A dose of realism please
Now and then the good ol’ trusty internet fails you. You go back to old habits – switch on the telly for updates, anxiously hoping that Arsenal are 25-0 up. Nothing less will make you content let alone happy. We were a minute or so away from getting a fantastic win.
Only Aston Villa and Bolton have won at Birmingham this season and that was ages ago. Utd had their bargain signing Own Goal to thank after they snatched a draw at St Andrews. Chelsea used their usual tactics of let’s bore the opposition and then sneak a winner. (It was Birmingham so they couldn’t “bully” them you see). They failed and played out a draw. The Brummy Blues also have a mean defence at home, conceding only 8 goals at home prior to the match today.
This game was always going to be difficult. Before today’s match, our last three results with Birmingham – relevance because its McLeish’s Birmingham and not Bruce’s Birmingham that always surrendered even before a ball was kicked – read thus
- Arsenal 1 Birmingham 1
- Birmingham 2 Arsenal 2
- Arsenal 3 Birmingham 1
Now if you look at those results you’ll notice that Birmingham have scored in all of those three meetings. In the first two meetings, they scored the equalizers after we struggled to find that decisive goal which would have ended their resistance. Even at the Emirates earlier this season, we outplayed them for the first 30 minutes. Then Bowyer ‘s goal was somehow allowed and we delivered the most cagey performance for the next 70 odd minutes before Arshavin curled in the 3rd in the game.
So clearly there is something about Birmingham which meant none of us should have predicted an easy win out there. Given our penchant for scoring late goals, I was relatively content to see a 0-0 score. Then comes the news we all want to hear. Nasri has scored. Just saw the goal and what a finish. He is starting to show what he’ll be able to do on a more regular basis. Advantage Arsenal.
I celebrated when I heard the news. But recalling previous meetings with this team I stopped. It couldn’t happen surely. Lightning couldn’t strike twice. 10 minutes later and Kevin Phillips drilled a massive low for us with his goal.
But you have to laugh really. It hits him rather than the other way around and went in. If Utd or Chelsea or anybody else were on the receiving end we would’ve had a good laugh at that. So maybe we should just see the funny side of this and accept that luck wasn’t on our side today.
Yes Almunia made a mistake and it hasn’t been his best season but he showed his class last week saving that Diamanti’s penalty. And he also saved one against Hull at the Emirates. Besides I’ve looked at the equalizer again and again. We had about 7 players back and still couldn’t prevent a cross from coming into Phillips in the first place.
We had our chances to seal the game and didn’t do it. We win points as a team, we lose points as team. A good example of why certain players shouldn’t be held accountable for the whole result. No not for this game.
And let’s not forget we had the 3rd choice* (debatable if you bring Djourou in the equation) central defence pairing thanks to the FA’s incompetence. I was furious that Vermaelen’s red card was not over turned. Not only was it fully undeserved but the match officials and the FA also failed to notice the card waving gesture from Franco. I knew today’s game was going to be tight. Of course there is no guarantee that had Vermaelen played then Birmingham would not have equalized. But him playing helps a bit doesn’t it? But thanks to the FA, Vermaelen missed the one game I didn’t want him to miss.
It has been a funny ol’ season. Weren’t we out of contention in February? And weren’t we predicted to finish 5th below Liverpool AND Man City? And weren’t Spurs meant to win the title? Okay the last one was a joke but you get what I mean.
Now if you’ll excuse me I’m looking forward to our game against Barcelona.
Well said. I’ve been trying to make this point on the other blogs in the immediate aftermath of the game. They were swamps of negativity, and disproportionate responses and bile were the only comments one could see. It was more disheartening to see that than to watch us concede the equaliser.
exactly mate. It’s okay to feel frustrated (we were really close to a great win) but some of it was really OTT.
I`ve said it before and I`ll say it again the Arsenal dressing room needs a motivator.
No, not a `shrink` not a `psychologist`just a generator of realism and what it`s all about and how to handle it on the day. To hell with tomorrow. In my rugby days we had doctors, physio`s, and all kinds of qualified people but the only one who could get the lads going was a horse strapper. He fixed their wounds, fixed their muscles, put back their shoulders, fingers and even knees they trusted him and listened to him and his only qualifications was love of horses and rugby.
There are too many voices in the Arsenal dressing room and too many opinions coming out. The right guy doesn`t need an inflated salary, just his tram fare.
Aussie Jack,
I almost feel like saying short up to your mail below. Look I am one of those anry at Wenger’s buying policy; I have no confidence in Almunia; I never gave us a chance this year, I was praying for 4th.
However I am very shocked at the negativity coming from the fans after this match. When Chelsea played 1 -1 with Blackburn, would you say they lacked a motivator.
The performance wasn’t poor, it was just a difficult match. Of course Almunia messed up but he saved the match for us last week.
What we need to do is take the anger of this result into the next match.
Implosion
Oh! I forgot….. In adition to his tram fare (this is after all the 21st century) he`ll need an Accreditation Certificate, you need one of those these days just to fart.
Well, what can you say?, simply not our day.Would you expect a miss like that from Almunia?,[of course him being Almunia you never know] but certainly not from your first choice GK.What is the point in pulling great saves and then missing sitters?. But something is better than nothing. Had Dunn not missed a sitter,combined with this freak goal, would we be still moaning ?, I don’t think so.Key now is not to lose heart.Next week a draw for chelsea would immediately cut the deficit to two again, with Chavs needing to play away to Liverfools and Manure to Mancs there is still hope and like our boss often says “lets believe”.I do ,do you fellow gooners?
We could have been done by 2 freak goals and a freak ref but as it is we are on a good run unbeaten in 7.Shame it wasnt 7 wins though!
good points venky and goonergaz but we also had Diaby’s goal disallowed didn’t we and that was a bit harsh.
These are all reasonable explanations, rationalizations, excuses, if the team just meets the statistical odds at every game, if its present is nothing but some statistical average of its past, then it will never reach the top. of course it has to overachieve in some games, beat the odds in others;
to say that all others dropped points in Andrews , or that this game we were not really supposed to win or “allowed’ to drop points is not to take this team seriously. It just betrays the lack of belief that this is a championship team. maybe it’s not.
The way they play in the last 10 minutes of games, ever again,when they are ahead is mind boggling, like some low leaguers thay cannot keep ball, don;t play to their strength and hoof upfield like maniacs, and that is SYMPTOMATIC to a state of mind of this team, UNlike before their resiliency means they can win it but exactly LIKE before even when they deserve it they think they are lucky a bit lucky and need to ‘steal it’, they don’t play like they own it.
When they change that, if they, then they will win it and we will not be scratching our head how come this ‘bad luck’ again
there’s a saying i read it in a paule cohelo book…….if something happens once it shouldn’t happen again and if it happen twice there’s every chance it will happen again…..but i think wenger shud have chosen strongest 11…
What is Arsenal’s strongest XI?