Friendly Fire

So he first pre-season defeat, eh? 0 – 1 to Salzburg. Hmmmm. Third game, first goal conceded to a team that are six weeks ahead in terms of fitness. Worried? Not in the slightest. A tour of Austria is not going to make or break a season; given that many will not have played a full game yet, there is no point in getting bent out of shape about the performance. Sorry, guys, but I don’t care if the third pre-season game ends in a defeat; I have not one jot of interest in knowing we could have hit six. Too much importance is being attached to matches involving players who are still ring-rusty from a Summer on the beach and on the Sangria. Despite attempts to make it otherwise, I am not bothered by Gallas being captain instead of Toure, Lehmann, Uncle Tom Cobley and All. Pre-season games are about regaining fitness and touch. There are four more to go, the first XI will play together in those but let’s keep a sense of perspective over this; if Fulham beat us in three or four weeks time, there’s a time to be concerned. There is also a time to put it right but if you want new signings, I will be surprised if any arrive. Maybe one more at a push.

It is interesting the perspectives put upon this performance by the media. The Sun Says So It Must Be True reports that ‘Arsene Wenger proved he has forgiven William Gallas by making him captain for this friendly‘, noting that ‘boss Wenger will take heart from the fact his ring-rusty players had more than enough chances to win the game’. I know, I know, I had to lie down too; The Sun not making an Arsenal Crisis out of this? Weird times, eh?

Over at The Daily Telegraph, Martin Smith keeps that inner-tabloid just about on a leash, starting off with a slow-burner, almost delving into Arsenal bashing but pulls back from the edge, managing to remember it’s a friendly.

And that’s the point. The past couple of weeks and those leading up to the start of the season are all about fitness. The next four games are about building understandings before the season starts. They are about AW getting his first choice XI out on the pitch for at last forty five minutes together, although with Rosicky having a minor hamstring injury, it may be unlikely.

The regime picks up this weekend and the standard of opposition too; PSG and then Internazionale. Yet still nothing should be read into the result; the teams performance to a degree will matter but not so much. A good pre-season quite often flatters to deceive. Look at last year for example; five wins and  a draw, nineteen for, three against. Which proved what exactly as we turned in the worst start under Wenger’s reign. 2005-06: seven wins, one draw, one defeat. Thirty goals scored, eleven conceded to show us what? At that point, you would have thought a title challenge was on the way; we would have laughed if anyone had said that we would be unlucky to lose to Barcelona in Paris. Sorry, you cannot tell anything from pre-season so don’t read much into it.

Finally today, if you are off to The Emirates Cup this weekend, can you drop me a mail at the addy on the ‘About‘ page.