The lads trotted off to Liverpool, I assume with a police or military escort so the bus didn't get nicked. When I try to imagine how the day went, images of Ozil with headphones on, looking at German porn instead of listening to the Boss pop into my mind. Jack Wilshere looking at himself in the mirror with his back to the team, winking at himself to see if the other Jack in the mirror blushes or not, and Mikel Arteta giving the team a pre-match pep talk but not a single person is listening to him are all images I dream up when thinking of our 'preparation' for Liverpool at Anfield. I've got to assume I'm pretty accurate.
Szczesny posted a tweet after the game stating how embarrassed he was by the performance, and quite frankly, I'm glad. They should all be embarrassed, every single one of them that made the trip up there, staff n' all. While not a single player is immune to blame for that awful performance (except, perhaps Diaby), there were a couple of grown men in yellow shirts out there that looked like little boys. I lost count of how many times Wilshere threw in arms in the air with pouty lips and screaming at anyone within earshot, and I'm sorry, but before you start shouting at team mates because they didn't latch onto one of your flailing passes, or because they got closed down to quickly when you weren't open for a pass, go back and look in that mirror and ask that other Jack what the hell he's doing out there.
Our midfield was the strongest area in our squad for most of the season, but at Anfield, against Liverpool we barely had a functioning midfield. Arteta was poor, but he's been barely average all year so I can't say I'm surprised. Mesut Ozil, the £42million star player, was simply terrible. At least two of the five goals were a result of his poor passing or complete lack of effort to chase after a wayward pass. With the money we're shelling out to pay this fella I think we'd all appreciate a bit more effort, and not just Saturday's game either.
When we signed Ozil back in August the team instantly responded and began to ooze confidence on the field. Any sort of signing (of a fully fit player) in the January window, I think would have done just that and gone a long way to giving the team and the fans the boost they needed to plough through the second half of the season. Instead we made a panic loan signing that turned out to be absolutely bloody useless minutes before the transfer deadline.
A consistently average Manchester United come to the Emirates on Wednesday, and while I can't possibly imagine a second whooping in a row, I have to admit I'm just a touch nervous. The Arsenal fans, considering they made the trip all the way up to Liverpool for the early game, were excellent and I hope we stand behind our team on Wednesday. However, the only thing most reasonable Gooner's ask is that the players wearing the famous canon give their best effort. If the effort is there, then the fan support will be there too. I'm interested to see what, if any changes Wenger makes to the starting eleven against Manure. Sometimes, when performances are particularly bad, a player needs to lose some playing time and watch his team mates take his place. Not a punishment as much as a reality check really. This is Manchester United though, and even if they are playing like Everton at the moment, they can still turn it on when needed and they usually do against The Arsenal.
Let's see how the manager and the team respond this week. This is our chance to prove that the Liverpool game was just a one off... or maybe a two off if you count Man Shitty and that we can beat the so called 'big' teams when needed. I love The Arsenal, but there's nothing worse than lazy, complacent players. Here's to RVP getting well and truly hammered by Szczesny on a set piece!
Come On You Gunners!!!!!!
