I was watching Aaron Ramsey particularly closely on Saturday afternoon. Along with everybody else I have been aware of how much less we are without him in the starting line up and how much more we seem to be when he plays. We all see the goals and the assists and the miles of turf covered but against Sunderland it was something else that struck me about our Welsh Wonder.
During the first half he made a couple of mistakes, or at least what appeared at first glance to be mistakes. On one occasion he attempted some quick fire passing on the edge of our area and we lost possession. On another he fired a ball so hard back to Per that our big German could only look startled as it flashed past him. A bit ring rusty I thought. The lad’s been out injured and his radar is perhaps a little off.
Then, watching the game again I realised something. There wasn’t anything wrong with what he was trying to do. At their very best our players hit the ball to each other in tight spaces, hard and at speed and regardless of where they are on the pitch. It is what makes Wengerball the mesmerising thing of risk and beauty that we all know and love so much. Playing to our full potential we are not content to simply walk the high wire, we want to juggle blindfold as we step across the void. It is this audacious approach to the game which makes you and I gasp and brings the crowd to its knees.
Aaron Ramsey typifies this approach and without him in the team we seem less adept at it. When he starts firing the ball at his team mates and trying to move it fast and unexpectedly in our half of the pitch isn’t he in fact galvanising the team? Isn’t he reminding them and us how Arsenal, at its best, out plays the opposition, bamboozling them with fast intuitive football?
Having him back will increase the tempo at which we do things and, I suspect, increase as well the amount of the ball we have to work with. His other great skill lies in the positions he takes up on the pitch. Always the third point in the triangle, always in space always annoyingly between the lines of the defenders. He must be as much of a joy for someone like Mesut to have around, whether centrally or moving in from the flanks, as he is a pain in the backside for the opposition’s defence.
That is perhaps his greatest strength of all. He brings others into the game and gives everyone else an option, an out ball, a vital greased cog in Arsène’s Beautiful Machine. The highlights video versus Sunderland is a remarkable thing. I hadn’t actually been aware of Aaron being as involved as he obviously was and being so very effective almost all of the time.
Watching live we tend to notice the big moments both good and bad. The odd missed or over hit pass, the occasional breathtaking display of skill as he turns two defenders into confused, bewildered and baffled men, but not always the rest of his contribution. He failed to convert a couple of chances but still continued to make those killer runs into the box, never allowing any disappointment to either dissuade him from trying again or to make him try too hard the next time.
Allied to Mesut’s truly astonishing from and leadership on the pitch this season, Campbell’s steadily growing confidence and with the Ox still having his best up his sleeve it is amazing how much more positive things look compared with this time last week. That is partly because we won a football match on Saturday afternoon, certainly, but it also has a lot to do with the return of our wonderful Welsh wizard and the feel good effect he spreads throughout the team. I’ll tell you who would have liked him – Brian Clough. The way he passes and immediately moves into space ready for a return ball then looks to move it on quickly again would have been right up his street. He is, at his best, the heart of the team.
Can he step up another gear tonight and help us to secure progress through the Champion’s League group stage? Can we get a bit of a run of results going again and lift our confidence? Yes, obviously, to both questions. Whether things will go our way is a little less easy to predict but the result on Saturday and the performance in the previous Champions League match when we outclassed Zagreb ought to have set the team up perfectly for what is effectively a knock-out match.
It is of course a knock-out with a difference. A bit like a certain Friday night in May back before mobile phones and home computers when we needed to win by two clear goals, a draw will be good enough for the home side. In fact they can lose 2 – 1 and still qualify. That break away third goal they scored at The Emirates may yet prove to have been far more important than anyone might have guessed. If we are leading 2 – 0 with ten minutes to go my many years of sobriety may be sorely tested. It will, at the very least be a tense affair.
According to the experts it’s important we don’t fall behind. Where would we be without experts? I don’t think there is much we can do differently from the way we approach every game. We don’t want to follow Man United’s example but we cannot allow that or any other negative outcomes to play on our minds. George Graham’s mantra before sending his players out at Anfield on that fateful night was keep it tight first half, score early in the second and then the pressure will begin to build on the side playing for a draw. I doubt Arsène can better that blueprint tonight. I certainly won’t be feeling any tension before there is at least an hour on the clock, but will probably pour myself a cup of camomile tea around the 70 minute mark if we still haven’t scored.
While it would have been preferable to have wrapped all this up long ago the excitement of this fixture has really enlivened what might have been a dull and pointless game. Edge of the seat stuff with a chance to dine with Europe’s elite if we win by the requisite amount or grub about in the bins with the likes of Spurs if we don’t. Not exactly a shit or bust scenario. We would be in what we used to call the Fairs Cup if things go wrong and I am old enough to recall when Arsenal fans wouldn’t be quite so sniffy at the chance to win the Fairs or UEFA cup. Perhaps it is a measure of the level to which Arsène has lifted us that, along with the League Cup, these are seen as such second rate baubles nowadays.
On a personal note before I leave you to debate whether Theo should start ahead of Olivier (no by the way) (unless Arsène says different, in which case yes) I would like to welcome our own leader back into the fold. In his absence the place has felt a little like a ship without a rudder or a skipper. As much as Andy Nic and myself have tried to trim the sails and keep the tub afloat it is and always has been George’s energy and vision which drives the good ship Positively Arsenal along and having him back among us is far more important to me even than having Aaron back on the pitch. Welcome back George, let’s hope your return is marked by a famous victory.
Positively Arsenal 
Excellent points steww, worthy of a famous victory. COYG’s!
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Hunter warned us what a right bunch of dirty shitehawks Olympiakos can be.
However – we still have our best back line available, Ramsey and Flamini are in the engine room. and Ozil making the magic happen for the forwards.
Jack Wilshere is coming back by the end of the month – so say the reports.
Who knows – we might even see The Jeff play tonight.
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Excellent post – Steww – a lovely read this morning on the train to work.
Unlike many bloggers – you don’t ever demand that the team preform for your benefit.
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Thanks for the write up and the kind words Stew.
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“Hear, Hear” (waves order paper)
Beautiful sunshine up here and a great contest to look forward this evening. If the opposition beat us or cling on to earn themselves a place in the KO rounds of the Champions League then fair enough, they deserve it. As eddy pointed out there are some big clubs in the Europa and after tonight there will be more.
I have a feeling in my water that the OX will be important tonight – he has struggled to get fit and to get his touch back, but in other Cl games, away from home in recent seasons when we have been up against it he has shone. Alexander the Great. May his star rise tonight.
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An outstanding piece that covers so many important bases, not least the concluding paragraph. It was a twitter debate over an article that George wrote that led me to this site. He was articulating a view that it might be possible for a supporter to drop his allegiance should the club abandon first principles and follow a course in opposition to the values that led the fan to support in the first place. There was a freshness and intelligence about the piece – and also an innocence – that chimed with all that I was hoping to find.
“I was in search of love in those days, and I went full of curiosity and the faint, unrecognized apprehension that here, at last, I should find that low door in the wall, which others, I knew, had found before me, which opened on an enclosed and enchanted garden, which was somewhere, not overlooked by any window, in the heart of that grey city.”
So thank you George and get well soon. And thanks to Andy and Stew for keeping the flame burning ( and I shall spare you the quotation from the end of the novel that talks about that too.)
Stew, you are absolutely spot on about Aaron, and in particular his telepathic relationship with Ozil. The energy and vision that they both bring could take the side to a different level if supported appropriately, and there is much to dream about right now.
And if the game gets really tense, Stew, you might find a mug of Rooibos slightly more robust.
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Good stuff Stew. Glad to hear George is up and about too. Welcome back George, hope whatever ailed you has gone and not to return.
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Excellent post Stew. I too shared in the appreciation of what Ramsey brings to the team and you articulated it well. Özil must feel like a wide eyed kid having him back at his best and so does Giroud, as Ramsey’s game fit his like a glove.
Arsenal go into tonight’s game 1-0 – as I look at it – behind and have 90 minutes to book their seats at the table of Europe’s elite. But the Greeks don’t intent making it easy and if ever a challenge is what our players want to show everybody that they are capable of rising to the occasion, there’s no better time then the present.
Allow me going to last nights Manutd’s CL exit:
Many would blame Manutd’s decline on LVG and Moysie before that, when I think it should fall right at Fungus’ feet. He put their clubs future as an aside because he wanted one last hoorah. He left Manutd in the quagmire with a “spine” of ageing players and an injury prone RVP. In the absence of a “new” seasoned core of senior players he left Moysie with too much to do and Rooney’s career coming to a full-stop left LVG with no option but to try and throw money at the problem, since he lack the charm to attract the world’s best up and coming young players.
The lesson here is how fortunate we are having Arsène Wenger that’s preparing a squad for beyond his retirement.
COYG for tonight and everything of the best George as you nurse your way back to health.
PS: making the “like” function less restrictive would be a great idea. There is so much to like on here.
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I had to look it up FH – Waugh eh? Beautifully written.
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Waugh indeed, and I thought you might, which is always at least half the fun. So much still to find out about.
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well for me calling the result tonight is simple
if we play well we will likely win
if we play well and have a bit of luck we will likely win by at least 2 goals
if we play at or near our best we will likely win by at least 2 goals
if we play at our near our best and have a bit of luck we will likely win by 4 or 5 goals
if we play poorly but have a chunk of luck we will get through
if the Greeks play well and have the luck then we could be in trouble
I could be a pundit with insight like that
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I too have noticed when we don’t score a goal, we tend not to win matches
( I have studied under Professor Michael Owen as you can probably tell)
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A pathetic admission this, but no result tonight can equal or tarnish the joy I felt when that third Wolfsburg goal went in.
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Chamberlian (if he starts ahead of Walcott) for the hat-trick? We heard it here first!
Both Chambo and Rambo have returned in time for the crunch. With the trip to Villa on Sunday and City the Monday after Aaron should be ok to start all three games before the holiday period.
I like to hit the old dragonball (pearl) jasmine tea myself when not burning the midnight oil.
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Arsenal are being linked with a January move for 18 year old Palmeiras striker Gabriel Jesus, he was is the star striker for the Brazil U20 team.
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Arsenal confirm 2 pre-season games in Australia in summer 2017
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20151208/arsenal-and-nsw-announce-partnership
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Another great piece Steww, many thanks.Also great show last night! Kye dropped me a line last night and it gave me a good laugh this morning.I enjoyed hearing St.Tropez blues, been a while since I heard it .You play lots of diverse songs which is fascinating and I certainly appreciate the effort you put into making the shows.I Look forward to next week.
FH Good to see Brideshead quoted.The older I get the more Im amazed at Waughs ability in that book, each character seem to be genuinely believable, the only clanger to me is the mention of Vittoria Corombona (imo).But I would not be ever able to write a book with such tenderness and acute observations. Do you ever think that EW was somehow acting his own life out, whilst watching his subject matter? Of course it could be argued that we all do it to some degree?
Why are the WOB moaning about potentially being in the EL but happy to be in the CL?Duh! Like Steww I can also recall a time when we were glad to be in the UEFA cup or in the CWC. Wenger again spoilt them!
The WOB brigade wont ever be satisfied.So suffer they will,well thats football in the age of greedy,cynical consumerism.The lust and need for total domination its like a perverse version of ideology( trying to impose a system of perfection on imperfection that probably is already perfect (ie relative)etc) thats always getting up to all sorts of mischief in peoples minds,(and all in hindsight)scrabbling to a elusive moment that wont ever happen and even if it did, the yearning would call again,and again and again.No wonder the WOB have a touch of the looney tunes at times, but better that than it being channeled into some Charlie Chaplin mustachioed- type drum beater wanting to send others to their deaths for their own concerns.
If Yin Yang really exists(it does) why do the humans not choose “good” with a bit of “bad”,rather than “bad” with a bit of “good”?Perhaps they do and I dont see it that way, but the world seems intent of suffering.Consumerism made children out of adults? Perhaps adulthood is some bizarre elusive thing that bogged off in 1958?
Heres to an injury free game and onwards and upwards in the CL!!
COYG!
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Yes,Steve Waugh was a fantastic player..
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Were the Waughs better than the Chappells? Or were the Charltons better than the Nevilles? A bit of Dire Straits for Stew next week maybe.
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yes, he was a life long friend of Mary Russell Mitford.
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I liked Dire Straits first album. Still do. Don’t give a fig for what I’m supposed to like or not. Perhaps why I’m not afraid to like players I’m supposed to denigrate. Olivier for a hat trick anyone?
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The ‘Like’ button
For any who are finding problems with the Like button my preliminary search suggests that it may be either;
a) a browser problem and that you may be using a slightly out of date version of a browser which is not picking up/connecting with certain features on WordPress. If you want to bring your browser up to date then http://browsehappy.com/ is likely to have what you need.
b) it could be you are using some form of antivirus/malware protection that is sensitive to the Like function on WordPress. I can’t really suggest any solution to that I fear.
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I assumed nobody liked any of my posts. Never occurred to me they might no be able to use the button.
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Mine works, so that’s all that matters.
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William @Colwell94 15h15 hours ago
Pretty gross negligence for Klopp to force his star striker to play through known injury and aggravate it. If that had been Wenger….
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Steww, I like your posts. Sadly I can only like it once as any attempt to like it in any even number only leads to ‘unliking’ the previous like.
George, good to have you back. I trust the worst is behind you.
Here’s to a good evening to all parties concerned (and that doesn’t include Mou)
Great comments all round. Cheers mates!
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I can’t work the like button either,just assume I like everything you write Stew,same as all the other fantastic writers we have on here.
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Looks like Jeff and Iwobi will be subs tonight
Arsenal Under-19s to play Olympiacos: Keto, Sheaf, Pleguezuelo, Bielik, Bola, Agyei-Tabi, Malen, Hinds, Crowley, Willock, Mavididi
subs: Huddart, Moore, Da Graca, Mourgos, Eyoma, Nelson, Robinson
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very attacking looking u19 side, Malen, Mavididi, Crowley, Hinds and Willock all in the starting 11
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a quick guide to the views of the experts among the arsenal web world
going out of the CL tonight and into the EL will shock the club into a transfer spree in January
or
going out of the CL tonight and into the EL will mean the club will do no transfers in January and just muddle along as we are
or
going through to the last 16 of the CL will see the club do a transfer spree in January to make sure of progress in it and try and actually win it
or
going through to the last 16 of the CL will see the club do no transfers in January as it will prove we have a strong enough squad, or we have achieved our targets do don’t have to do any more
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link to the U19’s game
http://cricfree.sx/watch/live/olympiacos-piraeus-youth-vs-arsenal-youth-live-streaming
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Experts (coughs) always have crystal balls (coughs)?
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HT: Olympiacos U19’s 2-0 Arsenal U19’s
very disappointing performance so far, created nothing, Crowley been very poor, and compounded his poor performance by giving away the ball for their second goal. Malen looks lost on right wing, Sheaf is wasted at RB, Bielik is the only one who looks like a man in our side and his passing is very good, not sure how good a defender he is.
So far the passing has been slow and poor, and nothing of note created, need to step it up big time if they are to get anything out of this game.
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great news for Arsenal, Gary Monk is now available to replace Wenger.
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FT: Olympiacos U19’s 2-0 Arsenal U19’s
very poor performance from Arsenal, Crowley and Willock who much was expected from both subbed off by the 70th minute. AFC dominated possession in the second half but only had one shot on target, which was more akin to a back pass. All tippy tappy sideways stuff.
Arsenal end up second in the group after winning their first 3 games of the group, but Zagreb and Olympiacos along with AFC finish with 10 pts, Zagreb top the group, Arsenal now go into an extra knock out round.
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This is a great day so far. A blog from Stew waxing lyrical about my boy Aaron, and the re-appearance of George in the comments section. Like Stew, the latter is far more important to me than the former. Good to have you back and on the mend George.
Just when I think I’m too biased about Aaron, Stew comes along and points out what I’ve always thought: many of his ‘mistakes’ aren’t mistakes at all in his mind. He’s done exactly what he intended to do. The ESP has perhaps failed him, in that he didn’t successfully communicate telepathically to his teammate. But the ball ended up where he meant for it to go. His confidence and energy never cease to amaze me. He always believes until the whistle goes that the game is winnable. And he will believe today that we can do what’s required; he won’t give up until the whistle blows. Fight on, Aaron. We can do this.
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looking forward to a critical game reading at such awesomeness is what life is about heh
thank you sir!
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So tonight of all nights my boss calls an extra meeting which means no contact with the outside world from about now until 10. Over to you guys: I know I can rely on you. As for the Under 19s it will all be part of their learning curve. Playing in a strange country is not always easy, and they are only at the start of their careers.
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Arsenal starting XI: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Campbell, Giroud
Substitutes: Ospina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Chambers, Gibbs, Iwobi, Oxlade-Chamberlain
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20151209/team-news-walcott-starts-in-greece#sXcgA3HzK4cD2Uv1.99
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Its been a long, hard day for me. I’ve just made wifi commection and read all above.
Superb. Thanks. Come On.
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excellent thoughtful post as usual Steww. i have only just noticed the like button although i cant find the fuck me that was brilliant button.
Aaron has always reminded me of Englands captain fantastic brian robson, of course he played for manure and so the media loved him. I can only assume because he is welsh and plays for ARSENAL makes him a target for the hacks and the haters.
I am dissapointed for the youngsters who started the campaign so well, although if everybody is availiable i’m sure they will make it through.
Tonight we need a couple of hero’s a bit of luck and our football to flourish COYG.
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Wenger: “Walcott doesn’t have 90 minutes in his body, neither Chamberlain. It’s a risky decision – we need goals.”
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9 minutes gone, Fortunnis booked for diving.
Very scrappy game so far
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18 minutes, Ramsey booked
sloppy passing so far from AFC, and its a poor quality game so far
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23 minutes in and AFC have not had a shot yet
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24 minutes Flamini hit the bar with our first shot
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Girouddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd makes it 1-0 with a fine header, Ozil twisted and turned to get some space, feeds it into Ramsey out wide left and his cross is met with a good header by Giroud. 29 minutes gone.
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That Aaron and Mesut axis is beautiful isn’t it? 1 – 0
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Larry!
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Aaron was running so early he just knew our German maestro would find him.
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