Great mental attitude, good sprit, fight, real determination, a genuine desire to win: if I had a pound for every time I’d heard Arsene Wenger roll out any combination of these phrases about the current Arsenal team, I’d be able to embark on a flower-buying spree the like that Elton John has never seen.
While I understand Wenger’s attempts to convince himself, the fans and, most of all the players themselves, that they do indeed have all of these attributes, the problem is… they don’t.
If they did, and with one of the easiest run-ins we’ve had in years, we would be on the brink of being crowned Champions this weekend. If they had an ounce of good mental attitude, spirit, determination and fight, they would have been able to defend a lead. And not just a slim lead – a 4-0 lead, a 2-0 lead at home, a 1-0 lead with 10 seconds to go.
Instead, all we can do is look back and wonder how we didn’t take:
2 extra points from Sunderland away when 1-0 up with injury time expired
3 extra points from Spurs at home when 2-0 at half time
2 extra points from Wigan away when 2-1 up with ten to go, conceding an own goal to give them a draw
2 extra points from Newcastle
2 extra points from Liverpool at home when 1-0 up with 10 seconds to go.
2 extra points from spurs away when 3-1 up after 43 minutes.
1 extra point from Bolton away when drawing with one minute to go.
Now I know there will always be a game or two in a season when you are pegged back. But that’s 14 points conceded from good positions at the end of games. And it’s in addition to terrible defeats at home to West Brom and Newcastle , and equally frustrating 0-0 draws at home to Birmingham and Sunderland .
Spirit my arse.
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