Graham Perry
Dear Fellow Gunners
It was a tough match – we were not at our best against a team that had recently beat THFC.
We eked out a result – some are celebrating that achievement and some are saying the opposite and see the result as evidence of the “nearly men”.
If you are a critic you will seize on any shortcoming and see it as confirmation that we are not good enough; that Wenger has screwed up; that we are pretenders and Wenger should go.
Others will see it differently and will argue there are always matches that produce the points without the performance and that this is evidence of cool heads and total concentration to get the win and stay on top – in fact increase the lead – and worry the chasing pack.
A glance back to 1971 - when we did the Double and won the League with a record total of 66 points – shows that in our last eleven matches we won six matches by the 1-0 score. Things get tense. Players become cautious. The chances are not converted. But the Champions rise to the occasion – they hang on. They take the points. They take the title.
Seen in perspective during the four games at Christmas we garnered nine points out of twelve – a good bag.
And of course we are over-using our players without Welbeck, Wilshere, Rosicky, Coquelin, Cazorla and Sanchez. I mention this not to make excuses but to enquire where we would be if we had any three of the six available for selection. It is a sign of strength and not weakness that we are two points ahead of Leicester, four points ahead of Man City and six points ahead of THFC.
There is still such a fight ahead of us – not a bad league or a poor league but a league where anyone including Villa can take three points on their day. The difference between top and bottom is narrower and because of this the fight for points will be greater. Thankfully we have a rest and a chance to re-charge batteries, recover freshness, bring back injured players and maybe bring in new players. It is still ours to lose.
Some other points – Giroud has had a good press because he was alert enough to provide the key assist for Koscielny’s goal but does anyone else reading this column get fed up with his constant complaining. Hands in the air - lots of mouth at the referee. It is often self-deception because it reflects frustration with his own contribution and looking for the man with the whistle as a scapegoat. Sometimes things go wrong in life because of other people and you can justifiably play the blame game but more often than not people are looking to deflect responsibility – to pin the responsibility on others when the fault lies within.
Maybe some of this comes from Wenger who is renowned for his “arms in the air” gesticulation when the referee has made the wrong decision. He may think by complaining to the fourth official that he is putting pressure on the referee when the four officials gather at half time. And he may be right. Referees are human beings – they do make mistakes (was it four penalties we did not get from Lee Probert in the 2014 FA Cup Final against Hull City?) and there is that human tendency to “even up”. It happens. Was that why Steve Gerrard stayed on the pitch in the 5th Round Cup match at the Emirates after Howard Webb failed to give Liverpool a deserved second penalty? Was he giving something back to the side who suffered from his error? But Wenger is in danger of making himself a figure of fun.
Another point – The Ox. He is under-performing; snatching at chances, pulling shots wide of the target; not always tracking back. His head is low; his body movement is full of negatives. How do we respond? Do we mock and deride and humiliate him to further depths of despair or do we encourage and support and cheer him back to his best form? There is only one answer. It has to be to get behind him and roar our support as he tries to recover his best performance. Over the years some vocal supporters have taken their frustrations out on the players – cursed them, booed them, laughed at them. It may make you feel good but ask yourself whether it does any good? So often in sport we see top performers wrestling with a spate of bad form. On a bad day a tennis player misses his volleys; a golfer misses his putts, a cricketer puts down catches. Bear with the poor performer – his time will come again and for Arsenal fans we want the Ox back to his best. Support him with strong applause don’t scream at him with insult.
Other points – it seems to me that Theo has toughened up. He is getting involved with some heavy challenges, riding the tough tackles. Bellerin has come through a bad period and will be all the better for the experience. He is a mature player at a young age. No wild tackles. No revenge instincts. Just solid mental application. He is so good for us. Mertesacker still mystifies. He, like Wenger, looks more suited to lectures on 19th Century German Philosophers at Munich University. And yet he played 100+ games for Germany and has an instinct for anticipation that is second to none. That image of Holt brushing him aside in one of his early matches at the Emirates stays in the mind but in fairness to him he is so important to the mentality of the team. Finally Cech; I am saying the obvious – he is tremendous and he wants success again at Arsenal to prove to the world that he is so good.
Two Final Points – that question again – what links George Graham, Nasri and Ljungberg?
Memory Lane – Arsenal had made a success of signing players late in their careers – Ronnie Rooke and Joe Mercer were just two who made such a great contribution to League and Cup success from 1947 to 1953. One who did not quite come off was Tommy Lawton although he scored 6 goals in 18 matches in 1954-55 and 6 in eight matches the following season. But he was such a big name – an England international for many years - and people came just to see him in big numbers. What has this to do with 2015 you may enquire? It is the roots thing. The red shirt, Highbury, the hero wearing the no 9 shirt. It helped to cement the commitment to Arsenal and I get emails from older supporters who love the recollections and reminiscences.
Regards
* You can follow my tweets @arsenalcircular
