These end of season collapses by Arsenal are becoming normal – Where is the fight and desire?

Well lovely Arsenal people, the season is pretty much over. I’m a little broken inside, but also a little relieved that it’s done, so I don’t have to live with the false hope. The reason we lost again was pretty simple. There was no fight, no passion, no desire. That second half performance was Villa all over again. Two seasons ago, the second half against Newcastle was the same thing. These are not one offs, these are reoccurring performances under similar circumstances for many years in a row.

All of our European campaigns under Mikel end in the same gutless performances. If you played Villarreal Vs Arsenal from a few years back you won’t be able to tell the difference in our performance. Same with Olympiacos and Sporting.

We had a fully fit squad which we didn’t use again. There is something not right with Thomas Partey. We could’ve used his ability on the ball and range of passing, but I think Arteta suddenly falls out with some players and they don’t see the pitch ever again.

I think two things epitomised our entire season. Firstly Eddie Nketiah coming on. It’s an absolute joke, I don’t wanna speak on it, as he shouldn’t be near this football club. Second and more worrying. The last kick of the game, we have a corner and we need a goal and the ball cannot go past the first man? The lack of conviction showed everything about who we are as a football club.

I think it’s time some of the players hold some responsibility too. Declan Rice has been awful the last 4-5 games. Is it really his fault though? He plays every minute, even though we have Partey, but I’ve spoken on this topic many a times and I don’t like sounding like a broken record.

Then there’s Saka. Anonymous performance, but is it really his fault again? We haven’t brought in a winger to compete and rotate with him for 5 years. He doesn’t take players on anymore, he looks like he’s playing with an injury. But our manager would rather run the squad to the ground before trusting the bench he assembled himself.

Back to the players, what’s happened to Gabriel in the last week is astonishing. People have been talking about him being the best defender in the team and he went back to bozo-gene settings.

His Brazilian namesake Martinelli didn’t shower himself in glory either. I thought last season he was the one player who stood tall in the run-in, even though we lost the title, but this year, he really misses Granit Xhaka, who was helping him out massively. Now the Brazilian looks so isolated on the left. It’s again difficult to say if it’s his fault alone though.

The manager sent 65 million down the drain and that performance today confirmed it again. Reports say Havertz is the highest paid player in this football club. His lack of application, desire and conviction should be absolutely unacceptable. Honestly reminds me of Ozil without the talent.

If you think about it our front 3 all need improvements in the summer. We need another body in midfield. I don’t mind Jorginho, but the guy is not fit for a game that requires pace and power. If you think about it we barely created any chances this game.

I knew if Bayern scored first we were dead. We’ve not shown the ability to turn games around. They say managers earn their money at half time. I sometimes wonder if half time is a funeral at the dressing room? We scored 5 in the first half against Sheffield, 1 in the second. We were alright in the first half against Villa, dead in the second. Same against Bayern. It’s a pattern, not a coincidence.

At the end of the day, you have to look at the manager. I think he was lost. There wasn’t the arm waving, the orchestrating of the team, the antics, all gone. So was the passion of the team. Non-existent.

There’s no divine right to win in football, but not wanting it is criminal in my eyes. Unfortunately we’re back to where we were with Wenger. We make the top 4, get the CL money, fans are happy, money’s in the bank, all is good. We’ve achieved our true objective, so why bother winning a trophy?

If we are a serious football club that wants to win the major prizes, we need a solid overhaul and a new manager. We may be 2 points off City, who also exited the CL, but look how they will dust themselves off and win the league title. They’ve done it multiple times before and they will do it again. We on the other hand we have collapsed 3 years in a row and history is repeating itself, because we don’t learn.

I honestly didn’t want to write this article. I’ve been following Arsenal since 2005. 19 long years I wait for a major trophy… The Champions league is special for me. I remember that 2006 final, and I’ve dreamt ever since to have the chance to rectify it. I’m not on this platform to tell people “I told you so”. If I could somehow trade something, so that I am wrong, I’d come back here and say it first myself, apologise for not believing in Arteta and the project and so on.

Unfortunately, I cannot close my eyes and pretend that all is good, when I see obvious problems and they lead to poor results. I watch football for the emotions, the fight, the character. When I saw Dortmund Vs Atletico I saw fight. Not seeing any of it from Arsenal hurts like hell.

Honestly I can’t take another heartbreak anymore. If we start next season with Arteta in charge again, I won’t bother at all. I don’t want to hear the excuses anymore, we had a fully fit squad. Look in the mirror Mikel. It’s on you.