Arsenal News » If you think it is all doom and gloom, just don’t read this
By Walter Broeckx
So we lost against Chelsea. This is no fun but we just have to accept it. This is football and in football you can win and you can lose a game.
In fact all the statistics were against us. So far this season when we lose a game we lose the next one also. We lost in succession against Manchester United and City, we lost against Sunderland and Chelsea and now we lost against again United and Chelsea.
So if you look at the statistics this season a defeat was on the cards and a possibility.
We had a very difficult fixture list. If there would have been 7 or 8 weeks between the last two games and we would have lost them then the feeling would be completely different. It not easy to accept defeat and two defeats in a row against other top teams is even more difficult.
But the fixture list is what it is and now we have after the Liverpool game a very different perspective in fixtures. The others are going to start playing each other and we are going to play mostly lower placed teams.
More important was the reaction after the previous defeats. After the previous round of defeats we dusted ourselves off, we came out with great determination to set things right. And now it is up to the team to show their reaction. Are we going to hang our head and let it all slip away or are we going to fight for themselves and for the fans ?
The answer could be found today in the second half. After the defeat last week the last thing the team needed was an early goal against, and that is what we got.
But we didn’t let our head hang down and we got a very good chance but Arshavin couldn’t take it. And instead of the 1-1 we conceded the second goal on the break. This was a very big blow for the team and some heads went down.
But in the second half we threw everything we have for the moment at them. Chelsea played like a bottom of the league team in the Emirates. All behind the ball and hoping on a counter to score a goal. And after some time in the second half the heads went up again. Again we had some chances but again we couldn’t take them. But the way we played and pressed was good to see.
Okay we didn’t score in the game but you could see that the team didn’t gave up and I really think that if we had scored a goal we could have come back.
I also think that there were some positive notes on individual performances. Clichy looked like he is coming back to the level we have seen in the past years. He was more solid than in the last games and looked better in his game and he also tried for the first time since his comeback some raids like we have seen them so often.
Diaby was back and looked really good for the first hour. He used his strength and was strong in midfield and in the challenges. After an hour his legs began to let him down and was substituted but he showed he will be a vital player for the rest of the season. Just have to keep him fit please.
Bendtner came on and although not everything worked out and it was not all gold, his physical presence was felt in the Chelsea defence. But we must not forget he like Clichy, have been out for a very long time this season and need time to get them back to their level. But they are coming back and will get better.
Now we have played the 2 teams that are in front of us. From now on we have to pick ourselves up and do like we have done after the previous defeats: start winning again and just look at our own game and just win those games.
If we can start a good run from now till the end of the season and with the determination I saw in the second half, don’t forget we played against one of the top teams in the PL and the world, we largely dominated play.
We got more possession, we got more shots on goal, we got more corners. Unfortunately the only statistic that will go in the history books is the one we didn’t win… goals scored.
Sunday’s result was negative but this team isn’t finished yet, whatever some will say, just let them. Wednesday next game, just bring it on.
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AND NOW A WORD FROM THE PLANET ZOG…
- ARTICLE OF THE WEEK: Why Arsene’s Arsenal are hated (even by its own fans)
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- How Chelsea fixed their way into the league click here (sorry this link broke in the last article – it is fixed now).
- The doings of Henry Norris, click here