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In Mikel Arteta’s press conference last week he asked fans to “have an early breakfast, bring your lunch, bring your dinner”.
Arsenal had the opportunity to go 12 points clear at the top of the league before Manchester City played. They fluffed it. Badly.
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I’m really intrigued by some of the coverage of what the atmosphere in the stadium was like during the game. For weeks there has been debate over the fanbase’s nerves, with some even suggesting that these nerves are affecting the players. I didn’t see a nervous stadium on Saturday, I saw a frustrated one.
After Bournemouth’s opener, the crowd did rally. Within a few seconds the fans were loud in their support of Arsenal and willing the team to quickly find an equaliser. They did so when Viktor Gyokeres converted a penalty in the 36th minute.
But after that, the doom descended. And it wasn’t because of nerves.
As a fan you make an unconditional commitment to support the team, vocally, through thick and thin. But that comes with the assumption that the team you are watching also plays their part.
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At this point in the season I’m past the stage of expecting free-flowing football, or even convincing performances. The players are exhausted and it’s unrealistic to expect this Arsenal team to suddenly discover form out of nowhere.
But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a minimum technical standard from your team. There were times on Saturday that Arsenal looked like they couldn’t string a pass together. This doesn’t feel acceptable at any stage of the season, let alone now.
The boos at full-time for a team who were still nine, but are now only six, points clear might seem extreme, but they were a reflection of fear for the future.
As a fan I was desperate to see some green shoots of hope that Arsenal can get this over the line. On Saturday, no matter how hard I looked, there just weren’t any.
Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast
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