A guest post from  shottagunna  ( @shotta_gooner )

By now we are all familiar with the recent punditry of Thierry Henry, when, from the comfort of his perch at Sky Sports, he declared that for Arsenal to win the league again “I think they need to buy four players – they need that spine. They need a goalkeeper, they still need a centre back, they still need a holding midfielder…”  

A visitor from Mars, scrutinizing the League table, may have cause to wonder if Henry is confused; is he mixing up the red of Arsenal with the free-falling Liverpool. The Gunners have been the best performing club in the top flight since January and in the last 6 games is ranked second only to Everton with 16 points compared to Chelsea’s 14.  

In my opinion Henry’s punditry is not only a public declaration of no-confidence in this squad but a virtual flip flop from his opinion two weeks earlier when  he was bigging-up Coquelin in particular, famously comparing him to the tv detective Columbo,  extolling his ability to sniff out any attack. Henry is no regular TV blowhard, he is an Arsenal legend who is still connected to the club, often working out with the squad at London Colney. Surely he should be aware that he is undermining confidence in players who see him as a mentor and in Wenger, whose approach to squad building is signing talented players whom the lazy pundits have doubts and turning them into world class players, a policy which he personally benefitted.

In my opinion our greatest ever goal-scorer is just another hapless victim of a certain media narrative, echoed in blogs and on twitter until it becomes conventional wisdom with barely a shred of factual evidence.  This is exemplified by the repeated nonsense that somehow David Ospina is inferior to all the top goalkeepers in the PL. But as footballrepublik.com observed:

 “Comparing Ospina to arguably the other top 2 goalkeepers in the league, David de Gea and Thibaut Courtois, he has the best clean sheet ratio, makes more saves per game, more saves per goal & has conceded the least goals per game.

He also boasts the best win ratio out of the three and has the most successful punches per game. Comparing him to his Polish counterpart (Szczesny), Ospina concedes a goal every 150 mins compared to every 71 mins for Szczesny.”

Those statistics are pretty overwhelming but, no matter how well he does, Ospina’s performances are discounted and subject to thinly disguised skepticism. This is best reflected in a recent headline in a very popular blog which stated “David Ospina’s win ratio makes him the second largest oil producer in the Universe.” Admittedly that was a very funny headline, but certainly a perfect example of being damned by sarcasm, a technique which this particular blogger excels.

All of us with experience of the last 11 years know that at the core of this false narrative concerning Ospina are the following facts;  he only cost the club a reported £4 million, he wasn’t signed from a big club and he is not the stereo-typical huge 6ft 6in plus European type goalkeeper. Too Almunia-esque in my opinion.

Hence the usual suspects went into overdrive in the last transfer window demanding Wenger sign Chelsea’s #2, Petr Cech.  Ray Parlour, who like Henry is loved by the media for being a famous ex-player (get the pattern) stated in the London Evening Standard. “It is nothing against Ospina but when you look at the games Cech has played in and the trophies he has won, he’d be a great addition for Arsenal. If you are going to challenge for the league, you need a top quality goalkeeper which Cech is.” One very popular tweep who also writes for the Metro went so far as to suggest that “A move to Arsenal would keep Cech in London, a city that has been the home of his evolution into a world class goalkeeper.” Imagine that, Arsenal has a duty to keep him in London.

Look out for more of this guff in the silly season coming up in July, worse if Ospina proves he is only human and by making a big mistake in one of the four upcoming matches. The main thing that keeps us serene in this nonsense is the wise words of our manager who said of our players in a recent interview:

“Every moment is analysed of every event on television. Just after the game the players open the television and hear ‘Why did he move on the right and not on the left?’. That was not the case before. It is the price to pay for the popularity of the sport. We have the good sides and have to take the bad sides as well.”

Good morning Positivistas and a glowing Summer morning up here in Norfolk.

A fine game yesterday between what the succession of televised games over the weekend showed were clearly the two superior footballing sides in the EPL at the present time. Both demonstrated a quality of football and of purpose that the Citehs, Yooniteds, and Spuds and Saints are deficient in at the present time. And therefore while the result disappointed me as I would have preferred the flame to flicker a little longer in the season, the football I thought was pretty damn good.

And to the grit of the game itself which I had the opportunity to view from on very high indeed, and again on the TV last night ?

Our starting line up, no significant changes though with Bellerin back into after his Wembley break – it seems Arsene has decided who is our first choice right back and after the young Spaniard’s careful patrol of Hazard all afternoon, and some striking runs forward, who is to argue ?

My first ‘surprise’ was Chelsea’s decision to start with no recognised striker, even allowing for the attraction of them leaving with a point that seemed an odd one. Not so and in the first half I thought the visitors looked more dangerous, their best chances of the game from Oscar and Ramires. When Droggie came on at HT the attacking threat faded, with the poor old Ivorian reduced to shouting, waving and pointing after Michael Oliver in desperation. Should I feel pity to see a former footballing nemesis reduced to a toothless, dribbling old crone ? Probably, but it make take a year or two yet.

Overall though a very good defensive performance from all our back five. And did you see the number of cards we picked up in the last few minutes as we pressed and Chelsea threatened to cause problems with a breakaway ? Does that tell us we have players who have learned ? Yes it does.

Two midfield units worked hard throughout the 90 minutes and effectively battled each other to a standstill. There was very little time for any player to take a touch or look up to choose a pass and even Ozil, generally a man who can find space inside a telephone box, saw his usual poise hustled and harried. Coquelin and Matic tackled the heavy work, Santi and Ramires picked up the scraps and tried to create something with them. Aaron, like Hazard, found it difficult to get anything going on the flank against the capable Azplicueta.

My only criticism of our creative engine was that until the last 15 minutes or so we did not seem to move the ball through midfield fast enough, there was an extra touch, a half turn, that just allowed the defenders to regroup. That change may have had to do with Danny’s introduction, it may have had to do with slightly tiring legs. It did seem to me that last ten minutes that we were at our best, and they, blowing hard, leaning on the ropes.

But we all know it is goals that win matches and we have two of the best goalscorers in the PL.

Sanchez and Ivanovic was a chess match, the Chilean leading the large Balkan on, pushing the ball inside, down the line, at him. But never quite breaking young Branislav, though his late yellow card following a frustrated lunge at Alexis indicated that he understood the game that was in progress. For all his cruel taunting of the Serb however Alexis could not break open the Chelsea lock.

And up front Olivier ran, he hustled, he charged, he darted and flicked but against the double coverage of the ever popular Mr Terry and his sidekick Cahill he was always going to struggle. And Giroud did, but he was game to his final kick, he will have easier afternoons and more profitable ones.

So a good game, a timely reminder we have still work to do, and peaks to attack and conquer.

Enjoy your week.

I made the mistake of listening to Talk Sport radio immediately after the Liverpool – Villa game last night. It was full of irate scousers demanding that Rogers is sacked.

This is the same man that took their team within a Gerrard slip of winning the PL last  season. Now I know their stars aligned with Saurez being on fire, one game a week and few injuries, but still, he took advantage and even with a very poor defence, he almost made a miracle.

Liverpool have the 5th most expensive squad and the 5th largest wages,in all likelihood they will finish 5th, plus they have reached the semi final of both domestic cups. That is at least par or better. What do fans expect ? On top of that they do play, and try to play , expansive entertaining football.

Now I am not saying Rodgers is a great manager, what I am saying is that he is doing a decent job.

There is a proven 85% correlation between money spent and success across all major leagues. Of course that leaves 15% to buck the trend, and teams do. Southampton this year, Everton last. But is just stupid to expect a team to buck the trend every year. It seems though that this is what many fans demand .

The reality is that no team in the history of the PL has won it without having a sustained period of spending more than their rivals. People will point to United and claim they did it , but they didn’t, they just topped up their previous bigger spending on players that were still at the club and in their pomp.

Of course Arsenal did it , and did it three times, but we had Arsene and it was at a time where only United had a clear financial advantage.

People also point to exceptions in other leagues, Like, BVB, Atletico Madrid and Montpellier, but they are not in the PL, and have only one behemoth club (Two in Spain ) to contend with. Also Atletico have won it once in 20 years. That’s 5% of the time, well within the !5% exception rule.

Can managers make the difference? Yes ! But its in the margins.

Until fans accept that money is the overriding factor in modern football they are destined for constant heartbreak.

The “next level” that people want to reach can only follow the next financial level being reached first. That is why Arsene and the board should be praised beyond all others, Their planning and steadfastness have elevated Arsenal to that next level. The squad now reflects that and I believe there are great times ahead,

A final word on Brendan. Its hugely unfair to compare him to previous Liverpool managers who, at the time, were managing the richest club with no financial competitors other than the sleeping United. Look exactly what happened when they woke up.

Pedantic George, AKA @Blackburngeorge

So there we have it, Arsenal are in the final of the FA cup. Again.

OK. not the most scintillating performance , but not half as bad as people like to say.

Quite how a team with 71% possession , twice as many efforts on goal, while committing half the number of fouls and hitting the wood work three times, can be seen as lucky. beats me.

When Arsene picks the team he has to consider everything. Players returning from injury have to be reintroduced. Otherwise an injury means they wont play until another injury lets them in. Players battling for a place must be given a chance to shine and keep match fit. Players need rest. Its not as simple as picking the best eleven.

Its fairly clear that the team plays better when Giroud plays, but it really is not as simple as just putting his name on the team sheet every game.

Would Arsene have wanted Debuchy to play 124 minutes in his first game back ? No ! But he is our best right-back, and he is fit and has to be brought back.

Credit has to go to Reading too. Every one of them to a man played like their life depended on it. They were set up to stop us flowing. and it worked. But its not like they offered much going forward. Because Arsenal didn’t win easily and with panache does not mean we played badly. That’s just not the case.

Musut Ozil was once again magnificent. Of course he was less impressive than Sanchez. But only because the pundits see what most fans also see. In the same way they saw Reading’s effort over effectiveness as a reason to think they deserved better.

Personally I’m not sure I like Ramsey on the right. But I don’t know enough to say its not the right thing. He seems to be playing the Ray Parlour role. That worked just fine, so perhaps Aaron will grow into it, like he as to every other possission he has been asked to play in.

Anyway, the final it is then ! Roll on Wembley.

Good morning Postivitas and another fine Sunday to be an Arsenal supporter.

A worthy Cup semi final and thoroughly enjoyable, although at times there was anxiety and the occasional squirm of discomfort in the lower intestine. The general expectation was that Reading would be well organised and resolute, and we would have a battle to break them down. That sage of footballing knowledge Shearer even went so far in the run up to the kick off as to suggest Reading might get “physical” if they wished to get a result. Such insight from a man who has not only played the game but managed at the highest level (very, very briefly).

And so largely the template is the way the game went. As Arsene said compared to the films he had seen of their recent performances they stepped up a level. Nevertheless we controlled the first half and went in a deserved 1-0. We started the second half in third gear, a disappointing trait that we displayed with equal negative effect at Burnley and St James’ Park recently, and let them back into the game. I am not quite clear why we have developed this little post half time dip but if I can see it then I have no doubt the man who can deal with the defect is fully focussed. The outcome of course was a soft equalizer, as we all know. As the game progressed with the scores level I felt, and the number of times we hit the post, had good chances saved and possession stats confirm, we restored our control and the inevitable winner came. One surprising but definite improvement was our use of the dead ball at free kicks and corners. I cannot remember another game when we looked so threatening and could have had three goals from corners alone. Most un-Arsenal like !

Did Reading get “physical” as the Gateshead guru opined ? I saw Mesut’s heel get trod on which deliberate and should have been both a foul and a card which Atkinson missed. There was some pushing and shoving and Arsenal players had a ten minute phase of nasal grief. Other than that I thought it was an OK footballing effort from the Championship side, certainly no worse in terms of fouls than I see most weeks in the PL and no diving, face clutching or systematic cheating that I usually do see every week at the higher level. To balance things up it was good to see that the linos erred on the side of caution if a Reading player strayed toward an offside position. Whether Reading did nor not get physical may be academic however, they lost.

The winner itself I see is the subject of endless lamentation in some quarters of the mainstream media this morning on behalf of the Australian keeper Adam Frederici. Simple keeping error and a few moments before he had made another howler from an Aaron shot that hit him and bounced over. For Reading fans I have a smidgeon of sympathy, for the player however my heart is stone. As Mr Benaud used to say “Mourning all”.

Our stand out performances I thought came from Santi, Kosc and from, of course, our double goal scorer. Mesut wasted nothing. I was massively impressed to see Debuchy manage 120 minutes football after three months out and the same could be said for Kieran Gibbs whose energy and running in extra time was important on not allowing Reading to apply steady pressure late on. Gabriel also impressed, fleet of foot and prepared to put his foot in as required.

As I said in opening an enjoyable game, flashes of our ‘A’ game, the odd flutter, but if you think back 12 months a damn sight easier than penalties. And finally and to close a picture of our first Cup final;

http://www.thefa.com/sitecore/shell//~/media/images/thefaportal/pillars/thefa-cup-2014-15/second%20round%20proper/fred-keenorr-shakes-hands-arsenal-captain-1927.ashx

Note the sartorial elegance of the man with the whistle.

Enjoy your Sunday.