Something peculiar is happening in North London. Something unsettling and strange. We’re not quite at the “pigeons flying backwards, Nag’s Head eating one another” stage, but still. It’s getting scary out there.
Arsenal are finally playing like adults
Wednesday night’s victory over Bayern Munich may have been a surprise, but it might also be evidence that Arsenal have finally decided to grow up a little bit.
Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Last night, Arsenal beat Bayern Munich. At a basic level, they did so thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud, who may have used his hand, and Mesut Özil. In more detail, they did so because they let Bayern have most of the ball, defended stoutly and rode their luck a touch, but all the while maintained a serious threat on the counterattack. Admittedly, the opening goal came when they pumped a freekick into the mixer and Manuel Neuer got a bit too revolutionary for his own good, but details, details.
More generally still, they won because they played like grown-ups.
Most football teams, even the most predictably awful, have fits of competence every now and then, as opponents have off-days and Lady Luck does her thing. What’s interesting -- and, for anybody who watches the universe closely for signs of apocalypse, frankly terrifying -- is that Arsenal are starting to make something of a habit of this. For years, ever since his Arsene Wenger’s last great team dissolved and he began trying to win the league without a goalkeeper, other big teams, at home and in Europe, have known how to deal with them. Keep it tight, play on the break, and wait for them to leave exploitable gaps, fall over or kick the ball into their own net.
Recently, though, when it comes to the big games against strong teams, things are shifting. Obviously, "big games" is a painfully vague term, as is "strong teams," so by way of explanation, we're basically talking any game in which Arsenal might not be favourites, or might not be strong favourites, and any team that's in with a shout of either winning the Champions League or ending up in the Premier League's top four. Arsenal's peers, basically.
So, working backwards, we've got a win against Bayern last night, a win against Manchester United a couple of weeks ago, a draw with Liverpool (Big? Maybe?) in August, a draw with Manchester United last May, a draw with Chelsea and a victory over Liverpool last April, another victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup in March, and a win over Manchester City in January. And you could throw in victories over Spurs in the League Cup and Chelsea in the Charity shield if you were feeling generous. Indeed, you could argue that the only games against decent opposition that Arsenal have lost in 2015 are this season's game against Chelsea, which was perhaps slightly distorted by Gabriel's early dismissal, and last February's North London derby.
(At this point we pause while your correspondent first begs forgiveness, then soundly birches himself, for using calendar year divisions in an article about football, as though the earth’s predictable orbit around the sun had anything to do with Arsenal’s predictable orbit around the Premier League trophy. It’s a handy break point, alright?)
What's changed? Well, we could look to the players. Alexis Sanchez is spectacularly brilliant, often, and Özil is less spectacular, occasionally to the point of transparency, but still makes his side better. Giroud and Theo Walcott will never be good enough individually, but as a rotatable pair, one starting and the other coming on, they dovetail nicely. Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla have formed a central midfield partnership of unlikely solidity. And this season, they've been reinforced by Petr Cech, who was excellent last night, making several good saves and totally failing to drop a corner over his own goalline.
That’s all boring though, and you knew it already. What’s really changed is that they’ve started playing like grown-ups. The Arsenal that kept getting chewed up by their theoretical peers were an almost comically adolescent Arsenal: they believed they were right about everything; they thought they’d solved the riddles of the universe; and as soon as something started to go wrong they would storm upstairs, slam the door and fling themselves on their bed wailing “It’s not fair!” Metaphorically. Except for that time with William Gallas.
Now, though, they’ve learned. Finally. The world, as any adult knows, is an awkward place that can’t be expected to do as it should: sometimes, unfair things happen. Sometimes, no matter how righteous the cause, the bad guys win. Sometimes, Arsenal are not the best football team on the pitch. So in those circumstances, maybe let the opposition have the ball. Let them come to Arsenal. And let Arsenal defend, and bide their time, and wait for the right moment to play all that wonderful football.
Obviously, Arsenal haven’t managed to sort themselves out entirely. There is still much brittleness throughout the squad, and the potential for disaster still remains. That win against City was followed, a month later, by the disaster at home to Monaco, who pulled off the How To Beat Arsenal plan perfectly. And last night’s win was only so crucial — and so surprising — because they’d contrived to lose their opening two group games. They might well be better against better opponents, but they’re still well capable of Arsenal-ing everything up against teams they should be beating.
But an Arsenal that won’t hurl themselves blindly and thoughtlessly into their rivals’ elephant traps, is an Arsenal that’s going to do well. And with the Premier League being in the mess that it is, who knows what the limit might be. If things fall right, and they can keep this up, then perhaps the unthinkable might come to pass. They might make the last eight of the Champions League! Back at home, in the Premier League, they might finish second.
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