Arsenal are almost there, with just minor issues ahead

 

 

By Tony Attwod

• The Premier League is now approaching its ultimate crunch moment
• Arsenal’s red and yellow card numbers have collapsed this season. The figures are amazing.

So we are still a couple of days away from our next matchday, which is on May 18 at home to Burnley, although elsewhere today we seem to have Aston Villa against Liverpool at 8 pm and then another pause.   I am not sure whether these arrangements are supposed to make it harder for Arsenal to win the League or the Champions League – probably both.   But still, it does give the media time to get very worked up about Southampton and promotion to the Premier League, which they are undertaking with great gusto and apparently some misdoings.

Meanwhile, there is a growing set of demands for everyone to ditch VAR, which is interesting in that VAR was introduced because it was felt that referees couldn’t make decisions without it.   Given that now the argument is that they can’t make decisions with it, or without it, maybe the solution is to ditch referees – or at least referees universally employed by the ultra-secret PGMO.

How about referees employed by a company with a website that openly explains how its staff reach their decisions?   Although, come to think of it, that is rather radical.

So we have arguments in Scotland about the top of their league, and the Premier League, not to be outdone, are arguing about Southampton,    And one might think that after all these years (league football started in 1888 as I recall)  we might have got it right.  Or at least got the refereeing right.   And the more arrangements that are installed the worse it seems to get, which is a bit spooky.

In fact, here’s an idea: each time there is a dispute, the two captains should come together in the centre circle and have a boxing match to see which one was right.   The first one to hit the floor loses that decision.

Or maybe not – perhaps not a good idea to encourage violence.  But I really can’t recall a time of greater disputes and uncertainty in football, which I guess means that nothing much will be done.  And as I am sure you will know, we are two points clear with two games to play, whilst being 14 points clear of Manchester Un, who are in third place.   And yet, despite that being really quite a big gap, I am not sure I see too many people writing about it, presumably because that would be to note how good Arsenal are.

There is, however, a preview of Arsenal’s next game against Burnley in the Guardian, largely, I guess, because they realise they haven’t used a derogatory word about the club for three days.   So now we are back with “Arsenal’s miserly defence”.  Not Arsenal’s brilliant defence.  Not Arsenal – with the best defence in the league.   No, none of that.  Arsenal’s “miserly” defence – which when you come to think about it, is what their defence is supposed to be.  Especially with a defence as good as Arsenal’s.

And there is a recognition that things are going ok, but of course, there has to be a negative in the report somewhere, so there is mention of a “calamitous April”.,

Now apparently, we are doing ok because of David Raya and “the intervention of the video assistant referee against West Ham last week.”   So Arsenal aren’t really that good at all, and presumably the league table lies.

And it seems Arsenal have a great decision to make now – to try and edge the remaining games 1-0 and so win the league, or go for goals against Burnley.   The suggestion now being made is for Arteta to have another go at “moving Declan Rice out of midfield again.”   Ah well, it gives the newspapers something to write about without going into any detail of just how good Arsenal have been this season, how many they score, how few they concede etc.

Speaking on the subject, Arteta is reputed to have said, “When he played as a full-back against Brighton, he was exceptional. But then the other night, it was something else,” said Arteta. “What is the cost of moving that player from one position to the other? That’s the balance that we need to try to find.”

But of course, one of the great things about Artet is that he has had the measure of these journalists for many a year and is often noted to be deliberately pointing the poor saps in the wrong direction just for fun.   We shall have to wait and see.