ARSENAL LOSE TO LIVERPOOL – AMAZED THE WORLD HASN’T ENDED

We were badly bruised at Anfield.

We put in a shitty performance and got the commensurate outcome.

Blip? Same old same old? Somewhere in between?

I guess you have your point of view & some have their entrenched opinions. Good luck. I am not here for you. I hope I can help a few who like myself need some anchor on what the future looks like and possibly some soothing over the bruising at Anfield.  

I am amazed that the world hasn’t come to an end this morning going by the reaction to the defeat.

Wenger is useless!

Wenger has lost it!

Wenger never had it!

Wenger is destroying his legacy!

Arsenal will be relegated!

Those supporting Wenger are the problem!

The Arsenal board is useless!

Kroenke is the problem!

Why should Wenger keep players who want to go!

Why should Arsenal sell players!

Sadly the critiques cant make up their mind. The Malcontents cant get anything right. I hope things become clearer and we can all see that Wenger isn’t the problem. Yes he has his football philosophy which has its own consequences and can sometimes yield a result like this even when the players put in all the required effort. Also this same philosophy can serve you the best of football.

Learn to look beyond Wenger when something like this happens.  

For starters, only a few people know what is going on and something is clearly going on behind closed doors. I don’t claim to know more than any of the malcontents. We all see the same things and conclude differently.

In my reading of the situation, there was a fight for the soul of the club last season and some within the hierarchy were heavily invested in the departure of Arsene but they lost and have clearly continued the same fight this season. They want the team to sink so they and their minions can indulge in the ‘WE TOLD YOU SOs”.

We all watched the first game of the season, the boys had technical, ‘on the field’ issues largely around set pieces defending and ball turnover in critical areas. For the first game of the season, this is understandable but they were full of fighting. They also gave their all at Stoke albeit with a different result. The Liverpool performance is an outlier.  We need more matches to build a definitive picture.

Everybody with an ounce of sense must first of all ask themselves why? Why was it different at Anfield in game 3 of the season?  

I don’t know but I can piece a few things together from Wenger’s comment and say there is infighting at the club. This infighting is affecting the confidence of the dressing room. Those behind the infighting want Wenger to walk away because the owner won’t do their bidding by letting Wenger go.

Wenger is reported to have told a French station that “There is a lot of uncertainty in the squad”. The in house media also published an article where he said “…..and there are some reasons, but I don’t think I have too much to come out on that now"

The squad is experiencing a huge makeover. Alexis, Ozil & Oxlade might still leave in the next few days considering their contract situation.  Perez, Gibbs, Chambers, Debuchy, Mustafi, Akpom might still leave for different reasons, Gabriel has left, Jenkinson & Bramall have gone on loan, a few long term youth players have also left permanently and some on loan.

These are players with friends, supporters, mentors, mentees within the club and it appears to be at the heart of the lack of confidence. Yes other clubs deal with the same issue but other clubs don’t have the family style atmosphere that many snidely accuse Arsene and Arsenal of cultivating. So such changes in a side just coming out of what appears to be a very challenging dressing room situation a few months ago might suffer this kind of deflation and awful result.

I agree these are professional footballers who earn trillions but they are also humans. In all of my defense of footballers, I always ask you not to forget the role confidence plays. It is the be all and end all for a talented footballer. Knock their confidence and you see a Messi performing at the level of that famed Manchester United legend – Bebe.  But the difference is it might take a lot to knock Messi’s confidence and that is the big difference between exceptional and good players.

So where to? The malcontents can continue with their baying at the moon. Arsenal have good players and wont perform at that level again for a while as I hope the end of the transfer window will bring some clarity and those who remain can perform to the standards we have come to associate with the team. And no that is not bottling. While getting results against fellow Top 6 sides gives you bragging rights, it is not worth more than 3 points. The same points you get for beating a team in the relegation zone.

Not having a shot on target in a game is a meaningless stat. A feeble shot at the goalie counts as a shot on target while a penalty shuffled to Row Z is not a shot on target and you never get a better chance of scoring than from the spot.  

At the end of October or at the end of Week 10 of the Premier League, we will reassess Arsenal’s position on the log. We have to do better and we will do better. If we play at the same level like we did at Anfield and at Crystal Palace & West Brom last season, we will lose to pretty much any side.

I am still a fan of Wenger and I believe the man should leave when he wants to. I hope he is very grateful to those who are concerned that he is destroying HIS LEGACY. YES IT IS LEGACY. Thanks for your concern.

By the way, Pep Guardiola, Klopp & Pochettino still haven't won shish. 

Wenger has led worse and better sides. He will fix whatever the issues are and I believe the day he thinks he cant fix it, he will ask to walk and perhaps be the first manager to pay a club compensation for leaving which I am sure Kroenke will refuse.  

You thought a finish outside of the Champions League places will be the end of Arsene, you were wrong.

Now you think relegation is your next target to force him out. Good luck to you.

Although unverified, the word on the street is Wenger can walk into the PSG job at any time. The malcontents clearly don’t deserve him.

To those who think winning 3 FA cups in 4 seasons and 3 Community Shields in the same timeframe is papering over the cracks, please buy some oxygen and inhale.

Arsenal & Arsene will be ok.