Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
These are the five stages of death. Regardless of ywhat religion, race or country you are from, these are generally the stages one goes through when faced with death. Surprisingly enough, these very stages have typified the mood among Arsenal fans throughout summer.
We approach now what is perhaps the most defining week in the Wenger era. We find ourselves faced with so many questions - questions that must be answered after the 0-2 loss against Liverpool. Before I get into the game, I have a confession to make = I could not watch the game, although I did catch the MOTD highlights. The rest of my knowledge is a result of compulsively checking for Twitter updates every 10 seconds.
The big, big news before the match was that Samir Nasri was going to start. There was just one change to my line-up, which had been predicted before team news, and that makes me proud!
We defended brilliantly and played our hearts out, that much is clear and undebatable. The atmosphere in the stadium, amid the intense showers, was something else, I'm told. Then the inevitable happened. We lost Koscielny to back spasms. That makes it three out of three games we have had to make a forced substitution. Our confidence took a hit, and Liverpool started dominating possession. We did not give up. Miquel was assured, Frimpong and Vermalean immense. Theo and Arshavin were having an off day. Now considering the fact that we have 10 players playing on the wings at any given time, losing our two real ones to an “off day” dented our already dismal creativity.
It must be said that Nasri played his part in the chances we DID manage to create, a mazy run the pick of the lot. We found out what we were letting go off. Still, he is no Fabregas. The fans played their part too, and he was largely cheered on. Not sure I would have been able to do the same though! Ramsey, Nasri’s creative partner in central midfielder, was having a poor game himself, and did little to help Samir out.
For me, the turning points, not in the match, but in my thinking, were the 8th minute Frimpong yellow, and the Koscielny injury (Squillaci’s absence on the bench was very telling too). Those, to me, exemplify the problem at Arsenal. We have a brilliant player in Frimpong, but one who is obviously inexperienced. He was making his League debut against a team like Liverpool! And of course, our players are falling to injuries like toothpicks. Surely there is something wrong with the way we train? We have world class facilities, and the satellite tracking system introduced this season in training was supposed to help prevent injuries – whatever happened to that!
Looking at our line-up, who really gave us a chance? Yes, Frimpong was lion hearted in his efforts, and Miquel played the best he could, but the attack was nothing short of toothless, and there can be no excuses there.
The goals came after we were down to 10 men after a stupid challenge from Frimpong.
Surprisingly, they did not hurt as much as I expected them too. Well, they did, but the summer has increased my thresholds of pain. Maybe somewhere inside I knew that it was a long shot to pull this one off even with our brave, brave defending. Maybe that is acceptance – when you see things as they are, with amazing clarity. Part of that, of course, is due to our spirited performance in defence. Everyone feels we deserved more, but accepts the result too. I am sure all our home games at least will see the team produce the spirit like on Saturday – but is that enough for us to win the league? No. Quite frankly, even 4th place looks a dream right now. We need investment.
As one looks back at the summer, the trends in fan mood are very interesting. There was genuine hope amongst fans that this summer would be a great one, a busy one. Time went by, and nothing happened. We started living in denial, still fully expecting a torrent of signings. It was a matter of a few weeks, if not days. Months went by – nothing. We got angry. This anger was directed at the board, the manager, the club, the players, even other fans! Obviously, it didn’t work, with Gazidis pacifying us with the same old words, Wenger making contradicting statements and keeping us in the dark and Stan Kroenke finally coming out with a statement of intent. Oh, wait.
Fabregas left, no defenders came in, and we started bargaining. We begged for honesty, begged for a statement of ambition, prayed for a defender (so many were excited about Scott Dann!), prayed that things would be sorted out very soon, while on the pitch we did what we could – cheered the team on with all our hearts. Nope, still nothing.
Next – depression. The day before the Liverpool game, you could find negativity everywhere you looked. The fans were tired. The Twitterazzi were desperately trying to get everyone to cheer the team on, to encourage them not to boo Nasri. Doomsday scenarios were being painted all around.
The Liverpool gam gave us hope in defence, but reminded us of the deficiencies in our squad. With the second goal, everyone felt hard done by, but there wasn’t particular heartbreak – not one like last year’s 102nd minute draw against them anyway.
Bad luck, off day, great spirit, red card, and a home loss. The potholes were crystal clear, what needs to be done was crystal clear. We know that the next week is make or break time. We know how much depends on the Udinese game on Wednesday.
We now move on to the final stage – Acceptance.
Follow me on Twitter @goonernish.
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
These are the five stages of death. Regardless of ywhat religion, race or country you are from, these are generally the stages one goes through when faced with death. Surprisingly enough, these very stages have typified the mood among Arsenal fans throughout summer.
We approach now what is perhaps the most defining week in the Wenger era. We find ourselves faced with so many questions - questions that must be answered after the 0-2 loss against Liverpool. Before I get into the game, I have a confession to make = I could not watch the game, although I did catch the MOTD highlights. The rest of my knowledge is a result of compulsively checking for Twitter updates every 10 seconds.
The big, big news before the match was that Samir Nasri was going to start. There was just one change to my line-up, which had been predicted before team news, and that makes me proud!
We defended brilliantly and played our hearts out, that much is clear and undebatable. The atmosphere in the stadium, amid the intense showers, was something else, I'm told. Then the inevitable happened. We lost Koscielny to back spasms. That makes it three out of three games we have had to make a forced substitution. Our confidence took a hit, and Liverpool started dominating possession. We did not give up. Miquel was assured, Frimpong and Vermalean immense. Theo and Arshavin were having an off day. Now considering the fact that we have 10 players playing on the wings at any given time, losing our two real ones to an “off day” dented our already dismal creativity.
It must be said that Nasri played his part in the chances we DID manage to create, a mazy run the pick of the lot. We found out what we were letting go off. Still, he is no Fabregas. The fans played their part too, and he was largely cheered on. Not sure I would have been able to do the same though! Ramsey, Nasri’s creative partner in central midfielder, was having a poor game himself, and did little to help Samir out.
For me, the turning points, not in the match, but in my thinking, were the 8th minute Frimpong yellow, and the Koscielny injury (Squillaci’s absence on the bench was very telling too). Those, to me, exemplify the problem at Arsenal. We have a brilliant player in Frimpong, but one who is obviously inexperienced. He was making his League debut against a team like Liverpool! And of course, our players are falling to injuries like toothpicks. Surely there is something wrong with the way we train? We have world class facilities, and the satellite tracking system introduced this season in training was supposed to help prevent injuries – whatever happened to that!
Looking at our line-up, who really gave us a chance? Yes, Frimpong was lion hearted in his efforts, and Miquel played the best he could, but the attack was nothing short of toothless, and there can be no excuses there.
The goals came after we were down to 10 men after a stupid challenge from Frimpong.
Surprisingly, they did not hurt as much as I expected them too. Well, they did, but the summer has increased my thresholds of pain. Maybe somewhere inside I knew that it was a long shot to pull this one off even with our brave, brave defending. Maybe that is acceptance – when you see things as they are, with amazing clarity. Part of that, of course, is due to our spirited performance in defence. Everyone feels we deserved more, but accepts the result too. I am sure all our home games at least will see the team produce the spirit like on Saturday – but is that enough for us to win the league? No. Quite frankly, even 4th place looks a dream right now. We need investment.
As one looks back at the summer, the trends in fan mood are very interesting. There was genuine hope amongst fans that this summer would be a great one, a busy one. Time went by, and nothing happened. We started living in denial, still fully expecting a torrent of signings. It was a matter of a few weeks, if not days. Months went by – nothing. We got angry. This anger was directed at the board, the manager, the club, the players, even other fans! Obviously, it didn’t work, with Gazidis pacifying us with the same old words, Wenger making contradicting statements and keeping us in the dark and Stan Kroenke finally coming out with a statement of intent. Oh, wait.
Fabregas left, no defenders came in, and we started bargaining. We begged for honesty, begged for a statement of ambition, prayed for a defender (so many were excited about Scott Dann!), prayed that things would be sorted out very soon, while on the pitch we did what we could – cheered the team on with all our hearts. Nope, still nothing.
Next – depression. The day before the Liverpool game, you could find negativity everywhere you looked. The fans were tired. The Twitterazzi were desperately trying to get everyone to cheer the team on, to encourage them not to boo Nasri. Doomsday scenarios were being painted all around.
The Liverpool gam gave us hope in defence, but reminded us of the deficiencies in our squad. With the second goal, everyone felt hard done by, but there wasn’t particular heartbreak – not one like last year’s 102nd minute draw against them anyway.
Bad luck, off day, great spirit, red card, and a home loss. The potholes were crystal clear, what needs to be done was crystal clear. We know that the next week is make or break time. We know how much depends on the Udinese game on Wednesday.
We now move on to the final stage – Acceptance.
Follow me on Twitter @goonernish.
Posts
Hey, Good summing up of the activities. Btw, give it a reading once and make sure all typos are removed. And its Vermaelen :P. But overall good start to your blogging career.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
@asvin_1989