For a variety of reasons I have only been able to take in
the last several matches via Twitter feeds, match reports and the like. It's
quite a feeling to be losing a match 1-0 getting into a car to go to the
airport and then discovering we won in the last minute just as I emerge from
security and head toward my departure gate. Nothing takes the edge off a 15
hour flight like victory stolen from the jaws of defeat [It sounds awfully
weird writing that phrase 'correctly' with respect to the Gunners].
By now we're all well aware of the Premier League record the
Arsenal just set for consecutive comeback wins. But this team had to make comebacks already
this season, so why does it seem so surprising? We shipped two marquee players
without the expected big-name replacements. We pocketed the cash and brought in
a few journeyman players, missing out on the likes of Juan Mata. Then we
dropped two clangers.
The mauling at Old Trafford wasn’t exactly unexpected, even
if the margin was more than anticipated. The capitulation at Blackburn
compounded that result. A hand-ball assisted goal by Van der Vaart was the
decider in the loss to Spurs. Afterwards we went on a run that saw us
climb from the relegation zone right back up to the top five with a series of
gritty performances. If the football wasn’t exactly flowing, the points were
steadily accumulating. We thrashed Chelsea at the Bridge and won a Champions
League group that appeared to be the toughest draw, whereas the wealthy
Manchester clubs crashed out against far inferior competition.
