Hello, and how are you?
Sunday the 9th of March sees the Mighty Cannon haul its gun-carriage up to the northern marches of England for a visit to Old Trafford as we take on 14th placed Manchester United. Kick off is at 4.30pm western European time.
All week I’ve been stumped, blocked (not in the Mod sense) and feeling all dried up like a sundried tomato over this preview. I thought about discussing ideology and its role in society, its limitations and it necessity, I thought about discussing CS Lewis’ ‘Abolition of Man’ and despite its failing, pugilistic tendencies, all roads in such matters rest in the real dilemma: to believe not to believe. But belief is conjecture and conjecture remains not knowing? I thought about discussing the film ‘Priscilla’ and how it barely scrapes the surface of its characters and despite some echoing of the same old Forest Gump tropes (conservatism versus New Left) its a film that does stay with you afterwards though, which is something most films don’t? For good or bad I can’t say, but haunt you it does. I thought about discussing the early spring I experienced this week, the warm air and bird-song cacophony, and the conflict of your inner human clock: its just way too early to be 20° in very early March? I thought about discussing how ‘time’ seems to go quicker than ever due to our relationship with technology; but I couldn’t prove Einstein right or wrong, not being smart enough. I wanted to potentially discuss cultural linages, how certain torch-relays of culture are more in the limelight than others, how does this happen, whose in control of it and how do other cultural linages outside of the prescribed system survive? Evolution and survival of the fittest isn’t who does the most press-ups at the gym or the biggest bully in the playground of life, but who fits in the best. Not me. Ideas might get lost in the fogs of perspectives but inclusivity and acknowledgment are really worth fighting for, as long as that’s actually happening? Jospeh Beuys said “everyones and artist”. Maybe, mabe not, all depends on what we might mean by artist? But for this to work it might mean that everyone has also to open a gallery, otherwise its the same old; certain people selecting themselves and friends as the non plus ultra and everyone else is charged as irrelevant unless the fashion changes? Maybe flat-line hierarchies are much more interesting? As already mentioned in prior blogs, to me, value plurality is all we really have in our system of absolute relativity, there’s going to be clashes as certain idea’s naturally don’t always fit perfectly with others (liberty and justice etc). I also spent ages thinking about why on football blogs its mostly presumed we should only stick to football when all life is inter-connected and football is at most only a couple of links (sometimes only one) away from any other idea or aspect of life? You can see why I didn’t peruse that one further! LOL!
I then thought of George’s friend dying and the gap death leaves behind in our lives and Eddies friend being ill and tragically diagnosed and all the fears that person must be feeling and what Ed and George might be feeling recently and how demise changes our perspectives on all our daily activities and values. And realised how often I just take life for granted, I try everyday to be grateful, but there’s always a part of the day where I feel frustrated and angry and selfish at how human systems are and often how corrupt, competitive, cold and consuming they seem. Its a horrible trap to be caught in, but genuinely being grateful is an uplifting thing and seems part of an antidote to the rough and tumble of horseshit that we have to deal with? Of course over the years I’ve often put the boot in about the internet (all apologies), twitter, and bloggers and aspects of everyday online life. Yet the flip side is how the world was opened up by the internet, how people could connect, how people could share interests and feel a great joy in that. I mean dang! Its a wonder, and really well worth gushing over. Its easy to take things too seriously and I’m a sinner in that sense, but there’s a heck of a lot of great in life too, and sometimes I wonder if there’s too much division where really divisions could be applied to only truly greater moral dilemmas? Although once you’ve stated something like that we find ourselves stuck in the relative ideas of whats a major moral idea and what isn’t? But I’m sure I’m pissing against the wind with that kind of thought anyway. Strange thing is I’ve just recalled a conversation I had with an (now dead) very famous artist back in 1995, who thought the grand utopias were dead and future life would be about smaller ones. In some ways he called it right when you look at the endless online/offline communities? But there’s still a hitch; utopias weren’t made for living in, they are an unlivable idea (this includes dystopias too), but perhaps they still worth chasing after nonetheless but we could also keep that in mind? Our real problem (maybe, or at least one of our billions of problems) is how to get along without destroying each other and avoid any absolute thinking and speaking, something that’s not easy and hypocrisy follow us like a spectre? As I’m about to prove…
So its them again. Blooming ManUre, and at Old Toilet. A club and team at this moment, well fallen, yet despite their flirt with the fearful and sulphurous end of the table I’m sure the they will not go down. How would you feel if they did? I suppose its joy enough to see them lingering in the depths though? Could well be that City join them soon?
The Spuds would be a different thing if they were relegated, and ‘orrible as they are, our clashes with them are always an exciting experience? Its still a highlight of the season to play them and St. Totteringham’s day is always a feast day to be celebrated? Of course its always been the same with Utd, I don’t need to go over the endless games, utter classics, barmy battles and both side humiliated.You were there.
I think as Arsenal fans we would like to see the Guns nail this lot for six or seven, especially after the FAC debacle, and other historically difficult results that are still hard to swallow. Trouble is can we do it? If the handbrakes are off and the leash is long enough then sure. I think United will be up for this one though, we seem to bring out some rank and festering pride in them? I can see them relying on the system that saw them win on penalties in the cup, I’m not sure how else they will beat us?
Both clubs are hit with injury problems, but Arsenal seem to be finding a better way of adapting and watching seven goals fly in with only Trossard and Sterling as named strikers is pretty dang exciting, if that sort of thing gets you excited.
ManUre have been given by statto HQ a 19.6% chance of winning and the Mighty Cannon, a 53.4%, which is the highest its been a while.
Well that is it, I’m off as the gravel needs counting on the drive way. Its an art project.
Take care of yourselves. COYG!
Mills
Positively Arsenal 
It’s very quiet on here. I didn’t fully understand the post, but I enjoyed it. Thanks Mills.
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Thanks Mills. Much to ponder here, and also to respond to when I have less time as the saying doesn’t, but perhaps should, go, given my ability to waste time when I’ve got it and to find displacement activities when I should be focused on what I’m meant to be doing.
With regard to this afternoon I think we might well win – and win well – should we manage to keep 11 players on the pitch. But my instinct is that referees this season seem to have taken the standard ‘Same old Arsenal – always cheating’ chant to heart, so an absence of a Red card would be a win in itself.
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Wow a blog that makes you think, I’m not sure the rank right wing little Englanders will like that. Personally I think it’s wonderful and a welcome relief from the standard remember when we done that to them stuff the standard blogs and media will be churning out.
A win of any type against them would be great today although spanking them so sky sports man Utd channel shut the fuck up would be brilliant.
However we set up whichever eleven we choose bring home the three points and I’ll be happy COYG.
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Thanks lads, I really appreciate your comments, and they mean a lot. Thank you! COYG!
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Blooming frustrating, 67% possession, and 1-0 down, worst ManUre side since they went down in the 70s and we still seem to not be able to really break them?
We need a touch of the old days: one -nil down, two-one up. COYG!
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good write up Mills,
an awful result, I’d go as far as saying an awful performance, all stemming from the paint by numbers football that is the only thing Arteta knows or will try.
Andrea Berta is to be our new Director of Football and his first and most important job is to hire an assistant for Arteta that has at least some idea of how to break down a low block, we are 200 EPL games into Arteta reign and he still is no nearer to finding a solution to this problem, maybe in fact we are further away from it, as when Arteta first came we had Aubameyang and Pepe, two players who done off the cuff stuff, beat a man, put the ball in the net out of no where. But it is because of exactly that, they are no longer at Arsenal. Arteta does not want off the cuff players, as he has explained many times, that sort of player loses the ball, and leaves us open to the counter attack.
Once again I will trot out my view that Arteta accepts draws, and even a low scoring defeat, but he will not tolerate a big beating, he will not risk getting hammered by going all out to turn a defeat into a draw/win or a draw into a win. That is why we have now drawn 10 of 28 games, and lost another 3, so dropped points in 11 of 28 games, I ask again can any of you recall even in one of those 11 games where Arsenal threw caution to the wind and went all out attack to try and change the result. Cos I can’t. I am really interested to know am I allowing my views on Artetaball cloud my memory, or can yee confirm that I’m not missing something.
Arteta spouted some bullshit about us being in phase 4 or 5 of the 5 phase process, that we can touch the big silverware. Well he must think we have very long arms, 15 fucking points behind with 10 games to play. Seeing another team win silverware is not being in touching distance of it, its being in line of sight of it, which is a whole different story.
Arsenal under Arteta is a Schrödinger’s cat of a club. As long as we have a process our claim of being set to win the big trophies can not be proven dead or alive.
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just to add to the stats above
this season so far 10 draws, 3 defeats, 29 points dropped
last season 5 draws, 5 defeats, 25 points dropped
season before, 6 draws, 6 defeats, 30 points dropped
I say it again that season 2021/22 where we only had 3 draws, but had 13 defeats cos we still had players who took risks trying to win, scarred arteta, and he went totally risk averse.
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Arteta as a player at Arsenal played with a few central midfielders whose characteristics would transform this Arsenal team if we could sign such a player. Any of Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey or Jack Wilshere, maybe even a Tomas Roskicy, would give us that difference maker, risk taker, goal maker or goal scoring midfielder that Arteta’s team sadly lacks, but I just scanning back see the problem with dreaming of such player in this team, I used the phrase “risk taker”, Arteta will never sign such a player.
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Anyone see the clip during the week on twitter, not sure what tv interview it came from, where Xhaka was discussing his different head coaches/managers, and he stated that no matter how a game was going for Arsenal that Arteta never changed tactics or outlook. Yes he’d bring on subs, but it was in same formation, same patterns. I was very surprised that almost no one seen this as a problem.
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The low block hangs around Mikel’s neck like Scrooge’s chains, the difference is Scrooge heeded Marley’s warning to change direction but after five years of warnings nothing has changed and never looks like changing.
Todays game was so predictable, would a betting man bet on goals, corners, throw ins or cards? No he would slap all his money on PIGMOL having a major effect on the outcome.
I think all this striker talk is a red herring, if you can create chances players will score, if you don’t they won’t simples.
We have some wonderfully technical players but they unfortunately don’t have the football brain to set them apart and get to the next level. This is partly because of, as Ed says, Mikel’s robotic style of football.
Tierney, already promised to Celtic, was brought on in front of the squad’s most experienced forward player. Keiran is however the squad’s best crosser of the ball and so Mikel then moves Merino further back towards our own goal. It is hard to make a case to suggest Mikel was going for the win.
The players on the field were rushed and panicked after we scored suggesting they had given up on the managers ultra patient approach. If that is true then that is extremely worrying.
As the old football saying goes the most important game is the next one, I know it’s a crap saying but I think we will win the next game.
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well our hope for a trophy this season now lies completely on the Champions League, and seeing as we have such trouble with low blocks we might actually want Real Madrid to get past Atletico Madrid this week as no matter how good Real are, they don’t do low blocks, they attack the shit out of you, whilst Atletico, who in fact impressed me with their attacks in last weeks first leg, still go low block so they are not for us.
And if we get past that we might surely want to see that PSG got past Liverpool this week and Aston Villa in the next round, as both Liverpool and Villa know full well low block and counter is how they can beat us.
And then if we get to the final we’d be better to have Barcelona than Bayern Munich.
so to win the CL we need to beat Real Madrid, PSG and Barcelona.
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Just a note on manure.
They regard themselves as on of the most famous clubs in the world.
They are in the top three on money spent in the PL (so probably the world).
They play the low block and eleven men behind the ball at home.
If that alone is not enough to justify their manager to get the sack then the whole club is a sham.
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ian let he without sin sack the first manager
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7 league games since we scored from a corner. Have opponents worked us out
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Ed, manure can only dream of a second place finish no matter how far away from first place it is. They have nothing to lose in the league they will not get relegated so they might as well go forward and give the home fans something for their higher prices in their shit ground.
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Saka, has an assist rate of over 50% on corners so is obviously a big factor. However I do agree the tactics used have changed. Gabriel is regularly fowled at corners and against Utd we should have had at least two penalties from corners if the officials on and off the pitch didn’t have their blindfolds on.
On the penalty discussion, how can Ayden Heaven juggle the ball with both hands and it not being given as a penalty, I was waiting for the clown music to come on. Corruption in a tin right there.
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Arteta’s biggest transfer mistake has been his inability to replace Xhaka. First he went out and got Kai Havertz for £65M, and our German struggled badly in the role, so much so that Arteta was forced to move him up front, where he has done well. So then last summer Arteta brought in Mikel Merino, and he has been so bad in the role he has been unable to string 3 games in a row together in it, something he has been able to do at CF a position he has no idea how to play.
So its a bit concerning to see several of the clubs favored journo’s claim that Arteta’s plan this summer is to sign a CF, most likely Sesko, and then use Havertz in the left 8 role again.
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loads and loads of tickets available for out game v PSV tomorrow, seems that all those “real fans” who constantly complain about not being able to get tickets at the Emirates cos of the “tourist fans” can’t be arsed to go to a game after all, they must think its a Carabao Cup game.
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Ed, Most influential player he couldn’t replace was Xhaka but his, and Edu’s biggest mistake must be getting rid of the world’s best keeper and buying 47 other keepers to try and replace him. Certainly that was the biggest financial fuck up.
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New post is up.
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