Why there is nothing particularly wrong with this Arsenal team | Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team

Is Arsenal on the brink of collapse, or were they never as strong as we thought? Both Untold Arsenal and the team are facing their own challenges!

There's something particularly disheartening about a headline (in this instance from the Observer) that reads like this.

“Arsenal’s Sloppiness Raises Doubts About Contention”

The idea here is whether it’s fair to assess a team based on just one performance—specifically, one game. There’s no denying that Arsenal's performance this weekend fell short of our expectations and hopes, and that’s not the main point. The real question is: can a team really be evaluated based on a single match?

If you responded affirmatively, the next thing to consider is which match or matches you plan to select. Additionally, what’s the purpose of having commentaries for every game?

Consider last season, for instance. Would you say that losing to West Ham 3-1 in the league cup, along with the 1-0 away loss to Newcastle, truly defines the entire season?

Or consider the series of matches starting on December 9, when Arsenal faced a defeat against Villa while playing away. They later drew with PSV away, secured a win against Brighton at home, and then drew with Liverpool in another away game. However, they ended up losing their next matches at home against West Ham (0-2) and then away against Fulham (2-1), before finally facing another defeat at home against Liverpool (0-2) in the FA Cup.

Indeed, the results were quite disappointing overall. However, in their following five league matches, Arsenal managed to net 21 goals while allowing only two.

The question is actually two-sided. First, if you had to pick a specific stretch of games to determine how good Arsenal really is, which stretch would you pick? Second, why focus on a limited timeframe to judge their quality?

The truth is, a season is just that—a full season—and as far as I know, only one team in the past 120 years has managed to go through an entire season unbeaten. So, why get so worked up over just one game?

Journalists often opt for the simplest option, and many in sports journalism, especially in football, tend to take a lazy approach, favoring quick answers over thorough investigations. While this doesn’t apply to every football journalist—some produce in-depth articles that are genuinely insightful—such pieces typically don't make it onto the sites of major national newspapers.

When a team has strong backing from fans all over the country, a poor performance gives an unmotivated journalist an easy story to write. They can take one game and make broad assumptions based on that single event.

However, that's not the only issue. As far back as I can remember, nobody has taken a broader view of that stretch of games from last season where only two goals were allowed. A journalist might argue that Arsenal wasn’t struggling as much during that period as they are at present. Yet, that’s not exactly how the media depicted those results back then.

The challenge for Arsenal is to maintain the excellent performance they've displayed during certain stretches over the past few seasons. When those successful streaks eventually come to an end—which they inevitably will—they need to make sure it concludes with a draw instead of a loss.

Currently, the situation has become more challenging due to the numerous injuries within the club. While a few players returned for yesterday's match, the reality is that there were several changes to the lineup. As a result, the team hasn't had sufficient time to develop chemistry in the specific roles they were assigned.

This certainly doesn't imply that everything is fine or that the loss doesn't count and doesn't sting. It absolutely matters, and it definitely hurts. However, it doesn’t mean that this team is ineffective or that it requires an entire overhaul.

The bottom line is that the team requires more time to bond and practice together, along with a reduction in injuries, to reach their goals. Even when injuries are frequent, improving their unity will help them succeed.

However, journalists aren’t going to grant Arsenal any patience – that’s just not their style. They are quick to criticize whenever possible, and even during an impressive streak like the one Arsenal had last January and February, the accolades remain somewhat reserved.

If we look exclusively at the league matches from last season, the duration was actually even longer than what I mentioned earlier. Here it is:

The question we should consider is straightforward: Can a team that was once capable suddenly lose its skills over a single summer? The answer is obviously no. Injuries and the resulting adjustments definitely contribute to the situation. However, don't hold your breath waiting for the mainstream media to acknowledge this basic truth.