This season, Arsenal have taken a lot of flak from the media, being their favourite whipping boys. However, most of the criticism is actually untrue, as will be displayed below, where I will attempt to dispel 5 Media Misconceptions about Arsenal.
1. They can’t close games out
This season has seen a marked improvement in our ability to stifle teams in the last 20 minutes of games, despite only leading by one goal. Examples this season of our newfound defensive resolve were both the league games against Tottenham (1-0), away wins against Villa and Swansea, which were particularly impressive considering Benteke and Davies respectively had threatened to bring them back into the game after Arsenal had moved into a 0-2 lead. Even in the big games, where Arsenal have generally underperformed, there has been evidence of grit and determination, the FA Cup tie against Liverpool and the away leg in Dortmund showing the best of our back 5. Interestingly, Koscielny and Mertesacker completed 90 minutes in all of these 6 games, showing their importance to the cause, as Arsenal only conceded 8 goals in the last 15 minutes of league games all season, an impressive record.
Use the page numbers below to navigate through our 5 media misconceptions.