Yahoo News EPL TALK: Arsenal disrespect getting ridiculous now
Respect should be a given by now, with the Gunners having already accomplished much more with much less than all their EPL rivals
EVEN in these binary times, the abrupt mood swing from Arsenal to Manchester City feels ridiculous.
Apparently, it’s over. The Gunners are done. Their six-point lead must inevitably give way to a title-winning mindset. One side has it. The other doesn’t. There’s nothing to see here anymore. Move along to the trophy ceremony at the Etihad.
The defeatism seems almost churlish, a peculiar mix of stubbornness and denial. What have Arsenal done to deserve this? Even lowly Leicester City, back in 2016, were not treated in such a patronising fashion. And yet, the North London narrative already hints at an endgame.
Mikel Arteta’s men supposedly blew their title shot at Liverpool. Granit Xhaka lost his head, Anfield’s 12th man took charge and the contenders shivered like the Cowardly Lion in search of courage. That’s the current thought process, a primary-school analysis of an utterly absorbing contest that arguably said less about both teams than it did the sport itself.
Sometimes, football’s grand plans are jettisoned for something thrillingly messy. At Anfield, neat shapes gave way to the improvised scribblings of manic artists, riding the adrenaline at the beginning and then running on fumes at the end. The contest involved two terrific franchises at the opposite ends of their evolutionary cycle.
On this occasion, they happened to meet in the middle.
But that’s far too nuanced for these simplistic times. Arsenal are either winning the title or they are losing the title. This week, they achieved both in 90 minutes. In the first half, Liverpool were a pub team, atrocious, a mess and all over the place, according to Roy Keane in the studio. By the end of the second half, the Reds had conjured 21 shots at goal and missed a penalty. And we're supposed to pin this confluence of unlikely events onto Granit Xhaka.
The Xhaka theory requires more magic bullets than the JFK assassination for it to stand up to scrutiny. Basically, Xhaka went a bit Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and failed to keep that famous temper of his, earning a daft booking. Tens of thousands of Scousers seized the moment to raise the volume and 11 Gunners soiled themselves. Mo Salah scored soon after, Liverpool flexed, Arsenal withered and a title was lost.
Fortunately, Ian Wright popped his head above the hysteria to remind fellow pundits that the outdated Xhaka stereotype no longer plays. On the contrary, the midfielder has been pivotal in Arsenal’s resurgence and performed well in the second half, even taking the captain’s armband from Martin Odegaard. His tackles were robust, but controlled.
Praise for Gunners continue to be qualified or muted
Xhaka isn’t a holding midfielder without flaws, but he has overachieved this season and the excessive criticism of a solitary act reeks of hypocrisy, savaging a player for possessing the characteristics that were thought to be missing from Arsenal’s delicate flowers of the past.
The club previously fell short for not boasting a Patrick Vieira or a Keane archetype, a monstrous presence whose midfield dominance overcompensated for the odd red card and maimed opponent. Why should Xhaka be treated differently?
But the Gunners often are. The praise continues to be qualified or muted. They are good, but not great. They are title challengers, but not really. Every Gunners compliment feels backhanded. It’s a stellar campaign full of cautious caveats.
Take Aaron Ramsdale. He’s a fluid, sliding octopus of moving limbs, selecting the right body part to block, parry or tip away one shot after another. He earned his team-mates a priceless point at Anfield.
He’s a complete goalkeeper, distributing from the back just like Ederson and Alisson, but with only half the plaudits, even though he’s been delivering all season. Like Xhaka. Like Bukayo Saka. Like the wonderful Gabriel Martinelli, who used his time at Anfield to give a convincing TED Talk presentation on why Trent Alexander-Arnold may not be a defender.
Rob Holding once again stepped up for the injured William Saliba and Thomas Partey held the fort long enough for Arsenal to establish a two-goal lead at a volatile arena that hasn’t witnessed a Gunners victory since 2012. It still hasn’t. But the disrespect being shown towards the league leaders remains unwarranted.
A collapse is not inevitable. Indeed, recent history suggests the opposite. Arsenal have lost just three times in the league all season. Each defeat came with mitigating circumstances. In September, Manchester United were riding the new and exciting Erik ten Hag wave. In February, Everton benefited from a managerial bounce following Sean Dyche’s appointment. And there’s no shame in losing to Manchester City. They have superior resources and a bigger squad (and if we’re being pedantic here, Manchester United and Chelsea also have superior resources and bigger squads than Arsenal, just to underline the magnitude of Arteta’s achievements.)
Even so, the defeats were blips. Arsenal returned to winning ways. In fact, they still boast the best away record in the English Premier League – 35 points from 15 games and nine clean sheets – a remarkable improvement on last season’s sixth-best away record. Arteta has transformed everything from the seating arrangements at pre-match meals to mental-based games to bolster team unity at away games.
But a Xhaka yellow card and a rowdy Anfield are enough to topple this house of cards?
No, Arteta’s juggernaut will power on until the end. But even if it doesn’t, even if the wheels were to come off and the whole lot falls apart like a clown car, the Gunners have already accomplished much more with much less than all their rivals, including Manchester City.
The title remains undecided. But respect should be a given.
The Gunners have already accomplished much more with much less than all their rivals, including Manchester City. The title remains undecided. But respect should be a given.
Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 26 books.
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