I’m taking part in something called the six week challenge. It happens every year and the local radio station, of which my show is a small part, is an enthusiastic participant. The joy for me has always been that they start the thing in November and I am therefore ready equipped with an excuse. November is, as any fule kno, National Novel Writing Month and I am a fully signed up member of NANOWRIMO and as such cannot contemplate any other shenanigans be they two, four, or six weeks in duration.
So they moved it to January. Given it’s all to do with promoting health and well being that was always the obvious time of year for it really. Shorn of my usual excuse and feeling tender having just listened to a particularly beautiful Nick Cave ballad the station chief caught me at a vulnerable moment and signed me up.
I’ve gone for a cycling based fitness programme spread over six weeks with ever increasing distances to be covered. Sounded doable on paper so I was pretty relaxed and completed the first week without a problem. On Friday I started week three and that all too familiar feeling of the mid season blues has set in. Last night I struggled out into the icy wind to pedal my six mile quota and it would be toying with the truth to suggest I enjoyed myself. Now, I know I’m not a professional athlete – this won’t come as a huge surprise to anyone who has ever caught sight of me illuminated by the light of the fridge in the wee small hours – and as such I appreciate there is a certain looseness to the parallel I am about to draw.
All I could think as I wheezed along the old Fosse Way, during those moments when thought surfaced through the thumping, gasping crash of my pulse, was how the middle bit of any endeavour is always the hardest. The trough from which we fear we may never emerge. It is the time the novel doesn’t get written because, well, who the hell will ever read it? Who cares? Why am I bothering? It is the time the fitness regime seems suddenly unnecessarily fascistic and who the hell am I trying to fool anyway, I’ll never do this. It is the Wednesday in the week of our adventure when last weekend is a stale memory and the next one too far away to contemplate.
I felt a certain kinship with the Arsenal boys who got tonked at St Mary’s. With the side that just couldn’t quite withstand the Anfield barrage on Wednesday but held on bravely for at least a point. I have nothing but admiration for the sportsmen who can dig deepest when the exuberance and novelty of August has burned away and the adrenaline of the run in is far off into the future. The raw, flayed skin of their ambition laid bare to the biting winter winds, they refuse to allow themselves to doubt that they will overcome and somehow find the strength to carry on. To raise themselves up on stepping stones of their dead selves as the poet Tennyson was so fond of saying and, as he wasn’t, to keep buggering on.
I drew much inspiration from these thoughts and stripped six seconds from my personal best time for one section of the ride, showing that just when the night seems darkest there is always a glimmer for those prepared to look hard enough. For others the light becomes ever more difficult to see. Leicester City, for example, seem to be finding the trough difficult to negotiate. Our friend Double Canister shared a Squawka stat which read “Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy have both failed to score or assist a goal in five consecutive Premier League games”. I know the Foxes are still in contention, I am not writing them off, far from it, they are after all at the top of the pile right now, but not long ago they were rolling like a runaway loco and just lately the boiler seems to have sprung a few leaks.
This is the time our manager and his vast experience come to the fore. This is the time seeing Alexis and Tomáš Rosický knocking at the door marked selection warms the cockles. George described it as the cavalry coming and that, for an old geezer like me brought up on Bonanza and The High Chaparral, had the ring of truth. Coquelin, Welbeck and Wilshere are reported to be back in training and there’s a new kid on the block who will be eager to impress.
I confess I had a wobble as the injuries piled up back at the end of last Autumn. How on earth shall we negotiate November, December and January and remain remotely in contention given such a catalogue of disasters? This is why I was so appalled that folk were attacking the manager and players after we drew with Liverpool. We were at the top of the table during the toughest part of the campaign with a team staggering from one fixture to the next praying no one else got hurt. I’d have been happy to be in fourth with the leaders still in sight given how many changes Arsène has been forced to make, how many players he’s been obliged to pick despite illness and fatigue. Instead of which we are one win away from regaining the top spot. Things might be a whole lot worse than that.
Now comes the tricky part. After a tough encounter with Liverpool we face another difficult away trip. Stoke have always provided us with a challenge. Last season they produced a stunning start to the equivalent fixture and left us all reeling. In recent times our record in the Potteries in all competitions is L, L, W, L, D, D, L, L. One might be excused for finding this extremely uncomfortable reading. Especially given how much we would love to win today.
There are indications that we will face a different kind of Stoke team. That the years of kicking their opponents into submission with the full and frank approval of the match officials are a thing of the past. Stokelona is being bandied about and the one time I’ve watched them this season they were indeed passing and moving in a very impressive fashion. I wonder if they’ll regress given that record against us. I wonder if Mark Hughes has the guts to ask them to continue trying to out pass and out play the opposition. If so it will make for an intriguing spectacle. A genuine football match decided, perhaps, in favour of the better team. Imagine that. In their last six Premier League matches they’ve beaten Man United comfortably and got the better of a seven goal encounter with Everton at Goodison. On their last outing they won easily against Norwich and they’ve lost the other two against an out of form Palace and a struggling West Brom.
I get deja vu every time I write these things. You simply cannot learn anything from looking at recent form. Every team has so many rogue results, beating sides you don’t expect them to and dropping supposedly easier points. The best thing we can do is hope Mr Hughes has the courage of his convictions and opts for a footballing encounter today. That our lads will be buoyed up at the prospect of the Seventh Cavalry pounding over the hill, and that they can draw strength from the knowledge that the mid season trough is behind them.
Can we do it? Damn right we can. Will it be easy? I very much doubt it. One thing is certain, my belief in the squad, the manager and the club as a whole has never been stronger and win lose or draw that will not change. What Arsenal fan could possibly say otherwise?
Positively Arsenal 
Very eloquent and interesting as always. COYG
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Morning Stew and good luck with the 6 week fitness challenge and keep on digging deep and bettering your PB each week.
Great read as per usual. I share your sentiments that there’s no script for today’s fixture as Stoke away is never a straightforward encounter. We just hv to keep faith in the Gunners and Arsène.
Arsenal’s record at the Britannia makes “extremely uncomfortable reading” and that’s being polite. But hopefully by the end of today we’ll show the naysayers that the Arsenal CAN do it on a cold Sunday afternoon in Stoke.
COYG
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Not sure that was the confidence boosting shot in the arm I was hoping for. That record looks grim.
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Brilliant post Sir Steww, i hope Rosicky’s mid season return helps us win the title this season. looking forward to a cracking game of football, with the good news winning of course.
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George – in special seasons we change the bad into good, we break old habits and find strength where we least expect to. Buck up. It’s 11 against 11 no matter what the historical record might say.
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Sorry this cannot be posted ?
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Just checking there as my Previous effort was disposed of
What I was trying to say was that a few seasons ago, last season even, I would never have anticipated a really good game of football witb Stoke. The prospect of Samchex and Shaqiri , and I hope both make it, is mouthwatering.
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guys*
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Stoke away; my least favourite match of the season.
But hey, if Steww can summon up the effort for his usual literary brilliance when every sinew in his typing finger is screaming ‘stop’ then I’m sure our boys in the Midlands will do us proud as well.
Agree that our form, this winter, with all things injurious considered, has been exceptional. You have to ask, as George is clearly asking, will the cavalry arrive in the nick of time?
But you know, if they don’t and we drop a few points the game, unlike in previous seasons will most certainly not be up as everybody is dropping points like confetti. So let’s all hunker down, get through it, pray to the Gods of Injury and take the longer view. Statistically, over the course of the last 12 months or so, we are still best set to see off the PL competition and that’s good enough for me.
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I’ve felt for a while that we will lose today, scrape a point next week and then go on a long winning run that will see us to the top. Should that run start today then so much the better. Whatever the result we can be sure that some so called fans will delight in misery.
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“Strange as it might seem”, a line from the lyrics of the “Witch Queen of New Orleans” by Redbone is how I describe how much I am looking forward to the game today.
Arsenal are going to win convincingly…..
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PA holds its collective breath for Mystic Mel
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Mystic Mel clearly had a hard night on the potions last night (!)
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Clears throat…a hard fought Arsenal win sees them return to the top of the table. Either that or a draw or defeat like..
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Liverpool v Man Utd and Stoke v Arsenal are the two games today, which game is the more likely to see a major match result affecting mistake by the officials.
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Stoke. Away. Bleargh.
One game all year I could easily do without.
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Hail Steww of the mighty word!— as always a highly enjoyable read,and always mixing up in an interesting brew of daily life and football.
If Mesut doesnt control the game a bit today the WOB will be frothing at their rabid mouths (just for a change) ,as no doubt the pundits of hindsight shall start casting their aspersions down La Strada Goonerini “ye dont wanna do it like that…”etc
Its a shame for us that the Smeagles couldnt have dug in a bit more against the sweaty citizens,but such is the way of the exciting PL this year. Not to pleased at hearing the rumours that Funguson will come back and “help” Giggs if Van Gaal does a bunk. No doubt it will be a refs dream to have him back, him being their deity and everyone else bogeyman.Bah humbug!
Stook Chitty of the Potties? The Guns are pointing in your faces today. Ready and loaded.
COYG! and av em!
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“my belief in the squad, the manager and the club as a whole has never been stronger and win lose or draw that will not change.”
My belief is based on the statistics and reinforced by Stew’s wisdom and insight. It is incredible that this squad had the fortitude to dig out positive results since mainstays like Coquelin, Cazorla and, slightly later, Alexis went out injured. Unbelievable, that in mid January, if we defeat Stoke, we are back at the top of the table. Not only is Alexis back in the in the squad, but we have the imminent return Rosicky, Coquelin, Wilshere and Welbeck, in that order. Finally we have a secret weapon in the form of Elneny whom Wenger intends to throw in the battle immediately. To me the rest of the PL are like the armies of Napoleon and Hitler on the steppes of Russia in mid-winter.
The signs in favor of our club are ominous. Not even Mystic Mel’s omens can sway me.
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Excellent article with excellent timeing.
It has been well known for a long time that ARSENAL play their best football when the sun shines, August and May we are simply irrestable. Actually we have played some brilliant football mid-season in the cold and rain and showed steel in the process.
leicester are still picking up points so the fact their best two players are not contributing to the business end is not neccesarily a good thing and city are scoring and more worryingly just kept two clean sheets without their talisman at the back.
I have long thought it would be the light blues who would take the spoils at the end of the season however like Steww says I also thought we would be tucked in around third at this point of the season, the fact that a draw today would take us top after 22 games has to be seen as a huge positive.
A5, I dont shaquri is playing today so I think they will use walters more direct style so we will have to be organised at the back and in front of the full backs to stop the crosses. Whatever style hughe’s men start with, at some point the long ball will be used and like Arsene said after the pool game we must resist the urge to fall back to far so Petre has the chance to come and claim.
League winning seasons are well known for breaking bad runs at particular grounds of disrepute and with city getting spanked by stoke a win today would be a huge boost and stop A5 scaring me.
We know this current squad is capable of beating anyone on their day and unlike other squad is more adaptable to different styles and is better equiped to deal with allcomers. While we know today will be difficult it also could more than just three points, more than just a win, it could be the first flag in the ground to claim the biggest prize we’ve seen for years. COYG
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Debuchy reported to be close to joining Aston Villa on loan for rest of the season, he gave an interview to a French paper where he said talks with Remi Garde were positive and that he has to leave Arsenal this month and that he made a mistake not leaving in the summer, that its been a wasted six months.
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Win, draw or lose today, Arsenal will still be contending for the title.
City got beaten at Mordor, as did Chelsea and Leicester drew 2-2.
This afternoon’s televised entertainment may not be pleasant viewing.
A Twitter rumour is circulating that Özil won’t be in the team, not sure about it
But if so I believe it’s only to prevent the shit being kicked out of him
Before Chelsea get the chance to do it to him next week.
The broadcasters are offering us an undercard game showing two erratic teams from the northwest regions who no doubt will do their plucky best in front of a national and global audience waiting for the Big Game to commence.
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a_or_b is either drunk or posting with his phone while sailing. Drunken sailor even. Ha, Ha, Ha.
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The word from Hughes on Friday, according to the lads at the Stoke Sentinel, was that Shaqiri had a chance of making the game, as did Cameron, but it would be this morning before a final decision was taken. Probably not but you never know AoB.
While wandering round the Stoke newsroom I came across the following and it is honestly worth three minutes of your time;
“Stoke City archive: Why Stoke fans hate lucky, lucky Arsenal!”
http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Stoke-City-archive-Stoke-fans-hate-lucky-lucky/story-25143808-detail/story.html
A white-coated programme seller eh ? (or peanuts, but surely not ice-cream!)
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Wigglesworth set to join Arsenal backroom team.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/12104189/Arsenal-raid-Leicester-for-highly-rated-scout-who-helped-sign-Riyad-Mahrez-and-NGolo-Kante.html
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Eduardo: The harsh laws of capitalism apply to football as the bigger clubs like Arsenal are able to prise away the best talent from a financially weaker club. Is this Ben Wrigglesworth fellow from Leicester going to work with the youth set-up as I read somewhere yesterday?
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shotta its being reported that he would be in overall charge of our scouts and scouting network, so would have role with both first team and academy recruitment
Arsenal seem to want Steve Walsh too
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it seems AFC have always had a section of fans who demand we spend more,
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Wrigglesworth was Leicester City’s Head of Technical Scouting and so could be expected to have similar position at Arsenal.
Steve Walsh is their Assistant Manager, and Head of Recruitment
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Gary Neville clearly forgot to bring his sky gadgets with him to Spain, how else can his less than stellar opening to his managerial career be explained, latest result, another draw, Valencia 2 – 2 Rayo Vallecano, I hink he is yet to record a league win.
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Mateusz @afc_Mat 2h2 hours ago
Rodgers on why they let Suarez go: “We thought we were going to sign Alexis Sanchez, and then we got Rickie Lambert.”
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During billy wrights doomed time in charge there was a protest outside the stadium during the game. I think the game was against leeds and it was one of, or our lowest attendance at Highbury. One of my older mates was there and I remember the story, it wasn’t just about money it was about style of play and billy wright in general.
Shotts I’m not drunk but I was interupted about 400 times by my dogs and various family members, most annoying. I also could do with lots of lessons from Steww on grammer and spelling. To be honest it might of been easier if I just said I was drunk.
Oh Mezut is not injured, the rumours have started because he wasnt in the training pics. He may be being rested, but Arsene has already said he doesn’t train everyday.
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what a cunt, should be suspended for this, bringing the game into disrepute or the like
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No Mesut today?
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I would imagine Joal will play the no 10 role with the Ox playing wide. COYG
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Arsenal starting XI: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Ramsey, Flamini, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Campbell, Giroud
Arsenal substitutes: Ospina, Gabriel, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Iwobi, Elneny
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160117/team-news-ozil-misses-out#OEUJzOGLjb8YjOwL.99
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Stoke: Butland, Shawcross, Pieters, Wollscheid, Johnson, Walters, Arnautovic, Afellay, Whelan, Bojan, Joselu
Subs: Haugaard, Muniesa, Adam, Van Ginkel, Crouch, Odemwingie, Diouf
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No Shaqiri or Cameron, and good to see Arsene wants the assists shared out a bit more evenly
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Liverpool 0-1 Man Utd, Rooney scores with Utd’s first shot on target 78 minutes in
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anyone watch the LFC v MU game, was there any major reffing errors, if not then the odds on the SCFC v AFC game not having one will have shortened
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Did the scousers give everything against us? They seemed rather languid….
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Anyway, ’twas a rather dull affair. Let’s hope the Arsenal lives up to expectations….
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Mesuts got a minor foot injury apparently. Either that or the Guvnor didnt want him getting a kicking…
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COYG!
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I have to go see my Mum so I’ll bid you all farewell. Going to avoid the score and watch the match later. Hope it’s a good un.
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till later Steww.
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a_or_B: No worries my friend. I was just taking the piss with all the grammatical errors evidently caused by using a phone.
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Tah Steww. Will miss you here and on Twitter
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mephistophelian Orc fans, ever the stench of soot and sulphur.
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15 minutes in and its a bit like a cup tie, lots of noise from the fans but little of note on the pitch, Arsenal’s passing a little off so far,
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Giroud with a great chance, Butland out quickly to narrow the angle, AFC’s first shot on target.
Ramsey so far seems to be letting the booing get to him. Really hope he scores, to shut them up.
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