How Arteta can restore Arsenal to greatness

Quite clearly the problem for Arsenal is not that we have runs – we are quite good at having runs – it is that the positive runs such as the one we are currently on, not only come to an end, they tend to come to an end and be followed by a negative run that is just as long.

What is needed is an approach that allows us to treat the next defeat, whenever it happens, as a one-off defeat, rather than the start of the next run of awful results.

Of course this is easier said than done.  After the 49 games undefeated run came to an end, Arsenal only won three of the next ten games.   The great arrogance of the team seemed to vanish, and I suspect (although self-evidently can’t prove) that the actions of the referee in ending the 49 run made the players very aware that even their sublime abilities could not overcome that sort of bias.  From here on they were watching the referee as much as the opposition, instead of having that overwhelming self-belief that signified much of the 49.

At the moment there is something of a return of belief – or rather I should say, that is how it looks from the stands  Saka seems to have an absolute belief in what he is doing and if anything does go wrong he seems to treat that as an aberration of reality which will be put right the next time he touches the ball.  Aubameyang when on form has that belief too, as does Leno, who appears to take any attempt to score when he’s in goal as a personal insult.

To make something good of this season, that self-belief has to continue through the forthcoming series of highly winnable games.   There is Olympiakos in the Europa on Thursday, Portsmouth away in the FA Cup, the stumbling and fumbling West Ham, in the midst of their own civil war, at home (on a Saturday at 3pm!!!!) in the League, followed by Brighton away, Southampton away and Norwich at home.

We’ve noted before that, of course, we don’t just have to win these games, other clubs have to slip if we are going to make it into the upper positions of the table to qualify for Europe, and we’ll pretty much have to be there by the final whistle of the Norwich game, because of the fixtures that come after that.  My fear is thus that when the run finally ends, we could slip into another slough of despond, which sees us tumble back down.

If Mr Arteta can ensure that the next defeat, whenever it comes, is just a one off, from which we instantly recover – that will be the sign that we potentially have a really clever manager who can restore Arsenal to greatness.  If it starts another run of poor results, we’ll know we still haven’t broken that all-important (but ignored by the media) psychological barrier.

The journalists won’t recognise it of course, but that’s just part of their insistence on looking the immediate, rather than the trend.

• The total failure of VAR, yellow cards and the team: Arsenal v Everton