In the sort of comments that just encourages idiots to keep on being idiots, Unai Emery has said that Liverpool can go through the entire season without losing a league match because ‘they are doing it at the moment’.
Now, I don’t want to be a dick about our new head coach but this nonsense has to stop.
There is a reason that sides go through a league season unbeaten once every 100 years – it’s really f***ing hard.
Do you remember when Arsene Wenger dared suggest it was possible and he was mocked mercilessly?
Yet every season since we’ve had to listen to pundits wax lyrical about unbeaten sides as if we should now expect it as the norm rather than the incredibly rare feat that it was.
Liverpool, of course, have not lost a game in the league yet and that is indeed impressive. I’m not here to slag off Liverpool, just to ask that we bring a little perspective to things.
Is it possible that Liverpool will finish the season without losing a game? Absolutely. All things are possible.
Is it likely? Probable? No, no it’s not. It is possible in the literal sense of that word, like Leicester winning the league or Arsenal going 49 games undefeated in the league.
“They can do that because they are doing it at the moment,” said Unai Emery when asked if Liverpool could match Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles.
“We played against Liverpool three years ago with Sevilla in the final of the Europa League and I look then, at this progress, in this process and they are a very good example.
“I am also looking, with the coaches also, at how we are now and with the difference in the table before those years and with us and with other teams.
“The progression with Liverpool is clear. Three years ago, they were out of the Champions League through the Premier League and through the Europa League, because they lost against us [at Sevilla].
“This progress is also one example for us, now, in our moment. But we need to be very, very demanding of ourselves to do this step quickly in our way. But we need also time, and sometimes the patience is very important for us.”
Time and patience are indeed important and Arsenal fans will need to remember that when they return from Anfield this weekend.
No matter what the result (and, let’s face it, it’s unlikely to be a positive one for us), everybody could do with remembering how extremely rare an unbeaten season is to achieve and start showing a bit more respect to Arsenal’s Invincibles.