We’ve had a terrible week, there’s no getting away from it.
Missed penalties, open goals, long-term injuries; everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for Mikel Arteta’s men and, perhaps worst of all, they haven’t even performed that badly.
Despite being shorn of several key squad members and the accumulated fatigue of a packed Christmas schedule, the Gunners have actually performed admirably in recent weeks and had the better of matches against Brighton, Newcastle and Manchester United.
This is a results business, though, and by that measure, we have nothing to show for our efforts.
Tonight, we welcome Spurs to the Emirates and a chance presents itself for redemption. More than that, though, this is a chance for real, tangible progress in our efforts to salvage a Premier League title challenge.
It still remains incredibly unlikely given Liverpool’s lead but, after being held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last night, they have left a tiny opening in the door. Having already missed two chances in the last month to get a foot in, there can be no excuse this time around. We have to take our chances, in every sense of the word.
If you add in more dropped points for Manchester City and Chelsea, the need to take all three points against Spurs becomes overwhelming. If you don’t believe there is any chance of chasing Liverpool down this season, if you believe the injuries in the squad are simply too numerous and our squad too thin, you will at least recognise that putting daylight between ourselves and the chasing pack is an opportunity too good to miss.
A win tonight is vital.
In terms of the squad, things seem to look worse with every match that comes. With a knee ligament injury ending Gabriel Jesus’s season, we now rely on a front three of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, with Raheem Sterling the only alternative on the bench. It would be funny if it wasn’t so desperate.
Our need to bring bodies in during this winter transfer window is well-known and oft-discussed but there’s nothing that can be done ahead of tonight’s match so we can only focus on what we’ve got and what we’ve got are four players struggling badly to find the end product we need. That is going to have to change and quickly.
If we’re to make something of this campaign, as well as our European endeavours, finding a way to make that front three function is going to be essential because, as I note at the very top of this piece, we can’t afford to miss this chance.
Spurs are about as porous a side as you’ll find in this league but they have shown themselves capable of scoring goals. Whatever else he may be, Ange Postecoglou is a staunch advocate of attacking football and you can be certain he’ll be setting up his side to win. That presents opportunities for us but it also means we’ll need to be on guard too because we’ve seen how ruthless opponents can be when given the opportunity of late.
One thing seems certain, there will be goals tonight and plenty of them. Our job is to ensure we get more of them.
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