Arsenal: Per Mertesacker recognizing the threat of the snooze button
By Josh Sippie
![WATFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: Per Mertesacker of Arsenal looks dejected in defence the Premier League match between Watford and Arsenal at Vicarage Road on October 14, 2017 in Watford, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images) WATFORD, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: Per Mertesacker of Arsenal looks dejected in defence the Premier League match between Watford and Arsenal at Vicarage Road on October 14, 2017 in Watford, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/405d100397f6e64f7841ed0643d6fe0f5169228d986b0216055feacf0494d73d.jpg)
Arsenal have had so many wake-up calls over the past few years but they never seem to wake up. Per Mertesacker may be realizing the problem here.
Arsenal have had a lot of tough losses over the last few years. A lot of losses that you could say should have qualified as “wake up calls.” Southampton on New Years stands out. Liverpool, like… a month ago, stands out.
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Per Mertesacker mentioned wake up calls in his match round-up. He said that the penalty, whether it was fairly awarded or not, was a wake-up call in and of itself. But the problem?
"I think for us it was kind of a wake-up call, but it wasn’t loud enough."
That’s what he said, as quoted by the Daily Star. Definitely something worth paying attention to. He is the captain after all and, of all the people that should be heeded after that match, our star performer (yes, we had one) is certainly one of them.
The problem, though, is that this ignoring of the wake-up call isn’t the first time this has happened. Arsenal have an epidemic of hitting the snooze button. As in, every wake up call, they either just downright ignore it or they wake up, waltz around like they’re wide awake, and fall back into a the same old sleep.
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Meanwhile, you see teams like Chelsea referencing wake-up calls and what happened? They won the title.
Arsenal beating up the Blues 3-0 early last season was heralded as a “wake-up call” by the to-be champions and they rode that momentum wave all the way to a Premier League title.
Meanwhile, on the other side of London, Arsenal keep slapping the snooze button over and over again and it continues to baffle everyone and their brother. How can a team with so much talent, with so much ability – on paper, at least – continue to not live up to expectations?
At some point, you’d think – or hope, rather – that eventually they’d actually wake up. I mean, you can only hit the snooze button so many times before it doesn’t let you anymore.
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It’s too easy not to put together the two opposite reactions to “wake up calls” seeing as how they are literally the exact opposite. On the bright side, Arsenal are still lingering in the top six, so at the very least they will have yet another chance to heed the call.