Far from down and out

The few regular readers of this blog will have noticed a trough of late; it's been over a week since the last post and even that was a tame effort. You can put this down to a nervous disposition that gradually took hold not a day after Arsenal beat Barcelona in February - that sort of temperemant makes hands too shaky to type.

If you're struggling to see the link between a memorable win and a month of apprehension, you're reading the wrong blog. Those that can see it know that the worry was warranted - Arsenal were knocked out of Europe on Tuesday night.

The obvious issue to get at here is the Robin Van Persie red card. Naturally I'm saying it was the wrong decision. But I'm saying that for the same reasons that you're hearing everywhere else. As posts become less frequent, you can't waste time parroting.

Instead I'm taking the moral highground. Rather than ruing what might have been I am looking to what could be. In February, I wrote how Arsenal needed to push on following the  Barcelona victory. The same rule applies here, but this time, it carries much more significance.

Less than a fortnight ago, Arsenal were fighting on four fronts. But two weeks on and it's two down - with nothing to show. Granted, that's more than enough to push Arsenal - players and fans alike - over the edge and into misery. But that doesn't mean you have to let it happen. If you do, you start a domino effect that ends in feck all.  

It just so happens that the surviving half of Arsenal's season comprises the two trophies Wenger loves to win. And more importantly, it's the two that he knows how to win. Both rest on match-ups with another familiarity - Alex Ferguson. It is in these circumstances that experience has to count.

But it can only count with the right attitude. So, get hearty. Try to recognise that Birmingham was a blip and Barcelona bad luck - but take both as a boost for bravado. And it needs to be quick: the first test is on Saturday.

If Arsenal fail it, it will make the view of that right attitude all the more blurry; but if they pass, they'll have proven they can see it.