Mertesacker admits Arsenal don’t always play their best – Why not?

Arsenal’s second team is preparing to face Cologne in Germany tonight hoping to secure top place in our qualifying group, and it is fair to say that if our reserves play with the same heart that the First XI did on Saturday then they will win this match very easily indeed.

But our captain Per Mertesacker admitted before the game that the Gunners raised their game by 20% against Tottenham, and he would like to see us play like that every week. “I think it was a brilliant example of us bringing it all – fans and players together,” our BFG said.

“It was a great atmosphere and lovely to see how we were together in every single situation. Even in the stands, on the bench or actually on the field, we seemed to be together.

“The intensity was great from the start and I think it is human on those occasions that we give 20 per cent more. I think it is like that.

“But we want to reproduce, especially on Thursday. They set a good example for us, those players who came in. We saw that intensity and to repeat that tomorrow and Sunday will be a big, big challenge for us. But we embrace it.”

But my original question remains; Why can’t we do this every week? Do you just want to win some games but don’t care about the others?

As I said the other day, this anomaly in our players attitudes is what makes Arsenal fans so frustrated every season!

Seriously if we played like that every week, we would win the League in a canter…

Darren N

9 Comments

  1. They don’t always play at their best, because of Wenger’s obsolete system and the club’s transfer and reward policies that demotivated the players. The squad needs new board, manager, staffs and players with winning mentality and new ideas. Otherwise forget about any major trophy in the next few years.

  2. Even the players know the problem. Wenger has the responsibility to motivate but has not been able for a long long time.

  3. I have said before, we don’t need to win the PL but what we do need to do is give 100% every game and that is something we fail to do season after season. Leicester showed us how far effort alone can go. They did not have the most talented squad but they gave 100% every game and that took them all the way.

    I really don’t mind losing but I hate losing when we show no effort or fight. To me, a professional football player should always give 100% even when he is not in top form.

    I can not help but think if you truly are a winner you will always show up simply because you hate losing whether it is against Spurs or Sunderland or any team at all.

    Our lads show up maby 5 games a season and for the rest, they are happy to listen to Wenger explain the bad results away as the ref’s fault or bad luck etc.

    Somehow Wenger has allowed the mentality that losing is unacceptable to fade from our frame of mind and that is how you make a loser IMO.

    1. Nothing Changed, A superb post outlining precisely the problem; WENGER! KNOWING FULL WELL THE TRUTH IN YOUR POST, I HAVE BEEN REGULARLY – AND IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS – BEEN CALLING FOR WENGER’S HEAD FOR MANY YEARS PAST. Sadly there are still, a minority, but not a tiny one, of Wenger’s brainwashees who just won’t accept this truth! They are the ones truly aiding him to stay and continue harming our club and THEY are the ones who will now therefore dislike this post. You would think they would be too embarrassed to identify themselves, and indeed since no one knows who presses the dislike key, their cowardly anonymity is guaranteed. I always have the determination to aid our club’s necessary cure by posting the clear unambiguous truth , using my own name. No hiding behind a disguised profile name for me.

      1. The thumb down was for your arrogance.

        If the manager gave Leic that desire well then why did they have him sacked. Why did they believe they could give that effort without him. Tactics was getting in the way is what those players were thinking, he tried to change it up, they wanted to go with a set formation and they didn’t need a manager to tell them how hard they should work or how much running blocking and shouldering needs to be done in a game.

        Here, we aren’t talking about tactics, were talking about effort, something that is in the players control alone. No one can control that other than yourself. If you need someone to inspire you to try harder, or to fear their wrath, well then you are not the right type of player and wouldn’t lead yourself to a pub.

  4. We do not play like this everyday coz sometimes when we are under the radar and people expect great things from us,we just fall out under pressure. But when we are not in the spotlight and people expect us to lose then we thrive. Look at the game at the bridge,after the demolition at anfield all expected an action replay but we grind out a draw. Then when people think we can maybe PLAY FOOTBALL better than city,but they blow us off. Finally when people thought spuds would beat us on our own yard and confirm the rubbish talks about a power shift we produce a performance like we did at the weekend. Now how can you disagree with me on that ????..

  5. Darren N, The question you pose has a clear and obvious answer. I am baffled why you , seemingly, do not know the answer to it. WENGER!

  6. No team always plays at their best, I’ve never seen it. But when a gap needs to be bridged or a head start needs gaining yes we should see more from the players and fans. The players must not have the necessary belief, confidence is a big thing with players and we rarely look confident enough to take the reigns and try to run with it. We’ve had opportunities over the years but never showed the desire to actually win the thing. Expectations, these players struggle with them, for sure the older teams did. We are slowly looking a different team so it’s crucial we add the right types of players, we don’t have them yet or else we wouldn’t be talking about this in the first place. In my eyes players have no excuse in regards to the efforts they put into each game, not the manager, not the owner, not because a player hasn’t signed back on, not because fans are too quite. You can only look at yourself when it’s something in your control. We have a few who never hide and will almost always plug away. The most talented players are the ones who can do the most damage if they want it enough. Look at Ozil, when he’s really on it, Alexis, Xhaka could do damage if he prepared well enough. Ramsey, Wilshere, Iwobi, they could be very difficult to contain if our players were are all on it.

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