NOVEMBER!!!
NOVEMBER!!!
NOVEMBER!!!
How many times did I call you????
What have we done to deserve these things??
It’s amazing how things just don’t seem to go in our favor this month.
By now it’s no news that we have our lowest points tally in November, in 78 November games, we have only managed to garner 1.59 points per game. Compare that to March which is our highest with 2.18 points in 72 games and you’ll understand why there is so much fuss about November.
After Arsenal closed out October by clinching yet another league win, beating Sunderland 4-1, Arsene Wenger offered a comment that opened up a bigger discussion than he realised.
“We now have difficult games coming up, with a difficult November,” the Frenchman said. “So, by the end of November, we will know more about ourselves.”
We will see whether his team has overcome a problem that has undercut them since he took the job 20 years ago. It is the problem of November.
The drop-off is too large and constant to be a mere coincidence and it goes right back through Wenger’s reign. In his first full season, in 1997-98, Arsenal’s run to a league and cup double was almost over before it even started, rumbled by a bad November. Wenger’s side lost three of four games, including a 3-0 thrashing to Derby County that left them four points behind leaders Manchester United.
Allow me not to bore you with details from all the November’s we’ve had since Wenger took over in 1996 but remember last season, we didn’t win a single game in November, it was the first time it had ever happened since Wenger took over Arsenal. In fact, we could only manage a total of 0.67 points per game.
This was going to be the November to come out tops, this was going to be the November to Remember but as it stands right now, things have already started going awry. I mean we were starting the Month with a game against Ludogorets who we had thrashed 6-0 earlier in the Champions league group stages. Like it or not, we were lucky to win that game and after going down 2-0 in the first 20 minutes, we came back to win that 3-2 thanks to that brilliant 3rd goal from Ozil.
Up next was the Spuds… We couldn’t win that and ended up sharing the spoils of war. 1-1 that game ended. Still to come in this year’s episode of “The chronicles of November”, we have Manchester United, PSG, Bournemouth and Southampton.
Surely one would look at these and say we could do well but then when you factor in the fact that major players are struggling with injuries, Cazorla, Bellerin and now Alexis Sanchez, you begin to have some doubts.
Yes we have a large squad, Xhaka is done with his suspension and can readily fill in for Cazorla, Giroud can claim his starting spot now that Sanchez is out but Bellerin??, no offence but we only have Jenkinson and that I am not comfortable with.
I really don’t know how to feel about this month but I choose to remain optimistic and I thin you should too. I mean, we’ve played 2 games and have gotten 4 points so I want to believe we can do better.
Yes we have injuries and might get some more but I choose to believe we can turn it around.
We are said to have our strongest squad in a long while and people are even saying we might just win the league this season, who knows??
One thing is sure, if we are going to end that Premier League trophy drought this season, we would need to defy all odds and have a very healthy November and that starts with getting 3 points against a ManU team that would be without Smalling and Bailly through injuries and Zlatan through suspension.
It can be done guys.
Stay Positive……
