Anger over Szczesny’s blunder is healthy

After a 6-1 thrashing of Southampton in our first home-win of the season, you’d think I’d be a bit of a spoil sport for complaining about the one goal we did let in.

But after Wojcech Szczesny’s howler to allow the Saints a scant consolation goal, I’m still feeling fairly ticked off that it happened at all. Now, for the rest of recorded history, Arsenal’s collective defensive effort will have a black mark on it because of one moment of slack concentration.

I remember feeling similar angst over conceding a consolation goal in the 2009/10 season when Arsenal, comfortably leading 4-0 away to Wolves, succumbed in injury time to a Jody Craddock goal from a corner.

The game was in the bag, the win was never in doubt. It was a great performance by the Fabregas-led side and complaining about a meaningless goal in added time seemed like pulling at straws at the time.

Yet it stuck in the craw. With the win secured, the clean-sheet became the next “primary objective”. It didn’t happen. We failed to show a resolute streak at the back and put a blemish on an otherwise excellent performance.

Today, my feelings on Szczesny’s slip-up are a little different. Two years ago, those frustrations came from wanting to prove the doubters wrong about our porous defence. Today, I have so much more confidence in this team, coached to the sweaty limit by Steve Bould, of smarter defending that Szczesny’s blunder brings out a different anger.

All hail Diaby, king of Anfield

Arsenal’s season has been dominated by good cheer, then rage, then further rage, and then apocalyptic predictions over the exchange of players in the transfer market.

The furore reached its peak on Friday when no new signings were made on deadline day, with many educated types calling for Arsene Wenger’s head, with proclamations he had lost the plot and that the season was heading down the drain.

Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal.

Read that again. Savour it, you bastards. Because moments like this provide a hell of a lot more to enjoy than any fantasy signing.

Time to face the Anfield music

After the wailing and gnashing of teeth that was transfer deadline day, Arsenal carries its sorry carcass up to Merseyside to take on Liverpool at grand old Anfield.

It continues to amaze me that yesterday will be many fans’ highlight/lowlight of the season, beyond anything that is played on an actual grass pitch. Shorn of the services of Spurs-bound Clint Dempsey and whoever else the FIFA games over-hype, many blogs and commenters will tell you we’re doomed to a 10th place finish.

If you’re not splashing the cash in this world, you’re yesterday’s news. No-one cares about the quality of a player anymore, only that they have an enormous price tag. A manager’s ticker and know-how is nothing without a propensity to throw around someone else’s wad of cash.

I get the complaints made by those that actually go to the Emirates’ stadium, even just once a year (I’m talking about people who fly in from around the world just for one game). They spend a stack of money supporting this team and they want to see a squad with depth. I get that. Supporting this side is expensive, and many rightly feel aggrieved that the manager is not doing enough to push for a proper title tilt.

For the most part, I agree. I think it will require an extraordinary slice of luck for us to get anywhere near the requisite 85 points to make that push. What I don’t like is the hysteria that surrounds the club. People demanding ‘their Arsenal back’ is really unfounded (would you like the 1970s Arsenal? Eight years without a trophy will be a walk in the park) and the whole Kroenke/Usmanov thing gets my goat. It’s the topic for another blog, but this idea of Usmanov as some kind of saviour is total bollocks. Here’s a guy who demanded dividends be paid out on shares. Basically, that means the club bleeding more money and him pocketing it for himself as hypothetical majority shareholder. But no. We want to be like Man City lite, so SIGN KAKA OR WE’LL COME 15TH GOD BE PRAISED.

With hard work, Arsenal can surpass all expectations

A warning: an absolute epic follows. If you’re one of those TLDR types, enjoy the pretty pictures and move on. This is some deep shit, so be prepared.

We may have lost Robin van Persie. We may be about to lose Alex Song. And even Theo Walcott’s future isn’t assured. Yet somehow or other, I’m going into this season with blindly optimistic expectations.

There are a number of problems Arsenal will have to work through this season. Figuring out who’s top dog in attack, shoring up a leaky defence and plugging the hole in defensive midfield. Yet our problems seem to be well known to the manager, who appears less blinded by his faith in players and seems a touch more pragmatic this year. There’s no papering over the cracks here: this team has its flaws.

But with a little belief, a little luck (long overdue!) and a truckload of hard work, this season might just provide something to smile about for Arsenal fans.