Hey there Gooners,
My name is Max, and I’m a long time Arsenal fan since 1999 and started watching televised from 2001 onwards. Since the early 2000’s watching the highs of the Invincibles to the lows of being knocked out of the Europa league in the final to Chelsea which still annoys me to this day. 🙄
This is the First time in a long time that I can see the direction we are going, which, if we are being honest, was a problem with our identity, especially during the Arsene Wenger period. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him as a manager and there is not a bad word I can say about him. He was an iconic man that changed the landscape of football in England. You only need to look at the teams he managed from the start till the end. He managed to consistently finish in the top 4. I understand we should challenging for titles and other major honour’s, but to finish in the Top 4 for years with the likes of Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham, and you can certainly throw Leicester into that equation, it’s by far no mean feat.
Moving on though, Arteta has given me a lot of belief again, especially as I mentioned a disappointing European experience with Unai Emery, who I felt he had his positives. I never really felt confident or connected with the team or him under his leadership, and I think as fans if we don’t feel connected or understand him, how we expect the players to. Even though in saying that, he did take us to the European final which needs to be commended, and he did introduce Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka to us which shouldn’t be ignored, and not only that took us on a 22 unbeatable run of games which again deserves its praise.
As you know Arteta started off with rough treatment after a legendary manager moving on, to Unai then Freddie, he needed to make an impression quick. After successfully navigating past Manchester City in the FA cup he had one final hurdle – Chelsea football club. Ahh yes, the blue team from London. The one team that has given me nightmares as a child from the 2000s. Drogba, Lampard, Hazard to name but a few. Would Mikel be able to navigate a final cup win like back in 2016 when Arsene navigated the same tie. Would history repeat itself – or would it be another Baku? FA CUP FINAL DAY was here. After an opening 20 minutes a goal from Pulisic slipping past Emi Martinez, Aubameyang found the net from a penalty decision, then later on flicking one over Willy Caballero’s head after turning away from Kurt Zouma. Arteta went on to win the Community Shield on penalties over a strong Liverpool side, which again I personally believe that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.
Moving on to the present after having two 8th place finishes, he needed to get the season off to a great start and get his signings bang on the money. After a disappointing 3 opening games a lot of us were scratching and chins and chewing our nails with worry about how the season was going to take shape. Ramsdale slotted in after a promising debut against West Bromwich Albion. A lot of us were not filled with confidence over the signing of Ramsdale, myself included. A lot of us were saying “Why are we signing a keeper that had been relegated twice once with Sheffield United and again with Bournemouth”. So I felt that Aaron had the weight of the Arsenal world on his shoulders, but he seemed to thrive under the pressure, willing to stick his head on the chopping block and fight for his place.
The results picked up pace and now we move onto that fantastic Leicester win wowww 😍😍. Talk about a turning point for Aaron to get the fans on point and on your side. After conceding a free kick on the outside of the box James Maddison had one thought on his mind. He managed to loop it over the wall spinning into the top right hand corner Aaron lept off his feet throwing his body at the ball. Having the ball drop down in front of him, he was then there to try and smother the 2nd chance from Johnny Evans, with Thomas Partey following up to clear it off the line.
I think it was this point Ramsdale had silenced the Haters and Doubters. Listening to the Ben Foster Podcast and to pundits and journalists after the game Aaron Ramsdale arguably got a lot of the praise, but he was not the only one. Arteta and Edu Gasper was also getting a lot of credit which was fully deserved.
After a satisfactory win over Watford 3-2, I think Mikel Arteta has definitely won a lot of fans over. However, I want to stress there is a long way to go yet. Top 4 is certainly attainable this season which after some good wins looks like Arsenal are in the driving seat. We as fans want these results to keep on ticking over and to finish the season strongly and to reinforce our gaps in the summer with some quality additions.
COYG
Anyway, I just thought I’d post my thoughts here.
Max Australian Arsenal Fan
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Mikel Arteta’s not as happy as usual after Watford win –