By Tony Attwood
“Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic” shouted Corporal Jones, running around like a headless chicken in every episode of the old TV series “Dad’s Army”. And really, that is the message that ought to reach the journalists who seemed to be doing nothing other than attempting to get all Arsenal fans, Arsenal players and Arsenal management to do the opposite.
With the club still way out in front at the top of the Premier League and in the quarter finals of the Champions League, if you had read the pre-match headlines, you might have been forgiven for believing that it was Arsenal, not Tottenham, who were teetering on the edge of relegation and gaining yet another huge dent to their wavering finances.
Indeed, against one of the three Portuguese teams that have near-perfect home records, not panicking and coming away with a goalless draw would have been fine, given Arsenal’s own home record this season. But Arsenal did not panic, and we won – a major victory not just on the night but also in terms of what else happens in the Champions League and the Premier League for the rest of the season.
Of course, the great problem is that journalists and their editors read the copy in each other’s publications and tend to follow that main path. Fortunately, Arsenal are made of stronger stuff and probably don’t read the nonsense anyway.
There was no doubt that having Raya back in goal made a significant difference, not just on a couple of key occasions but also in the feel of what happened at the back. For that feeling seemed to travel through the whole team – there was a confidence about going forward that had drained away in the last two games.
The fact is that we do have a sensational first team which had of late, been torn to shreds by injuries. Merino, Eze, Saka, Timber, and Reyna each were listed as hurt before the game, and maybe those two cup defeats will now tell the management at Arsenal that we need to beef up the reserves a bit. Except, of course, that top players demand to play – so maybe a spot more rotation beyond the cup games is needed.
The media did their absolute best to make this into the ultimate “do or die” moment, where one had the feeling that even the goalless draw that it looked like we were going to get would be classified as another defeat. But at least we were spared that sort of reporting.
And of course it was quite clear that Arsenal’s run so far this season in the Champs League had been long forgotten by the journalists….
16 Sep 2025
Athletic Bilbao v Arsenal
W
0-2
01 Oct 2025
Arsenal v Olympiakos
W
2-0
21 Oct 2025
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid
W
4-0
04 Nov 2025
Slavia Praha v Arsenal
W
0-3
26 Nov 2025
Arsenal v Bayern Munchen
W
3-1
10 Dec 2025
Club Brugge v Arsenal
W
0-3
20 Jan 2026
Internazionale v Arsenal
W
1-3
28 Jan 2026
Arsenal v FC Kairat Almaty
W
3-2
11 Mar 2026
Bayer Leverkusen v Arsenal
D
1-1
17 Mar 2026
Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen
W
2-0
07 Apr 2026
Sporting Clube Portugal v Arsenal
W
0-1
Of course, we are helped by having Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli on the pitch, and I can only hope that Havertz is getting fit enough to be playing full games through to the end of the season, for that will make winning the league a lot easier. He can do it in many ways, but one way is to wait for the defence to think that they have the measure of Arsenal and its attack, and then make his move. Hopefully, by the return match in a week’s time he’ll be more than a substitute.
Obviously, the home team didn’t let Arsenal walk all over them, and Arsenal taking their time to get the winner will be criticised, but what do people expect teams from less challenging leagues to do when playing Arsenal? They spend much of their season playing games that everyone, including the opposition, expects them to win, and they do just that. Then suddenly they come across a club from a tougher league, and they change their approach, retreating, waiting for the opposition to throw one man too many forward, and then hit them with the counter.
If the game was a “grind” as some journalists describe it, that was hardly Arsenal’s fault. A home team can choose how it likes to play, and holding the line and waiting for a single chance to steal a goal is a way many lesser teams operate when playing one of the big clubs. Yes, an early goal or two will change that, but there is no guarantee such a goal or goals will happen. And for Arsenal, on this occasion,, they didn’t.
But the key thing was that Arsenal carried on and on, before springing the substitution, which sprang the goal.
Viktor Gyökeres was marked out of the game as was to be expected, but it was still worth having him there as he constantly distracted the defence.
Now Arsenal have the victory and the psychological step forward, knowing that results afre up to them, and what the journalists say means nothing.