I think it was former American football player and coach Vince Lombardi who said ” winning is a habit, unfortunately so is losing”. It’s a quote that resonates more with Arsenal fans than those of Manchester City this season, but the FA Cup loss to Wigan has ended all talk of the quadrupole.
Not only that but City head to Wembley at the weekend to contest the Carabao cup with Arsenal, with doubts and jitters in their minds for the first time this season.
Football can sometimes be about luck and sometimes about momentum. The North London club at the time of the invincible’s were in a rich vein of form but even that run came to a natural end, perhaps because of complacency. That complacency then knocks confidence and it can lead to an inexplicable dip in form.
Will City follow this pattern?, probably not but they will be full of nerves now on the big occasion and Arsenal need to capitalise with a full-blooded first 45.
If all is equal at halftime, it will be worse for Guardiola’s team than Wenger’s. The Arsenal boss will still feel he can get something from the game and as it goes on, momentum may be in his favour. Many still believe that the blue side of Manchester will roll over the Gunners despite the blip but let’s not count chickens just yet.
The Psychology of football dictates that players are damaged at stages of a season, often by a single poor result, one that was unexpected and unnecessary. City, had no right to beat Wigan of course. On paper, they should have beaten them handsomely with something to spare but the beautiful game likes to spice things up and Wigan, for their part, rolled back the years and put in a fighting performance that baffled the runaway leaders.
Arsenal players will have watched that performance and rubbed their hands together at the prospect of taking on City so quickly. Guardiola will do his job to prepare a gifted squad and dispel any thoughts of another loss but he can’t take to the field and once the players cross over the white line it’s a different prospect.
Wenger will use the Wigan game as part of his preparation to inspire players that have suffered more downs than ups this season and it may have an influence on his final choice. Not in the way Big Sam tried to employ his copycat ‘Swansea’ tactics but it may just help define formation and personnel in his mind rather than on paper.
This is now an intriguing final, it’s possible that the Gunners could heap more misery on the Manchester club but to do that, they will have to defend solidly and harness the spirit they showed in the FA cup final against Chelsea last season. It’s up for grabs, let’s see which team will take the initiative.
