Today a piece written for the excellent You Are My Gooners blog by @Swales1968 .I would like to thank him for allowing us to revisit it and them for their fantastic work
I suppose it depends on how you define positive, I could sit here and type a list of things that I think are good at Arsenal today. In doing this though I would be leaving myself open to the ranting of people with a negative view of Arsenal.
It is easier to find the negative in something rather than to look for the positive’s and this is where blogs twitter and forums excel. You put up a post about a player and you will soon find over two thirds finding something wrong with what he is doing.
When we post something seen as positive are we posting that everything in the Arsenal garden is rosy or are we saying yes there are problems but we can see the bigger picture in all this and the positives outweigh the negatives.
The positives are there but are either shouted down with the same overused quotes or the responses get personal. It is rare to get a reply to a positive point without one of these two things happening. You can go onto certain football forums put something positive on there and be verbally abused within 2 posts.
Why is there such a split within the Arsenal fan base? How can people see the same football club in totally different ways? It would be easy for me to blame forums, fanzines, blogs etc. For their views carry a lot of weight amongst the fan base. Could this be down to the Arsenal fans wanting some answers? Or is it a change of attitude from Arsenal supporters going from hoping to win a trophy to demanding they win a trophy?
But what answers to what questions, what do Arsenal fans really want? The quote most trotted out by the negatives is “no trophy for eight years” this is of course true but is that the be all and end all of supporting a football club? If so why do fans go to watch Barnet every week that is not for the trophies so why is it a benchmark at Arsenal?
“The players are rubbish” are they? If the players are that bad why are Arsenal sitting in 5th position in the supposed hardest league in the world?
“Wenger has lost it” again sitting 5th in the premier league with three of the richest club teams in the world above us.
“The board have no ambition” have they not? What do they want from the club then, to be like Stoke, Villa or Everton? Do you not think they would not want to win a trophy?
“Ivan Gazidis what the f*** do you do” was the call from the BSM walk before the Swansea game. Well what does he do and what has he done wrong. Everybody and his dog is now an expert on running a multi million pound football club, the sponsorship experts seem to be in all walks of life. There must be some well sponsored groups, clubs out in the world if the knowledge spouted by some is to be believed. Again when you push for an answer about what is wrong the reply is normally “oh that’s just wrong a club like Arsenal should be doing better”I read forums and hear snippets of radio shows and hear the same tired arguments about Wenger, the board, the players but what I don’t get are answers. Get Wenger out, but when asked who to take over you get Jose or anybody but Wenger. Get rid of Stan is another call but when asked what then you get “get Usmaniov in” well what evidence is there that he would do anything different. The Russian has said he would
keep Wenger as manager so that won’t change; he has spoken of investing in the club but only by a share option. He is as far as I can see not going to be an Abramovic or Sheikh Mansour and put loads of his own personal money into the club.
Back to the original question are there any positives at Arsenal?
To me there are positives, The players Wilshere, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Cazorla, Giroud etc. The youth set up
The stadium
The change in sponsorship policy
The change in wages policy
Wenger
The sound business practice
And as I said these positives are easy to knock and I expect them to
be because what I see is many Arsenal fans looking at the negatives
rather than looking at the positives.
Positively Arsenal 
Further to that fine list of positives, here’s another positive, copied and pasted from elsewhere.
http://guardian.touch-line.com/?Lang=0&CTID=11&CPID=4&TEID=217&pStr=Team_Stats
I still think our problems this season have been down to starting slow because we lost two important players last summer, a year after losing three others. Of course, all this might happen again if we don’t qualify for the CL (we will qualify).
In the link, look at our form since West Brom at home in December (incidentally the match the team finally settled started playing like a Wenger team). Apply our average points per game in the 16 games since then to the 15 matches before. I know it’s facile, but interesting nonetheless. By my shitty maths we’d be 2nd, a ways behind ManU but well ahead of Man City.
What does that tell you? Not much, but it could suggest that the momentum we build now will carry over to a title bid next season, provided we strengthen smartly and keep the group together.
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Where is our Frank?
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Thanks for this. You guys and Untold should have a shared monopoly on Arsenal comments!
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My heavens, Birdkamp, the one and only OOU. Is that you? Where did George find you? This is a gooner I truly respect. Welcome to PA my friend. Not as populous as the old place but truly a place where supporters of the club, players and manager feel welcome.
As for positivistas vs negativistas, my Mum always told me it is easier to tear down than to build up. I see it everyday especially when it comes to the Arsenal.
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the last two seasons we’ve started badly but when I look at how we can play when on form and the youngsters coming through I’m convinced we will have a good season next year the mortgage going down helps as well things are on the up not on the way down. This doesn’t mean to say that chelski, Mansour , manure and the spuds wont outspend us in the close season because they will.
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Ah, hi Shotta.Right back at you. I’ve loved it. Just I can’t read or comment anywhere as much as I’d like because of work and other rubbish.
Not reading blogs very much I was shocked there are still people trying to bring everyone else down. In the league we’ve been strong for four months now and we’re playing some stunning football. Gervinho’s return is a great story too – says a lot about him as a person.
Also can’t imagine why anyone would us to fall out of the CL. Makes fuck all sense any way you try to put it.
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why? easy …..90% of the public are uneducated misinformed gloryseekers who attach to a winning football club so as to balance their failures in their personal lives.
the other 9 % is a bunch of deluded idiots who think arsenal has been historically on par with the true giant football clubs of the game, thus failure to win a trophy a year is deemed as unacceptable….
also arsenal represents the team of the foreign and international ideals on the game and an approach to football more in line with the olympic spirit and ethics of sport and fair competition and victory through hard work and preparation, not via inconsiderate spending or dirty tactics ( i.e win at all costs, cheat even, bend the rules where you can, bully, intimidate, break legs, park the bus). this gets picked on by the deep rooted nationalistic pride of the locals and thus arsenal gets singled out and attacked for things which are “ghost stories” most of times…
of course the internet has made matters worse, since every moron with a keyboard feels entitled to JUDGE ( not comment or critisise) professionals with real responsibilities who take tough decissions.
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the mere fact that our club is managed by a responsible genius is enough of a positive to wipe out whatever negative b/s some internet troll comes up with
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and to end the farce ..the last 16 -17 years have been the best years in the history of the club. plus we have built our stadium. thats all that counts…
now if future regimes wish to destroy the russian and saudi empires it will take a lot more than spending 400 million on world class players…it will also need what americans term as “lobbying”…..is arsenal the kind of club prepared to play such “games”…would we like to see the club turning into something like that ?
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Hello OOU! Thank you to @Sales1968.
Why would anyone want their team to fall out of the CL? I don’t know, but I lump this phenomenon alongside the body language readers out there who would put Freud and Dynamo to shame, because words obviously have no meaning.
Steve Bould last week:
“There are things that are said [in the media] that don’t go on and you realise that when you’re sitting beside the manager and other coaching staff. There are lots of people who want to create stories. It’s part of the job and you have to just get on with your work.”
Alongside previous statements about the teams from youth level up, the identity of the club, which he is now a part of. Etc.
–
I have a confession.
After losing the talisman and Captain in the Summer plus a lieutenant I tentatively expected a vaguely similar season to the one before, when The Arsenal lost their Captain, talisman and also a lieutenant. Crazy, I know! But I didn’t have much else to go on. Whether my nerves can handle a run in like last year I’m not sure, but it was fun. Some didn’t enjoy their team finishing third last season, apparently finishing third was all the result of a great big mess made by, yup, you guessed it the manager. So, if third wasn’t good enough last season, why would third matter this season? Why bother watching the matches at all. Just wait for sports report and Mark Lawrenson on MOTD.
As many and most have observed, a steady Summer is what this club, or any club at any time, needs. You don’t need to have held a season ticket since 1666 or to walk around with a bin liner over your head proclaiming you are a supporter of your club whilst wearing different colours for some reason, or to take out a billboard advert opposite your stadium to in order to heckle your team whilst Chelsea take people/companies who heckle their players on billboards opposite their ground to court in order to work that one out. Yes, they’ve made Chelsea FC look like they have more class them they do, and that is quite an achievement.
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On the pitch, I have been guilty for of enjoying the sight of the football god Tomas Rosicky strutting his stuff. Terrible, isn’t it. What a player! As written in the comments previously, he really was considered one of the best before he was struck down (shhh….don’t tell Aunty ‘jingo bells’ Beeb). What a great a player to have in the squad. Our beloved Rosicknote. Like the gaffer I hope he stays at AFC for the rest of his days.
For my sins, I don’t blame the manager for the injury Tomas picked during the Euro’s. Hell, I can’t even blame Tomas, he was the Captain, he had to play. It was also his last tournament (probably). I have no one to blame! Help.
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well said fins..as always! …the media and our rivals want our fans to be chasing phantoms ….
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Good post, really relate to that. Everyone’s an expert, apparently, except the actual experts who know nothing. Apparently.
My waters tell me the corner has been turned with regard to squad building and the finances and next season will be special, but for now I am concentrating on willing the team into 3rd place. I’ll take fourth (big of me, I know) but I really want us to avoid the playoffs. And 2nd place sadly is not in our hands.
nice comment, finsbury.
And hi, birdkamp!
Don’t be a stranger.
****
@ arse or brain (from last night)
so right – pointless looking at fixture list.
@ Steve_I April 7, 2013 at 10:56 pm
ha ha ha!
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@ Finsbury
nice commentS, I meant
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As usual Fins makes sense out of the nonsense. The football is their to enjoy especially when you have such wonderful players as the little Mozart in your ranks. To belittle them as Rosicknote, Flappyhandski, deadwood and most of all the manager, as senile and past-it is delusional bordering on manic.
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and you know what shotta…phrases such as ” he is past it,” ” not good with spending money” ” doesnt know tactics “..etc are not even criticisms… those are not the words of someone who exercises critique.. those are the words of someone who wants to insult belittle and insult.
so to me its not about the allowance of fans to air their opinions or critisise performances …its about insulting our club, manager and players…and these insults have originated from rivals… and followed on by weak arseholes amongst us…
pollution i think is the right word…
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Well, chaps and chapesses I’m a f***king expert! I’m an expert at being positive when I have plenty of evidence that I should be. And this is the place for me. I have enjoyed today’s post, and all comments so far. Many thanks.
Great to hear from Birdkamp. I hope we hear from you often, you like the rest are a breath of fresh air.
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plus they are all forgetting that the team wenger was preparing for 6 -7 years has been destroyed the last two summers….which would of course bring the technical stuff back to the drawing board…
stadium transition – mini-team transitions- massive team transitions = 7 years without a trophy …big fkn deal …. we were close and we always had a good team just not one that couldnt go and dominate/own united chelsea barca inter bayern etc …
who was stupid enough to expect arsenal to be dominating anyone or anything in the middle of the clubs biggest transition in its history …
lets say thank you we didnt get relegated or not even dropping out of top4 and as for titles ..they will come…after all the first decade of the emirates wasnt scheduled with titles in mind ….more like reducing the 450m debt…in any ways possible..the sooner the better.
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and why did fans get angry ? ..isnt it partly because even under those restrictions we showed enough ability to suggest we could have won them (trophies). ?
and whereas this fact should be considered as a testament to the manager;s and players ability…even that was turned against them and used as a sick to beat them with…
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Thank you for the kind comments, it was this part of today’s post that got me thinking:
‘ You can go onto certain football forums put something positive on there and be verbally abused within 2 posts.’
It’s true. As Shotta said a segment has gone genuinely manic. This can be seen from the recent trolling on a site like 7am (copy and pastes of yet more Gooner gibberish), as could be seen when I saw someone else shot down for daring to suggest TR7 was a Key player before he had tendonitus/injury strife. Now that is what you call Revisionism. Best not tell any that choose that path that Cesc F Word considered TR7 a mentor after just one season. Irrelevant to this is what happens in this players future, his next contract, or his previous injury ordeal. The whole of Football rated the player. Simples. What can you say to the spectacle of Arsenal fans biting off their own noses with such delicious spite? It is a sad sight, not one I care to see.
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I am thinking of starting a podcast,Do we have a tech wiz kid who can advise and help?
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No only a plethora of commercial and corporate management experts among the Bin Bag Movement but medical experts too.
How lucky we are to have fellow fans prepared to publish their often radical clinical diagnoses on players who they have never examined, never taken a history or read the records on, and who, unless I am mistaken, know fuck all about human physiology or even plant biology.
Since our new medical facilities and improved treatment and fitness regimes have been working for the last year the Royal College of Bin Bag Practitioners has shut up.
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Well Arseblogger was rabbiting on about North Korea and that Friday’s Arsecast may just be the last if the worst came to the worst. Maybe he’d had too much of the magic black liquid the night before. He should know how!
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he and I dont see eye to eye
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i think i read in the “making of”, that besides the need for wenger to educate the board, coaching stuff and players about his philosophy on football etc etc that a further education was necessary for the fans ….spot on alex flynn …
our fans are pathetic…we have fans out there who think of themselves as knowledgable and loyal who consider the pre wenger era of or any other wengerless era as equivelant or even better to what he has offered us. the worst is when otherwise loyal and experienced fans try and present the class of wenger as being a fabric of the club;s culture since the begining of times. i luagh so hard when pepople tell me that arsenal had class before wenger…as if i wasnt around to see the wordlwide “respect” arsenal enjoyed with grahams and the other drunks …
the class of wenger i.e …the philosophy of wanting to achieve greatness the right way..i.e through training and applying talent and hard work and through positive attacking football by footballers who take care of themselves like olympic athletes and not pub teams has not been part of the football club before his tenor….. george didnt give a shit how he would win as long as he did…quite brutal..”win at all costs ….we dont care how…” a bit like that old git at manchester… plus wenger wants to achieve it all in a logical and respectable financial environment…without running the risk of bankrupting the club ..
thus, to me at least …both concepts of a) winning via beautiful football b) managing all club operations within the club’s financial means is wenger;s making…noone elses…thats what gives arsenal it’s class today and for the last 16 years ..the combination of beautiful football with a responsible financial approach and all in a manner of respect and ethics closer to a snooker tournament rather than a typical football club with its drunks and hooligans and mafia approaches ….
the phrase ” he transformed arsenal” is too miniscule to describe what has happened to arsenal
not only does he have the business acumen to approach the subject of “arsenal and football” financially, he also has the ability to coach and train for the highest competitive level of said sport, and most importantly he has the education and culture as a human being to do it with respect towards everyone and with dignity.
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haha george…i ve been giving him shit too for his ” lets make money out of our love to arsenal blogging” philosophy …
and for his switch from thoroughly politicallly incorrect to politically correct ….
and for allowing jerks to comment under the premise of free speech …
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@hunter13 at 4:41 pm
Have you been engaging JonJon over on ACLF by any chance?
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Does JJ still post Georgaki ?
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“the Royal College of Bin Bag Practitioners”
Hahaha! They’re no doubt busy re-training as defence coaching gurus.
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Really good read today, enjoyed all the comments. When you look back over the 17 years its been great and I have enjoyed the majority of it. With a lttle luck and a fair wind we would have picked up some more trophies as well. I think Chelsea used all their luck and some of ours winning the champions league last year.
Next season could be a great one, but a lot will depend on injuries. Rosicky has proved again he could have been a great player if he can remain fit. Diaby, Gibbs, Wilshire are somewhat similar. If we can strengthen the squad a little in the summer so that we have decent cover across the board, I think we will be on a winner. Bringing in Monreal was a good example whereby we have two sound options
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hey georgaki mainly i refer to old colonial farts who were giving me shit about history and tradition and other bollocks like that not just in aclf buit other places too. ….. people who talk about the summer of 56 or whatever and how a trip to scunthorp one afternooon in 74 meant the world cup for them or something ridiculous… basically all those who insist on presenting arsenal as england;s version of real madrid before wenger’s tenor.
when i first got to know arsenal we were known for being neanderthal drunks beating other teams for the 1-0 …very sam allerdyce like , pulis -like even…that was our “class” when i got to know arsenal ..so obviously what wenger has done will be forever considered by me at least as one of the biggest inspirations ever in any walk of life..be it sports career family …the wenger factor and wenger teachings and principles are something i tend to apply in everything i do think about.
how would oratio alger handle this ?
but thats the thing maybe…i belong to the generation that was inspired by wenger;s perfectionism and others belong to the generation inspired by the grit of 89…..
so its essentially a battle between those who dont care “how” they win as long as they do and those who do care in the manner in which they achieve success…
to me it all stems from the singleminded balc and white mentality of winner takes all , second place nothing ..that might aplly for abba who were singing about man woman relationships but not for team pro sports.
you cant call second place a failure when the competitiors are 20 and the prize is one.
olympics have bronze, silver and gold…all three are winners… even the 4th and 5th as participants for being there..
such concepts are alien to football supporters..they prefer the hot-dog routine …win + title = boss..and thats what fergie uses too… thats what mnedia use and thats what the fan/public/customer/consumer will copy.
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i have to live with united being presented as the dogs privates….but i saw in 99 that they were utterly dominated and won it with two deflections as well as their second one being won because a donkey slipped …… and this scottish drunk is presented in the uk as better than arsene? are we serious?
wenger is head and shoulders above anyone else in the world…its just that we live in a sick society where you need the “titles” to prove it…. or else they will call you loser you see..
and who is that calling you a loser again ? oh thats right ..some peasants in some pub or some junkies on the internet …or jamie hansen and co with shearer in the media…
oh and mou too…the uk media honeybunny ..
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even this steve bould i bet if you askl him privately he will say ” i was 35 years old and i thought i knew everything there is to know about football…thats until i started working with wenger”
how true….
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Nice post and great to see Birdkamp popping in!
Are there any streams for tonight’s big match? Really can’t be bothered with the Mancs so I’m hoping our streaming specialists will come up trumps for the Liverpool bash.
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If you have Sky its on LFC TV Andrew
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No I don’t George (use BT Vision). Any others? Where’s Stew?
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It’s listed as being shown on njtvx3 and darts blogger both need flash players and obviously I have no knowledge of either
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Pedantic
I don’t visit ACLF much anymore but he was still posting a few weeks back at least. Now for the Fans Forum where I expect to hear you call in again!
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thisseems ok http://nutjob.eu/njtvx3.html
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Excellent post and comments today. Great to see Birdkamp – I hope you can find time to pop in more often. It would also be great to see Bragging Rights Ltd make a comeback.
You’re on a role today Hunter – there’s no hiding your passion!
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Forgotten how to spell – of course I mean roll!
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Thanks Bob Fisher!
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How can we be a selling club all the while Wenger has lost his touch in the transfer market?
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Gnabry does it again! Quality goal from ‘pool too, not to mention Yennaris’ curler off the bar. A more then decent save from WS in there too. Good game!
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Gah.
3-2 to Liverpool U21s. Liverpool had three outfield players who’ve played a little in the PL this season, Arsenal just had WS in goal.
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😦
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that would have been a wonder goal !
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Haven’t seen any of that match, but it seems to me from previous evidence that young Serge takes responsibility for making things happen. Excellent trait in a young player.
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did you all enjoy aguero ripping the united defence a new one ?
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