Poor

Our great club have treated us to some fantastic football this year. Some dominant, some hard earned but not once have I thought at any point this year that we’d given up. Until Sunday that is. In reality we were poor and we looked uninterested. Man City blew Everton away on course for what looks to be a nailed on treble but that shouldn’t have mattered. If we’re going to finish second then let’s make them win it as opposed to us losing it. Unfortunately we shot ourselves in the foot.

In a sun drenched North London, the feeling in the ground was strange. I commented that it felt like it was the final game of the season with nothing to play for. Annoyingly that’s how we played as well. The defending for the first goal was really poor, a bobbling ball nodded in with nobody near him. Unfortunately we just couldn’t (didn’t?) rise to the game after that like we have done so many times this season. As the second half went on we got worse in fact I can’t remember a single dangerous attack from us the the second half. By contrast Brighton got better and in the end they thoroughly deserved the 3 points to keep their European hopes alive, despite Newcastle denting that last night.

Overall it was a bad day in the office for Mikel Arteta and his boys. They looked and sounded genuinely hurt and exhausted after the game. I commented in an earlier post that our biggest strength this season, a settled XI has now become our biggest weakness. We have players dead on their feet and injuries racking up. Thankfully we only have two games left to go, hopefully limiting further damage. But there is plenty to ponder for Mikel Arteta ahead of next season.

But for us there are still two games left and that means a trip to Nottingham on Saturday where we can expect a loud City Ground as Forest battle for survival. A win keeps them up and we’re as poor as we were on Sunday believe you and me they will get it. I’ll see you there.

COYG!

-Joe