A 1-0 lead in injury time with less than 2 minutes to go and we can’t defend it, winning games, trophies seem a far cry. To hell with the likes of me, sitting glued to the front of a TV on a different continent with the hope that my beloved Arsenal would be tops again, I feel for all those fans that

Three reactions at the end of the Arsenal-Liverpool game said it all. The look of incredulity and disappointment in the face of Robin Van Persie, the handshake snub between the two gaffers borne out of disappointment and the disappointed, crestfallen expression of the naïve Eboue.

Foolish, yes foolish, first the conceding of the free kick itself and then the penalty. In the aftermath of the free kick with the Liverpool player chasing the ball with his back to the goal and no god forsaken time left on the clock, all that the ‘Pool player needed was some @### ing excuse for a penalty, duly provided by the naivety of a experienced player. It was a nailed down dive and it succeeded in conning the referee.

Liverpool had three players lacking experience. Their most experienced defender and most potent attacking threat succumbing to unfortunate on field injuries and yet such an uninspiring, insipid display from a team that had to win at any cost to close the gap on Man (ure).

The game was testimony to all that is disappointing with Arsenal. This is a repetition of what many, if not all, have been claiming; only the game itself reinforced the same:

i) Ineffective domination for long periods

ii) Defensive frailty

iii) Poor crossing from the flanks into the 6 yard box

iv) Inability to break massed defence

v) Lack of finishing

vi) Naivety

It was quite “disappointing” to see the almost pedestrian pace of passing and playing of Arsenal players at a time when the game had to be grabbed by the scruff of the neck. It was as if they played with the handbrakes on. Though provided time and space between the lines, the play in and around the final third, and the finishing left a lot to be desired. The hare was up and running, lively, but the crosses poor, “disappointing” and cannot recollect a single cross with an Arsenal player at the end of it.

In the absence of the Verminator, the best defensive pairing of Djourou-Koscielny appeared suspect at times, affording the shitty ‘Pool players, shots at goal when there shouldn’t have been any. Disappointing, again. There were quite few misplaced passes, the saving grace being that they didn’t prove costly. Even though Arsenal used the flanks and the width of the Emirates pitch well, there was no end product.

In a crunch game, the wrong version of Arsenal turned up. Joke refereeing decisions, diving cheats et al, the bitter truth is that the experts in “disappointing” were in full cry and reinforced why it is very difficult to win something, anything unless there are changes in the approach, tactics, formation etc.

A 1-0 lead in injury time with less than 2 minutes to go and we can’t defend it, winning games, trophies seem a far cry. To hell with the likes of me, sitting glued to the front of a TV on a different continent with the hope that my beloved Arsenal would be tops again, I feel for all those fans that supposedly pay the highest ticket prices nurturing the same hope.

If the red nosed, red faced has a chuckle and a glass of wine to boot, who can blame him? If only some of the commitment, hunger and desire of the Man City and Real Madrid players shown in their respective weekend games had rubbed off onto our players, if only……

My respects to Danny Fiszman. May his soul rest in peace.

From a Gooner, for whom the club is above ALL individuals, millions of wage earning players and manager included.

Mean Lean’s Response

Thank you for the article and the dropped points still hurt. I am not sure if I feel a sense of relief that Newcastle battled for a draw yesterday or more frustration that we didn’t pick up all three points on the weekend.

I totally agree with our shortcomings in attack in recent games but I disagree about our defending. Much of the pre match talk was about Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez and I must say that we marshaled them very well and limited them to only a handful of chances.

I don’t even want to go into the whole ‘penalty’ farce again, so many people have different views on what happened.

The club is indeed above all individuals, it always has been but in the position we are in I find it hard to think of us as being very far away from trophy success. A young squad, money available and soon to be more money available with the repayment of the stadium, second in the league with the likes of Van Persie, Nasri, Wilshere, Ramsey, Vermaelen, Djourou, Sagna and many more making up the core of the squad.

A few tactical and personnel tweaks is surely the right way to go? It may be different if we were in the position of Liverpool and Tottenham. Both clubs worse off than we are having spent more and having older squads.

The last few draws aside, we have had a positive second half of the season and are still unbeaten since the turn of the year. This year or the next, we are not far away.