- What is wrong with the media coverage of ManU and what Arsenal are doing now
- Beware the quotes of what players said, they may well never have said them
By Tony Attwood
The headline shouts “Fantastic Fleetwood seal shootout success in Carabao Cup shock against Arsenal,” and of course the journos and supporters of other clubs will have their moment and will enjoy it. But does the defeat quite rank with the infamous Walsall 2 Arsenal 0 in the 1930s? Maybe not, because we are more used to shocks these days, but the media will be watching for knock-on effects in the next fixtures – which are tough indeed.
But does this rank alongside Walsall 2 Arsenal 0 of 14 January 1933? I’m not so sure not least because we are much more used to little teams beating big teams now. But the media will have their day, and the headline writers will drift back into auto mode, and although of course I would much sooner have seen Arsenal win easily. But even so, at least this will give the journos a bit of confusion. Just exactly how does the team that is equal top of the Premier League lose against a team that is way down the league tables and without any heritage?
Basically, I guess, because of the team that Arsenal put out, and their expectation to win,. At least this time we lost of penalties not through the match itself. But it does give a reminder of that 1930s loss and what the table looked like at the end of the season.. The manager at the time was Herbert Chapman.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 42 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 118 | 61 | 58 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 92 | 67 | 54 |
| 3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 80 | 68 | 51 |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 20 | 9 | 13 | 83 | 70 | 49 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 42 | 22 | 5 | 15 | 71 | 63 | 49 |
| 6 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 66 | 53 | 47 |
| 7 | Derby County | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 76 | 69 | 44 |
| 8 | Leeds United | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 59 | 62 | 44 |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 42 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 74 | 76 | 43 |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 74 | 80 | 43 |
And of course we can console ourselves that we never take the league cup seriously, having only won it a couple of times. So we congratulate Fleetwood and wish them luck in the next round, but meanwhile get back to the real stuff, which gives the current table as showing us equal top with 21 points, just three goals behind Manchester Money in top place for the moment. And five points above Brighton in third.
Plus of course this is a good reminder, for just as that Walsall defeat of the 1930s has always been there for journalists looking for negatives to say about Arsenal to find. And no matter how old the negatives are, there is nothing in the rule book to say that our reserves and youngsters must be able to beat a fourth tier side playing on their own somewhat unusually laid out ground.
What we do now expect of course is a return to the normal first team squad and a return to serious positive form in the next game. And in this regard the defeat on penalties last night will remind those younger members of the Arsenal squad that nothing is given in this game. Every victory is worked for.
And I think that message will most certainly get through, given that next Sunday (1 November) we play Liverpool away (4.30pm kick off for the benefit of TV) and then just three days after that we are away again to Slavia Prague (Praha if you prefer) on 4 Nomber with an 8pm kick off. And those games will have a greater impact on Arsenal this season, and will remain in the mind long after last night is forgotten – or at least forgotten among most of the football world. (Some journalists will be repeating it in five years time however).
Plus I must admit that if I had had to choose before last night whether I wanted an easy win in the league cup or a solid win at the weekend it would always be the latter I would go for – although I doubt I could convince many non-Arsenal people of that.
But I would throw in one other factor from that table above. I think half of the clubs shown in that top ten from the season in which we lost to Walsall in the FA Cup are no longer in the top division of English football. So I would add the fact that although putting out a fairly junior team and losing to a lower league side is painful in the extreme, if I had to choose, I would sooner have a defeat of that nature and be equal top on points in the current league table, than be certain to beat each lower league team we play.
In days of yore, of course, there would have been a replay at Arsenal’s stadium rather than penalties. Maybe 20,000 would have turned up and Arsenal would have won by a couple of goals, again with the juniors playing, but now we don’t have that. And so we have lost one thing – a chance of more experience for the junior players of what it is like to play in front of a crowd.
But those who did play in last night’s game will have learned that no matter who Arsenal play, they will always raise their game, and nothing is certain. Playing for Arsenal you will always get a tough game – and I hope the memory of last night’s defeat reminds them of that in years to come.
