How Far We’ve Come

The anticipation is starting to build in the lead up to Sunday’s revenge match against Manchester United. While the away date against them earlier this season represents our only loss on the season, it’s one where the performance was one we can look back positively on. Additionally, it’s one where it was literally announced that Martinelli’s disallowed opener to give us a 1-0 lead should have stood. If that goal is given, as it should have been, the match takes a completely different trajectory. With that said, United is now a completely different team than the one we played at that point in the season. Credit where it’s due, they have been churning out results. Rashford and Casemiro have been immensely in form and have transformed them into a significantly better team. This will be one of the best Arsenal-United matchups in years in regards to the quality of both teams.

This leads me to today’s theme, which is taking a look back at just how far we have come. This kind of team was the vision that the old guard had when they made the move to the Emirates. We went through some incredibly difficult times with Project Youth, which Arsene Wenger deserves so much credit for getting us through the way he did. The advantages that Wenger brought to the Arsenal regarding fitness programs, dietary programs and bringing foreign players to the Premier League were revolutionary, but have since become the standard. Other teams passed us by, largely thanks to financial advantages which led them to Champions League football and our lack thereof. This meant top players weren’t interested in Arsenal, especially as we had to navigate a new world post-Wenger.

As was seen with United, this is not an easy transition. Money can certainly paper over cracks, but eventually you can’t just keep throwing layer after layer of duct tape on the hole in the boat. You have to properly fix the damn boat. United leapt from manager to manager, never having a consistent plan they would stick to. Arsenal, on the other hand, gave Arteta the keys and let him find his way. When we brought in a rookie manager, there had to be an understanding that he’d be learning on the job and make mistakes. As Wenger used to say, when you play young defenders they will cost you points. But they need minutes if they’re ever going to get better. The same should be said for rookie managers like Arteta. You shouldn’t give one a job if you aren’t prepared to let them learn on the fly. It’s why I couldn’t understand Chelsea’s handling of Lampard. There were tough moments, but the Arsenal’s commitment to a plan is a huge reason why we are where we are right now. Arteta easily could have gone, but thankfully we stuck with him and you can see how the plan has developed. There was a lot that had to be broken down before we could build back up. It took time and painful moments, but look at us now! No more Luiz, Mustafi, Kolasinac, Chambers, Guendouzi, Ozil, Auba, Laca, etc. One bad apple can ruin the bunch and Arteta had a lot of rotten ones to get rid of both in terms of quality and attitude. Now that he’s done that, it’s so incredibly important to not let a single bad apple back in. It’s another layer that makes our January recruitment so interesting, as the standards are so much higher than ever before. You have to play a very specific way, you have to have a certain kind of mindset and if you are going to hurt the culture in any way you simply won’t be a part of our club. It’s so refreshing, but also something that could put Edu and Arteta to the test. This is a genuine chance to win the title. If need be, will they bend in any way to get us over the line. In the next couple weeks we will find out the answer.

That’s it for today. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest updates. COYG!