Do Not Sell My Personal Information
At Christmas, there were few people in the footballing world who wanted to be Mikel Arteta -except maybe Frank Lampard. The Gunners were down in 15th place and enduring their worst start to the season in years. The idea of the undefeatables was so far in the distant past as to have joined the ranks of the England World Cup win in folklore.
Picking up 14 points in 14 games is a record that few EPL teams would find acceptable, never mind a giant of the likes of Arsenal. Such a record even led to Shearer claiming he would not be so sure of Arsenal’s chances of staying in the EPL. As the old year drew to an end, Match of the Day pundit and ex-England striker, Shearer claimed he doubted the attitude and creativity of the players. He claimed that Arteta should be a worried man. Quite a dire prediction and an awful Christmas present for the Arsenal manager.
Trust and faith have been placed in Arteta, as he remains in post despite coming under immense pressure from loyal fans. However, few Arsenal fans feel he has an easy task in turning things around. Indeed, fan predictions suggest Arsenal will finish 12th in the league with just 50 points. The fans further predict they will be 12 points behind the likes of Leicester, who have shone again this season, who are set to gain the last Europa spot in 6th.
Predictions and Problems
The Fivethirtyeight fan predictions suggest that Arsenal only have a 2% chance of making the coveted Champions League.
While a mid table finish will leave many Gunners’ fans languishing in despair, it is still a better place to be than just above the drop zone. While people spoke of relegation not so long ago, pundits suggest there is no more than a 3% chance of going down. The question on most people’s lips is: how come? When you look at the end of last season things were going well, as the summer signings of Thomas Party and Gabriel Magalhaes were shining on the pitch.
When you are down in the doldrums like this, it is hard for the likes of Arsenal to rise back up. A club of this stature needs play in Europe not for the money, but to attract the biggest names. All players of note want to play for a team that will compete in the highest echelons. If Arsenal are so far off European games, then they will struggle in the transfer market.
A sign of better times?
When an understrength Arsenal team can hold an ever-improving Manchester United to a draw, there are positives to be gleaned. The Gunners were without the likes of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney for the tie. Even so, the squad showed some heart by stalling the United team in a testy battle for the midfield.
Indeed, in the second half, Arsenal deserve the title of “the better side”. Arteta brought on debutante Martin Odegaard and he brought some much needed energy to the team. There were a few chances for Arsenal to win the game, including a free-kick by Lacazette that hit the crossbar. Nicolas Pepe also let rip with a curling kick that was just wide, thanks to an intervention by Edinson Cavani.
While one game doesn’t make a comeback, an unbeaten record of seven games in a row does. The United draw saw Arsenal extend the number of matches without losing to something close to what the Gunners’ fans expect. Also, it is a draw against Manchester United, one of the big-six rivals that you need to gain points from if you are to ever get close to the top four.
What was heartening is that Arsenal looked lively from the start. Why is this important? Well, despite a rocky season, there is a desire and heart in the squad. When a big team show-up, so do they. There is still the belief that they are a top team that can compete at the same level as United.
Difficult Christmas, brighter new year
The Gunners have made a remarkable come back in January, a decidedly busy month of fixtures. Since the low of 15th place and the depressing prediction of a mid-table finish, Arsenal now find themselves 8th with a strong chance of closing the gap. Such news makes Arteta’s desire to become a European club once more seem realistic once more.
Arteta is doing well not to get carried away. He points to the record of more wins and the greater consistency but that there is a lot of work to do to improve the team. When asked how he hoped to proceed to make Arsenal contenders again, he merely stated that you start afresh each day: review the game, train, improve the areas that matter and see where this gets you – then repeat. Although more pragmatic than inspiration, there is no replacement for the commitment to hard work that this suggests.
What is the Arteta way?
If the Gunners are going to fully recover from their worst start in the top flight in 46 years, they are going to have to be more efficient and more clinical. This assessment was Arteta’s response to the worries about Arsenal’s record. He claimed that they played well at times but always paid a heavy price because they did not convert opportunities. He cited the many one-on-one situations with striker versus goalkeeper in the early season that were not converted to goals. In the EPL, when chances like this come, you must convert if you are to be successful.
The end of the 19 – 20 season shows this team knows how to win. It is up to Arteta to remind them of the formula and continue the consistency they demonstrated recently.
