Arsenal’s Premier League season has been filled with frustrating inconsistency, failing to win more than 2 games in a row all season – a worrying statistic for all parties involved – and currently sitting 5th in the table, a point from 4th.
Their Champions League form however has been decent, finishing second, level on points with Dortmund, with a friendlier 2nd round tie with Monaco next month to look forward to. It’s no question that the Premier League title has been out of reach for some time now, and with the increased competition given by teams around them in the top 7 this year, the prospect of a top 4 finish looks to be a trickier task. So this begs the question; should Arsenal focus on going all the way in the Champions League, if they fall away in the race for a top 4 finish?
I recognised a repeating pattern over the last 10 years; a big club who finishes outside the top 4 usually go on to do very well in the Champions League, which of course earns them a place in the following season’s prestigious European competition; 10 years ago Everton finished 3 points in 4th place ahead of Liverpool, who soon went on to claim their 5th top flight European title to break Everton hearts, the following season Arsenal ALMOST claimed their first Champions League trophy against Barcelona, after JUST finishing 4th ahead of Tottenham, in 2012 Chelsea ended the season in 6th place, 5 points shy of 4th placed Tottenham, but went on to claim their first Champions League title to remain in the competition…. a repeating pattern? I’d say so.
Arsenal’s top 4 rivals this season Southampton have been in impressive form, currently standing in 3rd place in the Premier League. Their last 3 results against the league’s big clubs sends a huge statement of intent to the teams in the top 7; a 1-1 draw at home against league leaders Chelsea in their last game of December, followed by a home win against Arsenal and an away win at Old Trafford against 4th placed United. They’re brimming with confidence at the moment so Arsenal must continue to win.
Arsene Wenger’s side followed up on their comfortable 3-0 home win against Stoke Rugby Club, by impressively defeating the champions Manchester City 2-0 away from home on Sunday. It’s needless to say that everyone had well and truly written Arsenal off going into this daunting encounter, even I wasn’t holding my breath. The ever haunting memories of last season’s shambles away to Liverpool, Chelsea and City haven’t been forgotten and definitely left considerable mental scars; the corresponding fixture last year ended 6-3 Manchester City, which preceded a 5-1 defeat away to Anfield, followed by a 6-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge (on the day of Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th Premier League game in charge of Arsenal). But this time, Arsenal brought their A game, and how!
The past few days have been spent lauding the heroics of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla, and rightly so after being so influential operating in Arsenal’s midfield. But we mustn’t ignore the Manager’s hand in this feat. Wenger FINALLY applied the defensive tactics to pad lock Arsenal’s rear guard, which kept City’s main danger men in the form of David Silva and Sergio Aguero very subdued indeed. So could this mean that Arsene has finally learned from past mistakes? It would certainly seem so judging by that performance. I doubt Arsenal would have kept a clean sheet if they hadn’t of done what they did, thanks to Wenger’s instructions. Games are won and lost on defensive errors, and it’s this type of disciplined football he must tap into his players, on a consistent basis from now on.
Sunday was great, but there’s no point performing like that only to drop points straight afterwards. Like I said before, we haven’t won more than twice in a row this season. We can take huge confidence from this win and the return from injuries to Ozil, Ramsey and Walcott – all present on Sunday. The squad has grown in numbers despite the setback to Arteta and the loss of Debuchy again. Squad strength and depth is crucial in football and Wenger must be making inroads in this transfer window for defensive reinforcements – our persistent Achilles heel this year. The season is still long and we’re only in January, but we cannot afford to slip up too often otherwise we might find ourselves playing on Thursday nights next year, unless we pull off the unthinkable and lift the one trophy alluding this club’s entire history.