Written by Dave Coral Sunday, 17 April 2011 22:49

GunnerTalk Blog

By Dave Coral

 Stop being surprised Arsenal fans. Just stop being surprised. These are the only words I can offer to those desperately looking for some form of consolation after our latest disappointment. Having received a last minute call from work, I was unable to watch the Liverpool game itself, but when a colleague told me “you scored in the last minutes, but they scored straight after” what emotion do you suppose I felt? Shock? Surprise? Disbelief that we had found yet another way to throw away points? No, no and a big, fat, NO. I was a little disappointed, being that a small part of me still believed we had a shot at putting Manure under pressure and by the end of the season creating Arsenal history on the same level as the ’71 Double or Anfield ’89. I was also slightly sad that another season’s worth of hopes and dreams had been all but dashed. But mostly, I felt a sense of absolutely fulfilled expectations; and obviously not the good kind. Because, you see, I am at a stage where I now expect this Arsenal team to fuck up when it matters most.

A few years ago, when the average fair-weather fan asked the outcome of a game involving our beloved football team, the average response would be something along the lines of “won 3 nil, Henry got a hat trick”, or “2-1 to us, they got one back but we held on...”. Now, it’s a miracle if we hold on. Responses to the same question include “4 all, we went 4 up in 20 minutes but they came back”, “3-2 after they came back from 2 nil down” and everyone’s favourite, “draw- they scored in the last minute”. And that’s exactly why this is so alarming- these meltdowns are the norm, which is why we should all stop being surprised when they happen. That’s when, not if. I appreciate that the Premier League is famous for its intensity and propensity to lend itself to drama and late twists. But in the immortal words of Mr. Keys, do me a favour love. Is it coincidence that we are continually rocked by these unlikely occurrences? Yea, the same way it’s coincidence when Wayne Rooney is spotted within spitting distance (apt phrase) of your local brothel. Fact is, and Mr. Wenger would do well to heed these words, there is something fundamentally wrong with this team. Teams with this much talent are not supposed to spunk this many points per season. 2 points at Sunderland, 3 versus the scum, 2 at Wigan, 2 at Newcastle and now these 2- how rosy would life look if we had just half those points back?

And the really horrible part? Our competition isn’t even that good this year! Chelsea are quite clearly a shadow of their former selves and have had numerous players struggle with fitness and form (Fernando who?!). Man U, despite avoiding the injury bug for the 36^th year running, rely heavily on two players in their late 30s and have little star quality outside Rooney and an Nani. I’ve had United fans admit to me that they’ve played shit for large portions of the season. Compare this to a team filled to the brim with attacking prowess. Developing stars like Wilshere, Walcott and Koscielny. Even Robin has been fit for longer than his usual 12 seconds. But an inability to close out games, defend set pieces and avoid making game changing mistakes (see Eboue, 102^nd minute) will doom any team, no matter the talent level. More so than any time Arsenal fans have believed it before, this really should have been our year. I doubt that such averageness will be good enough to win the league again any time soon.

So what needs doing? Well, I don’t really know exactly. But I know the remedy must fit the problem, so it needs to be big. The obvious big one would be to change managers, but I don’t think this is a must. There are other ways to change a club’s mentality, which is really what needs doing as this is just not good enough. It’s not enough to coast along and take the champions’ league money, make the group stages every year and make a cup run or two. That’s not the Arsenal way. The Arsenal way is to win silverware. To win with flare and style, but also the odd bit of hard work, determination and character. Throwing away points from strong positions shows that these characteristics are precisely what we lack (despite the ridiculously stubborn ramblings of our manager). Throwing away points from strong positions isn’t what the Arsenal way is, it’s what it has become. Just don’t let it take you by surprise when it happens again...