Image Source: Goal.com
If you want to know why I think Arsenal won’t win the title, some Gooners gave me plenty of evidence this weekend.
I have always stressed, we possess some of the best young talent in the division, but history shows that when our youthful squad is put under any pressure, we are mentally not strong enough to cope.
Last campaign we got 50 points by christmas by being under the radar, no one expecting us to challenge for the Prem.
Now we have a massive spotlight on us to at least be Man City’s closest competition in the title race. Drop points this season and everyone wants to know why.
Never has the level of expectation been more apparent than the reaction to our opener on Saturday.
Wherever it’s fan channels on YouTube, Tweets on Twitter or comments on this platform, you would have thought we had lost to Nottm Forest the way some of our fanbase were acting.
In reality we won 2-1 in a match we controlled, only conceding from a counterattack and Ramsdale barely having to make a save.
Even after their goal, I don’t recall us hanging on like some have tried to portray.
Even with 8 minutes of added time, this narrative that Forest were close to an equaliser is simply fantasy.
A couple of times they lofted the ball into the air and each time we dealt with it.
The notion that we should be disappointed that we didn’t win by a bigger margin is naive, arrogant, or both.
It’s naive because it’s showing a lack of understanding of how this League works. It’s viewed as one of the most competitive in the world because even those expected to battle relegation possess quality where a player can produce a moment of magic, like Elanga did for his assist.
This is the same Forest who beat us in April.
We couldn’t beat Southampton in two attempts, and they are in the Championship.
It happens.
That’s why I predicted 2-1 because our failure to kill of games is quite common.
There are a lot of reasons to be positive about the future in North London at the moment, but let’s make this clear, we are not a good enough team to be putting our nose up to three points against anyone.
I can name you a lot better teams we have had then the current one who didn’t always blow their opponents away 4-0!
Two decades ago, even the Invincibles sometimes had to grind out wins.
You can understand why rival fans laugh at us when we fall flat on our face because, let’s be honest, complaining that we ‘only’ won 2-1 shows an unlikeable aspect of certain personalities.
Take the emotion out of your outlook.
If any other team had gone 20 years without a title, 6 years outside the top 4 and were acting like a 2-1 win in the League was now above them, we would point out how cocky that is?
The Gunners were not perfect at the weekend but certainly were not bad.
We didn’t need to get out of second gear and have been able to win without being at our best.
That’s a good thing.
Imagine the reaction had we lost?
Just be humble guys.
Dan