Our worst enemy is our own feckless capitulation.
In any other season taking four points from away games to Leicester and Burnley would have been regarded as a good return. But as we are chasing the pack for European tickets for next season, those two points dropped unnecessarily at Turf Moor have deflated us more than it should have done. We need to get on top of our emotions again and believe in the team and our cause.
The European games are a good chance for silverware, but as Arteta is mainly building a team for next season I reckon we will fall short of making it to the final, unless the boys play at their very best and Lady Luck is on our side. It is great that we are still in this competition and I am looking forward to Thursday’s encounter against Olympiacos in Greece. What I am not prepared to do is give up on the League just yet.
I said at the start of the season that the first third would be the hardest one and the last third would be relatively easier for us. We have now gone into that final third with just eleven games to go. Next up are the horrible Spuds and, for various reasons, it will be hard to get all three points from this one. Look at it as a bonus game. After that we will have ten games from which we can get a lot of points based on a good run. I am always a guy who believes in OGAAT – one game at a time – but it is now also important to provide us with perspective: a good run of results is definitely possible and this could mean a decent finish in the league given the circumstances.
After the Spuddies, who luckily also face European opposition this Thursday, we will play: West Ham, Liverpool, Sheffield United, Fulham, Everton, Newcastle, West Brom, Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Brighton.
I believe that all of these teams could take points from us but also that we can take points of all these teams. Furthermore, a victory over Pool (will be hard), West Ham, Everton and Chelsea will in effect be a six-pointer and pull us up with three points against that particular team. There are a lot of teams in those last ten games that are fighting against relegation and they will not make it easy for us, but they can be overcome. Arsenal have the quality and just need to add the discipline and killer-instinct. Unlike the Spuds, who like mushrooms need wet, dank darkness to thrive, Arsenal get usually better when the sun comes out and nature offers us hope again.
The Chavs are currently in fourth position (50 points) and above them are the struggling Foxes (53). They have played a game more than us and we are 12 and 15 points behind them respectively. This is of course a big gap but with the game in hand and still playing the Chavs, Arsenal could halve the deficit in just two games. The Foxes are further away but they could continue to have a bad run, so we must not give up. Of course there are other teams above us with whom we would have to compete for a top four/top six finish but there are still 33 points to be won or lost by us, and who knows where it all may end?
We have an almost fit squad and if both Partey and ESR, or at least one of them, can get back to full fitness levels we really have a good chance to go on that winning run and maybe make it into the Top-Four. Our worst enemy is our own feckless capitulation.
C O M E O N Y O U R I P R O A R I N G
G U N N E R S
By TotalArsenal.
Bergkampesque 
Morning all,
Here are my predictions:-
Leeds v Chelsea – A
Everton v Burnley – H
Manchester United v West Ham – H
Arsenal v Tottenham – H
Leicester v Sheffield United – H
Benevento v Fiorentina – D
” Arsenal have the quality and just need to add the discipline and killer-instinct. Unlike the Spuds, who like mushrooms need wet, dank darkness to thrive, Arsenal get usually better when the sun comes out and nature offers us hope again”
That’s a great sentence Total – it brought a big smile to my face.
Your positivity is infectious and I can foresee us climbing up the league but I’m unsure that we have enough consistency to make a European spot . But it’s still down to one game at a time and until the Euro places are mathematically out of our reach then hope prevails.
Yet another great post – thank you.
Thanks GN5, the post is aimed at myself as much as anyone, as I was a bit down after the draw at Turf Moor. Here is to hope! 😁
TA, I agree with everything you say except for the Spuds game being a bonus. We need confidence and momentum, victories on Thursday and Saturday would give us that. It would also bring us closer to overhauling them.
Cheers OX10, look I would love to beat the Spuds this weekend, but we are not playing them but Ourinho unfortunately. Arteta is great but not yet capable to deal with the Portuguese’s cinicism. It is a game I am not looking forward to.
Well done Total, our ‘Man of All Seasons’ you’re always the guy with a half full pint and for that we’re all grateful, yes, of course we can still make a european spot and the fixtures are, on paper winnable and if our attackers can find their scoring boots and the officials begin to officiate properly then who knows?
Funnily enough my attention is on the NLD because we all know of the historical antipathy that Mourinho has for Arsenal and how it brings the best out of him in these games and the fact that Arteta has yet to taste victory in this fixture makes me feel negative, my expectations are lower than a snakes belly for that one. After the NLD, I guess it’s up for grabs but our players need to be more switched on and dish out a little less of the frivolous football whilst finding that inner ruthlessness we need.
Olympiarkos? I haven’t a scooby what Arsenal team will turn up and tbh that’s this season summed up…
This popped up on one of my newsfeeds, so thought I’d share a view on your positivity.
I’m a Leicester fan and whilst Arsenal thoroughly derserved your 3 points at the KP the other weekend no argument with that, given the injuries we have when you say the Foxes are on a Bad run, in our last 5 games we have picked up 10 points out of 15 (pro rata’d at 20 out of 30 based on 10 games) and last 10 games have picked up 18 points out of a possible 30.
Given we are on 53 points with 10 to play, if we pick up 18 points we will finish on 71 or based on 5 game form will finish on 73 points.
I am not sure its that bad a run and with both Barnes and Maddison to come back in the next 3 to 4 games unlike like season where our injuries were in the last 10 games of the season, for our our last 5 to 6 games we could well be at full strength.
Arsenal have 11 games left to play so if you won all 11 games you’d finish on 71 points, of course its possible but you’ve only won 11 all season.
Good luck for the rest of the Season however, although I do think the future looks quite bright for you under Arteta as long as everyone sticks by him through the tough times like you did earlier this season.
Cheers Guy, that is a sound comment. I should have checked the stats really. I guess I am thinking more in terms of we win three out of the next four matches and you lose the next three. The gap would then be just 6 points, and it is all to play for for the remainder of the games.
Tbh I don’t expect that to happen. The Foxes are a well drilled team and have a good manager.
Thanks for commenting.
Kev, all agreed. I am looking forward to our game on Thursday, though, like you I am not sure what Arsenal team will turn up. Olympiacos eliminated PSV in the previous round due to a late goal…. Sounds familiar?!
I have a lot of time for Arsenal, I lived in North London for a while, and they are a proper giant of a football club with real history and heritage not just in the last 20 years paid for like Chelski or Man City, and I thought Wenger was a genius personally, so good luck to you boys.
I’d more be than happy if you turned over both West Ham and Spurs if I am honest, so good luck for this weekend.
Guy, please comment again at the end of season so we can look back. 😊 Good luck with holding on to your top four position. I hope you will do it.
Yep, will do and thanks.
I hope I am a lot happier than the end of last season although I know there is a long way still to go and a lot of games to play and as you say things can change quickly, so I just try and enjoy it whilst we are enjoying this period in our history.
See you at the end of May….
Great, till then.
Nice comments Guy, thanks for your input…
Can we have Maddison? 😉
I like the new Guy. Good comments. I just recently gave up on us getting into Europa places. I hope we’ll look back years from now, at Artetas 1st full season during the Wuhan virus and agree that it was a transitional year.
We’ve discovered 3 strong young or prime CBs. We all agree Tierney will be the eventual captain. Saka emerged, Smith Rowe also. …..Pepe found his footing (much credit to Arteta) and we signed a solid midfielder in Partey (and need 2 more), and we still have Martinelli.
A good (not unrealistic) summer transfer window could give us a fresh start next season with all these mistakes and red cards all used up this season.
I really believe we have a future in relatively near term.
Referee: Michael Oliver, Assistants: Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett. Fourth official: Kevin Friend. VAR: Paul Tierney. Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.
For the NLD
All agreed, J.
Tierney on VAR offers hope, Kev?!
Kevin Friend has refereed us twice Total and we won both games, Paul Tierney has done us twice also with one win and a draw, Michael Oliver has done us four times with 2 wins a draw and 1 loss, so yeah there is hope mate…
Yeah, good positive points J, we need to continue the upgrades and replacement of certain players who are unreliable, it’s not a process you can achieve in one year, even Man City couldn’t do that, it takes time and not a little money. But whatever this season has in store I still think that overall our squad is better than it was a year ago.
We have bright shining lights in our squad – and this one is a mere teenager!
https://www.arsenal.com/news/saka-makes-it-hat-trick-pom-awards
Morning guys – where are you all – it’s match day……
New Post 🙂