Dispelling two recent Arsenal myths

Funny how a good run can restore so many things. It restores hope and faith where only a few weeks and months ago there was frustration and gut-wrenching soul searching. Sure, none of that has gone away. This season still teeters on a knife’s edge. Another ‘blip’ and well, it would bring out all the questions and myths that linger on the periphery of this Arsenal team.

But yesterday I came across Jeremy Wilson’s excellent article in the Telegraph that talked about the promise of Arsenal for next season. In it I was surprised by something he wrote (and go over later) and it got me thinking that there are a lot of misconceptions about this team. Over the last few weeks and months, we’ve heard them all – Arsenal are a one man team, this is Wenger’s worst team since he got here and on and on.

Given that we now have a full week in between matches I thought now was a good time to go through a few of them.

Arsenal are a One Man Team

He scores when he wants. He’s skilled, he’s dutch, he scores with his first touch – Robin van Persie. Our new (sort of) Dutch Master is setting the Premier League alight with his ability to score seemingly (except the last two games) at will. The truth is that when Van Persie is in the box, he is a danger to score all the time. At almost any angle, with foot or with head, he has found the back of the net more times this season than not. And it only goes to figure that when he gets red hot players want to get him the ball to do his wonderful things with it.

So does that make the Gunners a one man team?

Frankly no. This past weekend when Gibbs scored his first ever Premier League goal, he became the fifth Arsenal defender to score in the last six games. That means the likes of Vermaelen (2xs), Koscielny, and Sagna have all scored. But Arsenal have also benefitted from a total of 18 different goal scorers this season. That means from the goal keeper only 6 of the 25 man squad have failed to put the ball in the net. That’s approximately 2/3 of the team scoring.

It’s easy to focus on one player when they are doing so well. But every team has their fulcrum. What would Manchester United be without Rooney? How about Chelsea with Lampard? Liverpool without Gerrard? The point is every team has one player that without them in their lineup they would falter. Calling Arsenal a one man team is a myth perpetrated by those that wish their team had a player who was in such form. Its bitterness, jealousy and a lack of understanding around the team that brings that out.

It takes more than one man to cross the ball, or send beautiful chip shots over defenders or to hold the ball up to release other players. It takes a team. Arsenal are a team and that team spirit is alive and well. And. Growing.

This Is Arsene Wenger’s Worst Team Since He Became Manager

Now this is where Jeremy Wilson comes in. In his article he mentions that had Sept 1 been the start of the season, even with Arsenal’s January wobble the Gunners would only be five points off of Manchester United and Manchester City. If you were to even extend it to starting the season in October, the Gunners would be level with those two teams. Of course if you ended the season in February we’d be out of the Champion’s League.

But are we really that bad?

August and January were woeful. August was woeful because of bad management of the summer transfer window and not having suitable players in place before the season starts to make a solid start of it. Wenger and the board have to bear the brunt for that. January was poor because injuries to the back four were substantial and too many players were playing back in defence that were out of position.

However, when you examine this season against last season and even against 2008/2009 (the last time a lot us thought Arsenal would win a title) this team statistically measures up very well.

As of right now 30 games in here is how Arsenal stack up –

2011/2012  30 GP   61 Goals   39 conceded 59 points
2010/2011 30 GP   59 Goals   29 conceded 58 points
2008/2009 30 GP  48 goals    27 conceded 55 points

The only season that stood out in stark comparison was the 2009/2010 season where Arsenal scored more goals (71) and had more points (64) at the same point. What above illustrates is that even with the wobbles of January and last August this team is no worse off statistically than its predecessors except in the goals conceded and if you were to take out the anomaly of the OT gutting in August its even more equal (but we can’t do that).

You know me and there are intangibles to everything. And I think in this case the intangibles of this squad are BETTER than each of these past squads except for maybe 09/10 squad mentioned previously. The 11/12 Gunners so far have shown a mental toughness that hasn’t been seen by many of the recent versions of Arsenal going as far back as the Invincibles.  To me that alone definitely makes this squad better than last season’s iteration and if it can maintain a positive momentum for the last 8 matches of the season it will end up in my opinion better situated than the 07/08 squad who mentally lost it after the horrific injury to Eduardo.

All in all as I look at it, this squad has had its very frustrating and infuriating moments but it is hardly our worst squad. And that came as a shock to me. I like everyone else thought this squad isn’t normal Arsenal quality. But I think as I look at the progress made that Arsene Wenger is perhaps setting the stage for this iteration of the club to go on to the next level.

I agree with Wilson’s premise that adding the likes of Wilshere back to the squad and adding Podolski to the lineup make this club even more better than it is now. Defencively there are still some issues to work out but slowly and confidently the Gunners are pulling together in that department. If Arsenal hadn’t stumbled out of the blocks in August it would be neck and neck with two the leagues leaders. One who is perennially there and one who is there by the grace of a lot of money. Should Arsenal get their business done in the transfer window early and have time to gel (This also assumes no major injuries post Euro 2012) this supposed ‘worst Wenger club’ could give a run for the title next season.

This makes the Easter Sunday meeting against City all the more interesting. When we last played them at the Etihad, I really felt it was a game we should’ve won. Now what is curious about my saying that is – I am one of the people who doesn’t buy this crap that – oh such and such a team deserves to be in the CL or 4th or whatever. You deserve to be where you are because of how you played. But that one match is one match I really believe we should’ve had. We played markedly better than the hosts and unfortunately it only took our one mental lapse for us to pay for it. I believe that should we get by QPR this coming weekend and City have troubles dispatching their next opponent, the table is set perfectly for Arsenal to snatch something from City. That, above all else will do more to dispel any notion that this is our worst team in Wenger history.

Unfortunately we won’t have time to go over the following other Arsenal related myths:

1. A lot of people put the frosty relationship between Pulis & Wenger down to a clash of styles & personality. Not so. It harks back to a match at the Emirates when a clearly aroused Pulis, naked bar his trademark cap, sexually propositioned the Boss. When he was politely rebuked he flew into a rage and took his sexual tension out on a defenceless James Beattie in the Stoke showers. He has never got over this incident (courtesy @GarethDParker via twitter)

2. Igors Stepanovs was once considered a Greek God but was banished to Earth, and lost all his powers. It showed at Highbury. (via twitter follower @Bosscielny)

3. Kaba Diawara had the skill and ability of Messi, but when he came into the UK, Customs made him hand them over. (via twitter follower @SuperD33J)

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