Morning all.
Nine points clear at the top of the table, a League Cup Final just days away and of course Arsenal are still in the Champions League as well as the FA Cup, but, we haven’t won anything yet!
I don’t know about you guys but I’m not a fan of all the chit chat about nine points being too many for Man City to chase down. It’s rubbish really, especially as they have a game in hand and we have to play them. Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather be in the position we are rather than City’s but the last manager who boasted about having points on the board rather than games in hand etc was Fergie and I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you what happened that season. Ok, I will. Lol
It was the 1997/98 season when Utd held an 11 point lead in early March. Admittedly, Arsenal had three games in hand over Fergie’s lot but those games needed to be won. It was Utd’s title to lose, said the media. Well, lose it they did as not only did Arsenal win all their games but they defeated Utd at Old Trafford too. Marc Overmars scoring the only goal of the game.
On the flip side, the 2002/03 season saw the reverse unfold as it was Arsenal who held a healthy 8 point lead heading into March. Utd didn’t have any games in hand but they didn’t need them as Arsenal went on an awful run of results winning four of the final nine fixtures. Utd ended up winning the title by five points.
To use a golfing analogy, until we are 3 up with 2 to play, nothing is certain in the Premier League.
Guardiola, Sky Sports and every other media outlet and ex player turned pundit can deploy their mind games all they like but this season has a long way to go yet and no result is a forgone conclusion regardless of how it looks on paper. The results this weekend are a good example of that. Who would have predicted West Ham taking a point from their game against Man City, the whipping boys Totts earning a point at Anfield, or indeed Newcastle Utd beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge? The best of all though, who would have predicted 16 year old Max Dowman to change a game in the way he did? Not just because of his goal but because of the way he imposed his game on the opposition. His cross which ended up in the back of the net thanks to the touch from Hincapie and tap in from Gyokeres was perfect. Perfect because it was close enough to Pickford to tempt him, but not close enough for him to get a touch.
Just because he’s done it once though, let’s not put too much pressure on him to do it twice or three times. He’s a boy who needs protecting and thank goodness that is exactly what Arteta is doing with him. The talk in the media which I heard yesterday about the upcoming World Cup and whether Tuchel should look to include him is stupid. Unlike Wenger who agreed with the decision to take a 16 year old Walcott to a World Cup a few years ago, despite I believe not having played for Arsenal, I don’t for one minute believe Arteta will follow suit with Dowman should the situation arise.
Just as I don’t think Arteta will allow talk of a 9 point lead at the top of the table being anything other than what it is. A 9 point lead. Not when 21 are still on offer and 24 for City.
Catch up in the comments.
Morning Rico. Totally agree. 9 points ahead is nothing when there are still 21 points to play for. Hopefully Arsenal can continue to win each game eventually making it mathematically impossible for MC to win, who I believe will slip up. Many believe it will go to the wire with the game against MC being the decider.
They were not at their best against West Ham, who certainly got them rattled. Good to see an ex-Arsenal player score their great goal.
Looking very likely tomorrow that MC will go out of the Champs League, which I think we could do without at this stage as it gives them a bit more time to rest in-between games. BUT no excuses, as we now have a good 1st and 2nd squad that includes Max Dowman! What a gem we have!
Once again, another nail / knuckle biting game against Everton. I do wish they wouldn’t leave it so late. Not good for the nerves lol!
Spot on Rico, nine points is nothing.
Particularly, as Laura points out, City will probably be out of the CL, whereas if we progress tomorrow, as we should, we’ll likely be making our way home from the Arctic Circle, a few days before our showdown at the Ethiad next month.
Morning Laura, Anthony and all.
We have a few really tough fixtures to play, especially Newcastle Utd. Nothing can be taken for granted nowadays.
Good point about the CL and City.
Having an international break won’t help either. It’s ridiculous at this stage of the season.
As Saliba said win the lot , win the league.
Probably we could afford a draw in the mix but keep winning and it’s ours.
There can be no relaxing and I am sure that this message will be driven home on the dressing room walls until the games have been completed .
Afternoon Rico, great post, we fans can enjoy it, the banter, the Dowman replays, but Arteta and his players n staff are not for one moment letting things slide, Mikel has drummed it into the players and they repeat his mantra verbatim. I did notice that Dowman wasn’t allowed to do any media guff at the end of the match and some journos complained about that. Well they can all moan as much as they like, but they’re no friends of Arsenal.
Even the celebrations with the fans at the whistle are muted, the players are getting the job done, banking the points and then it’s onto the next one. None of the noise is getting through, Pep can say what he likes, the media can bleat away, ex-players can make themselves look stupid – I’m looking at you Obi Mikel. None of it permeates the carefully constructed Iron Dome surrounding the club and long may that continue. All I’m looking forward to is the next instalment from AFC.com of Arteta in the technical zone to drop…
I don’t think Arteta will allow any kind of complacency or relaxation either. Doesn’t seem to be in his dna…
Afternoon Kev, thanks.
I think it’s good Dowman is protected from the media, he’s a schoolboy right now.
I love the Arteta in the dugout videos, this recent one should be fun. A lot of vids on social media which are very good too, Gabriel and Raya sinking to their knees as Max scored, brilliant.
How long before the scummy press turn up at his school ?
I’m surprised they are not doing that already..
Probably going through his dustbins
Watching a few training videos and it seems that Rice has taken him under his wing .
They have their own way of handling the gutter press at Eton. 😉