You sensed some Gooners were taking for granted how hard it is to get over the line in the title race.
Because Arsenal won five consecutive League games, some of my peers acted like Mikel Arteta had rewritten the wheel. It was predicted we would put a ten Prem match winning sequence together, we were bizarrely called a juggernaut despite already being stopped and some took exception that the Gunners were not included in the conversation with Bayern Munich and PSG as being one of the best in Europe. That is despite the two being Champions of their country, something we have not managed in 22 years.
Honestly if I did not love my club, I would understand why some find us easy to banter. Some supporters do come out with some arrogant statements.
Some of the older portion of the fanbase tried to warn how quickly things can change.
That it takes one weekend for momentum to swing.
In stoppage time at the Stadium Of Light the league leaders were heading nine points clear of Man City.
Now we could kick off the NLD with the difference only being one point.
Then the next week we go to the Bridge again with the pressure of playing after the Sky Blues.
Of course the same reason we should not get carried away in November when winning, we equally should not be downbeat the moment we slip up. The very best title winners slip up.
Yet Pep Guardiola’s team have one key advantage against us and everyone at the Etihad is aware of it. Unfortunately so might those at the Emirates.
Guardiola’s Experience Versus Arsenal’s Growing Mentality
Sunday was Pep’s 1000th game in charge as a manager. The Spaniard has to do nothing else to prove he is an all time great.
Yet we live in such a reactionary world that the 54 year old goes one season without a trophy and some are quick to forget that the man is a freak, a winner, his attention to detail almost obsessive.
He is such an expert of the sport that of course he knows this is not the greatest squad he has ever built. He will be aware that his team no longer dominate matches like they used to.
Yet the winner inside him will have seen a route this weekend how he can claim his seventh championship in England.
In Donnarumma, Dias, Ake, Stones, Rodri, Kovacic, Silva, Foden, Haaland and others, there is so much experience on the blue half of Manchester in terms of how to win things.
That does not exist much on the red half of North London.
Sir Alex Ferguson used to say that he ignored the League table till March. As long as Man United were within touching distance he would trust his side’s experience and mentality to be the difference.
We know Man City can keep their composure and not panic in April or May.
We cannot say the same about Arsenal.
In fact our reputation is the bridesmaid, the nearly men. When the stage is too big and the lights too bright, we go missing.
Can Arsenal Prove They Can Go the Distance?
Until our manager can get us over the line there will always be doubts about our mental strength. The moment we clear that hurdle, future silverware becomes easier.
If Arsenal had a four point gap with eight games to go you would trust Haaland’s goals against our defence simply because mental strength in sport is so crucial.
That is why if we are to be Champions in 2026 it will be by opening up a huge gap. I am not sure we can beat City in a close title run in.
Let’s discuss in the comments.
Dan Smith
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Put it this way there are plenty of players who have the experience of a title run in and by Christmas our most difficult games will have been played.
With the strength of squad our chances are much greater than they have ever been.
I have a feeling Arsenal won’t open contract talks with MA until the end of the season – if he is successful then great an extension to his existing contract but if not I suspect he will be gone..
The gunner are always hardworking but what they need to know is to mantain the mentality of winning games especially the one are going to taccle on weekend
Mentality is paramount in winning a long and grueling campaign such as the premier league, players with strong Mentality win championship because their psychological attributes such as resilience and discipline enables them to perform effectively under pressure, overcome adversity and consistently improve, even when faces set backs.
The Citizens has been blessed with these players over the years, thanks to their unlimited war chest
But Arsenal has now join that small elite group, players like Declan Rice, Eze, Jesus Timber, Gabriel, Hincapié and the Big German are big mentality players, who may just needs to win silverware with Arsenal.
It is for those reasons Jesus and the Big German could be returning to fitness at the right time
We need better articles than just those of people who want to find reasons to denigrate their own club. Most Arsenal fans are circumspect about Arsenal’ s chances and are not taking anything for granted. However, this writer would rather take aim at a few exuberant voices rather than the more considered perspectives of the majority of the fanbase.
Certainly, Haaland’s goals may be a factor. That’s simply because he’s one the best strikers the PL and indeed the world has ever seen. That’s not simply a mentality issue.
Instead of the addressing the fact that MC have a great squad with some of the most talented players in the world this author defaults to the usual nebulous claim of “mentality”.
Give Pep Brentford’s team, he’s not winning the PL. Pep’s a great manager but he’s also got one of the best squads in the world.
It would be nice to get some articles from you to David, it could helps provide a wide diversity of viewpoints and also ensures a consistent and frequent flow of new contents.
Am just throwing it out 🙂
😂
All we would hear is how wonderful Arteta is .
Gunsmoke, David’s a good writer, and some of his comments are near article length.
😂
David,
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Dans piece. He’s right regards some of the terminology being used to wax lyrical about us.
While that’s okay to do for said poster if that’s how they feel, it’s also perfectly fine for Dan to express his thoughts at to this being a bit over the top.
But as usual David, unless said posts are positive you completely dismiss them. Just because you don’t like them, doesn’t mean they don’t have merit.
Unfortunately a reflection on the world mate.
To be fair , a generation have grown up happy to give their opinion but the moment you disagree with them they try to cancel you
I didn’t look at last season as a failure of mentality, whereas prior to that, the team were younger, not so experienced and had very little of note in squad depth quality wise. Long term injuries to our most able players thwarted our last season. It’s not an excuse to point this out.
The team may miss out on the title but I’m not looking at mentally weak players anymore.
It wasn’t a failure if mentality just one of strengthening. We have strengthened this year but despite that have suffered significant injuries but the telling thing is we’re doing very well indeed.
The thing discussed as championship experience is nothing more than a desire to want to win and we have it in spades 🙂
After reading the first 2 paragraphs, I quickly scrolled down to see who the writer was. I wasn’t disappointed.
And cared enough to comment lol
Injury could be the reason we lose the title this year.
We are fortunate to be top despite being the club most impacted by Injuries.
Having the experience of winning things is important but I think it’s overstated. Last year City had pretty much the same players you mentioned with the exception of Donnarumma. They also had Pep and yet they were nowhere near winning the Premier League. Why?
I think Guardiola left it too late to begin refreshing his players. Like the experience Slot is going through now. It should be more organic imo
SueP,
I think it should be more Vegan myself. 😂🤣👍
Ha ha Derek
Do you agree with the sentiment though?
SueP,
Yes I agree with you’re sentiment. Actually I can’t remember who said it, but it was someone from Liverpool back in the Dalglish Rush and Barnes era.
It was along the lines of, even when successful you still can’t stand still in this game. Your squad always needs freshening up somewhere every season.
Unfortunately the person who said it escapes me. 👍
I understand that some Arsenal fans who started supporting Arsenal from 2003 till now are traumatized by the downward spiral we fell over the years.
I started supporting Arsenal in late 2003 when I was 9 years old. Introduced to the club by my senior cousin who came to live with us.
We went on to win the league the following year 2004 with my favourites Henry, Pires and Kanu.
In 2005 we won the FA Cup against Man Utd on penalties.
Then we moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2006 and after then we found it difficult to win trophies until a few FA Cups came by.
We are yet to win the Premier league ever since 2004 and we have never won the Champions League.
So the supporters that joined the club from 2 decades ago are just used to being disappointed and not being able to win the league again.
This has resulted to a psychological edge that feels like trauma towards some supporters that we can never win the league again.
But histories can still be broken and it’s possible that we will get to see our club break the jinx and get back to lifting the big trophies one day.
Will it be this season? I don’t know. Hopefully it is.
Fair article Dan Smith
I have supported the club since 1979. Had up and down years as a gooner during that time.
I would only celebrate when and if we get over the line. Hoping the leaders get us over the line even if it is by goal difference.
To be honest I did not expect Man City to recover so quickly after the many changes to their squad. But their are still some defensive weaknesses that could cost them before the year is out. However, I believe that this is our year and, although there will be bumps along the way, our squad is strong enough to go all the way. This weekend could be crucial, if City win and we lose the gap is 1 point, if it is the other way round it’s 7 points!!!
‘there’ not their!!
Perhaps I will go with my namesake for the simple reason that some people tend to magnify issues by turning an anthill into a mountain. I will use just a few examples. The year 2023/24 was a remarkable one because Arsenal chased Man City to the final day of the season. If it was not for our small squad then and injuries to our key players we might have won EPL then. Where had Man city’s mentality gone? Perhaps if Man city had met a team which was not all out to fail Arsenal the results might have been different. Instead of praising Man city’s mentality we should condemn Spurs malice to deny us a trophy! It was obvious to all observers that Spurs put in almost no effort! They were ready to miss out on Europe if that meant Arsenal not winning the championship and that is exactly what happened. That is why I concur with David that City’s mentality is not extraordinary. Fortunately, they will not meet Spurs as their last opponent. Besides, by then, we shall have opened a bigger gap between us and City.
4 out of the last 5 titles is pretty extraordinary lol
If Arsenal go and win 4 out of the next 5 titles I bet you would say that’s a strong mentality
Rant incoming:
This is why people criticise arsenal fans
4 titles in 5 years is not “extraordinary” mentality.. coming from a fanbase that has won nothing significant for the same period
Even City fans are careful making some statements after winning everything in Europe and establishing a near monopoly.. while serial losers think the title is done in December
Rant over..
Arsenal team is great and has a very good chance of winning the EPL.. but you lot should wonder why noone is supporting the underdog
You are ranting unnecessarily.
MC spent over a decade building one of the best squads in the world. They have a player they bought for £100m years ago who is now on loan. When they were struggling last season they just went out and spent £180m in January to strengthen the squad. At a time that they were already the best in the world they were able to go and get the greatest striking talent in the world with virtually no challenge from any other club.
That kind of financial muscle puts them in a position which few other clubs anywhere in the world can match.
They have been an excellent side but it is rather disingenuous to suggest that their success is mainly because of their “mentality”.
Who believes that the title is won in December? There’s no-one that has suggested this that I can see.
It’s funny how they gloss over the financial clout of their owners and the time and money it took to get there. Some might say corners were cut during the process.
Part of the issue is that people are not willing to be honest. They would rather denigrate the work of the team and particularly the manager.
Mentality is of course important but giving it undue relevance and ignoring all other factors is in my view disingenuous. Since Pep has been managing in the major leagues he has always been in a position where he has a world class squad or in a position to get some of the best players in the world. He has never been in a comparable position to the likes of Klopp or Arteta.
MC were able to hoover up talent for over a decade and have continued to spend huge amounts to strengthen their squad. That financial advantage they have had is the biggest factor in their success.
Arsenal have spent more in last 5 years than City.. almost DOUBLE. With nothing to show for it. If money was the deciding factor for winning, why isn’t it working for Arsenal
That’s a problem
I’m not belittling the work Arteta has done at all. He’s a top manager.. and he’s clearly raised the standards from the piteous Wenger days
But he’s not a winner (yet) and that is a huge question mark over him and the team.
That could change anytime with the trajectory but a lot of arsenal fans glaze their failures too much
Great team, not so great fans (generally).. I’m talking generally not necessarily at anyone here
That’s a bit rich really apart from the fact that we haven’t as you say, won anything significant yet.
The fact that Arsenal have spent double in recent times is a red herring. As David has pointed out, and you have ignored, is the long standing financial clout that City have benefited from. Different times allowed them and Chelsea to dominate the league. This means the best managers and the best players
It might be a different story if Guardiola leaves or the powers that be find against City
Yes Sue, and Pep is the best in the world, as is Haaland, who’s on over £800K per week. Can you imagine that, over £50 million per annum?
I’m sure this is our season.
Let’s hope so Jax.
And yes to your other points apart from Haaland’s annual income. It makes the spending double on transfer fees pale into insignificance by comparison
What is your source of Arsenal spending more than city? Is it just your imagination? It is maybe this season that Arsenal spent more than Man city. Why do you want to exaggerate issues? If you talked of Chelsea or Liverpool, I might have agreed but not Arsenal!
Yeah but you got to remember
According to some fans , winning trophies isnt the only measurement of success lol.
Is it?
Yes lol
Ask most the greatest tennis players of all time , I bet they mostly name won players who ……won things lol.
Greatest Olympians off time guess what …..tend to have won medals
Greatest boxers of all time ….most name those who were Champions
I dare say the fans of Bournemouth, Fulham, Sunderland, Brighton and Wolves count staying in the PL as success.
Oh cool , I can correct it for those with not as knowledgeable
At the level we perform at , success is measured by trophies
When I read your answer though mate , my first thought ……Koronke Family are genius lol
For someone that writes articles, your grammar is terrible. I take it that a proofreader reads through your articles first before they are published Still.
So I take it that we weren’t a great club during the years we never won a trophy under Wenger.
As for your last paragraph, it would seem that thinking isn’t your strong point.
I take it that a proofreader reads through your articles first before they are published Still.
That would either be a question to me or yourself dude lol
Neither a question to you or to me Still. It’s a statement, as your grammar in your posts proves my point.
Okay lol
Brilliant analogy HD
Success can be measured in many ways
It certainly can SueP 👍
We were not successful no mate
Hence why I have always been critical of the Koronke Family dude .
Are you asking me ?
Put a question mark lol
Also what do you mean by published Still ( full stop , no capital letter ) lol.
So why do you care about the title race then ?
Still, if I had asked you a question I would have put a question mark at the end of the sentence, duh 🙄
Good try mate lol
It seems like you ask questions to me
What does this mean mate ,
I take it that a proofreader reads through your articles first before they are published Still..
Makes no sense lol …
Still what ?
There were no questions in my post. The paragraph about us not being great was not a question, it was a statement.
Every time that you have recently called me mate I’ve called you Still 😁
I think mentality is crucial in sport
If I have to compare the two clubs that an advantage they have
Players and a manager who know how to get over the line against one that doesn’t
I never said title race was over
But to answer your question yes I have seen Arsenal fans / pundits imply that Man City won’t be able to compete with Arsenal this season
Due to their financial clout there will always be an astrix against City success as well as Chelsea