You have to have some depth in your squad to rest the kind of quality we rested last night. But it’s more than just the players who took a breather, who will therefore necessarily return refreshed and stronger for their recumbent relaxation, the significance of the sheer depth and quality of the squad Arsène has patiently put together is best exemplified by the example of Theo Walcott.
In recent seasons we would have missed Theo horribly. I believe that we have missed him this time and in fact would have been winning our games by a greater margin with him in the team. However the difference is that we haven’t needed to rush him back. Players are allowed to ease themselves back into fitness and contention. Players approaching the autumn of their careers to who’s form three matches a week would surely be injurious, can be omitted from the starting line up and then come back into it with the running and enthusiasm of younger men. Ask yourself what good it would have done to have rushed Theo back into the team after his operation, the weight of an expectant fan base on his fragile shoulders only for his stitches to burst and his spleen and various other significant organs to spurt down the front of his tunic spoiling the effect of the prettily designed red and white strip. This tasteless scenario was avoided because of the riches available to our illustrious leader and I think the gains will be long term and evidential.
In case you were wondering, I was planning to deliver one of my contemporaneous match reports but my wife contrived to find me something better to do and so I missed Nic Bendtner’s opening goal and spent a frustrating time stream chasing eventually finding myself in no fit mood to invent a match report for a game I couldn’t watch. However I caught up towards the end of the first half just in time to see Hull enjoy a few brief moments of possession in between our magical passing football. None of their moves amounted to much but I’m sure twitter went into meltdown because the opposition dared to have a go. I don’t join any social media based conversations during the match because people simply prove themselves, time and again, incapable of any calm sense of perspective or in fact the ability to actually enjoy the match they’re watching. Instead all you read are trotted out clichés about how we ‘need a second goal’ are ‘playing nice football but must kill off the game’, and how much they ‘hate Nic Bendtner but will support him as he’s wearing the shirt’. It is tiresome in the extreme and they need to get a grip on themselves.
Talking of our Great Dane, when I finally got to see the highlights of the first half I was amused to see how his goal (very very well taken) came at the end of some superb slick one touch passing culminating in contributions from two of the candidates for scapegoat of the season. Carl Jenkinson’s perfect run and cross and Nic’s beautifully skilful header were all the sweeter for those of us who support the entire Arsenal squad without the self serving need to add the word ‘but’ and some mealy mouthed qualification to that sentence. They are both excellent understudies to two extraordinarily good players. Carl has a huge future in the game, anyone who can’t see it is watching the wrong sport and Nic is a proven international goalscorer. Surely good enough qualifications for our or anybody else’s reserves?
I cannot talk about those who stepped up last night without a mention for one of my absolute favourite players in the first team squad. Nacho Monreal has accepted the second fiddle to Kieran Gibbs virtuoso Left back role with apparent equanimity. Never a murmur of discontent and always leaping from the subs bench to play out of position with an irrepressible enthusiasm and lively passionate ebullience and no little skill. I was delighted to see him given a start yesterday and I speak as one who has followed Gibbs career with a keen appreciation. I think if we have players of Monreal’s undoubted talent waiting in the wings we can put to bed the tired lie about us lacking depth in our squad. Theo, Jack, Mikel Arteta, Tommy Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna, Abou Diaby, Olivier Giroud, not in the starting line up last night and yet the team were scintillating.
All of this raises the question – what more do people want from our reserves? It really is pathetic how some supporters cannot just support without telling the world how important and hard won that support is, how the club and it’s staff must in some way ‘earn’ it. If you are one of those all I want to say to you is this. How about you just enjoy what the team have served up so far this season. How about you STFU and enjoy the beautiful football. How about you STFU and enjoy the wonderful goals. How about you STFU and enjoy the solid defending. How about you STFU and enjoy the winning runs. How about you STFU and just enjoy being top of the league.
Oh and if things start to go wrong and we suffer a dip in form and you are so distraught and spineless as to be incapable of getting behind the team when it needs you most, then how about you just STFU altogether.
By Stew Black
Positively Arsenal 
I wonder how many of them voluntarily gave up their tickets — none?
guess how i got mine? ..no way i could get on waiting list for 5 years and no way id pay 2,800 for the club level sandwich brigade…so i got it from a mate who lost his faith.
he is gutted now …tells me everytime
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hunter,
Lucky so and so. 🙂
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The Club have said a few days ago that there are 50,000 on the season ticket waiting list.
That’s some boycott!, BSM Doomers.
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yes henryb lucky indeed and also privileged to watch MY arsenal with MY wenger and MY players in MY stadium in MY north london ….I live in crouch end highgate and its a straight line hornsy rise-crouch end hill road…couldnt beleive it when i realised..then theres my seat at row 13 …2013…hunter13…first i secured the ticket and then the flat.
its all mine !!!! MY precious season ticket !!!
i am not well….
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To be honest, no seriously, I blame the cub
They have sold season tickets to anyone who is prepared to ask and pay the money – with no checks on their personality, their intelligence or whether, in a tight corner, they are likely to fall apart.
This is very irresponsible in my view.
Now in the olden days (readers yawn) your average ‘Arsenal til I die’ moron would attend games during the good times, watch a couple of bad performances then storm off, swearing never to watch Arsenal again in his life. There would follow a few weeks of creosoting the garden fence on Saturday or washing the dog, AFC results would pick up, and lo and behold he would be back, as if he had never been away.
Now he is the owner of a very expensive season ticket that he has told everyone he knows about that flexibility is no longer available.The rat is trapped. He must go to games. He cannot storm off.
It is the responsibility of the club to ensure that only those who have the mental fortitude to attend games, and are strong enough to endure both success and failure, are granted the opportunity of a season ticket. Rigorous testing now I say.
The rest should be granted some form of temporary or probationary status, carefully monitored, and subject to proving themselves worthy.
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Hey Hunter,
Maybe we should make an effort to meet up some time when I’m back in Hornsey visiting my mum. I’m intrigued…are you really a nut case?
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You need to ask GP ?
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Henry B: “One that I do not think has been mentioned is the “I have paid high prices for my tickets and that gives me the right to complain.”
All that talk died down when Özil arrived. Who wants to give away their ticket when the team is playing the best football in England?
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anicoll5
December 6, 2013 at 2:58 pm
haha brilliant!!!
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Hunter
First off, Crouch End ain’t Highgate. It’d take me 3 hours to climb up all the bloody hills to get there. Secondly; you lucky *******! Thirdly, I have not one iota of envy in my bones.
That said, one thing that pisses me off about Crouch End is that when I’ve been there late at night, I see loads of woman walking about – completely pissed. OK, that happens all over the place, especially Newcastle, apparently, but what gets me is the lack of police and screaming sirens. Wos dat about? People seem to park wherever they like and take little notice of the 20 mph speed limit at the top of one of the numerous hills (notwithstanding the impossibility of even doing 20 due to the school mums with their 4×4’s/people carriers and various old bangers). There are 3 petrol stations not too far apart, and on average, they have amongst them a pretty low price per litre.
And then to top it off, it’s like you only have to walk a mile and a half to be through Hornsey and into the Em’s.
I hate you and your ****ing district. (I bet you got cheap council tax, too).
Don’t get me started on that other ‘privileged’ district, up another incline, Muswell Hill, what with all the bloody artist types and no Underground.
Not an envious bone in my body, oh no. 🙂
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sure georgaki let me know next time..ill wake up early i promise…
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lmao ranteta …yeah i know im at the borders..stanhope / shepherds hill…the village is ten mins walk to the west and cr.end 10 mins walk to the east…cant say the council tax is cheap though..lol….agree about the women….you will find all the divorced milfs or not so divorced ….going for their drink with their female friends…epic situations if you play it right…i do well till i start talking about arsenal and how wenger the stadium etc etc…then i realise im not well at all..
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” double canister December 6, 2013 at 2:35 pm Edit
The Club have said a few days ago that there are 50,000 on the season ticket waiting list”
DC,were did you see that?
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Hunter @ 3.41
I lol’d at your reply. All those lovely women there for the taking (hopefully), and you’re still thinking about Arsenal. I understand sir, I empathise (whatever that is). I’d like to think that if you pulled someone, they’d be up for wearing a Gunners shirt when entering the bedroom (Racheal Yankee, please rock my boat. “boat” is euphemism – like you wouldn’t know).
Of course, I’m no Arsenal fanatic (lie), but I hope my latest purchase will bring the milkshakers to my yard. Only £13.00:
http://www.sportsdirect.com/ball-n-n-post-up-mid-basketball-trainer-159015?colcode=15901533
(For my Arsenal related nooky, watch this space. Probably, forever. Tut!)
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Anicol, @ 2:58, I am taken by your very sensible suggestion that there should be some sort of compulsory test to identify those with enough mental fortitude to withstand any temporary blip in form (and it is always temporary) without frothing at the mouth and ranting incomprehensibly.
Now the question is what form should this interrogation … erm I mean test ,,, constitute.
Are we going for the mental acuity method. You know the sort of thing — perhaps three questions like all Spurs fans answer to get into heaven.
— A Spud was sent on his way to Heaven. Upon arrival, a concerned St Peter met him at the Pearly Gates.
‘I’m sorry, ‘St Peter said; ‘But Heaven is suffering from an overload of goodly souls and we have been forced to put up an Entrance Exam for new arrivals to ease the burden of Heavenly Arrivals.’
‘That’s cool’ said the Spud, ‘What does the Entrance Exam consist of?’
‘Just three questions’ said St Peter.
‘Which are?’ asked the fan.
‘The first,’ said St Peter, ‘is, which two days of the week start with the letter ‘T’
‘The second is ‘How many seconds are there in a year?’
‘The third is ‘What was the name of the swag-man in Waltzing Matilda?’
‘Now,’ said St Peter, ‘Go away and think about those questions and when I call upon you, I shall expect you to have those answers for me.’
So the Spurs fan went away and gave those three questions some considerable thought (I expect you to do the same).
The following morning, St Peter called upon him and asked if he had considered the questions, to which he replied, ‘I have.’
‘Well then,’ said St Peter, ‘Which two days of the week start with the letter T?’
The guy said, ‘Today and Tomorrow.’
St Peter pondered this answer for some time, and decided that indeed the answer could be applied to the question.
‘Well then, could I have your answer to the second of the three questions?’ St Peter went on, ‘how many seconds in a year?’
The fella replied, ‘Twelve!’
‘Only twelve?’ exclaimed St Peter, ‘How did you arrive at that figure?’
‘Easy,’ came the reply, ‘there’s the second of January, the second of February, right through to the second of December, giving a total of twelve seconds.’
St Peter looked at him and said, ‘look, I need some time to consider your answer before I can give you a decision.’
And he walked away shaking his head.
A short time later, St Peter returned.
‘OK I’ll allow the answer to stand, but you need to get the third and final question absolutely correct to be allowed into Heaven.
Now, can you tell me the answer to the name of the swagman in Waltzing Matilda?’
The Spud replied; ‘Of the three questions, I found this the easiest to answer.’
‘Really!’ exclaimed St Peter, ‘And what is the answer?’
‘It’s Andy.’
‘Andy?” Said an astonished St Peter.
‘Yes, Andy,’ said the Spurs fan.
This totally floored St Peter, and he paced this way and that, deliberating the answer.
Finally, he could not stand the suspense any longer, and turning he asked ‘How in God’s name did you arrive at THAT answer?’
‘It’s obvious ain’t it? said the triumphant fan. ‘Andy sat, Andy watched, Andy waited till his billy boiled.’
And with that the Spuddo entered Heaven…
Now we something just as tricky for nascent season ticket holders to answer!
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they’d be up for wearing a Gunners shirt when entering the bedroom
funny you should ask, cause saturday watchign the game at the fullback and at ht we got on the itnernet to check on sagnas wife..the pic where she wears the arsenal shirt..and we had a dilemma with friends…how do you shag her wearing that ? shouldnt you make her wear a spurs one? … 🙂
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Your in the groove today Henry !!
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OMG Hunter. I just had a re-look. “Spank” and “Bank” come to mind. What fabulous half time entertainment that must have been.
Henry B @ 4.28.
Brilliant.
2 days with “t”. Today and tomorrow – outrageous.
I bet Paul will get into heaven too, given the criteria:
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/man-accused-of-trying-to-have-sex-with-sheep-near-spurs-training-ground-back-in-court-8937335.html?origin=internalSearch
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suarez vs england in world cup…LOL…
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PG
I was browsing around the web during the week when I saw that number, Ivan Gazidis was quoted.
I’ll have more time Saturday morning to find the original story, but a quick google search now suggests that the waiting list at the end of last season was at 40,000 to 45,000 and there is an Untold article to back up the latter figure.
Considering the start we’ve had, 50k people is not unbelievable, but since you’ve challenged me, I will dig up the facts.
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Thanks DC ,I want to taught those BSM clowns on twitter
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Taunt, even.
😉
Not that I’m ever immune to the odd typo or 12.
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Yes Taunt indeed.
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But once you’ve taunted them,
You’ll have taught them a lesson.
There’s a thought.
Believe me, that’s not easy for an Irishman to say, even ask PA’s very own Terry Wogan – Ronan.
Try saying ‘thirty three and a third’ FFS.
It’s our downfall.
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I just hope Aaron doesn’t feel his cumulative goals tally this season have done it in for You Know Who.
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Folks
This interview with the BFG is a real gem. Enjoy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/10501748/.html
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Thanks for sharing the link DC, that is a top quality interview. Per really gets it, and I think that is the difference with this group, this season
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Arsenal’s official waiting list notification is 40,000 but this was last updated in 2008.
but various blogs support this
http://arsenalarsenal.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/in-praise-of-ivan-the-not-so-terrible/
Tony Atwood (a reliable source) said 45,000 on the waiting list at the end of last season.
Kevin Whitcher (not so reliable!) said its heading towards 50,000 last month.
one things for certain – it isn’t getting shorter.
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I don’t know whether Whitcher was one of the doomers that used the declining numbers of season ticket holders at the Grove as a stick to beat the Arsenal and Wenger in particular, with, but paradoxically his figures may be realistic.
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DC
Thanks for the link to the interview our BFG, very revealing, interesting and impressive (the latter about Arsenal in general not just Per).
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A quote from a shit Arsenal blog:
“So there we have it. Theo reckons spending 40m gave the squad belief. There’s a shocker. I hope we’ve laid to rest the ‘you don’t need to spend money to compete’…
Yes you do.”
Yes, so there we do have it. It’s just the notion of spending that makes the difference. Really? What about the quality of the player?
Yes, shitheads, it may be about spending, but on the correct player and when you can afford to…..morons
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And from the same shit blog another example of breathtaking arrogance:
“Final snippet, Arsene Wenger is being offered 24m for a three year stay. Crazy money, but it was predicted back in August this would happen. I’d rather wait the season out… but in the name of stability, it’s probably best. He’s adapted his ways slightly, he’s taking on board Steve Bould’s strengths, he’s letting a tech company help with scouting and he’s got the team ticking. Can’t ask for much more… and football is reactionary. So the deal will be signed.”
So Neal Banfield is of absolutely no consequence. You see once a narrative sets in, like the ‘Steve Bould effect’, it becomes the truth. Yet we know that these arrogant twats have no idea of the extent of Bould’s influence….
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Which shit blog? And why are you reading it when you could be writing for us ?
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PG
I enjoy being reminded of how shallow and stupid people can be. Gives me such reassurance that I’m not I stupid as I think I am.
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PG
I’m ashamed. I cannot name the shit blog. But it is a famously, negative and shit blog!
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PG
sometimes we have to remind ourselves how bad it is on other blogs to really appreciate what we have here.
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I’ve been hearing rumours about this all week – JvC wants to get out of Old Trafford.
Even if its not true, it’ll de-stabilise the red mooks.
But this story about JvC is getting more coverage, BBC football Focus even mentioned it a few minutes ago:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/robin-van-persie-transfer-request-2900457
hahahah.
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Theo was interviewed on Sky Sports news today. He said the defensive solidity is down to Steve Bould and Arsene Wenger. This is the first time I have heard a clear reference to Steve Bould in this context. And this is how I accept a comment like that – from the horses mouth.
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Nothing has changed but the perspectives of the weak. Simple.
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Pardew MOTM,
WTF?
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0-0 at half time at the old toilet.
Not much passion from the red team or the fans.
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Who else just screamed the house down??????
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awwayyyyyy the lads.
come on the toon!!
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I don’t think we need to get to excited this is a midtable clash its city and chelski have to lose
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if the times is correct and Arsene has been given a new three year deal then PA and its supporters has been somewhat vindicated we have won a major battle lets hope we can win the war.COYG
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United showing their true level without red nose.
Any points dropped today from our real rivals would be nice too.
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@ arse_or_brain The contract has been on the table.. as we know the board and owners are smarter than many fans… AW was the one taking his time to sign… likely a challenge to the squad to fulfill their potential and he would meet them half way!
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TS, I thought he normally signed two year deals do you think there is anything significant in a three year deal
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Bwahahahahahahahahaha. Fuck off Robin Van Persie.
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He usually signs 4 year deals
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