Apologies for the lateness. I was having some issues with my keyboard- specifically the letters c, h and v were doing nothing. Very odd, but the problem has been resolved. Lucky, because ‘Jon Terry is a useless unt’ doesn’t have the same ring to it.
So, at half time on Sunday we were 2-0 down. The boos returned, although, I must say, I still think that’s a minority. Sitting in the ground, the reaction of everyone sitting around me was of ‘why are these morons booing’? I was extremely unhappy, with the performance, with the manner in which both goals were conceded, with the generally shit start to the year that Arsenal had made, but I don’t see why my negativity should be transmitted to the players, particularly when there was still a half of football to be played. Having said that, I can understand the frustration of the crowd. Here was a team that, despite not playing that badly, had gone two goals behind to a totally inferior team through nothing but defensive mistakes and laxity. A team that has lost its last three league games, and that only has one realistic hope of winning a trophy this season. A team that had shown that promises of a renewed strength were false. All in all, a bit of booing was perhaps to be expected, if not enjoyed.
The second half was one of those rare times that make watching football great. We came out, attacked, attacked, attacked, scored, attacked a bit more, scored again, attacked a bit more, then scored again. I was delirious. We had had a similar amount of possession, but had seemed to pose a much more direct threat than in the first 45 minutes. Everything we did ended up at least in the penalty box, rather than fizzling out. I said at the time that had we been 3-0 down at half time, we probably would have scored 4 goals in quick succession. Aston Villa’s collapse played a part. It was almost Arsenal-esque on their part- to turn victory into defeat that comprehensively and quickly was straight out of the Arsenal playbook, but we can’t put is solely down to that. Our players showed some of that character that we are all so desperate to see. I loved it.
Make no mistake, we can win the FA Cup this year. Why not? We will have to beat Sunderland or ‘Boro away in the next round, and why shouldn’t we? Do that and we are in the quarter finals. I still maintain that there is no team in the country that a fully-firing Arsenal team couldn’t beat. If I were in charge of Arsenal, I would tell the players that this is what we are going for this year. Obviously, 4th place has to be a priority, but then so does silverware. If you asked me whether I would prefer to win the FA Cup or come 4th, the reasonable side of me would say that the latter would be the best for the club. However, we can do both, and we should attempt to do both. I’ve got a good feeling about the FA Cup.
The news about Jack Wilshere is a huge blow, but not anything that most of us didn’t know, in our heart of hearts, we would be hearing sooner or later. Long-time readers (ha) will remember this piece I wrote, where I said that Jack not returning at all was one of the things I least wanted to see this season, but probably would. A huge shame, but what can we do? Part of being an Arsenal fan these days is coming to terms with long-term injuries to our best players. I won’t go into the myriad arguments about why all of our best players are so injury-prone, or why minor injuries become major, or why it’s always us. Life’s too short for that. My reaction to the Wilshere news (besides a knowing sigh) was to think immediately about how we can best manage that loss. That means the rotation of Arteta, Ramsey, Song, Coquelin, Diaby(!), Rosicky and Benayoun. Without Wilshere, we have the makings of a decent, top-four midfield, just about. It’s a matter of managing our remaining resources wisely, something that I’m sure Arsene is devoting much of his time to.
Tomorrow we face Bolton away. I despise Bolton. A remnant of the Allardyce years. I have complained before about the myth that Owen Coyle has instilled in them a free-flowing, passing game. It’s a media creation: just watch them play tomorrow and decide if they have moved away from the cloggers that they are rightly seen as. We need a win tomorrow, no two ways about it. Anything else will rightly be considered a disaster. We are 5 points behind Immoral Post-Soviet Oligarchs FC, who play in Swansea tonight. Assuming they win, that gap will be 8 points. Anything less than a win tomorrow and we really will have to start planning for life in the Europa League. Let’s hope that the Aston Villa game will be the spark needed to reignite our push for fourth and beyond. Stranger things have happened.
Till next time,
Joe
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