Well, that was inevitable.
Where to start? I suppose one positive to be taken from today was that... erm... well... we didn't lose 8-2. That's a start. Also, Spurs lost, meaning that in terms of the race for fourth, we dropped a single point further behind Chelsea this weekend despite this totally dispiriting defeat.
Enough of that. In reality this was a real low. We have now lost 3 games in a row in the league. Even at the start of the season I don't believe we hit that number. Too depressing to check. We are 5 points off Chelsea in fourth place. Ten, ten, off Spurs, with 16 games to go. Eighteen off Man City. I believe that we now need to seriously begin considering life without the Champions League next season, something that Wenger has already admitted would be a disaster. It's not guaranteed, we could still sneak into fourth, but we are five points away and seemingly going backwards. As I've said before, even a team in form would struggle to overcome that gap, and we are not in a team in form. Well we are in form, but that form is shit.
The atmosphere at the game was largely positive and encouraging, but I do notice a great deal of frustration now. One gentleman behind me was expressing his views loudly throughout the match. From his erudition, I assume he was some kind of professional football analyst, perhaps a correspondent for the Times or the Telegraph. 'TAKE THAT FAKKING COAT OF WANGER YOU CAAAAAAANT!!!', he opined, rightly annoyed by Arsene's choice of clothing. 'DO SUMFING YOU USELESS MUG!!!', he posited, seemingly disappointed that the manager wasn't warming up himself. The booing at the substitution of Oxlade-Chamberlain was the nadir of this crowd unhappiness. I was disappointed at the decision but told myself that there must have been a reason for it (turns out AOC had cramp). Not so the rest of the crowd. A chorus of boos greeted the decision, which no doubt inspired the struggling Arshavin. I can't understand that attitude. In a team that desperately needs a goal, surely support has to be the first priority? Wenger wasn't taking AOC off for Almunia. I can understand frustration, but not booing, and not on that scale. An argument for another day perhaps, but it certainly left a bitter taste.
In terms of the actual football, I am finding it hard to put my finger on what is going quite so wrong. Certainly today, but also against Swansea and Fulham, we struggled going forward from midfield. The tired-looking Aaron Ramsey looked... tired... today, and Rosicky was poor in the first half, though improved significantly in the second. It's tempting to say that we miss Arteta, which we clearly do, but it's not like he's a barnstorming central midfielder who unlocks defences with mazy dribbles. What we miss is his ability to 'turn over' the game, from defence to attack fluidly and with a minimum of fuss and mistakes. All that said, in the three games we have lost recently, we have scored four goals, so it's not like they've totally dried up. Our focus needs to be more on our defence, which is quickly beginning to resemble the February-September vintage. The main problem in the first half was Djourou, who looked totally lost at right-back. Seemingly every time United got the ball, they pinged it over to Nani, who looked up at Djourou's positioning, chuckled, and played in cross after cross. The last one of the half, unfortunately, was a goal. Why Vermaelen allowed himself to be outjumped by Valencia I don't know, but that error aside it was a goal that everyone could see was going to happen sooner or later. Djourou looked totally downtrodden. I know he's not a full-back, and it is quite a lot to ask, but when he kept getting sucked in to the middle so obviously, why didn't someone, Wenger or Rice or Vermaelen or Mertesacker or Szczesny, have a word and explain what he was doing wrong?
Anyway, Djourou was replaced at half time, and Wenger deserves credit for that decision. (Maybe not a great deal of credit, but at least better than 'ABOUT TIME YOU USELESS TWAAAAAT!!!' from the scholarly gent behind me.) Yennaris did a lot better and most United attention in the second half came down the right. With the fact in mind that Yennaris is capable of playing against United for a half, you have to ask, why not two? A question that others will be asking, I'm sure.
Overall, you've got to be very, very worried. The points gap above us increases, the number of games we have left to get rid of it decreases, and the mood around the club is certainly lower than it has been for a few months. Three defeats in a row is a rarity, and not the good kind. As ever, I'm not totally pessimistic. We have players returning that will change this team for the better. Arteta, Wilshere, Sagna, Gibbs and Santos are all going to return at some point. In the astronomically unlikely event that our starting eleven strings a few games together, we will all be a lot happier, and I suspect results would improve. Chelsea aren't a great team, and stranger things have happened than us making up the requisite five points on them. However, for now, it's going to be one of those weeks where football websites are avoided. Try doing something productive instead.
Until next time,
Joe.
Follow me on Twitter @JoeBlogsArsenal
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