So here we are, the New Year arrives with The Arsenal sitting atop the Premier league. 2015 saw us accumulate considerably more points than any other team, not to mention retaining the FA cup. We signed a genuine world class goal keeper and kept all the talent we had.
Everyone must be happy then? Right? Surely no one can be discontented ?
But no! It is, unbelievably to any right thinking fan, not the case.
We still hear the shrill cries from the malcontent hoard that “Wenger f**ked up the Summer window. No outfield players signed don’t you know?”
He balls’ed it up to such an extent that we are top as the next window opens. We now know what injuries we have and can address those problems, rather than buy expensive players that will warm the bench, drain resources and perhaps cause discontent in the camp. Of course the ‘expert’ fans knew already who and when certain players would suffer injury, Soothsayers to a man!
We had such little depth that no team has coped better than us.
Despite the clear and obvious evidence that there are now better players in just about every team, bar MUFC, the moaners insist the the league is weaker and it’s only that weakness that allows us to be at its pinnacle at this point. The middle of the table teams are now what the top teams were. They have 6 or 7 good players and 3 or 4 very good players. To ignore this simple reality takes a tremendous amount of stupidity. Yet many Arsenal fans and pundits have managed to do just that. To call them halfwits is doing a disservice to halfwits.
Those that have invested years in negativity and hatred for the manager are beginning to worry. What if we win the league?
So now the narrative has become”We must win the league or Wenger must go – no excuses!”
Again this “no excuses” bollocks does nothing but display a total lack of understanding of football, and life in general.
Despite Arsene proving time and again, that he can turn existing players into some of the best in the league , Monreal, Bellerin, Ramsey, Coquelin, Santi, Koscielny, to name but a few, demands are made that he goes headlong into the transfer market to get some sort of magical player.
Well he is going to buy. He has said as much, but you can bet your bottom dollar that won’t shut them up. Oh no, it will be hailed as a cheap option and the old “he could have done more” crap will be wheeled out.
We are challenging for the title. We should be enjoying the ride, not looking back to the period where Gervinho was the best we could buy, and citing this period as if Arsenal choose to be financially disadvantaged.
Whether people believe the club could have done more between 2006 and 2012 is now totally irrelevant. The fact is we are now winning silverware again and just looking at the team the clear improvement is there for all but the most idiotic to see.
I for one am looking forward, and will enjoy every moment. If we fall short, I will be disappointed, but I will brush myself down and look forward again, because there is no indication the the upward trajectory the club is on is showing any signs of slowing down.
Lets hope for a happy new year for us all.
Positively Arsenal 
One every 4 months, I’m prolific
LikeLiked by 5 people
The depth of denial into which some people sink beggars belief does it not.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How refreshing! Sensinble views and opinions within the Arsenal fan base is increasingly rare to stumble upon these days. It’s such a relief to read articles like this, and for that I thank you!
Positivelyarsenal is now bookmarked in my browser. Great stuff.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Thinking back to the Summer some of the names we “missed out” on, such as Schneiderlein, such as Pedro, such as Benteke, have performed poorly all season for their respective new employers and you wonder what the experts ever saw in them ?
I particularly love the phrase ” I’d take him in a heartbeat” when it is applied to some flash in the pan, here today = gone tomorrow Scarfist frothy fancy.
LikeLiked by 2 people
What an excellent post. Thank you, started my 2016 Arsenal season in great mood.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Welcome Andreas! I have found this site to be an oasis of levelheadedness in an ocean of overboard inanity amongst the blogosphere.
George, you’re well rested and have hit the ground running. Competition for places in this team (read PA bloggers) is fascinating, I tell ya. Can’t wait for Steww’s delight come the morrow!
LikeLiked by 3 people
PG is setting a positive tone for the new year. Taking the battle to the eternal malcontents and extremists. The skipper is back. Long may it continue.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some of us on UA were just this week discussing how some in the fanbase and media would make the the league title..a non title should Arsenal win it, a bit like the FA Cup is a non trophy to some.
I guess the people who stated Arsenal would never win a trophy under Wenger again might feel they have to move the goal posts in the light of recent, and hopefully, continued silverware.
I would imagine some in our fanbase are even desperate enough to be pinning their hopes on our neighbours beating us to the title now the media are bigging up Tottenhams chances, as they seem prone to do from time to time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sound common sense and effectively a statement of fact; good post, George.
I often wonder what some of the fools, who think otherwise, expect to gain from this football following lark if what we as Arsenal fans are receiving at the moment doesn’t hit the spot then nothing will and, indeed, I’d question whether they have a spot to hit anymore.
A few years ago I was at Twickenham watching an England rugby union game and treated myself to ‘ref link’. – An ear piece and receiver that allows you to hear the ref through the game – On the field there were two players having a fight and the ref ran by them and said “carry on fighting if you like lads, we’re playing rugby over here”
so “carry on whining if you like ‘ wobs’ , we’re enjoying Arsenal over here” is what I say.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Me… cos i always expect us to be on top after every game…
it more that they cant bring themselves to eat humble pie… glad the bard is made up of some sensible people…
A manage gets sacked cos he lost 7 games in a row… really? so what idf same goes on to win all the other 31, is that not likely to lead to
LikeLike
As Mandy Dodd said, the goalposts keep being moved, no trophies, Wenger will never win a trophy again, win back to back FA Cups and they are meaningless, and its Wenger will never win a meaningful trophy again (seemingly now only the BPL or CL count), but now that it looks like we might actually win the BPL, all of a sudden it is being discredited, its now a below par league, unlike the one horse race in Germany and France, the two horse race in Spain, and of course the two horse race the BPL has been by and large since its very first season, the WOB/AAA have to downgrade everything Arsenal related, I see that with them now, Wenger saying he will sign someone in January is actually an admittance from Wenger that he got the summer’s transfer window wrong. Top of the league and he got the transfer window wrong.
As I always say, no one does a crisis quite like Arsenal do a crisis.
LikeLiked by 2 people
PG, I trust you are not too froward, for your medical consultant? With the tireless Stew and Andt Nic, you may rest easy!
Needless to display, the Telegraph a paper of some repute, for some reason employs scribblers for the football coverage. I wonder why.
The Arsenal, joint top of the Premier at the moment are given a B+!!! Of course there must be a snide comment about “a big divide among the fans about Wenger”.
Using that person calling himself Tim Payton, as a weather cock for fans?
COTG
LikeLike
I see Steve McClaren has revealed Newcastle’s game plan for the Arsenal game tomorrow. Its so simple its genius, kick them, kick them and kick them some more. Of course he dressed it up a little with “aggressive”, “physical” and “getting in their faces”, no doubt he has seen its Anthony Taylor as ref, and fully expects his compliance in the Newcastle game plan. Tomorrow really will be a day when the Arsenal team will need the Arsenal fans to give them a helping hand, and get on Taylor’s back if there is any sign that he is allowing foul play to work.
LikeLiked by 4 people
What confuses me is the word fraud. Difficult to achieve everything Arsene has and be a fraud. Did I miss something did we not go unbeaten in a season, is Arsene not the most successful manager in the F.A. cup, is he not ARSENAL’s most successful manager, have we not moved past the clubs we were once on a par with (spuds, Everton,villa etc) are we not a permanent fixture in the CL last 16. So if he’s a fraud what would the real Arsene bring us trebles every year I supposr. Me thinks I know the real frauds.
LikeLiked by 3 people
What confuses me is the word fraud. Difficult to achieve everything Arsene has and be a fraud. Did I miss something did we not go unbeaten in a season, is Arsene not the most successful manager in the F.A. cup, is he not ARSENAL’s most successful manager, have we not moved past the clubs we were once on a par with (spuds, Everton,villa etc) are we not a permanent fixture in the CL last 16. So if he’s a fraud what would the real Arsene bring us trebles every year I supposr. Me thinks I know the real frauds.
LikeLiked by 1 person
afcstuff @afcstuff 9h9 hours ago
Most Premier League assists in a calendar year:
Mesut Özil (20 in 2015)
Thierry Henry (19 in 2003)
Eric Cantona (17 in 1993)
[@Squawka]
LikeLike
ARTETA, FLAMINI + SEVEN YOUNGSTERS TRAIN WITH ARSENAL FIRST-TEAM PRE-NEWCASTLE
Screen shot 2016-01-01 at 13.20.52
Arsenal held their first training session of 2016 today as the squad prepared for Saturday’s game at home to Newcastle United, with seven youngsters in attendance.
Alex Iwobi and Jeff Reine-Adelaide were amongst those involved and the wingers are expected to make the bench for the game tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Dan Crowley, Chris Willock, Ben Sheaf, Glen Kamara and goalkeeper Matt Macey were also selected to train with the squad. Crowley has mainly been working with Arsenal’s U21 side since returning from his loan spell at Barnsley.
As far as the first-team players are concerned, Mikel Arteta is back in full training but, on account of his lack of match fitness, the Spaniard is unlikely to be considered for inclusion tomorrow.
Kieran Gibbs, however, is fit after suffering with cramp towards the end of the victory over Bournemouth, whilst Mathieu Flamini, who missed the game against the Cherries, was involved in today’s session.
Arsenal still have six senior players out injured. Alexis Sanchez, who has been struggling with a hamstring problem, could be back for the FA Cup tie at home to Sunderland next weekend.
Tomas Rosicky, who hasn’t featured all season because of a knee injury, is scheduled to return to full training in three weeks’ time.
Jack Wilshere (calf) and Danny Welbeck (knee) could return in February along with Francis Coquelin, who has also been struggling with a knee problem. Santi Cazorla, who has a similar issue, isn’t likely to return until March.
Mathieu Debuchy continued to train with the squad today despite there being a chance he could leave the club this month.
There could be several changes to the side tomorrow, with Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny poised to return to the starting line-up after being rested against Bournemouth. Manager Arsene Wenger may also consider resting Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud.
Possible team:
Cech
Bellerin-Gabriel-Koscielny-Monreal
Chambers-Ramsey
Oxlade Chamberlain-Ozil-Campbell
Walcott
Subs: Ospina, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Flamini, Giroud, Iwobi, Reine-Adelaide.
Posted in Uncategorized on January 1, 2016 by Jeorge Bird. Leave a comment
LikeLike
To those who say we are only looking strong in the league because others are weak this year I say this – how about they only looked strong in the past because we were weaker than we are now?
Same logic surely?
Every team that succeeds is stronger than the teams it succeeds over, they are also, by definition weaker.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Squawka Football @Squawka 31 Dec 2015
Gary Neville’s record at Valencia in La Liga:
4 games
3 draws
1 loss
0 wins
0 clean sheets
Management is tough.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Would like to see Callum get a start tomorrow, he did well against Bournemouth, and he is a big strong boy against a team who clearly will try and probably to a large extent get away with roughing ours up, but if he plays, needs to watch out for Mr Taylors cards, ……..unless given similar leeway on rotational fouling as some of our opponents.
Newcastle can have fragile confidence if things go wrong, may be a good opportunity for our players of pace?
An appearance from The Jeff would be nice.
LikeLike
Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky are all rumored to be in the last six months of their Arsenal playing careers, and an interesting rumor doing the rounds about the men that might be brought to the club to replace them in our squad,
it looks like Mohamed Elneny is about to be confirmed as the first new signing, mainly a DM, but more in the Arteta style of play maker DM, than the out and out Coquelin DM type, a full International for Egypt.
Two other names being mentioned really interst me, Oğuzhan Özyakup and Håvard Nordtveit, both former youth and reserve players for Arsenal,
Nordtveit was reserve captain for a season or two, he has forged a good career for himself in Germany, is versatile, DM is his primary position, but CB is not foreign to him, and he can even fill in at RB. He is out of contract at the end of the season, so a small fee might get him this month, and he can of course sign a pre-contract agreement this month. A full International for Norway.
Özyakup is more of an attacking midfielder, with a good passing range, he can play wide and the No.10 role too. He would likely be the most expensive of the 3 to sign. Özyakup did play 2 league cup games for the Arsenal first team, before turning down a new contract, and left in the search for regular first team football. A full International for Turkey.
LikeLike
Eduardo
If true, and those players are deemed up to the job, I think it’s great. Homegown players, who know the Arsenal way of playing, went out and made a good career for themselves before coming back. Something like what Barcelona did with Pique, Alba and uhhh… cesc.
It’s intriguing because I think a couple of years ago Arsene said we aim to have 65% of our squad composed of homegrown players. So that’s around 18 players in a 25 man squad. If we include some of Szczesny, Martinez, Toral, Akpom, Zelalem etc then in the next few years we might well see that ambitious target reached, or even surpassed.
LikeLike
If Stheeve really wants a rematch of the kick-a-thon he inflicted on Arsenal at St. James Park he can fuck right off, and I suspect his job security won’t last for long.
Oliver Giroud need to start then.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We can expect this last fart from the rotten corpse of British old school coaches who won’t survive in the modern technical football age.
The likes of Pulis, Fat Sam & McClaren are Yesterday’s men.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLike
I would feed nd it strange if we took back former players as this is something we don’t normally entertain. Ozzie was a quality player but he left the club at a time when it was easier to get in the first team than now.
Harvard had a terrible time here and never really looked like forcing his was through.
Technically both are good players however there are better players out there and even within the club.
LikeLike