We are making the same mistakes with different personnel which suggests there is a problem with the coaching at the club or perhaps Wenger has upset lady luck?
Another disastrous defensive display completely overshadowed a very promising first half display which saw Gervinho and Mikel Arteta open their accounts for the club. As usual we dominated the match statistically but two own goals helped to put the game out of our reach before Marouanne Chamakh’s late equaliser. We should have had a penalty in the last minute of injury time but not one Arsenal fan would have expected to see it awarded after the luck we have had so far this season.
The phrase you make your own luck is often used in football and the starkest example currently on display in the Premiership is Manchester United. They have allowed the opposition 20 attempts on goal in each of their home games so far this season and yet, from their results, they appear to be rampant and almost unplayable. Everything they hit seems to go in the back of the net and every deflection falls their way. Even Wayne Rooney’s penalty slip was cancelled out by Fernando Torres’ inexplicable miss in yesterday’s match.
This kind of luck has come after Ferguson invested early and wisely in the transfer market to improve their squad after a season in which they won the league and reached the final of the Champions League. They were extremely well prepared and on top of their attacking brilliance, this foresight also appears to be paying dividends in the luck department. They have built momentum and that is carrying them through the difficult moments that often act as a knockout blow to this Arsenal team.
Arsene Wenger completed his signings at the very last minute after enduring a disastrous start to the season while attempting to keep our two of our best players at the club. We were distracted, poorly prepared and injuries to two of our best players, Jack Wilshere and Thomas Vermaelen, have left us stretched. Consequently, rookie midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong picked up a cheap red card against Liverpool and our exposed defence conceded an own goal, which was also offside. We were then ruthlessly beaten by Man Utd, scraped through games against Swansea and Dortmund and have now self destructed again at Blackburn Our new players began to bed in well last week but the ‘mental strength’ we have all become sick of hearing about deserted us at Blackburn and a combination of bad luck and poor attitude saw us waste chances and concede extremely sloppy goals.
Pointing the finger is the natural response but the team is at the start of a new cycle and although the same mistakes that have been made in the past are haunting us, these are problems that are often experienced when a new team is built. The problem is that we have spent five years watching teams being built and dismantled and have had nothing in return. To blame luck could be considered a weak response but Man Utd will have conceded a similar number of chances as us this season. There are so many fine details in a football match that the answer is never as straightforward as many would like you to believe.
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