Unbelievable Belief

Despite the defeat to Bayern Munich last week there were some, if not many, positives to be drawn from  the match at the Emirates.

For the first thirty minutes Arsenal shone against last season’s winners and arguably had the better chances, most obviously the penalty won but then missed by Özil. Sanogo and Wilshere both had chances at goal in the Bayern penalty area, however we lacked the finishing touch.

Our midfield play for those thirty minutes was expansive and direct, pulling the Bayern defense towards the penalty area before sending it wide mainly to Oxlade-Chamberlain who was having an outstanding game.

What happened aroud the 36th minute mark may prove to be the defining moment of our encounter with the German champions. After Szczesny was sent off for fouling Robben we were forced to invite pressure into our half and a team of Bayern’s experience and ability was always going to have chances.

Admirably, however Bayern were only able to break the deadlock after a world-class strike from outside the penalty area. You could make a case for having closed Kroos down sooner, however the striker hit the ball first time, had he taken a touch you would have expected an onrushing Flamini to block the shot at goal.

Between our defensive resilience (ignoring Koscielny’s brain spasm) and our toe-to-toe display for most of the first half we have to take the positives and emulate that style in the league. There is no reason why we can’t have the sort of match we saw for the first thirty minutes in our champions league encounter against the premier leagues top sides. We are yet to play Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton, teams who we have to take points from if we are to realise our first serious title aspirations for a decade.

Last season our 2-0 victory over Bayern at the Allianz spurred us onto a ten game unbeaten streak to secure fourth place. This season a similarly resolute performance in Germany, regardless of result can help to prepare the players mentally to believe that they possess the quality to take the premier league trophy.

Our resounding victory over Sunderland on Saturday certainly goes some way to suggest that our post Bayern hangover has in fact helped the players put their ability into perspective. Trophy winning players under Wenger talk of the ‘unbelievable belief’ the manager instilled within them. It seems that competing against Europe’s elite does the manager’s job for him.

For a lot of our players, self-affirmation seems to be something of an issue. Players such as Gibbs, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Gnabry have been billed their entire lives as the future stars of their clubs and for their countries. However considering their obvious talent and willingness to work at their profession, success and trophies have eluded them.

Important victories against the established hierarchy of European football may act in a similar way on the psychology of these players, if only for a short while.

The obvious remedy is to win a trophy, regardless which one. Should our only haul this season be the FA Cup (it may, of course, be nothing once again) the players will suddenly be champions of an internationally recognised tournament which goes eons in bringing a further depth to the mindset of our currrent crop.