CONTEXTUALISING YOUR ARSENAL FEELINGS
It’s Friday, and things are feeling more tense than America in election season.
If I could offer a little bit of a calming remedy…
Some of what you're feeling is steeped in the vinegary swash of playing three of our last eight Premier League games with 10 men. Forty percent of our games have been backs-against-the-wall. Football isn’t great in those moments. So when you’re complaining we lack “sexy,” that’s one reason.
The prevailing narrative of “you have to be able to play without your key players” cannot be blended with “but the football must be immaculate.” Tell me a team in the league that’d be dropping 10/10 performances if they lost their #1 creator, their #1 winger, and their best full-back. You can’t. City had to take Wolves to the 95th minute with a dubious decision, and they were shite against Newcastle, and they’re just missing Rodri.
Where I have no Vicks VapoRub writing is in the make-up of the squad. Arteta and Edu missed on a striker, again. They gambled on a teenager they don’t think is ready. They didn’t have a good plan for backing up Saka. All three of those decisions look quite rank at the moment.
But… how many people were crying last year about Kai Havertz and our supposed inability to attack? Loads. What happened? We scored 91 goals over the season.
The lesson? Stop listening to Paul Merson catastrophizing over the season, and stop jumping to the worst possible outcome before you’ve seen the real Arsenal.
That’ll be this weekend. Against a rampant Liverpool side. This is a “must not lose” despite what you’re hearing elsewhere.
Arteta is putting chum in the water with his noncommittal answers about who’s available. Expect maximum pressure being applied to all the names Arteta needs on the pitch and be prepared for some surprises.
Liverpool are the same team they were last season. They have mega players who’ve won mega trophies, all with a history of doing terrible things to Arsenal. It’s going to be a monster game, one that’ll be won in the margins.
Does this squad have it in them to give the extra 3% we’ll need? I don’t know. But I’m excited regardless. We’re not going to get battered. Arteta tends not to let the team drop 6 out of 10s two games in a row. If there was ever a momentum shifter, it’d be this game.
Escape without a loss, and we’re closer to the return of Odegaard, with more time to get the rest of the boys into good shape.
Lose, and it’ll be a meltdown, and fans will want heads.
Ok, short post. See you in the comments. More thoughts tomorrow. x
P.S. Check out the podcast I did with David Alexander about sports PR. It was a fun one.