Please write us off
It has been commented upon elsewhere, but it is astounding that we win 6-0 and it hardly raises a ripple. But frankly that suits me down to the ground.
Traditionally Arsenal have been at their best when written off and the whole club, players and supporters have pulled together. We never seem to attract the same expectations outside of the club as the mancs and latterly the chavs. So we are still suspect against teams who are a little aggressive according to some pundits. Obviously if you have watched any Arsenal games this season or last season for that matter, we actually managed to win against such teams, a point conveniently forgotten.
But no matter, I’d rather not have the judgement of the of the half-wits that pass for experts on British TV. You’ll see them change their tune at some point, but for now, I see no point in railing against them, at least until one manages to utter a particularly inane point of view, they are dead to me. If I might make so bold, I suggest you do the same.
Last Wednesday reminded me of why I love watching this Arsenal team so much. We did things again and again that no team has any right to be able to do. The speed of movement and accuracy of (most) passing was a delight and I don’t recall having a smile on my face for so much of a game for a long time. Almost everything clicked, and whilst I am not blind to the things that didn’t, I for one intend to enjoy the good without concern for the less than perfect.
Something does seem to be clicking this season, but as our captain said afterwards, we could have done better and it’s very good to hear him say that. We can indeed get better and if Cesc can motivate the rest of the team to try to achieve that, we could be in for a very special season. And speaking of Cesc, what a game he had. Given more room than any sensible team would offer, his distribution and forward runs were a joy. After all that he was disappointed he hadn’t scored a hat-trick as he hasn’t done that yet. Let’s just be clear, he is someone who always wants to achieve more than he has already, doesn’t sound like someone just marking time until a move to me.
Although you could say our defence will have tougher days, I think it did well, one or two aberrations notwithstanding. The way Squid and Kos are playing you really wouldn’t have thought they hadn’t played together until recently and they are good defenders both. It’s common to hear that a good goalie makes defenders play better as they have more confidence, to my mind the opposite also seems to be true. Almunia seems more confident knowing that he doesn’t have to act as a sweeper, so we may get a good season from him yet.
I do honestly wonder whether Bendtner is going to get sufficient playing time to fit his ego when he does finally get fit again. If Chamakh continues the way he has started, he has to be a better choice than Bendtner. And if RvP gets an unexpected run of fitness, he’s in line before the big Dane. Added to the mix that Vela is currently in a purple patch as well, and all of a sudden we don’t look too shabby in the goalscoring stakes even with ol’ brittle ankles out.
I think it’s possible now to see more of what Ars
