Arsenal Reprieve

The football media in England is almost as bad as the celebrity reporters all across the U.S. They make drama of the mundane, cry glory and disgrace in the same breathe, predict doom without compunction (or evidence), spread rumour as gospel and beat a story to the point where it becomes more meaningless than a Thomas Kincaid painting. This press has been piling it on Arsene Wenger and my beloved Arsenal for weeks now -- and not without cause. The sagacious Wenger has wilted in the last six years, coming close to several trophies including an FA Cup, coveted Champions League, a few league titles and the infamous Carling Cup flop last year -- but come up empty in them all. He has been relative inactive in the transfer market the past two years and, obviously, just lost his two best players. A loss to Liverpool at home for the first time in over a decade and a nil-nil draw with Newcastle the week before was a terrible start to the season and injuries and a tight 1-0 victory in the home leg of the Udinese tie left many wondering if Arsenal would fall ignominiously out of the Champions League before the group stage. In recent weeks, old Arsenal stars, coaches and just about anyone with a blog, microphone or Twitter account has been imploring Wenger to spend some Fing money (including several of his own players).

Heading into the second leg of the tie today,  all seemed doom and gloom. And at halftime matters were even worse, with the tie even overall and Udinese looking the much more active team. Yet Arsenal came out strong in the second half and won 2-1 (for an aggregate 3-1 victory). Now the rumor mill is awash with news of a number of targets coming into sight (though unfortunately it looks like we might not get top target Hazard after all -- a big loss). Three big signings -- including a centre back, midfielder and forward (who can score) -- could put Arsenal back on track and even if Man U wins at Old Trafford this weekend, which I sort of expect to happen given our injuries and youth, the schedule opens up afterwards, players will be back from suspensions and injuries and Arsenal could very well get back in the hunt.

One of the tendencies of media saturation is overcoverage of stories and hyperbolic predictions of apocalypse. While we should certainly heed those calls more regarding the American economy and political process today, we should also recognize that what matters isn't necessarily aligned in any profound way with what sells. As Wenger has been saying -- calm down Gooners and enjoy a respite from the panic!