This post is dedicated to Thomas’s everywhere.  No, really, it is. These comments before the weekend from Arsene Wenger,  via the Daily Mail, should be of interest to anyone seeking to understand the events of the last few years at Arsenal: “‘We are, resource-wise, more competitive,’ he said, and clearly he feels the money needed […]

“Arsene, no pressure, but have you got time to sign your new contract now?  How about now?  Or now …?” Although few seem keen on Kroenke I’ve long been of the view that the stability he has brought to AFC has been integral to the ability of the club to have remained on track in […]

   On no account suggest another blog. At the last Blog Census there were found to be fractionally under an infinite number of footballing blogs, the majority of them about Arsenal.  Indeed, the problem was so acute that mainstream news aggregators such as NewsNow had all but shut the virtual door to the addition of […]

Who’s next for Arsene Wenger? In the third and final part of The Beck’s trilogy of posts, Arsenal’s most recent signings are revisited and the timely question raised: has Arsene lost the ability to sign players good enough for Arsenal Football Club? In 2010, we signed Squillaci, Koscielny and Chamakh, as well as Miyachi, Wellington […]

The Next Vieira? The second of The Beck’s three-parter summarizing the current manager’s signings before asking in his third and final post: has Arsene still ‘got it’ when it comes to signing players good enough for Arsenal? In 2005, as well as the January transfer window of 2006, we signed Diaby, Adebayor, Walcott, Vela, Song, […]

Patrick who? In the first of a 3-part post, The Beck starts on a whirlwind tour de force of all the club’s Wenger-era signings before, in part three, asking the ultimate question; has Arsene Wenger lost the ability to sign players good enough for Arsenal? In 1996 the first thing Arsene did as manager was […]

I have often said to anyone listening – and to a few who probably were not – that there is a certain magical element to football rarely encountered in other sporting environments.  Although I follow various sports and enjoy all manner of different cultural (and less-than-cultural) pursuits, there really is nothing like football for its […]

Today’s article comes courtesy of The Beck. . Sometimes, when I blog something, I feel like I’m writing about a viewpoint which some simply don’t want to hear or read.  Sometimes, I include even myself in that.  Such people might prefer sitting isolated, in complete bliss, a state which more easily suits their agendas or […]

It could just be me but I’m struggling to recall a time when there was more than merely the ability of players to be considered when thinking about the possibility of new signings. Whilst the prospect of Higuain appears relatively free of controversy, only Fellaini and to a lesser extent Gareth Barry have enjoyed the […]

On Sunday, Johnny Greenwood (@Johnny_G86) wrote a tremendous article for PA, describing how his views on Arsenal have changed over the last year.   I thought it was quite a brave article as it always takes guts to ‘fess up to this kind of sea-change in one’s outlook. I went through something similar in the first […]