Well, as I friend of mine said yesterday, I’m so happy I could just pooh.
A decent performance without coming close to our best at Goodison Park yesterday afternoon was good enough to bag the three points, albeit with the Toffees piling on the pressure for an equaliser at the end after pulling one back late on. It was frustrating not to keep a clean sheet yet again but the three points were gold.
Then Chelsea ran out against Sunderland. Nobody could have predicted how well the Mackems would play and how poor Chelsea would be. The final scoreline was stunning. You could have got 125-1 for it from the bookies before kick-off. I just hope one of the Black Cats faithful was daft enough to have plonked down a tenner at those odds.
It brings us within two points of Chelsea at the top of the table in second. It also cut Chelsea’s huge advantage in goal difference to six. All good with a third of the season gone.
But. But. We’re still not entirely convincing as a defensive unit. I also continue to worry about our goalkeeping about which I blogged last Friday. We’ve lost two home League games to Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion. Not yet the form of champions. There is time though. I think this team can get better. Nobody has just cause for complaint at the moment, which isn’t stopping plenty of Gooners doing so. Lord knows what they’d be like if we were in Liverpool’s position.
If you’ve been around as long as I have you’ll remember 1974/75, only four seasons after our glorious first Double in 1971 and five seasons after our victory over Anderlecht in the European Fairs Cup, we very nearly got relegated. The goals of Brian Kidd and the goalkeeping of Jimmy Rimmer, both Manchester United cast-offs, kept us in the top flight. Just. Both were class acts whom I remember with affection. Rimmer went on to win his only cap for England in the summer of 1975 against Italy at Yankee Stadium in New York. Aside from anything else that’s a commentary on how strong English goalkeeping was a generation ago. Jimmy Rimmer was a fine, fine goalkeeper.
Back to today and we look forward to North London Holy War this coming weekend after the midweek international friendlies. I shall have to watch the game on the box as I shall be in Canada. Doh! At least one silver or red member is happy. I let my perch in block 112 go on the Ticket Exchange. It went in a flash despite the outrageous £94 price tag, plus booking fee, to add insult to injury. I only hope he or she goes home with a smile on their face at that price! We must all be mad paying the ticket prices we do.
Keep the faith!
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
