In a season which will be defining for multiple reasons, it’s important Arsenal stand up and fight until the end.
It’s been a turbulent time for the club on and off the pitch. Arsène Wenger’s team opened the new Premier League campaign with defeat to Liverpool in front of their own fans. This was the 4th time Arsenal had lost the opening fixture in the last 6 years. And as if injuries and lack of activity in the transfer window hadn’t been frustrating enough…
It’s been a summer where Jamie Vardy has “easily” rejected a move to the Emirates, whilst our biggest rivals have strengthened significantly. The disappointment of another failed title charge and another uninspiring transfer window felt like all too familiar ground.
For a while it shook my faith. What was once an ambitious club, with the likes of David Dein, Thierry Henry and Tony Adams was now a laughing stock governed by unambitious owners, with unrest amongst Gooners creating a toxic atmosphere at the club.
However, in the space of a few days it seems the dark cloud hanging over the Emirates has gone… for now at least. The Gunners collected their first win with victory over Watford before the international break. Furthermore, the new arrivals of Lucas Pérez and Shkodran Mustafi have increased moral.
In the wake of all the negatives that has surrounded the club recently, this has injected some much needed confidence. It has lifted both the club and the fans. Finally Arsenal have something to smile about going into the international break.
Of course, there’s still a long way to go yet and a lot of work to do. Already Arsenal find themselves trailing behind the league leaders by 5 points. A gap that we can’t afford to let widen so early in the season. And though it may only be early days, playing catch up to Chelsea and the Manchester clubs is far from ideal.
Leicester set the example by defying the odds last season and being champions, finishing well ahead of all who should’ve been their biggest title rivals. They may not be a club full of world class players, but they are a team.
From the very beginning of last season, where they could’ve lost a lot more games than they did, they fought back. They showed character, they showed spirit and performed as the fearless foxes the club’s motto suggests. They embodied what it means to play for Leicester City.
This season, it’s high time this current Arsenal side remembers what it means to play for the crest. They must carry the torch from the legends who came before them. In order to ensure this, there’s a number of things the club must do.
We must banish mediocrity. The manager must inspire a winning mentality, he must deploy better tactics, be more proactive and not just reactive. In turn, the players must step up and perform.
Arsenal’s character has been criticised far too often in the past, where we’ve predictably stumbled in crucial stages of the season. The manager often wax lyrical about the team’s “quality and desire” in his post-match interviews. But those performances only ever come in patches. Any honest Arsenal fan would tell you finishing second above Tottenham last season was admittedly a fortunate miracle.
Now more than ever, is the season which presents itself as a defining one; for the futures of our British core, the futures of Özil and Sanchez and the legacy of Arsène Wenger. Another failure to deliver that elusive Premier League title will guarantee Wenger’s reign ends on low.
This season we must be ruthless. We must remember who we are and remind others who we are – the Arsenal.
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