Better than Jesus. The second coming.

May 2, 2010

So, another season has almost drawn to a close and yet again we are without a trophy. It’s hard to stay balanced and fair in the light of another season passing by with nothing silver and shiny to show for it.

 

I’ve always been an ardent supporter of Wenger and despite yet another season without a trophy, I remain an ardent supporter of his. I know that the easy option for venting frustration in the light of a title challenge implosion is to direct it towards the boss and his lack of movement in the transfer market. But, the fact is, the team has improved this season and were it not for a slew of unfortunate long-term injuries we may just have some silverware to show for it. Finishing third, particularly in a World Cup year, is vital this year in order to avoid the preliminary CL qualifiers. It is also a step forward compared to seasons gone by.

 

However, just because I am an ardent Wenger supporter does not mean that I am blind to the fact that the defensive side of our team badly needs recruitment of quality seasoned pros. This is especially true of the goalkeeping department, where I believe that we need a quality keeper that can command and dominate his area and therefore instill confidence in his defense. Who that person may be, well your guess is as good as mine. But, I’d be fairly confident that it won’t be Frey, as he has been linked with us pretty much every summer since Wenger took charge. So, let’s just put that one down to lazy journalism.

 

Living in Japan, I haven’t really had much chance to see Adler playing, so I can’t make any comment on him one way or the other. The only thing I do know is that German keepers are generally pretty decent. Let’s face it, he couldn’t be any worse than Fabianski. If a new keeper were to be bought in the summer, would Almunia be shipped out or would he revert back to being a no2? Can’t see him settling for a backwards progression, but who knows. I’d prefer to take whatever cash we can get for him and Fabianski and use it to strengthen the team.

 

Listening to the boss talking, it seems like our signings in the summer will be more in the defensive department, which is no bad thing. A solid centre-half to play alongside Vermaelen would do nicely, along with a hardworking, tough-tackling central midfielder. The midfield need to offer the defense more protection next season.

 

It seems that Chamakh is a done deal, let’s hope he is good. Though signing him on a free transfer will limit a lot of the risk that we’re taking on him. It also seems like the curtain is closing on the Arsenal career of Eduardo which is a shame as I think we all had high hopes for him and to see his Arsenal career ruined by Taylor is a tragedy both for him and the club.

 

For a change, we are being linked with some English players, though to be honest I don’t think we need to sign someone like Joe Cole. That said, Wenger likes to sign players that we don’t think we need…so expect Cole to sign. Hehe. Seriously though, as good as Cole may be, the 80,000-100,000 per week that he would demand in wages would be better spent elsewhere on our squad. So, I’ll be crossing my fingers that his signing remains pure tabloid speculation.

 

Anyway, there is plenty of time to talk about transfers and speculation over the coming weeks before the World Cup starts and after it finishes.

 

There have been some shining lights in the team this season, most notably Song and Vermaelen, and the performances of Cesc and Van Persie. Bendtner has also taken a step forward this season. You can’t help but wonder what we could have achieved had we not had so many injuries, particularly the ones caused by tackles that you just can’t legislate for. The number of muscular injuries are a cause for concern and we can only hope that the medical and coaching staff can find the cause of and solution to this issue. With the squad being limited to 25 players next season, we can’t afford to have the same number of injuries again. Maybe we need to invest in bionic calves for our players over the summer. We can use the money that we would otherwise have pissed away on Silvestre’s salary on those.

 

Blackburn tomorrow. Hope we stuff them and sicken their walrus-faced manager. More on that tomorrow.

 

Right, that’s about that for today. Apologies for the amount of rambling, I have yet to get my blogging sharpness back.

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3-0 to The Arsenal.

November 1, 2009

A great result against the Spuds yesterday, it has to be said! Albeit in the first half we didn’t play all that well and there were a number of passes not finding their target. That all changed in a mad minute just before the interval when a Robin Van Persie finish at the near post and a solo effort from Cesc straight from the resulting kick-off turned the game on it’s head.

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I must admit that even when we got the third goal I still couldn’t relax given our tendency to be generous in defence. The manager himself appeared to feel the same and flung hi suit jacket at his seat in the dug-out in frustration.

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Seeing the look on Harry Redknapp’s face twitching away on the bench was priceless. It was nice too to stick it to that muppet Robbie Keane for suggesting that Spurs have a stronger squad than ours. someone should tell him that an older squad doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a better squad. I’ve secured an exclusive picture of Robbie Keane which can be seen below.

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Elsewhere our young Dane, who is now out for up to four weeks due to a groin injury that he picked up yesterday, is talking about how he intends to be the top scorer in the Premier League within the next five years. He isn’t short in self-belief or confidence. Let’s just hope that he can deliver and not just be all bluster.

 

Listening to the Arsecast on Friday, Arseblogger spoke about how he hoped we’d kill Spuds and Van Persie believes that he got his wish, albeit not literally, unfortunately.

 

Anyway, it’s been a great week for the club and I have secured myself a stone in the Armoury Square landmark, so all is good.

 

Apologies for the posts being sporadic, but trying to balance a job, a MA and a life means that time is at a premium. But, keep the faith.

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Another three points would be nice.

October 3, 2009

Greetings from a rainy Yokohama. The weather has been a bit rubbish over the past day or two, but still warm so I suppose I can’t complain too much.

 

The midweek Champions League game saw us dominate and beat Olympiakos 2-0 with goals from Robin Van Persie and Arshavin and assists coming from Eduardo and Cesc respectively. The Arshavin goal, although clearly offside, was a great finish.

 

Thursday saw Wenger become the longest serving manager in the club’s history and it is fitting that the man who has brought about the greatest seismic shift in the fortunes of the club and the quality of football that it plays should go down in history as our longest serving manager. Clubs that change their manager at the drop of a hat should take note; faith and longevity breads improvement and success.

 

This weekend sees us taking on Blackburn and that cunt Big Fat Sam. He couldn’t even bring himself to pay the boss any kind of meaningful compliment on his achievement. At least Fergusmoan gave the boss a better compliment. So, let’s hope that we stuff those cunts on Sunday.

 

Eduardo and Almunia are out of the game tomorrow, as are Denilson, Djourou, Nasri and Fabianski. However, Bendtner should recover from his car accident last Sunday and Walcott is in contention for a return to action. Arshavin has alluded to a niggling knee injury and let’s hope that is doesn’t escalate and keep him out of the side.

 

Elsewhere, Cesc says that the boss is a god, Xavi says that Cesc should zzzzzzzzzz. there has also been some talk that someday Henry will return to Arsenal in some capacity and I for one would love to see that happen. He was, and still is, a true Arsenal legend and for him to still watch reserve and youth games on Arsenal TV while in Barcelona shows that he still has a strong love for the club. Hopefully he can come back in some capacity after he hangs up his boots at Barca.

 

That’s about that for today. Take it easy.

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Back to pre-season blogging after a summer break.

July 15, 2009

It’s been a while since I have written a post and to be honest not a whole lot has happened Arsenal-wise if you consider that it has been a good six weeks or so since the last post.

 

We did sign one player, Vermaelen, and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the pace of the English game. One thing is for sure, he can only strengthen us in the centre of defence as his arrival should surely spell the end of Silvestre’s appearances in the starting eleven. Fingers crossed on that.

 

Signing him so early on in the window maybe gave us some slightly misplaced optimism that we’d do all of our business early doors. That would be in a perfect world and, as we all know, the transfer dealing of Arsenal don’t ever take place in a perfect world.

 

Speaking of transfers, it is looking more and more likely that Adebayor will be on the move to Man Shitty, who seem to be assembling a team of strikers. If we get the reported £25m for him then we should take it and laugh all the way to the bank with it. He is a player that has really only ever had one good season in his career. Last season he was woeful and to make things worse he was lazy. So, to get that amount of money for someone whose only track record is to eventually cause trouble is a great deal for Arsenal, should it go through. Ray Parlour has also given his backing to the sale of Adebayor.

 

**UPDATE: It now seems that Adebayor has passed his medical…sayonara. Good riddance.

 

Let’s hope that the manager reinvests the whole of whatever fee we receive back into the team and it would seem that Chamakh is the player that will replace Adebayor. Let’s hope that the remainder of whatever cash is available goes on a ball-winning midfield hard-ass. It would be crushing to go a second summer and not sign the holding midfielder that the whole world can see that we need. No need to worry too much yet, there are still about six and a half weeks to go until the close of the transfer window. So, we should be prepared to go right down to the wire in order to get the midfielder that we need.

 

This summer has seen the transfer market go completely crazy with regard to the transfer fees being paid and quoted. I mean, there is no way you can convince me that Ronaldo is worth £80m along with about £10m a year in salary. Crazy money, but that’s the world that Arsene has to cope with and try to come up with affordable targets that still improves our team.

 

Flamini, Diarra and Gilberto were never replaced and that must be the priority. I would be more than happy to see the entirety of the Adebayor fee dropped on that midfielder and no striker purchased. As it stands, we have Van Persie, Bendtner, Eduardo, Vela, Walcott and Arshavin that can play in the forward role. Albeit Arshavin and Van Persie play best just off the main striker. That leaves Bendtner, Walcott and Vela vying for the main striker role. Not all that bad, a bit young and inexperienced, but there is quality there and lots of room for growth and improvement. But, there are plenty of options there to go with a forward three. Not to mention that Rosicky, Nasri and Fabregas would be the creative force behind that attack. It’s not a bad position to be in at all.

 

Can’t really say too much about Melo or Chamakh as I don’t really know anything about them. Have never seen either kick a ball, so it’s hard to have any feelings about Melo’s will-he/won’t-he sign for Juventus saga. Chamakh seems very keen to come to us, but I seem to remember him saying a few months back that he had set his sights on a smaller premier league club like Spuds. So, again, it is hard to get too excited about him either.

 

Pre-season kicks-off at Barnet on the 18th and is being broadcast on ATVO. Kick-off is at 15:00, so that’s 23:00 JST. We can expect to see the squad for that game mostly consisting of youngsters, with a smattering of some more senior players.

 

It’s now July 15th and our first Premier League game away to Everton kicks-off on August 15th. Not long to go now! I have to say that despite the lack of anything happening in the world of Arsenal over the close season, the goings-on at Real have made the time pass that bit faster.

 

Finally, my thoughts are with John Hartson and his family at this time. Let’s hope that he can make a full recovery.

 

Right, that’ll do for the first post in an age. It’s low thirties here today and I’m sweating like a pig. So, some form of iced drink is called for.

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A quickie.

May 12, 2009

It seems that Kroenke Tonk Stan’s (KTS) increased stake in the club has been confirmed and for me it is a good thing. It helps keep Usmanov at bay and it may, hopefully, result in some extra transfer funds being made available for the boss as I am sure that KTS won’t want to see his investment’s value drop so soon after making such a sizeable investment.

 

Elsewhere, current and former players are pointing out our problem areas and how they should be addressed. There is nothing really new in them and it is nothing that hasn’t been covered on this and other Arsenal blogs before. If you are interested in them Petit talks here, Silvestre here, Van Persie here. Van Persie tells ATVO that he feels sorry for the Arsenal fans and let me just assure him that we feel sorry for ourselves too.

 

Apparently Eduardo will be fit in about two weeks time. That’s great news, just in time for him to head off on his summer holidays…

 

Some Russian is being linked with Arsenal but I wouldn’t pay too much attention to it as it is probably just some lazy journalism.

 

Our own little Commie is a bit perplexed to be employed as a left winger, but with his goal return and performances so far I think he should be happy enough with the results of his role in the team.

 

That’s about it for today. Time is short and so is reportable news.

 

UPDATE: A bit of a dilemma for me here, it seems that Patsy Palmer has promised to depart ANR should Arshavin leave the club. Now, I think Arshavin is a top class player that undoubtedly improves our squad. But, the thoughts of never having to read/hear Patsy’s opinions again makes it a very difficult thing to decide over… Let’s hope that Arshavin going away on summer holidays counts.

 

Talk to you again.

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A chance to rebound.

May 10, 2009

Today sees us take on Chelsea at the Emirates in a game which gives us the perfect chance to rebound from the crushing disappointment of our exit from the Champions League. However, Chelsea will also be looking to do exactly the same and their exit from the competition must have been much more psychologically crushing than ours due to the manner of their exit.

 

The boss has said that he will stick with Gibbs for today’s game and i hope that he does because he is certainly a better prospect at left-back than Silvestre.

 

At the back we should therefore line up with Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Djourou and Gibbs. In midfield, I expect Song, Cesc and Nasri to play in the middle, with Song taking up the more defensive role thus leaving Cesc and Nasri more freedom to get forward. Walcott and possibly Van Persie may operate on the flanks, with Bendtner up front. Well, I hope that he starts with Bendtner up front as the young Dane will have a bit of a point to prove to the fans after his mid-week escapades. Though, it is more likely that Adebayor will start up front.

 

I think that Vela and Ramsey will get some playing time today, too. At this stage, I think it is important to give players like Ramsey, Vela and possibly Wilshere some proper first-team playing time ahead of next season.

 

Let’s hope that Arshavin can overcome his illness to play some part in today’s game.

 

In the Guardian today, Amy Lawrence talks about how Drogba is just the kind of player that Arsenal need. While he is a loathsome, diving cunt that I would hate to ever see wearing an Arsenal shirt, a player of similar stature and ability would be great for us. We need strikers that are willing to put themselves about and work hard for the team.

 

Despite Arséne’s comments on Friday that the players don’t know what is best for the team, Almunia has again come out and voiced his dissatisfaction with how we have done this year and that things need to change.

 

The young players are internationals and have been playing for Arsenal for a long time. They have played many games. They should have the experience now.

“Everybody is concerned by what happened against United. We need to be criticised. We need to do some self-analysis because Arsenal is a big club and we are not here to lose. Four years without a trophy is a long time. It’s too much for the fans – they deserve something more from us. Every time a team is in a bad situation you need someone to find a big solution.”

 

He went on to say:

“We played crazy from the start. We played more with the heart than the head. United didn’t do that. Can we compete with them next season? I don’t know. We’ll have to see what happens in the summer.”

 

He is right to say that this team need to be criticised, because they have been molly-coddled  a bit too much by the manager and they need to know that they have to start performing and delivering. They excuse of youth can not, and should not, be tolerated next season. This squad have been together for a few years now and the honeymoon period is now most certainly over. Time to deliver. It is a very big summer for the club in terms of transfer activity and maybe a look should also be taken at our coaching positions and maybe the assistant’s position, too. When I see Pat Rice sitting next to Arséne i just get images of Phil Neal sitting next to Graham Taylor in the infamous “Do I not like that!” documentary. He comes across very much as a ‘yes man’.

 

Reports in the Daily Star link us, yet again, with Fulham’s Brede Hangeland who I think would be a decent signing for us and could definitely strengthen our defence, given his performances for Fulham this season.

 

It appears that some tosser Portsmouth fan spat into Theo’s water bottle during the game at Fratton Park. Filthy bastard. That’s just not on, by all means shout abuse at someone, but spitting INTO a drink is out of order. I’m sure that the media won’t say much about it but, if they do, I am sure that Mark Bright will say that he’d rather get an elbow in the face, a broken arm, rib and leg and dislocated shoulder rather than have someone spit in his drink. We can but hope…

 

Even Alisher Usmanov is sticking his big fat oar in by saying that we need to invest heavily in the squad to catch up with ManUre. While despising the big fat Uzbek, I do agree that we must invest in this squad, but it need not necessarily be heavy investment as long as we get the right quality.

 

Reports in papers suggest that Wenger has between twenty and forty million to spend this season, but I imagine that this figure has been plucked right out of each journalist’s over-imaginative ass.

 

Lee Dixon has a good article in today’s Times and he is spot on with everything that he says. I must admit I like Yaya Toure and was impressed with him when he played for Barcelona against Yokohama Marinos (not the best of teams, I must admit) in a friendly a year or two ago.

 

Non-Arsenal related news, it was great to see Stoke beat Hull yesterday and with West Brom winning it sets up the possibility of Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Hull being the teams to be relegated. How great would that be?! Fingers crossed it’ll be ‘howay (with) the lads’ to the Championship next season.

 

If you don’t already, check out these other Arsenal blogs, they’re very good and offer well-balanced opinions. Arseblog; Gunnerblog; Goonerholic; East Lower.

 

** UPDATE: hahahahaha. Thankfully our players just have belt and gravity issues.

 

** UPDATE 2: The domain name for the site has now changed to http://thenorthbankblog.com

 

That’s all for today. Take it easy.

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They all have trousers.

May 9, 2009

Good morning to you from a hot and sunny Yokohama. It’s a nice 25C today, and all is well. As we know, Theo Walcott signed his new contract yesterday and it’s great news for the club, no doubt. Let’s hope it is a sign of things to come from our new CEO Ivan Gazidis. I wonder how long he has to be at the club before we stop referring to him as our ‘new CEO’. Next on his agenda should be the contract of Robin Van Persie. Theo, of course, is delighted with having finally put pen to paper on his new deal and is looking forward to a more stable future with the club. Let’s hope he is an integral part of our starting eleven for years to come.

 

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Thankfully the boss yesterday said the words that we have all been longing to hear regarding his transfer policy over the coming months:

 

“If we buy players it certainly won’t be players who lack experience. We have enough of those. We spend the right money for the right players.”

 

I for one am delighted to hear him say that, though I would have preferred if he had left the ‘if’ out of it. It should be ‘when we do sign players’ rather than if. But, it’s a refreshing thing to hear him say it nonetheless.

 

He went on to say:

“We can go further because we have a young team. It’s not a team that is over the hill. It is a team that is at the start of the hill. You have to accept as well what we have done. We are in the last four in Europe and we have not lost a [Premier League] game since November. We have lost in the Champions League semi-final to a team that is better than us, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. United are the world and European champions.”

 

I wonder how long this team can remain at the start of the hill and will it manage to progress up the hill. the longer it remains at the start of a hill the less likely it is to progress and we have been at the start of this hill since the end of the Invincibles season. So, either we are not progressing or the hill is getting steeper. No doubt losing Flamini set us a little further down the hill going into this season.

 

Elsewhere the line-up for the Emirates Cup was announced and I have to say that it isn’t a particularly mouth-watering prospect as the participating teams are Rangers, Atletico Madrid and Paris St Germain. Not exactly top quality sides, but it will be nice to watch the competition via a stream all the same.

 

In his press conference the boss said that our attitude in training was spot on, if only they carried that attitude into our recent games against ManUre and Chelsea.

 

He also said that basically the players opinions over signings the club should make don’t really matter, which you can understand, though you would hope that he would also take on board that they are making these comments because they feel that the squad needs improving.

 

“It’s human – every player wants to play with big names because it is reassuring. You ask them if they feel they need to sign players, you will get everywhere a positive response. If you ask the players in what position, you will never get their position. Everyone can have opinions but the people who make decisions have responsibilities for the longer-term of the club.”

 

The boss also stated his disappointment over the Bendtner photos and said that the player has been fined by the club, even though he was set-up in order to get a photo. Apparently someone pulled his pants down from behind as he was exiting the club and apparently he wasn’t drunk.

 

“I was angry but he has been set up. He was not drunk. He did not put his trousers down, somebody did it for him and somebody was posted with a camera. It was somebody he doesn’t know, from behind. That’s what he told me. I fined him not for that, I fined him because he should not have gone out.”

 

If that is what the player has said, we will just have to take his word for it and consider it case closed.

 

More good news is that the manager has said that, as it is now basically the end of the season, we will be trying to extend the contracts of a number of players. Great news, I think we can all agree. He had this to say about the Van Persie situation:

 

“I am hoping he will sign a new deal and I am trying very hard to get him to sign. I want Robin on board. He is a very important player in the squad and on the pitch he is a very efficient player. We want him to stay because we gave him a chance when he was in a very bad position at Feyenoord. I think he developed well here and I don’t see a reason for him to go and he loves the club.”

 

It’s good to see the boss giving him a little reminder of what the club has done for him and that he owes us some loyalty.

 

Team news for tomorrow sees us with the same squad as Tuesday as there is a huge doubt over the fitness of Arshavin as he is still suffering from flu. So, I think that we can expect the same starting eleven against Chelsea as we did against ManUre. I hope that it is the same side as that will give them a chance to bounce straight back, to prove something to themselves as well as the fans. The manager also assured the media that all of the players will have trousers. Hehe.

 

A quick congratulations to Andrey Arshavin on picking up this month’s ‘Player of the Month’ award. He has been in great form for us since his arrival and there is a lot more to come from him over the next few seasons. Well done, comrade.

 

Right, that’s about all for today. Have a good one.

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Time to start moving on…well, at least try to.

May 8, 2009

It’s nice to finally get to Friday, not just because that means the end of the working week, but also because it means that we can start to lay this week to rest and put it behind us. It has been a pretty tough few weeks for us Arsenal fans, what with going out of the FA Cup to Chelsea and then the Champions League to ManUre. But, we have to put all of that behind us now as there is nothing that can be done about it until the summer.

 

For those interested you can check out pictures of Bendtner making a tool of himself here.

 

Looking ahead to the game on Sunday, it seems like we don’t have any fresh injuries and the team will probably be the same as started against ManUre, though I would expect Arshavin to come back into the side in place of Van Persie whose chocolate groin may melt in the mid-May afternoon sun. There is a slight doubt over Arshavin as he has apparently been suffering a bit from flu, let’s hope he didn’t catch it from Carlos Vela and his visiting mates.

 

Clichy has been ruled out for the rest of the season as the boss isn’t prepared to take a gamble with his injury now that we have nothing left to play for but pride.

 

There is still a chance that we can get third place from Chelsea. The odds are against us, that’s for sure, but it can be done. If we beat them on Sunday, that would put us within three points of them with two games to go and given that Chelsea have an FA Cup final on the horizon there is the chance that they may rest some players in their three remaining league games. Let’s hope that they start by resting a few against us this Sunday, especially Didier Drogba as he always rips us a new ass when he comes up against us.

 

As today is Friday, that means there is a new podcast from Arseblogger. So, head on over there and check it out. It always a good listen, especially if you live abroad like me.

 

I don’t really want to mention any more about the squad and how it can be improved today as it is something which will rumble on and on until the obligatory deadline day when we will be yet to sign anyone and hoping Arsene pulls a on-the-stroke-of-midnight signing. Hopefully any such signing will come with an ‘s’ at the end because we certainly need more than one.

 

The club have just announced that Theo Walcott has just signed a new long-term deal which is great news for the club and is something which can help to raise the spirits of both the players and the fans.

 

As I sit here trying to remain positive and keep the faith in Arsene, the reality that we are just not up to scratch raises its ugly head to dampen my futile attempts at optimism. But, in times like these I remind myself of the times when us Arsenal fans used to have ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ sung at us and it was actually true. Granted it brought us some success along the way, but it wasn’t exactly pretty to watch. Now we are in a situation where we play nice football (and at times mesmerising football) but it is failing to deliver in what really matters, silverware. It’s not the style of our play that is to blame, it’s just the depth, quality and age/experience of our squad. Alan Hansen said in the 90’s that you ‘don’t win anything with kids’ and people have thrown that back in his face time and time again, but it totally applies to this Arsenal squad. When he said that, he was referring to a ManUre squad that had a handful of young players coming through whereas we have almost an entire squad of young players.

 

The hardest thing to swallow is that Arsene trots out the same excuses when we lose; we lacked experience; we were naive etc. But, you have to lay all of the blame for that firmly at the door of the manager who is ultimately responsible for the make-up of that squad. He fought for the new stadium, he decided to go with the youth policy as that was the cost of moving to the new stadium, he insisted on having total control over everything that goes on at the club. It is now his job to figure out how to get us out of this mess.

 

There is always a high probability that us bloggers and fans overreact when writing and talking about the club and its direction so soon after such a crushing defeat, but I think we all agree on the fundamental issues affecting the team and there is nothing wrong with talking about those as long as we don’t get involved in Patsy Palmer style hyperbole.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I think Wenger is a great manager and has totally transformed the club but he has a lot of work to do before we are ready to seriously challenge on a consistent basis again. One can only hope that the strengthening of his position by Kroenke Tonk Stan and the appointment of Ivan Gazidis will see us have a more pro-active transfer policy and really start to move the club forward again as we have been in a steady decline ever since the season of the Invincibles.

 

One more thing I’d like to touch on, which came us in yesterday’s comments, is the fact that so many ‘fans’ left the stadium early. I honestly don’t see the point in leaving a game early, regardless of the way the game is going. What kind of a signal does that send to the team? Why are the players meant to give a monkeys about the club if the fans themselves fuck off home, or to the pub, long before the game ends. For me, that’s not being a real fan. A real fan stays there to support the team, they don’t turn their back on them. It’s akin to the booing of Eboue that went on earlier in the season. It just goes to show how fickle fans can be, if your team is doing well its easy to stay until the end but if things go a bit Pete Tong the toys get thrown out of the pram and some people bugger off. That’s not what being a football fan is all about, in my opinion. I imagine that opinion among fans will be divided on this issue and I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, but that’s just how I feel about the situation.

 

You are at the game, you have a seat that those of us that happen to work thousands of miles away from the stadium would give our right nut for and yet you walk out of the stadium early. That does my head in. I know it’s your money, your seat and you can do whatever you want to do with that. I just think it’s wrong and projects the wrong image of Arsenal fans. We should strove to be better than other teams, that means both fans and players alike. Someone who walks out of a game before the end has absolutely no right whatsoever to question the commitment of someone like Adebayor or Diaby as they themselves are not giving their all. That’s just my opinion.

 

Speaking of Adebayor there is a good article in The Mirror that sums him up nicely.

 

I wish that we were playing Chelsea tomorrow as we need to get a game under our belts as soon as possible to try and get our minds off the extreme disappointment and hurt that we are all feeling. The last few days have been long and hard. Everything has felt like a chore to do because there is a deep sense of what might have been combined with a realisation that we are not at the level that we think we should be.

 

Okay, I’m going to finish here because this is getting a bit too long.

 

Keep the faith. We are The Arsenal and we will rise again.

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The wonder of you(th)?

May 6, 2009

Maybe. I’m not really sure what direction today’s post will take because in circumstances like these it would be very easy to over-react in one direction or the other. It’s gutting to go out of the competition, no doubt about it. However, I think that in times like these we need to focus on the positives.

 

The team have achieved much more this season than we ever thought they would. We all know that we should have signed defensive players in the summer, but we didn’t. So, having set out our stall for the season with a very young squad, it was always going to be a long, hard season. The team did get off to a shaky start, but from November they have been on a good run, Chelsea and ManUre games aside

 

We all know that our squad lacks experience and that had Arshavin been available we may have done better in the semi-final. But UEFA’s rules are a load of cock and the experience issue is something for the boss to analyse and address. One ray of hope is that this squad now has another season of football under its collectively young belt and therefore should be more able to handle the challenge of competing on all fronts next season. Whether or not this squad is capable of that is another thing, but you would have to look at a twenty-one game unbeaten run in the league as a sign that this team might, just might, be capable of something special given one or two top class new additions to the squad, along with perhaps selling and replacing one or two as well. Adebayor springs to mind on that one, but with Ancelotti probably leaving for Chelsea in the summer that move may not come to fruition. We can but hope.

 

I don’t think that you can blame youth for last night’s defeat. I believe that we were very unlucky for the first goal as it was a slip from Gibbs which allowed Park to get his shot off. I felt desperately sorry for the lad and he never fully recovered after it and was substituted at half-time.

 

The second goal came soon afterwards when the referee gave a soft free-kick against Van Persie for an alleged foul on Ronaldo. However, it was no foul and even the NY Times said that Ronaldo won the free-kick ‘artfully’. In other words, he is a despicable, cheating cunt. The resulting free-kick, from a good thirty-five or forty yards out really should have been dealt with and saved by Almunia. But, it wasn’t and we were two goals down within eleven minutes.

 

That left us with the most gargantuan of tasks and I defy any team to come back and score four goals against the calibre of a team like ManUre in the semi-final of the Champions League. It was never going to happen and the two early goals killed our young team off. Though we didn’t concede the two goals because of youth. It was a combination of misfortune, bad refereeing and some poor goalkeeping. I don’t think that any team would have come back after such a bright start only to be hit by two sucker punches in such quick succession. We should remember that we did start brightly and it was looking like we would really make a good fight of getting back into the tie. That’s what makes it all the more disappointing.

 

So, I don’t want to be overly-negative today because there is plenty of time for finger pointing and arguing later. Today we should stand behind our team, give them the backing and support that they need. In the summer, we can discuss what needs to be done to make the squad more capable of making a sustained and consistent challenge for silverware.

 

Despite ending yet another year without a trophy, I believe that we are not far away from becoming a force to be reckoned with yet again.

 

I hope that the slip by Gibbs won’t have too big of a psychological impact on him and that he can bounce back quickly from it. It wasn’t the lads fault and he has the potential to be a better player for us than Clichy.

 

The most disappointing part of the evening was the fact that Almunia let Ronaldo’s free-kick in. I mean, it was hit from miles out and it didn’t move all that much as it travelled through the air. He really should have gotten his hands on it and kept it out. Yes, Ronaldo struck it well but it came from almost forty yards out! After that went in, we had no chance.

 

The referee certainly did us no favours either. Though, that said, he was more of a cunt to Darren Fletcher when he sent him off for something which wasn’t anywhere near to being a red card offence. You have to feel sorry for him that there is no appeal process for a red card. Just awarding the penalty would have been sufficient. If it was someone as cuntish as Ronaldo, I would be delighted with the red card. But, for me, he is one of their less hateful and cuntish players. Anyway, that’s for ManUre to worry about.

 

The penalty that Van Persie took was fantastic and no keeper would ever have saved it. He rifled it into the top corner, to the keepers left. A great finish, but it was too little too late.

 

As it now stands, that is our two biggest games of the seasons, two semi-finals, where we have failed to really make a good fist of it. Is that down purely to a lack of experience or a lack of intelligence, graft and overall quality. You would have to think that it’s a combination of all of those factors. Experience can easily be bought, likewise quality. However, the players need to learn that they have to work their arses off every time they step onto the field wearing the Arsenal jersey. It’s not enough to simply turn up. They must work. This season we have had a few too many players that have not pulled their weight, most notably Diaby and Adebayor.

 

Adebayor hasn’t been at the races since getting his new contract. We’ve been over him before and I have stated many times that I hope he is sold in the summer and a suitable replacement brought in. A swap for David Villa would be nice.

 

The Diaby situation is more frustrating. He clearly has heaps of talent. He is also a big guy, so he should be able to use his strength and size to impose himself on the game. However, his work ethic is virtually non-existent and he strolls around the field like he is in a five-a-side in PE class. He clearly doesn’t have the aptitude for defending, which is a disgrace for someone of his strength and size. He can’t play out on the wing. So, that just leaves the advanced role that Cesc now operates in. This may be the only role for him in this team as he can’t do anything else. Well, whether or not it is he can’t or he won’t is the key question here. Right now, it seems to be more of a ‘he won’t’ problem, because I feel that he could do it if he adopted a different work ethic. So, maybe it all just comes down to laziness. If that’s the case, then he should go too. also, we have never gotten a fully fit season out of him so it may be time to cut our losses and sell a player that spends most of his time in the treatment room, we have enough of those already.

 

Yesterday’s result now leaves us with just three games to play this season, the first being at home to Chelsea this coming Sunday, away to ManUre Saturday 16th (a chance to extract revenge there) and finally home to Stoke on Sunday 24th.

 

Gunnerblog has a good summation of the situation here.

 

So, barring a Chelsea collapse, or season is done and maybe it’s time to give some more playing time to the likes of Ramsey and Vela. Perhaps Wilshere might get a look-in as a substitute, though more than likely he won’t feature again until pre-season.

 

Right, that’s it for today. Time for dinner.

 

Take it easy and keep the faith.

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The biggest of challenges for the biggest of occasions.

May 5, 2009

Today is the day that we play what is undoubtedly or biggest games since the Champions League final in 2006. There is no real need to say what this means to the fans, the players and the staff. We all know how big this game is. This is the first truly huge night of football to be played at the Emirates.

 

It’s going to be an early start in order to watch this one live, another 03:45 kick-off, but luckily tomorrow is a national holiday, so all is good.

 

Early team news indicates that both Silvestre and Van Persie will be fit, so I expect us to start in a 4-4-2 formation with Van Persie playing in attack alongside Adebayor. Let’s hope that having Van Persie alongside him again will inspire the Togolese to get his finger out and actually try working for the team for a change.

 

That should leave us starting with Walcott and Nasri out wide and Song partnering Cesc in the middle. At the back, I expect that the boss will play Sagna, Toure, Silvestre and Gibbs, though I really hope that Djourou starts in place of Silvestre. Obviously, Almunia will be in goal.

 

It’s important that we start this game with a positive formation as we need to go at them, without taking undue risk, because we don’t have a defence good enough to absorb any kind of real sustained pressure without conceding. I think we all know that it will be ‘game over ball burst’ if ManUre get an all-important away goal tonight. With that in mind, the players will need to use their heads and not take any big risks.

 

The boss can use the memory of Anfield 1989 to give the players the belief that they can achieve a two goal win over ManUre. Though if the game finishes 1-0 to us and then goes to penalties I would fancy us to go through after our shoot-out exploits against Roma earlier in the competition.

 

I an excited, nervous and terrified all at the same time and i must admit it’s a great feeling. These are the games that we wait/hope to see our team involved in each year and they don’t come much bigger than a Champions League semi-final against the holders at your home ground.

 

Alex Fergusmoan himself admits that this game is the biggest one between our two teams:

“There’s no question this is the biggest game. The challenges and the clashes we’ve had with Arsenal in the past do not reach the proportion of Tuesday night.”

 

Cesc has, yet again, pledged his future to the club and it’s great to hear. However, I think that we all know that, in this day and age, players can quickly change their minds, but until that happens it is great to hear. We all know he will return back to Barcelona someday, but let’s hope that it won’t be for a good many years yet.

 

“How many times have I said this. My future belongs to Arsenal and I want to be at Arsenal. I see my future here. I do not have to tell anyone to be relaxed or more confident that I am staying. My name has been linked with other clubs for four years and I am still here. That should tell you something. If I had not come to Arsenal when I was 16, I would probably not be playing in the semi-finals of the Champions League or have had the opportunity to play in a Champions League final [against Barcelona in 2006. I am really grateful to what Arsenal have done for me. Now, it is up to me and all the Arsenal players who were brought here when they were young to achieve things for the club that believed in us and the fans who supported us. It is up to us to pay them back. For most of the players it could be the most important games of their career. We want to make history and we want to go through.”

 

He’s the club captain and I hope that he will lift many trophies for us before his time in England is done. It’s good to hear him talk about the players owing the club a lot for making them the players that they are.

 

The boss is bullish about our chances tonight and I truly hope he is right. It would be amazing if this team were to reach the final our Europe’s premier competition.

 

“I’m very confident the team will produce a magnificent performance. We play at home, where we have a strong record in the Champions League. For many people we are super-outsiders but I personally believe we will do it. If I had said in November that we will be in the semi-finals of the Champions League and FA Cup and go 21 games unbeaten — as we have in the Premier League — you’d have called an ambulance! I feel very proud of this team because they have been through difficult periods and shown great mental strength. And they have faced much more adversity than all the other teams I have had here. The progress this team has made since the start of the season has been remarkable.”

 

I wouldn’t only disagree with one part of his statement and that is that it hasn’t so much been a progression since the start of the season as one since November 22nd after we suffered that humiliating defeat by Man City. No Arsenal fan, not even the most ardent would ever have predicted that we would secure fourth spot in the league with three games remaining but also reach the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League as well as having a decent Carling Cup run. So kudos must be given to all involved in the club for keeping their heads and turning things around.

 

To think that we have achieved this despite multiple long-term injuries and a shortage of quality players in defensive areas makes it all the more remarkable. Of course, we still need to improve and tweak the squad in the summer, but we should all be happy that this team has salvaged some pride and respect from a season that looked doomed to abject failure just six months ago.

 

The boss also tries admirably to defend Adebayor but to be honest it doesn’t really wash with me and it is clear to all that he needs to return to the kind of form that he showed for us last season.

 

“I can understand the criticism Adebayor got at United. But I watched carefully that game again and he put a lot more effort in, more than people think — and he was really isolated. We didn’t give him enough support on the night. He works hard in training, he’s focused and he wants to do well.”

 

Congratulations must go to the Arsenal ladies who defeated Sunderland ladies 2-1 to bring home yet another FA Cup for Vic Akers and the ladies. That’s thirty one trophies in twenty two years for Akers and the ladies. What a record!

 

In other news, Marc Overmars broke his leg in the last minute of a game at the weekend. Let’s hope that he makes a speedy and full recovery.

 

So, that’s about that. There are now twelve hours until kick-off and I will be looking into adjusting the angle of my TV so that I can watch the game from the comfort of the throne should things be going down to the wire. I have my lucky Cesc jersey sitting waiting to be worn. I would have it on right now, but i don’t want any of it’s lucky charms to wear off before kick-off.

 

One thing we must all remember is that if we progress tonight, we still have a lot of work to do before winning anything. Likewise, should we lose, we must strive to keep our heads and not lose the plot calling for the manager’s head. To achieve what we have this season and to have progressed so much since the end of November should constitute quite a successful season, all things considered. Twenty one games unbeaten in the league is quite an achievement and has been done largely unnoticed by the mass media, just the way I like it.

 

The performances of Cesc, Nasri, Walcott, Van Persie and Adebayor will be absolutely vital for our chances tonight. Let’s hope we get big performances from all.

 

Okay, time to go and stock up on toilet paper, snacks and ginger ale. No beer for me tonight. I want to remain focussed and able to aim my rage and hatred in a more controlled way at Ronaldo and co.

 

‘til tomorrow. Let’s hope we get the performance that we all crave tonight. I would love a 3-1 to the Arsenal with our third goal coming in the 5th minute of injury time due to a deflection off Ronaldo. That would be sweet. But, any victory that would put us through will do.

 

Come on you REEEEEEEEEEEDS!!!!!!!!!

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