ARSENAL - THE LACK OF MENTAL STRENGTH MYTH

I believe in Karma and I know it’s catching up on Arsenal FC because of all the innocent insects I and other Arsenal fans killed when we were kids. Or maybe it is because of the Hill - Woods, Bracewell – Smiths, Kroenkes & Usmanovs of this world, for something secret they must have done in a previous life. Or maybe it’s Wenger. Prof definitely looks guilty. So he must be the one who is getting his just desserts from Karma. 

Jokes aside. Any Arsenal loss hurts. Hurts terribly.  Personally some of the hurt feelings is down to friendly fire. If I wasn’t hurting so much, I will laugh and be amazed at the Arsenal fans of the Wenger Out religion. Do you think the loss hurts you less because you don’t like Wenger or because you predicted that Arsenal will lose? Please get over yourself and realize you are not in the majority amongst the fan base.

My people in Lagos Nigeria will tell you to “carry yourself and go”. My English neighbours will say “have a word with yourself”. These people should please :

“DO ONE”

Unfortunately our loss to Manchester United today will be trumpeted by all and sundry as another evidence of lack of mental strength and a reason why Wenger should resign. I’m sorry I beg to differ. Where was this lack of mental strength when we beat Leicester a few weeks ago? Where was it when we beat Bayern Munich and Olympiakos in the Champions League? The latter a match in which everybody had written Arsenal off. Where was this lack of mental strength when we played badly against Swansea & Watford and still won handily?

For me, what is absent is a lack of consistent mental strength. That ability to do it every time and every occasion. The type of strength that would have turned today’s shitty performance into a draw at the very worst. The type that will ensure you don’t give away cheap goals. It’s the consistency of the mental strength that’s the problem not the absence of it.

Arsenal have a ‘few’ weaknesses that I have noticed in recent times. l have attempted to list them out:

• Arsenal always have a shitty performance around the corner

• Arsenal cant unlock 2 banks of 4 

• ANY opponent of Arsenal are one innocuous pass away from one on one situations with the Arsenal goal keeper

• Laurent Koscielny is behind the best & the worst things in the Arsenal team

• Arsenal absolutely hate the favourite tag

• Arsenal don’t do cynical & the players are too nice 

Some and all of the above combined to cost Arsenal today. From
my amateur reading of the game, LvG sent his players to go hard
and be ultra defensive and prey on these identified weaknesses & they succeeded.

Man to man (based on pedigree), Arsenal were the better set of players and I expected a solid performance from the Arsenal team and a comfortable win. Unfortunately wishes are not horses. Manchester United players exhibited more desire and stuck to their game plan and won deservedly. 

Some are clear in their mind that Wenger is the problem and will say his tactics and team selection failed today. Maybe. Its difficult to understand what is it about Old Trafford that turns the players boot into lead. From what I saw today, Manchester United played Arsenal the greatest compliment tactically. I'm not sure but I feel the Arsenal team went to Old Trafford today with the wrong mentality - arrogance because on United's recent travails or defeated mentality because they gave too much for the Barcelona game and had very little left in the tank. Yes the manager takes the responsibility but I don't today's match and any other transgression you think Wenger is guilty of is enough for change of managers. 

The time to assess managerial options  in the position we are in at Arsenal is the close season when club and manager seat down to review the campaign and decide if they still want to carry on together.  Its my deeply held view that if the club decides a  manager (whoever he is ) is their man, the fans should line up behind that man. The Wenger Out brigade accuse their fellow fans who support Arsene of suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Is it fair to counter accuse the Wenger Out brigade of disloyalty to the club? Of dividing the fan base? As far as I am concerned, there is no manager 100% of fans will support so please support the club or perhaps take a back step. 

Personally I admire Wenger. There is so much to admire about the man but one indisputable one is his past record with the Arsenal. But inevitably, he will leave The Emirates one day. Recently he appears receptive to a role upstairs something he has previously ruled out. We will see when this will happen and if it will happen.

However when he leaves, don’t forget that his successor will need at least 3 transfer windows to build a new team ala Jürgen Klopp. The patience that Liverpool supporters didn’t want to learn with Brendan Rodgers they are embracing it now with Klopp. Similarly with Manchester United fans that couldn’t wait to spit Moyes out of their great DNA club, they are apoplectic about LvG now. I look forward to when they are unable to utter a word  of dissent against  LvG’s successor even when that one is plumbing novelty depths. So Arsenal fans, be aware you will seek patience with Wenger’s successor.  I can assure you.

Today’s loss was a huge setback but it is not terminal. I am hoping we can turn it around somewhere somehow. We have Swansea midweek. Hopefully we can turn around the poor result from the equivalent fixture last season and banish the woes of today’s loss.

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