Last night I caused a bit of a kerfuffle on twitter when I posted this .

Positively Arsenal @Blackburngeorge ·

No doubt in my mind that I want Spurs to beat Chelsea, and beat them well.

Apparently this is unacceptable to the “Local club for local people, proper Arsenal” crew, and was interpreted to mean that I want Spurs to win. Well I don’t want them to win, I don’t want them to win anything, but I do want Chelsea to win less. Much as it irks us, one of them will win the COC, I would prefer that not to be Chelsea.

People who know me ,know that a big part of why I love Arsenal with such passion is down the the ethos and playing style of the the club. Chelsea are the polar opposite of what I respect and love about Arsenal, So yes, I want them to win less than Spurs. And I make no apologies for this.

Of course I understand that for many people who are “local fans” they would want Spurs to lose less. This doesn’t rile me. Its their choice. The reality is though , that I am not a local fan. I have never even met a Spurs fan, so how am I expect to get it?

What does rile me is that these people want to set the parameters for my support. I have to feel like them otherwise I am not a real Arsenal fan. They, the “local club for local people ,proper Arsenal” fans decide what good support is. Is it a coincidence that the ones that resorted to abuse towards me ,are for the most, the same fans who abuse me for my support of Arsene. The same ones who tell me I’m not a real fan because I back him ?

These people are insistent that to be a proper fan you must see Spurs as the biggest rival. Because its a local thing? Right? Yet they seem unable to grasp that local fans do not make up the vast majority of the fan base.

I know hundreds of United fans and not one single Spurs fan, so who am I ‘liable to see as the biggest rival? Who would you think I would want to beat more? Go on , hazard a wild guess !

Did you guess United?

You were right then. But according to these narrow minded halfwits, that means I cant be a real Arsenal supporter.

What is more worrying than anything is that these people can’t grasp it. We all must feel like them to be “proper Arsenal”

Now, there are many non-local fans that see Spurs as our biggest rivals. They may be old enough to remember when Spurs were actually rivals at all in football terms, or they may have simply bought into the traditional rivalry. That’s understandable to me. I get it. But seriously,does that make them better fans? Well it seems they think it does.

Are people from all over the globe expected to see Spurs are the biggest rivals? That’s Spurs, a mid table team that never finishes above Arsenal? Really? Why? Well I will tell you why, its because the “local club for local fan, proper Arsenal” feel they have the right to dictate how other should feel about their club. Because its their club, not our club, its theirs.

Ok  I then tweeted these

Positively Arsenal @Blackburngeorge ·

Here is another bombshell. I dont hate the fans of any club. They are just doing what we do following the club of their choice >

Positively Arsenal @Blackburngeorge · 

>I dont really see the difference from hating a set of supporters to hating an ethnic group or people from another country.

More howls from the mentally challenged.

Again I make no apologies for this,  hating people because they support another football team is tribalism.

Justifying hatred by calling it “football rivalry” is about as lame as it gets in my opinion.

Some people actually told me that I didn’t understand because I have never had a fight with a Spurs fan. They were scum.

What? Are they sub-human?

The notion that its ok to hate people because they are doing exactly what we are doing, supporting the club of their choice is a a notion that has led to all sorts of barbarity in the past.

The very idea that hatred for someone else makes you a better fan is so off its not true.

If you feel the necessity to hate in order to love, you really need to reevaluate your life and your support.

Perhaps start by moving into the 21st century?

Finally I tweeted

Positively Arsenal @Blackburngeorge · 12h12 hours ago

I am getting hate because I don’t hate random people I’ve never met, from random people I’ve never met. Seems reasonable.

Think about that for a moment. I think it tells me exactly the type of person we are dealing with here.

Its now two years since Positively Arsenal swung open its door and welcomed people into it warm and friendly community.

Well. alright, we welcomed in those we agreed with and shut out those we don’t. I have no problem admitting that comments that are overtly abusive or just daft are not approved. In other words comments from the type of person I talked about in one of my first posts, repeated below.

You might think that despite the club doing everything the malcontent fans said they would not do, that these fans would have learned. But they don’t ,and everything I said still holds true.

They either won’t learn, or just don’t want too.

It is now obvious that even the signings of world class players and silverware has done nothing to make them reconsider their regurgitated poorly formed opinions.

So read the post again and tell me if you think all is as it was, or is the tide turning?

“Is it just me or are others infuriated by ignorance and stupidity?

Now I don’t blame people who are stupid, simply because they are.  I mean they are born stupid.  Nobody chooses to be an idiot.  Mostly they can’t help it.  Such is life.

No, what annoys me is that some stupid people insist on thinking they are smart.  And smart to the extent that they know more about a given subject than a top professional.

Of course this likely happens in all manner of activities, but I want to talk about football – and Arsenal in particular.

I am told all the time “I am entitled to an opinion”.

Of course when I claim that in that case, I am entitled to hold the opinion that they are idiots, that same ‘entitlement’ doesn’t appear to hold true for me.

If an opinion is formed from a position of almost total ignorance or built on falsehoods and misinformation, what is it worth?  It is in fact worth less than nothing.  I would prefer to hold no opinion on matters, rather than one which proves I am a foolish halfwit.

If I have a heart complaint I’d go to see a specialist heart Consultant.  If he tells me I am in decent health and half an Aspirin per day and some light exercise will see me well would I then insist that I need a quadruple bypass simply because my plumber mate down the pub says that’s what I need?

Or if I read a blog by an accountant in which he insists he has strong opinions on the matter, and I should therefore accept what he is saying, would I?

No!

Well why does anyone who watches a football match and follows Piers Morgan on twitter think that they know better than Arsene Wenger?  The reality is that in all likelihood, Doris the Tea Lady knows more about football and Arsenal than them.  I get told “I am a season ticket holder, 30 years of watching Arsenal, that entitles me to an opinion.”  Well I have been watching Westerns for 50 years but I would not presume to tell John Ford how to direct one.  (I know he is dead by the way.)

Buying a ticket entitles you to nothing more than a seat and a game to watch.  It does not buy you the right to pick the team, choose formations or set tactics.

If someone tells me the world is flat, I don’t feel the need to debate the subject with them.  There could be only two reasons they believe that.

Complete stupidity.  Or ignorance.

Ignorance can be excused.  But if they have been told the facts and shown the evidence, ignorance can be excluded and stupidity is all that is left.  So when someone says something like “Wenger does not understand defence” they immediately fall into the stupid category.  And they should not complain when I tell them that they are a moron.

Or when people insist that Arsene has refused to spend money.

Again, idiot.

The annual accounts over the past 10 years prove there has been no money.  Arsene has said there has been no money.  So if they are going to ignore the facts then they can only be stupid. There is no alternative.

The biggest problem is not people like bloggers claiming to understand things that they clearly don’t.  There will always be people who hugely overestimate their knowledge and intellect.  No, the problem is the masses of ill-informed halfwits that accept and repeat as fact, the opinions of these leaders of opinion.  Hitler was not the problem.  It was the millions of followers he attracted that was the problem.

Some want-to-be manager writing a blog about Arsenal is not the problem.  It’s the pathetic halfwits that believe that what he is saying has some real value, who are the problem.

People claim to know why Mata did not sign for Arsenal, for example. When in fact they have no idea at all the reasons for him going to Chelsea.

Here is the thing.

I have opinions about players, formations and tactics.  Ask me on a Saturday morning to pick the team and I will have a go.  But the difference is that by Saturday teatime, if we have lost I won’t claim it was because the manager was too stupid to pick the team that I did.

Pointing to an outcome and claiming it would have been better if your advice had been heeded Is nothing but evidence of your own arrogance and stupidity.

I really can’t understand why so many people believe that their one field of excellence is football and Arsenal.

But I can understand why they infuriate me with their ignorance and stupidity.”

Rosicky’s shirt in the Borussia Dortmund Museum

A record attendance yesterday evening at the new Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium to see them play The Arsenal play for the second time in the cup in the last few years. I guess the Brighton fans enjoyed the football last time out. Not forgetting the Arsenal support:

“You’ve only come to see The Arsenal”

Like Steww I had a feeling last season was a special year. Nothing to do with the Cup games, more so the controlled Ozil inspired surge to the top of the table. Coincidentally or perhaps magically it was during the home league game against Hull when Nicholas Bendtner scored after sixty-odd seconds following Jenkinson’s early run and cross. If Bendy scores after the first minute upon what might have been his first start in the league after trying to leave the club I concluded for myself that it would be a good season for The Arsenal.
Bendtner didn’t quite follow through; circumstances meant he was relegated behind Sanogo when the new player regained or gained fitness. In my ignorant and speculative opinion the squad model since 07/08 has always been to have two Big Lumps up top to juggle with the speedsters.  Amidst some confusion Bendtner’s season ended early late one night with him humping a hubcap during a break back home. Fortunately The Arsenal kept their focus and came through in the end.

Brighton. A big difference for me going to an away game outside of London. Usually, what with AFC being a “local club for local people” according to the not so great and good I trundle along the hard yards to Home games.

First starts for Özil and Walcott, a second start for Ramsey upon their returns. As expected the BFG was given a well earned rest, and neither Ozil or Walcott had he legs to last ninety minutes as the Seagulls found some late hope and energy.

I have a good feeling about this season too. Why? Well Arsenal football club signed my favourite non-Arsenal footballer, Alexis Sanchez.
Following on from the Ozil and Cazorla signings. The rehabilitation of Master Rosicky. The recovery from major injuries of Ramsey and Wilshere (just about regaining his best fitness and form, that acceleration, before he was hacked off the park, again. Not even a foul called…). Chambers coming in to complete his apprenticeship under the Big German (Wilshere is for me Rozza’s apprentice), some new signing to help alleviate Koscielny’s workload. It’s a fair guess that having managed Rosicky’s fitness for the final run of fixtures in recent seasons no staff knows more about tricksy tendons in football then those at the Arsenal? I might be over optimistic but I couldn’t groan about those who signed Koscielny in the first place wanting to make sure they found the correct player to cover. We could again see against Brighton the logic in wanting to give Monreal more minutes during the season, to help him to develop and also because like many footballers he appears to play better when not coming in to the team cold.

There were moments last season when I just knew the FA Cup was coming to the Emirates. I didn’t say anything at the time so I can’t prove it, but this is a football blog – an Arsenal blog in fact – and as such I don’t need to prove a damn thing. The moments to which I refer occurred on those wonderful FA Cup matchdays when we beat Spurs and then Liverpool and later on an in form Everton; all strong Premier League teams, all potential banana skins. More than those results however the feeling that last year was our year really came over me on days like the fifth of January when Swansea won at Old Trafford. Also February the fifteenth when the clash of the Oil Men’s Private Trophy Teams saw Man City boot Chelsea out of the tournament. I also experienced a small psychic frisson when Mansour’s little vanity project was unexpectedly put out by Wigan in the following month.

There are certain teams you hope to avoid in the draw, and if those teams aren’t even in the draw then you’d be inhuman not to at least think to yourself, ‘Hello, if we keep our noses clean we could be in here’. Now I know that there are those whose glass is perennially and proverbially in a clichéd half empty condition, and such down at the mouth ne’er do wells will point to the Jacks of Swindon, Wrexham, Bradford and Blackburn and remind us of our experiences at having the beanstalk cut from under us. It of course goes without saying that we will need to do our bit, continuing at Brighton where we left off against Hull but the results yesterday were little short of sensational. Even the teams with nothing except the FA Cup to play for failed to overcome what should have been weaker opposition, both Liverpool and Man United managing to hold Cambridge and Bolton respectively.

So now it’s our turn.

I haven’t had any premonitions this time around. I’m not here as some kind of FA Cup Doris Stokes, in fact I’m only writing this because I was ambushed on Twitter by a geographically challenged George clearly labouring under the delusion that I would be an appropriate choice as I live down south and therefore somewhere near to the venue for today’s fixture. Brighton and Hove presumably having been washed away by the waves of the English Channel and ended up on the mud bound coast of the Severn Estuary. I don’t know how the simple folk of Somersetshire will cope when the Brighton Gay Pride carnival comes to Nether Stowey nor how Norman Cook’s latest live set will go down at The Rose and Crown in Huish Episcopi but I hope Mesut Özil finds his targets better than George can find East Sussex on a map.

Talking of which, Arsène conceded that our flawless Deutscher spielmacher doesn’t like playing on the wing but may begin his rehabilitation out there. It is a mouthwatering prospect to have him and Santi and Alexis in the same squad isn’t it? Add to that Theo easing himself back to full steam, the very, very promising Serge Gnabry returning to fitness and Aaron chomping at the bit to get back into the goal scoring groove he rediscovered just before suffering another injury and you simply have to be optimistic for the second half of the season. Given the teams knocked out yesterday I think we should extend that confidence to the FA Cup. People will be nervous of over confidence and a lower league opponent boosted by the feats of Middlesbrough and Bradford, but don’t panic I’m not taking this or any other away fixture for granted, far from it. In fact I believe the results yesterday and on Friday simply serve as a timely reminder that in a sporting contest anyone can have a bad day; it isn’t science, chance plays far too big a part in football for that.

The unvarnished truth is we are in such great form, so full of confidence and with key players at the very top of their game that we have no reason to fear anybody right now. If the players work as hard as they did at The Etihad they will create the platform for our free scoring forwards to finish the job. Sounds simple when I put it like that doesn’t it? At the time of writing I don’t know who will spear head the attack but I hope it will be Chuba Akpom with Mesut and Campbell either side of him. The youngster has been in such great form he must be desperate to show what he can do and with Wellbeck still out our sexy French pugilist may well be rested for this one.

As for Brighton, I have no personal experience of the place beyond attending a funeral there once. Friend or relative of a friend. Or relative of a friend of a relative. It was back in my drinking days so I’m pretty sketchy on the details to be honest. I played a gig in Littlehampton once but that’s West Sussex so hardly counts. Unless you’re George in which case they’re probably the same place. Oh yes, the Librarian at the college where I work went to university there and is friends with a Brighton coach driver, so there you go. My credentials to comment on all things pertaining to the town and its history are impeccable. As credentials go they’re certainly every bit as impeccable as any football blog’s are to teach anyone about tactics and they’re at that all the time.

In a footballistic context the name of Brighton and Hove Albion conjures, for people of a certain generation, the unforgettable image of Clough and Taylor in green sweaters and shirt collars. For me the greatest thing they ever did while at the helm of the South Coast club was to allow Bruce Bannister and Alan Warboys to share seven goals in an 8 – 2 hammering meted out by my local team in December of 1973. Brian Clough is the only non Arsenal manager I’ve ever had time for and in a move characteristic of the man he went into the Bristol Rovers dressing room that afternoon and congratulated the visitors saying to Alan Warboys that the eye injury he suffered that afternoon must have been self inflicted as the Brighton defence had got nowhere near him. I wasn’t at the game but Brian ‘It’s up for grabs now’ Moore was and I was lucky enough to be allowed to have my dinner on a tray in the front room that Sunday so that I could watch the Big Match. A rare moment of weakness from my otherwise strict Methodist mother.

I’d be happy with a similar scoreline today but I’d also be delighted with a cut and thrust, end to end battle and a one goal margin. It’s the FA Cup after all, it’s all about entertainment and excitement and the plucky little cliché cutting the big man down to size. Let’s just hope Jack has tired of hacking at the beanstalk come four o’clock this afternoon, he has after all had a busy weekend. And while we’re at it let’s hope Liz is as forgiving as my Mum was back in 1973. I’d better finish up now, I’ve got to go and get my tray ready just in case.

A guest post from Muppet  ( @MupetGooner )

If you are not a Wenger supporter, look away now.

Wasn’t it a great win on Sunday ? Superb. Simply superb. For numerous reasons. We beat the premier league champions at their own ground. We ended the 3 year barren run of away wins  against City, Chelsea and Man U.

There was a good news story in Coquelin, who was up against one of the best play-makers in Europe, in Silva, and produced a performance that was quite astonishing given his relative lack of experience at this level.

There was a good news story also in Bellerin, who also looked accomplished at right back, at the tender age of 19.

Cazorla was magnificent, combining mesmerising footwork and gritty resilience to produce a phenomenal performance.

The whole team were disciplined and maintained a shape and organisation that had the pundits stunned, and purring, for Ospina had nothing to do. This is no exaggeration. Souness said he was stunned, so did Carragher.

In the aftermath of the result, we started to hear that “The penny had dropped” for Wenger. This was no “Mourinho tactical masterclass”, heralded after the chavs 1-0 win in February last year. No, this was “the penny had dropped” for Wenger, and he had been taught how to do this by Mourinho, despite Mourinho failing to repeat the trick himself in September, drawing 1-1. The style of the performance was manna sent from heaven for the wobs. The “Bould effect” was attributed to the result, as well as the end of an era of “Wenger Stubbornness”.

It’s a good thing that Arsenal fans are happy. It really is. But the level of delusion in some quarters is worrying. There are those that believe that if you have a good defensive midfielder, sitting in front of the back 4, it is the road to premier league and champions league glory. Just sit that man in front of the back 4, the “Gilberto” screen, inbetween the defenders and the midfield, and he will cause this stunning transformation that will provide untold glory and riches for the team. The same people believe, that in 18 years of qualifying for the champions league, finishing with an average position somewhere in between 2nd and 3rd in the league, that we have never defended, or held an organisational shape. Neither have we beaten big teams. And also, if we are so inept, how did we manage the 19 clean sheets last year, and how did we manage to have the best away form in the premiership in the previous season ? I take it we didn’t have any shape in any of those games ? I also would like to know how Everton, with their favoured 4-1-4-1 formation, didn’t achieve anything during Moyes’s tenure, as after all, he always deployed a gritty DM in front of the back 4.

Then there was the AW failing of not beating the top 4 big teams away from home. The damning graphic would be produced of our recent away form against City, Chelsea and Manchester United – ignoring Liverpool – as we won there in 2012. Also ignored is that AW is the man who ended the 100 year run of an english team going to the San Siro and not achieving a win. This is also the man who became the manager of the first english team to go to the Bernabau and achieve a win. And what glorious wins they were. These were not Stokish, smash and grab raids, having a man on the goal line standing on the goalkeepers shoulders at every corner. These were 2 memorable wins, exemplifying class and pure unadulterated football. This is also a man who went unbeaten in the premiership. A man who has transformed the club into one of the most popular amongst neutrals. And all we hear in the British press is a narrative that is underpinned by ignorance and commercial expediency. The results in Dortmund and Munich away, not seen as achieved against a big team.

We were told at the beginning of the season – look at Martinez and Klopp. Young, dynamic, fresh – exactly what we need. Yep, young, dynamic and at the bottom of the table, or heading that way. We were told that Wenger had committed mistakes in letting Vermaelen, Jenkinson and Sagna go, and not signing replacements. In reality, in came Debuchy, Chambers and Bellerin. Nobody wanted to consider Bellerin. He was too young. Not a serious squad contender. After watching him against City, not only is he under consideration, people are now saying that we don’t need Jenkinson back. So does the manager deserve some credit here ? Does the manager also deserve some credit for pursuing an internal solution with Coquelin ? Does the manager also deserve credit for the Monreal signing and his deployment at Center back as cover – a player who is now looking exceptional. I say yes, yes and yes. This is without even considering the acquisition of Sanchez and Welbeck. Welbeck rates 7 out of 10 for a transfer, but Sanchez is in the stratosphere. £35 million ? What ? I hear you say. If you don’t want to give Wenger credit for that, then well.. words fail me.
Whenever one listens to the press or some of the bloggers on the state of Arsenal, one hears the largely negative narrative, but not a positive one. Of course, it’s hip to be realistic. Be too optimistic, and overrate your players – you’re deluded. Keep it real. Of course, of course. But frankly, there are some amongst us, who believe that we are on the cusp of something special here, can see the vision, and have seen it all along. A long term plan that is being effected at Arsenal. Pay off the stadium loan, grow the commercial revenue and build the squad. The squad building exercise is not a supermarket sweep at Harrods, which we can’t afford. Instead, there are patient acquisitions, internal solutions to problems. There are positions in which we can still strengthen, and will strengthen. Unlike certain other clubs, we don’t have any problems with FFP, and we will be able to spend big in the transfer market.

Even though it is already January, we still haven’t seen a team with Walcott, Ozil, Sanchez, Cazorla and Giroud. Which suggests to me that we’re playing at 80% of our potential. We see City and Chelsea line up with their best players, and wonder one day if that will happen to us. I hope that it will.

A view from the ground from @foreverheady

I enjoyed the game and thought we were properly in charge throughout. The defence looked organised and apart from a spell in the second half when we seemed happy to concede possession, we always seemed in control of the game. I was very impressed with Campbell and felt he made a big impact: the ball seems to find him, and he was often involved. He provided excellent support defensively and his energy level seemed high – Monreal must have thought he was in heaven. Given that it was effectively his first proper match for Arsenal I thought he did well, and I would love to see him play again. There have been better players than him who have been one-footed and as the Tony Adams quote on the wall of the stadium says, “play to your strengths”. He seemed to give us a very different balance and it will be interesting to see how he is used. There is a line of thought that says that that left wing spot has been the hardest to fill effectively: Podolski, Ozil, Cazorla and Wilshere have all played there with varying degrees of success, and not all have embraced the defensive aspect of the role wholeheartedly, so it was good to see him trying so hard: he deservedly got an ovation when he left the pitch. Given the doubts over the fitness of our midfielders I wouldn’t be rushing to send him out on loan, although playing a dozen or so Premier League games for Palace, QPR or WBA would do him no harm at all I guess.

It was a good natured crowd, with a lot of youngsters there, and also a lot of empty seats, although I suspect that the official attendance was high as no doubt it was largely season ticket holders who were absent. Not many Club Level members seemed to have made it, and I can only guess that most were still on the ski slopes or wherever it is they head to over the Christmas holiday. Nice work if you can get it as they say.

And now we enter a period of brief normality with only a game a week for a while which will be very welcome for the players and rather dull for us. But thanks to our warriors yesterday we have the excitement of the Fourth Round draw to look forward to, and that is something to be more than happy about. I rather fancy an away tie at Old Trafford.

So I have just spent literally 10 minutes browsing for some quotes & I came across several quotes from several people at the very very top of football from 2 of the very best players of all time to some of the managers who have achieved exceptional success.

Jupp Heynckes – Feb 2013

“You have to take into consideration Arsenal are competing with Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City. Over the years they have been selling their best players and these other teams get in top world stars, so I don’t think it is fair to blame Arsène Wenger for that,”
“Wenger, is a great coach. You can see his team has a very great dynamic about it”

Pep Guardiola – August 2011

“”We should not forget what Wenger has done for football in general and for Arsenal in particular.”

Pep Guardiola – Febuary 2014

“Arsenal remains a good team and good club. I have a lot of respect for my colleague Arsene: he always likes the good, good players, the good style of football.”

Sir Alex Ferguson – August 2011

“The work he has done in the 15 years he has been at the club is the best in Arsenal’s history.

Sir Alex Ferguson – March 2014

I always enjoy watching Arsène’s sides – Arsenal play the right way.

Jurgen Klopp – Novemeber 2013

‘He is really something. I love him. He is Sir Arsene Wenger.”

Diego Maradona – March 2012

I would love to fulfil my contract and return to renew and be a kind of Arsene Wenger at the Al Wasl.”

Joachim Low – Febuary 2013

“I like Arsene Wenger a lot, because he stays true to his ideas and has been loyal to the same club for such a long time. With him, young players become stars.”

Johan Cruyff – Dec 2012

“Wenger will ALWAYS bring the club back to the top,” “People do not realise the ­achievement of this manager at Arsenal.
“I find it ­incredible that ­Arsenal have stayed at the ­highest level of ­European ­competition and ­England under his management without ever ending up in debt.
“I cannot remember red figures at Arsenal over the last 15 years. How many clubs in Europe can say they have qualified for the Champions League for 16 ­consecutive seasons under the same management? Arsene Wenger has put his life and soul into Arsenal.
“In 15 years, I have not seen him make any ­irresponsible ­purchases in the transfer ­market.
“That is why the work of Arsene Wenger at ­Arsenal is the prime example for every club in ­Europe.
“I cannot even imagine the board or the fans would ever think for a moment of putting Arsene’s position in doubt.”

Bare in mind I deliberately did not include quotes from any former players for Arsenal, even though people such as Bergkamp and Henry’s opinions are much more valid then anyone on twitter, they would immediately get accused of bias. Again this is all in 10 minutes of searching only.

So not only do these people at the very top of the game who understand football more than anyone have all come out with messages of admiration and support of Arsene Wenger in the last few years. Oh crap, I forgot these guys are all wrong and know nothing about football, just like Arsene, so maybe we should get some quotes from the twitter experts instead.

@TraderChris87

Of coure against them there are such colossus  as Le Grove, Durham and Morgan. So if you want to side with them here is what John Cleese has to say on the subject.

Pedantic George (@Blackburngeorge)