Well, the transfer deadline came and went with nothing happening at Arsenal. It wasn’t really any surprise. If the manager was going to buy somebody he’d have done it before now. The United defeat wouldn’t have made him think ‘Oh goodness, I DO need a player or two after all’. You know what I think, I’m frustrated because I really feel bringing in one or two players in this transfer window would have made a difference.
Despite the performance and the result against United, and the depression it sparked, I genuinely don’t think we’re that far away. Which is why not adding to the squad and insisting he hasn’t been able to find anyone better than we already have makes no real sense to me. Still, there’s nothing we can do about it now. The group of players we have are the ones who will take us through to the end of the season. The only rational explanation is that Arsene thinks they’re capable of winning a trophy. He might be in a minority in that regard, based on the considered reaction and opinion of many Arsenal fans, but if he and they prove us wrong by taking home a trophy this season then there won’t ever be as many people happy to eat a big slice of humble pie.
As I mentioned yesterday the only thing we can change now is our attitude and approach to games. An interesting point that was raised in a number of places yesterday is how different our work ethic is compared to the start of the season. Back then we were all lauding the new system because of how well it suited the players and how we played a high tempo pressing game. When the opposition had the ball we worked our bollocks off to go get it back. Compare and contrast to Sunday against United. They had as much time and space as they wanted and it contributed significantly to the defeat. Even leaving aside the individual errors the United back four were not pressed at all by our front players.
Perhaps that’s a consequence of asking midfielders to play there. There’s a natural inclination to drop deeper to where they feel most comfortable but I can’t imagine they weren’t told to make life more difficult for the United defenders. They didn’t. So the first thing we need to do is sort that out. It’s really not very complicated at all. Work hard when you have the ball and work even harder when you don’t so you can get it back and to prevent the opposition cutting you open like a hot knife through butter. If players can’t, or are unwilling to work that hard, then you’ve got to question their worth to the team. Are they fit enough? Some might say the injuries we have don’t allow enough rotation to keep players fresh. I don’t buy it. If you’ve got the desire and spirit to go and win things then heavy legs can be overcome.
It’s very simple. Either the attitudes of certain players change, and fast, or we’re going to drift backwards and our focus will be on staying in third and avoiding the dogfight for 4th place rather than the top of the table. The pessemistic side of me tells me that any chance of the title is gone now. We don’t look anything like a title winning team at the moment. On the other hand though there’s the part of me that remembers the 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea, the way we were written off, how the gap was even bigger then and how we managed to claw it back. Can we do it twice? I doubt it. But maybe we can. It’s not impossible. Unlikely, yes. Impossible, no. And it has to begin at Chelsea on Sunday.
We are still there, definitely. But I’m not going to lie to myself: Chelsea were better than us, United have been better than us.
And he spells out exactly what is required on Sunday:
We have to beat them to stay in the title race. We have to bounce back straight away, in a massive game. If you don’t believe, you don’t win things. We have to learn from what went wrong, think about them and make sure they don’t happen again. We have to be positive, strong and together more than ever. It’s up to us to show what we can do.
And it really is that simple. We have to go to Stamford Bridge where Chelsea have not lost a league game since November 30th 2008, when Robin van Persie’s two goals gave us the three points. That is the size of the task ahead of us. If we want to stay in the title race we have to beat Chelsea then, just three days later, beat Liverpool at home. Our record in ‘big’ games recently has not been great. As the Man from East Lower points out our record of P8, W0, D1, L7, F5, A18 in our most recent meetings with United and Chelsea says it all.
So Sunday’s game is as big a test as you can possibly get. Win it, and perhaps it instills the kind of belief that can pick a team up and allow them to get momentum going until the end of the season. After losing to Chelsea in November we then went 10 unbeaten in the league. We’re going to have to better that to realistically have any chance of winning the league. Ultimately it will all boil down to how much we want it. If it means that little to you that you can’t be bothered chasing an opposition player with every bit of effort you can muster then you’re not going to win the league. It’s up to the manager, and the captain in a smaller way, to ask questions of the players and to decide which among them can contribute to the kind of performances we need to put in. It’s a time when we need the experienced players to show the way.
The first thing the boss has got to do is freshen things up. Fabianski might scare us but there’s no way he scares our defenders as much as Almunia. Give the Pole a chance. Denilson has to spend some time on the bench. If Diaby is not fit then get Ramsey in there who, although still quite raw, brings energy, enthusiasm and spirit to the midfield. The manager talks about his great engine. Let him have a go. Chelsea might be a tough game for an 18 year old but what choice do we have? Anyway, more on that and the potential team for Sunday later in the week.
Typically, in the wake of the defeat, Barcelona have got their press corps on the case with regard to Cesc Fabregas. You can see the headline El Mundo Deportivo is running this morning and their story claims that Cesc has decided to go to Barcelona because of the defeat on Sunday.
While I’m sure he was disheartened, like many of us, I sincerely doubt he made a cast-iron decision about his future which was then transmitted to the Spanish press. Let’s go back to what he said in December:
There has been talk about Real and Barça since the summer and the only thing I am doing is thinking about my club, Arsenal, and seeing how I can help my team mates. I have a cool head, I am very happy at Arsenal and in England and there is still a lot for me to do. That’s all I can say. I am not thinking about anything else. I am very content and have a good deal still to do in the Premier League.
Let’s not forget either that this summer will see a Presidential election at Barcelona. You can be quite sure the candidates will all use Cesc as a way of enticing votes. Remember, Laporta got elected on the promise of bringing David Beckham to the Camp Nou when that was never going to happen. The whole system is scurrilous, underhand, mischievous and downright disrespectful to both the player and our club but that, sadly, is the nature of the beast. There’s fuck all we can do about it other than be aware of why it’s happening.
In the dark moments its easy to think of reasons why he might decide to go back to Spain but perhaps that’s underestimating the man himself. He’s commited to the club, I’m sure he desperately wants to win things here and feels like he still has work to do. Nevertheless, he’s ambitious and wants to win things. It’s up to Arsene Wenger to make him feel like he’s in a team capable of doing just that. And as long as Arsenal remain trophyless, the easier it is for El Mundo and their ilk, to stir the shit.
And that’s that for today. This feels like it’s going to be a long, long week until the Chelsea game.
