By Bootoomee

Fans have always had different reactions to different players and such reactions have not always been logical. Players are not necessarily beloved because of the cogent contributions that they make to teams; they are often valued based on how they make fans feel. It is for this reason that flair players and the sort who wear their emotions on their sleeves are the usual fans’ favourites. You can see the flair even if it leads to nothing useful; or even counter-productive at times. Players who show passion on the pitch act exactly the way the watching fans would have probably acted in most situations. It is therefore not surprising that these 2 types of players are the most loved.

How many times have a player been criticised and abused for being crap only for the numbers to be broken down for fans (and most irresponsibly, the media) to now realise that they were wrong? Sometimes, the criticisms are well justified but most of the time they are not. I can’t recall a more unjustly criticised player than Olivier Giroud of Arsenal FC this season. I hear people criticise him and I wonder if I have been watching the same player or there is something wrong with me.

I have an attitude when it comes to Arsenal player that I must confess to my dear readers: I never abuse any player as long as they are in the service of Arsenal FC. I have complained about a few players during the heat of the game but that is it for me. I never take my hurt at how a player performed in a game away from that particular game once the final whistle is blown. I don’t necessarily forget how poor a player was in a game but as long as they are still wearing Arsenal’s red and white, I continue to support them and hope that the manager (who knows more than anybody alive on how to turn players around) will get them sorted and performing on top soon.

This attitude has saved me from having eggs on my face on countless occasions. I feel extreme pride in myself when I read comments from Arsenal fans on how they used to give Ramsey grief but they are now glad to be proven wrong. Fuckers. You are not supposed to be giving the players of the team that you love and support grief, no matter how poor they might be performing. It is not your job. There is a man employed by Arsenal FC to do the job of setting our players straight both tactically and with harsh words if necessary and he is pretty good at his job.

It is not my place to harass players or call them names like “Flappyhandski” or “van Porcelain” when they make mistakes or are struggling with injuries only to then whine about Arsene Wenger not giving them long contracts when such players seek more opportunities to play or earn more money elsewhere. (I am not too sympathetic with the Traitor but calling him names then was wrong all the same). Ironically, those who have abused our struggling players in the past would then follow up their mea culpa with immediate abuse of a current struggling player.

How many times have you read this line: “I am one of those who used to criticise Aaron Ramsey but I am glad that he has proven me wrong ……. But that Sanogo is never going to come good or Carl Jenkinson is not good enough, we need to get another RB”. You would think that someone just eating crow would have learnt their lesson but you would be wrong.

Of all the players that Arsenal fans in their infinite stupidity have treated unfairly, I struggle to find anyone like Olivier Giroud. We can say that some players have underperformed in the real sense of the word and that while this doesn’t make the abuse right, one can at least understand the reason for it. Giroud’s case is a strange one for me.

The guy gives our defence very good cover during set pieces and tracks back when we are under constant attack to help out. He is in the midfield during battles. He is a very selfless striker who would not only willingly pass to better positioned team mates but would celebrate their goals like he is the one who actually scored it. And, he scores his fair share of goals too. With 16 goals in the premier league and 22 overall, I think he is exactly where Arsene Wenger expects him to be this season.

What Giroud does better than any player in the league, in my opinion, is that famous link up play of his. He is bloody good at it. The way he keeps possession at the opponents’ goal area and calmly waits for his team mates to take good attacking position is superb. And the flicks, oh the flicks! Giroud has some of the most delicious assists in the entire league this season. Statistically, he is where Thierry Henry was at the end of his second season with Arsenal. True, he is older than Henry was but he is not at the peak of his career yet so there is room for improvement.

Now, why has the guy been treated like some bumbling doofus by the media and many of our fans? Why?

Apparently, he missed some good chances in some high profile matches unlike, you know, every striker who has ever played the game! Luis Suarez scored none of his 31 league goals against a top 4 opposition. That is zero in 6 matches!

Arsenal’s attempt and failure to get Suarez last summer is probably most responsible for the animosity of many of our fans towards Giroud. Most of the criticism and abuse are borne out of nothing but covetousness. Many wish we had Suarez and because we actually went for him but failed because Arsene Wenger wouldn’t write a blank cheque to a club that was unwilling to part with their most treasured resource, these souls took it out on Giroud.

Every time Giroud played, he reminded those Gooners of what could have been. His minor errors are exaggerated; they are errors that Suarez would never have made. His missed opportunities are those that Suarez would have converted. In the end, Giroud was not being judged on his own merit but with another player that they wish we had. Giroud was portrayed as one of the worst strikers in the league. Ironically though, you would often see the same detractors whining about what would happen to the team should he get injured. This bit gets me every time. Why would the team miss a player that is so crap?

The media fanned the embers of this discontent amongst Arsenal fans, as they have always done with our players whenever they notice our fans getting on their backs. News reports and analyses were written mocking and berating the guy with emphasis on how he shouldn’t be Arsenal’s leading man. It would be safe to assume that Giroud would score very low in any rating system used by the media. Afterall, they couldn’t stop slating the guy. But it turns out that the Telegraph scored him 214 which is only second to Suarez’s 290. All the other strikers scored less than 200. I am not a believer in the Football Fantasy points of players because I utter distrust the media when it comes to player ratings, which bad enough, is subjective on its own. However, Giroud’s position here is interesting to me because it got me by surprise. It also means that while the guy was being written about as inadequate by the media, their subjective player ratings system is showing a different result.

Here are the top 5 rated strikers in the league (courtesy of Andrew Crawshaw of Untold Arsenal):

Luis Suarez 290
Olivier Giroud 214
Daniel Sturridge 197
Sergio Aguero 180
Edin Dzeko 180

The fact that our very own much maligned striker is ranking this high (even though this is an unscientific rating system) shows that much of the abuse and criticisms that the guy has received are illogical and mostly unfounded. If a rating from a media publication – who are not known for being Giroud’s fans – put him this high, then he must be doing something right for us. Not that I was ever in doubt of Giroud’s contribution to the team but I hope that those who berate him and call for someone else to be signed to take his place would just calm down and show the guy the respect that he has earned.

Rotation is harder than you think. Back in the late seventies, Sussex CCC was blessed with four outstanding International cricketers: Imran Khan and Javed Miandad from Pakistan, Garth Le Roux and Kepler Wessels from South Africa. Two fine batters and two exceptionally quick bowlers, the quickest I ever kept to. The only problem anyone could see was that the cricketing rules at the time stated that only two “overseas” players could play at any one time, but that was felt to be easily overcome. Fitness levels, natural rotation and an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition would all come into play, and the management confidently expected to play every match that season with two top, top quality players ready to give their all for the club. Except it didn’t quite work out like that: in fact it didn’t work out at all. It soon became apparent that each of them needed to feel that they were the best at the club, that they would be the automatic choice for the most important games. Other issues came into it of course: exact contract details, personality clashes and political allegiances all had their part to play, not to mention the age old distrust of batters for bowlers and vice versa. However, at the heart of it, or so it seemed to me watching them on a daily basis, was the atavistic impulse to be the alpha male.

When I look back to those times and recall the bitter jealousies and furtive conversations I realise that it wasn’t a very happy club at all. And I go on to think about how hard it must be to manage young men not only in the prime of their life but also at their most aggressively competitive, and then I think of how easy it is for us Arsenal watchers to call for squad depth and regular rotation. But I also see that the whole notion of depth is perhaps fundamentally flawed, because you simply can’t have a squad of 24 players all good enough to be automatic first team choices, unless you have unlimited resources and extraordinary man-management skills. Imagine for a moment what would happen if everyone stayed fit, and how you would keep everyone at a peak of match-readiness, given that only 14 can be actively involved in any one match, only 18 chosen for the team. Think what would happen to those internationals who don’t quite make it onto the bench, and for how many matches they would stay happily involved with the project. I doubt it would be long before the whispers and the accusations of favouritism began to spread, and before you knew it you’d have a divided dressing-room and small groups playing for themselves rather than the club.

Injuries do happen, of course, and it is prudent not only to expect them but also to cover them. I do wonder though how many long-term injuries it is realistic to expect in a season, and I doubt if anyone would think it would have been as many as The Arsenal suffered in the season just gone. Peter Wood of Le Grove fame would argue that many of the injuries were caused by lack of rotation and the over-playing of key individuals, and to an extent I think he is probably right. However, that initial lack of rotation was caused by key injuries to Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski , Cazorla and Walcott, while Wilshere was also in the process of returning from long-term injury himself, and so was perhaps not the force he has been (and we very much hope will be) in that exciting yet ultimately damaging pre-Christmas period. To have adequately foreseen and covered for those absences before the season started would have required a crystal ball and huge spending: to have managed all of those players (and those covering for them) had no one been injured may well have been virtually impossible.

Before the Cup Final I did what many fans always do, and tried to pick the Starting XI and bench – and found it hard to do. It would have been that much harder, of course, had Walcott and Chamberlain both been fit, because that might have seen Podolski and Cazorla on the bench, and Rosicky and Wilshere not even in the squad. I am using these names as examples, rather than expressions of preference, but they do help make the point that once you have genuine squad depth and more than 17 fully fit outfield players you begin to run into real management problems. How long would any competitive player wish to stay at a club if he doesn’t even make the bench for the top games? We often hear the cry go up about some prospective fancy signing of “how would he cope with a wet January night in Stoke?” but of course the fancy players don’t have to cope with those sort of nights, because they are left to the journeyman squad members. The real question is “how would Podolski cope with those nights” if due to depth of squad they are the only ones he gets picked for? My guess is that while he would cope with them very well because he is a wonderful player, he is sufficiently competitive to be straight on the phone to his agent with instructions to find him a club where his talents would be showcased in the glamour fixtures.

And this is where I find transfer talk so hard, because I know that for every top, top player that comes in, one of my favourites will either become ever so slightly surplus to requirements, or will leave the club pretty quickly. And I think it is probably also true that given reasonable luck accompanied by top medical support you don’t need a squad of much more than two keepers and 20 outfield players who are genuine first team players. But even with those numbers you are going to have rivalries and disappointments unless you have an outstanding manager with a proven record of earning the loyalty of his players and inspiring them to impossible achievements, like, say, going through a whole League season unbeaten. We have that man, and I am thrilled that he has committed for a further three years. I know that he will add to this group of players, but I also know that he will do it in a way that somehow manages to keep all of them happy. They are going to be very good indeed.

 Today’s post was by @foreverheady

My dad was an Arsenal supporter – still is, at the tender age of 97. I say supporter, rather than fan, because he’s never lived near London, so opportunities to attend matches have been limited. His attachment to Arsenal began during the days of the great Herbert Chapman, just as many have been drawn to Arsenal during the days of the great Arsène Wenger.

In the 30s, we were simply the best team in the country, and because we didn’t acknowledge that football was played in any other country (except, perhaps, Scotland), we were considered here in England to be the best in the world.

So I was brought up as an Arsenal supporter. My first memory of Arsenal is of listening to the 1950 Cup Final on a large wooden radio, or wireless as we then called it. That’s how I enjoyed my first taste of Arsenal success. Arsenal 2 Liverpool 0.

Just as well, really. There were very few successes in the years to come. Very occasionally a league title. Or an FA Cup win. Long arid patches (18 years was the longest) not just without a trophy, but languishing half way down the table with little to play for except winning the match itself.

And as we began to realise that they did indeed play football in other countries, we also realised our place in Europe. Which was nowhere. While teams like Liverpool, ManU, Nottingham Forest and even Aston Villa were winning the European Cup, just twice in 25 years we managed to achieve success in competitions for Europe’s second rate – competitions we’d be embarrassed to be in these days.

And so things remained from the end of the Second World War until the mid nineties, the first fifty years of my life. I don’t remember anyone being too distressed by all of this. Of course, we moaned and cursed when we lost. From time to time we had some brilliant players. And even the occasional manager who was a cut above the rest (Whittaker, Mee, Graham) and whose star spluttered with the glow of brief success.

And then, in 1996, along came Wenger and our world changed.

I won’t rehearse in detail what’s been achieved since. In summary, a glittering period of league and cup wins, an unbeaten season, consistent qualification for a European tournament we’d rarely before been good enough to get into and the wherewithal to build and move into a stadium big enough to match our ambitions. All this followed by a period of retrenchment in which, astonishingly, we have remained financially stable while maintaining our place at Europe’s top table.

And, perhaps most tellingly, a complete overhaul of our expectations.

At last we had a manager with both a flair for immediate success and a long-term strategy for the future. Planning in sport is a dangerous game. The elements of luck and timing which poker players call “variance” can quickly derail a plan. The pattern becomes clear only over time and few clubs have had the luck and judgement to retain a true visionary for long enough to see the map unfurl.

All these reflections were brought to mind by the jubilant scenes which followed the Cup Final, Who knew in just how much affection Wenger is held by players and fans alike? A true antidote to the poison of the clamorous small-minded who have constantly belittled his achievements for the club.

When a decision taken in a match backfires, it’s perfectly reasonable to criticise the manager (though much more interesting to work out why the decision was taken in the first place). But could anyone be as successful a manager as Wenger if scarred with fundamental flaws like excessive stubbornness, unwillingness to spend, poor man-management, tactical naivety, incoherent transfer strategy and all the other frailties which are routinely cited against him?

It doesn’t need a deep understanding of probability to work out how unlikely all of that is. Those who peddle these humdrum banalities seem blind to the fact that they are simply parading their own vacuity.

Even harder to take is the hypocrisy of those who understand full well, but pursue these rancid arguments simply to sway the emotions of others they see as gullible. (Especially when these “opinion-formers” are driven by financial motives.) Or those who insidiously suggest – without a trace of evidence – that we can ignore his earlier successes because he is “past it”. Or those displays of wallowing self-regard which dare to propose that future success or failure will depend on whether he has learned to do it “their way”.

Well, everyone’s entitled to a wrong opinion (though few of us know what it’s like to hold one), especially when spiced with a little wit. Like Shankly’s one-liner about football being more important than life and death, it doesn’t have to be true to be entertaining. So we can (and should) tolerate a wide range of views. But many of the attacks – from snide sniping to absolute abuse – are neither witty nor wise, and step well over the limits of acceptability.

Too much to hope, of course, that the criticisms of the intellectually bereft will now be silenced. There’s money in mindless denigration. Which is why the outpouring of joy not just for the club but also for its manager during Cup Final weekend was so striking. Surely the bellyachers must have noticed.

So perhaps we can hope, fervently hope, that he remains at the helm long enough to achieve the one outstanding ambition for him and the club – the Champions League.

Wenger must go.

But not, please, for a very long time.

Today’s post was by Merlot

The great Cesc Fàbregas debate rages on, fueled by idiots like me who tweet about it and write blogs about it.

Will he leave Barcelona ?

Do we want him ?

Do we need him ?

Is there a buyout clause-how much is it ?

Does Arsene want him ?

Would he disrupt the team spirit ?

Should we go for him just to stop someone else getting him ?

Would he “kill” Jack ,  Aaron, AOC  or anyone else ?

Is he injury prone ?

Is he slow ?

And on and on and on go the questions.

Just like the Arense in/out debate, there is a full spectum of opinions. The fan base is divided .

Least we forget , this is a player that forced his way out of the club.

Arsene did not want to sell him and he had a long contract. The team had been built around him.

Arsene had trusted him to lead us forward in a very difficult time. He was key to the future of the team and the club. We were forced to sell him at less than the perceived market value. It was him who did the forcing.

At the time it was a crushing blow to everyone at the club.

He knew his importance . He knew the love the fans and staff felt for him, yet he forced his way out.

I don’t care a jot that he wanted to go home, win things and play with his mates. He let everyone who loves the club down. He chose to do that. Him, and him alone.

I care even less that he is savvy enough to bang on about his love for Arsenal, for me its just rhetoric. Its like a man who leaves his loyal and loving wife and goes back to his first love. Its poor form and he let us down.

He let me down, ! I was gutted .

Did he go on strike? I don’t know ! No one outside the club does. But I do know that Nasri played and he didn’t. Yet two days after he left he was playing with his first love, running around like a spring lamb.

Am I bitter? You bet your life I am !

However.

He is a fabulous player. He would be a huge asset to us now.

He could cover for Ozil and Ramsey(or alternate ,if you would rather) .

He would make us more dangerous going forward, score and assist as a given.

I believe that before he left he was the best player in the league, he was that good. He would be up there again I have no doubt.

Still, until the questions asked at the top are answered , its a redundant debate.

For the record though, if buying him did not adversely effect the purchase of players in positions that we have a greater need , I would be happy to see him back at the club.

My hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Mel tells me that I should remember it is the anniversary of the great night at Anfield. He also tells of the the need for his award winning account of that night ,to be published today. And on this date every year. Forever.

This wonderful story was written by Mel, for another blog ,then picked up by Arsenal.com (for a reason no reasonable man can determine) .So here we are . Third in line.

Still ,nice of him to still remember his old mate.

Here it is then,Enjoy

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“We’ll win cos we’re the arsenal !”,eternal optimists or deluded fools?

Not sure which camp I fell into as we boarded the coaches on the Avenell road and that chant went up.

I was still cockahoop at a workmate selling me his ticket (£12 including the coach !)a couple of days before this remarkable Friday.

I was at the game against Wimbledon when most believed our title dream had gone,but even if it was to most Gooners, as far as I was concerned if it was mathematically possible,I was gonna see us give it a go,anyway .I’d failed maths O level a couple of years previous so stick me in the deluded camp.

I was traveling alone (most of the mates I knocked about with at the time weren’t really into football,more acid house,the stone roses,ecstasy, raves and failing to chat up girls from what I remember. I was too, but Arsenal was “my thing” always was and always will be and in my 18 years I’d only seen us lift an fa cup and a league cup.

The mood going up to Liverpool  on the coach was helped along with some fierce drinking and singalongs . My Irish genes helped me put a good performance in on both counts,.I  remember as we closed in on our date with destiny that the driver told us it was touch & go whether we’d make kick off.In fact when the boys in yellow & blue ran on the pitch before kick off with the flowers for the Liverpool fans still mourning their 96 brothers and sisters who had died weeks earlier at Hillsborough just because they went to a game(this of course is why this fixture had been postponed and rescheduled to the Friday night after the cup final which tonight’s opponents had won)we were watching it on the coaches portable TV until the Merseyside constabulary decided to give us a fast track escort to the ground.

As we poured off  the coach that chant went up and for the first time I genuinely thought we’d do it.Nothing to do with the drink you understand!.I just fancied us(told you I was deluded).

Once inside, tucked into a corner,I found myself wedged up alongside a Demis Roussos lookalike(look him up kids),anyone that’s been to a massively important game and tells you they remember everything is a liar,the first half was gone in a flash but my new best mate Demis assured me that nil nil after 45 is good and George’s plan was working.

I  remember thinking Liverpool were subdued and there for the taking, and Arsenal were “at it” especially Rocky and Richardson,not surprising really Rocastle was truly one of us and Richardson used to tackle people with his face if he had too! We weren’t going down without a fight that was for sure.

Seven minutes into the second half we got our goal, an Alan Smith header that despite the Liverpool players insisting he hadn’t touched it,the linesman agreed with the 4000 behind him that Smith had,of course he had!, game on!

With about 15 minutes left we looked like we’d get another,Michael Thomas through one  onone with Grobbelar ,but he scuffed it straight at him.

“Don’t worry we’ll get one more clear cut chance” the portly Greek love god next to me whispered. I had my doubts though,neither side were creating that many chances but without hope and all that heh?

As the minutes ticked by that hope was strangling us in our corner but then in the last minute it happened….he was there again. Thomas coolly lifted the ball over Grobbelar and pandemonium was unleashed

Magical doesn’t do it justice.

After the initial going mental bit I remember Demis taking me in his arms, we embraced like grown men only did in at funerals and New Years Eve’s party’s,he could have held me “forever and ever” (I told you!,look him up), there were grown men around us in tears.Remember this was before the days of some blokes letting us down by wearing Ugg boots and applying fake tan but it was beautiful nonetheless.

The players and the trophy malarkey after was a bit of a haze.

We were all still congratulating each other but I do remember Rocastle,his face lit up and his eyes dancing,you see he was our bloke on the pitch despite MT getting the goal ,Rockys medal was ours as well and when he smiled we smiled.

One last bear hug from Demis and soon I was my back to the coach.

Leaving the ground was interesting. Some of the  Scousers  were fantastic, others less so! in fact i would like to thank the 3 Graeme Souness lookalikes that chased me back to the coach helping break the 100m drunken idiot dash world record.I think it was their encouraging words that did it,or the things they said they were gonna do if they got hold of me.

As I waved them goodbye from the safety of the coach there wasn’t a lot of noise at first,just exhausted Gooners with stupid great grins on their faces not believing what we’d just witnessed.

As soon as the first miles to London sign appeared the celebrations commenced.Not sure Ive ever seen drinking like it!.

All the while I was thinking “how did we just do that? How? Cos we’re The Arsenal that’s how”

Today’s post is by Finsbury

The magic of Wembley ..?

“I love the idea of Per & Laurent and the rest taking turns during half-time and the game to help dig the escape tunnel out from the dressing room (passing straight under Probert & Riley’s office, of course) out of Wembley and back to Highbury” – said a friend after the FA Cup Final.

There are great reviews of the Cup Final itself available, you all know where to look. Not forgetting the fantastic coverage of the parade and celebrations. So I thought it might be interesting to look at the two comparative stadiums, built at the same time in the same city to vastly different budgets and results. The similarities and the differences and how the experience of visiting Wembley compared with going to a football match at the new Arsenal stadium for me as a football fan. I took some photos but considering the problems I have keeping hold of my phone during a football match I chose not to take a proper camera. The soft focus in some of the following pictures is for artistic effect!

The 2014 FA Challenge Cup Final was my first cup final and my journey began on the morning of the final. Highbury and Finsbury Park were full of Arsenal fans from the early morning. It already felt like a carnival and I hadn’t even reached Finsbury Park Station. Memories of the carnage witnessed upon the Seven Sisters Road following previous victories and titles came flooding back. The weather was beautiful, people were excited, and the Arsenal had to win. I took the usual route to Wembley for fans using trains, meeting up with friends near Baker Street and then onto crowded carriages packed full of football fans on the way to Wembley. For the Arsenal this journey did not begin nine years ago, it began at the end of the last century when The Arsenal began to seriously discuss their plans for the future.

The comparative stadium projects for both the FA and AFC involved the complex demolition and rebuild of new stadiums upon, more or less, the same existing sites. That shift across by a few hundred metres in Highbury and the new housing matched the complexities with the Wembley site and that arch for the Wembley builders. The end result is that on match day football fans still get to enjoy the walk down the traditional routes of Wembley Way or Gillespie Road and still visit the same places, supporters’ clubs and associations, cafes, bars, restaurants, parks and friends on their way to the football.

Wembley Way- people like to parade on their way to Wembley, and afterwards they like to celebrate with parades.

Overall there seemed to be a great atmosphere between the fans with respect, rivalry and friendship. The experience of Wembley Way on cup final day matched its mythological reputation. A great spectacle. Let us hope that no one tells our groaners that Wembley Way was probably inspired by a Parisian boulevard.

Apart from Wembley Way there are not that many civic or green spaces for people to wander about in the area. The area around Wembley Stadium has been redesigned for cars and other motor vehicles. Islington retains some of its older human proportions even though the ancient Great North Road (Holloway Road/ the A1) now starts in Highbury. Dick Turpin used to rob the rich on the Great North Road, and you can find Dick Whittington’s cat loitering in Archway near the Whittington hospital, not too far from the new Arsenal Stadium. It’s possible that these rose-tinted specs inlaid with rubies and quartz distort my parochial perspective but as far as I can tell the main roads in Islington have more charisma then the main roads in Wembley. This makes for good parades!

Fans entering Wembley Stadium – note that the bottom left logo on the sign indicates that footballs are not allowed at Wembley …

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After Wembley Way there was a slow wait to get through the gates. The turnstiles looked flimsy when compared with the gates you get at the new Arsenal Stadium, which probably explained the slow progress.

Inside the ground the experience of the acoustics at Wembley have been previously described by many as awful. And they were correct. This is only because the stadium management choose to blast out an awful – as in cheap and awful – PA system that makes it impossible to talk or sing when the players are not playing, which is the only time they pull the plug on the awful racket. I was lucky enough to go to the game along with my friend’s Uncle who used to co-ordinate rigs for musical concerts back at the old Wembley stadium amongst other venues. And in his experienced opinion the quality and design of the PA was awful as well as annoying. We do not like the PA at the new Arsenal ground but it is not as poor as the one at Wembley and the people using it are not as stupid or annoying. After the trophy presentation it was very hard for the Arsenal fans to serenade their victorious team although they were happy to try! At that moment I almost wished that I could escape back to N5 so that I could appreciate what people were trying to say or sing.

I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again: broadcasters simply don’t care about the fans in the stadiums.

Visually the experience inside the grounds is similar. Great views, unobstructed by columns and other stuff. The incremental additions of colour and decoration inside and outside the new Arsenal stadium have been led by some talented designers, and the Arsenal stadium looks nice from the inside as well as the outside. The Wembley interior is very bland in comparison. (Props to Redaction for smuggling in some giant flags, they looked good.) The seating at the Emirates is also of higher quality.

There are many similarities with these two new London stadiums with minor superficial differences if we try to ignore the football pitch itself. But we can’t ignore the cost.

The cost.

Wow, the cost. Don’t mention the cost!

This is the reason why the semi-finals are played at Wembley, so even if we wanted to we couldn’t ignore the variation. This huge difference (at least half a billion), the use of an inappropriate contract for the Wembley project tells us everything we need to know about the differences between the FA and AFC, and the two stadiums. For example, the specification for the grass for the football pitch in the new Arsenal stadium was written into the contract for Arsenal’s new football ground. The quality of a football pitch does affect the experience for the fans, the tradition of maintaining good pitches is understood and appreciated at Arsenal. Two women footballers I met on Saturday had been told off by the Arsenal groundsman for going onto the pitch to warm up before they were given permission during a tournament in the recent past. Not surprisingly he was upset during Saturday’s pitch invasion, heh!

I think it is safe to say the quality of the football pitch was not a consideration for the FA at Wembley when building the ‘home of football’.

Certainly not in the contract. This is why the FA has then had to spend further millions replacing their pitch. Several times. Meanwhile this year the numbers of amateur footballers and the facilities they require in the UK declined for lack of funding from the FA (according to our very own Keown). Those burning bins around the Wembley pitch before kickoff, I imagined that they were burning off the excess fertiliser that was used to salvage the Wembley pitch in preparation for this final? Who knows what was in the bins? Not the FA; perhaps they were full of melting black bin liners?

Irony alert: Black bin liners finally being put to good use.

As well as forgetting about the football pitch when building their billion pound football stadium it was also noticeable on the day that the FA had forgotten to organise any ball boys or girls for their cup final showpiece. The Lawn Tennis Association may not know how to manage a sport but they do know how to run their facilities when the world is watching. I initially thought that there must be no ball boys or girls because of a cup regulation, or at Probert’s request. But I was wrong. Eventually two ball girls – as in two – appeared after half-time. The FA cannot sort out a football pitch let alone a stadium, or even the ball boys and girls for their equivalent of the Wimbledon finals. No need to comment on the referees.

Do we need to ask the question: “What are the FA good for?”

Burn the PA rigs and introduce safe standing and cheaper tickets at all football grounds, that’s what all supporters’ groups in Football should be fighting for. It’s certainly not rocket science. I do not believe that they should be attacking people that consistently show and sometimes say that they “love football”.

Conclusions – We all know about the negatives and positives that come with these modern stadiums, the benefits in the UK that would come from adding some safe standing areas etc. Most of the lower tier at Wembley seemed to stand up for most of the game anyway. The best thing about both projects in comparison to other new stadiums is that they were kept upon or very close to their original sites.

For Arsenal there would have been advantages to relocate to Kings Cross, the third option that was available for the club to consider alongside moving to Wembley or staying in Highbury. Kings Cross was always a more practical solution, good transport links etc. The site was viable because it was not too far away but the Grove was always the more romantic option. And moving to Kings Cross would not have kept the strong links with the spaces and places that inhabit the club’s past. This was not a consideration in the early twentieth century when the club first moved, but I believe it is with today’s hyper real constructions.

In my possibly biased opinion there is no debate to be had regarding which is the better stadium when comparing Wembley with the new Arsenal stadium.

The Munich Allianze Arena is also a comparable project. They relocated to a new out-of-town site, which is why many who have seen both the Arena and the new Arsenal stadium prefer the new Arsenal Stadium.

A diddly/league cup wouldn’t have done the job and unlike an FA Cup it would not have been added to the list of trophies that circle the Arsenal pitch. Although the victory is recorded inside the ground there was not a parade in Highbury after the FA Cup was won in 2005.

What happened on Sunday was a housewarming party for the new Arsenal Stadium.

This carnival in Highbury started the day before, and would have kicked off when the final whistle blew in Wembley. On our return to Highbury from Wembley we conducted a grand tour around the stadium in order to investigate.

Many people were celebrating on the streets around the stadium – we stumbled upon a sound rig here by the Arsenal letters. Good tunes!

Unfortunately the police felt threatened by happy teenagers partying on the streets of London so we were forced, by law, to investigate many of the bars and restaurants and clubs on our lap of honour around the new Arsenal stadium and we found that even as the bands began to pack up and get ready to go home, that spirits remained high. No doubt many venues kept plenty of staff *coughs* on hand into the early hours to help clear up and prepare for the next day’s celebrations.

Arsenal fans would have gathered by the Highbury clock tower to watch local lad Pat Rice and his troops celebrate the double in 1971. The fans were there again on Sunday, all day long.

Arsenal fans on parade – people wanted to show their appreciation and I hope the German Gunners got to see this sweet sign. Great atmosphere.

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What it is the significance of reaching the end of this journey?

“…we silenced a lot of people…” – Kieran Gibbs

Ramsey said the same thing using different words. So did Podolski. Arteta. Mertesacker. Rosicky. They all said it, because they all felt it. The pressure. This pressure was more then the gibbering nonsense of wind-up merchants, or the consequence of consistently malicious propaganda. It was the task, the responsibility of completing this epic move, which is what weighed upon the Arsenal players. This pressure was too much hard work for the two previous captains and the previous squad had to be dismantled and rebuilt. As Thaksin Shinawatra discovered this is never a quick process. Fortunately during the times when Arsene Wenger had allegedly “lost it” and had to rebuild, he somehow managed to sign Germany’s best defender Per Mertersacker, Prince Arteta, the adored magician Carzola, and an unpolished gem in Koscielny who went on to sparkle against the world’s best forwards. Someone called Özil? And more.

On the 17th of May 2014 one chapter in Arsenal’s history came to end and another began. The new stadium has been baptised with St.Totteringham’s blessings. The pictures and drapes were already up and now with the bauble added atop the mantelpiece the new Arsenal Stadium finally resembles Home.

The party lasted long after the parade had finished

Journey’s end.

An appropriate place to close these rambling thoughts on the Royal Arsenal.

A team of lions led by a lion.

During last summer’s transfer window, when speculation was at its highest (AFC still hadn’t signed anyone anybody had ever heard of) Arsene was asked a direct question about Cesc Fabregas and said: “he won’t be going anywhere this season” or words to that effect. But he said it in a way that made it seem fairly obvious that he was still very much in contact with him, and was probably still someone who Cesc turned to for advice. It is entirely likely that that is the case, and even more likely that a number of ex-AFC players keep in close contact with him. If they do, then it is also reasonable to assume that Arsene has a better idea than most of which players are happy where they are, and which ones are looking for a move. He has, if you like, his spies everywhere. I suspect he also talks to his current players, many of whom will have friends in other clubs throughout the world, who no doubt also keep him informed about possible movements. He will also (as will all the managers) be contacted regularly by agents, and will have many conversations with those other managers. This is all pretty obvious, so when he says things like “it will be a very quiet January market because of the World Cup” or “not much serious business will be done until July 15^th” he probably knows what he is talking about. After all, this will be his fifth World Cup since managing Arsenal, and writing that makes me pause and think for a moment.

It may not be what people (or the press) are wanting to hear, but it does seem to me that if more people actually listened to what Arsene says (and tried to understand the sense of what he is saying) then they would not only be better off, but would also come closer to understanding how the professional game actually works. I could be wrong but few, if any, major transfers have been made yet. A number have been touted: everyone to Manchester United for example, Costa to Chelsea, Pogba to PSG – but I don’t think any ting has yet been signed. And why would they have been yet? Why would an agent sell before the World Cup if he knows a bold show by his player will push up the price? Why would a club sign a player before knowing that he had come through a serious competition with limbs unscathed and free from tropical diseases (Costa couldn’t even make it to the end of his League season, and hamstrings are not guaranteed to ever heal as good as new). No, it seems to me that the only deals that are likely to be done now are either the little ones that are unlikely to impact any of the major European clubs, or the ones where the agents are desperate to offload shop-soiled goods. Caveat emptor.

But journalists need copy, websites need hits, and agents need to get their goods into the market place, so the rumours are circulating with dizzying pace. Each fan will have their own ideas as to what their club needs, and each will have their own wish list. Some already seem to know the details of each and every contract, and the Twitterspehre is awash with release clauses, buy-back options and player-for-player deals. From my Arsenal perspective I have already been told which players are definitely leaving and which need to be sent out on loan (I always enjoy the serious tone people adopt when they tell me that, for example, “Jenkinson needs a loan-spell” sounding for all the world like a 1950s factory owner sending his son and heir for a spell on the shop floor. I know which positions need filling, who isn’t really Arsenal quality, which are “useful squad players” and, perhaps most bizarrely, exactly how much money the club has to spend – and that’s not even counting the extra revenue from the 3% price hike.

Except, of course I don’t know any of these things, and I don’t believe anyone else really does either. It doesn’t stop me thinking about them, and I too have some players that I hardly dare to dream might one day come our way – of course I do. But I also want to see some of our home-growns thrive. I want to see Jenknson, not on loan, but playing regularly. I want to see Wilshere become the player he has already shown he can be. I want Giroud to score 30 League goals next season. I want Ozil to weave more of his magic and I want Theo to become The Arsenal legend I know he will. And so for now I will continue to enjoy the Cup we have won, and get through the time between now and the Emirates Cup as best I can. I won’t bother claiming to know what is likely to happen on the transfer front, because I really don’t know  – but I will take comfort from the fact that the manager probably does. Arsene knows, and that’s got such a nice ring to it that I’m surprised no-one’s ever used it before.

Today’s article was brough to us by @foreverheady .

A caller to the tedious and now rather boring drive time show on talk sport on the Monday after our FA cup win went on about how Mr Wenger is rubbish at buying defenders. He went on about Cygan, Senderos etc. and also how he had not replaced the defense. I am not sure which defense, he was saying had not been replaced either the 1997/98 one or the unbeaten defense of 2003/04. So I thought I would look at Mr Wengers record of buying defenders

Season 96/97

M. Upson  £2m Appearances 56 (39 starts, 17 as a sub)

Season 98/99

Oleg Luzhny £1,8m Appearances 110 (91 starts, 19 as a sub)

Nelson Vivas Free Appearances 69 (29 starts, 40 as a sub)

Season 99/00

Lauren  £7. 2m Appearances 241 (227 starts, 14 as a sub)

Sylvinho £4m Appearances 80 (66 starts, 14 as a sub)

Season 00/01

Igor Stepanovs  £1m Appearances 31 (29 starts, 2 as a sub)

Season 01/02

Kolo Toure £150,000 Appearances 326 (295 starts, 31 as a sub)

Efstathios Tavlaridis £600,000 Appearances 8 (7 starts, 1 as a sub)

Sol Campbell Free Appearances 211 (208 starts, 3 as a sub)

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst £8.5m Appearances 64 (39 starts, 25 as a sub)

Season 02/03

Pascal Cygan £2.1m Appearances 98 (80 starts, 18 as a sub)

Season 03/04

Gael Clichy £250,000 Appearances 264 (230 starts, 34 as a sub)

Johan Djourou Free Appearances 144 (123 stats, 21 as a sub)

Philippe Senderos £2.5m Appearances 117 (105 starts, 12 as a sub)

Season 04/05

Armand Traore £250, 000 Appearances  32 (28 starts, 4 as a sub)

Season 06/07

William Gallas Swap Appearances 142 (142 starts, 0 as a sub)

Season 07/08

Bakari Sagna £6m Appearances 284 (272 starts, 12 as a sub)

Season 08/09

Mikael Sylvestre £750,000 Appearances 43 (37 starts, 6 as a sub)

Season 09/10

Sol Campbell (see above)

Thomas Vermaelen  £10m Appearances 150 (136 starts, 14 as a sub)

Season 10/11

Sebastien Squillaci £4m Appearances 39 (35 starts, 4 as a sub)

Laurent Koscielny £10m Appearances 165 (160 starts, 5 as a sub)

Season 11/12

Per Mertesacker £10m Appearances 123 (121 starts, 2 as a sub)

André Santos £6.2m Appearances 33 (21 starts, 12 as a sub)

Carl Jenkinson Free Appearances 57 (43 starts, 14 as a sub)

Season 12/13

Nacho Monreal £8. 3m Appearances 33

That is 25 defenders signed by Mr Wenger in his time at Arsenal; I am looking at that list and thinking that over half to two thirds of those signings were good and were what the squad needed at the time. Some were awful, while others were just not good enough for the style of Arsenal play. Supporters like the man who called in to Talk sport label defenders like Senderos as rubbish, but they fail to look at his contribution to our run to the Champions League final, he played in eight of the games helping keep clean sheets in all eight games he started including the games against Real Madrid, Juventus and the first semi-final against Villarreal. Perhaps the European style of play, he was facing and his partnership with Toure suited him better than playing Premiere League football and partnering Gallas? Cygan French defender of the year signed for £2.3m but a limited run in the side and a difficulty adapting to the English game meant he was moved on, but you also have to credit him with helping with Arsenals unbeaten season playing 18 times that season.

There were poor buys by Mr Wenger, Santos, Squillaci and Mikael Sylvestre for example, but to say that Wenger cannot spot a defender is I think an over the top statement by  section of fans who wish to see Mr Wenger leave the club.

Perhaps before condemning some of these buys we should also look at the position they held within the squad and how many were signed as back up players to the starting back four. Unless you are willing to pay high wages for players to be called upon for League cup games and the odd run in the first team, you are left with either young players making their way in the game or those who are coming to the end of their careers who are happy to be bench warmers.

*if I have missed any players Mr Wenger has signed as a defender please let me know

@Swales1968

Well that was two days of the most extreme emotions.

In the run up to the kick-off I was quite calm. I was sure we would win. In fact I was sure we would win at a canter. But that wasn’t to be. No, it was like the script for a Rocky film, with us continually lifting ourselves from the floor before finally landing the knock-out blow. A triumph of spirit and heart .

I watched the game at home with a United supporting mate of mine. My little dog sitting cuddled up next to me and a beer in hand. I was even feeling well enough to partake of some nibbles the Mrs had laid out for us. I was going to pontificate on the wizardry of our play and bask in the reflected glory. Well, so I thought.

After eight minutes the dog had scurried upstairs and hidden under the bed. Assorted random articles and ornaments were flying across the room and the air was blue with choice words. Two minutes later I was just slumped in the chair with a stupid grin on my face, shaking my head in disbelief.

The wife came in, saw  the desolation around the room and asked me what had happened. In a panic I told her it must have been a poltergeist, something I  regret, as she want to move home now.

Now we have a free kick and Santi is standing over it. I turn to my mate and say “Don’t fucking shoot from here Santi” he replied – “Wow, there you go, back in  it”

We were. I thought “Another seventy minutes to get an equalizer – no problem.” Well I suppose I was right but it was a heart-wrenching time.

Although we were on top the goal just would not come.

Ozil pulled a Gervinho and completely missed the ball on its way past him when any touch would have done.

Gibbs? Well only he know how he managed to miss.

I counted four stone wall penalties waved on by someone in black doing an impersonation of a referee.

Finally, the man who makes a habit of scoring crucial goals managed it again in rather a scruffy situation.

On then to extra time.

Aaron confirmed his legendary status and we were the 2014 FA Cup winners.

When the final whistle went there was an outpouring of joy from the fans, players and staff, such as I have never witnessed.

The consequences of us losing were frightening. Arsene said his future was not going to be determined by that one game. I think it may well have been.

The meltdown from the fans would have been simply overwhelming. I honestly think the tide would have turned too much for both him and a lot of the players to turn back.  Spurred on by a blood thirsty pack of second rate journalists, unemployed  experts and attention seeking bloggers, it would have been a veritable feeding frenzy for the dimwitted.

Anyway, win we did and that meant a parade with all the fun and joy that went with it. A great day was had by all.

Now we are told that the great man will be signing a three year deal.

Life just does not get any better.