FFor many Arsenal fans, it was by no means a merry Christmas. Because their club was on the fifteenth place in the Premier League table during the holidays, it last went so badly in 1982. And even the coach Mikel Arteta said more or less openly what everyone secretly thought: If this continues, then Arsenal could of the richest football clubs in the world, really relegated at the end of the season. “The next seven or eight days will decide which direction we will take in the Premier League,” said Arteta before the difficult game against London city rivals Chelsea.
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If the 38-year-old Spaniard had lost again, it would have been tight. It turned out differently. Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-1 on Saturday and the win could have been even bigger if the ball hadn’t landed on the crossbar after Mohamed Elneny’s full-cocked shot just before the final whistle. In stoppage time, Arsenal’s German goalkeeper Bernd Leno captured a penalty from Jorginho and saved his team from a hectic final phase.
Arteta had switched the team to six positions compared to the previous 2-1 defeat against FC Everton, including the former Dortmund Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang only on the bench after a calf injury. So he managed to impressively end a series of seven league games without a win. The success should be beneficial for the morale of the team. But Arsenal’s crisis is far from over. Because there are still only a handful of points that separate Arsenal from the relegation places.
And despite the well-deserved victory over Chelsea, the impression remains that something is wrong at the club. The team spirit is largely intact: against Chelsea, the players of the “Gunners” ran four kilometers more than Chelsea, five players cracked the ten-kilometer mark. Arteta is considered a trainer with great potential in England. Pep Guardiola, whose co-coach he had worked at Manchester City for years, said after City’s 4-1 League Cup victory over Arsenal before Christmas: “I know his incredible quality as a person and especially as a coach.” Arsenal only needs Arteta Give time, just as he needed time at the beginning of his time at City.
The “Guardian” wrote in an analysis that a dismissal of Artetas, as with every change of coach, could cause a short boost, but would not solve the deeper problem. This is higher up in the club hierarchy. What is meant is the American owner Stan Kroenke, who is controversial among the fans, and the decision-makers he has appointed, including his son Josh, who apparently control the club without any underlying idea.
You can see that in the squad planning. One example is Mesut Özil, who is not even part of the Premier League squad this season despite a huge salary. Arsenal is a “ghost ship” that drifts through the fog, the Guardian author continued: “Sigmund Freud said that the root of horror is the uncertainty as to whether something is alive or dead. And that is exactly it, what Arsenal is doing to its fans. “
Arteta tried to keep the mood in a good mood after the Chelsea game. “The result is the most important thing. We needed this victory. We had a lot of bad luck and we were frustrated with the results of the past eight weeks, so today was a big day for us. ”He had already said that the team’s performance deserved more points, which he can prove with statistics tried. In view of the lack of success and the drift in the table, the team suffered a lot. “Hopefully this will be the turning point that will boost the team’s confidence because I know they can play at this level.”
With victories in the upcoming games, Arsenal FC can move out of the danger zone for the time being. On Tuesday they face Brighton & Hove Albion, the following Saturday against West Bromwich – both opponents are behind Arsenal in the table. West Brom’s new coach Sam Allardyce has already started the mind games when he called Arsenal rivals to stay in the Premier League. “You will wonder why they are down there. You’ll wonder how to get out of there. I know how to do that, ”he said. In the direct encounter he will try to defeat Arsenal – “like everyone else in the bottom eight places”. For Arsenal fans, this means a nervous start to the new year after a depressing Christmas party.
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