This was supposed to be Arsenal’s year. They were supposed to kick on from consecutive FA Cup wins and firmly compete for the Premier League title. Even after some blips, they were supposed to kick on after the last-gasp winner against Leicester City and prove their worth. None of these supposed things have happened and now Arsene Wenger’s men are a North London Derby loss away from a full-scale crisis.
The most recent collapse – no win in four with three defeats in a row in all competitions – has driven even the most hardened Wenger-in believer to the edge.
It’s an all too familiar story. Arsenal started the season relatively well, topped the league at one point and became favourites before collapsing and finding themselves with a whole lot of catching up to do.
The confidence in the current squad is at rock bottom. As soon as Swansea snatched an equaliser, heads dropped. Everyone was shell-shocked. Fans turned on the team. It’s easy for me to say not being there, paying money to watch, but you have to ask whether the atmosphere at the Emirates at the moment is really helping the team. Just think back to the Leicester game: The atmosphere in the stadium was electric. Fans were willing the team over the line. The noise and disgust at a lot of the Leicester tackles also resulted in Danny Simpson receiving a second yellow card for a very soft challenge. I’m not naive enough to say that fans alone can win football matches – Barcelona’s fans are hardly raucous – but it can certainly help.
As fans of Arsenal, we know collapses when we see them. But this one just seems to hurt more than any. We should be winning this title by a country mile. Mesut Ozil is having a historically great season and we’ve thrown it away. Yes, we’re still technically in the title race, but is this side really going to drag themselves to do it? Petr Cech is the only player who has been there and seen a team over the line in a Premier League title race. He’s now out for three-four weeks. Our best defender in Laurent Koscielny is out for the North London Derby. Arsenal could be about to hit rock bottom. This could get ugly really quickly.
Saturday’s game is pivotal to Arsene Wenger, to Arsenal Football Club and English football as a whole. A loss sees the Gunners all but eliminated from the title race. Not winning the title – or at least pushing it to the line – with Leicester and Spurs is not just unacceptable, it’s unforgivable. It would be the final straw. A loss on Saturday would seal Wenger’s fate. Having said that, even a win might not be enough to save Arsenal’s greatest ever manager.
