In football history, the path of a dominating title winner is often littered with the bruised egos of other good teams, and Arsenal have had the terrible misfortune of standing in the way of the Manchester City freight train for two matches in a row. Having been outscored 6-0 over the last 180 minutes of football against the sky blue clad Northerners, the Gunners are now in full crisis mode, desperate for some positive momentum to help save their floundering season. As for fan reaction, it is becoming so familiar as to be scripted following such ugly losses, and there is little doubt who shoulders most of the blame in the eyes of many fans: Arsene Wenger.
Echoey Emirates
Whether you believe the half empty Emirates Stadium was a result of the snowy winter weather team’s recent poor performances, there is little doubt that the official attendance of 58,420 was not an accurate reflection of the supporters present. It is worth noting that those numbers are based on ticket sales, but the reality was starkly different, with certain sections of the lower bowl appearing almost empty for much of the match. It is not often that fans watching on television can see the white seats that form a cannon across sections 16 and 17, but it was visible throughout the evening.
It is doubtful, even with the amount of unrest surrounding the club, that the stadium would have been so empty if the weather had been better, but it won’t stop the papers from running with it. If there is one thing for certain, it is that controversy and crisis at Arsenal creates buzz. Gary Neville, back by popular demand from his 90 minute gleeful dismantling of a hapless Arsenal and their manager in Sunday’s Carabao Cup Final to commentate on Thursday, could certainly attest to that.
Damned If They Try, Damned If They Don’t
Even more painful than the 3 goal defeat to City on Sunday was the manner in which they lost. Arsenal typically put in a quality performance at Wembley Stadium, but they played as if they were a League One side that had lucked its way to the final only to meet the best club in the country, and they got played totally off the pitch in a match that could have easily ended with several more goals, but none of them theirs. The embarrassment that coaches and players felt made them determined that they would not just pack it in and let City walk all over their pride again.
The scoreline might have been identical to Sunday’s match, but the Gunners’ effort was not. Back home at the Emirates, they pressed higher up the pitch and played more compact as a unit in behind, trying to limit the free space that City had enjoyed so much in the last match. Granit Xhaka was particularly willing to put in a hard challenge in the midfield, and he disrupted several promising moves by the visitors with his anticipation and persistence. Danny Welbeck was typically block-footed when on the dribble (or on the stumble, to be more precise), but he ran hard for 90 minutes, trying to put some semblance of pressure on the City backline. The Gunners gave an honest effort, trying to do right by the fans they had disappointed so much on Sunday, but the first goal was a gut punch and the second a crushing blow to their fragile confidence. They continued to fight on, unlike their gutless display at Wembley, but the spark of belief they started the match with had been extinguished.
3 Classic Arsenal Goals…From City
Perhaps the most insulting of all proclaimations since Pep Guardiola arrived in the Premier League is that the Catalan coach brought beautiful football to England. His Manchester City team is undoubtedly playing to a level unlike any other club in the country right now, but the country has seen beautiful football before, and nobody knows that more that the fans at the Emirates Stadium. Sadly, those fans had to witness 3 vintage Arsenal-style goals scored by their league leading opponents.
There was Leroy Sane’s slaloming Thierry Henry-style run to set up a Bernardo Silva left foot strike that could have been Freddie Ljungberg’s. There was even a David Silva goal that harkened back to the days of Attacking Midfielder FC era Arsenal of 5 years ago, when 1-2s from the midfield resulted in goals and highlights on a weekly basis. Manchester City have ripped the Gunner’s attractive football title away from them, and with the disjointed Arsenal attack currently snapped of confidence, they are powerless to resist.
Wenger Running Out of Time?
Everyone, from the manager down through the squad, deserved criticism for their performance on a Sunday, and supporters around the globe have been demanding a response from the club. Better performances, a new manager, new players, new coaches, everything is on the table right now in the eyes of some fans. Even Arsene Wenger’s most ardent supporters are feeling pangs of doubt as they see the man sit silently on the bench, the weight of two decades of pressure and expectations draped over his shoulders. The club, to their credit, are not likely to try and force him out before the season is over, but there are many fans ready to get the job done as soon as possible. His job appears now to rest on how the Gunners perform for the rest of the season, and he may now need to win the Europa League if the club are to expect anything short of a mass hysteria from a growing number of supporters.
Closed Door Crisis Talks
After the match, word got out that Arsene Wenger and the players spent a considerable time shut in the home dressing room, apparently locked in intense discussion as a team. Some of the more fanciful of the angry supports reckoned it might be Wenger saying goodbye to the team, but more than likely it was a desperation crisis conference. The Gunners have it all left to do after a terrible start to the calendar year, and if they are to accomplish anything this season, it must be done together. The fabric that holds this team together has been damaged in the last two years by ego, dissent and apathy, and it must all be laid bare in front of the whole team as they strive to move forward. The team know what noise to expect on the other side of that door this week, and they have 2 days to prepare for a deceptively challenging game against Brighton on Sunday, their first chance to take a step back in the right direction.
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