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Arsenal attack: The Achilles Heel has been replaced by The Hydra

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In case you didn’t know, I kinda like writing about Arsenal. It’s great. They are amazing, even when they’re like, y’know, not amazing and stuff. They put you and I through emotional hell sometimes and supporting them can feel like we’re collectively being punished for some sort of sins in life, but it’s never a chore. It’s never something I wouldn’t consider not doing any more and for all the lows those bastards give me, they are responsible for equally – nay, most of the time – giving me highs.

What has been great about watching Arsenal since the reign of Le Boss, Arsene Wenger, has been how he transformed a club that had been built on a foundation of defensive stability under George Graham (let’s not count that Bruce Rioch era, shall we? After all, Bergkamp aside, it was pretty much like that job you spent six weeks in that you leave off your CV), into a successful, free-flowing powerhouse that not only competed, but outsmarted the red-nosed Scotsman based in Manchester.

Arsene’s successful teams were built on a swashbuckling attack that could counter at will and even when they were down the throats of the opponents and camped in their half, still penetrated lines of defence like a hot knife through a fresh tub of Lurpak Spreadable.

The change that we have seen this season has been very far removed from the heady days of Henry, Pires et al, and so it is with great gusto that I delve head-first into my thoughts on our attacking performance this season.

Let’s get some of the negatives out of the way first. It’s a Saturday, hopefully you’re off work (apologies if I’ve just rubbed salt into a wound there), so it’s always nicer to feel positive after you’ve read an article or a blog. So like ripping off a band aid, we’ll get quickly through the down side and move on to more positive stuff.

We haven’t replaced that Dutch bloke. Not that I expected us too, after all, there’s a brilliant article by GoonerDave66 which explains better than I about how those 30 goal a season strikers are just not knocking around in plentiful supply. Not last season and not for this year. But what all Gooners wanted was the ability to share the collective striking burden around the team. Spread the goals around a bit. There seems to have been a misconception amongst some Gooners that Olivier Giroud would be able to even come close. Here’s the thing though; even if he did come close and scored 30 goals in his debut season, what do you think would have happened with the other players? Would they have all equally have stepped up? Would we have seen Arsenal scoring closer to 100 goals? I am skeptical on that one. I suspect we’d have started to look towards the Frenchman in the same way we did for the Dutch skunk. We’d have had a sharp intake of breath every time he went down and did that ridiculous hand flick thing that he does. By the way, I’ve tried that, and it dun’half hurt when I do it. Perhaps there’s a technique to it, but if it feels the same way when Olivier does it, then I’d suggest he stop before he’s out with a wrist injury.

Anyway, my point remains that replacing the Dutchman with another version was never on the cards, and perhaps it’s also done the squad as a whole a bit of good. There is no reliance on one man now. A player is injured and suspended and other players can take their place. Or if there is a loss of form then another man can have a go. Gervhino started the season ok and even bagged himself a few goals. But then he realised he was Gervhino and started tripping over his own feet.

so rather than being an Achilles with a dodgy heel (reliant on the Dutch Skunk), we’re now in a position to be a Hydra – lop off a head and two more can grow in it’s place. You only need to look at the two ‘goals scored’ section to see that we’ve replaced one prolific striker for three decent ones. In 2011/12 we got 74 goals. This year? 72. Now I’m no fancy Harvard Mathematician, but I’m pretty sure those two numbers are quite close together. We’ve also got one of only four Premier League teams to have four different players into double figures.

I’m not saying that we don’t need more in the sharp end of the team, I’m just saying that expecting things to be the same as last season was always going to be folly, but where we’ve arrived at in hindsight must always be preferable, no?

We’ve had a stonking season from Walcott in terms of goals, a decent enough tally from Podolski and Giroud, plus a bit more from midfield with the goals of Cazorla to chip in. We have options. Yes, some of Walcott’s performances have been quiet, bordering on anonymous, but that’s the whole point of having a team to pick you up when you’re not performing, isn’t it? And to be fair that is exactly what the team has done.

I know, I know, last season is hardly a barometer of where we want to be, or feel we should be, but given that last summer felt like the last of the ‘big stars’ was leaving the club, doesn’t it make you feel quite optimistic about next season?

I think that our attacking options have scored a classic Championship Manager style ’6 out of 10′ this year. They’ve plugged the gap which was left from that Dutch blokes departure, and now it’s time that everyone kicked on, so we can start to challenge for the league next season.

But speaking of ‘kicking’, it would be wrong of me to miss some of the players which really need to be booted out. I’ve spoken quite a bit during the season about how some of the deadwood needs to be shifted, and it’s in the attacking element of the squad that the boot needs to be shown more than other areas. Park, Bendtner, Arshavin and Chamakh have all fallen so far from grace we can’t even see a speck of them from the cliff from whence they fell. I can’t even say they’ve had poor seasons. From and Arsenal perspective they’ve had no season. You can’t even rate them. All they get is a big fat ‘N/A’ next to their names. That is where the attack has let us down this year. In being able to have something different behind the first three or four players up front. Heaven forbid where we’d be if we experienced an injury crisis of those three or four players being out. We’d have spent three months wondering whether Gervhino actually knows where his feet are.

Up front is where the most surgery is needed in my opinion. But I don’t think it’s a root and branch change to the options for Arsene. I suspect that a big signing, a real stellar one, would be enough to give us hope that we can step up another notch or two in the Premier League. We’re not that far off in my opinion. The noises about Sanogo seem to be gathering pace, so with a big name plus a good young player expected to come in, there is potential for the attacking trio. Plus, I haven’t even mentioned Oxlade-Chamberlain, who will have a better season than this season, I’m sure. I’m not sure whether or not we’ll see Joel Campbell or Wellington (remember him??) in an Arsenal shirt, but we could see Gnabry step up in the squad into the wide positions. The point is, we have those options, so whilst some changes need to be made there doesn’t need to be a five-man overhaul.

I am, like many of you, very optimistic about our summer. I don’t think there needs to be lots of incoming players, but I do think that Arsenal will go big in their signings. Get one or two big signings in early, then get them all bedding in and getting to know one another, then lets make sure we’re as prepared as possible for the start of next year.

Until tomorrow.

Arsene loves his midfield versatility

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So here we are at the end of another week. Friday has decided to grace us with its presence and I for one couldn’t be happier about that. After taking Monday off to travel back from the North East, I feel like the last few days have taken an eternity for the weekend to show it’s face. But now it’s here and we can look forward to a footballing weekend of….oh.

This is going to feel very strange. I’m going to have to re-remember how I did it last summer. Perhaps I’ll take up Bridge. Or maybe not.

There is still the matter of my analysis of our midfield and attack however, so I will happily regale you with my musings, if you’d be so kind as to read on…

The midfield this season was the one area that probably had the most disruptions to it through injury. We started the season knowing Jack would be out until October but the foolishly hopeful of us felt that, if Diaby could just get a run of games together, he might just be able to shake off his incessant injury problems since that Dan Smith tackle a few years ago. Sadly for us, ’twas a mere pipe dream. Diaby came, played a blinder against Liverpool, then hobbled off against Chelski and we haven’t really seen him since. With the news that the club announced only a few months ago – Diaby would be out until Christmas – it leaves too much time and too many games both from this season and next, for us to expect him to play any more part in writing the ongoing history of Arsenal Football Club. I share the disappointment of many inside and out of the club, but it’s time to cut the chord I’m afraid.

In his stead, the midfield that formed of Arteta, Cazorla and Ramsey looked in good shape at times, and a little bit shaky at others, as each player sussed out the strengths and weaknesses in one-another’s games. Arteta sitting in that holding role is not something we expected from the man when we signed him from Everton, but he has shown in the last two seasons at Arsenal why Wenger rates him so highly: consistency and versatility. Arsene loves a versatile player. If Championship Manager 97/98 was real life, he’d have snapped up Nicklas Alexandersson without hesitation (he played as a Defender/Midfielder/Forward Right/Left/Centre). That’s what Arteta can bring to the team. He’ll play anywhere you ask him too. not just that, he’ll also be darn good at it too, such is his ability. Now i’ve had a full second season to watch him in action I can’t speak highly enough of him. Thankfully, despite the injury record he came with, we’ve not seen him out of too many games and his perfect hair has graced the Emirates turf enough times for him to become a firm fans favourite.

At the beginning of the season we saw Coquelin a bit more than of late and, as a player I rate him and the role he plays as a combative ball winner, but his lack of first team opportunities will I think lead the player to seeking pastures new. He’s of an age now where he’ll just want to be playing football and I think he’ll get a bit of a Diarra going on and want to drop down to a lesser team in the hope he plays regularly and then steps up to some of the bigger clubs in a couple of moves time. Signing a new combative defensive midfielder will probably tell us all we need to know about his future, but somehow I hope he can find his way into the first team next season. I posed a question on Twitter a few days ago about whether or not Arsenal fans would take Flamini back on a free transfer this summer. Whilst some say ‘yes’, I think those that said ‘no’ might have had an eye on Le Coq, as I see the role they both fulfil as very similar. When I first heard Flamini was available on a free I wondered whether or not it would be a good move for us, but the more I think about it, the more I see how it could ‘kill’ Coquelin. I think we should be putting more faith in a younger player currently at the club than an ageing one that deserted us.

But where one midfielders game time dwindled, another one stepped up, doing so in a big way. Aaron Ramsey has experienced somewhat of a purple patch in the second half of the season and has really come of age. He has found a place in the side that is not only valuable, but essential, given our recent miserly approach to conceding goals. This time last year ‘Rambo’ was severely questioned by so many Arsenal fans that even on some match days the frustration was palpable at times. But he has shown exactly what type of man he is. A brave heart. His all-action style and ability to do what Alex Song clearly thought was beneath him has won him a place in the first 11 regularly and also in our hearts. His form has also afforded the luxury of Arsene being able to use Jack Wilshire sparingly, so as to not risk further long-term damage to the midfielders prospects of shaking his injury problems. This can only be a good thing and will hopefully bode well for next season.

Which leads me seamlessly on to the player we all hope will be our talisman for the next ten years – JW. We all know about Jack. We all know what he brings and for the middle part in the season we all saw how he can influence and dominate games. The Swansea FA Cup match at home is a perfect example. He took the game by the scruff of the neck and won it with a superb finish. His goal tally is the only thing he needs to work on but it is something that will come with games I think. Just before Cesc had his place in the team as the focal point people said the same thing about him, so for Jack I think we’ll see the same. The only thing he will have to beat will be the injury niggles that have already caused him problems. Fingers crossed this ankle surgery gives him a full run at the whole of next season.

There have been other cogs in our midfield that have played their part, such as Rosicky, whose appearance towards the end of the season has been vitally important when one or two players went missing. Tomas is a great squad player. Some players that don’t play regularly take a bit of time to find their form, but Tomas has been able to – both this season and last – slot straight into the team and have an impact. His drive and awareness are fantastic and he’s even managed to bag a few goals towards the end of this season.

But of course, I have to save the best until last. Santi Cazorla ladies and gentlemen. Quite simply a genius. You never know just how long a player is going to adapt to life in the Premier League, but this guy was an instant hit, showing class from the first game this season to the last. It’s the little things he did early on that made me realise what a gem of a player he is. I remember in the first half of the 6-1 win against Southampton when a high ball into the sky was hurtling down to ground right by him. He simple placed his foot in front of him and the ball just stuck. Not just that though, because he managed to turn a player within a second or two. It was majestic stuff. And it proved he could cut it in this league because you get no time at all to think in the English game and Santi didn’t seem to be phased by that. He’s contributed both goals and assists and, whilst last season David Silva faded away after Christmas, Santi has remained an integral part of the team, the pass to Walcott for the second goal against Wigan a week and a half ago being another example.

We’ve got a great group of midfielders with differing levels of ability, but do we need to make any additions to take us to the next level? If I had a crystal ball and I could see how Coquelin could potentially step up to fight Arteta for that holding role, then I’d probably have a better answer. The same could be said for both Eisfeld and Gnabry. But i don’t. So at this moment in time I would suggest that we probably do need one more addition creatively. If Santi were to be injured, could we really rely on Rosicky for a prolonged period of time? Would he get us the leek of goals and assists that Santi has? I would probably say ‘no’, so think that this might be an area that Arsene looks at. Would I take Cesc back given the rumours? Of course! But I am skeptical that Barcelona would let the heir apparent to an ageing Xavi walk back to The Arsenal. I believe it’s just media bluff to achieve their desired readership levels, so I’ll save any hope for a more realistic signing.

More from me on the striking options tomorrow. Have a good Friday.

Say it out loud: defensive stability at Arsenal

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Ahh Thursday, how are you? It’s been almost a week since I saw you last, hasn’t it? No, you’re right, it’s been exactly a week. A week in which we learned our fate lies in the Champions League (qualifiers at least) and where hope has now sprung from the possibility of a proactive summer that will strengthen the team and put us in a position where we can hopefully look upwards to challenge rather than downwards to who is catching us up.

The subject of transfers will be a hot potato for the next few months and, whilst we would all agree that we need strengthening, one area of the team that surprisingly needs probably the least bit of surgery is our defence. Last year we leaked more goals than Julian Lestrange leaks politically sensitive material. We were subjected to abominations like the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford and you wouldn’t find too many Gooners that could argue that we had the basis of a sound and solid defensive unit. We looked beleaguered and devoid of any confidence at the back and going into every game you wondered what defensive lapse would occur today.

Fast forward to today and you find (this blogger at least) Arsenal fans that are looking at our defence and praising their stinginess when it comes to opposition strikers. We’ve conceded four goals in our final 11 games of the season and our defensive unit has been resolute in ensuring that we get into that top four spot. Most of those clean sheets came with a one goal victory, so it just goes to show how important the defensive side of the game has been. It’s true that our attacking impetus has perhaps been curbed somewhat since this defensive side of the game has been worked on, but in reality I’m sure you’d all agree that shipping very few goals and hoping we out score opposition is certainly more preferable to trying to play catch up after going behind. Although I appreciate that wasn’t the case at the mod point in the season – the 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool is a case in point.

We’ve got the second best defensive record in The Premier League. I’m going to let that sink in for a minute. Second best. As in, there are most other teams in the league that don’t have as many shutouts as we do. The perpetual knocking of Arsenal defensively over the last few seasons has been blown out of the water by some of our displays towards the latter end of the season, and it bodes well if we can continue that form into next season.

But it’s not just the back four that should be praised for the defensive aspect of our game and the improved work. In the latter part of this season the role that Arteta and Ramsey played in screening the back four has been vital in ensuring our solidity. That ability to track runners into the box and close down space in between defence and midfield has been a key component of how we’ve been able to build from the back.

Second best defence in the league. Just say it to yourself out loud.

At left back we’ve seen the arrival of Spanish international Nacho Monreal and, whilst it had many of us scratching our heads at the time and wondering why we hadn’t signed a striker on deadline day, there can be no doubts that Arsene made a good move in bringing the Spaniard in. Whilst doubts over Gibbs’ ability to play a whole season remain, the arrival of Monreal means that not only do we have genuine competition, we have two internationals vying for it. Both have been used effectively this season and both have helped to significantly contribute to our run in. Gibbs provides a bit more pace going forward, but Monreal has an assuredness about his game that puts us at ease about a million times more than Andre Santos ever could.

In the middle of the defence we’ve found our number one partnership, at the expense of the captain, Thomas Vermaelen. I feel for Thomas. The year of his captaincy has coincided with a dip in form that was probably at its worst during the 2-1 defeat at United when he mis-kicked his clearance straight into the feet of That Dutch Bloke. He was dropped for the Bayern game and the form of Koscienly and Mertesacker has meant he never really had a sniff at regaining his place in the side.

Mertesacker has been the one player that affords me a smug grin. All non-Arsenal companions that I have, have made comments about the BFG last season about Wenger buying another dud. It was the same the season before with Koscienly. But between the two of them, they have ended the season in tremendous form. I can say it now because the game has well and truly ended, but I think back to that last game of the season and if truth be told, for the majority of the game the Newcastle front line had slim pickings to feed from both Kos an Mert. They compliment each other so well. Koscienly has the recovery pace and Mertesacker has the positional sense. Unfortunately for Vermaelen, he’s not the strongest in either position and so he finds only a place on the bench right now. I’m sure he’ll be knocking on the managers door in pre-season, but it’s hard to argue your case when you have rivals for your position that are so miserly when it comes to conceding.

At right back we’ve had an interesting turn of events. At the beginning of the season there were real fears about losing Sagna to a free transfer or at the end of the season. As it stands now, there are some sections of Arsenal fans that I have heard say they wouldn’t be too fussed if he departed to Paris Saint Germain in the summer. Personally, I would like him to remain at the club. His form has not been its usual consistent self, but he has still been a valuable cog in that defensive unit. Perhaps the desire to see Carl Jenkinson become first choice has more to do with how far he has come this season, to the extent where he received an international call up for England, and now has many Arsenal fans hoping he can establish himself as first choice in the team next year. It’s understandable; Jenkinson is an Arsenal fan, he’s one of us, so we naturally want to see players who love the club as much as we do in the team. But he is still somewhat raw and with the experience of Sagna in the side, we have been in the fortuitous position that we can be afforded the luxury of questioning who could fill that right back slot, rather than a few years ago when we looked like we had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a square peg in a round hole.

Should we be looking to strengthen in the summer defensively? If I’m completely honest I don’t know. I guess it will come down to whether or not Sagna is moved on. I rate Jenko, but I’m not sure whether or not he’s ready to be the number one choice without a player who can challenge him for his place so if the Frenchman is moved on then i would say a definite ‘yes’. Jenko probably needs another 12 months of games and growth before he is ready. That is why I hope Sagna stays on. His experience will be useful, even if we lose him in the summer next year for free, so on that basis, I hope we don’t need to make reinforcements. There are other areas that are more in need of strengthening.

Have a good one Gooners.

Stick or twist: what to do about the goalkeeping situation

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Ten seconds I was away from getting my train this morning. The driver knew I was there and he could have opened the doors, but these TFL jobs-worths probably take some sort of sick pleasure in the annoyance of the commuters that pay their salaries, the bar stewards.

Anyway, my public transportation issues are not why you’re here, and it certainly isn’t the reason I do this shizzle every day. I’m here to talk about all things Arsenal and, by Jove (not a reference to the Fiorentina player, calm down people!), that’s what I’ll do. I could talk about the impending arrival of Sanogo but as I type this first thing on a Wednesday morning there is no deal to speak of and so no point in speculating.

It’s in the world of goalkeepers is where I wants to be today, and most specifically, Arsenal goalkeepers. I think it’s fair to say that in Arsene’s tenure as Arsenal manager he’s hardly found it easy pickings finding decent stoppers in between the sticks and this season has also been a challenging one for our last line of defence. Arsene inherited Seaman, Manninger didn’t really step up, Jens was a good signing but we only really had him for a few seasons, Almunia was never really a number one (in my humble opinion) and Fabianski looked shakier than than a Harry Redknapp tax defence in court. Yet along came this young, confident and bolshy whipper snapper with a name I’ve since spent a couple of years practising, to make us Gooners believe that we’d found a number one for the next 15 years.

Wojciech Szczesny has been able to make the step up and has, up until this season, been questioned in terms of his ability by few Gooners, leading to many last season believe that Arsene had finally found a long-term solution. But this season has seen old fears rear their ugly head. Some slightly suspect performances, question marks over his kicking and a general lack of form at the beginning of this year led many of us to wonder if Woj would go the way of Fawlty Manuel and decline to an extent that he wouldn’t make the first team next season. Arsene had to act, and act he did; Szczesny was dropped for Fabianski and the Pole managed to string together a strong of competent performances that kept his younger challenger on the bench for a number of weeks.

You may think me harsh to call Fabianski’s displays ‘competent’, but in my mind that is all they were. He made a couple of confident catches against Munich and pulled off a couple of smart saves, but as I reflect on his overall stint in the team, I think only that what he did was what we should expect in a Premier League ‘keeper. Perhaps that just goes to show you where we are at as fans; we’re so used to seeing some calamity ‘keeping, that any kind of solid display is elevated to a level as being seen to be good. I have nothing against Lukas, but I have never been convinced by him and to me he has all the hallmarks of a good number two (stop sniggering at the back). He’s just like Almunia in that respect. Manuel should never have been given the number one jersey. Even at his peak, he only ever did what he was supposed to. He’d save shots you’d expect him to save, miss goals you wouldn’t expect him to save, nothing more or less. To me, that’s where you get the world class ‘keepers. That’s where you see the cream rise to the top. Cech at his peak used to be like that – I had a mate that called him ‘Nightcrawler’ because he’d appear at the corner of the goal to make a save nobody expected him to get to.

I think Szczesny has that about him. We’ve already seen it at times this season. Just think back to the recent save at QPR from Remy. I don’t think that is something Almunia or Fabianski would have got to. Perhaps it was complacency that led to him to feel his place in the team was guaranteed, but what Arsene did by dropping him earlier this year was a master stroke, as it proved the perfect incentive to spurn the younger Pole on to win his place back. It was a jolt to the system for Woj and he reacted exactly how us fans want to see a player reacting to being dropped; he sharpened his game, played an important role in capturing fourth spot, and now looks to have re-established his position as the clubs number one.

As you can tell, I rate Szczesny, I really do. I think he has all of the credentials to be one of the best in the world, but he needs to be challenged, which is why I hope the club bring in an experienced ‘keeper in the summer. I think there needs to be genuine competition for that jersey and that Fabianski provided merely a quick adrenaline shot. His place as first choice ‘keeper was designed purely as a hygiene factor to encourage Wojciech to step up to the plate. And if you know you’re A-Level Business Studies, you’ll know that Herzberg’s hygiene factors rarely kept people motivated for any prolonged period of time. So my hope for this position in the summer is that we get in a really good experienced 30+ goalkeeper that can spend a few years challenging Woj to establish himself as a clear and definite number one in the Arsenal team. I have no idea who fits this bill and it’s not my job to know, just to support, but as an amateur Football Manager (I have the handheld version on my iPhone and I’ve guided little known German team Babelsberg to the Champions League spaces dontcha know!) I would say that somebody like Julio Cesar would be a good choice. The only question mark would be around how many gold doubloons were waved in front of him to join QPR last summer and whether he’d be expecting the same level of exorbitant cash to play as a squad player for Arsenal. There’s been talk of Rene Adler and from what little I have seen of him that would be a good signing, but I would expect he would be seen more as a replacement for Szczesny rather than a player to challenge and improve the young Pole. Personally, I’d rather we focused on developing him than finding an alternative, because I think he can be better than anything out there that we could buy. But we shall wait and see what Arsene fancies doing with his spending money this summer. Will he stick with his young Poles, will he look to motivate the youngest of the two and being in an experienced pair of hands, or will he twist with a new number one?

If I was to give a mark out of 10 for our goalkeeping this season, I’d call it a 6. At times we’ve looked ok – particularly for the last 10 games, but it is clear there is room for improvement.

Until tomorrow.

Nerves wracked, so now time to bask in Champions League glow

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Well wasn’t that a fun way to end the season, eh? No? You mean you don’t enjoy chewing your fingernails down to their stubby ends? You don’t like watching the clock tick down so slowly that it appears to have stopped altogether? You can’t stand those last few minutes when we look like we should keep possession but invariably gift it back to our opponents? How strange.

All sarcasm aside, yesterday was painful at times, watching and waiting for our status as entrants into next season’s qualifying stage of the Champions League to be confirmed. I feel like I’ve aged about four or five years based on that second half against Newcastle. But after the first 45 gave us nothing but frustration from a clearly nervous Arsenal side, at least the second half produced a goal – however scrappy from a set piece by Koscienly – and the eventual euphoria that comes as the full time whistle blows.

The visible relief and joy of the players was mirrored in the stands, as the away section of St James’ Park broke out into delightful song of ‘Tottenham, mind the gap, Tottenham, Tottenham mind the gap’ and a delicious rendition of ‘Its happened again, it’s happened again, Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again’. For after all, if victory and securing forth place isn’t sweet enough, it was made all the more delectable that it was achieved at the expense of our neighbours. Again.

There is no Schadenfreude in this victory because we know what we would have been faced with had we not qualified. We know what their lot sang when we lost at White Hart Lane to make our season look all but over. We’ve seen the photoshopped images of the ‘Mind the Gap’ signs be trotted out once again. And yesterday we got to revel in the false dawn that erupted at White Hart Lane when they thought Newcastle had equalised, then finding out that the ‘ghost goal’ never was, which was brilliant to see after I got back from the match.

And do you know what also makes me smile? Thinking about all of those bitter ex-Spurs players who decided that actually this didn’t mean that much and that Arsenal were over the top in their celebrations. As if they wouldn’t have been the same should their former team pip Arsenal to that fourth spot. Gary Lineker’s bitterness was music to my ears, saying ‘Arsenal win their trophy for the 16th season in a row’. Oh dear Gary, is somebody a little upset because his team didn’t win? It was also lovely to see people like Jamie Redknapp so disappointed. He who had bizarrely written an article saying that the Spurs squad was better than Arsenal’s, then in the same article saying that the Spurs squad – Bale aside – had let the club down and hadn’t played their part well enough. Yeah, work that one out…

We’ve heard all season about how that lot ‘deserve’ fourth spot. Well now hang on a second, I thought the object of this competition was to accumulate the most points by winning more games than other teams and amassing more points as a result. If that still is the case – and please let me know if it isn’t any more – then I’m pretty sure that Arsenal beat Tottenham by being the better team, winning more games, scoring more goals and also conceding a lot less. So I’m not having any of this ‘deserved to get it’ rubbish unless we’ve got factual evidence to prove it, which Arsenal obviously do.

Yesterday we saw what this Arsenal team is all about. Grit and determination in abundance and sometimes making up for the creative and ‘flair’ Arsenal of years gone by. In the first half we were poor and up against a Newcastle side that had no fear. They had the better of the chances and the majority of the play was spent in Arsenal’s half. Both Cisse and Ben Arfa probably should have scored, but thankfully their collective profligacy allowed us to get in at half time level. We looked ponderous and leggy. The decision to risk Arteta was proven to be a naive one, as the Spaniard didn’t last half an hour, but his replacement Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a good game I thought. Rambo was frustrating at times and his passing left a lot to be desired of, but his work-rate cannot be questioned, so I’ll not chastise him too much. In defence we looked solid enough but going forward was ‘one of those days’. Poldi, Cazorla and Walcott never really got a hold of the game in that first half, and for the goal aside, didn’t really impact the Newcastle back four as much as we’d have liked them too. But hey, today is not a day for too much analysis on the part of individual players. Today is a day to recognise that the team have done their jobs.

There will be plenty of time to dissect the season over the coming days and weeks and so I’ll save my thoughts on the whole season for now, but it is good to bask in the glow that we have achieved at least the bare minimum this season, so now what we need is a pre-season of strengthening to ensure that we don’t repeat the Groundhogginess of the last two seasons.

Enjoy the gloating Gooners, wherever you are today.

Standing at the crossroads – which route will Arsenal take?

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Here we are friends. Here we are standing at the final crossroads. The fork in front of us leads us to two separate destinations. One is a preferred route, full of lush green Champions League football, revenue for the clubs already bulging coffers, prestige of at least achieving what we all hoped would be the bare minimum this season, and finally the opportunity to celebrate St Totteringham’s day once again.

The second road is Europa League football. Once upon a time it would have been a similarly enjoyable path to tread, but the gardener has spent most of his time worrying about the other route that this one has become neglected, a little bit overgrown and slightly wiffy, if I’m honest.

Today there is a team from the North East of our land that stand between taking the first and the second road. They are the gatekeepers of our path and to dispatch them effectively will allow us to tread the route we want to tread.

I am getting nervous just typing this match preview, I can tell you that. I am nervous because I know that despite nothing other than pride to play for, Newcastle will be up for this game. They may have secured another year of Premier League football last week, but Alan Pardew will not throw on another group of kids to finish the season. He’ll play the strongest team he has. I am also nervous because I see similarities with what happened on the last game of last season against West Brom. The Baggies were in exactly the same position and yet still so nearly came away with a point that would have eventually meant Champions League football was taken away from us. For what it’s worth, I am appealing directly to the Footballing Gods now: if you like symmetry, parallels in life and such, grant us another away win on the last day of the season. And if we Gooners have to go through Hell and back watching a game of intense pressure, then so be it, as long as the final result is favourable enough to see Arsenal in with a shout for Champions League football next season.

Team-wise we will see a Newcastle side that has one or two question marks over it. The absence of both Krul and Elliott in goal, through injury and suspension respectively, will give Steve Harper the opportunity to play in his last game for Newcastle. So rather than expect him to flap at a few balls, let’s expect him to have the game of his life, meaning we’ll have to pepper his goal just to get a few through. In defence there will be no Steven Taylor, but Collocini and Yanga-Mbiwa will still form a decent enough back line to give our front three a tough enough game. Marveux is injured for the Geordies, but other than that they should have a fu strength team to put out. We know the quality of Cisse and Ben Arfa up top so we know we’ll be up against a tough attacking unit and I’m not expecting any favours from the them today.

As for us, our main questions revolve around a replacement for Arteta and whether Giroud will start at the head of the front three. I suspect Arsene will go for the Frenchman above Poldi, so the German may have to settle for an impact place on the bench. In midfield I think Arsene will opt for Wilshire as a ‘once more into the breach’ for Jack before he has his ankle surgery. Whether or not he lasts the full 90 will be another question Le Boss will have to work out. The back five picks itself really, so there’s no need to go over it on who is playing.

In the last two games up at St James’ Park we’ve had a player sent off and found it really hard to break Newcastle down after that. That was the same when we played Sunderland earlier in the year and so I’m hoping we can keep our heads and ensure that the match finishes 11 v 11. If we do, then I would hope that we have enough quality against this Newcastle side. However, Arsene has never beaten Pardew away from home and so we are up against another unwanted record that we have to break, so lets hope that particular hoodoo is extinguished come 6pm tonight. I could talk about the incentive Mike Ashley has offered of a £1million bonus to all non-playing staff if Newcastle win today, but that strikes me as a bit baffling, as the non-football staff have no influence on the game, so it’s hardly a motivator for the players. Anyway….

The players, the staff, the fans – all of us have a role to play today. Let’s be united today and hopefully sing our boys on to victory.

Up the Arsenal!

Saying the right things, signing the right players and Backhim’s retirement

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Welcome to Saturday Gooners. We’re all now on countdown and, if Sky Sports had their way, they’d probably have that shouty ‘Jim’ bloke standing outside one of the stadiums where the final Champions League qualification spot will be decided, bellowing his Scottish balls out to see if he could drum up some intensity 24 hours before kick off. They’d probably pay good money to clone him and have Jim mk1 and Original Jim doing live updates. In fact, I bet that is something that Rupert Murdoch is already working on in his evil lab on top of a big hill somewhere. In some country, Murdoch is using fresh kitten blood to make a new Sky Sports Jim. A terrifying and sobering thought if ever there was one.

We don’t need to be told how important tomorrow’s game is, and neither do the players, as Arsene clearly alluded to in his pre-game presser yesterday morning. He spoke of quite a few things, one of which being that he wouldn’t want to be involved in football if he didn’t have pressure. He called it ‘boring’ when you don’t have anything to play for and, whilst I agree that it all adds to the excitement, it also heightens the sadness if things don’t go your way. I also doubt very much that Arsene would take what we’re faced with right now over secured qualification three weeks ago. But there you go, we are where we are and we have our destiny in our own hands.

The players are saying all the right things, as you’d expect, with our man Jack Wilshire talking about excitement as much as nerves going in to the game. That’s music to my ears if I’m completely honest, because if there are too many nerves across the team, the worry is always that they will not express themselves creatively enough. I am up in Northumberland at the moment as I’ll be at the game tomorrow, and the last time I was here because of the football with The Management’s family, we beat Sunderland in February this year and Jack was particularly impressive until he came off with a knock. If he’s starting tomorrow my hope is that he can repeat his good North East form this season.

Can I make an admission here? I have to say I find it a little bit vexing that pages on the Arsenal website have been dedicated to a player and a manager that have had no real affiliation with Arsenal Football Club. I know David Beckham (or as one of the original Pro Evolution Soccer games on the PlayStation called him ‘Backhim’) trained with us for a few weeks, but why we have to read comments about how great he is on the official site I don’t really know. It was the same with Fergie. I don’t really care that much that they are retiring. They had minimal impact on Arsenal’s history (except to dent parts of it by winning trophies) so I don’t really know why online column inches have to be dedicated to them. Can we not save that for the media to roll out the mattress for a collective jizz-fest? Let them talk about how great his haircuts were and let us focus on The Arsenal. I’ve got no problem with him as a person, but he’s never been and Arsenal man so we should just move on barely batting an eyelid.

Anyway, back to Arsenal, and as I suggested yesterday, it wouldn’t be an end of season presser without some sort of tittle-tattle, so the assembled hacks decided to probe Arsene on Wayne Rooney and Yaya Sanogo. Of course Arsene was semi-dismissive of Rooney, saying that he didn’t even know if United wanted to sell him let alone whether or not they would want to buy the player. For all the fan chanting and general mockery of the player, it’s hard to argue that his presence in the Arsenal squad wouldn’t improve it. Of course, his wages would certainly make a pretty dent in the clubs stockpiled millions, so I’d be shocked if that particular transfer came to fruition. It just doesn’t ‘feel’ like an Arsene signing. Too high profile, too much baggage, too much of a long shot in my book.

However, one that does look to be on the verge of happening is the free transfer of the young man from Auxerre, who’s name sounds like a conversation Arsene had to the younger Toure’s agent just before we sent him packing after his trial at the club. Yaya Sanogo has scored nine times in 11 this season and by the sounds of it seems to be a decent prospect, but we’ve been down this route before, particularly with a player that already has a bit of a chequered injury record at his tender age. Arsene admitted the deal was quite far down the line and whilst the risk is less because he will be a free transfer, there will no doubt be one or two of the more vociferous anti-Wenger Gooners that will be sharpening their pitchforks at the prospect of another young player coming in at the expense of the mature and fully polished shiny new striker we all crave. Personally, I think that this move will be a decent one. It looks like a classic ‘buy him, send him out on loan, then if he doesn’t make the first team we’ll get a few mil for him’ type signing. Very similar to how I suspect we’ll see Joel Campbell progress and also how Carlos Vela’s career went at Arsenal. But we wait and see with that one. I don’t profess to know anything about French football and we all know YouTube is about as reliable as Harry Redknapp relegation escape plan so I don’t really take much notice of the video clips on there.

That’ll do for today. If you’re going tomorrow, give me a holler and perhaps we can share a pre-match supping of the amber nectar?

Cazorla’s grand, plus debunking some Arsenal misconceptions

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Happy Friday to you lovely Gooners. I hope this one finds you in particularly tip-top shape. It will need to be, because we head into a season-defining game way up there in Newcastle on Sunday. I’m heading up there myself today to partake in my regular frivolities with The Management’s family. Of course it was not a coincidence that Arsenal are playing!

That cheeky old rapscallion Arsene decided that he’d also head up to sample some of the local Newky Brown stuff too I see, having decided to have his press conference yesterday. At least I think he did. I’m seeing a lot of stuff to chew on content-wise and so rather than take a few minutes to check, I thought I’d just be lazy and guess.

Arsene spoke of Arteta’s unlikely appearance at the Wonga stadium and of who could replace him, possibly Jack Wilshire, but I think I’ll save my predicted line up thoughts for my pre-match blogginton on Sunday. Given what has been said about Jack needing surgery though, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has some alarm bells ringing when you wonder whether he should start. Let’s face it, Arsene’s record in the ‘gambling with players fitness’ stakes reads like Paul Merson’s account at William Hill. But we can ponder that over the coming days.

*Quick update* – turns out I’m not that lazy after all, and checked the Arsenal official site – looks like a classic Arsene ‘talk to Arsenal Player before the media hacks get here tomorrow’ job, so I’m sure he’ll spend an hour or two deflecting shots about signing Rooney for most of this morning.

Arsene also spoke about the impact that Cazorla has had this season, and I think it’s air to say that the diminutive Spaniard has been one of Arsene’s stellar signings of the last few years. With 12 goals and 12 assists in his debut season, plus the fact he’s been instrumental in so much that we do, it’s hard not to love little Santi. And for £12million he was an absolute snip. Yes, I know we sort of tool advantage of a club on its knees, but I’m afraid I can have no sympathy for those teams that live beyond their means. We get battered over the head about not signing players, but if you’ve not got a sugar daddy (I know they were SUPPOSED to have one, but that didn’t really work out) to bankroll you, then you can only look at the way you run your own house to find fault.

Santi has been superb though, hasn’t he? I agree with Arsene; how he has not made it into the team of the season really surprises me. Although I suspect it’s more to do with the fact he’s been playing in and Arsenal team that has not exactly hit the highest of heights. In the media’s eyes we’re a club in decline.

Which brings me nicely into another few bits of info added to the official site over the last 24 hours. Info about the fact that this seasons Arsenal team is one of only four teams in the history of the Premier League to have four players into double figures on the scoring charts. That’s quite a feat when you think that we’re now in the 20th year of the birth of the Premier League, and when you think about all of the great teams that have played in it, that’s not a bad accolade. I know you can find positive stats about anything these days, but I see this as a real plus point. I don’t know who the other three sides are (one might be Arsenal with Henry, Pires, Ljungberg and Bergkamp?), but I would imagine the United treble winning team would be in there. So not too bad company to be in there amongst some of the best teams that have existed in the Premier League.

I guess it goes to show you how we’ve shared the responsibility away from one man and handed it to many, mitigating our own risks of over-reliance and meaning that when we lose one player – like Giroud through suspension recently – there are others that can take up the slack. It’s what we all wanted after last seasons desperation for a certain Dutch player to stay fit, so now we have that we don’t all take a collective sharp intake of breath when any one player goes down clutching his ankle.

It is also interesting to look at the table and see that we have one of the best defences in the league. Let’s not forget that this is an Arsenal team that the media love to perpetuate as perennial offenders in the defensive stakes through their lazy journalism. But certainly with the increase in solidity at the back over the last month or so, we’ve seen an improvement in results as a consequence. It ent rocket science people, cut out the errors at the back and you take away the pressure on the forwards to score three or four goals a game. You do feel for Vermaelen, but based on the performance of the current two centre backs, you can’t see how he’s going to get back into the team.

Whilst we’re in the process of debunking some Arsenal myths about this season, let’s look at the points tally. If we win this weekend’s game against Newcastle, we’ll have finished a couple of points better off than last season. Now, I’m not suggesting that last season should be any kind of blueprint for success, but given we were predicted for mid table mediocrity by many of the moronic excuses for media professionals out there in TV, print and radio land, perhaps we should cut ourselves, and certainly the players, a teeny bit of slack. If the team can do the business against the Geordies on Sunday, we’ll have a platform to go out and pick up the two or three quality players we need to make that next step and challenge for honours. Perhaps we really are that close?

Or perhaps we’ll lose this weekend and I’ll be back to bemoaning the lack of investment, questioning whether Arsene is the right man and making idol threats about not renewing my season ticket. But of course I will. I’ll be there next season come rain or shine. But what I hope is that so is Champions League football.

We only have to wait a couple of days to find out.

Until tomorrow.

pshhh to FFP, plus nerves from players to give them the edge?

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Please forgive your humble narrator, but I’m in a bit of a rant mode right now…

Last night there was a cup competition that was won by a certain London team that was not Arsenal. It was won in the harshest of fashions against Benfica in the last twenty seconds. We all know who that team was that won it. But what I want to know is:

Where are all of the footballing gods? What ever happened to karma?

Somebody needs to explain to me how a team that makes a mockery of financial fair play, has a captain that if he wasn’t a professional footballer would be doing time, a left-back mercenary that will swerve off the road at the thought of a £55,000-a-week deal, as well as fans that boo their own (interim) manager, win yet another European trophy. How is this possible? What sort of monkeys paw do they possess that every other team does not?

Last season we had them being outplayed in no-less than three Champions League competitions and still emerge with the trophy on penalties. And now this? Why? When Roberto Di Matteo sold his soul for the luck of a thousand leprechauns last year, was there enough left over for this season as well?

I genuinely despair sometimes. All victories last night tell me are that if you throw enough money at a situation you’re going to win football competitions. And that saddens me. I am not naive. I know that football is now just as much a business as it is a recreation for some of us (although I can’t say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it very much – too many nerves, especially of late!), but I wake up this morning and feel sad that the only way to compete in this football world of ours is to have your very own billionaire bankrolling the club.

I love the way Arsenal are trying to achieve success. It’s the last bastion of hope I have that we can. It’s the final thing that we can hold over Chelski fans i.e. one man bought you success, the collective entity that is The Arsenal (fans, players, board, etc) achieved ours. But on mornings like today all I feel is bitterness. Bitterness and a worry that FFP will be as useful as a fork with soup. I don’t want us to go the same route as Chelski and have Usmanov use us as his plaything. No, what I want is to see football succeed more over financial doping, a la Wigan triumphing in the FA Cup over Moneychester City.

I think it’s probably also made worse by the fact that I live and work in London and I’m surrounded by ‘johnny-come-lately’ Chelski fans. Yep, you guessed it, the type that wave the flags placed on their seats by their club to create an atmosphere.

Anyway, I’ve calmed down now and am happy to just focus on Arsenal because, let’s face it we’ve got a very big game on Sunday afternoon. A season defining game. Because the game is away, I’m not sure if Arsene will do his presser today or tomorrow, but I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.

The most pressing concern will be whether or not Mikel Arteta is fit to play. Last season I wrote a blog stating how I’d completely underestimated how important the Spaniard is to our team, and if he is out for this weekend, it will most definitely be a hole in the midfield that we will find difficult to replace. Yes, we have very talented players that can come in like Wilshire, but he is not a like-for-like replacement for Arteta, and there are also question-marks over his fitness. Mikel is a player that keeps us ticking over. Always available for the back four to release to the ball to, his accuracy of passing this season has be phenomenal, he really is ‘Mr Dependable’. He supports the build up play for us expertly and his energy and drive is something that has been vital to our success this season. If he is injured for the game, I suspect Le Boss will opt for Jack, but the midfield will have to shuffle around a bit more. We’ll probably see Ramsey anchored as the deepest lying midfielder and Jack will probably need to curb his natural enthusiasm for getting forward, because Rosicky will no doubt occupy that position and Jack will no doubt suffer for his ability to be a bit more versatile than the Czech. Jack and Tomas are very similar in what they bring to the team, so one of the two might need to be a slightly squarish peg for the midfield round hole we’ll need filling. We shall wait and see I guess.

Since the Wigan victory we’ve also seen Arsene speak about the nerves of the players before games. Not exactly what you want to hear as a fan before the season finale, but he does temper that response by saying that there has been that in place for a while now and we have still managed to win games. The only worry from this here writers perspective is that it doesn’t become so nervous on that pitch that it inhibits the players natural abilities and desire for success. Whilst we’d obviously much rather be in the position that we are in rather than the Spuds, the fact that they know it’s out of their hands will probably allow them to play with more freedom than our players. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that Tottenham have won by three or four goals come 6pm on Sunday. As for us, well, you and I both know that it won’t be that easy. There is no way in a million years that we’ll see the same Newcastle side that gave Liverpool the freedom of St.James’ Park to roam a few weeks ago. Nope, we’ll have to do it the hard way.

The nerves and that adrenaline Arsene speaks of has to be used as an advantage. It has to be used as the steam that powers the engine forward and on to victory. If you’re a professional footballer that plays for one of the bigger clubs, the only way you can succeed is through a combination of skill, hard-work, determination and the ability to handle pressure. I’ll put my faith in whoever goes out there on Sunday and hope they have all of the above.

Anyway, not a lot else going on that I can see at the moment, so I’ll leave you to the rest of your day.

Adieu.

What were we all worried about?

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Well how about that then folks, eh? As if we weren’t nervous enough, the Jolly Olde Arsenal had to go and leave it a whole half before deciding to kill the game off. Isn’t that just ‘The Arsenal Way’ though? Winning games and finishing off the season early just wouldn’t really be how we do it, would it? No, we have to go and be all like “hey man, last minute points are all the rage. They’re like, totally narly, ‘n stuff”.

And so it came to pass that The Arsenal decided to make their route to (potential) Champions League glory go down to the wire against a quite frankly – and I can say it now the game has ended – poor Wigan side that get exactly what they paid for after only trying for the last ten games or so in the season.

I mean honestly, I don’t want to seem like I’m rubbing salt into the wound here, but you can’t be that poor defensively for most of the season and expect to stay up at the third or forth time of asking. Can you? I couldn’t believe some of the comments I read from neutrals yesterday. How can you say that Wigan are not the third worst team in the league? THEY FINISHED THIRD FROM BOTTOM! I shake my head at the stupidity of some people.

Anyway, that’s enough of talking about opposition, lets talk about The Arsenal. The side that was announced was as we could probably expect given our current form and options with Giroud suspended. The front three of Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski were as good as we could hope for, and the creative influence of Rosicky in midfield was certainly welcome from this observers perspective.

The game started exactly how we would have wanted it to. Similar to the United game, Arsenal bossed the opening exchanges and looked comfortable in possession. I was joined by fellow Suburban Gooner Ben Leeder and all talk pre-game was about how Arsenal would start. Would it be nervy? Would it be swashbuckling? Thankfully it was more of the latter. We zipped the ball around on the sodden Emirate surface with a purpose that showed a belief in our ability. Cazorla looked like his mercurial self and Walcott was clearly up for the game.

But it was the efficient German Lukas Podolski that gave us the perfect tonic for the evening, nodding home a corner whilst essentially unmarked on eleven minutes. Again, I don’t want to seem like I’m kicking a team whilst their down, but the fact that Podolski was inside the box with the easiest of tap in headers, should tell you all you need to know about this Wigan team defensively.

So it was that we continued to dominate the half and create chances on a soaking Tuesday night. Which almost always invariably leads to a goal against the run of play when you’re Arsenal. And it did. Maloney made the most of an opportunity to jump into Arteta to allow ref Mike Dean to award a free-kick, and he dispatched beyond the flailing arms of Szczesny. Personally I thought that the ‘keeper should have done better, but there you go. Half-time, 1-1, the nerves returning to the collective of fans I shared a couple of jars with during the interval.

The second half had a couple of wobbly moments at the beginning, with Szczesny partially making up for his concession of the goal with a tidy save from Kone, but most of the second half was Arsenal and as the time ticked away you could see Wigan had very little left in the tank. The ball from Cazorla to Theo for his goal was sublime, but perhaps it was that fatigue that allowed the Spaniard to find acres of space on the right hand side to put the perfect delivery for Walcott to scramble home. That’s three in three for Theo, and one hopes that he can make it at least four from four on Sunday.

There’s been a lot of talk about Podolski and whether he can play as a central striker, but the fact that he bagged a brace from the central striking position yesterday will have filled many of our hearts with glee. We have undoubtedly missed Giroud’s presence and ability to hold up the ball, but when you have a natural finisher like the German in your team, he’s always going to get you goals. His second of the evening came at a crucial stage in the game for us and effectively sealed our three points for the evening. Ramsey’s strike to make it 4-1 was the icing on the cake, but you could tell the game was over when Lukas bagged his second.

So we are all happy people today. The Fear has subsided for at least another three days and the hopes of Champions League football next season remain firmly within our grasp. On Sunday we’ll have to go again against a Newcastle side that is safe, but has made a habit of frustrating us since they came back into the Premier League three seasons ago, so I don’t think there will be much poultry counting going on in the build up to what will essentially define our season.

What were we all worried about, anyway *runs in corner and hides*?

That’s it from me. You have a good day now. I know I can.