Ozil to Ramsey, Ozil to Flamini and the Theo/Aaron axis brought about the goals – Three fine goals, I might add.
There is no doubt that Ozil has made a difference to our fortunes. His composed passing in the final third is always going to lead to chances. The latest step in Ramsey’s development is obviously a huge factor too. Goals win games and Ramsey scores goals. These are huge factors.
Yesterday, however, we saw a clear example what I believe to be the biggest factor of all. At 1-0, Cardiff were mounting a fight-back, and why wouldn’t they. Last week they kept the current champions within sight and earned themselves a draw – why not do the same to the future champions?
We know our team is good enough to create chances but I can’t recall any team in all my years of watching football who are good enough to not concede chances. Every great football team needs a great goalkeeper to bail them out from time to time.
When a cross came in from the Cardiff left and found their striker’s head just a couple of yards from goal, the game was set to go level.
When I used to collect the World Cup ring-binder things, they would always have an illustration of a save by England’s Gordon Banks. The ball was all but in when suddenly Banks was on the deck scooping the ball over the bar. Well, Szczesny didn’t get the ball over the bar but the Cardiff header was all but in and the save had this Gooner on his feet.
If Cardiff got back to 1-1, the whole thing would have been different. Perhaps we would have won but it would have been against a side with something for which to fight. It would have been against a stadium of Welsh fans who were no longer full of respect for their former player. At 1-1, they would have tasted our blood and wanted more.
From that moment, it looked like Cardiff realised that it wasn’t to be. Our boys battled to regain supremacy and the familiar pattern resumed. We were back in control.
So, I say that many of these wins –particularly yesterday’s— have been hugely down to Wojciech Szczesny. The guy is truly one of the top players in his position.
Thank you and keep going Chezzer!
Thanks for reading,
Up the Arsenal!
Positively Arsenal 
Jack is making a telling impact since he got back to both form and fitness. It’s very difficult to leave him off the team sheet, and on the whole that’s not good news for either Theo or Santi, who will have to perform at their very best to win starting places. He makes errors at times but it’s the boldness of what he attempts that marks him out now, as well as an obvious rapport with Aaron and Ozil. This is getting more interesting by the week. Someone else coined a great descriptive noun for this Arsenal … “fluency”. It’s that fluency that produces consistent threat, even when it appears to some daft pundits that we are being outplayed (meaning the oppo are stepping up a gear and running all over the place to get some traction). Arsenal defend, don’t panic, get the ball sooner or later, and just keep coming. It’s a terrifying prospect for most teams. I thought Cardiff played very well.
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The other thing I had a word with Arsene bout this morning was starting with Flamster and Arteta against the Kingston upon Hull Tigers as I believe they are now known.
I was musing about telling AW to leave one out as we should be able to bag this particular big cat without the need for the hammer and anvil that Mikel and Matthieu have become in midfield.
However i dont like to impose myself all the time, he is the manager after all
Arsene I said I shall leave it up to you this once, but don’t mess it up
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double canister
December 2, 2013 at 4:05 pm
there are times where i wake up sweating in the night and i run to the wall where i have a picture of jellybear jo-jo bob and bill and goldfish thanking them on my knees for the pressure on wenger to improve or else…
thank god for the new era.
kroenke? wenger? the players? the stuff? who are they ??? ….thank the lord for arseblog, a cultured left foot, le grove and myriad others booing in the stands and marching outside with their fantastic football analysis and insight as well as explaining to poor foreign mugs like me what arsenal is all about and how easy it is to build stadiums and stay at the top of the game with a negative net transfer spend.
i will never ever support or show faith to my team unless im told so by gary payton and all those giant scholars of the game who could definitely teach the alsatian a trick or two…
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Fins
Plodders wasn’t doing enough to help down the left. This left Gibbs and even Santos very exposed.
Theo and Santi now try a lot harder to help out the FB’s.
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Do I detect a tinge of sarcasm there Hunter ?
These are much respected bloggers you know ?
Legends in their own minds.
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He was not fit DC
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People talk a lot about rotation, but perhaps haven’t properly spotted what AW is doing this season. He is rotating his midfield starters so that every game a slightly different player is the midfield point of attack, or main creative spark if you prefer. This happens even if it is the same names on the team sheet, and it is why it is so hard to defend against. The other point about rotation is that because we now have so many playmakers, we are not experiencing the rotational fouling that blighted Jack and Santi last season.
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pedantic george
December 2, 2013 at 5:19 pm
the fact that a rat bastard ex manure rightback understands more about what we are doing as a club than our fans and blogs makes me sick……
that blogs sought to become areas for “debate” on whether arsene is good enough or not is a good reason for me to mock them and no i have nothing in common with such “arsenal fans” …. nor do i want them next to me when it all finally clicks.
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We are extraordinarily fluid Forever as you say. players pop up all over the place, flank players swap sides, sometimes you have both on one wing, and midfield runners sprinting onto the end of chances in the box ? Tick that box – I can never recall us being quite that flexible
It does however help that we have for the first time in several seasons a pool of fully fit midfielders available, and every man jack of them looks comfortable and confident with the ball at their feet
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Oh go on – take five minutes out to enjoy this insightful piece from the editor of the Gooner fanzine Mr Whitcher not that long ago.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2280273/The-Fans-View-Arsenes-busted-flush–need-Jose.html
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Yep every time I walk past the bloke shouting ‘GooooneerfannzeeeengityoooorGoooooooonnerfanzeeeeeeeeeen’ just under the bridge on Hornsey Road I always think back to the high quality, nay exemplary, support that organ provided when times were hard.
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I’m rambling – I shall leave it for now
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finsbury at 2:40 pm
While at work, I read the rampant revisionist nonsense this morning and was itching to post but I resisted the urge to violate the corporate internet guidelines of my employer. It struck me that the purveyors of Arsene has finally found his “mojo” back are not worth risking my livelihood. Reading your 2:40 pm post and Hunter’s usual colorful contribution is sufficient.
As George often advises, why don’t these blokes simply admit that Arsene knows infinitely more than them and if they can’t summon the cojones to support him when the going is rough then at least Shut The Fuck Up and let him get on with the business of improving AFC.
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“why don’t these blokes simply admit that Arsene knows infinitely more than them”
You would sooner get blood out of a stone!
I think a lot of these bloggers work much like the tabloid writers; bad news sells better than good news so that’s what they write about. When they are negative and critical, talking of ‘crises’ and ‘end of an era’ they get more clicks and comments and this strokes their ego, much like getting attention on twitter through replies, retweets and more followers, which they also work hard at doing. LeGrove has even occasionally tweeted about his blog’s traffic, saying he’s getting a lot more readers from such and such a country for example, so he clearly takes an interest in its analytics. It wouldn’t surprise me that he writes according to what the numbers are saying, and he won’t be the only one.
When I first started reading a few Arsenal blogs I thought the idea of them were great, Arsenal fans sharing their experiences and feelings about supporting the club. I didn’t imagine it would be an angry bunch with delusions of grandeur pretending to have expertise in every aspect of the sport – management, coaching, fitness, tactics, injury diagnosis and treatment, physiotherapy, scouting, youth development, financial, commercial. You name it, they have strong opinions (and dish out advice!) on it. To find that so many blogs were like left me very disillusioned.
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I was surprised to find there was no compilation of Arteta’s excellent performance against Cardiff so I decided to have a go and put one together. It’s just his defensive work, seeing as he was so strong in that respect.
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@anicoll5
One of the money quotes from that piece: “And Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain seems to have had the fire of a year ago coached out of him. He appears to be regressing under Wenger.”
This has actually been a popular opinion for the last couple of years. That Wenger takes good players and somehow makes them worse. Rubbish. If there is a man who can get the most out of a talented footballer, it’s Arsene.
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@LeoS
Thanks for that, good work! It shows that you don’t need to be some sort of half man/half minotaur hybrid to be a very effective defensive midfielder. Nowadays, having proper technique is probably more important for a DM than being tall and strong.
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PG
Fair point, we (and I really mean me) didn’t know it at the time.
It is amazing now, no team gets anywhere down our left side, and when Bac is on form, and he nearly always is nowadays – there is no way of getting down our right flank either.
Foreverheady- I agree with your idea that the point of attack is constantly rotation. we have 6 bullets in the revolver – anyone of them can go bang!
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Great news folks,
Owen Coyne is now available for a new managerial challenge!
soon this torment under the old alsatian could be over.
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Anicoll
some golden nuggets from that pillok:
“Look at Manchester United — a club that also has debts but a board that realises winning trophies will lead to increased profits”
How’d that working out for the red scum, Kevin? they bet the farm on ‘it’s jhusth a niggle, bhossh, no worriesh’ van Persie.
“but with the team’s weakness in defensive organisation and an error-prone keeper, I just don’t see it.”
Maths wasn’t your strong subject in primary school, was it Kevin? neither it seems was analytical writing.
“You want Arsenal to defend again? The deadwood cleared? Remember (the) siege mentality? Trophies? But I suspect the board are far too conservative for that.”
I know you and your ilk are genuinely thinking you can take the credit for that, don’t you, Kevin?
Jeez, you should see some of the dumb ass comments following that article, they make Whitcher’s stuff look like Dylan BloodyThomas.
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I came to the party late and read through the comments working from the most recent backwards, and although I have not read the offending articles (and frankly I could not be arsed to do so) I gather that the “we are doomed Mr Mainwaring” merchants are blaming AW for us being top of the table, which really is not fair as it makes caterwauling sooo difficult for the poor souls.
I have a theory that those who delight in second guessing Arsene and criticising him for failing to reach their ‘high’ standards of management expertise, have cranial matter in directly inverse proportion to their overarching self esteem.
That said, there are billions of people in the world with billions of differing opinions, so it cannot come as a surprise that the blogs are a macro version of the world with a proportional number of differing opinions, some of them extreme.
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Jack or Aaron need to pick up a yellow against Hull.
We need them to be available for €ity and €havski.
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……and we’re the delusional ones?
“I dont believe Wenger signed Ozil or if he did there was pressure on him to sign a marquee player after the Higuain and Suarez embarrassments.”
My bad about the yellow cards, they haven’t accumulated 4 each yet.
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i think leo has nailed it at 7.19 all those areas of expertise that make a manager are invaded by absolute shitters who aint got a clue …the “taking us back, hes got to go” variety, whereas arsenal is so technical that youd expect the fans/blogs to be equally sophisticated….but then again henryb is also right with that last paragraph. just where/when does the offensive and moronic stop? because to be honest i found it offensive that arsenal fans would dear think that way about the manager who put them at that level of high standards.
.
we have 6 bullets in the revolver – anyone of them can go bang!
6 bullets..ah you mean the BAE’s Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System firing all 6 rockets at once if needed…..yes i know the one…
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dare*
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Hunter
it’s the sense of entitlement that gets me.
“we want our arsenal back’
Y O U don’t own it and never did.
They will do anything to convince themselves, if not the rest of us that their summer and the whole of last years, meltdown was justified.
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Shotta
My scorn was not serious, baron greenback is a cool cartoon villain. I don’t know why but I wrote on the old blog (poorly and with some repetition) why the signing of Monreal, the timing, was a harbinger of good intentions, that the turnover in players in recent times was substantial and could only be classed as a rebuild, and that with the benefit of hindsight we can consider that the club chose to take longer then one transfer window for such an adventure.
As a comparison I don’t think Tottenham are doomed. They should improve. Their real problem was that overall the players they were left with after their outs were not as good as the players that were left at Arsenal after they lost all those players, and that in comparison to players Arsenal brought in the period in the previous two or even four windows they may have overpaid on one or two of their new signings. If the fee for Özil was high because of the link to Bale then it’s fair to conclude the high fees they paid were not by choice. Perhaps they were also hindered by circumstance, the new TV deals might have meant that sellers were asking for more. Not a good time to sign in bulk? Hoodwinked by Arsenal’s pursuit of Özil (if they had the option, I think they just might have taken it. What in the blazing saddles was IG up to with his early Summer statement)? That is all possibly boring speculation. A simple and accurate account of the non-speculative stuff is here: http://poznaninmypants.com/2013/09/12/redefining-real-madrid-and-tottenhams-special-relationship/
Ignoring the above I can still say that Arsenal have done very well. After the loss of two superstars of the game (i’m not referring to to some Kagawa or any old Götze here) a stable squad, getting better with the stable pattern of a few players coming and going here and there (Where will Joel Cambpell play next season? What a finish from him this week). That is not a change, it is an achievement.
–
I don’t like predicting things especially so early in a season. Or ever. There will be obstacles. If Arsenal are in a good position after new year there could be harder obstacles, again. This time last year I had no idea what would happen. It’s the same now. Hull is big game. And the rest. Arsenal are top of the league having had a fair few injuries. That is a change!
What I can predict is that if Arsenal sign players on a transfer deadline day that I will not be surprised. Should anyone be? Ever?
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Don’t usually listen to this podcast but the Paul Davies interview looked tempting, worth a go: http://t.co/2sFpIHJQds
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< a few players coming and going () and new superstars (ö I forgot to mention them above!) Same as before, brought in and or developed. The same old plan? That is…
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Fins, very good points about tottenham and us. Over the past two, three seasons we were quietly rebuilding while every one was criticising us. I dont get how they expected us to win the title last season (even though I wanted it too) when we had just bought Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla and then they got angry when we had bad games because they players hadnt become a team yet. They just had to look a little closely to clearly see what Wenger was upto. It has been amazing to watch the bonds being built, the team spirit growing, the grit, the response to adversity, the leadership, the camaraderie, the beautiful football and many more things.
We now have a proper, scary team.
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finsbury at 2:27 am
Unlike you, I am unable to conceal my contempt for the revisionism up, down and around Arsenal blogs since we went on this current run. Contrast the current grudging admission that Arsene has rebuilt a very good team with the shit we had to put up with as recent as the refereeing travesty in that 1st game with Aston Villa. As you correctly observed it takes a profound difference in management when having to develop callow youth such as Song and Denilson in the heat of battle vs having the resources to ruthlessly move Santos on and replace him with Monreal. (Mourinho anyone?) The ravages of time have no doubt taken their toll on Wenger but given the the herculean effort to keep us in the top-four over past 8 years, any suggestion that he somehow lost his “mojo” is simply laughable.
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“we want our arsenal back’
heh..sure but what do they mean when they say that?
what arsenal do they want back? the one from gg or the one we know from wenger?
if they want the gg arsenal then they are the biggest muppets ever to support a football club and if they mean they want the first ten year of wenger’s arsenal then they are equally stupid for they havent realised the first ten years we pushed on to reach climax at highbury and expand as a football club with an investment programm that included stadium, facilities training and medical…i guess them fickle bastards couldnt fucking wait then?
the owrst out of all this story is that now i get united and other teams fans telling me ” oh so now youre all back supporting huh? you mugs were booing wenger and ramsey last year you fickle lot”
the damage has already been done… we are seen as a bunch of morons who dont know football or how to judge it or even appreciate those who have done and still do great things for our club. the enemy within.
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So Bac out with the slight hamstring problem, and Jenks in for Hull – not a bad game for the youngster to find his feet rather than being thrown in at the deep end at against Everton if, as my crystal ball tells me, Bac will be out for a couple of games at least.
If you are not listeners take yourselves on to the ClockEnd podcast this week with Fabrice Muamba as Adrian Clarke’s guest – a good hour of all things Arsenal and some interesting points raised by FM on our present momentum
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So Bac out with the slight hamstring problem…. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO….NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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A third of it gone and the EPL season starts to take on a shape, patterns. Predictably and confirmed in stats, the form teams are emerging: Arsenal, Chelsea and City. Not a huge gulf, yet, between the first two but not neck and neck either, especially looking at stats. City, so formidable at home but fragile away, and as expected they can score loads of goals, and lose unexpectedly on the road. Liverpool, all round stronger, but liable to drop points unexpectedly; not looking good with top scorer Sturridge out for 2 months, questions over depth. Spurs, attractive, loads of depth across the park, defensively good too, but unable to convert this potential to goals in open play in the absence of Gareth. Yoo, champions, a couple or more of world class players in their ranks, but simply not scoring enough and more importantly, conceding too many, they might turn it around Arsenal-like, but the stats don’t favour them, yet. Everton and Southampton both performing unexpectedly well, but questions will emerge over depth in a long season. Roll on the second quadrimestre, or is that trimester?
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how long is he out for? this sucks.
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Shottagunna @ 12 pm
I cannot but agree with your comment.
Many is the time I have had my sanity called into question because I could not see how badly AW had served the club, and that I was a gullible and moronic idiot (I am aware of the tautological nature of that comment C Bob) 🙂 for my unquestioning support of Mr Wenger.
Leaving aside the vitriol, they were crediting me for something I did not deserve – you see, I did question some of the transfer market inertia, I did question some of the clubs (and in particular Stan Kroenke’s) motives when first Cesc and then RvP decided the grass looked greener elsewhere.
But my questioning was not public just in my minds eye, and after reflection I withheld public criticism as I realised I was ignorant of all the facts – financial and otherwise, – and I realise the one person standing tall through the maelstrom of some fans fury was Arsene and he deserved the loyalty and support of fans like me because he was the one who knew the facts and had the expertise to get the club back to the top — as we are now.
Do I claim greater knowledge or that I am a better supporter than others? No, of course not. But I am sensible enough to know you do not throw the captain of the ship overboard when you hit choppy waters.
If some want to call me a Wenger lover then fine, the truth is far more pragmatic and even prosaic than that. But what does it matter? The team are doing well, the fans are happy – what’s not to like? 🙂
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Lots of great comments here, thanks.
Fins, I stopped listening to footballistically as soon as I heard the 1st one, but the mention of Paul Davis meant I decided “one more time”. I know I’m weak but that co-presenter exemplifies ‘stupid and ****ed up to a tee. Dear Dermot tried to call out dear Dan but he couldn’t answer. (I don’t remember Dermot being much better when things weren’t going well). I felt quite dirty listening to Dan’s filth, and it upset me, somewhat.
I liked all but one sentence of what PD said, and I wondered if he felt embarrassed by what his hosts were saying. I’d have liked Paul to have been asked about his time coaching at Arsenal. Why was he sacked? (Can anyone enlighten me, please?) PD could’ve been so negative, especially having sat out for 2 years (Thanks GG. You took him out in his prime. Bravo). And then there’s my ongoing desire to see PD chinning Cockerall. What did Glen do to get that which he must’ve deserved, and where’s the video, pretty please? Anyone?
Once recovered I may take a listen to the ClockEnd podcast, ta, An5
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All getting a bit post modern here.
arguing over alternative posts on another blog.
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batistuta in italian football hall of fame …sign himup arsene 🙂
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Little bit meta.
I agree with all of that though HenryB. Very well said.
What’s not to like indeed (Cue one of Hunters rants…..). Arse.
Funny watching AVB aiming a direct verbal pop in the direction of “Lord” Alan Sugar and that slimeball journo whose name I’ve already forgotten. Though entirely justified, especially in the case of the hack, you could never imagine Arsene making any kind of reference to the likes Piers Moron or Stewart Robson, or even acknowledging their existence. Class.
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lol harry dont push it ….
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Yes Harry AVB’s attack on Ashton and Samuel (spits) which for some reason dragged Sugar into it was probably poor tactics his part. Trouble is, as Neil Warnock said last night, once you start showing that the lies and the snidey attacks are getting under your skin then you are only guaranteed to get more of it.
On the other hand you would have to be a saint and put up with it and never show a bit of anger back, as did our own Supremo as recently as February;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9878528/Full-transcript-Arsene-Wengers-confrontational-clash-with-journalists-ahead-of-Bayern-Munich-match.html
So fair play to you Arsene and AVB – don’t let them get away with the lies
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avb is right ani.. who the hell is ashton or the fat bearded disgrace ? who are they?
wenger in that press conference…i stood up and clapped and was giving salutes watchig it on youtube. we were playing bayern munich ffs and some twats were grilling him for the blackburn or bairnesford whoever
however, i find it disgraceful that the clubs do not have a designated person to ‘deal’ with the journalists and their behaviour once theyre done interviewing the manager….it doens thave to be violent…..just let them know the enxt time they talk shit theyre on the next plane to alaska to report on seagulls and fishing trawlers and not in posh london getting involved with charismatic figures of sport.
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Lukas Podolski is edging closer to competitive action after more than three months on the sidelines with a grade three hamstring tear
A TEAR….. hehe.. now it makes sense…he just ripped it apart..not just pull it
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Rantetta
Good work giving that podcast a go. I felt the same as you but on reflection these were my thoughts on the two presenters: Dermot could not even be bothered to carry on teasing (his friend?) Dan for his stupidity once he started to say “Wenger had changed”, it was such a weak sound, poor old Dan. Dermot did not even need to tease him about that stupidity because by then there was nothing left to add to what he himself was saying. Props to Dermot for highlighting just how proud he is to have AW at the club. Hunter would’ve been impressed.
Perhaps the best we can hope for is that those who told themselves that they wanted a change in manager now like to believe that the manager who was by their account a stubborn socialist (on decent pay) meteor dodging dinosaur, has changed.
As for Paul Davis, surely he is one to add to the list of future guests for Ronan and George. Positively Arsenal expects. My top three interviews would be Parlour, Davis and anyone else in any order.
Shotta
Listening to Dan on that podcast I couldn’t help but feel a little pity as he tried to grope his way back to a less embarrassing posture. It doesn’t look good when someone chooses to write “the stubborn Wenger has changed”, it sounds worse.
Of more interest was your observation of Arsenal attacks against Cardiff. Looking forward to the Hull game.
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arsenal fans swearing at players, abusing wenger and wanting to get rid of him is the craziest and dumbest scenario i have witnessed in sports worldwide, and to me goes to show how “small” this club was and its fans in contrast to what some insular revisionists think……
only florentino perez can compete with such madness
🙂
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Fin, Campbell scored an identical goal against Spain in a friendly two years ago. He’s been fantastic this year and I can’t wait to see what Arsene does with him in the near future.
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do you mean the costarican who plays for a bunch of cheats and crooks in piraeus?
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I agree ‘Coll, you’d have to be a living saint to put up with some that bullshit and remain silent. By responding in such a fashion though, you give the bastards exactly what they are looking for. They’ve got under your skin. Job done in their eyes. Though fair play to AVB, although I think it showed a certain naivety on his part in allowing himself to get so publicly rattled by the online criticism, he treated Neil Ashton with nothing less than the withering contempt he deserved.
Arsene has always been extremely accommodating and gracious with his time. Which is surely more than most of ’em deserve. Personally I like that about him, although I think you are correct Hunter, and would welcome a more aggressive stance from the club, though perhaps that would just work against us.
I refer to Paulie’s Freudian theory yesterday concerning this so-called change in Arsene.
Perhaps Arsene has “changed” his approach, that’s mere conjecture, unless you are a personal acquaintance, I can’t see it myself, maybe talk of change just (conveniently) overlooks the importance of not losing any key players in the summer, and having a truly settled squad to work with, players maturing, finally having the money available to make an audacious signing like Ozil etc etc etc.
I dunno (quelle surprise).
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