Arsenal : Building A Fortress Mentality

Interesting round of news stories and blogs yesterday taking all sorts of stances about "that injury" to poor Aaron Ramsey.
 
Facts

• "During yesterday's match against Stoke City, Aaron Ramsey sustained fractures to the tibia and fibula in his right leg"
• "Saturday evening he underwent surgery. The operation successfully reduced the fractures"
• "Aaron will certainly miss the remainder of this season."

Those facts from the Arsenal.com website.
 
Now some more interesting facts:

• Tony Pulis said on Saturday evening "Shawcross is not that type of player"
• After Shawcross broke Francis Jeffers ankle in 2007 Tony Pulis said "Ryan isn't that sort of player."
• Video of a late and nasty "looking" tackle by Shawcross on Adebayor http://twitvid.com/3BCE0

None of which proves Shawcross is a reckless player..... I guess .

And more (from Arseblog):

• May 1st 2006 - Abou Diaby has his ankle fractured and dislocated by a challenge from Dan Smith.
• Feb 23rd 2008 - Eduardo has his left fibula fractured and sustains an open dislocation of his ankle joint after Martin Taylor's tackle.
• Feb 27th 2010 - Aaron Ramsey has his fibula and tibia broken, his leg left hanging in the air, by Ryan Shawcross.

 
Opinion
 
Opinion in the media and blogsphere yesterday ran the entire gamut:
- Shawcross should be banned for as long as Ramsey is out.
- Shawcross is the victim here and shouldn't be banned at all
- It's the player's fault
- it's the ref's fault
- It's nobody's fault
- It's the manager's fault
- It's the media's fault
 
There seems to be a lot of sympathy round for Ryan Shawcross, not least inspired by his tears. I have no sympathy for Shawcross, Pulis, Stoke, or even the ref. I do have immense sympathy for Aaron Ramsey who did nothing to deserve such a serious blow to his career (or indeed his leg).
 
My opinion; namely that it is the managers fault for "inspiring" his team to play the way they do should be clear after my article yesterday.

But I wouldn't absolve the media from blame in this too. There is a great amount of hypocrisy around in the media who like to laud Arsenal's pretty football with one side of their face, whilst encouraging the view that "they don't like it up "em" with the other side.

Actually, there's a fair amount of hypocrisy around from football fans too. Some fans yesterday applauded the young man being taken off on a stretcher—while others, unbelievably, booed and chanted "you've only got one leg". Appalling and disgusting, and a disgrace to the name of Stoke. For those Stoke fans who applauded Ramsey, I thank you. I've seen that kind of injury before to opponents and feel that as a football fan, you should not put your team above honour, respect, and most of all common human decency.
 
Reaction
 
The reaction from the Arsenal team on the day was superb, and comparing it to the the teams reaction to the incident involving Eduardo two years ago, it was a world of difference. This team is beginning to show they may well have what it takes to be champions.

Certainly they are building a fortress mentality.

They have to, this season, when they've been attacked from all angles, particularly the media. It would be nice if they could simply get on with the business of playing football, but often the media have been pitiless in their hounding of Arsenal for the slightest misdemeanor, or perceived transgression. Witness the amount of blatant dives we've seen this season—yet Eduardo is hounded and pilloried. Think about the amount of really nasty looking tackles, yet Gallas' poor challenge is dissected with great glee and hatred while others go completely ignored. It could be perceived as racist even if you don't look too closely. English players who commit far worse are hailed as "committed" or "strong in the tackle", whilst Arsenal's (excuse me for the hackneyed phrase) "Foreign Legion" are simply attacked.
 
Impact
 
The impact on this Arsenal team goes beyond the immediate emotional impact of one or more injuries or attacks. It appears to be giving them a fierce determination, that should help them in future matches push past opponents. It has been said that Arsenal have an easier run-in to the season than other teams. That may be true, and we have heard Man Utd and Chelsea fans bemoaning their "luck", forgetting that Arsenal has already played the "harder" teams. In fact this season, I think it has been proven time and again that "there are no easy games" is just not an excuse. I believe Arsenal has what it takes to win the league this season. It's not in their hands of course, even if they win every game from now on. They must rely on Chelsea and Man Utd to drop points, but given that they have still to play each other, that is inevitable.

Fortress Arsenal

So with media attacks for the slightest misdemeanor; having our long injury list largely ignored by the media; teams going in too hard against us; and being pilloried for daring to complain about any of those things—it can't be any surprise that the fortress mentality currently building in North West London is hardening and strengthening the resolve to win.

If this current Arsenal team does not win the league this season (and I believe they can), then they are set up better than any other team to do so next season (injuries notwithstanding). The young crop of players is maturing nicely.