Curious feeling this. Like floating weightlessly after months of rolling helpless in the furious cataract of storm torn seas. This gentle drift towards the end of the season, while all the time the gradual background hum of excitement builds at the prospect of an FA Cup final. These two contradictory emotions running side by side. The title has gone. St Totts has passed. Other teams are engaged in a frantic scrap for either a Europa place or to escape relegation. We are in a curious position which is, emotionally at least, more akin to that enjoyed by a mid table side. Playing for as high a finish as possible but not desperate, no nail biting tension informs our final few fixtures. I know there is a battle for the runners up spot between ourselves and Man City, a disruptive European qualifier to be avoided and United once again snapping at our heels. But then we also have two games in hand which takes the sting out of things a little.
Is it just me? I don’t know if you’re a little deflated now as well or whether the soul destroying despair which has enveloped the country since the frankly appalling election result has infected my mood. Maybe it’s simply that we have gone two weekends with no football. That’s been a little strange hasn’t it? I rely on Arsenal to distract me, to lift me from the daily torpor of my moribund existence and with the exception of midweek cup competitions I’ve grown rather used to this happening at the weekend.
The shade of Wembley is definitely casting a certain murk over the winding up of the league agenda. When Aaron was injured how many of us honestly thought ‘Oh no, I wonder if he’ll be fit in time for Swansea?’ rather than ‘will he recover by May 30th?’ When Jack played his sparkling cameo at Hull my first thought was he doesn’t want to start another final on the bench does he?
I suppose my languid indifference to the potential potholes along our road to season’s end may be horribly exposed if we lose our two games in hand and find ourselves beneath Man United. But even then will Liverpool be able to catch us? I’ve never been a great one for the mathematics, in fact the high point of my school career in that particular discipline was deliberately giving myself a nose bleed in Miss Kelly’s class and allowing the blood to obliterate two pages of my exercise book just before the bell rang. The teacher could neither prove nor disprove whether I’d actually been doing any work in her lesson. Maybe not the greatest ever dodge but certainly more subtle than my friend John Dack who once set fire to his desk in order to enliven a tedious morning of double RE. However, I am drifting from the point. The issue is my mathematical skills. It seems to me that even if we lose all of our remaining fixtures and Liverpool win all of theirs we will still finish in the top four. So what are we playing for then?
Tonight we are playing to win because we’re at home, we owe Swansea one and we want to maintain our unbeaten run and keep the pressure on a Man City side which, I’m told, succeeded in overcoming Queens Park Rangers with some ease yesterday. We then need to beat Man United because we absolutely despise them and cannot bear to lose to them. Sunderland and West Brom? Because we are at home and they are either among the poorest sides in the league or managed by Tony Pulis. So it’s not as if there’s nothing to play for but I cannot shake this feeling that the single most important thing for May is nobody gets injured before the final.
Sorry. You come here for a rabble rousing speech and I’m as flat as freshly ironed pancake. Let’s have a look at the recent form of the two teams and see if I can’t cheer up a bit. We are of course top of the form table, the only blemish being the dropped points against you know who. Swansea are riding high, just below third placed Chelsea in fact, having won four of their last six. A look at their form away from Liberty Stadium however shows a less rosy picture, a real on off run of three wins and three defeats. They are still hopeful of finishing up among the likes of Liverpool and Spurs and so ought to come and try to play tonight which is the best thing that could happen. I’d hate sides to just sit for a draw at this stage of the season. Mind you, according to Garry Monk who Arsène seems to rate as a manager the pressure of Europa league football can have a negative effect on your league form. In truth he merely acknowledged what many people prefer to ignore; the enormous achievement represented by challenging in the FA Cup, and European competition and simultaneously maintaining a place at the top of the table.
I have a lot of time for Swansea and the way they play the game. I see them as similar to Southampton. Not a massive club but not a bunch of lower table shit kickers either. I think they have a great keeper and some quick and powerful forwards, but I have to say I think Arsenal have about fourteen or fifteen of the best players in the premier League so it ought not to be an even contest.
I wonder if the players are affected by the same ennui which has enveloped me of late. Do they play with less enthusiasm when there is ostensibly less riding on the result? Or do they play with a greater freedom once the real pressure has lifted? Is this in truth where the manager’s skill in motivating his players comes to the fore? Do they even need motivating especially or do they have their sights firmly set on finishing above Man City? Perhaps the line which managers trot out at press conferences about taking it one game at a time is actually true and they are somehow able to pretend they aren’t aware of anything other than the forthcoming ninety minutes. Who knows? I recall being similarly concerned about motivation before the Hull game and it didn’t take the players long to disabuse me of any concerns I might have had so perhaps I need to relax and just enjoy the game. I certainly need a couple of hours of entertainment to lift my mood at the moment.
A lot of people seem to think that, in light of Aaron’s injury, we’ll see Theo start tonight but my tea leaves tell me it’ll be Jack who steps in if the Huddlestone clump proves too much for our Welsh Wizard to overcome. I of course know nothing of Arsène’s plans, nor do any other bloggers or journalists but it doesn’t stop them pretending they do so what the hell – there is my wild speculation for what it’s worth. Who I think will play is one thing, who I’d like to see play is another matter. Above all else I’d love to see Tomáš Rosický tonight. I have an awful feeling that we’ve seen the last meaningful contribution to a season from my favourite Arsenal player and as such I want as many chances to see him pirouetting around and through the bewildered Swansea midfield and defence as possible. Come to that I’d like to see him feature in all of our remaining matches but that’s because I’m sentimental and I love watching the man dance on a football pitch. Arsène is rightly renowned for the care he lavishes on his players but he can be as brutally ruthless as the job demands him to be. As the most forward thinking manager of his generation he will always favour tomorrow’s star over yesterday’s so I know I will have to settle for the likes of Sanchez, Wilshere, Ramsey and Özil for the foreseeable future. Oh poor me.
You know what? The mental imagery conjured while writing that last paragraph has rather lifted me from my torpidity. When a man is tired of the prospect of Mesut Özil a man is tired of life as I believe Samuel Johnson once said. So let’s rouse ourselves and enjoy the final four league matches. As ever let us hope everyone stays fit and unclumped between now and the final, and if you’re going to the match give us a wave.
Positively Arsenal 
Yeah.. i really wish this squad can be kept together… we seem to be at that point in 2007/2008 all over again.. i think this one is even more balanced than that….
Almunia – Ospina;
Gallas – Per;
Toure- Kos;
Eboue – Bellerin;
Clichy – Monreal ;
flamini – Le Coq;
Rosicky – Rosicky!
Cesc – Carzola;
Hleb – Ozil;
Forward – Sanchez; ;
Adebayor – Giroud; immediately sprint to mind.. will complete as I remember or any of the gurus around can help put please… cant recall the bench… think this present one is also not bad at all… RVP was mostly out injured as per usual but I think he was somehow around ad cotributed.
rosicky and flamini a good link to that squad. AW should sign them all up and forget about new players except maybe Messi
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On the money Steww, and a slight sense with even the FA Cup of been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I wonder if we fans are also struggling from a World Cup hangover: one way and another there has been a lot of football over the last couple of years. I almost feel as it I would like a break from it now. Go on holiday, watch some cricket, hit a few golf balls, sound like an expert on Centre Court, maybe even read (or write) a book. You know – that kind of thing. Dream on Heady – that’s a long way off. Monday dawns, work to do, gloom to be lifted.
Now if only The Arsenal were playing soon. Can’t think why some bright spark hasn’t come up with the idea of Monday night football….
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The thought of losing Tomas is too much.
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Steww, your articles are always a pleasure to read even when you’re sounding as gloomy as your picture!
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i look at it like say this was a run in for the title. at this stage and these margins its the reward that changes ( 2nd place vs the title) . you as a fan and wenger as manager would want to see how the players deal with the pressure of getting the required result. more sounder the view that we the game(s) in hand. i trust them to do it. and the manu game is a 50-50 as usually these games are. but important to beat city for 2nd place. not that it changes much 2nd vs 3rd for the cl qualification but as stated above..imagine this was a title run-in. need the experience and focus in order to replicate when rewards are bigger.
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as for the f.a cup …when that corner arrives we go full speed ahead like schummacher would go past chicanes in monte carlo…flying over them!!!!
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mikael obviously …..not ralf who’d crash with montoya all the time….
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as transfer rumours go i m all for signing kun aguero so we can sing in the stands : kuuun agueeeero like ‘smooth operator’ by sade
kuuun agueeero…kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun agueeero…kun agueeero …
coast to coast and scoringthe hat trick , na na na naaaaa
….. saxophones and all
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cant put a videoclip of it cause george wont allow it but it fits like a glove ..and now i cant take it out of my mind
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hey patrick ….whats up … how about we exchange theo for kun ?
fuck off arsene
patrick..thats no way to talk to me, what will you do with fpp
havent figures it out yet
i am here to help dont forget, we always remember our favourite clients….
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First things first, I missed Sunday’s post so a shout-out to Shotta for nailing it in his article.
Great comments and feed back too folks.
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Hear hear DC – Shotta wrote a fantastic piece absolutely hitting the target.
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i want to be there when shotta calls durham on the radio ..heheh
fact is what shotta wrote is what cross and lawrence shoudl be putting in their articles in block fucking capitals !!!
but no…i bet theyll be screaming about ticket prices and what a great philanthropist usmanov is…
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Firstly lads don’t despair Tomas will be here next season so we will still get to see him. As for the options for the right well we’re supposed have two players for every position right! So in the event Aaron joins the Ox and Danny,as unable to start we will just have to pick from Theo, TR7, Jack , Chuba, Serge, or switch Mezut and Santi wide and forward and bring in Flamster or Arteta or Matland-Nyles to sit next to Le Coq. Am I missing anybody well after Arsenes comments about Chambers he could even sit in midfield to push Santi forward. The point is with Diaby and the rest all injured our options are diminishing what will Arsene do? Oh and by the way great piece again Steww
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Given the pain I recently endured in putting to the wordprocessor something vaguely coherent for PA, I now have even more respect for Steww’s game-day previews. Unlike the slapdash efforts by many bloggers, who lazily speculate on team selection and dictate team tactics to the manager, he carefully interweaves some aspect of his own personal experience which we could perhaps apply to the game at hand. Even though football is for us mostly an escape from the daily humdrum, the drama on and off the field often mirrors some of our dreams and fears. How else does one explain our identification with the club and specifically with this blog.
No wonder Stewws narrative sets the stage to properly enjoy the game, with or without the Little Mozart.
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vaguely coherent?
tell you what shotta…you can practice all day, month after month, year after year…you will never reach the coherence of my writing , you will always come second…..
the vatican, the u.n, the white house they all beg me to review their official public statements
now all together:
KUUUUUUUUUUN AGUEEEEEEEEEERO
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In the style of Anthony Aloysius Hancock Stew – great read
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The thing is Shotts, I only write once a week, twice if there is a midweek game, and even then I sometimes wonder what I’m going to say. It’s a piece about another football match involving the same team as the last piece and the one before that and the one before that and so on.
All of which actually leaves me understanding why the bloggers who do it every day end up commenting on media speculation on potential tactics and line up changes. If I had to do it seven times a week I dare say I’d fall back on some kind of formula and just press repeat. Also I know I couldn’t keep it up. The same goes for the utter nonsense which is transfer speculation. Instead of the blogs just closing for the summer (my preferred choice – see foreverheady’s excellent comment above) they continue to be written when their subject matter – football matches – doesn’t even exist any more.
It’s why I’m happier with the sparse publication schedule on PA – we only write when we have something to say. The downside is people need a daily blog to keep momentum in the comment section. We are a very quiet blog sometimes.
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He writes when he wants, He writes when he waaaaants, ( Enter name) , He writes when he wants
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eduardo?! gnabry has scored in u-21. where is the report please?
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Steww at 4:13pm – You have a hammer that virtually obliterated every nail that sticks in our craw at these objectionable blogs. Once a blogger is trying to monetize his website he/she has to resort to transfer rumor, scapegoating (player or manager) or triumphalism. The trolling and click baiting of Arsenal fans, who are known to dominate the internet vs other clubs, is legendary. Leg Rove and the Daily Mail come to mind. Durham is a specialist at Talk Spite in the radio world.
At least PA has retained its integrity with periodic blogging. Even though comments are not the greatest I am sure there are multiple number of lurkers who trust us for a honest opinion.
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Ha ha – anicoll – the ‘Sunday’ episode?
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shotta_gooner
at 4:32 pm
Bang on.
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Hunter, on Jeorge Bird as always!
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thanks ian!
do you like my kun aguero – smooth operator remix ? is it not the best you have ever heard in your entire life ?
the rest of the team might be vomitting their guts but thats cause their music educational/taste is not as classical…
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Thanks Steww
–
2-1 to The Arsenal? Swansea like Villa have better players then Hull?
COYG
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They don’t have Dawson, that’s got to be helpful.
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St. Totteringham was not impressed with some of Bruce’s purchases.
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kun aguero is presently on 25 goals with two games remaining. five goals ahead of the best thingto come out of england this season. yet he was not in the team of the season. instaed you have costa whose job apart from simple tap-ins is to fight every opposition players.
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hunter, if there is any striker i will like to see join us, its aguero. but the chance is zero. i like him notjust because he is very good on the field of play, but he is a gentleman of it.
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Being spoilt these last few days by Shotts & Stews write ups-leaving shortly for the game and just remembered the last time I’ve seen us get beat in the flesh was by Swansea over 2 years ago (and I’m lucky enough to get to most games),3-1 to us tonight.😃
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The deflationary effects of Chelsea boring their way to the title was compounded for many last Friday with the unexpected UK general election result. The idea that both Chelsea and the Tories are likely to be around fouling up the place for the next five years is about as dispiriting as it is possible to get for some of us.
I’ve never been bothered by the quietness of the blog, very much a case of quality over quantity for me. In some ways, getting together with you guys and gals online, mirrors what happens in real life on match days and there are many fellow fans and staff of the club I only meet at the Emirates at such times.
Every game we play as we hurtle towards the summer break is a statement of intent for next season as far as I’m concerned. Even some sections of the media are now grudgingly conceding we are likely to be the Tories’, sorry, the Chav’s main challengers next year and that’s something that makes me very happy indeed.
Just heading off to the game so will wave to you all from there – enjoy the match!
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For those of us who simply cannot go to games those of you who do, sharing your experience here is a wonderful link with events in the stadium. Thank you and enjoy your evening.
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A whole lot of pre match speculation blown away like chaff in a strong breeze. Aaron starts.
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Thanks Steww
You’ve made me feel wonderfully calm about the match all day.
That takes some doing!
om mani pademe Om!
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Ramsey starts and Jack is still on the bench.
That’s a bit odd, but the Boss is obviously very keen on 2nd or 3rd.
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I think Jack stays on the bench until Mesut or Santi lose form or fitness.
But then what do I know?
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Same team, same good performance COYG
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Swansea very well organised and slowing us down well. Hard to inject necessary pace into our attacks when teams play like this.
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oh what a soft goal to let in, only a couple of minutes to go,
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FT: Arsenal 0-1 Swansea
not sure how we did not score, Alexis and Walcott with great chances, several other good chances, lacked a bit of sharpness
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I expect the AAA will be out in full force tonight across Arsenal web world
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Wonderful game, great entertainment and effort. Fair play to Swansea.
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Lucky me!
10-00ish George
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That was disappointing.
Fabby had oner of those games, but no special saves – wasteful finishing from our ream, plus a ref who was keen to tilt the pitch in Swansea’s direction- even blowing the whistle before 4 minutes were up.
If Arsenal were more street wise – we should have gone looking for a penalty.
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Gnabry one of our goal scorers as the U21’s beat Bolton away 3-1
http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/1415/post/under-21/u21s-bolton-v-arsenal-match-report
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i knew fabianski was always going to be the hero. we had the best chances in the game but today wasnt our day.
maybe swansea got their tactics spot on. when we had giroud, they they defended high up but when walcott came on, they defended deep.
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We need to work out how to beat these negative tactics – first Monaco, now Swansea. Maybe we didn’t need Coquelin to start this one, given that we knew they would set up this way – started with Jack or Theo instead.
That’s twice now that Montero has given one of our right backs a hard time – perhaps we should buy him.
Not a wonderful game for me.
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Fraaaaaaaaaaaack. They better get their shit together and beat the Mancs or they’ll be playing a CL play off next August.
Shotta: “At least PA has retained its integrity with periodic blogging. Even though comments are not the greatest I am sure there are multiple number of lurkers who trust us for a honest opinion.”
I happen to think our comments section is full of knowledgable people who refuse to regurgitate the lazy opinions of the anti-Arsenal blogosphere.
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Disappointing but it happens. I enjoyed it in a funny sort of way because we played well but the ball only dropped right once. Even good teams need the rub of the green.
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