Up next, the boys travel to the Hawthorns to take on relegation bound West Bromwich Albion. Currently the worst team in the EPL, by any measure, Arsenal have to be looking at Tuesday and hoping that WBA will provide the cure for our ills.
West Brom won’t be impossibly easy, like playing Arsenal on your XBox or something, but this match will certainly garner Arsenal 3 points. I’m not being over-confident here, because it’s impossible to be over-confident against a team as poor as West Brom. Arsenal are going to win this game, no doubt. If you can watch the match, go watch it, it will give you confidence in the club and I’ll put money on us coming out with a 3-0 win.
I’m confident not from some irrational place but because the things I’m hearing from Arsenal are all very positive. First, Wenger is clearly pissed about what happened with Fulham, responding to the question he stated flatly
I want to win the games and, when we don’t win the games, it’s disappointing. You know how much I want to get into the Champions League. For me, it is not important – it is vital – but you can only play your games and try to win them. I want to be in the Champions League because it’s the best I can be. If I’m not then I’m not happy – it’s as simple as that. You don’t play football to be average. I don’t manage in the game to be average, and the players want to play at the top.
He even went further, when asked what he thought of the fans booing him off the pitch he said
I don’t know whether supporters are losing faith. That is not my worry. What is important is that we show great attitude and do our job as well as we can. Fans turning on me doesn’t worry me, no. Not at all.
Those are both very positive signs. In the first statement you see that the hunger is still there and manifesting itself as an anger. If he unleashes that on the team then I expect them to come out and simply pound West Brom tomorrow. In the second statement, you see his confidence and professionalism. Again, if he turns this on the team they might have their pride pricked and again, that’s exactly what they need.
Did I say 3-0? I meant 6-0!
Ok, all kidding aside, I do think the next match holds something spectacular for us as Arsenal supporters. This squad is going to be up for this game and I expect they will play with Roma-esque fervor. If you remember, Arsenal could have easily won that Roma match 4 or 5 nil, so while 6-0 is me joking around, I really do believe we’ll see at least 2 Arsenal goals, if not more.
The signs that the team are already soaking in this new message are starting to show as well. Arshaviour gave an interview yesterday in which he spoke about the players ambition and the direction the team are headed. I’m not going to include the quotes here because they are in broken English, but the point is that the team feels the pain of this slip in form, acutely.
Good. They should. Something needs to kick them in the ass, I don’t care what it is at this point. Just get it done, take back our Champions League spot. Show us all that we’re wrong. I love being proved wrong.
Some other stories this morning made me laugh. “United to win the quint!” was the first. I was sitting here wonder what the 5th trophy was? FA Cup… Carling Cup… Champions League… Premiership… uhhh… Emirates Cup? Uhhh… Charity Shield? Wait… Club World Championship? LOL. If you’re going to count that, why not throw in the Charity Shield and say United are on target for the sextuple?
Sextuple… I don’t know, that word makes me giggle.
It is an incredible run by United right now, they have basically won every trophy they put foot in since they got knocked out of the FA Cup by Pompey. They have won 5 on the trot right now and look nigh unstoppable to win several more. It must be seen as vindication for the club standing by Fergie when his squad was so low just a few years ago and people were calling for Fergie’s head.
I wonder if there’s a lesson there for us and Wenger?
There was a bit of schadenfreude in that cup final when Bentley took a gamble on his penalty kick and came up craps. If asked before the match who I want to win between Man U and Tottenham I would have said “I’d like it if David Bentley did something spectacularly dreadful, like miss a penalty, the shit talking little weasel.”
I got my wish!
Now, if I could just get my wish tomorrow against Albion we’ll see a 6-0 to the Arsenal!
See you then.
