Thread by @invinciblog

Last night, I finally understood Arteta’s attitude towards this game, and his pride.

We were all losing it after going 2-0 down - excuses we had already played the game in our heads and won.

He (and the players) had to be in the present. Deal with reality and a new story. >

2/ Ramsdale’s saved us all season. Last night he slipped up & put us on the back foot.

2nd goal : a perfect finish by Theo. That’s what he does.

Shades of Hull in FA Cup. Stunned stadium. Getting a harsh wake up call because we were all asleep and dreaming. >

3/ But we got back into it.

Despite timeawasting by the purple haemmorhoid - & a ref who literally went out of his way NOT to punish it, we were unlucky not to equalize before HT.

3rd goal : a set piece sucker punch. Not great defending. Again.

Emirates went dead silent. >

4/ Saints fans olé-ing us and fans around me melting down and turning on our own players. Not to inspire them. To insult them. Calling this team, which has brought us such joy this season, every despicable name in the book.

Then making a meal of leaving. As if somehow THEY’d >

5/ been personally insulted.

Adds a new layer to the word ENTITLED.

And no - they weren’t the ones leaving early to catch trains. (Unless it was a special train to Twuntville for angry yobs.)

And still the gamesmanship went unpunished.

Time was squeezed. Pressure mounted. >

6/ And suddenly the stadium woke up and realized that they COULD affect this game. They had a job to do. And they started doing it.

And our positive energy lifted our players and it lifted us and it lifted the roof and it gave us hope and belief and it nearly nearly worked. >

7/ This SHOULD have been 4-3. It so easily could have been. Then we could have all gone back to sleep and dreamed again.

But it wasn’t. It was a brilliant disappointing draw. I have NEVER heard any crowd sing so loudly. EVERY person that remained stood up and roared. >

8/ Even at our lowest point I watched Arteta. We were begging players to panic and shoot. (And non-shooters did and it didn’t help… TP😳)

Mikel was preaching calm and focus from the side. Hysteria doesn’t help. Ruthless calm does. And we found some of it.

So close. Inches. >

9/ What we’re feeling now, and what we felt as we walked home from the stadium, is the pain of an arrow that has not hit us yet.

We felt awful at 1-3 ‘cos we weren’t living in THAT present. We were living in a future where we lost the game. >

10/ Imagine 90th minute US could go back in time and tell 69th minute US that we’d be 3-3 with 8 minutes of extra time…

What would we have done differently?

Might it have helped?

Could we have won 6-3?

Well… what’s so different about now? Why have we stopped believing? >

11/ The season’s not finished.

Abu Dhabi can also slip up. They could lose their albino moose to injury.

They have some difficult games remaining. Same teams battling their own private battles.

This magnificent season isn’t over.

We need to believe and keep believing, >

12/ Until the final arrow hits.

Arteta was right. And he’s being truthful.

He loves his players. For not giving up. For not catching an early train and cursing their predicament.

They fought til the end. They got a point. One point can win a season.

Was that it?>

13/ We can’t see the future.
And we can’t live in a dream.

They’re both equally useless.

One causes undue pain.
The other renders us useless.

We have to follow Arteta’s advice. Game by game. Day by day. Be in the moment.

The Universe rewards action.

Keep DOING… >

14/ Support this team.

Lift them with your energy and positivity.

All the way to the finish line.

That’s all you can DO to HELP them.

Don’t dream. And don’t dream it’s over.

Be wide awake and powerful.

Come on you Gunners!

🟥⬜️❤️⬜️🟥

#Arsenal