Sometimes, all you can do is laugh.
The Gunners were in a commanding position in the Premier League table going into Thursday night’s Premier League clash at Tottenham and might even have secured their spot in the Champions League with a win.
And while Mikel Arteta’s men would doubtless have had to factor injuries, absences and tricky away trips into their equations, there could have been no planning for the staggering instances of refereeing incompetence that were to follow.
On top of a farcical, astonishingly inconsistent display from the referee in the derby – a performance that, in truth, ended the match before the half-time whistle was blown – there followed yet more astonishment as their north London rivals were gifted another three points by the referee in Sunday’s early kick-off against Burnley.
The string of marginal calls that have gone against Arsenal in the last week are enough to make you weep but, instead, all we can do is laugh and pretend this cornucopia of refereeing incompetence isn’t about to cost us tens of millions of pounds.
As it is, we are fortunate enough that our fate remains in our own hands but travelling to Newcastle on a Monday night and coming away with all three points will be no mean feet. Quite apart from the tainted billions that have bolstered the Magpies’ squad of late, Arsenal are carrying a growing number of injuries to key players that is making our line-up increasingly makeshift.
I don’t wish to sound despairing or defeatist but this last week has been a bad one and it has become clear that, if we’re to get a fourth-place finish over the line, we’ll have to drag ourselves there, battered and bruised and shot full of holes.
If we have naught else, Arteta’s men should be brimming with a sense of injustice. The prize they have been working so hard for is at risk of being snatched away, and not because of their own misdemeanors, because of the gross ineptitude of those who are supposed to ensure fairness for all sides and the integrity of the rules.
That siege mentality is powerful and can be harnessed to great effect, particularly when backs are against walls – as ours are now. We also have the motivation of the prize in sight, of the opportunities a stint in the Champions League would bring for this developing side. Only a win will do for the Gunners and if they can’t get themselves up for a game of this magnitude, there really is no hope.
For their own part, Newcastle will doubtless be looking to sign off this season with a win for their home fans but, that aside, there is nothing left for them to play for. We have to plug that gap in motivation with the intensity and drive that will be required to win.
Manchester City made embarrassingly light work of Eddie Howe’s men barely a week ago and it would be a huge boost if we could do the same.
Make no mistake, though, there is a lot on the line for Arsenal now and any sort of slip up would most likely be terminal.
Blog on You Gunners 