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Arsenal Versus Leicester: The Coquelin Event Horizon

Posted by steww on September 26, 2015 in All Posts

Everyone feeling a little bit happier now? A shot of league cup and North London Derby victory in the old veins has done the trick I trust? It may not have made a difference to our league position but by Jimminy the world seems a brighter place after a win doesn’t it? The league position by the by, may, as far as I’m concerned, be anything between first and twentieth at the moment. I must confess I’m one of those curious coves who doesn’t peruse the thing until the tinsel has been taken down and the old calendar put out with the recycling. The only time I’ve ever broken this rule is those few seasons where we’ve gone off like a gingered horse out of the starting gate and led the field right up to the festive season.

On those occasions I have to admit to stealing furtive and blushing glances at our standing relative to all comers. In the same way I can sometimes be caught wistfully flicking my eyes over the more fascinating profiles of young women who are more likely to offer me their seat on the bus than anything more entertaining to the lascivious imagination of a fading middle aged libido. Otherwise I simply don’t care and I simply don’t look. Can you imagine getting in a lather over the table in September? What an absolute arse you’d look come May if you set any sort of store in such irrelevancies. This is the time of year to enjoy each match in its own right – the old ‘one game at a time’ mantra was never so pertinent.

Firstly we need to get past the trailing wisps of smoke from our recent fixtures which resolutely cling to us no matter how hard we try to push forward. I refer of course to Costagate, the ramifications of which rumble on. Poor old Jose’s persecution complex is battling with both his paranoia and his bizarre, slightly creepy obsession with Arsène for dominance in his tortured psyche. The reptiles lap it up because they need something to write about and meanwhile he makes himself look ever more ridiculous.

What of our manager? As expected he remained dignified and focussed on the football. He is well aware of the form Leicester are in now and the strengths of two or three of their better players and so no matter how many Arsenal fans enjoy riding the see saw (We lose – we’re shit. We win – we’re world beaters) Arsène knows that we will need to find an exceptional performance to become the first team to puncture Leicester’s enviable record. Unbeaten in their first six matches they look a relaxed and happy side to me. I attribute this to Claudio Ranieri, the last decent man to manage at Stamford Bridge. Mr Ranieri admits his record against Arsenal is a bad one, the only time he did contrive to beat us I would happily have swapped for almost any of the other thirteen fixtures.

Since his time as Chelsea manager he has obviously not kept himself abreast of developments in London, admitting in a recent interview that he didn’t know why Arsenal haven’t won the title since he left England in 2004. Presumably no one told him about the super rich clubs who suddenly distorted the transfer market out of all recognition and the way our best players had their heads turned by ridiculous wage offers year after year. Or that all the while the club was building a stadium in the midst of a global financial collapse. Perhaps he missed those minor details.

Anyway he wasn’t being rude, he seems genuinely to respect Arsène and was gushing about our style of play so that’s all very nice isn’t it? Such a change to face an away fixture after a cup win and against a manager we can like and respect. A major improvement over the mood in the run up to our trip to Fulham last Saturday.

It’s interesting to note that the win which has so revived us and settled the collywobbles was achieved by a side which may bear little resemblance to today’s team. We are always being told the modern game is supposed to be all about squad and not first and reserve teams but there does seem to be a predictability about the line up when everyone is available. The talking point today is who will come in now that Coquelin has managed to bugger up his knee.

I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised to see our captain in the role although hot shot Flamini might have genuine hopes for a recall as reward for his heroics at White Hart lane. The other choice is Chambers but it seems he’d being groomed for a centre back place. I know, I know – I don’t do line up speculation but hey, four match previews in a fortnight and I am fast running out of padding so indulge me. In any event I’m not telling you what the line up ought to be or will be. It’s just that there has been so much debate rumbling around the place ever since the end of last season over this particular near mythical part of our formation. What, people ask, lips quivering and palms sweating, will we do if Coquelin gets injured? Well today folks you are going to find out.

The Grauniad has Aaron dropping deeper to play alongside Santi and that is of course a possibility but The Welsh Wonder is more creator than destroyer and it would be a bold move indeed to face a side in their pomp without any sort of bite in our midfield, especially away from home when we can expect them to fancy themselves and come at us. Experience is surely all important, and to that end I can’t see young Calum being thrust into the role – but hey what do I know? Santi may be need to be rested and the double pivot so successful against Tottenham could be retained. It’s all guesswork, but it helps while away the hours until kick off.

One thing is certain the calamitous event so dreaded by so many has finally happened and Francis Coquelin is, gasp, injured! And you know what? It doesn’t seem quite the crisis everyone pretended it would be does it? Even with my limited grasp of the options available to the boss I’ve managed to rustle up four names to throw into the hat, any of which would be quite competent to provide a couple of weeks of cover. As long as neither Oxlade-Chamberlain nor Alexis get the job I’ll be quite content. Not only are they far more deadly up front but both have a propensity for wayward passing that I’d rather see as far away from our area as humanly possible.

Whatever the side and whatever the result I trust you will all enjoy a good hour and a half of top notch footballing entertainment. Not every sporting fixture can produce a Japan versus South Africa level of scalp raising exhilaration but we can at least anticipate a few thrills, a couple of gut wrenching moments in defence and hopefully a few goals scattered throughout the ninety minutes. I won’t be watching – it’s Likely Lads for me as I am taking me mum out for the day so if you see me say hello but don’t tell me the score will you?

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Flamini Seizes The Chance

Posted by anicoll5 on September 24, 2015 in All Posts

Tottenham-vs-Arsenal-Capital-One-Cup

Greetings on this fine early Autumn morning to you all, and above an excellent snap from the Mirror this morning that captures the moment the battle turned decisively last night.

A little more chipper in my mood this morning and I suspect I am not the only Arsenal fan with a little skip in their step, a gleam in his or her eye. If I were a squirrel I would have risen especially early to grab some extra winter store.

And the spring for this more joyous demeanor we all know. Well who would have thought it?  The man they could not hang – or allegedly Arsenal football club could not give away in the Summer – Mathieu Flamini. Deadwood to destroyer of worlds in the space of 90 busy minutes at the Lane! Well, well, well.

The game itself was what I expected. Plenty of scurrying after the ball, both sides a mix of experience and squad players. Having sat largely un-played on the bench since August these players were not going to pass up the chance to impress the crowd in the stadium or the legions at home. Fewer youngsters than I expected in red shirts, perhaps a firm indication of how much stronger our squad is these days.

Our players?

Per and Chambers I thought were excellent at the back, with Callum showing none of the nerves that characterized his start against Liverpool. He is growing into the role literally and metaphorically. Huge bad luck to net an own goal but after a brief shake of the head there was no evidence of him letting it prey on his mind and he played as well as before the accident to the final whistle.

Ramsey did his box-2-box thing which he does so well. The Ox worked hard and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Olly worked his arse off again and will earn his just rewards soon.

Debuchy was picking up some stick but given his lack of match time so far this season it seemed a bit unfair. Whisper it quietly to the Scarfers that Danny Rose – yes him – was actually having what is known as a “good game” and flying past Debuchy and Joel. It happens sometimes – opposition players play well; in Rose’s case unexpectedly well. Gibbs’ header off the line at 1-1 was another crucial roll of the dice. Thank Gawd for goal line technology or that would have brought the game to a standstill.

I did not see anyone in red fail to put in a decent effort. I suspect Campbell is disappointed that he did not make a bigger splash but he was eager with some good touches, more chances will come his way.

And the opposition?

It seemed Spuds had decided to go rather more youth/experimental than us but I thought they put up a decent performance that on another night, and we have had a few, might have earned them at worst extra time and possibly more. Very much in the balance at 1-1. Eriksen is a top quality footballer, Townsend did well and, as I mentioned above, Rose nearly cracked us open. Fazio looks like an accident in a constant process of happening – with a face like his surely a career in gangster movies beckons if he does not master this football lark.

So onward to the KingPowerWalkersCrispsDrome on Saturday for what will be probably a good physical working over from the Foxes and our old friend Claudio Ranieri. Am I worried? No I think we have our mojo retrieved and shining brightly.

Bring on the next one.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

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Arsenal Versus Spurs: Raise Your Weary Gloves

Posted by steww on September 23, 2015 in All Posts

I don’t want to write this, and more importantly you don’t want to read it. So as an exercise in futility today’s blog is hard to beat. After Zagreb, the last thing we needed was an hour and a half in the company of the world’s most detestable football club. Like getting beaten up on the way home from work on Wednesday only to find your husband in bed with your sister on Saturday. Not the greatest of weeks. And now we have to think about football all over again.

All we’ve wanted to do, you and I, is push all thoughts of the once beautiful game from our minds and try to find solace in other more tranquil, distracting pursuits. I’ve been indulging in an orgy of regression spending time either reading stories or playing with my friend on our bikes or listening to my favourite bands on my record player. Sadly while this attempt to run backwards towards the womb has managed somewhat to confound the morose patina which has otherwise overlaid and occasionally obnubilated my usual placid state of serene beatitude, nothing can entirely obliterate the image of Mike Dean and Diego Costa from my mind.

How do you distract yourself after a run of sporting disappointments? I must confess I can’t find a path through the woods this time. Ignoring it and hoping it will go away has failed. Taking increasing and frankly ill advised risks on a mountain bike is, for a man of my advancing years, not only an undignified but some might say a disproportionate response. Reading a book is difficult when the words either float from their place and form an image of a shiny headed, useless match official in the air above the page or the letters rearrange themselves into Football Association, PGMOL and corruption, before my disbelieving eyes. Even the anticipation of a new MJ Hibbett album hasn’t stirred me. Is everything lost? Has this proven one disappointment too many?

The answer is I’m still here. So while hope may not be springing in its usual defiance of eternity I am limping onwards and as you’re taking time out from your precious schedule to read these forced, constipated and unwilling thoughts it seems that both of us have survived the standing count and have staggered from our corners to raise our weary gloves and try to make it through another round.

One thought keeps going through my head when I try to look forward to tonight. If only it wasn’t Spurs. The league cup provides us with the perfect scenario, the ideal opportunity to wipe away our disenchantment with the game. At least it ought to. If we have to play again so soon then this is the tournament I would have chosen. It’s the least important of all the cups isn’t it? Traditionally Arsène fields a team full of fringe players of whom we usually see all too little and exciting young talent to whet our appetites for the future. The side has often played with exuberance and a freedom from pressure which has been refreshing to watch and a great antidote to the usual cauldron of anxiety that is the Premier League.

Not against Spurs though. You cannot expect the fans nor the players to take any meeting against their historic rivals and near neighbours with a pinch of salt. Factor in that this is the Middlesex cub’s only real chance of a trophy this and every other season and the stakes are higher than they otherwise would be and certainly higher than I would like. I just wanted a light hearted match with Jeff Reine-Adelaide dancing through the opposition midfield and Joel Campbell scoring a hat-trick. This could have been useful game time at centre back or central midfield for Calum Chambers and a run out for Mathieu Debuchy. The main talking point might have been how will Krystian Bielik and Alex Iwobi look alongside more seasoned pros. Instead it is now being described as a must win fixture.

God I hate that expression. Don’t you? Must win. I know ‘would be more preferable to win’ doesn’t trip off the tongue with such elegance and ease but honestly if any game was a ‘must’ win then how come the club still exists after a defeat? The suggestion of finality the conjuring of the imperative are misleading because there is no apocalypse awaiting us if we lose. It is all part of the football fans’ need the to reach for ever more fanciful hyperbole in their desperation to show how important their team is and how acute their personal commitment to the cause.

I read a Chelsea fan saying that if they lost at Goodison Park it would be disastrous. I repeated the ludicrous comment in an attempt to highlight how other clubs also have their fair share of ridiculous fans. I had hoped to illustrate that it is not only Arsenal that is so blighted with these bufoons. I was immediately taken to task by one of our own who suggested that defeat against Everton would effectively end Chelsea’s title challenge and therefore would indeed be a disaster. Where do you start with such a silly argument? With so many points still in play even suggesting that Chelsea could not still win the league was the stuff of illogic and fantasy.

The real false note ringing out from this argument was the idea that any defeat could be seen as a disaster. Even if it had spelled the end of their title ambitions it would not be a disaster merely, well, merely the end of their title ambitions. If one begins to describe as disastrous a single defeat then where does that leave us when facing that which is truly devastating? Hillsborough, Bradford, Ibrox, Heysel, these were disasters. Tragedies beyond the meagre resources of a thesaurus. If you start exploding the day to day disappointments out of all proportion you leave yourself nowhere to go when something genuinely awful happens.

So tonight is not a must win. Tonight is a hell of a lot more desirable to win than if it had been against a less antagonistic opponent and that detracts from the feet up, cup of tea and a gypsy cream insouciance with which games like this are usually to be enjoyed. But the sun will still come up tomorrow and Leicester will still be waiting for us on Saturday whatever the result this evening.

As I meander through this preview it occurs to me that the answer to the question I posed nearer the top of the page has perhaps revealed itself. The fact that just by pondering upon the match this evening I have started the gears turning once again. The only way to deal with a couple of horrible defeats is perhaps to anticipate another game. All that has passed is prologue. The sting of Zagreb, the burning resentment at Costa and Dean’s Bolero at the Bridge will only fade into the shadows when the floodlights click on in N17 tonight. Rather than dwell, the only thing we can do is to lash ourselves to the bull and open the gate into the arena once more.

There will surely still be rotation in the team tonight. Arsène must rest players after their gruelling schedule recently and who’s to say that a couple of youngsters might not shine, some fringe players make a name for themselves? Remember Cesc against Rotherham? Baptista at Anfield? The greatest league cup tie ever against Reading? How about the youngsters putting six past Sheffield United when Carlos Vela patented his dinked finish; all wonderful entertainment and the perfect curative to Premier and Champions League ills. So come on then, let’s drag ourselves out of the Slough of Despond and allow a little hope to creep back into our lives. Tonight could be a memorable night. Just this once, let it be memorable for the right reasons.

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Why Football Must Follow Rugby’s Lead On Officiating

Posted by pedantic George @arseblagger on September 22, 2015 in All Posts

A guest post from Alex Goodchild

It has been one sporting feast of a weekend, filled with drama and excitement. Despite the Rugby World Cup having just kicked off in London, the Premier League refused to be overshadowed, offering such spectacles as the next instalment in Wenger’s rivalry with Mourinho and Manchester City’s home clash against a West Ham team that had already defeated both the Gunners and Liverpool on the road. Sadly, it was also a weekend marred by controversy, with much media focus on unpleasant scenes erupting from the 17th hole of the Solheim Cup and ugly Diego’s ugly behaviour spoiling Arsenal’s London derby. With the World Cup in full swing, it’s time football learned from rugby’s refereeing example.

In recent years, the sense of enmity between London’s leading clubs has been so vitriolic as to result in a regrettable number of unsavoury incidents, exceeding what can be deemed acceptable sporting conduct. Two seasons ago it was a disgraceful personal barb from Chelsea’s manager, last year it was a reckless tackle from Gary Cahill, which prompted in a touchline row between ‘Le Prof’ and the Portuguese One. This year, the flashpoint centred on Diego Costa. A game where both sides were short of confidence and both very even as half time approached was plunged into chaos after the violent conduct of Costa sparked the dismissal of Laurent Koscielny’s team mate Gabriel.It was an incident that drastically affected the course of the game and almost inevitably consigned Arsenal to defeat.

It should be clear that one can have no complaints with Gabriel’s sending off itself; though the manner in which he raced to defend his teammate, who was struck on the face a number of times before being head-butted, was admirable, the Brazilian’s subsequent behaviour was petulant and deserving of the red card. Yet where one suspects that Arsenal fans feel truly aggrieved is how Costa was allowed to stay on the pitch in the first place. His actions were those of a forward frustrated at being tamed by an imperious partnership and who clearly has a history of violent conduct. It is excruciatingly unjust that the Spaniard was not sent off in a match that was won ultimately by Chelsea’s superior numbers and surprising that not one official caught sight of such conspicuously violent behaviour. Perhaps this is where football needs to change, where it ought to take a leaf out of rugby’s book on reviewing play.

The concept of live video technology is almost as polarising in rugby as it is in football. Some herald it, whereas other more traditional commentators, such as former England internationals, Brian Moore and Stuart Barnes see issues with it. For those of the conviction that consulting a video referee in football to review play would slow the sport to the speed of cricket, there was good ammunition from Friday night’s opener between England and Fiji. Officials deliberated incessantly over replays that were already conclusive, pondering over every different angle, such as whether or not the Fijian scrum half had grounded the ball properly to score a try. In fact, by Telegraph Sport estimates, the game was delayed by as much as ten minutes as a result of such indecisiveness. Yet crucially no pundit would contest the need for video technology. Each decision taken by the referee, however long it took, was the correct one, whether it was sending a Fijian player to the stands for ten minutes for foul play or the decision to award England a vital bonus point-sealing try at the death. The best use of the referee’s most useful tool was by Wayne Barnes in the fixture between Argentina and New Zealand, where he was able to seamlessly integrate the video referee into the game’s proceedings, which allowed for the correct decisions to be made within a highly efficient timescale.

Contrary to Garth Crooks’ claim that Mike Dean seeks to be the centre of attention, he is in reality a rather proficient referee. Granted, he has made some real blunders when arbitrating Arsenal, but he has improved greatly and is nowhere near as confounding or contentious as Anthony Taylor. Dean was unable to spot Costa’s viciousness and acted only according to what he could see. Rather, it is exasperating that he was not afforded the technology to simply consult the footage and make the right call in a sport where even goal line technology exists. It is damning of the sport’s risibly archaic method of officiating when a fan watching a pixelated stream on his computer has the insight of a television replay when the game’s man in the middle, with the most power to influence, is left blind. If video technology were introduced to the game, there were be no hiding for so-called wind up merchants like Diego Costa and the foul play he embodies and no more frustrating ‘I didn’t see it’ protestations from referees.Arsène Wenger, one of the game’s great visionaries, recently commented that he was ‘convinced that video technology will soon come into football.’ Let us hope, in the interest of fairness in our beloved game, that he is right.

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Arsenal and the Absurd

Posted by anicoll5 on September 20, 2015 in All Posts

Morning Positive people,

In contrast to yesterday’s blazing sunshine a still day with patches of brightness this morning. An apt metaphor for my mood over the past 24 hours in relation to football.

First, the game itself I think, because that is what football is about. I often barely mention the content of the game but today, I find it helpful to remind myself at least what took place, on the pitch, with the ball.

An early start at the Bridge but the concerns that some had voiced in relation to tiredness after our return from Zagreb did not appear to trouble us in a bright opening 15 minutes when the home side were forced back. Sanchez was pressing Ivanovic hard. Theo put in a couple of good runs from deep with balls played in behind the Chelsea centre back which caught them both momentarily flat footed and required a quick recovery in one instance and Begovic’s help in the other.

After that opening quarter Chelsea came back into it a bit more, Hazard was involved on their left and Fabregas was knocking some useful one-twos around the edge of the box. Kosc and Gabriel solid, Bellerin busy but in control. Aaron working nicely and the source of our one good first half shot. A stoppage for a knee injury to le Coq was worrying especially having seen the replays but, surprisingly perhaps, he was up and trotting after a sit down. Tough boy and his contest with Matic was a real pleasure to watch as both tackle hard and neither has a propensity for theatrics. For the remainder of the half the sides traded punches. No alarms at either end for the keepers. It appeared the first half would close at 0-0 with both probably neither surprised nor disappointed at the stalemate.

And then there was an incident, more of which I shall come to in due course below.

The second half commenced in an entirely different mood, ten men, a sense of outrage, and also the withdrawal of our midfield enforcer, with the relief of his earlier apparent recovery erased. A much harder task, but do-able against a side who in the opening 45 minutes had not demonstrated much in terms of attacking quality or threat on our goal. PSG had shown how to tame these blue “babies”, and surely we could do the same. My horizon for the game’s result had reduced, I admit, from the three point win to the hard earned but entirely deserved draw.

And then the Zouma goal !! Like you I watched it then, and I have watched it since. I could point the finger at Sanchez and/or Monreal so far as trying to stop the Chelsea player, or Kosc for playing the Chelsea line onside but getting underneath the ball. I There was a collective ‘switching’-off’ which the home side took advantage off. No one player was culpable. I know, I KNOW ( and you probably do too) it was a move they have practised and practised on the training ground, and you know we have practised defending against on our training ground. And yet there we were, a goal down just eight minutes into the second half and with the hill having risen in gradient appreciably.

Nevertheless, and to the credit of every player in an Arsenal shirt we did press forward at 0-1, we did take the game to Chelsea, we pushed them back and made one great chance on the hour with Zouma and Cahill floundering that Alexis put over the top from four yards out. It was no easy chance, and Begovic was well positioned to frustrate the Chilean, but the miss a symptom of our current goal scoring malaise. In its way the miss was as crucial a moment in the game as many other more vividly remembered ones. The game went to and fro. The Ox and Giroud appeared, and even with ten men the handbrake was definitely off.

Chelsea seemed to pull themselves together again and began to press us. Santi’s second yellow compounded our misery and Chelsea’s comfort. After that we rather lost momentum though not our organisation. I noticed a couple of minutes before his exit he had failed to keep up in midfield when chasing a Chelsea player so I think with so much work to do his day was done anyway. Pity because he had led from the front as a captain of the side should.

I can’t be arsed to describe the second Chelsea goal. We all saw it and it is not worth further reference.

Moving on, inevitably, from the football we have the controversies of the afternoon. Or strictly speaking just two controversies. First is the Spanish Brazilian Diego Costa who is, it appears widely agreed (save for one deluded Portuguese) a nasty piece of work, with no interest in playing football and, judging from yesterday’s and his recent displays, not much talent for it. I do not want to watch his shit. If his performance is what football is about then stadiums would be empty and television cameras elsewhere. The disappointing thing yesterday was, as Arsene correctly pointed out, Costa behaves like that game after game, week after week. And yet we, and particularly Gabriel, and the referee fell for it. As With the Zouma goal I have no doubt at all that the squad, every single one of them was fully aware and carefully briefed about Costa and yet ……..

If you want evidence the headline of the match report this morning on Arsenal.com it has us beaten by goals from Hazard and Costa ! Or is that headline humour?

Which brings me to Mr Dean and despite my general respectful support and effort to understand the difficulty of refereeing a game of professional football his performance yesterday was poor. I thought the performance of both assistant referees and of Mr Oliver as 4th official left a lot to be desired also.

I have no dispute in Dean or any damn referee pulling out cards and sending off players. There are rules in football, despite what Mourinho would have you believe, and if those rules are broken then punishments, even the red card sanction will follow. What I object to was his failure to apply those cards and those punishments evenly and to despatch the prime source of violence and bad behaviour to the dressing room when he should have done so (see above). Dean was guilty of lamentable inconsistency yesterday.

Onward we struggle towards the Lane on Wednesday, another hard contest and no time for self pity.

Enjoy your Sunday.

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Arsenal Versus Chelsea: Beware The Wounded Beast

Posted by steww on September 19, 2015 in All Posts

Chelsea. It wasn’t ever thus. There was once a time when the word evoked a different series of meanings, conjured other images. Fashionable clothes, big side burns, walking down the Kings Road, colourfully clad pensioners with shining medals and long memories, Charlie Cooke, John  Hollins, Alan Hudson, the Chelsea Drugstore (architecture meeting modern art on the corner of Royal Avenue and Kings Road), students and the Chelsea Flower Show. Everyone thinks their memories are embedded in a time of greater innocence, a halcyon era of a more simple, happier way of life, and I know I’m no different. However I do sometimes hanker for a time when there wasn’t this bitter loathing of other clubs. Did I despise Revie in the same way that Ferguson, Mourinho and Pulis make my lip curl today? Didn’t I used to look forward to a match, any match, regardless of the opposition? Maybe, maybe not, perhaps this is no more than an old man pining for his lost youth.

One thing not shrouded in a nostalgic rose tint is the fact that I was nearly a Chelsea fan. I know I’ve told you this before but it comes back to me each time their name appears on the fixture list.  They played the hated Leeds United in the first FA Cup final I ever saw and I found I rather liked David Webb for putting away the winning header. Coupled with my first league game as a spectator being at the Dell where Southampton entertained Chopper Harris & co. and it is always possible I might have decided that Peter Osgood was better looking than John  Radford, west was better than north and blue was better than red. Had the planets aligned in this way then these words would appear on Positively Chelsea and I wouldn’t be on speaking terms with any of you. Makes you think.

In any event I was never, not in a million years going to decide blue was better than red was I? While the papers shrieked about Chelsea Headhunters and bovver boot boys stalked the streets of West London my dad was quietly filling my head with talk of a different club, a club famous for innovation (under soil heating, son) class (marble, son, the halls were built of marble) and getting Bob Wilson’s autograph for me. When it came down to it Charlie Cooke was pretty cool but Charlie George was the single coolest footballer in the land. George Best? Not for me. When the other boys at school sang about Charlie being a superstar, they may have gone on to suggest he wears women’s clothes and a see through bra but I only heard the first line of their song.

So even though he was a Portsmouth fan, and even though he went to the Valley to watch Charlton Athletic when he moved to London, my dad steered me towards a life of vicarious voyeurism and masochistic joy as an Arsenal supporter. After the early seventies Chelsea never really showed up on my radar screen. It wasn’t until the silly money came along and put an end to the Ken Bates pantomime years that they surfaced as first a threat and later more of a torment. Their current manager is either trying to deflect media attention away from his troubled players or is genuinely coming unglued. I can’t tell which and frankly I can’t be arsed to give it much thought. He may be obsessed with Arsène but I’m not obsessed with him so let’s leave him to stew in his own juice and move on.

We have to travel to Stamford Bridge exhausted, dispirited and with our excellent return to form halted in Zagreb. The players had to complete much of Wednesday’s game with only ten men and our main striker Olivier Giroud is having a wretched start to the season. Replaced in the pecking order by Theo Walcott who is scoring goals for club and country with some regularity, our debonair French forward with the fine first touch and fluid passing skills was repeatedly fouled before being sent off for nothing in Croatia. Even here on what is supposed to be a positive supporters blog people prefer to blame our man rather than the referee. Honestly when a player loses the unflinching backing of the most one eyed, shamelessly partisan blog on the planet you know he is in trouble. What can be done? Well, personally I’d like to see him score a hat trick at lunchtime today but as he may not even start one wonders what he can do. Booed by sections of French support, wrongly castigated on-line at every turn by people who don’t deserve the eyesight with which they can’t see his strengths and the subject of endless transfer tattle as to who will replace him I struggle to remember a man less deserving of such opprobrium.

But football of course is a team game and the tribulations of one of our best players cannot derail the purpose of the whole squad. Per is still recovering from whatever evil spirit entered him but Aaron and ‘Ector should be fresh after putting their feet up while everyone else toiled and ultimately despaired in midweek. I don’t know how footballers do it but they have proved in the past that they can mentally compartmentalise different competitions. The Invincibles had a torrid time in the FA Cup and Champions league being knocked out of both by their two closest rivals but picked up where they’d left off in the league thrashing Liverpool in their next game. Can the current squad put the disappointment of Zagreb behind them and continue the progress they’ve been making in the league? Will Chelsea lift themselves for the big occasion in the way they’ve been unable to against so called lesser teams? These are the questions the answers to which should determine the outcome of today’s match.

Chelsea have problems, we all know that, they’ve made a shaky start to their league campaign but in the back of my mind there’s always the feeling of the beast cornered, never more dangerous than when wounded and underrated. Having said that we haven’t been riding a wave of perfect form, it’s been more a case of steady progress so I don’t think there is an air of over confidence. A draw would not be a surprise today as much as I’d rather see a few players add to an OG hat trick and give us a thumping victory, we need to temper our enthusiasm sometimes. The champions are not a crap team just because they have endured some crap results.

So two teams, both with points to prove to themselves and their fans after some unexpected reversals. Chelsea with home advantage Arsenal with the nicer fans, more intelligent manager and better looking players. Its in the balance really. They will kick us and dive and time waste and cheat as they always do, we will attempt to weave our magic patterns. It’s all a little predictable – all except the outcome. In total we’ve come away from Stamford Bridge having won 32 %, drawn 32% and lost 36% so history suggests we are more likely to get something than nothing. But as the famous football philosopher once said football is played on television not in the history books. Or something.

So, on that note I need to bugger off and leave you to your pre match routines while I start sticking pins in my Didier Drogba Diego Costa doll and polishing my lucky Arsenal mug. Not that I’m superstitious you understand, it’s just that, being entirely helpless to influence the result I feel a need to do something – anything – to appease the football Gods. I’ll be here to share the joys of victory with you, or should events unfold in confutation of this wholly desirable outcome then I shall retire gracefully into the shadows and pretend I never really liked football that much anyway.

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Moja je Arsenal puna jegulja*

Posted by anicoll5 on September 17, 2015 in All Posts

Good morning fellow sufferers,

A result in Zagreb that surprised and disappointed in equal measure. Not a terminal blow by any means with five games in the group to go and our qualification firmly in our own hands but a poor start. It is the result that in reason seasons we risked, for example in Brussels last year against Anderlecht, and before that against Liege, but invariably managed to pull the nuts out of the fire. We gave ourself a chance in the final 15 minutes to retrieve matters but, to be honest, that second goal did not look likely. Last night our walnuts were consumed by the flames.

I have no doubt in social and mainstream media the reasons for the defeat have been, are being and will be explored, the guilty men named and shamed and their fitness to wear the shirt questioned. I suspect Arsene’s name might be mentioned once or twice in relation to the matter. I do not propose to burden you further with my ramblings on the topic. You saw the game and will no doubt have made up your own minds.

Enough of this gloomy, self indulgent introspection, that is not what you came for.

To look at the positives I thought Ospina had a good game, made some crucial saves and some timely dashes from the line to cut out the position attacks. Unlucky with Ox’s own goal and nothing he could do about the second. Considering that was his first game of the season he is to be commended. Unfair on the Colombian that such a good night’s work will be remembered for the score line rather than his contribution.

Gibbs I thought played well, both defensively and in support of Sanchez in going forward. Another good display from a player who has been forced to cool his heels since early August but who stepped up with confidence. While Fate is cruel I have no doubt that Kieron’s display last night pushed him up the England left back list after Luke Shaw’s double leg break in Eindhoven on Tuesday.

Ozil played well. Sanchez, as ever, burned energy all over the pitch. Theo was sharp when introduced and took his goal well, and on another night was the man who could have snatched that elusive equalizer. Le Coq emphasised what an important player he is, first name on the team sheet as they say. My word what a difference a year makes to a player’s fortunes.

Beyond that I do not feel either heaps of blame or particular words of praise are merited. No one had a shocker.

The final positive aspect of the night is that Zagreb are not very good. I find it very difficult to believe that they possess sufficient quality to present as a genuine group stage winner or runner up. We have the opportunity to correct last night’s errors on Tuesday the 24th November. Make a note in your diary.

With regard to Olivier well, what can I say ?

Almost certainly nothing new. He has an irritating tendency, to me at least, to complain loudly and often to the referee in every game. Without doubt some of those complaints are justified. Some are not. And the difficulty for OG is that so repetitive are his complaints that the referee no longer can be bothered to sift the genuine from the contrived. And last night I am afraid he  ran into the wrong referee, on the wrong night. A harsh red card but entirely avoidable. I looked up the Roumanian whistler’s stats and he is not some grossly inexperienced official who over-reacted to the pressure of his first CL game, as I first thought. He has been refereeing in the CL since 2011. I trust Olivier will learn from his experience and return a wiser and more effective tip of the Arsenal spear. On that basis a lesson painfully learned may have a benefit attached.

And the final positive ?

No time to dwell on last night. While there have been perhaps justifiable complaints that Chelsea have had an easier run up to the London derby than us with their home tie against Tel Aviv I am delighted that we have only 51 hours now to kick off at the Bridge and a chance to show our quality and spirit. I suspect Arsene and every single player feels the same.

Enjoy your Thursday.

And in the spirit of amity with our Croat brothers and sisters a little more of their delightful language for you to wrestle with;

*my hovercraft is full of eels

http://www.omniglot.com/soundfiles/croatian/hovercraft_hr.mp3

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Arsenal Versus Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb: Flights Of Fancy

Posted by steww on September 16, 2015 in All Posts

Please accept my apologies if my by now customary flights of fancy are a little more fanciful than usual but yesterday I awoke with a migraine. The only efficacious pain medication I’ve found in these circumstances sends me a little, not to put too fine a point on it, doolally. I’ve been returning slowly to planet earth but it’s been a circuitous route and bits of me may still be out there somewhere.

Imagine my surprise therefore on throwing back the curtains, sipping my coffee and opening the sports pages of Večernji List to find renowned Croatian football correspondent Robert Junaci in a lather over the anticipated visit of Arsène Wenger and his Arsenal team. We have a match today? This calls for decisive action. I resolved then and there that I’d better put down my Croatian phrase book ( Where is the nearest philatelist? : Gdje je najbliža filatelista? ) and get straight on with the job in hand, viz. producing a knowledgeable and above all relevant pre match piece for Positively A.

Before I pushed my favourite Zagreb based daily aside however, my eye fell to an interview with Marko Rog wherein the young midfielder’s views were solicited upon the prospect of facing the North London giants in the Champions League. He was asked a series of penetrating and incisive questions of the ‘What is your favourite colour?’ variety so beloved of Smash Hits journalists but did  reveal that he rated Mesut Özil the most dangerous of the Arsenal players. Sounds like a sensible young man to me. He deftly deflected the question as to whether he’d like to play for Arsène Wenger by protesting that, having only just arrived in Zagreb, now wasn’t the time to talk about leaving. Given that almost all the best players at the Emirates are only there for the opportunity to work under the great man we could all have answered the question for him.

Before heading to the old Smith Corona and spooling in a fresh sheet of foolscap to write this piece, another snippet caught my eye. Per Mertesacker will be missing tonight after making an unscheduled stop on the way home from training. His car apparently came to rest in the remnants of what had been, only moments before, a roadside fence. The unfortunate incident itself wasn’t news but what amused me was the opening sentence which loosely translated read “High guard Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker, who avoided military service in Germany because it does not fit in the tank,” It does not fit in a tank? Really? Wow. BFG indeed. One wonders whether the Deutsches Heer couldn’t have found him some other employment where he’d be less inhibited by his generous dimensions. I’m guessing being the peaceable, gentle soul that he is Per didn’t mind not being squashed inside a 43 tonne Schützenpanzer Puma death machine.

With Hector and Aaron not travelling, and if my Croatian paper is to be believed, then those two and Per join the short but acute injury list as non travellers. This leads me, Sherlock Holmes like, to assume the team sheet will feature M. Debuchy among the back four and an attacking midfield berth filled by A. M. D. Oxlade-Chamberlain. I am as you know averse to team selection predictions. One had just as well predict the likelihood of snow at Christmas 2022 for all the good it does any of us but I wonder if those left waving their pals off on the runway at Heathrow haven’t made the changes more obvious. One doesn’t want too many alterations to a winning team and with a few enforced ones already in place there is less room to chop and change elsewhere.

All shall be revealed in good time but whichever side the manager selects will need to be on its mettle against a very confident team who are super excited to be playing in the Champions League and are acutely aware how easy it can be to slip through the cracks of the group stage. My Adriatic sources assure me that the Zagreb players have woken every morning for months now thinking only of the Champions League. These guys are motivated. They have a fantastic home record and would love to add such a prodigious scalp as Arsenal’s to their collection. Now one can only assume that my sources spoke metaphorically when using such bloodthirsty imagery. This may be a club who’s CEO and manager are awaiting trail on bribery and corruption charges and who’s fans have a reputation for fiercely partisan loyalty to their team but for goodness sake they aren’t Stoke City.

So, while we should be safe from losing our heads, or any part thereof, we still need to put in a good shift to come home with the points. I expect the experience of Captain Arteta to be crucial in negotiating the rapids of the Sava. With his steadying influence and Theo’s pace on the counter we ought to be able to get the job done. Certainly if the enthusiasm of the home team overcomes their cautious instincts then our first goal against Stoke at the weekend may make a tasty template for tonight.

Tell me, can you experience an anti climax in advance of an event? Does the concept even exist and if so what does one call it? The Germans probably have a long convoluted word comprising several shorter ones to describe what I’m getting at. A sort of ‘looking forward to something even though you know it will leave you strangely unsatisfied’ feeling. Something like freutsichaufetwasobwohlsiewisseneswirdihnenseltsamunbefriedigtverlassen sounds about right.

In any event this is how I feel in the run up to these matches. I am quite naturally excited beyond words at the prospect of my club competing at the highest level of European football, as every fan must be. I am equally conscious of the debt we owe Arsène Wenger for getting us there yet again. It really has been a phenomenal achievement and we should be eternally grateful. However the group stages, and to an extent any competition where there are two legs to a tie, leave me knowing that whatever the outcome I cannot cheer too loudly nor sink too far into despair because nothing will have actually been decided. Unlike a straightforward knock-out tournament the early games in a group stage or the first leg of a knock-out match leave one playing all sorts of future possibilities out in one’s mind. Did we do enough? Can we overcome the deficit?  Maybe someone else will slip up, maybe we made a great start but could stumble later. The thing is so nebulous, the outcome so equivocal it leaves me feeling all freutsichaufetwasobwohlsiewisseneswirdihnenseltsamunbefriedigtverlassen in the build up to tonight’s match.

So what to do? Well, I think the only think we can do is hope for ninety minutes of entertainment. Either a nail biter that goes to the wire leaving us panting and weak like an ageing and unwisely over athletic lover, or a beautifully constructed performance of control and goals eaten slowly and with relish over the course of the evening. I think we should just enjoy the game as a one off and let the future arrive in its own good time. It’s going to anyway so why try to second guess it? Win, lose or draw all we can wish for is a good game, no injuries, nobody bribing the referee and the spectators all getting home safely. Not, you understand, that I’d be averse to a thumping great win. Theo is overdue a Croatian hat trick, after all, it’s been seven years since his last one in Zagreb. Now that’s a nice thought to savour as we all count down the minutes to kick off isn’t it?

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A Little Less Contemplation, a Little More Action

Posted by anicoll5 on September 13, 2015 in All Posts

Good morning from an early Autumn Norfolk, the faintest tips of gold beginning to show in the trees.

And what of yesterday?

Our opening 10-15 minutes were superb, as excellent a start to a home or away game as I can recall since we demolished Naples in October 2013. Stoke were immediately opened up by Ozil, Santi and Sanchez. Shots rained in on the visitors’ goal, the woodwork rattled, Butland flung himself left and right. As I have mentioned often Hector’s abilities as an attacking full back, his crossing and a beautiful touch when controlling and laying off the ball is worth the price of admission alone.

Watching the quarter of an hour of blurred red and white quality with an increasingly ragged Stoke I admit I was disappointed that we did not have at least one goal to show for such a period of dominance. A moment of weakness I now recognise.

Revisiting the matter however what that phase did give us was control of the game which thereafter was never in doubt. If Mark Hughes did have a ‘game-plan’ and his choice of a 442 formation suggests he may have had an ambition to take advantage of our sometimes dilatory entry to home matches then his scheme was shredded in about five minutes. Whatever hopes Sparky may have entertained as they climbed off the coach he and his players recognised by about 3.05 that it would be an afternoon when survival and a modest beating were the best rewards on offer, victory would have to wait for another day and another opponent. Once we had our collective foot on the throat of the visitors we never removed for the remainder of the afternoon.

The goal came of course on the half hour, with Theo enjoying the advantage of just one touch before slotting a difficult chance past Butland. Oh Theo, you get into the right position, you leave the defender(s) floundering, you can see the white’s of the keeper’s eyes ……………

Marvellous shot from Laurent on 25 minutes from 35 yards btw – well worth a mention and I want to see more of that from him.

But once ahead at 1-0, and with Stoke barely able to get over the halfway line, we dropped a gear, played possession football, created further chances which Butland got his hand to or we fluffed. It was a warm afternoon. Mesut and Alexis’ both had run their race by 80 minutes, and Theo gave way to a no doubt frustrated Giroud. More chances came, and went, before Olivier demonstrated the art of heading the ball in the opponent’s 6 yard box to seal the win and send the home fans streaming for that early train. Even then the Stoke keeper popped up again to deny Koscielny a late third from a header.

Yesterday was a football match to savour, to roll around the mind because there was such a lot of good passing movement, shot after shot after shot at goal, great keeping, even the tackling was clean and professional. Despite their reputation hanging over from the Pulis era there was not much to complain about yesterday from Stoke in terms of tackling and/or freestyle violence, although admittedly Adam was serving his ban. I thought Moss was fine and having watched the clash between Gabriel and Aurtinovic, which I had not seen clearly at the time, he called that correctly. Nasty piece of work the Stoke player and I was pleased to see Moss telling him to shut his mouth after the incident.

If I had been asked for a Man of the Match then for once it would be an opposition player and gone to Butland who saved Stoke from a 5-6-7 goal beating.

One final thought. With the assistance of Shotta we have been contemplating the football universe and how it can be understood, or at least better illuminated, through the application of mathematics and statistics. Can you have a 2-0 thrashing you, cos yesterday was as comprehensive slaughter of the Orcs as I have seen ?

Enjoy your Sunday, and don’t go mad !

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Arsenal Versus Stoke: Putting Lipstick On A Pig

Posted by steww on September 12, 2015 in All Posts

Exciting, free flowing Stoke City travel south to London today, whetting the appetite of sports fans across the nation. Mark Hughes brings an expensively assembled team of international all star talent to a clash already being labelled as beauty meets the beast. The home team, dogged, predictable Arsenal, have already earned a reputation for grinding out the kind of dour performances which garner points but not many friends.

As a player the Stoke manager was known for his quick thinking, fleet footed, grace and elegance and was loved and respected by team mates and opposition players alike. It is little surprise therefore that his management style has become synonymous with the very best that the beautiful game has to offer. What of his opposite number this afternoon? The home dugout will be marked by the fierce frowns of Arsène Wenger and Steve Bould, two men for whom the word pragmatism has taken on an almost religious significance.

Once upon a time, younger readers will be surprised to learn, Monsieur Wenger had hoped to carve out a reputation for entertaining, attacking football but was chastened after dragging his once great club through the longest barren trophyless period ever experienced by any football club in any era, ever. No team had so singularly failed to land silverware for so long. Year after year the huge number of trophies available were equally shared among the ninety plus professional English and Welsh teams – all with the notable exception of Arsenal.

Obviously in crisis and lacking the panache displayed by the likes of Mark Hughes in the transfer market, Wenger turned to the fans, recognising their superior wisdom, he begged their advice. Once the previously stubborn manager had made the changes the supporters quite rightly demanded of him (buying expensive players and winning trophies) things began to change for the sleeping London giant. This season they have reached the pinnacle of the supporters hopes, the apotheosis of their dreams. This season Arsenal have at last discovered the art of winning ugly.

The visitors on the other hand are awash with ebullient, effervescent crowd pleasing players deftly snatched from all around the globe by a forward thinking manager keen to match his interpretation of the game, the Ballet of The Potteries, against the rugged, uncompromising, no frills approach championed by Bould and his boss.

Actually, now I come to read that back I wonder if I might not have spent a little too much of the interminable international break reading the sports pages of our national press. Holy moley – that was an horrendous thing to inflict on a football loving public wasn’t it? We wait all summer for the bloody football to start and just as the wheels start to turn the entire train is pitched off the tracks and replaced with that most insipid pointless clapped out old charabanc that is international football.

I tried to follow Wales in some misplaced solidarity with Aaron but that all fizzled out and in any case the sight that greeted me when I tuned in was enough to discolour the bath enamel. The vision of Gareth Bale looking as if he’d been badly drawn by a Japanese children’s cartoonist soon had me reaching first for the off switch and then for the Alka-Seltzer. Add to that the hype surrounding the media’s darling, that rotund, out of form, anti-legend and his England goal scoring record, and my tin hat stayed firmly in place. I only left the Anderson shelter this morning when it seemed safe so to do.

The depressing news from Arsène is that Tomáš Rosický’s knee surgery will be keeping him out for a while yet. The fact that he was put onto the surgeon’s table as a result of playing in a stupid international is enough to make me want to chew razor blades. I’ve lost count of how many players we’ve lost to this nonsense but with Tomáš in the twilight of his career every game he misses takes on a greater significance. How we could have done with his input when things went a little awry in our early matches this season. How I mourn his continued absence.

Likewise Danny Welbeck is languishing on the orlop deck with the sawn off limbs, the extracted musket balls and the bloodied wooden splinters. A shame for the player who many of us suspected might make a real impact this season. He strikes me as the kind of footballer Arsène likes to work with. Young, a point to prove, lean and fast. Still, he might yet raise a few eyebrows during the closing overs of this campaign, the timing may yet prove fortuitous.

Today’s selection question must centre around our genteel giant German centre half. Will he stroll nonchalantly and with perfect timing back into the first eleven or has Gabriel had long enough, or done enough, to deserve an extended run? I have to say I’m happy whatever the outcome. Per is right up there among my favourite players but I really think our Brazilian with the idiosyncratic good looks is a heck of a player. His calmness when those around and behind him have looked, on occasions, less sanguine than we might hope, was eye catching. As I say, either or Arsène – I’ll leave that selection to you, the über bloggers can then decide on the rest of the team.

Can anyone remember what the hell was happening before our enforced hibernation? If memory serves, and I must warn you the old grey matter is showing distinct signs of decay these days, I believe we’ve played four. Two home, two away and while we are flawless on the road we’ve tripped over the kids toys a couple of times while running around in our own back garden. We create more, have more of the ball than anyone else and pass as accurately as the best of the rest but we don’t score enough goals. I think that sums up the early season form. Which leads me to the conclusion that we need to score more goals, especially at home. By God, this football analysis is a pretty easy beast to ride. No wonder journalists feel the need to make so much stuff up.

While my opening paragraphs were, of course, whimsical, specious and written merely to amuse, there was an underlying truth. Stoke City has been trying to change its image, keep the ball on the grass and trouble the local ambulance service a little less. To a certain extent it has been successful. Pulis was rightly famous for keeping Stoke out of the relegation area. During his reign of terror the club vacillated between 11th and 14th position in the league and earned a hard won reputation for thuggery and anti football. Under Mark Hughes they have improved their playing style and their league standing but I maintain that any club boasting Ryan Shawcross and Charles Adam among its playing staff has an awfully long way to go down the road to Damascus. Under Mark Hughes the full on leg breaking assaults may have diminished but more often than not they have been replaced with a more cunning system of rotational fouling, targeting certain opposition players and going in late in the hope that the ball and the referee will have moved on. A comment on Fans Network summed it up for me

They are not a split second late when fouling, they are a full second or two, by which time the ref has followed play on, as has the Lino. Calculated sneaky tactics by Hughes.

We don’t want to focus too much on the opposition though do we? Today is about how we cope with both them and the pressure from the home fans, and how the referee conducts himself. If we see a similarly robust performance from the man with the whistle as that to which we were treated at St James’ Park (and yes I know Andre Marriner got an awful lot horribly wrong as well) then Stoke will be forced to try to beat us or earn a point through legitimate means alone.

I am ever hopeful that the many chances we create will result in goals and today is as good a day as any for that to start. Arsène once said of Aaron, once he starts scoring he won’t be able to stop and I have a similar feeling about this team. The transfer junkies may be convinced that the only way to improve our ‘goals for’ column was by spending vast sums of money but I look at Walcott, Giroud, Sanchez and Welbeck and I see goal scorers. Our midfield is none too shabby in that respect either and even Nacho and Hector popped up with a couple of beauties last season. When you consider that both centre backs have a habit of sticking it in the net at important moments too you can see why I’m not worried about our potential to score.

Three points, a resounding return to goal scoring form and Hughes’ niggly, nasty team sent packing with its tail firmly between its legs and I will be a happy blogger come five o’clock this afternoon.

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