As I was watching Arsenal limp through the second half against Swansea with their 1-0 lead, I couldn't help but this "this is fucking Swansea. Why isn't Arsenal up by at least two goals by now?" Alternative to the two goal lead, I would have accepted Arsenal dominating possession and peppering the Swansea area with shots and stringing together intricate passing combinations. But instead we saw Swansea start the second half on the attack and stay relevant in the match as time went on. Look. I wouldn't say that I'm a demanding fan. I've spent the first part of this season supporting Arsenal and Arsene Wenger when things were decidedly not going their way. I was understanding of the suspensions and injuries, and I was understanding of the long transfer sagas of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas that were holding up the team's progress and cohesion. But I watched the match today wondering how on earth Arsenal wasn't man-handling the newly promoted Swansea side that has yet to score a goal in an EPL match and is almost sure money to be relegated again this year. Granted, many of the problems still lingered in this match. Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshere were both out with injury. Alex Song and Gervinho were still suspended (thankfully this was the last game for each). Arsenal were missing more than a third of their squad, so it could be understood if they were not in full form. But come on. Compare the depth and talent of Arsenal's squad to Swansea's and make a legitimate argument that Swansea were more talented. I dare you. With that kind of disparity, why wasn't Arsenal putting up a 3-0 win at home like any top team would?
I have this theory. It is of course completely original and can be proven scientifically, like all good sports punditry. The theory is basically this: Arsenal lacks a competitive killer instinct. They did last year and thus far this year, that problem remains. Look at the best teams in the EPL this year and how they performed today. Manchester City 3-0 over Wigan. Manchester City 5-0 over Bolton. These matches weren't in question, and they shouldn't be for good teams. Instead Arsenal not only won just 1-0 but they failed to control the match in the second half and gave up entirely too many good chances to Swansea , even in injury time as the announcers were talking about what "this win" would do for Arsenal.
Sidebar: if you can think of anything more infuriating in sports than announcers claiming a victory for your team before the game is actually over, I'd love to hear it. I watched the Giants give up 28 points in seven and a half minutes last year. Nothing is over until it's over.
This shouldn't be news to Arsenal fans, as this was a major complaint about the team last year as well. At times, it seemed like Jack Wilshere was the only Arsenal player who cared that they were playing below their abilities and it was frustrating to watch. Today, it was Emmanuel Frimpong of all people who seemed to be the only player getting pissed off about the fact that Arsenal was just running out the clock rather than passionately playing to get another goal. You know, playing as if they were having fun playing soccer, working towards the main in-game goal: scoring a goal. Too often Arsenal sits back and dutifully runs out the clock on a game rather than pressing forward to put a match out of reach. And that seems completely contradictory to the way that soccer should be played. I've played random rec league games when you realize that you're better than the other team. You're up 2-0 and you know that you can get more and everyone fiends for it. People press into the attack to try to get their goal. People receive the ball and immediately pick their head up looking to go forward. People get excited to get back onto the field to play the match out. It's like a fever that infects anyone who plays.
I understand that you can't do all of that in professional soccer. If you press too hard then you get caught out of position and the other team can counter and score. A slim lead becomes a loss, etc etc. I get it. But if pressing so hard into the attack that you show your neck to your opponent when they counter is one extreme, then what Arsenal does must be at the opposite end of the spectrum. It's all very businesslike, very "ok, we have what we need so let's get out of here." Where is the passion for playing the game? Maybe they're weighed down by the constant scrutiny. Maybe they have the yips from their past experiences in failing to produce at the level that fans want them too. Or maybe they just don't have the heart to carry themselves all the way through a match. But look at how Man U and Man City play. They smell blood, like sharks in the water. Even better, they look like happy sharks who not only smell blood but actually want to pursue their victim, rather than sighing and following along out of necessity. Arsenal needs to develop that attitude so that they don't give up all the points they gave up last year. With what has happened so far, they'll need every point they can get. As always, Go Gunners.
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