Media may have realized the Arsenal truth for once
By Randy Osae
Saying the defeat at Manchester United was a blessing in disguise may exceed an understatement.
Chances are; Saturday’s loss was a good omen, because it is not in the wake of every weekend that the media wipe the slate so clean about Arsenal.
The remorseful reaction many journalists gave to that extremely unlucky affair was as unusual as the way Diaby guided Giggs’ free kick past Almunia with aplomb.
For once, they have been honest about an Arsenal match even when the final score was a reverse, and ironically, sang praises to highlight the promises Wenger has associated his boys with for so long.
For those who do not agree with this point, you may have failed to observe all the write-ups and headlines following the final whistle on Saturday.
Unfairness from lady luck and referee Mike Dean had seen Arsenal literally snatch defeat from the jaws of victory through a very debatable penalty giveaway and the most diabolical of own goals. Anyone who took a seat for the 97 minutes knew this – especially the bemused Arsenal fans and even the entire reprieved Manchester United FC.
Yet, once we lost, the media were very likely to hit back with bitter summaries. Once Van Persie’s late equalizer was denied, you feared he had failed to rescue Arsenal from not just defeat but from stories like: “‘United underline Gunners’ flaws at Old Trafford‘, ‘Arsenal brought back down to earth’, ‘Wenger suffers reality after bright season start’”
What these headlines speak in volumes would be the notion that Wenger’s side had deceived many with a perfect start to the season and stumbled when it came to the “test” at Old Trafford. In this case, Arsene’s persistence in the transfer market would definitely be harshly stressed again.
Yet, ironically, a majority of news papers and websites had their top stories reading: “‘United gifted victory by own goal’, ‘Unlucky Gunners robbed at Old Trafford’, ‘Diaby gaffe gifts United win’, ‘Arsenal hard done by in drama’”
Those who missed the action can go relive it and you bet your souls they will feel the above headlines were spot on.
Most of Saturday’s synopsis from different sources shared a similar theme of sympathy for the Gunners. Match reports were authentic and analysis were honest.
You did not hear several pundits recommending Wenger to grab a player before the transfer window shuts and neither did you have to argue complaints over a profligate attack or a naive back line.
We may have attracted the old blind criticism if Berbatov or Nani had finished off those late sitters to forge a convincing final score. But those failures in front of goal may not just be the thin line between negative headlines and positive reactions from the media, instead, it may be the difference between who is equipped to dethrone the champions and who is now wobbling after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The media may have now realized there is little wrong with this side Wenger has assembled and the only thing Arsenal may be lacking is fortune.
Now that is something Arsene cannot go out and buy.
well put..
The Media should echo along this great song with regards to Arsenal recent performances..” Was blind but now I see… “
we lost and failed to live up the expectation as usual thats the fact another trophyless season more misery more loss… stop living in the dreamworld and lets back our team to secure a top four finish
If only the Arsenal fans could look beyond there own stupidity and see the truth before there own eyes, but i suppose that would be to much for them.
And I suppose when we finally get relegated to the Conference they’ll all love us! Let’s get up off our knees for a second. The media are flagrantly biased against Arsenal; that is beyond question. Arsenal’s problem is we have so many people claiming to be supporters, who criticise the team and fight each other that we forget who we are. We support the finest footballing side in Britain, and one of the finest in the World. I don’t need Sky Sports, or MOTD, or the Sun’s approval for that; I damn well already know it! And I have no wish to be grateful for a couple of red-faced journalists fanning their own consciences, becaus we happened to lose a gam we patently deserved to win. How about a concerted effort from all Arsenal supporters to hit back at these biased bastards, and less feeling good about a pat on the head for lying down and rolling over?
Randy, great article mate. You do have a God given talent in blogging.
Cheers Kidz, you’re the reader everyone wants.
Haha.
You mean, Cheers for bum licking me!
that is right……….we were the better team
I find it hard be down about the defeat at united, on the day I was mad as hell and wanted to blame everyone and anyone for our bad luck. Almunia, the ref, Diaby etc. but I can’t help but be overjoyed at how well the team played and the fact it took two simple mistakes for them to beat us. They didn’t stand a chance in open play, Rooney is a fantastic talent but he couldn’t do anything all match, the only way he could score was by forcing a penalty. Our midfield was dominant and forced United to make a boat load of fouls, they won’t have home advantage next time.
I thought Fergie’s “men” looked scared. To come to Old Traf and but for two instances of misfortune against the run of play put last year’s champions into a panic only bodes well for our self belief and the future of the season. I almost wish every game was against this opposition for surely we would not always be so punished by, as you put it, a lack of fortune and our obvious edge in on field talent would win its fair share of matches.
the reason why the media have changed their stance is because arsenal have changed from last season. we would play well last season but united would breach our defence, the media can check the stats and see this did not occur. ade and toure were 2 players who brought tension in the dressing they also played like they didnt care about arsenal; look at ade now at mancity. denilson was a year younger and made many mistakes which he would learn from. we have brought in a solid no nonsense defender and arshavin has had a proper pre season. when rosiky, nasri and theo and cesc come back we will not be the same as last season.
but its a shame about diaby, he is only playing because nasri rosicky and cesc are injured. i believe denilson and song have moved on in confidence and drive and have left diaby behind, he still tries to beat an extra player too much. im hoping he can prove me wrong but…….
i almost 4got, eduardo (aka public enemy no 1) is back, excellent pro. yes he did dive. im sorry but ultra competitive players dive from germans to brazilians to italian and spanish and funny thing is all these countries have won so much internationally. so england and scotland can bang on about how low it is to dive, maybe they should follow winners. and it might rub off.
ps great article.
Randy, Great read!
*guys sign up for red london chat!!!!
Its true thats what the headlines say, but then they all go and say fletcher was the man of the match, when he should have given away a penalty and on another day might have been sent off for all the “dispossessing” he did.
You can’t praise the media after this when they say the ref handled everything superbly.. what a joke.
Agree though that there are major positives to take from this. Utd are on the down, we are clearly on the up! We were better than them in every department except their defence, and we were missing fabregas! and arshavin was injured! We have nasri, rosicky and vela to look forward to as well.
In conclusion the game was disappointing because the same officiating problems are there, and will not go away, which is a bad omen for the season, but on the plus side we have a team this year the fans can be proud of.
hey randy i asked this the other day why cant we have a active chat room??/
Look on the top right of your screen, there is a chat room. But it’s not busy because people are just not signing up to chat.
hey who is using my name….. it says it is already in use????
arsenal has the worst supporters in the epl CORRECtion it has no fans
Stop worrying about the media and start worrying about this team- which defeated itself at OT.
Are you on drugs?
We LOST?!
How many times will this happen before people wake up?
This is a team of LOSERS – bar one or two, none of them have proven a thing and yet they’re still first team!?
How many companies would suffer employees doing nothing for 4 years and still reward them?
End of.
I can understand not wanting to settle for second best, but I question how you let this affect your so called “support” of the club. Do you support your spouse and family with this much enthusiasm? My children may not have won top honors at school these last four years but I don’t think they have done “nothing”. I also don’t think I would call any of them losers. Support seems to mean something different than that. If you are so angry why are you even drawn to the club? Why not just go with the winners every year and save the rest of us having to listen to your “support”? In times of adversity when the wagons are circled, some are on the inside and some are on the outside. Where are you?
I believe some of the Arsenal fans should learn from others in terms of loyalty and faithfulness. Newcastle United is a fine example. See how passionate and faithful their supporters are even though their beloved club is relegated. Also, when was the last time Newcastle won their last trophy? People who regard their own team as losers really need to grow up.