Arsenal Vs Cardiff City: Result does still carry some importance

I have repeatedly stated that Arsenal’s results this season are not that important. However, their win against Cardiff City does carry some significance.

If you have read any of my previous articles or listened to me on the Pain in the Arsenal podcast, you will have heard me repeatedly make the argument that the Gunners’ performances are far more important than their results.

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The argument is a simple one: at this point, mastering the process is critical. Once that is done, everything else will fall into place. And so, this season, it is more important for the players to understand the processes that Unai Emery asks of them, such that the results will come once they are fully understood and executed at a high level.

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However, the actual result of Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Cardiff City did carry some significance that I believe does merit highlighting. This is Alexandre Lacazette, who was the match-winner and best player on the pitch by some distance, speaking after the victory:

"“I think we won just two games in 2018 away from home. This season we want to be better away and it was the first game we have won. I hope that it will the first of many. It is good to get rid of that mental barrier, it’s important to win away. Like when we started the game like, [we thought] ‘Okay we can play like we do at home’. You can see we had the right mentality. Last season we lost this kind of game. But if you see the [sic] faces after the second goal we had confidence and that was why we came back.”"

It is clear that, mentally, Lacazette and his teammates were affected by the away struggles of last season. This is a step in the right direction in overcoming those nerves.

Now, there were serious problems with the performance that must be addressed and improved upon. Just because Arsenal won does not mean that this was a successful outing. But the victory does inject an element of confidence into this dressing room that was clearly needed, both for future away trips this season and for the fact that it means that they enter the international break having won as many games as they have lost.

So when I speak and write about the result not mattering, what I really mean to say is that the result does not matter as much as the performance. There is a relative nature, with the process being more important to the future success of this team than the immediate outcome.

But that does not mean that the outcome is completely inconsequential. It still carries some significance, and this is a prime example.