JAN 30 — Our lives, it can be said, are shaped by defining moments: those rare, elusive events or incidents that have the effect of fundamentally and profoundly changing everything.
Defining moments are intensely personal occurrences and can often only be appreciated long after they happen: a pivotal business decision that makes or breaks a career; a chance encounter with a stranger that later leads to marriage and children; an unexplained impulse to turn left instead of right and as a result inadvertently stumble across the house of your dreams...you never know when a defining moment is around the corner.
These life-shaping events apply to organisations as much as they do to individuals and, although it’s impossible to predict a defining moment in advance of its happening, one senses that the mercurial Arsenal team so carefully fashioned by Arsene Wenger is approaching its own defining moment.
With an inspired run of form in the last two months (ten matches unbeaten in the Premier League), Wenger’s side have established themselves as genuine title contenders. On many occasions this season they have simply swatted opponents aside with disdain — 6-1, 6-2, 4-0, 4-1, 3-0...there aren’t too many scorelines that the Gunners haven’t won by. On days like those, Arsenal are simply too good for their opposition — too fast, too inventive, too precise. When they’re on song, it’s almost impossible to stop them and there’s little point in completing the 90 minutes — just award them the victory and be done with it.
However, there is a big caveat. When they’ve come up against the very best, Arsenal have failed; despite leading 1-0 and dominating at Old Trafford in August, they contrived to concede an unnecessary penalty, score an unnecessary own goal and lose 2-1; then, when Chelsea turned up at the Emirates Stadium in November, the Blues brutally exposed their opponents’ physical frailty with a powerful, punishing 3-0 victory.
It’s not just a recent phenomenon — since the summer of 2002, Arsenal’s Premier League record against Manchester United is won three, drawn six, lost six, during which time they have also been knocked out of the Champions’ League, the FA Cup (twice) and the League Cup by United. The Gunners’ recent record against Chelsea is even worse: since Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Stamford Bridge in 2004, Arsenal have beaten them just twice, suffering eight defeats in the process.
The stats don’t lie and, although there can be no doubting the mesmerising creativity of their play, Arsenal’s failings against the very best teams — not to mention their all too regular capitulations against physically strong and aggressive opponents — position them as, to borrow a phrase from cricket, ‘flat track bullies’ — a team that can outclass weaker opponents in conducive surroundings, but can’t quite hack it when the going gets tough.
Pure physical talent isn’t the issue. With their routine demolitions of weaker opponents, Arsenal have repeatedly demonstrated that they are more than good enough in footballing terms to win any trophy available.
As I have written in the past, I believe the Gunners’ weaknesses are in their mentality — a lack of cold-blooded ruthlessness that can be exploited by tougher, nastier protagonists. When things aren’t going their own way, they just aren’t hard enough. How often do you see Manchester United or Chelsea play poorly (by their standards) yet still gain victory through stubborn bloody-mindedness and a refusal to contemplate any other outcome? Arsenal have yet to acquire that quality.
Perhaps Arsenal don’t believe in themselves quite enough. If they can succeed in winning one trophy, a surge in self-belief and a flood of silverware might follow — that’s certainly their potential as a group of footballers. Wenger’s is a remarkably young team and, having yet gained the habit of lifting trophies at regular intervals, maybe they’re lacking a little bit of the arrogant self-assuredness usually found in winners.
Arsenal’s defining moment, their opportunity to become winners in their own heads, could arrive in the next ten days. Tomorrow they face United at the Emirates Stadium; next weekend they travel to Chelsea. Two defeats could mentally shatter Wenger’s fragile young team and destroy their title ambitions this season and beyond; conversely, a haul of four points or more could flick a switch in their brain and finally allow them to believe: “Hey, we really can do this. We are good enough to beat the best.”
The mental aspects of Sunday’s game at the Emirates will be fascinating to follow. Watch the body language as the game begins to unfurl. You can see it in players’ eyes; the way they walk; the expression on their faces; the way they react to decisions: do they really believe, deep down inside, that they’re going to win?
Manchester United certainly have that stubborn quality of defiance — if United concede the opening goal, their collective response is to bellow: “We refuse to accept losing. Now it’s our turn to score.” And, more often than not, they do. Arsenal, on the other hand, historically respond to adversity by meekly surrendering with a subconscious sigh: “Oh no, here we go again...”
Tomorrow, and next weekend’s trip to Chelsea, is Arsenal’s opportunity; not just an opportunity to win six points, but an opportunity to transform themselves: at the moment they are a team that could be good enough to win the biggest trophies; by the end of next weekend they might be a team that is good enough.
Premier League fixtures
Saturday (11pm kick off unless stated)
Birmingham v Tottenham
Burnley v Chelsea (1.30am, Sunday)
Fulham v Aston Villa
Hull v Wolverhampton
Liverpool v Bolton
West Ham v Blackburn
Wigan v Everton
Sunday
Arsenal v Man Utd (midnight, Monday morning)
Man City v Portsmouth (9.30pm)
Monday
Sunderland v Stoke (4am, Tuesday morning)
*The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
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Arsenal : MU - 2:1