Kevin Whitcher
In isolation, I could have lived with last night’s result at the Lane. North London derbies often defy any sense of football logic for their freneticism and unpredictability. Even the last great Wenger team won a 5-4 encounter at Spurs that was highly unsatisfactory for many reasons, but at least they won.
However, in the context of this season, last night’s match was another opportunity spurned. Another concession of points from a winning position. Two goals up away from home. And as at Bloomfield Road, there were chances aplenty to make the lead even greater, but a lack of clinical finishing undid the visitors. At Blackpool, it didn’t matter, but sometimes this will bite you on the backside. So it proved last night.
United’s unexpected draw at St James’s Park shed a chink of light back on the Gunners’ title hopes. Beat Manchester United at home – within the realms of scientific possibility. United draw just one of their other four fixtures – they probably will. Arsenal win their other five matches, starting with the trip to Tottenham. Hmmm… we are clutching at straws now aren’t we? And yet, at 3-1 up v Spurs, you just couldn’t help but think, bloody hell, after all their attempts to royally cock up this Premier League campaign, they are still in with a chance. Then Huddlestone scored, Ray Winstone popped up during the half time ads with odds on Spurs to win at 8-1, and, knowing this Arsenal team, I stuck a tenner on a home win. The odds were too good and you should always gamble without emotion. I was hoping to lose the money, and I did, but at least it meant our rivals did not complete a first double over Arsenal since 1993, even if the title hopes were once again blown to pieces.
There needs to be a change in coaching or a change in personnel to get results. Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie had both referred to the idea of the team getting into a winning position and failing to see the job through in the build-up to the game. How prescient, and frankly, it’s good to hear it from the players as it means they are not as deluded as some of Arsene’s apologists. The captain had directly raised the notion of whether you train to win matches or develop players. Unquestionably it’s the latter that now goes on under Wenger’s regime, but hey, I have good news for everybody. If the club had signed Xabi Alonso in the summer of 2008, Denilson would have played less games for Arsenal and not developed into the player he has become. And what’s Alonso achieved since then anyway? A World Cup winner’s medal? A meaningless bauble.
A few observations. Theo was great for the first and third goals. But there were two or three other situations which should have seen the net bulge where he either fired wide or bottled the shot. Therein lies the enigma of this player. He does things that win you matches and things that spurn them, all in the same 90 minutes. Every time Theo gets the ball in a position of danger, you are playing paper, scissors, stone. It isn’t going to change.
The first Spurs goal was the fault of Abou Diaby. Van der Vaart was his man, but he lost concentration and allowed him to get enough space to shoot. Poor defending for a defensive midfielder. Simply not good enough.
Shooting from distance. Cesc had a go a few times, I reckon in direct defiance of managerial policy. When Nasri tried it, the second Arsenal goal was a consequence. There were other opportunities to have a crack from outside the area which were not taken, but with a keeper like Gomes, it has to be worth trying whenever the chance is there. It’s basic football intelligence to exploit the weaknesses of the other side. If there’s one thing I hope this season sees the end of, it’s the tip tap football when goal is in sight.
There’s little point in me reeling off a list of matches where Arsenal have lost points from a winning position this season, but there have been enough. Fabregas looks likely to depart this summer, Nasri’s contract renewal talks have apparently stalled. Fans want to see players leave before the next campaign, but some of those saying farewell will be the ones the club need to keep. These players want to play in teams where they will win trophies, alongside team-mates of better quality than those they currently line-up with. Wenger puts a lot of emphasis on building a team that will serve the club well for many years, but the best ones get fed up of waiting and want out. And the reason is they can see it’s never going to happen. The grand youth experiment just means repeated mistakes as there is not enough guidance either on the field or on the training pitch as to how to close out games.
Qualifying for the Champions League season upon season is laudable on one level, but supporters’ happiness is based on expectations. For Wigan fans, staying in the Premier League gives them the same amount of joy as a trophy does for Gooners. For Spurs fans, it’s simply qualifying for the Champions League. To use Arsene Wenger’s vocabulary, when you have had caviar, sausages just do not do it any longer. It sometimes feels like we are getting tripe now. And yes 89 other clubs in four divisions would love to be where Arsenal are, but for many Gooners, we can see that the club has a fabulous platform for success, for glory, and yet consistently fall short. That is very frustrating.
At the Lane we saw the good and bad of Wengerball. It was, for the neutral, a cracking game of football with plenty of drama. For Arsenal fans, it was enjoyable at times, and horrific at others. Derbies are often like that though. I am not going to go overboard about this result, as others have been far, far worse. This was just another lost opportunity, but does not compare to Newcastle away or Liverpool last weekend, where dereliction of duty on the part of certain individuals was far, far worse. I’ll end with a quartet of text messages I received after the game…
Ian Tanner: Bunch of losers. Mentally weak. You said we’d finish third.
Doktor Schneide: Another point plucked from the three that should have been. Am now watching a masterclass in tactical management with Mourinho winning Copa Del Rey with Real Madrid. Please Wenger – Give us our Arsenal back and leave.
Pete Mountford: Surprise! Another lost lead. Expected it so not too gutted. Crucial point was Spurs second. Song didn’t shut old 15 stone down. What else is new? The very least we can hope for is to go into United game six behind and win that.
The Highbury Spy: What was that c*** of a linesman thinking when he disallowed Van Persie’s goal? He was at least a yard onside. C***. We would have won easily if that had stood. I am f***ing furious.
The current issue of The Gooner can be bought online here.
Finally, a request. We have a team of proofers that check pieces for the printed issue, but the articles that go on the website are tidied up by my good self. Nowadays, we are getting more and more offerings (apologies to those that submitted but have not seen their pieces used yet, I am trying to work through them all but time is the enemy). So if you have an excellent grasp of spelling and grammar and – crucially – time on your hands on a daily basis, please get in touch if you are willing to proof the odd piece for the website. If I get more than one volunteer of appropriate ability, then I will just spread the load a bit. Please email me if you are interested in helping out. Thanks.
