ARSENAL ARE TURNED OFF AND ON AGAIN!

Patience was wearing thin with the agenda crew. Victory after victory was met with excuses on why Arsenal should not receive the praise they so richly deserved, however they were struggling to justify their stance and positive comments through gritted teeth had become more evident. However their spirits were raised when shock horror, Arsenal ONLY drew a game away from home. You could imagine their eyes glinting as the smiles broadened, and when a weakened team had the audacity to lose away to PSV it appeared the time they had been waiting, begging for, had at last truly arrived. The Arsenal train had been de-railed, a huge downward spiral would surely follow. Put up the bunting, sighs of huge relief followed by street parties – The real Arsenal are back!!

Even some Arsenal fans joined the party as they yet again demonstrated their unbelievable fickleness. It would not be too long before the ‘Arteta out’ fans could show their ugly heads again.

Meanwhile in the real world, a world where sensible level headed fans who have the intelligence to acknowledge that what we are witnessing is a far cry from the last few years, that the atmosphere and support behind this team is without a doubt the best it has been since our move away from Highbury, where the squad is being heavily financed now we have appeared to have moved away from the financial restraints of that very move. You know if you had any doubts about the restraints the club were under I would point you into the direction of David Deins excellent book which I have just finished. It is truly eye watering and again confirms the genius of Arsene Wenger. Who knows where we would be without the Champions League money year in year out during those years.

So away from the noise, calmness was quite evident. In days gone by it would not take much for Arsenal fans to start to become twitchy but it was quite evident that this was not the case here. Southampton on their day are a match for anyone, they just lack consistency. Arsenal started very brightly, should have taken a commanding lead into half time before fatigue set in. I found it quite remarkable the effect this actually has on players as our usual slick passing just appeared to fall off a cliff. Arteta deciding to choose a strong team for Europa the previous Thursday was taking its toll and Southampton scored the equaliser. Sometimes though when conceding a goal we can be so engulfed in disappointment that we do not actually appreciate the quality of the goal in question. It was a lovely move by Southampton and a good goal. The fear was that with the team really under the cosh at this point we would go onto concede another goal or two, old wounds were being reopened. However this was not the case as this ‘new’ Arsenal team dug deep, steadied the ship and earned a credible draw. I was worried about this fixture as it had not been kind to us for a few years so a draw was not to be sniffed at. As for the refereeing….more on that later!

A disappointing defeat on Thursday but no real drama. It may highlight that there is still room for improvement in the squad but a home win next week will mean we win the group comfortably.

Arteta stated the team needed a ‘reset’. It was a very interesting comment. It reminded me very much of ‘The IT Crowd’ who when faced with an IT problem would say instinctively ‘Have you turned it off and on again?’. It’s a great line, but you know what, it normally works! So was Arteta onto something?

You Bet He Was!!

Arsenal could not afford to take Nottingham Forest for granted, they had just beaten Liverpool after all.

Arsenal true to form came out of the blocks looking sharp and up for it. I remember Wenger’s teams being like this, and when Arteta started his management job we definitely lacked this. Not now, and we took a crucial early lead with a lovely goal. It looked like we would soon finish the game off, unfortunately the pace of the game soon dropped and half time arrived. Was this game going to follow in the same footsteps as the Southampton game? Absolutely not. Maybe it was at half time Arteta flicked that switch off and on because Arsenal were back. Pressing, slick passing and most importantly scoring goals….loads of them! A special mention to Jesus who worked so hard for the team. He is in desperate need of a goal but his overall play is making up for this, he was outstanding. Our fears of seeing Saka limping off after yet again being targeted with special treatment with no referee stepping in ….more of that later… were balanced out with the fantastic display by his replacement Nelson who scored two goals, what a great day for him!

It must have massive disappointment to many to see Arsenal were as strong as ever and storming back to the top of the league. As quick as a flash though came the comments. 'They are only two injuries from a disaster!' Urm, we already do have 2 injuries! 'The world cup will stop their momentum!' This also will relate to all teams. Their desperation is hilarious!

What a lovely gesture as well by the team to hold up a shirt with Pablo Mari's name on it as they celebrated a goal. What a moving moment by a classy club! I bet it meant the world to him and I as I am sure you all do wish him the quickest of recoveries both physically but also mentally in what must have been an incredibly traumatic event.

REF WATCH

I was looking on quite incredulously at what was occurring during the Southampton v Arsenal match. I simply could not believe what I was watching. Every time the ball was kicked up towards our strikers, mainly being Jesus, they would have this lump of a defender Duje Caleta-Car with his arms all over them. They were clearly being impeded by him and yet the referee was quite happy for this to continue.- all game! On one occasion Jesus in the penalty area had the defenders arms enveloping his body causing him to fall to the floor. Play on was the verdict. Meanwhile a Southampton clearly punches a player in the back, it was as clear as day. Now I can quite understand the referee not seeing this, but hello…VAR – where were you?? VAR was also missing when the Southampton player Lyanco clearly attempts to head butt Eddie Nketiah. He misses, but I have always been lead to believe it is all about intent. The intent was clear. What is not clear is what the VAR referee was doing at this point in time!! Again where was he when Tierney was smashed in the face in the penalty area with the defender Ilyounoussei not even challenging for the ball? There was a further incident where it appeared White was pushed in the back again in the Southampton area. But both the TV coverage and VAR decided to ignore it. It is absolutely mind blowing how a team can have so many decisions go against them!

I read a tweet that we should not be relying on referees decisions to win games. I understand this point and in a perfect world absolutely, however it always helps when a team is playing against opponents down to 10 men and in this case 9 men, and are given penalties when they are clearly deserved. What team would not want this advantage?

The referee also booked Saka and a Southampton player for simulation. Now I would normally applaud this course of action….even though Saka clearly did not dive….but where is the consistency here? There is literally simulation in every game, its caught on VAR time and time again when penalty decisions are overturned for this very reason. Yet when is the yellow card shown? Will this referee book players in his next game for simulation? We are not given clear direction on how the referees are treating this side of the game. So we cannot have a position where one referee is going rogue and booking people for this whilst others are not.

Talking of Saka, is there an unwritten rule that he can be kicked to kingdom come with no risk of punishment to the person responsible for the kicking. Teams are evidently using rotation tactics to foul him at will and he is receiving no protection whatsoever. It is no surprise therefore to see him go off injured after yet another foul and yet another wave on from the referee. It is frustrating to watch and again you just have to wonder why this could be happening.

So we now have Chelsea and Wolves to go before the World Cup. How fantastic would it be to go into this break still being top of the league, and you know what….there is absolutely no reason why we cannot achieve this!

Thanks again for reading...talk soon.

Rob