But there were two aspects as you sat listening to it, one was oh! that is rubbing salt and the other ‘is it really true?’. The second question is more dangerous. I think the question and it’s implication that Arsenal is too soft nowadays comes really from the recent history and recent struggles to achieve success and more than that the disappointment in which failure came upon. Whether it was the recent thrashing by Bayern for exiting the Champions League, of being at top of the league in February and not managing to win against the bottom half of the table. The manner of failure stings. Even if we glance at this season, the same team was dismal against Liverpool, was superb against Chelsea, and then bottled against Watford. The inconsistency is alarming.
Critics of Arsenal say that it is because Arsenal players are too soft, they are not aggressive, they are too nice ! and the failure is a consequence of being Nice. But I beg to differ, years back I had heard, I think it was Kim Clijsters, who asked a question in a similar vein, and she replied, but Roger Federer is the nicest person on the tour and yet is the most successful. So in a way, it is skill at the sport is what that matters, rather than naked aggression. Maybe your passion might overflow and express as aggression as it might in a Thierry Henry, but for some like Bergkamp it passion may be channeled into exquisite passing or something.
But let’s not detract from the point that there is something not right with the current Arsenal setup, and it’s not just lack of aggression. And it is where I agree with Troy Deeney, is when he speaks of the Killer Instinct, Henry, Wright and those in that strand would not have missed the chance Ozil had, it was a chance to kill the game, and yes Arsenal lost, not because of penalty decision, not because of luck, but because of their own inability to finish the game. I think the conundrum is what to do with players like Ozil, Sanchez, Xhaka, whom you have to play, but maybe are not the right fit for the team.
The main danger for Arsenal is the Fabregas situation, wherein you tried to build a team around a player, fitting the jigsaw around him, and then suddenly all of it went for a toss when Fabregas abruptly left, Similarly the Arsenal project revival was beginning with Ozil, adding Sanchez to the mix, is now at risk of being abruptly ended, even though there are two FA cups to show for the effort.
One thing is sure now, that after the Deeney comment, there is going to be far greater scrutiny of Arsenal players in the upcoming games, and in a way, Deeney was brilliant for his team, both on the pitch and off it. He is a masterstroke has made the situation at Arsenal overshadow what was basically a blatant dive. If Deeney had not commented, considering the poor game at Anfield, the masala was in the dive, and it would have made headlines big time, but Deeney just managed to turn it on Arsenal. You have to admire him for that.
As for Arsenal Fans, I think to expect a response in the next match would be reasonable, but all as Arsenal fans know the real season will start around February next year!
No Comment