Graham Perry
Ed’s Note – Graham Perry sends out his views on matters Arsenal to an email list and is happy for us to reproduce them for a wider audience. What follows is the text from his email sent out earlier today…
Dear Fellow Gunners
A difficult weekend – we lose and suffer further injuries. One point out of six.
Spurs win, receive a good press and lurk just two points behind us.
The soccer season is a marathon and a sprint– the nine month title chase interspersed with many skirmishes along the way.
OK let’s look at three issues –
1. The defeat at WBA
2. Our injuries
3. How do we individually handle the THFC challenge?
FIRST – WBA
We were the better team – we had more shots – we had much more possession.
But each of us knows it counts for nothing if we are a goal light at the final whistle.
On another day we would have won.
But Coquelin was injured and replaced by Arteta who was injured and replaced by Gibbs.
Bellerin seemed to be at fault for their two goals - a big shame because he has done so well but maybe he was not fully fit after being out through injury. Was he rushed back because there were doubts about Debuchy’s form?
The chance for Campbell should have been a goal – maybe he is so keen to shine that he lacked composure and snatched at the chance.
Then Cazorla’s penalty miss – I was bothered at the time as to whether Blunt had got into his head. Maybe he did and disturbed Cazorla’s pre-penalty mind set which is so important – maybe it had nothing to do with the miss and he simply slipped.
Whatever, it was one of those games – they come along and things bounce the wrong way in succession.
We need to be philosophical otherwise football can mess with your head and turn you into a raving lunatic.
Yes – for the second match in succession a win would have taken us to the top and that is our frustration but try not to over-analyse and avoid attaching too much significance to any one win or loss.
It works both ways – I felt we were assisted to the 3-0 win over Man U by the decision of LVG to start with three and not four at the back.
More room for our speedy attackers to exploit.
Similarly we should resist the temptation to exaggerate the significance of our defeat at WBA.
We lost – we do not like losing – it irritates to put it mildly but we are still very much in contention for the Premier title.
SECOND – THE INJURIES
They are bad for the players but they are bad for us too.
Not to put too fine a point on it we, the supporters are quite demoralised by the number of injuries and the length of recovery.
We have to suffer in silence. An injury is an injury. No one feigns them. They happen.
But why do they keep happening? And why do they involve lengthy absences?
It seems we suffer worst and just when we are mounting a real challenge.
Wilshere, Welbeck, Rosicky, Ramsey, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin and Arteta.
Eight players!
We can never be consistently strong because we are consistently fielding weakened teams.
And there is another point – it means the other players are over-played and burn-out takes its toll on the non-injured players.
But why? What is the reason?
None of us are medics so everything we say is uninformed guesswork but the explanation we are entitled to is not forthcoming.
Is it training methods? – Is it poor medical examination prior to transfer? – Is our ground at the Emirates and at the training ground in Shenley simply too good and we suffer when we play away on inferior pitches.
A kind of Walley Barnes in reverse from 1952 FA Cup Final.
His ankle twisted in the lush grass of Wembley when he had been used to playing the winter months on hard threadbare surfaces. He hobbled off to the left wing and we lost 0-1 after holding put until the 84th minute.
Is it our style of play?
Why do some clubs seem to be free of the volume of injuries – Chelsea and THFC?
The time has come for us to be told more – we are entitled to know more – why do we carry an injury list so often and for so much longer than our rivals.
With a reasonably fit squad how much better off we would be?
Some say the solution is a bigger squad to compensate for the injuries – which is fine if we have injuries and everybody gets a chance to play.
Maybe Arsene needs to think about that – bigger wage bill, bigger squad, adjusting training programmes but at least an assurance that we can compete.
It is a real problem – really frustrating.
THIRD – SPURS
We hurt ourselves if we are in denial.
Spurs are a coming force. They have a talented manager who has imposed his thinking on his squad. They are young and they play good football.
Whilst we could have beaten them at the Emirates but for Giroud’s misses near the end they could have beaten us in the first half.
We should cast aside pre-conceived judgments, resist the falsity of bragging rights, allow the scales to drop from our eyes and accept reality.
They look stronger than for many a year. They will challenge.
Now some Spurs supporters so frustrated by being number two to us will be over the top and provocative and in your face.
Can you begrudge them? They have seen us successful for a number of years.
It was the same when Spurs shone and our star was dimmed between 1953 and 1970 when Kelly, Radford and Sammels saw us home at Highbury against Anderlecht.
Didn’t we go potty in 1968 when we won the two legged semi-final in the League Cup at the Lane and ditto for 1987 – was it Rocky that knocked in the winner?
Their club management was weak and flawed and for many years. They did so many things wrong. So many poor coaches – is it 13 while Arsene has been with us?
It is just possible they have turned the corner.
Better we accept that they are improving and respect them as serious challengers.
It also makes it easier to handle – takes the wind out of their sails. Reduces the irritation.
Fingers crossed for tonight.
