This weekend: The Positives
9 comments February 7th, 2011
After writing up the disaster of that 4-4 draw, I promised you my next post would be more positive. So here it is. Get your smiley emoticons at the ready – the sun is coming out.
We’re in a better position than we were at the start of the weekend…
Bizarre though it seems, we’re actually in a better position than we were on Friday. Wolves’ defeat of Manchester United (I always liked that Easter Island shaped prankster, Mick McCarthy) means we’re now just four points off the leaders.
Some fans have been suggesting that United’s defeat only makes our slip-up worse. I’m not sure that’s true – or indeed a valid point. Knowing that they had the opportunity to go seven points clear may have played in to the United players’ minds and put them under more pressure than usual.
Chelsea’s defeat to Liverpool was both funny and timely: a win for them, plus the added momentum of £70m-worth of reinforcements, could have seen them in back in the title race. Man City were the big winners this weekend, but assuming Saturday’s game has no long-term psychological repercussions we didn’t come out of it too badly at all.
The Invincibles remain unique in the modern era…
I think deep down every Arsenal fan will admit to having been a little nervous that United might match our feat of going unbeaten for the season. They’d had so many lucky escapes that you began to fear it might just be possible – or, indeed, that it’d come down to a Cup Final-esque clash at the Emirates on April 30th.
Thank God that they’ve finally lost. I’d never want any team to match our incredibly achievement – like United’s ‘treble’, there is something unique about it that serves as a badge of honour for what was a truly great team – but for this United team to have done it would’ve been so anticlimactic, so unfair, that I’m not sure I could’ve coped.
If you fancy a reminisce about the good old days of The Invincibles, just to crank up the positivity that little bit more, why not check out this piece from Threeandin.
Wojciech Szczesny continues to impress…
Yes, I know he conceded four goals, but two were penalties and I think it’s fair to say that without him we probably would have lost. It’s a huge month for Wojciech – the games against Barcelona and at Wembley could cement him as Arsenal number 1 for a long time to come.
Theo Walcott is having his best season as an Arsenal player…
I find myself talking about Theo a lot less these days. It’s simply because he’s doing exactly what you’d want from a player with his set ofassets. His opener on Saturday was his 11th goal of the season, and he set up RVP’s first too. He’s back in the England set-up, and is finally adding that one thing his game has always lacked: consistency.
Andrey Arshavin’s form is recovering…
Form, they tell us, is temporary. In Arshavin’s case, that’s a blessed relief, as his had been dreadful. Two assists on Saturday, added to the goal against Everton suggest that he is on the way back. With Nasri out injured, it’s just in the nick of time.
And finally…
Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas have withdrawn from this week’s round of international fixtures. Good to know they’ve got their priorities in order.
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There you go. Bet your face aches from all that smiling, eh. In order to keep up the emotional vascillation, tomorrow’s piece will probably be mourning the season of the crocked Johan Djourou*.
*attempted reverse jinx
