Nearing the end of a much needed nine-day rest, there’s been time to reflect on what has been a rollercoaster season so far for Arsenal.
The fans have experienced the highest of highs, comfortably sitting at the top of the Premier League table for many weeks, generating more optimism than ever.
Title ambitions were lauded around the terraces ever since mid-September, and it is interesting to see whether such exaggerated hope will make anything lower than first, or second, an unsuccessful season.
It is by no means a criticism, but there never seems to be a middle ground with Gunners fans. When we win, it’s, “we’re going to win the league”, and when we lose/drop points against lesser opponents (or even strong ones, as we saw away at Manchester City), it’s “now we definitely won’t win the Premier League”.
What would fans be happy with come June?
Our fantastic start to the season has been compared to that of 2007/08’s (or as I remember it, William Gallas going bat-shit crazy year), when a dramatic slump occurred meaning Manchester United nipped in to win the league.
But what must be remembered is that this is a ‘new’ successful team. The 07/08 team, featuring a fantastic front four of Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott, were still expected to be challengers from neutrals and fans alike (despite also scraping fourth the year before) – living in the shadow of the trophy winning squads and legendary players that preceded them.
Cast your mind back to last season, this selection of players was labelled as one of the weakest ever, with many saying Arsene Wenger had lost it for keeping faith in players such as Wojciech Szczesny, Per Mertesacker, Olivier Giroud, not to mention the obvious example, Aaron Ramsey.
What has changed? Two players were signed in Mesut Ozil and Mathieu Flamini, but are they the reason behind our start? Sure, £42.5million spent lifted the mood in the dressing room and terraces, but I wouldn’t say performances have improved directly because of them.
I’m not saying this team can’t win the league (they’ve surprised me before, and done crazier things!) but the issue remains whether this is simply good form.
Consistency is key, and there is a distinct possibility this could be a year when we struggle against big teams (usually away from home), but our resolute displays against mid-table opponents could be crucial, especially considering how poor direct rivals have been in these fixtures.
Realism
It may sound like football manager’s cliché, but surely a game by game attitude makes sense in this situation. Not to get too upset when we lose, and not to expect the world when we win, there are 38 games…
Tough draws in the FA Cup (we’ll beat Spurs, but what next?) and Champions League mean there is a probability we will end up with nothing at the end of the season. The league is our most realistic chance of a trophy, and we know how hard that is to win.
About this ‘eight years with a trophy’ blast, it really has never bothered me. Would I like to have won the Capital One Cup against Birmingham? Sure, but I’d much rather be in the Champions League every year, and competing with the best this season, than mid-table mediocrity with a cup win over Bradford.
The embarrassment of those kind of defeats is the thing that hurts, but the trophy jibes don’t affect me personally. May be different for others.
I won’t speculate to whether this will happen or not, but second/third place would still be a successful season in my opinion. Baring in mind we’ve signed one ‘major’ player in the last five years and that was last summer, there is room for more. Ozil wouldn’t have signed without the promise of more quality being added/nurtured, and a season competing with the best both domestically and in Europe would attract more to the Emirates.
A mixture of experience (but not too, experienced) and youth, the majority of which on long, long-term deals mean there is still time to capture that league crown if not this season, and it would surely just be a matter of time until they delivered.
Again, this is by no means a criticism of the team, they’ve done fantastically well, just a reason not to think it’s the end of the world if a trophy doesn’t follow.
A defeat is not a ‘disaster’ (don’t listen to Piers Morgan) 99% of the time, neither will not be winning the league.
This is Arsenal, keep the faith… but don’t get ahead of yourself.
