Recently I wrote bemoaning the typical canned comments about lessons learned with respect to winning against lower-table opposition. For the past handful of seasons we have witnessed Arsenal sides of varying permutations raise their performance levels when facing sides competing for European places, only to shit the bed when facing the promoted sides and/or relegation fodder.
To wit, I was referring to the loss to QPR and the subsequent win versus Man City. While we followed that win with another against Wolves, somewhat addressing this tendency, we went into the Wigan match at home perhaps feeling that just showing up would secure the points. It only took ten minutes for the visitors to exploit our lethargic start and secure their first ever victory on our ground. Our performance that day was especially galling because there was every indication that Wigan would give us a game, having just beaten United for the first time full stop, after only losing to Chelsea on the back of some offside howlers and taken three points at Anfield before that.
Three points in either of those two matches would have just about rendered the outcome of the Chelsea-Barcelona Champions League semi-final irrelevant, and perhaps psychologically would have given us the freedom to perform against Chelsea over the weekend. Instead we were nervy and again got out of the gates very slowly in each half, never really got into a groove and had to settle for a single point against a weakened and creaking outfit just looking to put in a defensive training session on our ground. Given the way we romped the best the chavs have to offer back in October on their own patch, one would imagine we could inflict similar damage in a week where they faced Spurs in a semi-final on a notoriously spongy pitch, then Barcelona mid-week in a game where they registered only one shot on goal.
It wasn’t to be, and even if we kept Chelsea at arm’s length with respect to qualifying for the Champions League next season, we perhaps steeled their will for the return leg against another team who tend to pass the ball around quite a lot without threatening much. Unwittingly, our lackluster performance on Saturday just might have confirmed their belief that they could overcome the best team in the world on their own ground, and they did just that. That may be somewhat debatable, but it certainly couldn’t have hurt their cause much.
And yet we find ourselves in good shape to finish well. Despite getting only one point from our last two matches, we are still level with United and ahead of City on points earned in the League since the end of January, with a record of W9 D2 L2. Not exactly what we are accustomed to in the last few years when it comes to the run-in. We find ourselves now in a position we couldn’t have realistically considered after the start of our season or, in honesty, going into February. Unlike those past campaigns, we surged through February and March, but there are signs that we just may have hit a wall. Van Persie certainly isn’t hiding, but the edge has been blunted and he could use a rest that probably won’t come. Theo has enjoyed a return to form coincidental with Sagna’s coming back into the side, but he is out for the remaining fixtures, along with Arteta. While we have to be pleased, given our 10 league losses, to be in pole position to finish third, we just have to close the deal.
Two wins out of three should be enough to achieve that and ensure Champions League next season. That would neatly sidestep the double agony Chelsea could inflict with a Champions League win, and eliminate the compounding interest of Cesc’s move to Barca [i.e. losing our best player and CL qualification because of it would put even more enormous pressure on Wenger] . But there really is more to it than that. We need to close this deal in order focus properly on others. And this isn’t just about re-signing RVP and Theo, and confirming Podolski. We need to close the deals when it comes to getting rid of deadweight as well. The notion of winning ugly gets trotted out quite a bit in reference to our business on the pitch, but it should apply off the pitch as well. If we don’t get the money we’d like for Denilson, Bendtner, Arshavin, et al, but we still get rid of them and clear their wages from the books, is that no less of a victory than a jammy last minute winner against Stoke on the weekend?
It’s going to be a rubbish enough transfer window as it is with a big European competition going on and the work we have cut out for us. That would be made even worse if our Champions League participation remains in the balance. I’m not convinced Van Persie would leave if we finish fourth, but I’m certain he’ll be gassed after a summer of high-intensity games starting with yet another group of death against the likes of Germany, Portugal and Denmark, considering the season he has had. It is clearly not the ideal preparation for a CL qualifier in August against a team like Udinese, without Wenger on the touchline and a newly installed number two at the helm. And that marks yet another deal that needs closing.
We have a lot of work to do. This summer will be difficult in many ways, but it will be that much more so if we don't get the job done tomorrow at the Brittania. We need to get over the line, and finish strongly. That starts with a performance tomorrow brimming with commitment and desire. In midweek we've seen what that kind of shift can do even down to ten men in a hostile environment, against the odds. You can be sure that Stoke will raise their level tomorrow. The question remains, will we?
Follow @11cannons
No comments:
Post a Comment