Arsenal’s crushing defeat at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday has left many Gooners distraught, head in hands, and putting the season down as another failure. The Arsenal fans (still the best away supporters in the Premier League by the way) are entitled to be worried. after-all, the loss at Anfield was devastating, it showed Arsenal’s weaknesses again, but what if we told you things are not as bad as they seem?
We wrote in our match report that the thrashing by Liverpool had echoes of the embarrassing 8-2 loss to Manchester United two seasons ago. However, while anybody at Old Trafford that day will confirm what a tortuous 90 minutes that was, it was not the devastating defeat it has been painted as in hindsight. Sure, that season Arsenal failed to win a trophy again, but neither did they languish in mid table mediocrity as was predicted. Indeed, after the mauling in Manchester, business went on as usual.
And so it will be after this latest humiliating setback. Yes, the Gunners were torn apart by a rampant Liverpool, but it was one battle lost in a season long war. Manchester City helped themselves to six goals against Arsenal in December, and even though Arsene Wenger´s men scored three it was a big defeat. In the time since losing to City, Arsenal climbed to the top of the league, qualified to the next round of the Champions League, and maintained a title challenge.
It is worth noting that Arsenal´s season has not been built on downing the best teams in the land, but by mopping up the weaker ones. Previous campaigns have fallen apart as the team lost to teams classed as lower in quality. It is the ability to win those games this season that has made Arsenal very real contenders to lift the Premier League title in May.
There are myriad things for Wenger to be worried about, such as how immobile Per Mertesacker looked, where Mesut Ozil has gone, and how toothless the attack seemed in the face of committed pressure. Although, Arsenal will not face that week in, week out in the league, but Bayern Munich will pose serious questions when the Champions League comes back in a couple of weeks.
Of course, what happens to Arsenal’s season now will depend on how the team bounces back from the Liverpool defeat. Wenger will know that a good showing over the next month will keep the team in the hunt for the Premier League title at the end of the season. The flip side to that is more dropped points in February and the season flickering out like a dying light. Although with the team grabbing points without playing well, there is a real chance that this group of players has more gears to move into.