With a little bit of luck…. (and some comments from Mr Wenger on Stoke/Arsenal) « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

By Walter Broeckx

Well it didn’t look that way at first but it was a very good day for Arsenal.

The game started well for Arsenal. Apart from the usual trouble with some high punts from Stoke it was Arsenal who had the first two clear chanses of the game. But we didn’t take them.

And inevitably the first chance for Stoke went in. Crouch towered above Vermaelen and headed a cross in. We sure could have done with Mertesacker in this game. We looked shocked for a few minutes but then Benayoun nicked the ball away from a Stoke player, gave it to Rosicky who came back in and crossed the ball to Van Persie who scored with his right foot.

Arsenal on top and we had a few other chances. In fact Arsenal had enough chances for a second goal and kept Stoke away from our goal apart from a few threatening free kicks. But they always look that way for Stoke.

At half time when the other scores came in it was all surprise. Wigan leading with 4-0 against Newcastle!!! And Dowd was not the ref so no chance of them pulling that one back.

I think we could see the result in the second half. Stoke refused to play during the whole match and wanted us to commit ourselves with lots of bodies in front of the ball and then counter us to death. They kept this tactic the whole game. But the change in the way Arsenal played was obvious.

I think Arsenal knew with that half time score in the game Wigan – Newcastle, that a point at Stoke was worth a victory. And we played in the second half to make sure that we would at least get that point. This is business end of the season and running in attack and leaving space open and lose the game could have been very bad business for Arsenal.

So we got a bit of a surreal game at times with both teams not committing themselves to go forward too much. Of course we tried to score a second and it would have been great to win this game but I felt that the team was more focused on not conceding a Stoke goal. And we didn’t.

This point could be a vital one. We now are one point in front even if Newcastle win their game in hand.  And this game in hand is next Wednesday away at Chelsea. If Chelsea win against Newcastle,  a win against Norwich next week would give us third place.  We are also one point in front of Tottenham even if they win their two games in hand.  Tottenham have to play Blackburn and Bolton as their games in hand. And as both are in a fierce battle to avoid the drop it is not totally impossible that Tottenham would lose points in these games.

And if they lose points in those games and Newcastle also then we just need to win the game against Norwich to put us in heaven.

So my Gunners when next Saturday comes you know what to do: win the game against Norwich. Not just because I will be there to cheer you on. But also because you could bring the joy to the Gooners of celebrating St. Totteringhamsday next Saturday.  And it could bring the joy to the Gooners of being sure of third place.

Now who would have thought that possible after a few games in the season? Now who would have thought that would be possible before the start of the last North London derby? In fact I know a person who believed in it. And I also know that if he would have been around this season only for half of the games we would be much further ahead in points. Yes it was Jack Wilshere who after receiving a lot of banter from Tottenham fans made his bet with Defoe that Arsenal would be in front of Tottenham at the end of the season.

Many of us hoped it would end that way, but the way Jack was confident that his team mates would turn things around shows how much the players have believe in what they do. It isn’t always easy during the seasons. You have ups and downs. But what is sure is that this group has done all it could to bring us where we are now.

We are maybe one win away from third place and St. Totteringhamsday. And I can be a witness to this if all goes right. I will be there to clap my hands at the end of the game next Saturday when they have finished the job.

If it would go that way for me it would almost feel like winning the title. In fact it would be a title. It would be the title of the Big Turnaround of the season. Made possible by these players and despite a very unlucky run with injuries. Despite a very unlucky run with debatable decisions going against us.

Come on you Gunners: let us finish the job next weekend at the Emirates. Make us proud. Make us the kings of North London once again. In fact, make us the kings of London this season. And who knows what we will be crowned at the end of next season? Impossible is nothing.

By the way thanks J.S. for the trouble you have gone through to make sure I got my ticket for our final home game of the season.

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Mr Wenger’s comments:

“The Stoke crowd have a relationship with me, but I don’t have one with them. It’s easy to sit in the stand and abuse people – the easiest sport in the world.

“Football has to tackle it. And if you want to stop it, it’s easy to stop it. You can isolate every single face.

“Sometimes when I go out on the pitch at the end of the game, and people are angry or hateful, I would like a little picture to send home for them to show their son or daughter, and then come back next week and see if they will do it again.”

And on the way the crowd treated Ramsey in a match involving Shawcross:

“I don’t see what he has done wrong and so I don’t think the crowd can be proud of themselves.”

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