Arsenal: Confidence After Lincoln City Win Utterly Hollow

Arsene Wenger has stated that he saw the confidence to his Arsenal players on Saturday. However, such confidence is rather hollow given their opponents.

I’ll be honest, it was nice to see Arsenal win a game in rather comfortable fashion. After the loss to Liverpool in which they were utterly abject in a terrible first half display, the Gunners proceeded to buckle under the pressure of Bayern Munich, losing 5-1 for the second time in less than a month, resigning themselves to their seventh successive exit at the last 16 stage of the competition.

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Arsene Wenger has been heavily criticised for the team’s subpar displays. His team selection has been questioned, as his tactical nous, while the motivation, the fight and desire of the players has been somewhat lacking.

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The FA Cup fifth round tie with Lincoln City came at a time where the club is shrouded in uncertainty and division. That is why the 5-0 win was such a comforting sight given the turmoil that currently faces Arsenal. However, to proceed to claim that this is a game-changing, confidence-instigating result and performance is a little shortsighted. That, though, was the view of Wenger.

This is what he had to say about the game in his post-match press conference:

"“We have been short of confidence after some disappointing results recently. When the confidence was there in the second half, our quality came back. It was all us in the second half but you have to congratulate Lincoln for what they have achieved in the FA Cup. We were a bit nervous because your confidence drops when you don’t have the results. Overall, we had to respond and that’s what we did.”"

While what Wenger may say is true – his side were certainly far more fine tuned in the latter stages of the game, playing with a great fluency and accuracy in the final third, carving open Lincoln at will at times – it is a rather hollow truth; a perspective of a game that is not representative of the state of the squad and the prospects for the remainder of the year.

Respect should be given to Lincoln for progressing so far through the tournament. It is a mightily impressive achievement that should be praised. However, that does not mean that meaningful conclusions can be drawn from the 5-0 win.

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Where there impressive displays from individuals that are staking a claim for further playing time? Absolutely. But that does not mean that the confidence inspired from the win is a steadfast, unwavering belief in the qualities in the team. There are still many improvements that must be made.