Sweat

By Boris Mellor
September 14 2011

Arsenal never took the handbrake off all night, but they certainly battled hard to get a very good result at Dortmund. In the first 20 minutes I feared they would be overrun. The defence and midfield had no real organisation but they did have guts. It amazed me to see, not just defenders, but players such as Arteta, and Benayoun throwing themselves in front of shots and free kicks, there were no ducking cowards.

Sagna made an amazing clearance off the line when it looked certain the ball would go in the net. When the goal came it was against the run of play, a bit lucky, but van Persie did really well to nick the ball and screw it back to Walcott, Theo’s pass was exquisite, and RvP’s finish superb. It was an unexpected lead that raised the confidence of the team.

Indeed although Dortmund continued to pepper the Arsenal area it began to seem that they might never score, and the crowd was getting desperate. I knew when the commentator starting burbling on about what a great win for Arsenal this was with 3 minutes to go that it would go pear shaped. I wish they wouldn’t do that. Sure enough it was a wonder strike/freaky goal on 88 minutes that Ivan Perisic will never score the likes of again. Probably be in the reserves for the rest of the season.

It didn’t seem that unkind a twist of fate  as long as the team could hold out for the 4 minutes of extra time, and they did. It was a good result, and the players had given blood to obtain it, in Arteta’s case literally.

It wasn’t a great performance, but when you have been mauled 8-2 by Man U, lost your captain and taken in 10 new players you don’t start playing champagne football overnight.

Wenger has ripped his best squad ever apart, bought 10 players in one window, the most ever I can remember, had a poor pre season, and introduced players that don’t even know each other. That being the case it was a very good result.

Guts

Not only that this team showed guts, not the spinelessness of the Carling Final, or at Man U last season, these players were fighting for the cause. The team showed blood, sweat, and one person thought they spotted tears at Dortmund. They could have sunk without trace, but they didn't hide they fought like tigers.

What does it mean for the future?

It’s no time for snap judgements, life is a process not a one off event, maybe it’s a turning point the beginning of an upward climb. If these players are prepared to fight like this in the league then things could change; if it was just a special display for Europe then it won’t.

When teams fall apart

Make no mistake Arsene’s squad fell apart, Man U wasn’t a blip, it was a continuation failing to win 12 out of 14 league games, and the 15^th that was won was nothing to write home about. When teams fall apart goals become scare, mistakes regular, passing sloppy and heads drop. The football becomes unberable to watch.

When teams recover

When teams climb back from a breakdown the last thing to come back is the free flowing football. They have to scrap and fight for every ball, no one is scared of them, there are no easy wins, no silky displays. You have to have hard players, out go the Easthams’ and Bakers’, or the Samsons’ and Charlie Nicholas’s, in come the scrappers and hard men. For a while the football becomes hard on the eye, the goals become scarce, but so do goals conceded. In the end the results start coming. Bertie Mee and George Graham did exactly that, they built on defensive solidity and hard midfielders; but they were not just a change of players they were also a change of manager.

Will this team follow that road?

Is Wenger trying to follow that same hard road that Graham and Mee took, does he accept that his approach will have to be less dogmatic.  Has he become the pragmatist that wants to save his legacy, and if so does he have the time?  Will his team now be a team of battlers every week, or will the players who hide and don’t fight for the cause creep back in? I hope not, because if he doesn’t stick with experience and a defence prepared to block every ball then Dortmund will be a one off on the road to nowhere.

Even if he does keep up the battle with gutsy performances every week there is still no guarantee that he will win a major prize. Over the next few weeks, 10 games or so we will know more. But those who want guarantees should never become an Arsenal fan, or manager come to that.

Arsenal show mental strength and battle to draw

Discussion started by Arsenal Times , 14/09/2011 20:04

Arsenal Times
14/09/2011 20:04

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:18:17:23:16 by Padre Pio.

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AJ The Gunner
15/09/2011 10:39

Frankly i prefer to see a team of battlers every week.hoping that those that hide & don't fight will be booted out.. if they fight harder to prevent conceding late goals this will boost their confidence a lot.. need the team to start believing they can win even when it seems impossible in the face of other oppositions..not the misguided beliefs of before..

Can We Now Trust The Process 🤔🤷🏿‍♀️ or Should We Still Remain Cautious 🙇🏿‍♀️

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karteta16
15/09/2011 12:33

dirty shirts, blood, sweat and tears

Theodore roosevelt - In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

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Padre Pio
15/09/2011 19:15

Battlers over bottlers every time, and if there are any bottlers left show them the door, thats what Graham and Mee did

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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seanski
16/09/2011 04:23

The team are starting to look solid. That's the first step in the recovery. The next step will be using that solidity to start playing the arsenal way again,which will ahppen as confidence and belief grows and as our strikers begin to link more.
A little faith?

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Padre Pio
16/09/2011 10:15

Quote:

seanski
The team are starting to look solid. That's the first step in the recovery. The next step will be using that solidity to start playing the arsenal way again,which will ahppen as confidence and belief grows and as our strikers begin to link more.

Thats what the article more or less says, but there are no certainties in football. Its a turning point, but they still have to turn

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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