Arsenal fans went through the full gamut of emotions during the Gunners’ nerve-shredding, dizzying, electrifying 4-3 victory over Leicester in the Premier League curtain raiser. It was emblematic of life under Arsene Wenger in the second half of his tenure, a chaotic blend of sumptuous attacking football and embarrassing defending, full of highs, lows, laughs, tears, bewilderment, and joy. Those 90 minutes could be a microcosm of the last decade of his reign, and they proved that supporting Arsenal is not good for your blood pressure. The win did little to convince pundits or bookmakers that the Gunners can mount a genuine title challenge, and futures odds on green listed bookmakers have not exactly plummeted in its wake. But for all their faults on the day, Arsenal secured three points from a tricky opening day fixture and that is more than can be said for Chelsea and Liverpool.
It was the first time the Premiership had ever kicked off on a Friday night and how pleased the Sky Sports broadcasters must be with their decision to choose Arsenal v Leicester to get things underway. It was the perfect advertisement for everything that is good and exciting about the Premiership. BT Sport surely drew the short straw by screening Man City’s turgid 2-0 victory over Brighton. There was nothing turgid about this game at The Emirates.
Arsenal got off to the perfect start as record signing Alexandre Lacazette scored the joint quickest Premier League debut goal in history. Optimism abounded and the fans were in a giddy mood, but it did not last long. First Arsenal failed to defend a short corner, Petr Cech’s positioning was horrendous and Leicester capitalised with an all too easy equaliser. Then Granit Xhaka gave the ball away with an appalling pass, Mark Albrighton delivered a masterful cross and Jamie Vardy was on hand to fire in to make it 2-1. Mutiny ensued. The Wenger Out brigade was emboldened and #WengerOut inevitably became a trending topic on Twitter. But just as the fans were drawing breath in their lungs for a prolonged half-time boo fest, Lacazette knocked the ball through to fellow new boy Sead Kolasinac, who squared for Danny Welbeck to bundle the ball in and Arsenal went in all square.
If the mutiny was quietened, it did not last long as Vardy rose unmarked from a corner early in the second half to make it 3-2 to Leicester. Arsenal’s defending was shockingly bad on the night. There are mitigating factors. The Gunners were missing their four key central defenders – Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi, Per Mertesacker and Gabriel – but conceding three goals at home is pretty dreadful. Leicester saw the weakness presented by a back three of Nacho Monreal, Rob Holding and Kolasinac and exploited it ruthlessly.
But credit to Wenger: he rolled the dice and it paid off. He threw on Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud in a bid to turn the game around and both got on the scoresheet. Xhaka assisted both goals, earning glorious redemption alongside his manager, and Arsenal rescued three points from the jaws on defeat. Giroud’s towering header to make it 4-3 with just a couple of minutes left on the clock was a Herculean feat and The Emirates erupted with jubilation. Fans that were muttering curses were suddenly crying tears of ecstasy.
So where does it leave Arsenal? And should Wenger be in or out? For this fan, after Arsenal’s heroic 2-1 victory over Chelsea in last season’s FA Cup final, it will now always be Wenger in, no matter what he does. I will confess to being one of the Wenger Out brigade in the past. Not part of the angry, virulent, let’s fly a protesting plane over the stadium faction, but one of the thanks for all the great times and for being a marvellous ambassador for the club but it’s time to move on faction. I changed my tune during those spellbinding 90 minutes at Wembley last season, where Arsenal played with desire, passion and hunger to match their technical ability and tore Chelsea to shreds. It was a hundred times more satisfying than beating Hull or Aston Villa in the cup final and it proved there is life in the old dog yet.
After switching to a three at the back system towards the end of the last campaign, Arsenal have won eight out of nine league matches, beaten Man City in the FA Cup semi-final and Chelsea in the final and beaten Chelsea again to the Community Shield. Whisper it, but Arsenal are on a roll. Their opening day victory was by no means as comfortably or convincing as those secured by Man City or Man Utd, but there is nothing comfortable or convincing about being an Arsenal fan. They have developed into a madcap but extremely fun team to support: who else finishes a game with a right back at left back, two left backs at centre back and a right winger at left back? It was a wholesome dollop of the gleeful madness that encapsulates supporting Arsenal and it was the perfect initiation for Lacazette into the bizarre world of Wengerdom. He can expect much more of the same over the course of the season, and it promises to be a thrilling ride.
Before the start of the season, most bookmakers had Arsenal around the 12/1 mark, joint fifth favourites with Liverpool. Since Liverpool could only draw 3-3 away with Watford, Klopp’s men have gone out to 18/1 with some bookies. Meanwhile champions Chelsea have drifted out to 15/2 as a result of their horror show against Burnley. Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham have all gone in following convincing victories. But Arsenal are still 12/1 with Sportingbet (although some have pushed them down to 9/1), showing that bookmakers are unconvinced that Arsenal are the real deal. They certainly struggled badly in defence. But Koscielny’s suspension will soon be over and the others will recover from injury, while Wenger should still make forays into the transfer market, so Arsenal fans should feel quietly optimistic. They may fall just short in their title bid, but they do not have the financial firepower of the likes of Man City, and they are still extremely strong. They should get back into the top four this season at least, and then they can build on that. For now, fans should get behind Wenger and the team, as he is sticking around for another two years, whether they like it or not. Nothing can be ventured from calling for his head, and backing him vociferously could spur the team on to success, so we can only hope that positivity outweighs the negativity coming out of crowd and that 2017/18 turns into a glorious, if madcap, season.
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