Groundhog Day

We completely dominate a game, the football is fast and free-flowing. Our goalkeeper saves well from a dubious penalty, we have the lions share of possession. The opposition are camped in their own area, hanging on for dear life as they try not to concede to these wonderful attacking players.

Yet, we lose 2-1. For any other team, this would be heart-breaking. In 2008, it was heart-breaking for us. Not anymore though. The description above could apply to a plethora of different matches across the past few years. It's not really a surprise any more though. In fact, its quite easy to predict what will happen 10 minutes into proceedings.

The fact of the matter is, we've been in this situation countless times. With the best set of players in the country, we inexcusably manage to throw away a vital game. A game that should be relatively easy to win by a few goals, we contrive to lose by a set piece in the 89th minute.

In future blog posts, I'll discuss further the deeper-lying issues of our failures, but for now I'll stick to what is immediately important: sticking up for the boss.

The abuse he's received from Arsenal "fans" over the past few weeks has been nothing short of disrespectful, undeserved and downright shameful. What this man has done, not only for Arsenal, but for English football in general is absolutely astonishing. The reason the Premier League is such a great competition is because of Wenger.

If he never joined us, the Premier League would be even worse than Spain and Scotland because whereas two teams fight for the league there, England would have one. And we all know who that hateful bunch of....never mind.

The point is, Gooners need to be careful what they wish for. Arsene has built us the most advanced stadium in Europe. We've won three league titles, made our first Champions League final, been treated to some of the finest footballers on earth because of him. He's given us a unique style and a presence on the world stage, whilst sticking by the history and traditions of the club. The Arsenal are always associated with class and Wenger is a class act.

A stat was doing the rounds this morning that pre-Wenger, we finished in the top four 23/92 seasons. With Wenger, it's 14/14; the facts don't lie. Yes, there's been no trophy for 6 years, but he's so close its unbelievable. Lady luck hasn't gone his way - you immediately think of Eduardo. Had we won that game, I can 100% guarantee that we would've won the league.

You also have to look at the fact that Barcelona, the best club side in the world (who we beat by the way, a few weeks back - just saying) went 6 years without winning a trophy. They were building a young side and look where they are now. There are issues with this current team, no doubt about it, and I'll be blogging about those soon.

But right now, the boss just needs some support. On Sunday, instead of sitting there quietly mumbling about the queues to get a drink, get behind him. Sing "there's only one Arsene Wenger" until you're blue in the face. At the moment, he looks like a frail old man. He needs some colour back in his face and some flesh back on his bones.

He needs some support and, vitally, something to smile about.

Up the Arsenal,


Raj (@JattGooner)




P.S. because I don't want my first blog to be too much of a downer, watch this video and start smiling. :)