Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has admitted everyone was ‘mad and crazy’ after the Watford result at the weekend.
A draw away from home usually isn’t the worst result, but the manner in which Arsenal picked up a point over the weekend wasn’t much short of a disaster.
For a start, they were facing the Premier League’s bottom team, Watford, who still sit in last place even after earning a point. The Gunners were also 2-0 up at half-time, before being completely dominated in the second 45.
Leno has suggested the players understood just how disheartening the result was, even if head coach Unai Emery urged them to be calm about it.
“I think we have to be honest and analyse this game. We were lucky we didn’t lose,” Leno said. “Everybody was angry and disappointed after [the game]. Everybody was emotional, very mad and crazy. But that is normal.
“The manager is a very positive guy. He said ‘calm down and then on Tuesday we analyse this game and then on Thursday we have another game’.”
It’s true that Arsenal don’t have much time to dwell on the result. They have to play Frankfurt on Thursday, then Aston Villa on Sunday, then Nottingham Forest next Tuesday, before a trip to Old Trafford the following Monday.
In a sense, that’s a positive thing for the team. They need a chance to move on and build some momentum again, and they have it. On the other hand, they can’t get into a rut and allow their frustration at the Watford result to manifest itself in more poor performances.
The Watford game is gone and it’s what happens next that may or may not set the new season back on track.