Laser-focused on silverware
And, hilariously, City finally get to celebrate their hard fought draw!
Asked how he was feeling before the match, considering the scheduling, the injuries, and the importance off the game, Arteta showed just why there’s been such a monumental shift in Arsenal’s mentality since he took over. He didn’t give an moments consideration to doubt or excuses. He merely nodded and said “Very looking forward to it”.
Had he actually seen “it” before the game, he might not have felt the same, but that’s beside the point. What counts at the highest level of football is attitude and belief. And Arteta has convinced the players that they’re winners. End of.
I could reel off Arsenal’s incredible recent stats here, but that’d also be missing the point. Yes, winning breeds winning, winning improves self-belief and intimidate the opponent, and all of those qualities were on show in this match, and something else.
When Arteta says he’s “Very looking forward to it” he’s signalling to the players, the fans and the media, that Arsenal are serious contenders, that Arsenal don’t back down from a challenge and mostly, never look for excuses. He’s saying that if Arsenal want to be considered as serious rivals to Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter or whoever then there are no excuses, no looking for escape pods, no asking for sympathy. Win or go home.
In fact, it’s exactly that ruthlessness and adherence to the “fugging standards” that has been Arteta’s most powerful and most controversial quality.
Arteta is laser-focused on silverware. If that means benching or selling fan favourites, then so be it. I think Raya is a better goal keeper than Ramsdale, but he’s also a serious dude. Raya doesn’t bother winding up opposition fans. He probably doesn’t even notice they are there. He is also laser-focused. Would anyone be surprised if Ben White is about to find all his solidity and interplay with Saka and Ødegaard isn’t enough to stop someone else taking his place? Emile Smith-Rowe, one of my favourite players, just couldn’t convince Arteta of his steeliness either, there was a whimsicalness to him that Mikel might love off the pitch, but on the pitch, you need to be a beast, all of the time.
And this was a match played by beasts on both teams.
22 serious and determined beasts lusting for silverware. And of course, one fool. But let’s ignore the man in black for the time being, this pantomime villain who can’t help trying to put himself centre stage. Although, in a strange way the man in black did, inadvertently, allow Arsenal to give a masterclass performance that almost, almost took the win. Shame the ref borrowed one of those Fergie Time watches that never stops until a Manchester team scores.
The inevitable first goal by the Norwegian Goal Machine, a well taken goal from a splice through our defense after a period of City Pressing Mania, happened to no one’s surprise. Arsenal slowly woke up, shook off the nerves and rose to the occasion and started to look a little more confident after the goal.
Then, after some shenanigans with ball placement and a refs whistle that only dogs can hear, came that sensational strike by Calafiori, and just on half time yet another set-piece header from the Flying-Gabriel.
Arsenal were now leading at the Etihad for the first time since dinosaurs walked upon the earth and an incredible second-half between two beautifully coached, incredible drilled teams playing their beastly hearts out, when the man in black decided to second-yellow Trossard for…kicking the ball up in the air when (a) he thought the whistle had gone for the end of the half, (b) muscle memory kicked in - literally and he swiped at the ball, or (c) a petty minded referee decided to randomly apply a rule to an Arsenal player and ignore the same from City.
Yes, for crying out loud, the PGMOL strikes again. Oh man, OK, forget it. Let’s move on because feeding these ref-trolls only encourages them (are referees actually trolling the game?!?). Deep breathes. Moving on…
…the thing is though, that in a strange way, the ref managed to do us a favour. Yes, it’s true that because of the sending off he destroyed the spectacle of the game. And yes, it’s also true that he kept the game playing centuries after he should have blown his final whistle. But even though City finally managed to bundle the ball past Raya, and equalised, they also lost a measure of invincibility because they needed this 12th man to scrape past a brilliant Arsenal performance.
Suddenly, Arteta’s matter of fact answer in his pre-match, “Very looking forward to it”, made real sense because in there end City needed a ten-man Arsenal and an extremely compliant ref to manage an out-of-ideas draw, at the Etihad. And that’s the point. As the match dragged on, minute by minute, and the ball kept coming back again and again toward our goal, something happened. Arsenal suddenly were the serious contenders that are always “Very looking forward to it”. Rodri’s silly comment at the end of last season about “psychology” and “wanting it more” and “celebrating a draw”, came back to haunt the entire Etihad because the team with the Beast Mentality who plainly wanted it more were the visitors, Arsenal. In the end it was City celebrating a draw.
Well, well, well.
At the post match interviews journalists asked over and over again about the referee, but Arteta wasn’t taking the bait. “It’s all to obvious,” he said, and he was right. Instead he chose to point out that no one was asking anything tactical, merely fishing for emotional reactions. Questions about unfairness and bad luck. Questions about interpretation of the rules and the refs intentions. Not much asked about the football itself. These were not questions for Top Teams. So, Arteta, not wanting to give life to even more Zombie Narrative, merely lamented the destruction of a potentially beautiful spectacle, and matter-of-factly set sights on the next game, which I am certain he’s “Very looking forward to”. I know I am!
So there you go Wonderlander’s, we’ve managed to survive another PGMOL horro-class, we’ve upset the most “en-titled-ed” team in the premiership and we’ve delivered a masterclass in defending. But most importantly, we’ve shown that when facing a seemingly impossible schedule, without some of our most important players, we’ll never look for excuses and always be “Very looking forward to” the next game!
Have a great week!
EXTRA EXTRA
For anyone interested, I read an article by the excellent Art De Roche in The Athletic this morning, and left a comment. I thought I’d add it here as an afterthought, hope you don’t mind:
Mmmmm. This is difficult.
Ex-players encouraging “needle” and “nastiness” with a desk-jockey’s yearning for the good ol’ days of “animosity”, doesn’t feel like the right direction of travel.
Neither does inconsistent and incompetent refereeing that helps to fuel these spats.
It might be that the “friction doesn’t completely cross a line” on the Premier League pitch, but it will on Hackney Marshes as aggressive posturing is platformed and frustration channeled through imitation.
Arteta has made Arsenal tougher, more difficult to beat, but not because they mastered petulant tricks but because he’s convinced them they are “winners”. They train, eat, think and behave like elite athletes. They are laser focused on silverware. They calculate the smallest margins. And they are a cohesive team they play for each other.
What has always annoyed me about Gladiola’s teams is their readiness to stoop to tactical fouls and whatnot. They don’t improve the footballing spectacle. I don’t want to see this encouraged as legitimate.
Football would benefit from referees minimising needles and nastiness instead of generating it so studio pundits can revel in their lost youth and performative aggression.