particularly considering they have now lost their last eight
fixtures there in all competitions and haven’t picked up a
victory at Manchester United since 2006.
Flying high in the league, Sunday’s 1-0 loss allowed other
title challengers to gain some ground on The Gunners – not
least the opponents themselves, Manchester United.
But it’s by no means the end of the world for Arsenal. They
must remember that despite the loss, they are still leading the
way in the Premier League. It’s their first loss in the league
since the opening day defeat at the hands of Christian Benteke
and Aston Villa, and they still look like the team to beat in the
top division. There’s no shame in losing to the Champions.
It’s also vital that the supporters remember that this Arsenal
squad was without many key players. Had Per Mertesacker
been on hand to organise the defence as he does so well on a
weekly basis, Robin Van Persie may not have had the chance
to score that goal from a set piece. Had Tomas Rosicky been
available to attempt to create something from nothing as he
so often does, Arsenal may not have been so frustrated in
their attempts to unlock the Manchester United defence.
Then there are players like Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-
Chamberlain, who The Gunners have been missing for the vast
majority of the season so far. Even players like Mesut Ozil and
Jack Wilshere weren’t fully fit and so weren’t able to
contribute the way we know they can during Sunday’s clash.
When these players are fully fit and Wenger finally has a full
squad at his disposal, players will be able to fit into their
positions more comfortably also. Ramsey was pushed out
wide on Sunday’s match simply due to the lack of players
who could play out there, despite the fact he has been so
effective in the centre of the park this season. Wilshere has
had to do the same earlier on in the season.
Arsenal really struggled to get anyone behind Manchester
United’s defence – there was nobody making runs from
midfield beyond the lone frontman Oliver Giroud. Ramsey and
Wilshere can do this from midfield, whereas Ozil and Flamini
are less likely to make those driving runs forward into the
space, as they both like to receive the ball into feet and make
the creative pass themselves.
Arsene Wenger has claimed that nerves contributed to
Arsenal’s performance too. He said himself: "We were too
nervous in the first half. We haven’t won for a long time here
too."
Such nerves and such stats will not apply for Arsenal in other
games. The nerves will ease as the confidence arrives, and
the confidence will come with winning more games, and
playing more games against top opposition. Arsenal still have
a relatively inexperienced squad, and those that do have
experience at top level, such as Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil
generally have the majority of it playing away from the
Premier League. They’ll get used to these big game occasions
in time.
Arsenal have come through their toughest patch of fixtures so
far this season with two disappointing results and two
excellent ones, and can now look forward to a run of winnable
fixtures. Four of their next five games in all competitions come
at The Emirates stadium.
If they rebuild some momentum with another run of victories,
they can still head into a difficult Christmas period high in
high spirits and looking to challenge for that elusive Premier
League title.
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