Arsenal Better Strap in – But Not Lose Heart

Arsenal, and its dedicated followers, are crestfallen.

You know what? We should be. The standard of football Arsenal are churning out and the lifeless, tormenting nature of each passing week are valid enough reasons.

Sunday came and went with but 12 minutes of enjoyment, yet even that had the caveat of it only being an equaliser and one Arsenal were never placed to build on. Straws steadfastly grasped.

The worst start to a league season many supporters will have seen in their lifetimes, Mikel Arteta preordained the trials and tribulations that were to come when he took the job. Naturally, expectations needed tempering, but after the highs of FA Cup success, any resulting lows would inevitably sting. And hard.

Let’s face it, this is dire. Really, truly, dire.

With nine matches to come in a 26-day stretch over December, hopes of the situation getting better before it worsens are ambitious. Arsenal play them next in the league and three points have never looked less obtainable.

Losing heart at this point is accepted, but it’s also damaging.

Coming to terms with the quality within this squad will ease the strain that is prevalent each week. Arsenal are, at this very moment, not a good footballing side.

Issues that have lay dormant are now bubbling to the surface. Facing those head on with support and backing is the only solution to stopping the rot, or at least, quelling it. The players, the team and the general atmosphere are broken. How does anyone go about suppressing the anguish and using it for good without absolute unity? The answer is, they don’t.

Faith in Mikel Arteta fades by the day. Is he the right man for the job? He was but a few months ago. The size of the task facing him is perilous, but it was no different then than it is now. The only contrast is we’re seeing the true colours of a squad unequipped to be successful in the Premier League.

That can only change with time and investment, the like of which won’t come until January at the earliest, and still won’t be amended in one window. The state of play is as such, with only internal solutions readily available. Binning belief at this point hamstrings Arsenal further, regardless of the severity of the predicament.

Arsenal are facing the music. They need a supporting cast.