.
I promise you it was obvious even on tv this was not standard Arsenal support – the one minute’s beautiful applause for Greavesy, who played for almost every London club BUT Arsenal, sent shivers down my spine, and that feeling never stopped all game.
Should have mentioned the reaction to Jimmy Greaves from our fans, guy…. that’s what I would class as “doing it The Arsenal way”.
As for your other questions, I can only say that, from the minute I arrived at The Emirates, I knew we were going to win this game – the atmosphere was absolutely electric.
I have questioned MA on many occasions, but he got this one absolutely spot on AND I have never heard such a continuous noise from the fans, except the night we saw Jack Wilshere destroy Barca… in my opinion.
The supporters at the Emirates were amazing and we wouldn’t have pinned Spurs down without them. I was just disappointed with some fans who stood on top of Aubameyang’s car, when he was leaving the stadium
Their enthusiasm and energy will be needed in Brighton
Gai
I must say I was impressed with the energy and physicality demonstrated by our technical players against Spuds. No wonder they drop off in second half such level not easy to sustain. Arteta drilled the players well in training. My advice is that the coach should stick with his first 11 longer so that the players can be more compact. Other players can be given 10-15minutes cameo. Others can also be used in Cup games. Now we go to a difficult group on Saturday. The test for Arteta and his team continues..
Yes, they worked very hard in the first half
About the game in Brighton, Aubameyang won’t win many aerial duels because Brighton have several towering CBs. So keeping Smith-Rowe on the left wing will be a good option again, to let him break Brighton’s defense with his diagonal runs
An excellent article KEN and the prime reason it is so, is because it has due perspective and context. It blows away the silly and constant doommongers who have been taking over this otherwise fine site in recent times, with its realistic context and sensible analysis.
You have of course the priceless advantage of being a senior Gooner in age, wisdom and experience. I SHOULD NOT judge those who, through no fault of their own, are lacking in all three of these “gifts” as inferior Gooners, but I do and do so constantly.
My constant anger at these hasty juveniles – as this is exactly what the largest part of that group ACTUALLY ARE, MEANING IN AGE- is understandable from the viewpoint of another senior Gooner in age and experience.
(I will not claim wisdom, as that will anger many who despise my constant realism on here).
And I have no wish to further divide Gooner opinion, esp just at the time that many will be reassessing their constant gloom at our team so quickly improving.
Indeed I have already seen much evidence of exactly that on here, since the result!
I am with you in all that you write, though still, of course , harbour reservations about our long term future, though I also have real hope where this manager is concerned.
My long term reservations concern our owner, who is appalling, and nothing else. Unless you include the fickleness of SOME modern fans (albeit only some, as I will not tar them all with the same brush).
I also freely admit that MA still has a long way to go to prove himself BEYOND DOUBT to practically the whole Gooner fanbase as the long term real deal. I include myself in that group, naturally.
But above all what the many sensible ones among us can see developing rapidly now is a clear sense of commitment to youth and energy.
It is a well established football truism that good teams are built from the back. And that now looks to be clear to all – unless they CHOOSE not to see what all our other fans can easily see.
Witness the massive Gooner change of heart on just RAMSDALE alone. Barely a month ago you could search almost in vain for ANY Gooner who wanted him to come. But now….!
Our average age is the lowest in many years and only Auba, among those who played against Spurs, is over 30.
Young players improve and often improve extremely rapidly. I need not mention our obvious names who are busy proving this truism right now.
TAKING THE LONGER VIEW – ON MOST SUBJECTS TOO BTW – IS WHAT WISE FOLK DO AND IN ALL SORTS OF WAYS! Hasty and instant judgements are almost always unwise and simply let off steam.
For truth, we all need to give things proper and sufficient time before making final judgement and on that note I will bow out with another congrats on your EXCELLENT article, Ken!
Thanks Jon.
I believe MA can be called “Marmite” and I still have my doubts about him.
But this was about Sunday, the brilliant fan base and how The Arsenal (manager and players) got it 100% right.
If only said fan base would/could concentrate on the here and now, relish our past glories and get behind this team of today.
If MA fails, then we go forward with someone else, but I can’t help but think that the result against our neighbours will be the catalyst for The Arsenal to get back to where they belong…. Marmite Time…. I won’t be surprised if we lose to Brighton though either!!!!
Jon- I quote “ I also have real hope where this manager is concerned”.
Is this the same manager you were finished with only weeks ago when it was announced Xhaka was staying and having his contract extended? Or have I missed something?
I think that sums up how many of us are atm Phil. My own opinion changes almost from week to week. The fact that I WANT any Arsenal manager to succeed means I gave him a lot of rope. I then said “enough” and wanted him gone. Now I watch one game where, with his new signings we were nigh on perfect, and I again wonder – is this the start or just a nice blip.?
I accept both that my original loyalty was over-generous as he has made a STACK of bad mistakes, but also that not recognising that this MAY be the start of an upturn is churlish on my part.
Phil, hope all is well with you.
As guy says, MA is certainly giving us all food for thought.
I read your discussion with Val in another article and I could see both points of view.
I did emphasis that this article was about Sunday and it’s performance both on and off the pitch… I really cannot make my mind up as to whether MA is the answer, but if the crowd reaction, along with the players performances are anything to go by, perhaps we have found the answer?
BHA will be very interesting and, make no mistake and in my opinion, Xhaka will be missed.
Yeah Ken- the performance was very very good, most especially the first half. But it counts for nothing if we do not build on this result with a win at Brighton.
As you know I was unable to be at the game, but talking to some mates who were there, they all said pretty much the same as you. They all felt a positive energy an hour before the game started, which shows the Emirates is capable of creating an atmosphere.
To be fair the away support at Brentford City and Burnley this year was very encouraging despite the first two results. It was positive and supportive of the team all through the games, especially at City. Being 5-0 down and with only 10 men what else is there to do?
In regards MA, he has now set the standard that we should expect every game. The intensity was there from the start. This must continue forwards in every game.
Could I also shout out for Odegaard. This boy is beginning to look the player we not only hoped for but also desperately needed. He will prove to be a top player for us in the future. The way him, ESR and Saka linked was what we have all been waiting for.
And Partey made such a difference too. Spuds were woeful and as for Kane? If ever a player looked as though me no longer wanted to be there then this was it. It reminded me of Sanchez in his last season.
Levy messed up badly there because that mob will struggle for top6/7 this season. We are a far better team than they are. Now Arteta needs to get his act together and prove it over this whole season.
Great read as always Ken.
Agree Phil. that’s why I asked “Is it a false dawn?”
Your point about knowing what this squad can now achieve is absolutely on the button – as it is for MA.
If they can produce this type of football week in week out, then we will be challenging for top four,,, as it should be of course.
I really can’t get over the atmosphere though, the Emirates has been such a quite place lately, but the supporters were absolutely brilliant – if the standard drops, there will be no hiding place for anyone methinks.
Same boring old Phil. Always trying to trip me up, BUT rarely with the full context I use when posting my views.
You follow my posts with such forensic interest and remember all I say – I ought to be flattered at your intense interest in me – even though you deliberately use it out of context, in your constant and obvious jealousy of my intellect and way with words that you, dear Phil, can only ever dream about competing with. Bad luck old chum!
But you do personal abuse so very well, with your weapon of the fearsome “PAL”, which no doubt will soon be used in your dismissive and abusive reply.
Some things and people are SO PREDICTABLE!
And of course Jon- true to form again. You never actually get round to answering the question do you.
You are on record of wanting Arteta out. You wrote it Old Chum not me.
Now it seems you don’t.
Some things just never ever change
Wot no “PAL”! Almost polite for once Phil.
To be serious though, I have often answered your many questions to me on various threads but had no second reply from you or acknowledgement as you had not seen my reply.
I have also asked YOU many questions. And, like me, you have failed to answer on those threads for the precise same reason I have too. Which is that we both move on as does JA and so miss many threads that have (and too rapidly IMO) been moved down the list on here to make space for constant new ones!
THAT is the only reason I fail to give you satisfaction and Phil, old chum , it works both ways!
However and to clear up any misunderstanding I will now answer the question you ask on this thread .
I did indeed write that I failed to understand how any manager can regularly pick and prefer the woeful XHAKA as a regular first choice and I stand by that as my view.
But there are, in all managerial decisions everywhere, certain things that I , or anyone , will not agree with nor understand and as fans we have the right to say so and why.
But MA is far more than simply a manager who, unlike most Gooners, likes XHAKA in the team. MA is IMO definitely putting his personal authority on the team and though rather late in the day, now that trouble makers like GuendouzI, Kolas and lazy types like Ozil and Mkhi are gone.
He has had to fight against a mountain of Gooner hasty and far too soon judgement and I admit he was not and remains not my preferred choice, IN AN IDEAL WORLD, WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE UNDER KROENKE and never will while he stays as our owner.
I LIVE IN THE WORLD AS IT IS THOUGH, not as I would like it to be in a fantasy world. As a practical realist, as I and none of us has any choice in this matter, while MA is our manager, I will publicly support him and hope he comes through for us all.
Surely that should be the way any true supporter should behave? Nothing wrong with expressing doubts of course but the constant critical barrage from the likes of Reggie, Dan Kit and many others who almost daily post that they want him gone is tedious and deeply unfair and NOT the action of true supporters.
Kens view is that he hopes for the best and will keep on supporting meanwhile, even though he harbours doubts, and that is my view too.
But I WILL ACTIVELY NEVER call for MA ‘s sacking, as you and I(and many, many others) both did for Wenger in his last two or three years on here. At least not until he has long proved to be beyond his sell by date, as was Wenger by 2016.
But the key difference then was that I – I will not speak for you – though I believe you share my view, that Wenger was years past his sell by date, not weeks nor months. I had actively wanted AW gone since 2008, but never said so as I WAS NOT ON JA FOR SOME YEARS AFTER THEN.
I was still going regularly up till 2017 and while AT the games , I never called for his sacking until around 2016, some 8 years after I wanted him gone.
No one knows for certain whether our last three games are a new dawn or a false dawn but I KNOW THAT TRUE SUPPORTERS STAY TRUE AND DO NOT CONSTANTLY DISS THE CLUB BY NEGATIVE COMMENTS AND SOMETIMES ALMOST HOURLY.
Phil , you and I, plus Ken and many other long term supporters have all seen far worse times than now for our team but to listen to the moany kids who infest this site with their hasty and instant judgements you might think right now was the worst period in our history.
We know that’s nonsense and as that is the plain truth, I WANT TO STATE THAT TRUTH LOUD AND LONG. So I do so!
To conclude. I will publicly still support MA, though of course I WOULD PREFER PEP, KLOPP, ALLEGRI and many other names who will only ever manage Arsenal in a fantasy world that I DO NOT LIVE IN. Some do but I do not!
I HOPE THAT HELPS YOU NOW FULLY UNDERSTAND MY POSITION and though I may be wrong I suspect it is close to yours too. You will surely tell me if is is not so.
Off topic – Xhaka is injures, and will be out for 2 months.
Bad news for him and the team.
Honestly, I am not a fan of his. But I have to admit he played well against Spurs.
Although, it gives a chance for young Lokonga to show us how he can make the central midfield his own.
That’s a downer SJ. Whether or not you think Xhaka should start over Lokonga (and even sceptics must agree his presence did not, as was claimed would happen by some, adversely affect a sublime performance), it cuts our midfield down to bare bones. I can’t see AMN performing to the same level, and Elneny shouldn’t even be in the squad, so one more injury and we are in trouble.
Wonderful article,let’s trust the lads.
what a riveting article, it’s surprising that you were able to glean so much from your obviously emotionally-charged adventures at the Emirates, especially considering that it was clearly your first time seeing Arsenal in person
Trvl… you couldn’t be more wrong mate. He makes the trip from Scotland to the Emirates on a regular basis. First time since lockdown maybe…..
Actually AdPat- @Ken1025 makes the trip down from Scotland very nearly EVERY game. And has done for many years too. Amazing supporter and and top guy as well, who has forgotten more on the history of Arsenal than most will ever know
Phil, Amazing supporter yes and how!
But he forgets hardly anything I suspect and has a memory to shame almost all on here, me very much included.
TRVL, YOUR post was either a lamentable attempt at irony OR, which is more likely, the single worst misjudgement on JA in years!
it’s called sarcasm Admin, as if anyone who has ever read anything from Ken wouldn’t know that, as he can’t stop from talking about it like it’s some sort of badge of honour, which he wrongly believes has afforded him extraordinary insight…thanks for eagerly taking the bait, as your bias in editing is only matched by your propensity to defend anyone who you deem as a like-minded supporter…have a good one
TRVL- I actually look forward to your posts and very much agree with pretty much all you write. But your not even close when it comes to your views on @Ken85BC.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him, at his Scottish Estate, at the Emirates and a very enjoyable few days in Athens for the Olympiakos game last year. This guy knows his football trust me. But he is also very open with the views of others, unlike me snd I also suspect yourself.
And I can tell you something else for what it’s worth. Any attempt at Critisism is water off a ducks back to him. I know. I try to sing him up on a very regular basis but he never bites and quite often gets the last laugh out of it.
And a 800 mile round trip to every Emirates game? That’s a very dedicated supporter there who deserves all the respect he gets on this site.
My view I know but just had to say it
Phil, I’m just breaking his balls, as I’ve had some really enjoyable “battles” with him in the past in which I’ve specifically talked about the aforementioned issue…I certainly have no ill-will for the man himself, and I sincerely hope he thoroughly enjoys each and every match he attends…of course, I certainly don’t question his commitment to our club, even though I might suggest otherwise at times, but sometimes his stubborn nature, when it comes to things managerial-related, especially Wenger’s latter years, have rubbed me the wrong way…as I’ve suggested to him, on numerous occasions, when someone invests so much, both emotionally and monetarily, it tends to skew their perspective as they’re too deeply vested in a particular narrative to remain objective…of course, he denies this vehemently, which doesn’t surprise me in the least…Cheers
Oh “defending a like minded supporter”. You mean an Arsenal supporter????
Yes sorry about that, I’ll be more like you in future and attack them instead shall I?
nice try, I never said anything remotely to that affect…all I asked for was some sense of fairness when it came to matters site-related…I’m astonished that you would consider that to be a bridge too far, so much so that you would intimate that I was trying to encourage you to “attack” any other fellow poster(lol)
TRVL- yep. When it comes to Wenger Ken will defend him all day every day. FFS never quite stats at him. He will spend all day and night and come back at you with more than you can ever imagine.
His lovely wife is very keen on knitting. She once knitted my wife and I matching red and white bobble hats. Why @Ken1135 can’t take up knitting and leave us all alone I will never know
knowing that, I wish I had any inklings when it came to the somewhat lost art of knitting, as I would make a replica of Wenger’s old 3/4 length puffer coat, with a suitably faulty zipper, and deliver it to Ken@85BC in merry old Scotland myself!!
Let’s get back to the match gentlemen, I’m still buzzing with the excitement of attending my first ever match 😂😂😂
We can all discuss AW when the article from TRVL that promises to expose him as a failure is finally ready….have to admit it’s like waiting for Trump’s tax returns, but I’m sure it will see the light of day very soon.
After all, it took the club ages to let AW leave after he resigned and those hats took less time to knit than either the article or the resignation party Phil!!!!
I must commend you Ken on the restraint you displayed before ultimately succumbing…that must have been like having the itchiest mosquito bite ever but your hands were once again tied up with yarn(wink, wink) so you were unable to scratch it…btw Wenger didn’t have a choice, when it came to his dismissal, as he was shown the door
Fantastic article Ken. Every word brought a smile to my face and almost convinced me thay I was there! Made all the better by the fact that it was written by someone who has seen more ups and downs than most of us.
Chapeau to you sir.
Nice article @Ken1945
You are a great and true supporter Ken. It comes out of your very pores. They played fantastically, it came through on TV, and the whole supporter atmosphere too. The way we played warmed my heart. First time for a long time. I hope it is the beginning of a new Arsenal era. We do need this to become a regular thing though.
Voyager and Sean, thank you both for your posts and I am so pleased that you were able to feel (as well as see) the passion.
It will be great to welcome Patrick Vieira back to The Arsenal as a manager in his own right.
Once again, the atmosphere will be electric and, hopefully, we will have 12 points by then.
I am glad we are on a high as a club lifted by our recent successive wins and especially one in particular against the original residents of north London;)
Like someone mentioned knee jerk quick minded reactionary beliefs that either all is bad or now suddenly good is naive and will prove hasty.
We have won a few games on the spin )again this is good) but let’s not crown Arteta as king just yet.. there are more and more challenging moments ahead.
Let’s hope it continues but let’s not jump the gun either (either way).
I still have my reservations but honesty Hope I am wrong.