CONTEXT AND CONTENT

 

Liverpool and Manchester CXV are the ones to beat in this season's chase for the Premier League title. One, a club grown organically, the other created in an Oil State laboratory. Having taken 4 points from Liverpool and 3 points from Manchester CXV so far, you would think that our status in the challenge would be reasonably good. But there is an underdog mentality among many and a defeatist attitude from some. A lot of this is directly influenced by those voices of wisdom, the media pundits. The likes of Chris (Heaven knows I'm miserable now) Sutton, Gary (Man of the people) Neville, Jamie (Sour grapes) Carragher and Robbie (I'm a character I am) Savage set the agenda for many a football fan. The reality that it's all about creating content often gets lost on people, but it shouldn't. It's important to view comments, analysis, think pieces and the like in that context.

Can the Arsenal win the league? Yes. Will the Arsenal win the league? I don't know. It's really that simple and nobody is an expert on these maters, nor is predicting the future (Nostradammus aside) a reality so it's better to go by what you see with your own eyes, it's better to look at outcomes and performances then draw a conclusion...for now. That's the key. We cannot keep making judgements on a game by game basis. A loss is greeted with hysteria and a win is lauded to the roof tops. Context again.

Punditry around the Champions League is different and in a lot of cases less hyperbolic. It seems more based on what is actually happening on the pitch in each tie and less about knee-jerkism, as it should be for club football's elite competition. Can the Arsenal win the Champions League? Yes. Will the Arsenal win the Champions League? I don't know. This tournament being head to head should create a different outlook. Beat what's in front of us needs to be the mantra and you never know. A Champions League final at Wembley is a great incentive.