Van Persie Dodges Silver Bullet

Okay, you can all relax now. Turns out that our hero, Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, will NOT be sanctioned for allegedly throwing an elbow in the face of defender Carlos Cuéllar, after all. Had the Football Association chosen to sanction him, and there certainly seemed to be justification for doing so, the punishment to both Robin as an individual and Arsenal as a cohesive whole would have been severe enough, considering the awful timing, to virtually end the team’s season on quite a sour note. And bear in mind, this would be the second time this season that the Arsenal would have had a player penalized retrospectively (it already happened to Song, if you remember.) Whew. That was a close one.

Hot off the Presses: According to The Sun, “Arsène Wenger is ready to make a shock bid for Watford’s defender Adrian Mariappa.” The reason this is a shock bid has to do with the simple fact that Arsene has maintained that he wouldn’t be making any bids of this nature during the transfer window. Now, at the last second, he’s throwing Arsenal’s hat in the ring and competing for some high-powered talent already being courted by other teams.

By defeating Aston Villa 3-2, our beloved Arsenal have earned a fifth round berth in the 2012 FA Cup. I don’t know about you, but I still find it hard to believe. A team that has played as inconsistently as the Gunners don’t typically get rewarded, but apparently, we’re winning just enough games, scoring just enough points, to prolong this season.

I wonder who is more shocked, Arsenal fans or Aston Villa? As I have read the analysis of the match and watched the videos, there seems to be a recurring theme that people are stunned by Arsenal’s second-half rally to beat Aston Villa and keep their FA Cups dreams alive and well.

I hate to say “I told you so”…But I will. I told you, and you know it. I knew that Arsenal would beat Aston Villa, and my only regret is that I didn’t have money wagered on the match.

By now, I have seen it all before, many times in fact. Naturally, we want our team to be a power-house, to not only beat but dominate opponents.

When you’ve got clubs like Manchester City and Manchester United leading the pack, you need to prove to them (and every other team in Barclay’s Premiere League) that you are for real, a team to be reckoned with. You don’t want to be perpetually under-rated, to be treated as a has-been or a loser that occasionally manages to inexplicably snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. You want the cocky, loud-mouthed teams to get just a wee bit humble when your club gets mentioned lest they humiliate themselves by talking themselves up and then getting handily smacked down.

Going into yesterday’s match against Aston Villa, Arsenal players knew there was quite a lot on the line. Standings are one thing. A team’s reputation is another thing altogether. No footballer wants to go to sleep at night with the knowledge that he is not a self-made man but  rather a Lilliputian standing upon the shoulders of giants. Arsenal is given credit for its past, hardly given a passing nod for its present.

Naturally, the victory over Aston Villa will have many reconsidering the urgency to oust Arsene Wenger. The prevailing thought seems to be somewhere between “It’s time for Arsene to go” and “Off with his head.” I don’t know what Arsene said to the squad during the half-time break, but whatever it was, it must have been pure magic. It may have been pure motivational cliche…Or he may have berated them and threatened to disband the entire team and replace each player with a chimpanzee. Knowing the mentality of Arsenal of late, I don’t think we can discount Arsene’s ability to motivate, and I’m going to give credit where it is due. Or probably due, anyways.

Face it: Arsenal fans have reason for both optimism and pessimism. You want to think highly of your team, but you’re likewise cognizant of the fact that you’ve affiliated yourself with a team bordering on schizophrenia. What team will show up in their next match? The Arsenal that was routed 8-2 by Manchester United? Or, the Arsenal that rallied to score three goals in eight minutes against Aston Villa? Personally, I’m hoping the latter.

Some have described this Arsenal team as being inconsistent, so even a win is not cause for celebration. Granted, the team has been inconsistent at best–bi-polar at worst.

In any major sporting event, there is an expectation that the players will be focused on the task at-hand, that players really desire to win and are capable to mastering their emotions and disciplining their bodies so that they achieve their maximum intrinsic potential. In the case of Arsenal, we don’t always get what we expect. We sometimes get a team that seems to lack any semblance of self-confidence or self-respect and what seems to be only a passing desire to win. Other times, we see a team that seems wholly devoted to the notion of living up to the Arsenal’s historic reputation for athletic excellence. Strange, but true.

Three goals in eight minutes. That’s a feat worth celebrating, and regardless of where the season goes from here, I’m going to take some degree of pleasure in the little things. We’ve always known that Arsenal had the talent, which means our lads have had the potential to perform at a much higher level and achieve much grander feats. Apparently, the players had forgotten themselves, and all of a sudden, they just sort of got their old groove back. Truly refreshing.

More good news for Arsenal: The team appears to be nearing a deal with German 19-year-old phenom midfielder Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund. Tuesday is the transfer deadline, so Arsenal has to move fast, and Thomas’ status with Arsenal post signing will still be in question. Eisfeld has to pass what is considered to be a “stringent medical” examination, and if he passes, he may play on the first team or prove himself at the Arsenal Academy. At a price-tage of 400,000 pounds, Eisfeld is a potential game-changer, a player who could theoretically change the Arsenal’s destiny. Only time will tell.

My player of the week: Robin van Persie. Rob scored a grand total of not one but two goals on Sunday, both on penalties, which is beyond respectable. His goal tally for the season is now 25. Not bad for a team that thought its chances of an FA Cup had all but evaporated.

There’s been little word on whether or not Arsene is on his way to Real Madrid. I’ve previously mentioned that Arsene could be on his way to Real Madrid, that he was/is on their short list to helm their club. I also mentioned that the President of Rwanda believes Arsene’s time at Arsenal has passed, and Arsene needs to move on so that a manager can take over that can lead the Arsenal back to its old form. Personally, I haven’t given up on Arsene just yet…Just as I haven’t abandoned the Gunners. Good things are yet to come. Trust me.