3 February 2015

Expectations shifting again, as we emerge from a turbulent November and December


We began the season with high expectations, having won the FA Cup and gained 79 points in the league last season. On top of this we made some excellent signings, including Alexis, who could provide the cutting edge and directness that we lacked, so it felt like we had the foundations on which to build a genuine title challenge.

And yet, only a few months on, having had our worst start to a season many years, it was becoming harder and harder to defend Wenger's decision not to strengthen the squad in defence and defensive midfield. We began the season with only 6 defenders in the squad: Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal and Gibbs. Suddenly, our expectations had shifted from potentially challenging for the League, to having to really raise our game to retain hope of finishing fourth again.


2 February 2015

Arsenal 5 - 0 Aston Villa: Composed team performance with five different goalscorers

#AFCvAVFC


As is so often the case in football, a few good performances quickly silences the critics. The media's tune has quickly shifted from questioning Wenger's ability to take the club beyond aiming for fourth place, to suggesting that Coquelin is the player to complete our team, providing all that we were missing against the big teams, while the return of Özil and Walcott means that we have too much attacking talent for just one team.

Today was the perfect opportunity for us to slip up again; so often we feel we have improved, having dug deep in an important game, only to go and underestimate the team we face next and be brought back down to Earth with a bump. Instead, however, we performed with a confidence and composure to suggest that we are improving and can tentatively look forward to a positive end to the season.