Arsenal came back from Dubai after Christmas with the memory of having an awful December, where we had won just one of our last six matches before the winter break. But they came back completely reinvigorated, and set off on an absolutely incredible run to fight our way back into the title race with both Liverpool and Man City, and it was looking like we were going to carry on our unbeaten run in the Premier League indefinitely.
But suddenly, after a gruelling 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich at the Emirates, we then had a big wake-up call by losing at home to Aston Villa, which was the cue for many of our fans to write off our title aspirations, and then the bitter pill of losing in Munich straight after to end our UCL hopes.
It looked like Arteta’s team had had hit a brick wall which is not unknown at this time of the year, but since then we have bounced back once again, with wins at Molieaux, a massacre of Chelsea at home, and a hard fought victory in the North London derby, meaning we still have hopes of the title with only three matches remaining.
After our win at Tottenham, Mikel Arteta was asked on Arsenal.com how he managed to get the team back on track after those big disappointments, and the Boss replied: “First of all, it’s how much they want it. Don’t feel sorry for yourself, be a part of the journey. When you are at the highest possible level, you are going to have disappointments.
“The margins are so small so they’re not always going to go for you, and then it’s how you react to that and face the challenge and opportunity and be brave. I think this team has a lot of courage and determination to make it happen.”
This just shows how much our young Gunners have matured and realised that we don’t have a divine right to three points in every game, but you just have to push through and put it behind you.
Even if we don’t win the title this season, we have learned how to cope with the occasional setback, which is inevitable for every team in every season (there has only been one Invincible side, after all).
We are learning and gaining experience, and with a few more additions this summer, surely we can only improve even further next season….