The game… I didn’t watch the match, but I didn’t really hear any ravenous reviews from it. From what the Internet said (and obviously, one should add a pinch of positive salt to that), the football was stale and chances were few.
Petr Cech had to make some good stops to keep us in the game, and he did. In hindsight, it will be hard to imagine where Arsenal would have been without him. It’s quite surprising that despite not being singled out as the black sheep, people have failed to realize that Cech has made a difference. He did save us those 9-12 points, but it just so happened we were so terrible this season that they turned out to be the difference for achieving top four, not top one.
It was Danny Welbeck who broke the deadlock, neatly firing home. With finishing like that, Welbeck would be a huge asset for us next season. He has a lot of attributes a Premier League striker needs – strength, speed, height and hunger. If he improves his composure (by a lot, admittedly) he won’t be half bad.
His goal was aided by Olivier Giroud, who expertly nodded it down for the Englishman. I’ve made no secret of it that I like Giroud as a footballer, but to see him cupping his ears at the Arsenal crowd as a sign of “Where are you, haters?” when in reality he has one goal in 21 appearances is just another sign of where his confidence levels are at the moment.
He’s been a handy player for us over the past 3-4 seasons and if he leaves, I’ll be sad to see him go. But he’s also turning 30 in September, and while I know Theo Walcott is an obvious person to make way for a potential striking arrival, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to reconsider Giroud’s future too. It’s also pretty obvious that a sensitive player like him won’t thrive in an unpredictable atmosphere like ours. Speaking of.
The mood of the stadium… The planned protest wasn’t the biggest surprise of the week, and from what I’ve heard it was a failure. Not that I had much faith in it – the divisions among the fans are genuinely irreparable. Even if there is more consensus than ever on the right path for the club, the volatile nature of it has merely escalated.
I’m convinced that even in an imminent post-Wenger Arsenal, regardless of what happens these divisions will not fade, at least for the first five years. If Arsenal win the league there will be sections of fans citing Wenger’s departure as a catalyst for that, and an opposing group will say “Well Wenger got us in a position to win it” in response.
But while fans (including myself) keep arguing on whose right, kiddishly refusing to accept defeat, a problem generating greater concern is that of the players. The seeds of doubt in the minds of the fans seem to have transmitted into the players. Now that they keep reading widespread articles questioning Wenger (well validated, of course) they begin to doubt him themselves, and their belief in his outlook to football keeps decreasing. It’s human nature.
That being said, the disillusionment of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil with Arsene Wenger is alarming. Never have I seen two players making it clear they want more. Sanchez tossing his armbands and storming into the tunnel (he wasn’t injured, by the way), Ozil earning himself an unnecessary yellow card by ignoring the referee (not to mention him swearing on the pitch seven days before)… they’re all symptoms of top class players not believing they’re in the right place anymore.
It’s worrying. Only time will tell if Arsenal manage to keep Ozil and/or Sanchez this summer, but I reckon they will stay. What matters is 2016/17. Another failure in that season, and there’s no doubt in my mind they will have had enough. With hopes for winning the Premier League or the Champions League next season genuinely slim, we may have to prepare ourselves for an imminent car crash.
The context… That win, coupled with Manchesters United and City dropping points, means that top four seems safely in our grasps. Even if we lose to City, a win against Aston Villa on the final day of the season will guarantee Champions League. I know we aren’t on the best run of form, but surely even we can get past Villa comfortably? Surely.
I know it’s become somewhat of a repetitive frustration to be fighting for CL after a collapse, but let’s be honest, even if we drop to fifth, Arsene Wenger isn’t going anywhere this summer. It will take David Moyes levels of mediocrity for the board to realize their folly and rectify things, and Arsene will make sure the club doesn’t go there. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is for you to decide.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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