Tag Archives: Mikel Arteta

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.

Evra in cryogenic freezing, plus the winning Arsenal mentality

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Howdy gooners. Howdy to the sunshine. Howdy to everyone. Except Patrice Evra. He can quite literally ‘do one’. If there’s anything in this world that cheeses me off its those that are not Magnanimous in victory. Patrice Evra is one of those people. One of those snidely irritating little oiks that make you question where the football karma is in the world. Like John Terry. If there was any kind of justice on this here green planet, Evra and Terry would never win anything. Ever. Remember that scene in Spielberg’s ‘Artificial Intelligence’ where they found that robot kid and his teddy? Well, I’d like to suggest we take Terry and Evra and put them in a space capsule and fire them into space, but the thought of aliens finding those two thousands of hers from now and thinking that everyone in the human race was like that is a slight on the human race. Besides, John Terry spending time with anybody who isn’t white would probably lead him to spontaneous combustion. I guess what we could do is put Suarez in there as well, but all that would happen is the aliens would find one bloated corpse and a load of human bones beside it where a certain Uruguayan would have chowed down.

Evra’s been talking up how THAT player was right to leave The Arsenal, as well as how disappointed he was with the home support for booing a player that forced a move through a statement ‘for the fans’ and made outrageous demands about his pay and the players that he wanted to see at The Arsenal. Oh gosh, I do wonder why we are all so aggrieved, after all the whiter than white Manchester United tourists/’fans’ at Old Trafford would never do such a thing, would they *cough* Carlos Tevez.

Anyway, I’ve affronted myself by the pure fact that I’ve even taken a paragraph on Patrice Evra, so lets not sully this blog any further. After the match on Sunday we’ve had a few comments appear on the official site from the players and, as you’d expect, they’re all talking about focus and looking at the next game.

Szczesny has been speaking of the brilliant form of the defenders and, given that it feels like we’ve spent years lambasting our ability to do the most basic of things in defence, it is quite pleasing to note that since the defeat at the Spuds, we’ve hardly conceded any goals from open play. Yes, we’ve conceded, but the last two goals we conceded were penalties and the team itself looks like a really solid unit as a whole. In fact, when you look at our defensive record, far from the terrible goal-difference because of goals conceded last season, we’ve actually got quite a respectable goal difference tally thanks to the defence. You have to look at the form of players like Koscienly and praise them for it. At the sharp end of the team we’ve not been at our best, but this run of form has been largely in part to the great defensive plays we’ve seen.

It does make you wonder ‘what might have been’ should we have invested more in the attacking options even as late as January. I don’t think we’d have caught United, but is be willing to bet that we’d be a lot closer to them right about now. Which is what Mikel Arteta has said on the official site yesterday. He spoke of the need to close the gap on United next season and its good that we have players that are publicly stating that desire to look up rather than down. I think I’ve said it before on this blog, but I do wonder whether the general culture of the club is something that might hinder this though. We’ve gone so long without winning competitions that as a fan you do start to wonder whether there is actually the belief in the club though. I hope there is. But having looked at the United team on Sunday – and it pains me to say this I hasten to add – you see an aura about some of those players that I don’t see as much of from some of our players. It’s frustrating because I actually think we have a lot of players that are more technically gifted than United, so it’s not a question of ability, but perhaps belief. It’s been said a million times before on just about every medium possible, but it’s that first step that is the hardest, that first illusive trophy that will hopefully open the floodgates.

And it’s little winning streaks like the one we’re on at the moment that make you start to question whether or not we do in fact have that ‘mental block’. Much like last season, when all other possibilities for trophy success were gone, we suddenly found ourselves clicking into gear. Much like a team that suddenly has a moment of clarity and drive to succeed, we’ve seen off teams that we were being held to draws or even being defeated by. It’s like the team knows exactly what it has to do and is achieving its goals with the kind of ruthless efficiency that United have achieved this season i.e. not playing great, sometimes being outplayed, but doing enough to win. Imagine the possibilities if we’d have achieved that kind of consistency around October/November time? We’d probably have 12-15 more points and be fighting for the title.

That’s where we want to be.

Consistency is the blueprint for success

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How about that Mother Nature, eh? More changeable than an FA rule book. One day she’s gently caressing your face with the warm glow of Spring, the next day she’s slapping the rain and wind and cold of winter around your chops. Mother Nature could learn a lot from Mikel Arteta. Mr Consistency. Right down to the perfect barnet.

One thing that’s not consistent is our goalkeeping situation. Fabianski establishes himself as first choice, then picks up an injury, then we are told by dear old Arsene that he’s out and they are taking it ‘game-by-game’. He’s not even given us a proper return date, so I suspect we won’t see Lukas in between the sticks for the rest of the season. His contract is up in the summer and I read in last night’s Evening Standard that he will look to sign a new deal but only if he’s given a fair crack at the number one jersey. I have to say I think it’s great that recently he’d found a bit of consistency in his play and had established a run of games, but if you look at his performances in goal since he joined the club and now, you would be hard pressed to find somebody who would rubber-stamp a new deal. He’s spent 90% of his Arsenal career looking Wobblier than Michelle McManus’ waistline, so if he is making demands on the number one spot then surely Arsene will be thinking twice. In my mind he simply isn’t good enough.

I do also wonder if his recent spell in the first team was Arsene giving him a shot and taking a serious look at him before deciding whether to stick or twist with the Pole. Or, perhaps Arsene does want to keep him on, so has used this end of season run of games as the carrot of first team football for which to grab hold of by signing a new deal. Which then leads to questioning, perhaps incorrectly, the motivation of the player and whether or not playing for a new contract has been the reason for that extra 10% he’s been showing in training that warranted the initial promotion to number one. Although the only counter to that thinking is that he’s not exactly a striker that is banging in goals. The goalkeeping position is always a difficult one to pin the old chestnut of ‘playing for a new deal’ on to by virtue of the fact that ‘keepers can often go games having very little to do – especially if you’re at one of the top clubs in the country. Plus, many of us have already acknowledged that Szczesny’s form wasn’t up to scratch before Fabianski came in, so perhaps it has more to do with the failings of his rival than his own performances at London Colney.

Personally I think it’s time we found some competition for Szczesny in the form of a more experienced head. A decent 30 something keeper that can keep Wojciech on his toes and help him to become the established number one and one of the best in the league in a couple of years time. There’s no doubt he has the potential to get there. Would Valdes be a good choice? I don’t think so. Yes he fits the 30 something mould, but he’d want too much in wages, plus I actually don’t think he’s that good.

Anyway, today we’ll find out what Le Boss thinks about all manner of things including that Dutch blokes return, guards of honour (yawn) and the team news ahead of Sunday. He’s already given us an indication that there are no injury concerns ahead of the game, so decisions will come based on who he thinks gives us the best chance of snatching three points off United at home. I have to say I don’t get the fuss being made about the guard of honour. It’s like those handshakes after the game that are as irrelevant as a moral compass at the Chelski team Christmas party. The only people that seem to care about these things are the media and Clive Allen. Give them the guard – let the players clap (I certainly won’t) and then take all three points.

Arsene also spoke to the official site about the importance of our defence at the moment and how it’s played a big part of our recent success. Again, unlike our changeable climate here in Blighty, I think we have benefitted from the consistency of a set back four during this period, so it’s no secret that we’ve improved during this run and have only conceded three goals in seven. It’s not rocket science; players playing together regularly get to know each others strengths and weaknesses and when you are a clever enough professional footballer you know when to anticipate any problems for your teammates and support them where necessary. I do think the defence has also been helped out by the form of Ramsey and Arteta together. Both have been able to provide enough protection to alleviate the pressure that the back four comes under. Last season with Song doing his marauding forward at times we saw too much space in between defence and midfield and that left us open on too many occasions. I think back specifically to the game away from home against QPR and one of the goals conceded where a player from the QPR midfield was allowed to stroll into the box and smash home the ball from the penalty box with Arteta and Song left trailing in his wake. This season we have seen that run tracked by either Ramsey or Arteta of late and the result has been a stifling of those types of chances being created.

Arsene admits that offensively we’ve not been as prolific, but as we’ve all discussed amongst ourselves (and I’ve read a few blogs about as well), if that is at the expense of ensuring that there are a reduction in sloppy mistakes at the back then so be it. The best form of defence isn’t always attack. Sometimes it’s a proper defence.

Catch y’all tomorrow.

Fulham: Expect no favours, start strong and be efficient

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On the banks of the River Thames today our brave and mighty red and white centurions will do battle against the local cottagers defending their land from being pillaged for three points. For today my friends, is game day, which means today is a day for you and I to wait patiently then watch patiently as a battle unfolds in front of our very eyes.

nothing like a bit of drama and hyperbole to start you off on a Saturday, eh? What we all hope to be reality is that Fulham put up as much fight as Audley Harrison and the match is over before half time. The likelihood of this eventuality is obviously slim, as Fulham will be reeling from their recent 0-3 defeat in which they probably shouldn’t have been 0-2 behind at half time at all. But such is the ruthless nature of football, and the football karma gods, that they saw it fit to give Chelski safe passage along Fulham Broadway with three points tucked safely under their arms. Why Chelski deserve anything, like, ever, is a mystery to me but they say the gods work in mysterious ways.

I suspect we’re in for a hell of a tough match today. Fulham may have nothing to play for, but they have established themselves as a solid Premier League side over the years and have still managed to bloody our noses when it doesn’t really look like they should be bothered at all. They will want to put on a show for their fans and take a ‘big team’ scalp today. It is on our players to ensure that it does not happen.

We go into the game off the back of a good run of results against some tricky opponents, so the hope is that we extend that good run another week at Craven Cottage. To do that we need to continue to use the blueprint of our success of the last two months: out of the traps early, pressing higher up the field and popping the ball around with pace and purpose. I believe the midfield will be the key in achieving this objective. One of the key features of this good run has seen Ramsey as the man in the engine room charging down and hassling opponents, Arteta as the metronome keeping everything ticking over and providing an outlet for the defence to distribute to as well as an option for the more attacking players should we need to retain pressure, and finally the guile and quick turnover from defence to attack that Rosicky brings with his energy to get the ball forward as quickly as possible. Rosicky has missed the last two games and faces a fitness test, but if he’s fit, he plays in my book. Jack has looked slightly sluggish in midfield against Norwich and Everton, so perhaps he could do with somebody to take the burden off him and have an opportunity to slowly feel his way back into the side.

Up top is where I’ll be most intrigued to see who plays. In the middle of the three there will inevitably be Giroud. He’ll come up against Hangeland and Senderos and his physical presence will most certainly be more of a handful than a Gervhino, Walcott or Podolski. But who to sit alongside him in the left and right positions? Personally, I believe we should see Cazorla on the right and Podolski on the left, dependent on how fatigued Cazorla looked when Arsene was assessing him yesterday. If he looks like he might need a rest (and lets face it, he’s played nearly all the games this season) then I would be inclined to play Walcott or perhaps even The Ox. Walcott will get more space against Fulham at home than he would against a Fulham team away from home and set up to defend, and Theo has the beating of the ageing legs of John Arne Riise. The Norweigan is a player that likes to get forward, so I’d expect there to be gaps to open up for the England international. Alternatively, the talking up of The Ox over the last couple of games could be a sign that Le Boss is ready to unleash him in today’s game. He too should have the pace to beat Riise and a little bit more trickery than Walcott, so I am hoping that one of those two players start on the right – probably with a preference of The Ox.

We know where the threat will come from Fulham, which will be the languid but effective style of Dimitar Berbatov. He has 13 goals this season, of which two were scored against us at The Emirates, so he knows how to swan his way into our defence and ripple the old onion bag. Thankfully (I hope) we have a different Arsenal team that will line up today to the one that drew 3-3 earlier in the season. More defensively aware, with a better idea of defending (although still room for improvement), Gibbs/Monreal will play at left back instead of Vermaelen, plus we have some steadier hands in goal than the bang averageness of Mannone, so I don’t think it’s too much to expect more from our defenders to not capitulate to the tune of three goals this time around.

If we continue to play as we have been playing, then this game should be ours for victory. We have the creative players to get goals against Fulham, we have more to play for than Martin Jol’s side, and we are the form team. But unfortunately none of that will matter if we are not up for it after the first five or ten minutes. If we give Fulham a sniff that we’re not up for it their players and the crowd will smell blood. We want them to smell poo. The poo of their players playing like they’ve fallen into a cesspit of sloppy passing, lack of cohesion and overall rubbishness.

We’ve not actually beaten Fulham for a couple of seasons now, having drawn at home last season and not picking up three points since December 2010 when we won 2-1 at home. So our recent form shows that this will be a tough encounter. But our overall record against Fulham isn’t too bad, so I’m hoping that we re-address the balance in terms of recent history and we give Fulham a good seeing to today.

If you’re off to the game, you know the drill, so sing until your lungs get saw – I know you all will. Up the Arsenal.

Norwich review: Mostly grumpy, ultimately happy

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Football really is quite a conundrum of a sport. If you take just the 95 odd minutes that you tend to watch the actual action take place, you can watch the majority of it and be thoroughly upset, yet still end up elated and happy come full time and for the rest of your weekend.

That was my observation from yesterday. I sat watching the game and for 80 minutes I was fairly grumpy. Yet for ten minutes Arsenal were on song and the result meant the afternoon and evening was spent in a happy mood rather than a vexed one. It’s why the old cliche works I guess – football is a results business. That’s all that really matters.

As expected yesterday, Arsene shuffled his pack ever-so-slightly with the departure of Mertesacker through suspension, Monreal through rotation and Rosicky through injury the only changes from last weeks starting XI. And as the team kicked off I think everyone was happy with the line up and expectant for us to put Norwich to the sword. But that never really happened, did it? The first half was one of little chances, mostly coming from the home side, as you’d expect. Chris Hughton had no intention of coming to The Emirates and having a go at The Arsenal, so he set up his team to be compact, press hard and try to catch us out through set pieces and maybe the odd counter. That’s not a slight on Norwich, I hasten to add; they have limited resources within their side and picking up a point at The Emirates through frustrating the home team was always going to be Plan A.

So the first half passed by with little of anything concrete for us to get too excited about. Giroud had a half-chance header off the top of the bar and Gervhino should have done more on two occasions with a 1-on-1 and a drive into the box, but he was having one of his ‘being Gervhino’ days and so on both occasions the home fans were left rueing his unpredictability and general inability to look like he has any kind of control of his limbs.

The second half didn’t exactly start with an onslaught of biblical proportions either. Norwich were content to sit deep with yellow bodies all over the place, only venturing forward for the occasional corner or set piece. And we weren’t looking like the side that had picked up three wins on the bounce. So it was no surprise when Norwich took the lead. Some Norwich player drove past Gibbs on the left hand side of our penalty box and, with a touch of the Gervhino about him, tripped over his own feet to win a free kick for the away side. Later, Chris Hughton would bemoan the decisions of the officials at the other end, but I’d suggest he take those yellow and green blinkers off and look at his teams’ own bit of fortune that led to a goal. Then perhaps he could climb down from what he believes is some kind of moral high ground and realise that in the grand scheme of things, the officials got just as many results wrong for us as we’ll as agin us.

We all know we can’t defend corners or set pieces, so there was almost a sense of inevitability as the ball was chipped to the back post, for Turner to nod the ball in unchallenged. I’ve given up talking about how we can’t defend with zonal marking. I’m not going through it again.

So once again we’d need to dig deep and produce something that would salvage points from the game. This is the point for which I must praise Arsene Wenger. We all bemoan his lack of tactical awareness or decision making, especially when it comes to changing a game, but yesterday he got it spot on. He didn’t wait until 75 minutes, he simply gave his subs five minutes to warm up after the Norwich goal and sent on Podolski and Walcott for Gervhino and Wilshire. Both players had, it’s fair to say, been pretty poor for us up until that point. Perhaps it was a little bit of rustiness from Jack, but we all know Gervhino has a stinker in his locker, so that came as no real surprise.

The substitutions were just the tonic. Suddenly we looked more of a threat. We popped the ball around with a bit more purpose and just before the penalty Giroud chested a lovely ball down for Podolski to rattle the bar. I’d love to say the feeling was that the goal was coming, but you never know with this Arsenal team, so when Giroud went down after some shirt pulling by some Norwich player, there was palpable relief in the stadium when the linesman raised his flag. This is where the ‘controversy’ started. The Norwich players and management were incensed that the referee didn’t give the challenge but the linesman did from 30 yards away. I have two observations here: 1) how can the linesman be any closer to see the play unless he walks onto the pitch, 2) what is the purpose of ‘referees assistants’ if it isn’t to assist the referee from a different angle if they see infringements? Let’s also bear in mind that I believe this was the same ref that decided to decline a stonewaller for us a couple of weeks ago when Giroud was clattered by Taylor (happy to be corrected there though, as I’m not 100%). Let’s also not forget that it was in fact a clear penalty. So these factors being the case, why did I hear various people in the media crying over the decision? Oh, wait a second I know, because its ‘plucky Norwich’. Balderdash. A foul is a foul and a foul in the box is a penalty. Move on.

If the canaries felt hard done by on the first goal, they can have no complaints on the second. After joining proceedings five minutes earlier, The Ox exchanged a lovely one-two with Giroud and found himself in space beyond the Norwich back line, to stroke the ball into a defenders nightmare of a spot, a yard on the line. With Bunn nowhere to be seen, Giroud and Bassong challenged and the ball hit the back of the net. Fabulous stuff from The Ox who, after some recent impressive performances, I hope gets some starts soon. Perhaps even on Tuesday.

There was still time for an Arsenal implosion though, but thankfully it didn’t come, as Fabianski earned his weekly wage with a good save low down from Howson. And as the game ticked into injury time, Podolski made the points safe with a clinical left footed shot from just inside the box.

Three vital points, a step up into third, plus the chance to get clear daylight from our rivals with a performance and a win against Everton. But lets not get too carried away just yet. If we play like we did yesterday against Everton, they will ask more questions of us, so it’s important that the team is ready and willing to do the business against the blue half of Merseyside.

Until tomorrow people. I out.

Individuals that polarise opinion, plus a Serge of excitement

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Morning all. Hope you are feeling marvellous and specterrifical. That’s a word I made up. It means ‘good’.

Yesterday the nation was shocked by the news of Margaret Thatcher’s death and my ‘Arsenal only’ Twitter feed exploded with comments of sadness and also of gladness. I have to say I wasn’t quite fully formed enough myself to fully understand what she did that was to the benefit or the detriment of the British people, so it is hard for me to feel some of the hatred some people feel. I like my history and of course I’ve read and watched things about it, but because I was not there at the time of it happening, I can’t really claim to have any emotional attachment one way or another. The death of anybody is a sad thing and I think I will leave my foray into the murky world of political commentary there. But I do need to try a seamless link here, so how about: Margaret Thatcher seems to have polarised opinion as much as Aaron Ramsey does amongst Arsenal fans. Maybe Wenger could have signed her had he not had his strict policies of over 30s in place…

Yes, that’ll do.

So, we find ourselves in between another set of important fixtures and some of the players have been waxing lyrical about the performance. One in particular was Mikel Arteta, who has been verbally massaging the confidence of Tomas Rosicky, for whom we have three precious points to thank this weekend gone by. It’s funny, I see so many parallels between this season and last season, that it’s almost scary. We were dead and buried in the league and went on a run to put us in pole position. We had players that suddenly found form and helped to drive us up the table at this time last year. We won 5-2 against the spuds. And at the top of the tree sits the form of Tommy R who has found himself in a position where most fans are calling for him to retain his place – possibly at the expense of Super Jack!

I see this season’s Tomas Rosicky as a bit more like the role Benayoun played for us last season though. Purely and simply because we didn’t think he’d get game time at all for the remainder of the season, yet with five or six games to go he played in nearly all of them. They are two different types of player, I know, but the impact Tomas is having is a joy to watch. But what is more joyful is the fact that Arsene could potentially afford to ‘mix it up’ when we play Everton in a weeks time. The Toffees don’t have the same kind of squad rotation available and it’s widely regarded that they have the smallest of the squads challenging for a top four slot, so my hope is that we see a slightly jaded Everton on Tuesday after a Saturday game against QPR, whilst Arsene could potentially afford to switch it around a bit with Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Gibbs, The Ox, Poldi, Jack and Theo all waiting in the wings for a shot. Remember when we played Newcastle at Christmas at The Emirates and they were so knackered that even when we gifted them three goals they still couldn’t handle it? Well I’d like some of that in the Everton game. Not that I’m taking the Norwich game lightly, mind, just that of the two that is the one that from a probability perspective we have a greater chance of slipping up.

I suppose I’ll have to talk about the so called ‘derby’ last night in Manchester. I say ‘so called’ because I hear a lot about the passion of the fans in that part of the world, but for the first 60 odd minutes it was hardly a cauldron of noise, was it? From an Arsenal perspective it would have been nicer to see United win it. Slip ups like yesterday mean that the impending game at the Emirates could become all the more likely to be the game in which United have to win it to take the league. You and I really don’t want that to happen. We could have therefore done with City fluffing their lines again, but never mind, as the flip side in this is that it means they have to keep on trying their hardest to win every game. Their next one of course being the Spuds away. So every cloud and all that…

And before I knock off for the day, may I suggest that you warm the cockles of your heart by taking a look at the Under-21s game that Arsenal unfortunately lost last night, but Serge Gnabry scored a fabulous goal, so warm them by playing that on a continuous loop rather than watchingthe whole of the highlights. Unfortunately the only time I get to write this blog usually is through the WordPress App on my iPhone, so linking to things is a challenge that I simply haven’t been arsed to master in any significant way, but take a look on YouTube and you’ll nee’ be disappointed. The kid may only be 17, but Arsene must be watching his progress very closely, because of all of the young players we’ve seen in the youth set up this is one that I suspect we may be seeing a bit earlier than we think. It will be interesting to see what Arsene does in the summer with him. If we see him on tour with the first team, he might just be on the same trajectory that Wilshire started on a few years ago, or alternatively a decent loan spell could see us cultivating a real talent for two years time.

Until tomorrow, you fine young upstarts, for I am away!

Reading: basking, control and momentum

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Welcome friends! And what a glorious Easter Sunday it is! Well, not in terms of weather, from where I’m looking in the world. But from a footballing perspective, it’s a metaphorical 30 degrees centigrade with a cloud ne’er to be seen across the skies.

Yes folks, we are basking in the post-game light of victory. That warm feeling you have right now, that’s because our boys did the business against a Reading team that never really caused any trouble whatsoever in truth. It was as controlled a performance as you are going to get in the Premier League and Nigel Adkins must be assessing which of his players he’ll be keeping in the Championship next season, because I think it’s highly unlikely we’ll be rocking up at the Madjeski in the Premier League from August onwards this year.

Before the game I felt nervous. Nervous because I have seen games like this become a very large banana skin on a newly polished hardwood floor already this season. I have felt that we should be winning these types of games all this season, yet at times we’ve come away from The Emirates with little comfort in the performance and dropped points or knocked out Of cup competitions. But not yesterday my friends! Yesterday the team were Ronseal – they did exactly what they were supposed to and dispatched Reading with a 4-1 victory.

In truth, it probably could have been more, certainly when you look at the first half chances. It is probably rare that we’ll see a game as one-sided as that one in the first half between now and the end of the season. The only real surprise of the day was that Arsenal weren’t more than the one Gervhino goal up at the interval. We probed, dominated possession and but for a series of last-ditch tackles and some dreadful refereeing decisions (Stuart Taylor must have found it almost funny how he didn’t concede a penalty after scything down Giroud) we could and should have been more up by half time.

I think what helped shape the eventual outcome of the match was how early we scored the first goal – on 11 minutes – and then also how quickly we were up and running in the second half when Cazorla curled in number two on 48. That essentially gave the team the confidence and swagger to continue to probe without getting frustrated by a defence that would sit deep and aim to frustrate. In all fairness, Reading’s defence was never going to put on that type of performance, but the early goals ensured we didn’t get too desperate to force the issue.

So it came to pass that we eventually ran away with a comfortable victory courtesy of a Giroud goal from a swift counter attack led by Gervhino and then a Mikel Arteta penalty. Yes, there was a Reading goal to worry the nerves ever-so slightly, but the truth of the matter (with the benefit of hindsight) is that Reading were never really in this game.

A quick word for Gervhino. Never has there been a more obvious example of the terminology ‘confidence players’. He had a really good game yesterday and was instrumental in our attacking play, both scoring the first and picking up two assists for the second and third goals. He really is an enigma. We’ve seen him at times look like the furthest thing from a professional footballer you could possibly imagine. We’ve seen him pick the ball up, run over his own feet and get closer to the corner flag with his dribbling than his opponent’s goal. Yet he showed yesterday how his unpredictability can still be used to his advantage. So whilst there were other players who were excellent yesterday, like Cazorla, I feel it’s only right to single out the Ivorian for praise given how I and many of us gooners have lambasted him at times this season. I still believe Podolski is a better option wide left, but the fact that he’s had such a good game yesterday fills you with hope that he will provide options for us in the coming weeks.

So it’s another three points and it’s another game that we can add to the ‘building momentum’ bonfire that is nicely simmering away at the moment. I look at our opponents for the Champions League places and, whilst I know the Spuds won against Swansea, I think that as long as one of them or Chelski drop points each weekend, the. It will always give us a chance. We are now two away from them and four from the Spuds with a game in hand. Next week we have a really tough game against West Brom but if we can pick up a win against them we have back-to-back home games that could see us close or maybe even leapfrog those two teams in the league given their respective fixtures in April.

So all-in-all a pretty happy weekend. Now to enjoy your Sunday.

NextGen – but probably not for Arsenal

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Here we are then folks. Week 2 of International hell and still no sign of it ending. And what do we have to show for our fasting of any decent football? An injury to Walcott and a hell of a lot of stuff about the NextGen series. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good idea to have a competition like this, but it’s fairly inaccurate of Mikel Arteta to make comments about how the players that are in the competition will be vitally important to Arsenal’s first team in the future.

I make this comment not because I think our youth setup is useless, because as we have seen over the years, we have a set up that has bred countless Premier League players that have all gone on to have varying degrees of success. No, I make this statement purely to question the reality of how many youth team players actually go on to make it into the Arsenal first team squad. How many can you count right now? Gibbs? Szczesny? Wilshire? That’s pretty much it in my book. And hey, when you look around the various assembled squads in the Premier League, that figure is actually pretty good. Just look at the current Champions – Moneychester City – and you find a grand total of one (Micah Richards). I don’t count Joe Hart because he was bought from Shrewsbury Town, much like I don’t count Walcott, The Ox, Rambo, Jenks, etc. then look at the current Champions elect squad and you find Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverly as you’re only locally sourced talent. I guess you can lump Giggs in too but his playing time is limited and will become more so over the next season and a bit.

So whilst the NextGen series will undoubtedly provide a good foil with which to mould some of these players, the harsh reality is that if we’re lucky we’ll see three go on to play for Arsenal. Which leads me to the crux of my argument – what is the purpose of these youth team developments for the bigger Premier League clubs? If most of the talent is imported in, why do the big clubs have these setups?

That question is not meant to be a harsh and dismissive ‘what’s the point?’, but a genuine question to strike up debate, because I believe that the youth team setups aren’t really intended to be blooding the next generation of talent at Arsenal, but are instead a revenue stream for the club to sell on players to other Premier League teams. It’s the only logical reason in my book.

Think about it pragmatically; you’ve got a line of products that you provide to your customers. Then you start manufacturing widgets to support your products, except you find that actually the widgets don’t work properly when bolted on to the product. But loads of other companies find that they can use the products. So you sell on to them. In this example, would you keep manufacturing the product unless it was making a profit and supporting the companies bottom line?

The answer is undoubtedly ‘no’ and I appreciate that football can almost never be compared to other businesses or industries, but I still firmly believe it’s the only reason why our youth team development exists. And in a way, that makes me a little sad, because it once again pushes football into the corporate ‘black or red’ world and away from its essence – it’s a sport that we all love watching.

So although I find it admirable that Mikel is championing the NextGen, although I think the competition is a good idea in general, I’m not having the wool pulled over my eyes that half of these players will be jogging out on to The Emirates turf in five years time, as much as I’d like that to happen.

Another short one from me today I’m afraid. But, y’know, mitigating circumstances and all that peeps. Back tomorrow.

International timings – good or bad?

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Morning Monday, you little bar steward, as the working week now stretches in front of me, you’re laughing your arse off I know. But not only that, it’s also an international break, which means domestic football takes a back seat and the boredom of international qualification takes a stranglehold on the lives of football fans everywhere.

Thankfully the weekend’s action will give us at least a day or two to survive, but come Wednesday we’ll be all out and the media will be discussing who plays here, what will happen there and such like for England.

And thankfully we were also dealt another positive result yesterday with the shock of Fulham beating the Spuds on their own turf. I don’t make a habit of watching the Spuds and I didn’t start yesterday, but you do wonder if 120 minutes in Milan had its toll on them. Who knows, perhaps their opponents in the next round can knock them out on penalties and we get the same performance.

As for The Arsenal, I can’t quite work out if the timing of this stop in play is beneficial or not. When your team has just lost you’re always inclined to say that maybe it’s good that they all go away and take stock, but when you’re on the back of a good victory you don’t know whether the momentum will be interrupted or not. Last week was a relatively good week for The Arsenal given the circumstances and the last thing you need is for that motivation and positivity to disperse as the players all take their respective flights to the corners of the globe. I hope that the team can keep the momentum going after this break because I have a gut feeling that we’re in with a shot of nicking that top four spot, but only if we win four out of our next four (three of which are at home).

Here’s a quick question: does Mikel Arteta just get extra holiday over this period, or does he still have to train?

Big Per has also been talking to the official site about how the defenders took time out of the game to watch the Spuds defeat and assess themselves as a unit. He claims it has bought a new perspective to the defenders and they are now looking to cover each other as a result. Far be it for me to question or second-guess the big man, but I wonder if the dropping of Vermaelen hasn’t had something to do about it too. Tommy’s been far from his best this season and we’ve seen complacency creep into his game since the first few weeks of the season, where As Koscienly has sat on the bench waiting patiently for a run in the team. Now that he’s got it, perhaps there is an element of desperation to retain his position, because the Frenchman has been one of the best players over the last two games. That is exactly the kind of squad competition we all want to see: players so desperate to get in and stay in that they grab hold of their chance and their concentration levels are heightened for fear of losing their place in the side. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all gravy if that’s the case in our defence right now.

What I am also pleased about is the way the team has coped without Wilshire over the last two games. He’s become somewhat of a talisman over the course of this season, so much so that I thought his absence would make the two games exceedingly difficult to pick up anything, let alone two wins. It’s pleasing to see that whilst the Spuds struggle if bale isn’t on form, we miss our main man and the team can still pick up victories. That’s not to say I don’t want Jack back as quickly as possible, but it gives a gooner like me a degree of assurance that we have been able to fill the void left by his absence. And in the case of Jack, the international break actually comes as a blessing in disguise, because it means we’ll not miss him for this weekends Premier League action because there isn’t any!

And finally, to that man Gervhino, who Arsene admitted had been a bit dejected recently because of his form. It’s interesting, because before he went away to that pointless competition in January, he made a few statements in the press about how he wanted to be an Arsenal great, etc, etc. It was all admirable stuff, but left myself and many of my fellow drinking compatriots from Block 5 wondering if he’d ever even been an ‘Arsenal alright’, let alone an ‘Arsenal great’. He showed flashes of ability at times but his finishing has always been a bit woeful. I, like Arsene, hope that this goal from the weekend brings a bit more self belief to the player. I may bemoan him, I may question his effectiveness, but as long as he’s an Arsenal player I’ll always want him to fulfil his footballing potential. I’m not thinking he should be getting a run of games, but if he does manage to get a few goals between now and the end of the season then lets give him some game time – even if its from the bench. Of course, now I’ve said that we’ll most likely see him running into corner flags next time he takes to the field.

Anyway, that’ll do from me today. Until tomorrow.