Boker Tov Positivistas,

I think the lesson I take from this season’s Festive football fixtures is “to expect the unexpected”, and perhaps it will be the theme of the whole 2015/2016 campaign?

Having allowed the in game adrenaline to cool I enjoyed the game yesterday. We were clearly not at our best. After a bright opening we found ourselves out of ideas and the visitors worked their way commendably back in to the game. By the half way mark it was an even contest.

My pre game expectation was that Toon would come for a point, ten players behind the ball all afternoon, park the proverbial charabanc, and cross the half way line only with great reluctance. As matters turned out when they found they were able to and allowed to play football they responded positively. It made for better entertainment, looking back, albeit a little hard on the nerves at the time.

The hysteria about McLaren setting out to ‘kick’ Arsenal out of the game seem misdirected. Precious little dishonest aggression from either side although the Ox was a little fortune that Taylor was following the ball rather than spotting his scissoring an opponent after 20 minutes. Don’t do that at the Camp Nou son, it will be noticed. Colback picked up his traditional weekly booking – regular as clockwork that boy – remarkably consistent. These things happen, no harm done, both sides I thought treated each other and the laws of the game with respect.

Into the second half and for a few minutes the visitors really did have the initiative with Petr Cech earning his corn in his busiest home game since Bayern ( or Spurs !). Man of the Match was not in much doubt. There was little rocking along the back four and, unusually, for our intrepid and older Spanish full back the incisive Geordie thrusts were coming down that left hand side. Nacho had a difficult afternoon by his smooth standards but, to his credit, stayed on the job and put in a few important interceptions and tackles. When we went forward we looked dangerous to the edge of the NUFC box but after that, in the tight confined of Barcode Central, we never managed to find the extra space to put in a killer shot or accurate header.

The one serious error I thought McLaren’s and his boys made in the second half, after about an hour really, and when they were still enjoying possession and creating chances was to start wasting time. It may have been part of their game plan, it may have been because after an hour of running at us they were knackered. That breather for both sides changed the rhythm of the game, as did the introduction of that old piece of Costa Rican deadwood Joel Campbell ! We steadied, and began to move forward again.

And then the goal, described by some as a ‘tap in’, by others as a ‘classic poacher’s’ goal. Probably somewhere between the two but Laurent did very well to find that yard of space that had eluded every other Arsenal player all afternoon and despatch the ball efficiently.

After the goal I thought we were relatively comfortable. Not that Toon did not push us and put in a couple of late headers but our defending was more assured, with Gibbs and later still Chambo on, while the visitors became more ragged and both sides tired on a wet afternoon. And the newly pink cheeked Aaron nearly rounded off the afternoon with a beautiful solo goal. Unlucky son but don’t stop trying the magic. Not aware of any injuries so a good afternoon all round.

New Years Honours List for Arsenal yesterday; Medals for Cech, Nacho, Laurent, and Joel. Mentioned in Despatches the Flamster and Ramsey. Must try harder/naughty step certificates for Theo and the Ox, the former anonymous and the latter still struggling to balance his enthusiasm with doing the simple things well. For the visitors I award the best player pennant to Wijnaldum. I suspect that Mike Ashley will have him in the shop window before long.

A week to rest and recuperate before Sunlun at the Ems and almost certainly a few of yesterday’s starts benched or given the afternoon off. Fat Sam will also rest what passes for first choices among his motley crew of the SS Black Cat. We shall see.

Enjoy Sunday !!

See, that’s the kind of seemingly innocent enquiry which really chafes my backside, brings me out in hives and makes me want to go hunt down the editors who instruct their minions to ask such loaded questions. Journalist to Arsène at this week’s presser: “Can you tell us a bit more about the work he’s done off the pitch to make such an improvement on the pitch?” This enquiry was, believe it or not, about Mesut Özil. Why do I get in such a lather about such an irrelevance as the form of words chosen? Isn’t the hack actually praising one of Arsène’s key signings? More than that wasn’t there an unintended sliver of praise for the great man and his coaching methods?

The editorial line and media mantra where Mesut is concerned has shifted to ‘the jury used to be out’ (certain ex managers have failed to read the memo on that one haven’t they Mr Moyes?). This in turn had followed on from the nonsense about him being a ‘flop’. Now that it has become simply impossible to deny his genius and maintain credibility with any other than the criminally insane (and a few Chelsea fans), the line has had to be altered once more.

Of course what matters to the press is that their earlier gibberish about Mesut being a flop must under no circumstances be shown up for the utter horse shit that it always was. So rather than apologise for the lies they have consistently told about him they have to suggest he has improved. Not that he was and always has been one of the very best players in world football but that he has miraculously got better since a couple of seasons ago when he committed the ultimate crime of signing for Arsenal. An act heinous enough in itself but one compounded by proving that Arsène Wenger will in fact spend money when he has it to spend. For these sins our Deutsch Genie simply had to be castigated. Being part of a disgraced and disgraceful body of men and women the apparatchiks of the press must now say he has improved. Not admit they were wrong, but say that things have changed.

Ian Wright uses the same damning with faint praise on the telly. I accidentally had English speaking commentary on the other day and the one time Arsenal legend couldn’t just say what a great player Nacho Monreal is. Neither could he point out how brilliant an Arsène Wenger signing he was, thus proving so many people wrong yet again by not being a huge ‘name’ and not costing the earth. No, Ian had to describe him as the most improved player in our squad. Once again that word, implying that all the undeserved criticism wasn’t short sighted and ill informed over reaction but that things had unexpectedly changed. It is grudging false praise, disguised, self serving criticism and hearing it makes me want to sit on a barbed heated spike for relief.

How anyone can defend any of these lying, parasitic, twisted, immoral scumbags defeats me. They dig the well and fill it with the poison upon which the anti Arsenal Regiment sustains its moronic hordes of foot soldiers. They direct the herd, they are cheerleaders for all that is base and wicked about the modern game and society in general. Eschew them I say! Eschew them vigorously and at every turn.

Right, now I’ve cleared that one up let us turn to the matter in hand. A Saturday afternoon three o’clock kick off, nearly a week after our last game. Some semblance of normality returns. I used not to mind Newcastle. There was a time they played good football and were a thorn in the side of the red nosed prince of darkness. Since that ruddy cheeked ex side kick of Sauron took over at St James’ Park and sent his boys out with the express instructions to boot us off the park back in August of what I suppose I must learn to start calling last year, my views have tilted away from such magnanimity.

It was as horrible and inept a display of the violent thuggish approach to stopping us play as you could hope to see. Inept because even the referee couldn’t ignore it. Also, given that some of their team can actually play, it was unnecessary and ultimately self defeating. Some will feel that we ought to have won by more goals but then some people would moan that a million pounds was too heavy if you handed it to them as a gift. McClaren’s reaction to the frustration of his plans was almost one of disbelief. Brought up to believe that Arsenal are there for the kicking and they may be shoved around and stamped upon with impunity he must have been bewildered to see the rules of the game applied.

How different are the two teams today? Back in the late summer sunshine we were bruised and confused by an opening day defeat, injured by a wrongly disallowed winner against Liverpool and with only one victory in three might have viewed a trip to Geordieland with mild trepidation. Newcastle had drawn two and lost one in the league and played us on the back of a four one victory over Northampton in the League Cup four days previously. Now, at the time of writing, we are top of the tree and they sit languishing in the relegation zone with the abject Aston Villa and a sorry Sunderland for company.

They had an up down time in November and December losing heavily to Palace and Leicester and beating Liverpool and Spurs since when they’ve drawn with fellow bottom feeders Villa and lost narrowly to both Everton and West Brom. Pick what bones from that lot as you see fit. I think that in line with everything else that has happened this season it means they are unpredictable. As of course are we. Out on our feet against twelve man Southampton and two days later gambolling through the Bournemouth defence like spring lambs.

We are now in the wonderful position of holding our destiny in our own hands. Win by at least as big a margin as Leicester and we stay top. It really is as simple as that right now. Like all good recovering alchies I take the season one game at a time. This approach prevents me from getting carried away with the end of the season before the February snows have fallen and helps me to live in the moment. It also means that I’m extra crushed by poor results but every philosophy has its downsides. As long as I don’t wallow in disappointment then I know I only have to stay sane for a few days and another match will come along to sustain me.

I hope Newcastle don’t try to boot us off the pitch today. I’d like to see a good game of football. This supporting lark is, after all, about entertainment first and foremost and results are a secondary consideration. A good result can console you after a poor performance but nothing beats seeing us in our swashbuckling free flowing pomp as when we scored that most Arsenal of second goals on Monday evening.

More of the same today please chaps. If you’re lucky enough to be at the match I hope the pies are hot and the urinals fragrant. If not I hope you find a stable stream with unintelligible commentary and lets hope we continue to prove the pathetic drones of the press corps wrong – even if they are too craven to ever admit it.

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.

Güete Morge Positivistas,

A mood of satisfaction this morning after events at the Ems yesterday evening. The ship is off the rocks, the holes in the hull patched, re-floated, and back on course. Half way point, top of the league, coping well with long term injuries to players who appeared to be pivotal, playing good football, and probably starting 2016 in pole position (barring an upset at the KP  tonight) – not too shabby.

Yesterday’s game, as it played out, was not what I was expecting with AFC Bournemouth playing a lot more football than I anticipated. No suggestion of settling for a draw or coming only to stifle and spoil at all from the visitors. I have watched the Cherries a couple of times this season on TV and I still would not recognise any of their players if he sat next to me on a bus. They have a combination of hard working and apparently very fit players, and most seems comfortable on the ball. They lack a real goal scoring threat and Cech did not have much to do. If they can address that weakness, and I read AFCB also have injured players to come back, they are good enough for a mid table finish.

We started a little hesitantly I thought, perhaps still aching after Saturday’s hammering, but gradually assumed control. Our German maestro gradually found the time and space to place his passes and pick out team mates. I thought Ox and Aaron also worked well and got a grip on the midfield against our industrious opponents, the key to dominating the match. The goal when it came was a surprise too. Gabriel found himself in an acre of space for the first, with Bournemouth’s defence asleep. Good header nevertheless. No mistake. As against Spuds earlier in the Autumn we came across a side who appeared to have a fatal weakness against our corners and high balls into the box. I have no idea why certain teams in certain games fall apart like that but I never look a gift horse in the mouth. There followed a flurry of goal scoring chances with the visitors rocking on their heels, but no killer second.

There was a slight edginess until our second on 63 minutes, a classic very Arsenal goal. Olivier’s touch exquisite and Mesut’s placing of the pall past Boruc precise and deadly.

Thereafter we settled back and ceded possession and space to Bournemouth for the final twenty. As in the first half we created another handful of chances that could have racked up the goal difference. Rewatching the chances in slo-mo and from multiple angles they look easy don’t they ? Shows what I know. With both sides beginning run out of gas after two games in three days the Cherries finished on the front foot but came no nearer to spoiling Peter Cech’s new PL clean sheet record.

Arsene took the risk in rotating but those players he brought in all played well, one and all. In the past when a player has been given a chance after a spell on the bench they have often been ‘too eager’ and messed it up. Young Callum earned well deserved plaudits, a little wild at times which would get him into trouble on another day and against less honest opponents, but fully competent. The notion of Le Coq on the sidelines and Matty unavailable is not the worry it was a month ago.

A few days off now before another home game against team with the fans for which the phrase “long suffering” was surely created.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

The sad thing is I’d been having a nice Christmas up until then. Shan’t be sending Mr Moss a card next year that’s for sure. Some people have tried to claim that as he missed a couple of other offences we shouldn’t be cross with him for gifting Southampton the game. Fascinating logic. That’s as polite as I can be on that particular theory.

The great thing about Saturday night is that I got to spend some quality time with Liz. After turning off the match and thereby saving myself the sting of the final goal and not having to see the faces of my sporting heroes in their degradation I wandered into her majesty’s throne room and watched the TV instead. Had I been at the game I’d have stayed and sung to the last of course, but having the luxury of watching from my Parker Knoll Albany Manual I was able to switch off the computer and walk away without the least stain on my character.

Public shows of solidarity are one thing, blatant masochism is another entirely. All that might have improved matters is if we’d watched something better than the frankly disappointing second episode of Luther. I wanted True Detective but was out voted. In fact, where my marriage is concerned I’m not entirely sure I have a vote. Or if I do I suspect my wife has the power of veto and can, like certain countries at the United Nations, ensure the will of the powerful prevails at all times.

Enough of my domestic cold war. On into Sunday and that strange disconnected feeling I always get when Arsenal lose a game. It comes, I suppose, from the effort of trying to whistle through the day with my hat at a jaunty angle all the time knowing that no matter how much I might convince the neighbours, their cats and the milkman I cannot entirely fool myself. There were some high points, moments where the wound felt less keen. My mountain biking took my mind of the football for a few wet and gloriously muddy hours, but in general there was a constant undercurrent not unlike a hangover dragging my day into deep and unpleasant waters.

When taken in the context of this crazy season, the result was actually perfectly in keeping in many ways.

Unexpected? Check.

Opponents in poor form? Check.

Opportunity to overtake nearest rivals? Check.

Top of the table unaltered? Check.

Still in contention despite crushing disappointment? Check.

There is definitely a pattern here and while I fully understand the frustration of not taking the chance to leapfrog the Foxes I am consoled by the fact that whenever we fuck up we seem somehow to remain in a strong position.The trick is of course not to fuck up again.

My concern is that while anyone with the power of sight knows full well that Jon Moss was the single biggest factor in the result at St Mary’s there were other ingredients in our humble pie. Chief among these was what looked from the outside like mental tiredness. It may have been physical – who knows? May have been the debilitating effect of too much pud. I doubt that in the modern age of highly tuned athletes but I know we’ve had to flog this same horse a little too often for comfort lately and I fear for their ability to find the strength to return to the fray so soon.

Or maybe I’m wrong.  Maybe the quick turn around is just what they need. Perhaps they weren’t tired at all just overwhelmed by the circumstances and the impossibility of beating a side allowed, if not actively encouraged, to play by different rules. Oh and while we’re at it spare me the guff about ‘did the ref stop us scoring?’. This is Flying Spaghetti Monster stuff. We can all write a fantasy list of things the ref didn’t do. The only relevant thing is that which he did do and that was to gift the home side the game. Highly laudable and festive of him perhaps but an unwelcome example of seasonal altruism if you happen to be on the side of the good guys.

I’m really glad I don’t make predictions in these pre match meanderings. I shy away from them not just because they’re so tedious nor because they’re such an utter waste of everybody’s time. I can’t be arsed making up the future where my own life is concerned never mind trying to see into the tea leaves when I have no control over the outcome. In this season of bizarre results and ever changing fortunes the task of the football oracle becomes even more difficult. Did anyone think Chelsea would be lucky to snatch a draw at home to Watford now the Classless One has gone? Who of you saw Palace and Leicester doing so well for so long? Did any of us honestly imagine Mark Hughes and Stoke City would be playing with the artistry of Barcelona? How, if Van Gaal is so awful and Man United in such a mess are they only three points off the top four? Just what the hell is happening in the Premier League this season? I’ve put five quid on the game being stopped because of an Aardvark on the pitch later. Why not? It seems anything can happen right now.

The whole improbable mess is providing wonderful entertainment, I’ll say that for it. Anyone, it seems, can beat anyone, and everyone can beat Villa. The entertainment stops when it is us being drubbed by an out of sorts Southampton of course but we cannot expect our side to be exempt from the curious magical miasma which has descended over top flight football this season. The simple fact is we have to believe the boys can rise from the ashes, overcome their understandable disappointment and turn on the style against Bournemouth tonight.

Should I even bother looking at the form of our visitors? Given the utter unpredictability of the Prem at the moment I wonder. Taken over their previous six results they are doing better than us. In fact they are third in the form table right now behind only Leicester and Watford. Unbeaten in their last three away games they’ve won the last two on the road beating mid table West Brom and lowly strugglers Chelsea. Not happy reading for Arsenal fans right now and you can bet the boys from the south coast will be well up for it this evening. I just hope the complexity and speed of our passing will be beyond them and we can score early enough to hit the cruise control switch and see out the game without too much charging about.

Looking on the bright side we could go top tonight and Leicester and Man City cannot both win tomorrow. Watford are more than capable of shoving Spurs back down where they belong and Palace ought to be able to take advantage of this and ease them out of the top four. This time tomorrow everything might look a little rosier, so chin up Positivistas we live to fight another day and whatever happens there will, I suspect, be many a slip twixt cup and lip for all the teams chasing glory this season. As I’ve said many times it’s just a ride, and the ride sometimes goes down as well as up. Just hang on, smile for the cameras and try to look as if you’re enjoying it.

Ulaakut Positivistas,

A shortish post mortem.

We sustained a beating last night at St Mary’s. Given our run of form, and the almost routine despatch of our closest title rivals on Monday it looked a match we could expect at worst a point from. Klopp’s Red and White Army had run the fox to ground on our behalf earlier in the day, and their efforts had provided us another opportunity to take over the lead in the Premier League. Given that in recent weeks we have been playing the best football in England, despite our injury list, scoring goals, defending resolutely from front to back our confidence seemed justified. Arsene sent out the side who had done such an efficient job against Citeh, no underestimation of the Saints in what has been, traditionally, a tricky fixture to win.

As matters turned out the evening proceeded very differently. A heavy defeat, a deserved defeat, a 4-0 scoreline that could have been worse on the night. I have no stunning insights as to the reasons for this. Rather like a number of Arsenal players and the bench by the time the third Saints goal had gone in I had been reduced to a state of head shaking, eye rolling numbness.

Fair play to the Saints. An extraordinary goal from Martina, unstoppable. A player making his PL debut ffs. And three more, all stoppable to varying degrees. But as the evening ended probably a fair record of the distance between the teams I thought.

Bizarrely we really do seem to struggle against teams allegedly “in crisis”. Just four defeats so far this campaign but three against sides that we went into the game as strong favourites. First game of the season against the ‘Ammers we faced a side that had won just one in eight of their last PL games ( in 2014/2015), had changed manager and were being touted as probable relegation fodder. Same at West Brom with the Baggies who had lost five of their previous seven contests. The Saints had one PL point of the previous fifteen. There is a pattern of stumbling, though Gawd knows what underpins it. I saw no lack off of effort last night. I did not see our usual quality of crisp passing and inventive football.Against West Ham, against the Baggies we were a little unlucky and could have got something from the games with a little luck. Last night we really deserved nothing.

I have thus far avoided the mainstream and social media in an effort to sustain a relatively fuzzy warm holiday spirit. I suspect both will be tearing into our central defenders this morning wit carnivorous enthusiasm. It was probably one of Gabriel’s greatest performances, almost career defining !  Multiple names almost certainly are now being touted as imminent arrivals via the approaching window to sort out last night’s defensive errors. What struck me last night was not that our defence was prone to error but how little we created going forward. Had Martina’s effort been the only goal of the night we barely looked at any time likely to get past Stekelenburg. A number of our players contributed too little, for too long. With Giroud locked down by Fonte and Van Dijk until the very last phase of the game, at 3-0 down, there was very little variation in how we tried to attack, to ‘do’ things.

Even on a bleak night one should highlight the good. Both our full backs I thought did well. Brief though his appearance was Iwobi brought a little spark to a grim final few minutes. Beyond those three, for once, I am struggling.

Right, having rummaged through the cadaver, let us raise our eyes to the coming days. The visit of Bournemouth allows us another bite at the cherry ( Sorry) with Citeh and Leicester not in the ring until Tuesday. Unlike the clubs in crisis referred to above the AFCB come to the Emirates on a decent run of form and therefore the hoodoo should not apply. A strong response required. We have the players to invest our optimism in. Destiny holds her hand out toward us again.

Enjoy your Sunday.

I was looking at the photographs of yesterday’s training session on Arsenal.com and it got me to thinking. Shouldn’t the club photographer get a winter break? Is it really fair to expect him to work on Christmas Day, away from his friends and family, missing out on Eastenders and the Queen’s speech? Isn’t there a danger he’ll suffer burn out from too many photocalls in the middle of winter when his fingers are at their coldest and his equipment is vulnerable from the rain and the wind? The ill judged composition of the shot of Calum Chambers with another player’s head seeming to grow from his left shoulder and a poorly placed horizon line breaking the rule of thirds is surely a sign of a photographer taking pictures in the red zone.

From these obvious and serious concerns it was but a small step to realise that bloggers too deserve a break over the festive season. I type with two fingers. That’s perhaps why so often I seem to be saying a massive fuck you to the football establishment, media and referees not to mention many of our fans. Those two fingers are getting worn down and I fear that three matches in a few days is asking far too much of my sadly over exercised digits. How can we expect to attract and keep the best writers in the world if we don’t give them a break when the days are short and the house full of discarded wrapping paper? It makes you think.

The other group of people trying to rouse themselves from their festive torpor today are the players. Arsenal travel to the south coast to face a side they’ve not beaten there since December 29th 2003. Last season we went there on new year’s day and suffered a two nil defeat at the hands of a Southampton side who were in fine fettle and good for their win. This time around Ronald Koeman’s men have not had such a great time of it and it is my fervent Christmas wish that their indifferent form continues for at least one more match.

Today will, I believe, be a test of resilience. A sorely depleted squad desperately in need of big performances from a supporting cast and with just a whiff of a hangover from their stoicism against a resurgent second half Man City will be up against it today. The last thing I’d want to see is another long backs to the wall defence of a slender lead.

If it should come to that of course we can be sure the players will be up for it. The one thing we know for certain about Arsène Wenger’s teams through the ages is that they have guts. Rightly famed for their silky skills and fluid passing his sides have always shown equal measures of fight and determination. Just because the clichéd script of the hacks in the television studios and the chip wrappers refuse to recognise this doesn’t mean it isn’t true. If they can summon the energy for a couple more performances of courage and endurance then we will end the year on a real high and the ludicrous fixture schedule which has blighted the holiday season will suddenly not seem such a stupid idea.

I know it’s traditional and I know that some people look forward to it as the best part of Christmas but I look at the number of games our first eleven is navigating without much respite and I fear for the health and well being of a squad which simply cannot afford any more injuries. On the flip side of that coin Calum and Kieran are getting a bit of game time these days and should be able to slot in more comfortably if called upon so to do. Also, we can expect some of the wounded to return soon, if not soon enough to make a difference to our end of year schedule.

Santi is effectively gone from the equation and the length of time out for Danny and Jack will surely see them eased in very gently when they are fit. I’m picturing a similar scenario to that we witnessed with Theo’s return last season. Maybe one or both will be able to make an impact in one or other of the cup finals but we can’t expect them to play a major role in winning the league.

Still, like that new mountain bike you didn’t get for Christmas there is no point in griping about the things which cannot be changed. Some might suggest the boss and Ivan can alter things in the upcoming transfer window but new faces take time to bed in and it is fanciful or at the very best blindly optimistic to expect anyone bought in to make an immediate impact.

So it’s a case of fingers crossed. Or if you lack the belief in such precautions against the ravages of cruel fate, que sera, sera. Maybe the Saints will be suffering from a surfeit of Christmas pud and come stumbling from the blocks without the panache they showed around this time last year. Maybe Mathieu’s hamstrings can twang on happily for a few weeks yet and Per’s long legs continue to be planted in the right place at the right time without suffering any nasty knocks.

I said during the pre season on these very pages just let Mesut and Aaron remain fit for the duration and we’ll be all right. Well I haven’t been granted that wish with our Welsh wonder already spending time in the MASH tent so I’m going to amend it and ask that they remain in harness for the rest of the campaign.

As Francis and Joel have shown us last season and this help can come from unexpected quarters when most needed. I firmly believe there is enough ability and mental strength left in our squad to keep up with Leicester City’s fabulous start to the season. Whether we will have enough in the tank to overhaul them at the end remains to be seen but if we can just stagger through against the two south coast teams then the Foxes will feel our hot steamy breath on the backs of their necks. This is the hardest pressure of all when there is no one in front of you to aim at and the baying hounds are at your heels. Will they be able to withstand it? If not we need to be in a position to pounce.

Whether I’ll be able to think of anything to write on Monday and how the club photographer will find time to develop his film are other matters all together. At the moment my left index finger is showing signs of a small blister, but I’ll tell you this – if birthday boy Aaron Ramsey can keep running the length of the pitch to the very last whistle then it would be churlish of me to complain so I’ll keep applying the Germolene and just pray that Andy Nic has enough ribbon in his Remington to write another glowing review of another famous victory come Sunday morning.

All I want for Christmas is a point at The Dell, or wherever it is that Southampton play these days and a home win against Bournemouth a mere two days later. Actually a little less than two days given the late Boxing Day kick off, though the Cherries themselves have a home game against Palace to get over.  And then a whole year to recover in time to welcome Newcastle, so that should be fine, as long as the Boss has managed to squeeze a little rotation into our threadbare squad and provided of course that nobody else is injured or otherwise gone missing over the festive season.  Which has sometimes proved to be the case, especially on New Year’s Day, I suspect. Still, enough of all that – what goes on tour stays on tour etc and all I would say is that highly paid though they are, they are also young men full of the joys of and it must be hard to stay focussed at Christmas time.

Some would say that nothing less than nine points as a festive return would be acceptable, but to be honest what I would happily settle for would be a run of games with no more injuries.  Everyone I suspect has their own favourite player, but it has seemed to me for a while that the one player we struggle to do without is Aaron Ramsey, so much energy, belief and skill does he bring. So a fit and healthy rest of year and season for him, please Santa – and if he can go on to have a great summer with Wales and at the same time persuade his friend to come our way that would be a bonus. Although perhaps not the greatest Gareth to play football for the principality, under this particular code he is pretty special and if it is ever appropriate for someone of my age to covet a young man (and an ex-spud to boot) then that is my next wish should I prove to have been a good boy this year.

I am getting very worried about Welbeck: it has been a long absence and the various medical bulletins that we have been privilege to have not revealed much, other than vague talk of bone bruising, which doesn’t sound much but is in reality a lot more serious than many imagine. It is actually a fracture of the inner layer of bone, caused either by traumatic impact, or, more likely repetitive stress. So my next item on the list is a full and happy recovery to him of course, but also a greater understanding of the injury factors that surround these athletes. I am as certain as I can be that the medical staff at all the top clubs have as good an appreciation of sports injury as any medics in the world, and The Arsenal staff will be no exception – but I would like the pundits to educate the fans about some of the issues involved, and just how fit you need to be to play at the very highest level. But the problem with pundits is that the non-players just don’t know, and the ex-players are normally so busy promoting the notion that things were better in their day that they haven’t much time for the upstarts who now occupy their position in the sun. Which is a shame, because a better educated fan base would eventually lead to higher standards throughout the game. And also, maybe, a realisation that by the time a player is 23 he is going to have kicked a lot of footballs, done a lot of running, been the target for a lot of mistimed tackles. They aren’t machines (unless there is an unscrupulous Dr Needles in the background) so let’s not be too harsh on extended periods on the easy list for the younger players. And may I also ask for a greater seriousness from the authorities about the whole business of drug testing, because it would be nice to know for sure that the field of play is as level as possible.

Am I allowed to ask for new signings in the January window? Everybody else seems to, equating transfer activity and money (huge money) spent as an indication of ambition and seriousness. We can’t win unless we have a this or a that, goes the cry, but Pinter has taught me not to pin all my hopes on a promised land, and certainly not on Sidcup or a pair of DMs. So I will let others do the asking for that, and content myself with the fact that most needs are merely greeds by another name, that we have much to be grateful for with the players so carefully assembled by the manager, and that if he spots a good one who is available he will know a lot more about him than I do and will act decisively. And in any case, Joel Campbell has already proved to be this season’s proverbial “new signing”, and it wouldn’t be the greatest surprise in the world if Callum Chambers stepped forward to play a major role too. I certainly hope so as he seems the sort of boy next door you’d hope your daughter might fall for.

So reading this back it seems that I actually want quite a lot for Christmas, which is a bit rich given how much this club has already give me this last year. Frustrations at times to be sure, but also another glorious cup-run (that Welbeck winner my stand-out moment for on so many reasons), the joy of watching us put Bayern to the sword whilst on holiday in a German resort and also the sheer wonderment at the skills of Ozil on show every time he graces the field: that young man is a bit special and we are lucky to have him. You will all have your special memories too, and also a few things that you would like this Christmas; no doubt  you will share them in the comments section. But finally, it would seem appropriate to save my biggest wish for last, and also to hope that it is one that we all might echo. Blackburn George, the founder of this site, and the most resolutely positive of us all, is not so very well at this moment. It would make this Christmas a lot happier should he be on the mend, and I wish him the best of all health, as I do to you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSyx6DaUwxA