This is the inaugural Bradyesque7 weekly Arsenal round-up. The only place to get your Arsenal both rounded and upped.
First up is the arrival of Nacho Monreal on Sky Sports Deadline Day. Monreal was destined to be a professional footballer. His father, a huge supporter of their hometown club, in Spain, is believed to have pleaded with his wife to allow him to call their son Nacho which is, of course, the Spanish word for match.
The fees paid for players such as Monreal are rarely confirmed by the club but, if reports are to be believed, we paid every figure between eight and twelve million for Nacho and almost certainly a little more and a bit less for Olivier Giroud in the summer.
Strikers and defensive midfielders may have been on the top of everyone’s wish list, but the second most important day of the football calendar came and went with only one player arriving.
HRH Lord David Beckham trained for a day. Arsene Wenger joked that one day in training with Arsenal was enough for Beckham to regain fitness and be snapped up by PSG. The medical team are said to be having it engraved onto a plaque.
We drew 2-2 with Liverpool this week in a belter of a game. There were thrills and spills and there were defensive howlers, which are spills. We went two goals down and the defending was pretty, pretty poor. Brazilian party animal, Andre Santos, was at fault for both goals. In possession, for both halves, Arsenal were terrific. Some might say the best football we’ve played all year. Other might say that trying to make a big statement because it’s the INAUGURAL BRADYESQUE7 WEEKLY ROUND-UP is pathetic.
Giroud’s fantastic debut season shows no sign of relenting as he continued his scoring run this week. Potency which can only be rivaled by Giroud himself, but in smaller, greener shorts.
Steve Bould may have fixed our problems at the beginning of the season but we’re conceding again. Some of the goals probably were preventable and we possibly could have gone on to win more points. As far as I can see, the problems seem to stem from two issues; tactical errors and individual mistakes. However, it can’t be ignored that we have been unfortunate from time to time too. Pinpointing that particular problem has probably been your highlight so far and you’re welcome to that.
The weekend brought a return to the bygone days of ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ as Stoke City visited the Grove. Several impressive saves from Begovic kept the scores level for 78 minutes and proved what we’re all thinking; They do have six fingers!!! Santi Cazrorla and Lukas Podolski were introduced and the game was up for the tiring, Cleetuses. Podolski aimed his free-kick off the knee of a Stokel and cleverly wrong-footed the digitally enhanced Begovic. The game was over, the war was won and the sheet was clean. We got our Arsenal back???
And finally, Liam Brady has agreed to become Head of Youth Development at Juventus in 2014. Brady has given over twenty years service to the Gunners and is probably going to remain involved with the club. Arsenal are believed to have begun the search for Brady’s successor. Some new guy will be tasked with “building on what Liam and his team have created”. Good luck with that dude.
Regardless of what you may think, that is everything that happened in the last few days.
Thank you for reading.
Positively Arsenal 
AW interview
http://www.arsenal.com/news/features/arsene-wenger
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Goal of the month for me is Theo’s lash in for the equaliser against Liverpool
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That was a good one, George. I voted for Gibbs vs Swansea.The Podolski strike against West Ham seems to be taking it.
There were some exceptional goals last month. This team can score goals afterall.
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I did vote for the Podolski strike. To the surprise of everyone, apparently we can shoot and score from outside the box!
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I also have to add: what a player that Giroud fella is. But it’s very confusing, because the media and a good number of Arsenal supporters have told me that he isn’t good enough and we need someone better. But when I look at the evidence, I get the exactly opposite impression. Whom to trust now? My eyes, that show a top class striker, or those people that wanted us to sign Ba?
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Evil, I was thinking the same thing. If OG did not score he was some where in the mix on so many of last months goals.
Trust yourself. Recently it has come across to me that many people watch football but they don’t really watch football. If you get my drift? They cannot see a players or a teams potential unless the potential is being realized now.
I actually feel that some Arsenal supporters are worried that the team is looking so good. They don’t like the taste of humble pie.
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oh paul..thats better than porn
” im all about instinct. i felt like doing this….and it went in”
and thats what wenger brings out in players…their instincts..he is the facilitator, the lab coordinator…if youve got it he will help you release it…and after that the sky is the limit
he identified vieira’s warrior instincts, he identified cesc vison and passing instinct, he identified thiery;s flexibility and technical flair….of course there are players who are chosen to play specific roles
the rest is about work and applying yourself and reaching your potential. stark contrast with a manager of the ferguson mourinho type who will instruct player to abandon instincts and do as told. whoever disobeys gets kicked out ( forlan, piquet, veron) fergie and mou want soldiers…wenger wants intelligent footballers who dont need a father figure to tell them what to do or motivate them. self motivated honest working professionals with love for their profession. the rest takes care of itself provided there is unity and common focus towards teams objectives. self explanatory things really, simple things….logical things…the way it should be. the manager is there to create the conditions for his players to flourish
when he talsk about handbreaks he is livid that his players didnt express themselves and played like tight arseholes in fear of failure/disappointment…forget failure lads just get on the pitch and do what you do everyday in training. the education youve had will help you take the decissions you need to take in those splits of a second that they appear during play.
but arsene is just one person….and thats where we step in as supporters to encourage the boys to do as trained. and when they make mistakes ( which they surely will) what they need to hear is “youll get the next one lad, keep going” and not ” ohhh ffs you effin twat pass it ffs you imbecile, wenger out”
we know that the managers methods work, the manager’s methods not only win trophies but also set records..therefore its about personnel and character. its a bit different having vieira and gilberto silva applying your tactics and a bit different when its 20 y.o cesc and 19 y.o denilson.the reasons why we couldnt have such characters after stadium move are well known and documented. therefore building them from within was a one way street. halfway through the first gen the arsenal fan got crazy and turned against his own team because he couldnt tolerate rival trolls taking the mickey out of him for trophyless years.
funny how the doubters and moaners ask our players to show some spine..where is theirs?
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Well said Paul.it must leave a nasty taste in the mouths of experts why repeatedly say “he is just not good enough”
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“experts”
lol
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That new website’s a bit of a winner isn’t it? Used to dislike the old one, just so noisy and only really useable on a pc/mac. The world has gone mobile and AFC is bang on the money once again. Interesting that Positively Arsenal reads really well on phone, iPad, laptop etc. Not just down to the quality of the writing ladies and gents, some pretty clever formatting stuff going down there.
Must admit I went with the Gibbs goal though somewhat spoilt for choice and a particularly good month. That one, I think out of all of them, would have been so easy to cock up courtesy of Row ZZZ yet he nailed it, on the volley, ‘just’ the keeper to beat. Superb – one of the goals of the season for me. Pod’s looking good for outright winner though so what do I know!
I think the one thing all those goals had in common is that they were scored by players who at one time have been held up as not quite good enough for Arsenal, no matter how briefly (maybe not Gibbs?).
I’d say that if we continue to get it together on the pitch at the rate we have been doing since Christmas this could yet turn out to be a bad season at the office for the doubters and doomers …
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Too many people (bloggers and media) have a vested interest in sweeping the increasing evidence of football corruption in England under the carpet. For them it is only those filthy Asian organized gambling syndicates or the dodgy Italians. Too many who are either complicit or have egg all over their face for consistently denying that Arsenal has been the victim of some very strange decisions over the years. Enter Exhibit A: Mr. Mike Dean.
That is why it is important to recognize 7amKickoff (http://www.7amkickoff.com/2013/fifa-and-uefa-threaten-to-turn-football-into-kayfabe/#comments) and Untold Arsenal (http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/27130) for doing entire blogs on the subject. 7am Kickoff, in particular, with an eye to history and the successful efforts to stamp out game-fixing in American baseball, has made some important recommendations. I hope we at Positive Arsenal will help to keep this alive.
PS: The least said about one particularly mealy-mouthed response to the corruption of the game that many of us have expressed concern over the years, the better.
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It is hard for me to choose goal of the season. Gibbs volley, Walcott’s left-footed rocket straight past Reina are all good candidates but Poldi’s blast vs West Ham was a game changer IMO.
PS: I am in moderation. with my 7:39 post. Over to George.
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shotta February 5, 2013 at 7:39 pm
Enter Exhibit 2 : Phil Dowd
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Exhibit C: Mike Riley.
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Goal of the month for me has got to be Santi’s little flick against West Ham. The build up to that goal was incredible. The little one two between Giroud and Poldi and the finish were exquisite.
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Certainly the subtlest goal I think I’ve ever seen Gains!
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I was definitely grateful for the big screens after Carzola’s goal as I was behind the opposite goal for that game. If only to confirm with disbelief what I had just seen with my own eyes. The ball took an age to cross the line. A tip-tastic finish.
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Yeh, G69, the movement and passing for that goal was top class, and a neat finish. A great goal. Its nice that we can discuss so many lovely goals from a team that cannot score. Mi love it!
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Just ran across this
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exhibit d – steve bennet ( goldie oldie)
exhibit e – our beloved and fellow fan howard
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I agree with all those talking about how difficult it is to choose a goal of the month for January. So many great ones to choose from. Poldi’s first against West Ham is probably one of the most important because of it’s timing, but I personally loved the delicate little chip from a corner kick by Arsenal striking ‘flop’ Giroud! That little montage also demonstrated clearly who was player of the month – as Paul said, if he wasn’t scoring he was involved in the build up or assisting with delicate little touches in and around the box. Far from being a ‘flop’ he is beginning to show that he is top, top quality.
Thanks for the link to steww’s show George – I can’t believe I’ve not checked it out before – I’m listening as I write and it’s really good – some great familiar tunes and a few that are new to me, but enjoyable nevertheless. I can see me becoming a regular listener!
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Brilliant isn’t it Passenal!! And consistently so, week in, week out.
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paul you legend…min 13:00 – 13:15 when he is describing the faces after his coast to coast goal..ahahhaaa..EPIC.
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AA, I’m definitely a fan now – there’s a good eclectic mix and if this is the consistent standard, I can see why George raves about it!
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…..minute 15 where the boss rolls his eyes “lets have a go and start through the centa like when you were a boy” …thats the double quadruple pentium nuclear processor in his brain computing data and memmories knowldege risks…..
est un tresor
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Glad you are enjoying the vid, Hunter. What a player!
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ok paul now do you mind telling us what that thierry video was all about? how dare you put that in here on a weeknight? this dose of ecstacy is wrong….vile .. you should be ashamed really. what about the children? …
i want to make a comment for nearly every frame of those 1hr 24mins and i would write the fastest three tomes in history…from martin with his casual suit and reservoir dog attitude to “dont wanna give them too much credit but it wasnt bad” …so many favourites. thank you mon bruv..it got late but damn worth it.
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I am guessing the coming 13 EPL games, plus the Bayern epics and an FA Cup run could be amongst the most exciting in Arsenal’s recent history. Time will tell. Everything to me points to team gearing up so fast it’s unbelievable and almost ready to take on anybody. Don’t look at the recent run, look at the trends. The “coming of age” of Theo, the cleverness and influence of Giroud, Lukas hitting form, a midfield with such fluidity and growing in sharpness by the game, the arrival of this left back. We are a bit behind, but the timing otherwise could not be better. I hate to speculate but I keep seeing a team poised to discover itself, patches of superlative form growing in every game (until, I hope, they become the whole game, then every game).
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