DW Thomas
No more excuses. We did look good early on and we could have easily been up 4-1 at half, but again missed chances left the score only 2-1 , a dangerous lead for Arsenal these days. Then the defensive shambles began, again. We saw glimpses of it early on, and the horrific defending reared its ugly head again for Arsenal. How does the team give a heroic defensive effort so recently and then perform just days later so poorly? Do we have too many weak links? Two own goals and no communication at the back and we were 4-2 down to a team with a coach whose own fans were protesting for his sacking before the game. How is this possible? One man must take the blame. One man must own up to his massive, massive failings. I was duped mid week when we luckily held on for a tie against Dortmund. I, like many fans thought we were on the road to recovery from our worst loss in 100 years. I naively wanted to believe, illogically, that we would be ok this year. I now know we were very fortunate to beat Swansea and tie Dortmund. Make no mistake, we are lucky not to be at the bottom of the table.
Arsene’s defiant quotes this week should now come back to haunt him. “People have always at the moment definite opinion. One game played everybody knows who will win the European Cup, everybody knows who will win the Championship [Premier League], everybody knows absolutely everything. But they just forget that when it’s wrong the next day nobody says ‘Sorry, I was wrong’. Arsene, you must be the one to say sorry, I was wrong. Wrong in the transfer market, wrong with the team’s lack of defensive cohesion, wrong with your continued arrogance that you know everything in defiance of what is starting you right in the face. This team has not had enough time to together, particularly the defence, has too many issues, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.
An earlier quote post Swansea: "The confidence is back now. [We] had not won yet in the league and that had played a big part in our head. In our job, momentum is vital. We just want to play to win.” Really? Where will the confidence be now? Play to win? Today you played not to lose Arsene, again. Blackburn, FFS, are ahead of us in the table. I would say we can’t blame our offense, but they are part of the team and missed at least 3-4 quality chances. 4-3 at the end to a team that we should have beaten 4 or 5 to 1. Yet, the defence once more, was beyond dire. Koscielny was awful today. Sagna looked a shadow of his usual self-maybe an early injury? Djourou, it saddens me to say this after last season’s performances, has been terrible this season. Mertesacker looked unsure and not focused. Santos began well, but does not look match fit. Song, too had an own goal, yet first half it was his passing that led to the two great goals. However, are we depending on Song to create now? If we had won, I would have said he had two brilliant games back to back, save the own goal. And where are our leaders at the back? Djourou’s missed tackle on Olsson and Koscielny losing Yakubu on the first goal were the two standout dreadful plays of the game for me. Simply inept there. Sure Yakubu was offside on his second goal, but s..t happens. You can’t let one missed offside call cost you the game. And don’t forget the complete and utter lack of any and all knowledge to defend set pieces. Why was Samba not marked closely by Mertesacker on each corner and freekick? Isn’t that why he is here-to win headballs? I can already see Arsene using the no offside call as his excuse for our problems/result. That’s all we hear these days is excuses. Sure, we scored 3 terrific goals (actually 5 with the own goals!), but needed at least 3 more to win the game with our defence.
My weekend attitude seems to be tied to Arsenal’s result. And I can’t remember the last time I felt lifted, happy, from the end score line of an Arsenal match. This team has lost its compass. It is directionless, adrift. I really thought today, a convincing win could be the catalyst to a bona fide turnaround. But, my rose-tinted glasses got the best of me. I am sad, angry yes, but it goes beyond that. My faith is really being tested. Yes, I will always be an Arsenal fan, but will I get back that feeling of excitement before, and joy after, a match? Will I see a good, quality game from the Arsenal, both offensively and defensively with a positive result? Will they come consistently? I don’t think so while our defence ships 14 goals in 5 games. So I leave you with these questions:
1) What top 10 team in the world would persist with a manager having continued failure (especially with the results from the end of last season, beginning of this season, CC final, United thrashing, etc.)and no major trophies for several years?
2) Is Arsene capable of fixing our problems if he continues to ignore the glaring team deficiencies?
3) How long will he make excuses (forever?) for player failings and continue to stick with sub-quality players?
Arsenal, I believe, are in a real crisis. And it may be time soon for the manager to go. And I don’t mean in the summer. If this sinking ship’s holes are not plugged, and fast, the SS Wenger may be finished. Part of me hopes he will be the one to save this ship. The other part is thinking---man the lifeboats!
