Relax! Arsenal often play better in adversity! by DN
Well after seeing how badly Arsenal handled the expectation today we can only hope that we deal with adversity a lot better. All that confidence and momentum, instead of inspiring the Arsenal players to a good start seemed to be like an anchor dragging them back in the first Premier League game of the season against West Ham.
It was a collective problem as well, so it will be as a team that we get out of this mess. If you have not done so already, Gooners, then I would not look at the Premier League table if I was you. It does not feel good to be rock bottom but it could actually help the team.
It is only one game after all and as long as we bounce back then this one defeat might not matter. Hopefully being bottom will spur the players into action and bring an extra special effort away to Crystal Palace next weekend. This is not just me being hopeful either because it is a trait we have seen increasingly from Arsenal in recent years, such as last season after the Monaco disaster.
With a bit more luck we might have scraped a draw today but while that would have given us one more point at the end of the season, it would not have been a real kick up the arse like this result. To be honest I often feel that Arsenal do better when our backs are against the wall, like when we clawed back a big gap to pip Spurs to fourth spot a few years back. Can we do the same thing again after this early setback?