ENDGAME

 

Burnley 1- 1 Arsenal, that's it, game over. Yes the pitch was a throwback to FA Cup pitches of the seventies. Yes we were denied a stone cold penalty and yes we threw away more points in this most irritating of Premier League campaigns; two this time. But, we were the architects of our own downfall. We shot ourselves in the foot, punched ourselves in the face and trod barefoot in our own urine.

The Arsenal have dropped a massive 43 points in our 27 games so far and remain firmly anchored in the no man's land of 10th place. Unable to extricate ourselves  we are in the quagmire of mid table mediocrity. Drawing with Burnley is where we are as a club. Where we are placed in the table is an accurate reflection of Arsenal 2021.

To all intents and purposes our league season is now condemned to a limping stumble towards the last game of the season; 11 games with little real chance of gaining the required points to finish in a position that gives meaningful European football. The lottery of the Europa League is where any hope of glory lays and it's anyone's guess as to the sort of form we will have in that competition. What is clear is that without European football next season our options in terms of new additions changes and yes, we ned some fresh personnel. 

The 21/22 season takes on huge significance for the future of Arsenal Football Club. many a so called big club have fallen from grace and no one is immune save for those owned by huge conglomerates, oligarchs and nations willing to back them financially. 

A summer of changes beckons but perhaps the biggest change that is needed is the psychology of the club. It has felt for some time that there is something rotten in the state of Denmark when it comes to the mentality at the club. Talk of it being too comfortable, a tempe of lack of accountability and a place where mediocrity is acceptable abounds and it seems a reasonably believable theory.

There is much to be positive about, but much is just not enough, we need to build on the smattering of promising players with the right sort of additions. The key thing is if we are capable of performing effectively in the transfer market and this is something I do not have a great deal of faith in, but we have to as failure to do so will see us decay further.

So for what remains of this season we need to bite the bullet and see it through. It probably won't be pretty and it probably won't end in triumph but no club is guaranteed either of those things, particularly a mid table one.