A guest post from Muppet ( @MupetGooner )
If you are not a Wenger supporter, look away now.
Wasn’t it a great win on Sunday ? Superb. Simply superb. For numerous reasons. We beat the premier league champions at their own ground. We ended the 3 year barren run of away wins against City, Chelsea and Man U.
There was a good news story in Coquelin, who was up against one of the best play-makers in Europe, in Silva, and produced a performance that was quite astonishing given his relative lack of experience at this level.
There was a good news story also in Bellerin, who also looked accomplished at right back, at the tender age of 19.
Cazorla was magnificent, combining mesmerising footwork and gritty resilience to produce a phenomenal performance.
The whole team were disciplined and maintained a shape and organisation that had the pundits stunned, and purring, for Ospina had nothing to do. This is no exaggeration. Souness said he was stunned, so did Carragher.
In the aftermath of the result, we started to hear that “The penny had dropped” for Wenger. This was no “Mourinho tactical masterclass”, heralded after the chavs 1-0 win in February last year. No, this was “the penny had dropped” for Wenger, and he had been taught how to do this by Mourinho, despite Mourinho failing to repeat the trick himself in September, drawing 1-1. The style of the performance was manna sent from heaven for the wobs. The “Bould effect” was attributed to the result, as well as the end of an era of “Wenger Stubbornness”.
It’s a good thing that Arsenal fans are happy. It really is. But the level of delusion in some quarters is worrying. There are those that believe that if you have a good defensive midfielder, sitting in front of the back 4, it is the road to premier league and champions league glory. Just sit that man in front of the back 4, the “Gilberto” screen, inbetween the defenders and the midfield, and he will cause this stunning transformation that will provide untold glory and riches for the team. The same people believe, that in 18 years of qualifying for the champions league, finishing with an average position somewhere in between 2nd and 3rd in the league, that we have never defended, or held an organisational shape. Neither have we beaten big teams. And also, if we are so inept, how did we manage the 19 clean sheets last year, and how did we manage to have the best away form in the premiership in the previous season ? I take it we didn’t have any shape in any of those games ? I also would like to know how Everton, with their favoured 4-1-4-1 formation, didn’t achieve anything during Moyes’s tenure, as after all, he always deployed a gritty DM in front of the back 4.
Then there was the AW failing of not beating the top 4 big teams away from home. The damning graphic would be produced of our recent away form against City, Chelsea and Manchester United – ignoring Liverpool – as we won there in 2012. Also ignored is that AW is the man who ended the 100 year run of an english team going to the San Siro and not achieving a win. This is also the man who became the manager of the first english team to go to the Bernabau and achieve a win. And what glorious wins they were. These were not Stokish, smash and grab raids, having a man on the goal line standing on the goalkeepers shoulders at every corner. These were 2 memorable wins, exemplifying class and pure unadulterated football. This is also a man who went unbeaten in the premiership. A man who has transformed the club into one of the most popular amongst neutrals. And all we hear in the British press is a narrative that is underpinned by ignorance and commercial expediency. The results in Dortmund and Munich away, not seen as achieved against a big team.
We were told at the beginning of the season – look at Martinez and Klopp. Young, dynamic, fresh – exactly what we need. Yep, young, dynamic and at the bottom of the table, or heading that way. We were told that Wenger had committed mistakes in letting Vermaelen, Jenkinson and Sagna go, and not signing replacements. In reality, in came Debuchy, Chambers and Bellerin. Nobody wanted to consider Bellerin. He was too young. Not a serious squad contender. After watching him against City, not only is he under consideration, people are now saying that we don’t need Jenkinson back. So does the manager deserve some credit here ? Does the manager also deserve some credit for pursuing an internal solution with Coquelin ? Does the manager also deserve credit for the Monreal signing and his deployment at Center back as cover – a player who is now looking exceptional. I say yes, yes and yes. This is without even considering the acquisition of Sanchez and Welbeck. Welbeck rates 7 out of 10 for a transfer, but Sanchez is in the stratosphere. £35 million ? What ? I hear you say. If you don’t want to give Wenger credit for that, then well.. words fail me.
Whenever one listens to the press or some of the bloggers on the state of Arsenal, one hears the largely negative narrative, but not a positive one. Of course, it’s hip to be realistic. Be too optimistic, and overrate your players – you’re deluded. Keep it real. Of course, of course. But frankly, there are some amongst us, who believe that we are on the cusp of something special here, can see the vision, and have seen it all along. A long term plan that is being effected at Arsenal. Pay off the stadium loan, grow the commercial revenue and build the squad. The squad building exercise is not a supermarket sweep at Harrods, which we can’t afford. Instead, there are patient acquisitions, internal solutions to problems. There are positions in which we can still strengthen, and will strengthen. Unlike certain other clubs, we don’t have any problems with FFP, and we will be able to spend big in the transfer market.
Even though it is already January, we still haven’t seen a team with Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez, Cazorla and Giroud. Which suggests to me that we’re playing at 80% of our potential. We see City and Chelsea line up with their best players, and wonder one day if that will happen to us. I hope that it will.
Positively Arsenal 
S Samuel @Arsenalman2011 · 51m 51 minutes ago
If #Wenger lost 4:0 to MKDons & Drew 0:0 at Cambridge there will be a Riot & all the Pundits in Eng will be working overtime! @talkSPORT
and where are the articles stating that Di Maria is stealing a living off Man Utd
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These lower league teams can often prove tough opponents and doubtless Brighton will give the appearance of playing a cup final on Sunday.
But there was a certain absence of ideas, authority or enthusiasm from the expensively assembled United side that betrays at least some of the problems van Gaal is confronting. To me they look what they are – a bunch of over-paid journeymen, happy to line their pockets without really stirring themselves for the greater cause. If anything, they appear to be going backwards.
On this form, their current league position may prove to be something of a high water mark; I don’t yet see Southampton’s form going south and our own side just continue to improve at a rate of knots that will surely see Manure miss out on Europe for an unprecedented (for them) season in a row.
Their fans won’t be best pleased but, more worryingly for the red mancs, neither will their sponsors …
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Well done Cambridge United. That should boost the coffers a bit.
Interesting that both Manchester and Cambridge have two teams called United and City. Oxford as well.
Are there any others?
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Leeds
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Admittedly Leeds City are well down the pyramid but they are a club
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Golly! Cost of Cambridge and Man U teams starting this evening £0 and £183.8 million Respectively. Funny ol’ game….
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It is a beautiful pattern on the media channels tonight
Great excitement on the financial disparity between Cambridge and the Mancs
Turnover £400 million v 30 bob
Transfer signings this season £153 million v less than 30 bob
International caps ? Don’t be daft this is Cambridge
Trouble is and in spite of all the £££ and the hoopla it’s just 11 v 11
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where is the media fuss over Utd being in crisis, if Arsenal fail to beat Brighton tomorrow there will be broken cannons and many articles about our demise, but its utd and no fuss really.
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I love all this rubbish from the negative Arsenal fans about Gabriel can not be any good cos at 24 he has not been capped by Brazil, well he is 10 Arsenal players who had not been capped by the age of 24, some never got capped
John Lukic no caps
David Seaman 25
Lee Dixon 26
Steve Bould 2 caps when he was 32
Nigel Winterburn 25, only a month short of being 26
Alan Sunderland 27
Slyvain Wiltord 25
Peter Storey 26
Peter Simpson never capped
Charlie George 1 and only cap at 25, a month away from being 26
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Sam @samuelJayC · 13h 13 hours ago
Wenger on Bielik playing this season: “He is more for the future, but let’s be open-minded & let him surprise us.”
but but but but but we were told he was in the squad for Man City last week, surely not a lie from a journo
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Hack dwarfs Eddy. The kind of ginormous football brains that enjoyed sharing their half time cuppa with Stuart Hall. Trolling AFC fans for years, it’s one way for them to earn their corn. We are nothing but click bait for them. Don’t give them the clicks!
–
Akpom to get some more minutes. For all his plodding I liked Plodders but if his departure means more opportunity for Chuba then I’m not going to groan!
Hayden still out, or out for longer I heard, so that means that it’s unlikely that the BFG will get a rest tomorrow. Monreal to shuffle over then with Gibbs back in action? We shall see. Cazorla too will start I imagine, with the player and captain who rebuilt the dressing room still out the BFG might need the support from the other seniors. Cazorla seemed quite keen on playing in his midweek interview too. I think he enjoyed his contribution to the final in May. I did too. Great player…a great signing…
Ramsey, Walcott and Özil returning will probably make it a less fluid performance as these returning players find their stamina and rhythm etc. but I’m excited to see them play. Ramsey is a little ahead of the others.
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I’m all for Akpom getting a start. He’s a bit of an enigma for me because, while he’s looked promising in pre-season games, he’s never been on the pitch long enough for us to assess him properly. Just as long as Ollie’s on the bench.
Otherwise, any team we put out should be able to win.
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Haha, “30 bob”. Long time since I’ve heard that.
Still, the amount is possibly overstated. Half a crown (and 3 farthings).
I struggled to know what to wish for. A straight out win, or a draw.
Win or draw. Draw or win. In the end, a replay is surely good. It was lovely to see Manu with their very, very expensive players – doing… Not much.
‘Twas such fun to see them trying to pass, pass. The occasional attempted penetration by the fabulously expensive Di Maria. Same for Falcao.
Then they came out for the second half – trying to throw a few balls into the box. In other words, Cambridge brought them down to their level. It really was division 1 stuff.
The hypocritical semi-moans from Shearer and Linekar didn’t fool me. Suffer, you gits.
As many have said above, imagine the outcry if that had been us! Thing is, do the moaners see the general standard of footy played by other top English teams?
Is that what they wanna go back to?
Tut, and thrice tut.
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Cazorla on his goal in the FA cup final.
“Of course I can still remember the free- kick. Before the match, the boss had told us that their goalkeeper always took a step towards the wall when facing free-kicks, so we’d have a good chance of scoring on the other side. So when I got the free-kick, I saw that side was open and figured I’d trust in the boss! Luckily, their goalkeeper did take a step to the side, so when he reacted he didn’t have time to save it.”
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It has always puzzled me that two people listening to the same piece of information can so twist it when relaying that info to others. So much so that there is an immediate sense that they were talking about two different things.
Let me explain.
Arsene said that before the City game he and the first team had a pre-match chat, and following that the tactics were set up in the 4:1:4:1 style that led to a famous victory.
So, what did the fans say?
On the one hand those of a certain persuasion, said it was disgusting that a man earning £8.5m a year had to ask others how to go about winning a game.
This was completely in contrast to the same people saying that Wenger was arrogant and stupid because he refused to listen to anyone else and always carried on in his deluded way. Ummmm?
On the other hand, others were simply delighted that the Gunners had won against the oilers. End of.
The other information that has become public just recently again seems to contradict the perceived wisdom of the doubting Thomas-es.
It has been widely held that AW has missed out on top rate stars or those who are already established, either because he is a ditherer or too mean with Arsenal’s money.
Jorge Mendez the agent of Ronaldo has written an autobiography and he touches on Ronaldo’s career moves. Now Ronaldo has said that he had been on the verge of signing for Arsenal, but Manure has come in late and signed him instead.
Mendes’ autobiography has put some meat on the bones of what happened.
Agreement had been reached with Ronaldo (and just as importantly – his mum) but there was some last minute haggling with the club over the final transfer fee.
As it turned out, the Emirates project in 2003 had just got up and running, and every pound was earmarked to make it a success, and the small gap between what Arsenal could afford and what his then club [Sporting] wanted was causing a problem.
It was at that point that the money-bags Mancs came in and the rest is history — or what some fans want to portray it as.
So — Mr Wenger did not dither – he wanted Ronaldo, and went the extra mile by twice meeting with his mother and getting her agreement.
Neither was he ‘mean’ with the club’s money — the availability of the finances were outside of his control — surprise, surprise.
What really comes out of all this, is that those who choose to make up their own bad mouthing reasons for this event or that, and choose to blame Arsene come what may, will continue to do so, and when the real facts eventually come out they will simply ignore them.
It does not bother me to be honest, but it does explain why it is pointless to try and argue with such people. The world keeps on spinning!
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No further proof is needed, Arsene is a fucking jedi master.
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Lol. Its not like Arsene asked the players their opinion on line up formation. From what i gathered from Arsenes own words he talked with some players before of the game and felt they were worried about the defensive solidity ahead of the game. Probably because of the big losses away last season. Hence he wanted to boost their confidence by setting them up more defensively then usual. And it worked, end of.
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As for the Ronaldo deal, Jorge Mendez mentioned it was Dein that handled the negotiation. And we know Dein liked to get Arsene his players even if it meant overpaying. So if even he couldnt make it happen…
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I’m a bit late to this article, but wanted to say that I think it should be sent to every idiot fan, pundit, hack & sports presenter to help inform them of the truth as the level of ignorance about Arsenal has gotten boring.
Like others have said if LVG was given the ‘AW treatment’ every article would start with Man U in crisis with every ex man U player asked with the benefit of hindsight how they would of beat Cambridge. Apparently this happened yesterday:-
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@ apropos – Aside from the ‘fox in the box’ (pre scouting network shake up) what player has Dein got AW that he overpaid for? I would actually take a different perspective and say Jorge Mendez’s book revelation should dent the cult of Dein followers ideal that Dein could do no wrong. I believe we missed out because of the then negotiation team allowed the deal to drag on and allow Man U to enter negotiations. The Ronaldo Arsenal deal was one that was very close to happening, but like all others such as the Ibrahimovic, Toure etc ones fans would rather just lay the blame squarely at the feet of Arsene Wenger. A lesser manager would of walked off the job a long time ago. We are lucky AW is a hardened Gooner!
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Goona gal, I’m certainly no Dein cult follower. He was against the building of emirates stadium and invited a russian gangster to our club. But just to be fair lets remember he was also close friend of Arsene and did some good for the club too. Getting Arsene just one of them. In the purchase of Wiltord, Dein handled the negotiations and it was reported we got him for 4 mil more than Arsenes initial valuation. I’m with HenryB, I think the deal fell because we couldn’t afford it because of the stadium.
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Sanogo has scored for Crystal Palace, they lead 3-2 at Southampton, Chamakh with 2
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Gooner Updates @GoonerUpdates · 2h 2 hours ago
Bellerin, who had a fitness test ahead of Brighton, today trained with the first team, along with Gnabry, Akpom, Crowley and Maitland-Niles.
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seemingly Joel Campbell was not in training today, with reports suggesting that once he signs a contract extension he will be loaned out to villarreal for rest of the season as part of the Gabriel move to AFC
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@ apropos – not at all saying you personally are a Dein follower, neither was I saying that Dein wasn’t a good servant of the club or that the shortage of money wasn’t the ultimate reason the deal fell through. What I am saying is that there is a distorted mythical view of Dein out there, that he was the master negotiator that never made mistakes.
With regards to Wiltord, I am not sure we as a club could of got him for £4m less, but in any event, to me personally Wiltord wasn’t a bad buy at £11-12m – though I do think the price tag was a weight on the player. I liken it to Torres being called a flop at Chelsea – whilst he definitely could of done better, but when you look at it with perspective he scored the winning Champions League goal. up until then Abramovich had spent £1/2 Billion in pursuit of that title and who knows what he would of spent if they had’nt won it that day. Wiltord helped us win four titles in as many years – not a bad return.
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BRING BACK SANOGO NOW!
(And that Chamakh chappie looks pretty useful too)
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Looking like Middlesbrough watched us last week. 32% possession but still 0-0.
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@ dkgÖÖnér – all that warm weather training doesn’t look like it’s paying off. I am surprised that Sagna can’t even get a game against Middlesbrough to be honest.
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All going pear-shaped again at Oilandia – Middlesbrough pinch a lead.
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Diego Di Girolamo just scored for Sheffield United….great to see one of my son’s schoolmates doing well (even if his dad is a psychopath)
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Bradford now ahead at Chelsea after being 2 down, 8 minutes left
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city losing and tottnum game level
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I am listening to the Chelsea game, but would love a link to watch it now….
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firstrowsports website has games
i see 7 mins added, was there any lengthy treatment?
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lol… i see the 7 added mins is favouring bradford
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0-2 at the Etihad – becoming a familiar scoreline.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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Totts 1-2 down.
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Sorry – Totts down and out.
LOL
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Well – if Brighton needed any inspiration ………………
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imagine if man city or Chelsea or spurs were arsenal… all losing at home mind you…
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The Magic of the FA Cup
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Ruddy heck – the magic of the Cup!
Chelsea 2- Bradford 4. invincibles & quadruple….haha. The Bradford manager should of shook Maureen’s hand and headed down the tunnel at the *84th minute.
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@ Team Spirit – Maureen can’t even use LVG’s excuse of the pitch & atmosphere.
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I can’t ever remember a round like that before – extraordinary sequence of away wins
And with Bolton kicking off in 20 minutes maybe the day of surprises ain’t over
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So, I guess losing to Bradford at home after having being 2-0 up trumps a draw at home to anderlecht that helps gain an easy draw in the CL 2nd round! Are the Gazprom sado-masochistic self-haters lacerating themselves at this result?
Poor tactics? After the F Word entered the contest with the score still 2-1* Gazprom shipped three goals. Heh.
*takes a special one to puts on the F Word in order to Deeeeeeeeeefend a lead
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All shock results happened in the last 20 minutes?
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I have to repeat the following as my original disappeared.
Chavs…………………..OUT
City………………………OUT
S’Hmptn……………….OUT
Spuds………………….OUT
Clearly the above is Arsene’s fault, so we will just have to blame him for that too?? lol
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Ah, but it’s the ROMANCE of the Cup, isn’t it?
Must brush up on my clichés.
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PELLEGRINI OUT!!!!!!!!!!
MAUREEN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!
ONECORNETTO OUT!!!!!!!!
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HAPPY FOR YAYA AND CHARMAKH
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