If anything is more glaringly obvious, it is that our title challenge is well and truly dead. Our recent form, although we haven't lost recently, has had too many draws and as I touched on yesterday, 3 games ago, I'd say we were in with a shout. Three draws later and it's looking ominous. Ominous for the title, precarious for the top four. We travel to Sunderland this weekend and nothing but a win can do. Anything but a win and we are really staring at 5th and 6th.
So, the call to the team is not to be upset that we're so far behind... but to start the season from Saturday. We have 13 games until the end of the season. We still have to play Liverpool away, United away and Chelsea at home. At a minimum we have to claw back 6 points on Chelsea and 9 on Villa. Yes, we need other teams to slip up, but we also need to start playing with swagger and style, confidence and ability.
The re-introduction of Eduardo into our team, plus the performances of Vela, coupled with the Arshavin signing and the return from injury of Cesc and Walcott should give us enough impetuous to push on for the last couple of months of the season. Monday's game was like no other game I have seen this season. We were incensed, we were passionate, we wanted it. The same again on Saturday is the order of the day.
Alan Smith seems to think we can step it up a gear, as he said:
“It certainly isn’t what Arsenal fans were hoping. But that’s what they’ve been left with by a side that, for all their talent, still needs some extra steel to go the full distance. Having said that, it’s a side more than capable of finishing with a sprint. It could be enough to cause some excitement.”
Well, for one, I am excited. Could we win all 13 games…? No, but we can get at least 30 out of the 39 available points. That will see us finish on 74 points – surely that mark is good enough for the Champions League spot?
Adebayor has been in the news, talking about his lack of goals and how the team doesn’t need his goals to win trophies because if he doesn’t score any more and we win a trophy then… Hold on… okay, so he doesn’t want to score any more if we win something… but he says that if doesn’t score we won’t win anything. If we are to win trophies then he needs to score more, but he is injured, but if he doesn’t score any more he will be happy as long as we win something – man, the boy is confused.
I know having scored 30 goals in a season that people will always be waiting for more this season but the most important thing is to keep on going and to progress. I have 12 already but to score another 18 now would not be easy. I am getting assists now too and getting closer to being a complete footballer. I can score with my left, score with my right and score with my head too, which is good for a striker. But I don’t care if I stop on 12 goals if we win something with the club. To win trophies is more important than scoring goals but if we are to win trophies I will need to score some goals. This club needs trophies and that’s what we are fighting for.
Indeed, the club needs a trophy or two or three or more… Putting his goal tally into perspective, the question to why he hasn’t scored so many can lie in the team as a whole. I’d say, last year, we had on average 20 – 25 shots a game. With this 20-25 shots, about 60% fell to Ade. So let’s say Ade had 12 shots a game and missed one in 6, then on a good game, he could easily score at least 1 if not 2 goals. Now, when we are only creating 10 shots a game, and 40% of those shots are falling to Ade, he is still missing his one in six, but this time only has four. So that pretty much explains it. Personally, I think he’s got worse – he thinks he has nothing to prove.
But I am excited by the emergence of Vela and the return of Eduardo. Nikki B has more in his locker and of course Van Persie is playing well.
Let’s Finish The Season With Style…]]>
