I get the fact that Arsene Wenger wants the players to believe that the chances of a serious Arsenal title challenge have not gone, despite the post Christmas slump that saw Arsenal slip from top spot to 11 points behind the surprise package Leicester City.
But despite the fact that footballers are not generally known for their intelligence I am pretty sure that they can count and so can work out the fact that there are enough points left to play for. It does not need a rocket scientist, though, to work out that Arsenal just need to keep winning all of our games and that is why I would like the boss to stop all this title talk.
The problem as I see it is that the Gunners play so much better without the pressure of expectation, highlighted clearly by the performance and result against Watford yesterday, compared to the lame way we were knocked out of the FA cup by them. The players were clearly enjoying their football yesterday and look at the results.
Next week’s match away to West Ham is a massive one and could be pivotal in the course of this strange season but if the players start to think too much about winning the title, the chances of Arsenal playing at our best could be greatly reduced. For now at least the boss should just let them go out and play without talking up the title.
That will inevitably come from the football media if we keep winning and close the gap on Tottenham and Leicester but let’s cross that bridge if and when we come to it shall we? For the time being do you think it best for Arsenal to play as if nothing was riding on the game?