Confucius once said “Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”
As I sit here and pen this post, I’m reminiscing the past grandeur our fan base once possessed. We were a joyous bunch renowned for getting behind the team and the manager. We were united as a Club.
But today, we’re a completely mess. Divided into two halves, dolling out vitriol at one another. But amidst all this, there is one man with his stoic persona, still carrying on, immune to the commotion and anarchy our fan base has created. I happened to stumble across a video on YouTube last night, in which Wenger was booed and abused by Gooners as he was on his way to his coach, post the Stoke City game. The first sense I was evoked by, was that of sheer disgust at the reaction from the bunch of classless cretins, which immediately turned into a feeling of guilt and embarrassment as I saw the expression on that man’s face. It was pretty obvious he was shocked by what he heard, but he carried on, like he always has. I’d like to make one thing very clear here. I’m not writing this post just to vouch for Arsene or why we need to believe in him. But rather, also to remind our fan base that one of the most important things in life is to respect one another.
It’s been 18 long years since Wenger’s been at the helm of this great football club. Given us moments of great joy that will be cherished forever and spoken in football folklore. I’m a grateful man, and I’d like to thank him for giving me some of the best moments of my life, right from that Wiltord night at Old Trafford, to that Ramsey moment at Wembley. From that Ray Parlour bomb against Chelsea to that Patrick Vieira sublimity against Leicester, in the club’s greatest ever season. Simply put, these are moments I’ll take with, to my grave. But, it is beyond the realms of my understanding as to how can you abuse a man of such measure? I understand, that people have opinions and we have to respect those opinions regardless of us agreeing to It or not. But why abuse? Let’s take out everything from this. Arsene Wenger just for his seniority of age deserves to be respected. I’m not even going to dwell into what this man has done for this football club. But I have one question!
Whatever happened to “Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent”?
Is it that, our fan base has forgotten about it or are completely oblivious to it?
I take immense pride in supporting the Arsenal, and every Arsenal fan should, and, the basic obligation for a supporter, is to get behind the team. You can raise questions, be critical and disagree with the calls taken by the manager, but at the end of it all, the most important thing is to support and respect. To quote Wenger;
“We’re are at our strongest, when we are together”.
At this moment, we’re not, and, it looks like we will be divided for some time to come. But, all I ask of our supporters is to not stoop to the levels of mediocrity with your support. Football is supposed to be a game that unites, not divide. I plead with you, let’s not do this to ourselves.let’s not treat the club’s greatest signing with such odious character assassination. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, and I see us being led into that light by the great man. But please, he doesn’t deserve this. He deserves better. To quote him once again, before I end this;
“If you do not believe you can do it, then you have no chance at all”
‘Victoria Concordia Crescit’
@OptimisticAkash
Positively Arsenal 
you can theorize all you want..scoring goals and thereby winning is the only way to build a teams confidence..the team really needs to stay inspired every single match now..the ingredients are all there for this team to achieve greatness..and of course the players need to feel confident about the support they get constantly..and not be pressurized by silly things like their own fans booing them and their manager, the great football manager ever. i hope we realize the only way for this club for the rest of the season is to show unity and stick together..there is no one who can replace Arsene now..Arsenal MUST play good football, demonstrate high values, behave with class and yet win..there have only ever been a few Managers who have achieved this and there has only ever been ONE manager who did this/has hope of repeating it once again with an added condition of having to do it AGAINST SEVERE ODDS (injuries, referees, money in that order of significance)
he is one ARSENE WENGER! i dare you to prove me wrong!
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Kelly
Your boy is back in form alright!
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And another very solid Flamini performance. am I allowed say that?
Even here?
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i was reading some of the comments from earlier and came across this post from Anicol:
“Real in the R16
Bayern in the QFs
Barca in the SF
And then probably Jose
If he is still in it”
Just Wow..I dont know if anybody ever read my comments..but this is exactly the same list of teams in the exact same order i wanted Arsenal to face in the CL last year 🙂
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Well, Well, Well. Late to the news. Pleasant to learn that once again the cassandras of doom are silenced by Arsenal FC and our greatest ever manager. Proving that we are the most consistent of all the top clubs in Europe.
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Brenda
“Liverpool will win the Champions League”.
There is a man with a P45 waiting at his desk soon.
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Good morning ladies
I suppose most of us are feeling a bit like this this morning:
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Thanks NB: a Bacon sandwich just the job today.
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Bacon sarnie sounds good FH. Big question now, does AW still sell Podolski in January? Or keep him for the rest of the season? He proved last night that he still has it, but needs more game time, but will he get it?
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Nice one NB – even down to the red and white footwear 🙂
I’d like to see Poldi get a game on Saturday – but I doubt that he will.
As for Sanogo, looks like I’m in a minority of one. I still think Chuba Akpom is the better prospect and will show it in the next two years. But I’ll be quick to the humble pie if I’m wrong (wouldn’t be the first time).
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Leaving aside the nonsense by the Arsenal 5th Columnists who would deprive the club of its greatest asset, those 3 goals in the 1st half were quite stunning. That is why many of us are fans of the beautiful game and supporters of Arsenal Football club. Power, technique, skill and daring.
Just shows that if the players and the manager are left to do what they do best, without injuries and biased refereeing, we can acheive a hell lot more than we are credited.
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I know Ox has been showing a lot more consistency this season but it seems to me that last night’s performance was exceptional by the young man. He gave the central midfield a drive and power we haven’t always had and I understand why Arsène sees his future there. I think we often fall into a habit of moving it back and forth across the opposition’s back line while Ox’s instinct is to run directly at it, which creates openings.
We have other quick wing men now so it would great to see Ox getting more games in the middle. He can still pop up on the wing now and then when the space is there.
Great to see all that potential being realised.
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I see from the Danish press that the other NB (the one at Wolfsburg) is having problems again. He’s not even been on the bench for their last two Bundesliga games despite being fit. The problem? Attitude apparently – words like “indolent” are being used.
Plus ça change …
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Norther,
Arsene in a post-match interview said that the Pod and Campbell will not be sold in January, and that has to be right.
By the way, the lovely lady on the right at 8:08 is my Big Brenda — have you been playing fast and loose you artistic roué?
Serves you right if I nick your chorizo in retaliation — and I would get the best of the deal!! lol
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You may not be in a minority of one dk – I don’t know who is better.
The difficulty with assessing who is better and who might develop into the better option long term between Yaya and Chuba is that neither of them has had much chance to play regularly and to gain the experience of playing regularly alongside the first team. The real acid test is surely first team action at the highest level.
It is massively difficult for a player in any position to sit on the bench game after game with the best hope that they might get a few minutes at the end. If they do get a start, or even come on with 10 minutes to go, then every touch they make is scrutinised and conclusions arrived at.
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A nice write up would be good.
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Ani and Coll, @ 11:58, lol
That is the perennial problem for all youngsters trying to make a break through.
If the team is playing well, the manager will understandably not want to change the team — if they are playing badly the manager won’t want to risk a youngster, and will instead go out and buy a ‘ready made’ i.e. experienced replacement.
I think that is what happened to Chuks Anneke and Benik Afobe, both extremely promising talents – pity.
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When Sanogo made his debut last pre-season alongside Akpom he hadn’t played much football for how long was it, two years or something close to that, during a period when his body was growing and changing. And it showed. A coltish first touch but we also saw him show good technique in some early games. A couple of cheeky passes through opponents legs in those early games followed by the ‘meg against Dortmund. A player who can pull off nutmegs so consistently at that level can play football. I won’t mention Judas. But if Walcott who always showed flashes of good technique can improve his consistency under the much maligned coaching at AFC, then…
He’s also a little more then two years older and is a Unit. We’ve seen younger players only playing regularly at nineteen since the Ox came through. Watching the clump on Wilshere live which was just a simple late foul (not even a yellow but still not called = zero protection) you can understand why.
Having so many seventeen year olds the pitch was a bit of a throw back. Great to see. Imagine being seventeen and making your debut opposite Snjeider a player you’d have grown up copying etc. in the champions league? And they say the romance has gone from football. Not if you follow the good old Arsenal.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles. What did we all think?
Did he play as a forwardish type player growing up but is now evolving into a CM? A great run back into his own box to make a clearance at one point. He seemed to read the game well? I was impressed.
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I don’t think there’s any doubt the coaches like the look of Akpom.
“Very close I the first team”
By the time he turns nineteen he’ll be unleashed. Might have to go on loan in this new era, not the era the self-flagellating fetish freaks were hoping for, as can be understood in light of their recent behaviour (not an opinion but an observation) an era when the Arse bring in Özil and Sanchez. But for now as with Sanogo he’s being kept at the club for some reason which probably includes technical coaching and conditioning work (that is a total guess!). I’m a big fan of Akpom. He’s very exciting. Seems to have the tools and the talent and the right attitude too. Let’s hope he makes it.
Last pre-season I thought the Ox alongside Ramsey was ready to take the next step up. A big injury and let’s be charitable shit or inept officiating cut short the England star’s season (and Walcott’s too), bearing what we see in AFC games in mind (am trying to be a “realist”) there’s no need to throw a seventeen/eighteen year old up top for Arsenal against PL CBs when Sanogo can bully them instead (FA Cup final!)? Time is on Akpom’s side.
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I told Vengarghhhhhhh to start Sanogo against Stoke but ‘e never listens to me the bastard!
I also told him to take off Ramsey at ET HT at Wembley in May but the less said about that the better.
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Afobe had serious injury horrors, possibly even worse then Sanogo, Frimpong etc.
He’s down well to make it back. I wouldn’t be shocked if he signed an extension and then spent the next period still on loan but he could also move on. We’ll see.
Anyone know what happened to Yennaris at Brentford? Injured? Toral is playing and playing well according to reports etc.
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with Maitland-Niles and O’Connor getting their debut last night that means 10 English lads have played for Arsenal’s first team this season, a full team of outfield players and we have had two English keepers as unused subs – Macey and Huddart
Macey
O’Connor, Chambers, Hayden, Gibbs
Wilshere, Maitland-Niles
Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Welbeck
Akpom
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Right then – I want you all rooting for Citeh these evening
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anicoll,
Have you gone all Spanish with ‘these evening’? (Chuckle)
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What a top spot Eduardo, and it would be nice to think that John Cross might spread that about properly. It could surely do no harm to have the club linked so positively to the future of the England national team wen it comes to the way matches are refereed by English refs.
What is the news with regard to Hayden? He has been very unlucky to have missed out on the chance to show his worth in the last two months. It was good to see Bellerin have a quieter game last night: the boy can play, but has had a bit of a baptism. All part of the learning curve and full credit to the club for believing in its Academy.
With regard to January signings I remain hopeful that Cabaye can be tempted away from PSG. I think I know why we couldn’t sign him in August 2013, but I feel he would be a wonderful fit for us – although I can already hear the howls of outrage if we did get him, as he is probably not nearly big enough for those who have set their heart on either Carvalho (can anyone bring themselves to watch Chelsea tonight to check on him) or Schneiderlin. As ever, the likely scenario is no one we might be expecting!
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Finsbury,
My response to your inquiry about Yennaris earlier this afternoon, disappeared into the aether.
Nico was highly thought of by many, as you know, but the squad system meant that as he approached 21 y.o. in the last year of his contract Arsene had to make a decision that he either put him in the 25 man squad, or he allowed him to go. He chose the latter course.
Ironically, with the injuries in defence, especially at right back, Nico would have helped us immensely, altho’ his absence enabled Belerin to grab his first team chance.
It is often about timing in football, and I was disappointed for the young guy, as he is a Gooner thru and thru. Pity!
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Finsbury,
On re-reading your comment, I may have misunderstood your query about Yennaris – apologies if so.
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Thanks Henry. I was hoping to see him do well at Brentford but he hasn’t been on the bench whilst Toral has been playing so I assume it’s an injury?
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I thought Bellerin was outstanding. For me, he belongs in the same category as the Ox, Ramsey and Wilshere. He bossed the left side and the way he went forward was exquisite. Him and Toral are going to be very important for this club in the next two seasons.
Campbell started to have an impact on the game when he began venturing into the middle. I liked the way he was passing it around his marker and providing an outlet for his fullback or the midfielder. He was going to score one of his patented top of the box curlers into the opposite bottom corner, but the Ox got in his way.
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I enjoyed HenryB’s previous summary so I nominate HenryB for the review!
Or Gains. Gains is due…
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Don’t take the pith H !
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Gainsbourg,
I agree that for a right back, playing at left back, Bellerin was really very good last night.
In fact, if we need cover on the wing, his speed and dribbling skills look top notch.
Definitely one for the future, so I hope Arsene sees him as a ‘keeper’.
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anicoll,
I figured out why my auto correct keeps trying to address you as ‘animal’ instead of anicoll, and it seems that it is not some computerised take over of avatar names, maybe leading up to eventually taking over the world, but is a simplistic ‘rule’ not to amend anything beginning with a capital letter, which would usually be the case with a proper noun.
Huh! We can still outsmart artificial intelligence – tho’ I wonder for how much longer??
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Please feel free to call me Andrew H – and keep the machines at bay, momentarily at least
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Wow. Jeremy Wilson??
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/11282348/Arsenal-manager-Arsene-Wenger-is-the-clubs-greatest-ever-manager-and-deserves-more-respect-from-the-fans.html
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http://wp.me/p37nXa-18B match review.
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When I saw the team roster last night, I confess that I thought, momentarily, that the boss had decided to take a time out as regards putting out the strongest possible team to face Galatasaray, and to simply ride out the inevitable storm, by letting some key players take a much needed break, after the traumatic game against Stoke, which itself had followed closely on from an undeserved and against the run of play loss to a crap United team.
But I need not have feared. The old Wenger magic came to the fore, and he surprised many of us, including this writer, by constructing a winning belt and braces team containing 5 players not always seen as first choice in the first team, or returning from lengthy injury, and brilliantly supplemented them with some rising cream from the youth system.
Writing after the event, there will no doubt be those who will dismiss and pooh pooh such an emphatic score by saying that Gala were a poor side who were not interested in playing a dead rubber, but the muscular fouling and diving displayed by their players did not convince me for one that there was nothing to play for.
These guys, having gone down 0 : 1 and 0 : 2 early on, were playing for their pride – no one likes being stuffed at home by a supposedly poor Arsenal team, shorn of 12 key players thru injury, and needing a rest after hitting the red zone with so many Xmas and New Year games looming, and whose own fans (some of them) were already writing them off – again.
Among the players keen to take the opportunity to show the fans and the manager that they were worthy contenders for a regular first team role, were Campbell (almost a ‘who he?’ this season) and the under-used Pod (he of the dynamite left peg) — and they did not let us down.
Rambo another player who has struggled to match last season’s stunning performances seemed to have upped the ante, and showed us that he never gives up with a storming display, starting with an incisive pass to Podolski in the third minute, and – wow – that left peg blasted a goal, and if the net had not got in the way, the ball would have gone into orbit such was the power that left their Keeper groping thin air.
Fists punched the air, an overwhelming screech of ‘yeeeesss’ greeted the German’s insouciant strike – at least mine did – and the feeling crept up on me that this could be a turning point in our season. Don’t know why – but these things are not always susceptible to rational reasoning – they just are!.
But following up swiftly there was more to come, this time another player showing his true worth, Oxo, picked up the ball after an admittedly rare tackle by the Pod which dispossessed Camdal, and then slipped it through to Rambo, who galloped on, then checked his stride and dabbed an exquisite little ball past the keeper to make it 0 : 2. Could this get any better? was my delirious thought process.
Oh, yes, it could!
These excellent goals were just the appetisers, the entrée, if you will, to the spectacular main course scoring crescendo of this or any game.
Campbell took another fairly innocuous corner and it was headed out to Rambo standing some 30 + yards out from goal, and he unleashed the most beautifully controlled volley which flashed into the net before the Keeper could hitch up his jock-strap.
Note that – it was not struck on the half-volley – it was a perfectly timed strike taking the ball while it was only 6 inches from the ground. Bang!
Stunning – magnificent – breath-taking, name it what you will!
Even Rambo’s Arsenal team mates were gob smacked at the sheer ferocity and composed brilliance he had displayed.
Going into half time, we heard that Dortmund were only drawing 0 : 0 and another 3 goals would take us top of the group. After that first half performance who was to say that another 3 goals was not possible?
In the event it was not to be, Rambo and Flamini were subbed by two more of our gifted youngsters, Maitland-Niles and Zelalem who conducted themselves very well indeed, but instructions may have been issued to calm the game down, and keep a clean sheet,.
When a tiring Debouchy had to go off, a 17 y.o O’Connor came on at right back to strut his stuff.
Therefore we did not get the chance to see Akpom come on for his debut, which many of us had wanted, but what a marvellous blend of youth and experience we were treated to in this game.
If the referee had not had a brainstorm and given a ridiculous free-kick on the edge of the box, and allowed an admittedly brilliant shot from Schneider, we would have kept yet another clean sheet, Bugger!
But then up popped Podolski and despite having his shirt tugged and evading a futile attempt to trip him, he smoothly slipped the ball into the net to make it 1 : 4.
Sublime!
However you call it, that game and the selection of the players called up to the team was a master stroke by AW, and he keeps hitting back at his detractors, even when his back is to the wall.
Long may it continue.
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