Looking Down (Arsenal 2-0 Reading)

By: Prederick | April 20th, 2008

I said we’d stay up. I’m not so sure anymore.

Getting anything from Arsenal at Arsenal was always going to be an ask of the team. I was hoping that, given the horriffic few weeks that Arsenal have suffered that we could perhaps make something special happen, maybe get a point. Now, with Bolton, who i’d honestly assumed were dead and buried, getting yet another vital three points, we’re a point off relegation, ahead of Birmingham.

It wasn’t a contest, not in the slightest. Arsenal are the better team, and it showed from first to last. A 19-4 shot kind of shows that. It probably could’ve been as bad as Birmingham’s shellacking at the hands of Villa, but thank god for Marcus.

What this means is that next week is absolutely, incomprehensibly massive. Wigan are nearly safe, but not entirely so and will be desperate for the points, and we’re going on the road to boot. The good news is that Birmingham are against Liverpool next week. The bad news is that Birmingham have a habit of keeping it tight with the big four.

I think it’s entirely realistic to ask that Reading can go Draw-Draw-Win, get five points and stay up. I don’t think that’s outside the realm of possibility, and then the team can start considering what to do next year (Upside: Noone on Reading will be fatiguing themselves by competing in Euro 2008 this summer. Downside: Noone on Reading is good enough to compete in Euro 2008), like finding a reliable striker. Or midfielder. Basically, we need to just ensure that we’re not going toe-to-toe with Bristol City in the relegation battle next year.

I still have hope. But losing to Wigan is utterly unacceptable. Less than acceptable. Minus acceptable. This is the dogfight, this is what it is all about, like it or not. The last time we played them, it was September, and we won 2-1. By god, we can do it again.