Arsenal: Rio Ferdinand doing Gunners a favor with his doubt

Arsenal had just about no one backing them to win the North London Derby, but that is changing against Burnley. Which was worrying until Rio Ferdinand chimed in.

Arsenal had a surplus of doubters going into the North London Derby. On the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast, I was the only one to predict a win (this is me bragging) and in case you missed all the post-match hubbub, there weren’t many others that gave them a chance – especially not the Daily Mail.

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When they won, the tune changes. People started to wonder if the Gunners could actually continue this sort of form. On the subsequent Podcast, we unanimously said that the Gunners could win.

That makes me nervous. I have learned in my coverage of Arsenal quite a few things. One thing is you should never count them out or bet against them. That’s why I was so confident in them taking care of business against Tottenham, especially at home.

But you can also never expect them to play up to their fullest potential day-in and day-out, that’s why the outcry of belief against a stringy Burnley club made me nervous.

That’s okay though. Because you can’t go so much as a day without someone casting extreme doubt on the club and, as he is prone to do, Rio Ferdinand has done that. Side note, I wonder if he has seen the video that Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba filmed of themselves dancing in the locker room.

But I digress. Here is what the naysayer said (via the Metro):

"I’ll back Burnley to win that game they’re in good form it’s a hard place to go and you don’t know what you’re going to get out of Arsenal. This isn’t about Mesut Ozil this is about the whole Arsenal team. The way they played [against Tottenham] to a man.More from Pain in the Arsenal3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victoryArsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison ParkMikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton winThe pressing the intensity of their game today. But you watch them play 10 games you might get that three or four times and the other five or six it’s not the same. At the top of the game when the margins are so small you can’t afford to take your foot off the gas.It’s not hard to get up for the North London Derby, you bounce out of bed. You want that every week. You want that away at Stoke. You don’t know what you’re going to get from Arsenal next week"

Funny enough, I agree with nearly everything that Ferdinand said. They won’t be as intense because this isn’t Tottenham. But it is in the one area that I more or less agree that I think Ferdinand is wrong.

He said this isn’t about Mesut Ozil, it’s about the way they played as a team. And that’s why I know they will beat Burnley. Because as a team, they came together and they did it without large attacking contributions to Aaron Ramsey, who is my key to unlocking the door at Turf Moor.

So long as Wenger sends out that same starting XI as he did for the North London Derby, the only thing we have to worry about is Alexis Sanchez trying to take control when he should instead be relying on his team mates.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Tottenham

Honestly, if the team can learn to rely on each other, like they did against Tottenham and against Everton, the world is their oyster.