Round and round we go …

I have to admit that this transfer window has left me drained and disappointed.

Not because of anything the club has or hasn’t done, but because once again the atmosphere has turned sour.  The mood surrounding the club in no way reflects our excellent league and multiple cup positions, or indeed our form over the last 12 months.  Anyone would imagine we were out of all the cups, fighting relegation.

Seriously, how the hell has this happened?

If you are not happy now, what will make you happy?

To me it feels like it did before the Aston Villa game, almost a disaster waiting to happen.  A huge wave of negativity that could swamp the team and drown our collective high hopes.  I just hope we score early and the pressure does not build up and overwhelm everyone.  It’s not fair.  I don’t want to feel like this.  I want to be happy and eager to see the team.  Yet if anything, I want to keep the fans as far apart from the team as possible.

Not the ideal way in which to show our support.

There seems to be little room for manoeuvre when it come to team selection.  Whatever happens we will see two of the three midfielders not fully match fit.  It’s that bad.

As you will have gathered by now I am feeling anything but positive.

I still expect an Arsenal win, but the fear of failure is weighing me down like an anchor with hundreds of negative bloggers and tweeters pulling it down. I don’t like it one little bit.

Roll on 4 pm Sunday, roll on another 3 points.

Roll on the return of the Arsenal feel good factor.

A guest post from The Beck .

Yesterday was weird, and it was filled with anti climax.

Draxler-

 “Arsene shouldn’t get the final call when it comes to the value of a player”

 If I am told I have to work with a budget, I would find it ridiculous to have someone else work/sanction purchases in my favour. Therefore leaving my hands even more tied for whoever I decided to purchase next.

 We’re not Madrid or City or PSG when it comes to valuation or fees, AW has to plan for the next purchase, or the next 3-5 purchases in relation to our budget, he probably already has them in his head. He’s always appeared to be a long term planner.

 Even if we had £200m in the *warchest* its relatively nothing compared to who we’re fighting/competing against, and how we use it right now that is absolutely vital to our future. There can be no mistakes with big purchases, none of the Torres/Shevshenko kinds.

 If financial decisions of the board, affect your personnel decisions, then it seems rational that you have the final say on who comes in and who doesn’t.

 Almost all the information about our board comes from the media or people who truly believe they have knowledge about the board. Some speak about the information like it was told to them personally and what you end up with is a lot of hearsay and assumptions.

 Many Arsenal fans are very short-termist (this better be a real word) sometimes, especially under transfer window pressure.There is never a summer where things can’t be done better, there is never a better chance to win the league (something I’ve heard for 3-4 years out of the last 8).Always pushing their own personal insecurities, worries about certain injuries onto other fans, letting media clichés and click worthy headlines sink deeply into their souls before they even realize what is actually going on.

 We might have played a solid hand of poker with Schalke last week and we probably lost, or maybe we won him/them over for another transfer window, this is something unclear to me and probably will be until the summer.

 Draxler is probably injured until late February, it would have been nice to have him in our squad, he appears very talented and versatile, especially with Theo and Ramsey out. But we couldn’t make it happen, even if Arsene/Board thought he was worth £34-37m, we cannot be too sure that Schalke didn’t want more, or had settled for a fee then pulled out and asked for even more.Perhaps they wanted to monitor his progress post injury, his stats this season are not like his last, perhaps there is a far better player who is ready and might be available in the summer for the same price, again, something we might find out later.

 There is also an image of Arsene that he has too big a responsibility at Arsenal, if this is true, the man must be a deity to keep us top all by himself for 3 months with just Ozil and Flamini being the major *changes* from last year, when we were near where United are now.

 Arsene has Neil Banfield, Bould, Peyton (not Payton), Colbert, O’Driscoll, Harland, Hunt, Akers, Johnson, Lewin, Primorac, Page, Ashworth, Collins, Svensson, literally a line of staff ready to help and assist him and I imagine they do that behind closed doors and in training.

 He also has Dick Law, Gazidis and a bunch of other corporate business men at his disposal, he is not as alone as the media paint him to be, he is not this tyrant who has 30 different roles and orders everyone to do as he says.

 The board listen to him because they trust him, they trust him because they know him.

I say this because I believe Arsenal wouldn’t continue to employ and support someone like that for nearly two decades unless the man knows what he is doing,that or he must be the best actor in the world and is due 20 Academy Awards.

 The media has had an obsession with David Dein since he left, and they’re making Arsenal fans think that Arsene needs a man telling him who to buy or to close deals, when we probably already have a person doing that. Ozil wasn’t luck, getting Ozil was pure genius and that player is so special, it takes hours of watching him play before you fully understand how great he is.

 The man knows what he is doing, better than us, better than most managers, I find this constant questioning of him really tiring. Every formation, every game, every bench,

 These people are lingering on to things just so that they can feel right/justified about how miserable they used to feel when things were bleak.

 Arsene has looked healthier and happier in the last 5 months than in the last 5 years, this squad appears to be challenging and going places, Ozil knew that when he joined, the reactions of some fans is laughable and if you can’t make them understand, I believe its better to ignore, but I speak from a very passive individualistic nihilistic view of how to approach other supporters.

Being a manager is not easy, what’s evident to us as fans, isn’t evident in the same fashion to a manager. A manager could make 20 mistakes in one game and still win, he could be faultless in his tactics and still lose, how fans and the media react afterwards paints the picture, but the manager will know what worked and what didn’t.

 Arsene hasn’t been able to get the striker he wants, yet.

 Its definitely a yet.

 He had Bendtner on standby to leave in the summer, he’s sent Park Chu Young on loan, he’s sent Akpom on loan, gave Chamakh to Palace and stuck with a handsome striker who has played remarkably well for us.

 We even sold Gervinho to Roma and he’s done well there, but it shows you the level we’re after, we don’t want to settle unless its an emergency.

 Giroud has never really been good enough for people who are now *upper class Arsenal twitter fans* and expect only the caviar all of a sudden, after saying we’d probably just get sausages and finish 5th this year.

Even if Arsene rates what they see as sausages, as caviar, which happens more often than not, it seems they do not learn, and as most homo sapiens do, stick stubbornly to their formative ideas.

 Now people are obsessed with this magic striker, especially after seeing City/Liverpool with their dynamic duos, always comparing, always using other teams to bash ours, and its constant.They don’t let go, its always “I wish Giroud was like Aguero” or “Flamini ain’t Yaya Toure”, like we’ve not been top of the league for the months, like everything we’ve done means literally nothing.

 The entitlement and sheer spoiled childish nature really takes away from the enjoyment of supporting and just generally enjoying games.

January 12th 2014. “I looked for a striker last summer that could play with Giroud and without Giroud,” said Wenger. “In my mind, it was not absolutely to replace Giroud, it was to play with or without him.”

 Its really easy to break down too, since everything else appears so *easy* to folks.

 We probably wanted a special striker, went after Higuain openly, didn’t agree with the price, (and people use countless of stats, pointing out how we should have paid more for Higuain and 35m+ was a reasonable price), yet Real didn’t give a toss about his stats (above a man who luckily escaped being charged with sex with a minor prostitute), nor any other top clubs that were in for strikers outside of us and Napoli, or so it appears.

 Higuain might not even have been plan A, plan A may have been Jovetic, or even Rooney or whoever you can think of that we pursued behind closed doors .

 We then moved on to Suarez, and after Suarez, we flirted with 19th century Ba, among a host of other loanees. Thus again, showing that sometimes you can have 5-6 targets, and still end up with none. That’s how the transfer window works sometimes, even if you’re willing to pay top dollar, but of course, fans will say its not possible and we have no plan B.

 We have failed to buy a striker that is better than what we have, and we have also failed to get a better back up than Bendtner.But it depends entirely on Arsene’s valuation of Bendtner and the valuation of the market, its really too simplistic to say “how can we not get someone better than Bendtner”.

 It appears that either Arsenal fans underrate Bendtner, or there were no one that could offer better than our Dane would for a reasonable price, a price better paid in the summer for a world class player, or it could be that both happened, or several scenarios, I’m not really great at guessing.

 And yeah I said it, we failed to buy a striker, just like Bayern did, until they got Lewa, just like Chelsea have this window, just like many clubs do all the time, they don’t always get what they want, especially when theyare not Man City/Chelsea/PSG.

 We tried to get many on loan (it appears), from Vucinic to Klose and if you’re crazy/stupid/lovely enough to believe the Kalou rumour, kudos to you.

 Its not about incompetence, or blaming or getting angry at our club/players/manager/chief exec/illustrious Dick Law. Everyone knows by now that we’ve failed to get a striker, mentioning it every game when Giroud/Bendtner/Sanogo misses, or looks tired or we simply don’t score, its just too predictable, try to be a little more exciting in your life.And even when you’ve found someone at Arsenal to blame for us not being able to get a striker that AW/his assistants/board deem great enough, what do you want? for him to lose his job? what if its Arsene? or someone that the board trust no matter what fans say, because he’s produced really great work before and is likely to do so again, do you want him to lose his job mid season, when he could possibly bring you an even better player? or do you want him to get told to shape up (which probably happens within club anyway)?

 Its really not as simple as people make it out to be, the kind of changes people want are only to hurry their fantasies, which are Twitter/Fifa/Tabloid/FM created at best.

 Asking people to blindly trust the club is not the same as asking them being patient, I believe the club has shown enough over the last year to build trust back with the fans and with our direction.

 Sometimes you try and you don’t get, even with all the money in the world.Monaco got Berbatov on loan, Berbatov, after having an injured Falcao and sending Lacina Traore on loan to Everton.  Chelsea got no one after Matic. Mourinho’s tears are still in the 19th century.

 When Giroud gets injured, we dealt with it before and we’ll deal with that bridge when we get there. People have been obsessing with Giroud and his injuries all season, the man is built like a tank. We’ll deal with it just like we’re dealing with Theo, Diaby, and how we dealt with Theo’s in Autumn, as well as Ox’s, Cazorla’s, Podolski’s and Arteta’s injury problems.

 Wenger on Giroud: “He’s a tough, tough boy.when you speak to the coaches after the game, they say ‘Oh, what a player he is’. He has qualities the rest of the squad haven’t got. He always gives us that strength. I compare him to Alan Smith in the way he holds the ball up, distribution and goalscoring.”

 With the injury to Ramsey being a big blow, I thought we had not enough cover in midfield, along comes Kim Mikael Källström to save our season. Its not as depressing as it sounds. (perhaps its just hugely underwhelming).By the way, I say *save our season* with sarcasm, we’re not in relegation, we’re not even desperately fighting for 4th. We’re right in the title race. He is needed now that Ramsey is out for a while, whilst Wilshere is having set backs and Flamini has a suspension. This is Arsene, not just hoping injuries will go away, but making sure we have a body there when we might need him.

 If anything our season saviours are already on the pitch, doing the business every day, fighting week in week out against financial doping to the extreme, only to be mocked at any failed pass/mistake/miss.But I know how short-termist (still, is this a word yet) we are as fans, City could lose on Monday, we could beat Palace, Liverpool and Utd and suddenly its an entirely different atmosphere.

 I just wish we didn’t have to drag ourselves through the dirt to get there every week.

 Trust your club cause you love it, love your club cause its Arsenal.

*Not blindly, using hindsight, foresight, minority report, time machines or anything*

Today’s guest post is by Muppet

If it’s not the price tag, what is it?

Bang average.  Taxi.  Turning circle of an oil tanker.  Clown.  Barn Door.

Certain blogs pull no punches in their assessment of players.  To be fair, it can go the other way:

Legend.  Genius.  Unplayable. 

So what distinguishes a clown from a legend?  Is it a matter of fan opinion?  Is it fact?  Can we measure it?

I tend to defer to the man, or woman, on the terraces, who has stood there for a long time, often in the cold.  They can know their footballers.  It’s hard to argue against those with an eye.  Ask them exactly what it is about that footballer, and you’ll get answers like, well – “He’s class” or “Top, top class”.

But what exactly does that mean?

I thought about this the other day, and wondered how it was that Wenger persisted with Ramsey for so long?  Wondered how Song could now be in a Barcelona shirt, when most on a certain blog thought he was destined for the championship.  Wondered how it is that a manager is able to distinguish between a talented young player who will make it to the top, and one that will not.

So there must be some criteria, right ?  I’m talking about at the top level.  And let me point out I don’t have any top level experience.  I’m a middle aged, overweight amateur – a has been.  Actually, a never was.  Tennis player that is.  My best years well and truly behind me.  My football experience was a couple of short years in the Sunday league, in goal.  Makes me well qualified to discuss all this?  No.  But I can speculate, like we all do.  I can even do a bit of research.

We all kind of know the attributes that make a good footballer.  Got to be fit, right?  Be a good athlete?  Got to be well co-ordinated, have strength.  Have good technique.  Have vision.  Have mental strength.  Well,  I’m beginning to sound like Wenger.  As this is the stuff that he trots out in his press conferences – “Mental Strength”.  We’ve heard it on a subliminal level for years.  But what does it all actually mean? Fitness?  I’m fit – me, I do circuits once or twice a week, and err, play some amateur tennis, so that includes me, right?  And, err, technique.  Well, I can kick a ball, and do kicky-uppy?  Can’t you?  And mental strength, well, I’m strong.

Ok, so let’s get serious here now.  I thought it would be interesting to try and explore what we mean by good athlete?  What do we mean by good vision?  What do we mean by good technique?  And what other attributes do top players need?  And remember, we are talking about attributes often needed in combination.

FITNESS & ATHLETICISM

Sorry to bring in stats, but I read somewhere that on average, in 1970, a footballer would run 4 kilometers a game.  In 2014 this has gone up to around 10k to 12k on average.  Top level players have extraordinary levels of fitness. Some are extraordinary athletes to start with.

In fact, certain managers prefer athletes in their side now, which is probably why the term “luxury player” has evolved over time.  Examples of this, in the 1986 World Cup, Hoddle was decreed a luxury player by Beckenbauer, one who would weaken England.  Pundits believe Mata was sold by Mourinho because of his lack of athleticism, resulting in failure to track back and cover the game as well as Oscar and Willian.

The converse of this is the phrase “water carrier.”  Of course, not all players are either water carriers or luxury players.  However, it helps if athleticism and stamina is part of your armory.  The modern day midfielder runs around 12k to 14k in a game, often capable of lung-busting runs.  Basically, we are talking middle distance runners kicking a ball.  Ramsey was the school boys champion in Wales at 800m.  I don’t know his time, but I suspect it was around 2 minutes, maybe sub 2 minutes.  Can you do the 800 in 2 minutes?  I managed about 2 minutes 30, almost throwing up over the line as I came in last, when I was 14.

Modern day full backs have to be quick, possess copious amounts of stamina for bombing up and down the touchline, supporting attacks.  The converse is true for wingers who have to do defensive duties.  They too, run between 8k to 12k in a game.

Strikers? Some measurements have been taken of the fastest players in world football.  The top 10 apparently come in between 31 kph to 35 kph.  This approximates to around 11.6 to 10.2 seconds over 100m.  Of course, you don’t need to do the 100 that fast if you have other attributes, like strength and hold up play, a la Giroud, and finishing of course.  But strikers also need a fair amount of stamina to be the 1st line of defence and press the opposition.  Difficult to do.  Modern day football demands it.  A player can quickly be dubbed “lazy” if they don’t do this, and we know one quite well.

SKILLS

It is sometimes deceptive exactly how skillful top professionals are.  I used to practice with a ball in my back garden.  That thing they do, easily, keeping the ball up on either foot, then flicking it behind their head – child’s play for them, for me – impossible.  But this is meat and drink for a top footballer.

The skill that really can differentiate a top player is how they receive the ball, i.e. their first touch.  At Sunday league level, the morning after a heavy session in the pub and Indian, players have eons of time to receive the ball, pick out a leisurely pass to their lumbering and still-over-the-limit teammates.  Premiership level, no chance.  You have a millisecond, and within then, you have to have already computed what you are doing with the ball.  Once, at the end of the season, I played in midfield, and the second or so that I dawdled on the ball was adequate time for the opposition to come and take it off of me.

Some of the greats are capable of slowing down time, breaking down what they do with the ball like in a freeze frame.  They say a fly is able to see us coming because time appears to them to be slowed down by several magnitudes.  This is how it is with Fabregas or Hoddle.  Watch how they maximise what little time and space they have, bringing the ball down or laying it off, and picking the right option.

So first touch is an innate skill.  Others too are probably more inherited than manufactured.  The ability to shoot, passing accuracy, the art of defending i.e. anticipation.  Take a look at this YouTube video. Some say it’s fake.  I’m not so sure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dny2VxJufgA

TECHNIQUE

Aligned to skills, is technique.  As this is an Arsenal blog, I have to mention that Wenger favours players with technique.  In fact, it’s a pre-requisite.  In an interview about coaching, in this link Wenger mentions technique:

http://www.soccer-training-info.com/coerver_coaching_interview_wenger.asp

Wenger states that it’s very important to teach technique to under 14 year olds.  This is because if you are over 14, and you don’t have technique, it is harder to learn it in later years.

I think it’s fair to assume that top footballers must have worked very hard to achieve good technique, with countless hours of practice.  Unless it is in their DNA.  There are freaks like Rooney who come into this category.

VISION

Aligned with skills, most players need good vision. At the very top level, the ability to pick out a pass or read the game separates greatness from a run-of-the-mill top footballer.  Mesut Özil encapsulates this exactly.  He reads the game and can find his man with uncanny accuracy, resulting in assists that go off the chart.  Some critics look at Özil and don’t see this as extraordinary, probably because he makes it look so easy.  He also makes intelligent runs, dragging players out of their positions, then creating opportunities for unmarked players.

It was said of Fabregas that he picked the right pass whatever the situation.  This is the hallmark of a great player.  It is said that if you froze a game and then got a coach to pick out the best option for the team, Fabregas would pick the same option every time.  It must be stated that this is an extremely rare ability.  To do this requires a mental map, in real time, of exactly where all the players are on the field now, and anticipating where they are going to be by the time you have executed a pass.  Some say that top level players can track the movements of 6 or 7 of their teammates and know where they are.

This attribute is not just needed in an attacking sense, but also to spot danger.  Watch how Mertesacker and Koscienly have been patrolling the defensive line like a pair of sharks this season.  Being in the right place at the right time is vital.  Tony Adams was able to read the game and so possessed this attribute in abundance.

MENTAL STRENGTH

As all Gooners know, this is one of Wenger’s favourite terms.

What does it mean exactly?  It seems to be a catch all for the competitive qualities necessary to win and succeed.  I would surmise that you could have 2 young players of equal ability, but one has gone on to be a bigger success, because of having “Mental Strength”.  This has probably happened on numerous occasions.  The one that succeeded turned out to be more ruthless, more dedicated, more focused.  They also say that what separates those at the top with talent, is those that are prepared to work harder with their talent to succeed.

There can be no doubt that this alone is a key attribute.  A recent newspaper report estimated that out of 9,000 apprenticeships in football academies in the UK, only a handful progress to make the grade:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/4938593/Football-academies-kicking-and-screaming.html

Assuming then that you do become a Premiership footballer, and you are one of those handful, if we extrapolate that further, only a handful will go on and become top top class, say an Özil or a Wilshere.  This means, obviously, that top class footballers are rare, which is why they are in demand,  paid exorbitant amounts of money and idolized to a fanatical degree.

So is the price tag correct?

It seems to me that it’s not the price tag that should be the primary measure of how good a footballer is.  The modern day Twitter armchair talent spotter gets excited by a couple of things – seeing a player in a YouTube clip, combined with a massively inflated valuation by a hopeful agent.  But it seems to me that football clubs, of which we are one, would be acting with folly if they didn’t do their research and pay due-diligence. Amazingly, some clubs have bought players on the basis of just video evidence.  And we know also, that some have paid hugely inflated transfer fees, way over the odds.  So it seems to me  that the science of evaluating a player, and estimating their worth, must be best practiced by the experts.

One of my favourites is Arsene Wenger.

You can find Muppet’s price tag on Twitter @MuppetGooner

Today’s post is by ZimPaul

Well we already knew the football was out of this world …

I like a little 22 game mid-season snapshot sometimes.

It doesn’t actually get better, not much anyway, adventures in the life and times of Arsenal. Sitting top. Knife edge battles to come against the two arch-enemies of any semblance of remaining football equity, against the two most financially stupefied until their eyeballs pop, full of strut and sweating arrogance. We are the sole representative right at the top of something approximating any sense financial fair play.

We are rotating week in and out the best, most attractive, most intelligent and sublime midfield in the league playing in front of the tightest defense. We have a great goal scoring record too, and most goals coming through the midfielder machine. We are producing exquisite football moments, and have put another sweet little run together, WWWWW, most recently a football-spirited game against a respected second tier side playing some decent stuff.

We have the mouth watering prospect of Bayern to come. We are into the 5th round of the FA Cup.  And best of all, we are a team’s team that stands by each other. No mega-star studded team of pin-up divas this. Just very, very good players enjoying playing Wenger-ball, several of whom are implausibly young like Gnabry and Gedi, Aaron and Jack, Jenks, Ox and even Chewie.  Lukas in particular is sounding and looking hungry, I like that. Just the right time too. A team that believes in itself, because it fought and won battles before this. Amongst the more mature, the reals gems, as determined as they are assured, Per, Ozil and Tomas and Santi, Mikel and Flamini.

Do we have a chance in hell?

Ask Giroud.  That epitome of the team’s team player, outrageous confidence without the swank, superb work-rate, sublime skills, the unselfish provider of so much to others.

We better start believing, really believing.

Because the players and manager do.

Today a guest post from @poonaloon

Chances are Arsene’s unfancied eleven could cause a third title-winning upset …

I haven’t done this for a while.  I am a bit out of practice, so be gentle.  I used to blog regularly, but stopped five or six years ago.  The lines of debate became so fixed that people stopped listening, you were just lumped under an acronym and your views were taken for granted.  Denilson’s forward pass statistics ended it for me.  Kudos to anyone who has stuck around being a gobshite or passionately enjoying The Arsenal and saying so online since then; it must have taken some stamina.  I don’t need trophies to enjoy Arsenal, but they would be nice.  As we enter the home straight of this season though there seems very little reason not to be excited on many levels.

In Europe we get another crack at a Pep Guardiola team, one who are again the standard for world football.  Getting to see that live will be wonderful.  Unlike the previous pops at his teams, I think we have a genuine chance this time. (We came damn close but for a dodgy red card already.)  If we do get through, then we have as good a chance as anyone left and no one will want to draw us.  Absolutely no one.  It will be interesting to see how Arsene approaches the tie and sets the team up.  Do we go for a guns-blazing home win, taking something away to defend, or try and play it close over two legs and pick our moments?  The Dortmund games, where we played far better at home and lost before winning away in a scrap, shows how variable things can be at this level.  That we even have a choice of tactics or style is something worth savouring, it hasn’t always been this way.

With the financial burden of the new stadium finally easing, we have quietly gone about building the deepest squad in years, possibly ever,in terms of numbers. We could add another defender and a quality striker, but otherwise we are loaded. (Adding Draxler would be divine and make me smile for several weeks on end.)  Depending on what you think of Jenkinson, we have two quality players at each position, money to continue adding, exciting young talent coming through, and the club appears proactive on all levels that we can challenge the depth of talent our oil-rich rivals have tried to accumulate.

This means that the exciting run of fixtures we face needn’t be seen as a burden.  As we start to focus on the run-in, a home draw in the FA Cup appears favourable and rotation would mean games for players of the calibre of Podolski, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Ramsey and Rosicky.  After that, there is only one side left we would not be short favourites to qualify against. The FA Cup may be the least glamorous option, but it is a great chance for silverware and the joys of a cup final.  It is a shame that Theo Walcott will miss out on all this.  Whilst a run of games for Serge Gnabry has been a delight – I’m a huge fan – Theo is one of the best attackers in European football.  His pace gives us a unique dimension and his end product can win games – just check his goals and assists stats.  The Premier League is so tight that any further big injuries could be the difference, for any of the title-chasing trio.

Since the cup draw this Sunday evening, there has been a lot of talk about fixtures, but things are no easier for our rivals.  In fact, there is an immediate opportunity to maybe get some relief, with City playing 5pur2 and then Chavski back-to-back.  They also have games with Barca to distract and an away Manc derby rescheduled for the business end of proceedings,and also the CoCup final.  The Chavs have the easiest run as it looks now, but serene passage past Galatasary – does it exist? – will offer up an almost guaranteed humdinger somewhere, so that can change.  The next two away games will be crucial for us.  If we can take 6 points from Southampton and Liverpool we may just give ourselves a buffer before the bigger tests to follow.  We did just this already, building leads that nullified the impact of losing twice in Manchester – both games leaving a huge sense of ‘what if’ and Arsenal still top of the league.

We might be able to keep our lead if we can continue to be ruthless against the fourteen or fifteen weaker sides in the division.  We did this last year, turning around what had been a series of disasters through February into a convincing run-in, but one that involved home draws with a hung-over Man U and Everton, the only teams of any reputation we faced domestically in that period.  (The year before we were nowhere near as good, winning only 1 of our last 5 league games, drawing 3 and getting beaten at home by Wigan.  ‘Arry really did gift that to us and so goes the history of that shit mob, again and again.)  Last year we ground out clean-sheets. This year, the depth of our midfield options may carry us.  Even without Walcott, we can name Ramsey, Flamini, Rosicky, Podolski, and Chamberlain on our bench at the moment.  Four of those players are recently returning refreshed from injury-enforced rest.  We can always put 5 in a midfield that very few sides can control.

This season may end up being a thriller win or lose, it may be a collapse, or it may be history.  My outlook is such that I am thinking back to Arsene’s first two titles.  We were not favourites either year and in we got through both times on the back of spirit as much as talent at times.  They were great teams, but Chris Wreh scored vital goals in that first double, with a 17 year old firing in others amongst Ray Parlour’s most prolific campaign.  Stephen Hughes and Gilles Grimandi also proved match winners to start our winning run to the title.  It can be a funny old game. (Imagine playing Chris Wreh now, let alone a raw teenager, there would be a riot… Where can I back Sonogo’s goals?)

The second double may have been driven more by names that are now legends, but it also hinged on moments of grit.  Liverpool away with a shocking red-card for Gio Van Bronckhorst barely 30 minutes in will forever be a treasured memory.  Kanu put in the shift of his life that game and we were able to win, finishing the season 7 points ahead of that Liverpool side in second.  It was Wiltord and Ljunberg who scored the crucial goals over the final 6 games of that season, with Lauren pea-rolling in one of history’s great penalties with 4 minutes left to beat the Scum at home.  Neither Henry or Bergkamp played the night we won the league in Manchester. Following cup final defeats to Galatasary and Liverpool in previous seasons, that title was far less obvious at the time than in hindsight.

I am quietly bullish about our chances of making 2014 a banner year.

I have no idea how we might get there and this may all be drivel within a month, although I doubt that, but it will be a ride.  I like our chances with Ramsey, Wilshere, Özil, Cazorla blending it about.  Arsene Wenger has taken the deepest pool of attacking and technical midfield players in the country and turned them into the most solid Arsenal side since Sol Campbell took the short route to Europe and had Vieira and Gilberto sitting in front of him.  This sounds good to me.  Plus all the other teams are total  detestable .

How can we not win, it is meant to be?  Right?

Even if we don’t, we have had a do. Right?

That is my take as very happy Arsenal fan that loves to watch his team play great football.

Can’t wait for Arsene to sign that new deal either.

Peace out.

#Draxler #WhereMeDraxler

Time to go home? It’s a bit late to start enjoying yourself now, isn’t it?

When can I start enjoying the season?

Arsenal are top of the Premier League, in the 5th round of the FA cup, and have two fantastic ties in the Champions League to look forward to.

Yet every time I celebrate our position someone tells me:

“We’ve won nothing yet.”

Does that mean I have to wait until a tin cup is won before I can be happy?  Am I to be unhappy if a trophy isn’t won?  That’s a bit like going out for the night and not having a good time until you are in the taxi on the way home, just in case something goes wrong before the night is over.

[Mel – look away now, Ed]

In 1977 the still amateur-status tennis player John McEnroe made the semi-finals of Wimbledon, losing to Jimmy Connors.  Was that a failure? Was he a failure?

Or was it a magnificent sporting achievement?

If winning silverware is the only measure of success and the only time we can celebrate, then how much joy will we miss out on?

It seems to me that the fear of not winning the whole competition is stopping many people enjoying the journey.

If we manage to win the league despite the overwhelming financial disadvantage we are at, then we will be able to shout the houses down, sing , dance, make merry, gloat and taunt until our hearts are content.  However if we don’t it will not mean we failed.  We will still have made some huge forward strides.  We will have fought a gallant fight.

Every game Arsenal wins should be savoured.

Every goal, assist, attempt, all of it, all enjoyed.

Each beautiful passage of play is a moment to revel in.  A chance to appreciate the team and players.  Why miss out because of the fear that we ultimately don’t outright win a competition that is massively difficult to win?

Right now we are in three competitions and this point might be as good as it gets for us.

For goodness sake, let’s at least enjoy it while we can.

Anybody wishing to hitch a ride in George’s cab can hail him on Twitter @Blackburngeorge (prepare to share the fare, aye).

*No taxis were harmed in the production of this blog

Today’s post is by arse_or_brain

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Putting the ‘Friday’ into FA Cup

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“I think he has done a remarkable job and the one thing about him is that he has been true to himself and true to his beliefs and the one thing that has been difficult for him is that I think other clubs have abused their spending powers and indulged in what could almost be considered financial doping at times.

“He has managed that club in a truly brilliant way and he has never compromised on the style of play and what he believes and I have the utmost respect for him for that.”

No this is not a quote from our own George but from Sky Blues manager Steven Pressley, so  let’s sign him up for PA;  I’m sure his post would be very interesting.

As we go into the next round of the cup let’s first look at our opponents. Well they are eleventh in the first division table, their leading scorer is Leon Clarke with eighteen goals in all competitions, they are sponsored by Puma and they got to this point in the FA cup by beating Barnsley, Hartlepool and AFC Wimbledon.  Generally their away form is not bad with five wins and four draws from 12 games so far.

The last time we met them it was in the League Cup, in September 2012 and the score was 6-1 to the Gunners.  Coventry’s captain suggested the score-line didn’t reflect the match and really his team were overawed and the same won’t happen this time.  He also said of their fans:

 “The world will see how passionate and vocal city fans are.”

Whether the Friday evening rescheduling of the match has any affect on this remains to be seen.

I’m sure most people are aware at the moment Coventry are being forced to play their home games in Northampton because of an argument between the owners of the club and the owners of the ground and there may be a protest on Friday at the Emirates.  I hope all Gooners give that protest their support – at the end of the day we are all football fans.

As far as we are concerned the spectre of last year’s exits from the cup competitions hangs large. Normally you would assume picking a team for this fixture would be quite easy with squad players and talented members of the U21 squad making up the team; this formula has served us well over the years.

Last season we went the more Chelski route, playing primarily a full strength side and were duly dumped out of both domestic cups.

Being at home and with the standard the U21 players have set, I think we can go with our former policy and pick an exciting team easily able to cope with a pumped up Championship side and at the same time give some of our First Team a rest before our squashed February and March fixtures.

As far as team news is concerned, it looks like TV5, who you would expect to be a shoe-in for this game, will not make it, unfortunately and another player, SuperNic, who this game would prove ideal, looks like only having a small chance of making it.  We may get another a chance to see Sanago and Benik Afobe who have both been out with long injuries with the latter who is right back on goal scoring form.  Fab should be in goal with Jenks as Right Back and Poldolski and the Ox also definite starters.   

And then I’m lost.

Which first teamers are in least need of a rest and which youngsters are to be trusted I really don’t know.  Oh and then there’s Park who doesn’t really fall into any category.  Of the youngsters I would assume Hayden, Olsson, Yenneris, Eisfield, Frimpong, Zelelam and the aforementioned Afobe stand the most chance with an outside chance for Jon Toral.

Whatever the team, where ever you are this Friday night enjoy the game, and of course, COYG. 

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You can help find arse_or_brain on Twitter @arse_or_brain

A post from ZimPaul.

The role of mass media is not in any way to reflect consensus, especially a consensus that will upset a status quo and vested interests. A nod in the direction of “popular consensus” maybe, where it doesn’t matter, while all the time selecting “news” in the opposite direction to that of consensus. The role of the mass media is to reflect the interests and perspectives of the establishment, or more specifically the money order.

The stakes are probably quite high. The entirety of EPL, as a global brand, its major clubs as global brands, players, the football association, and layer upon layer of economic interest built around this, Sky being in super-league stakes, but there are many others, many forms and methods of derivative income, such as advertising, and these represent the “money order”. It’s worth many billions in annual revenues. The key individuals making the key decisions number not more than hundreds. These people and their money matter, and their perspective, shaped largely by how to increase revenues and market share, is more important than consensus. The new money is very important in this (City, Chelsea, others).

EPL is in competition with the other Euro leagues, and streets ahead in terms of global market share. The point is to maintain and improve market share. Ultimately, there might be some forms of merger over market share, if it can be shown that revenues would increase, and in which a Euro super-league would result, a decision of the market, not football, but for now its competition, and EPL rules the roost globally.

The EPL product is in one way pure marketing genius, and in another way simply a crass formula that has been proven to work; see my earlier posts. this is why it will not change, the market is essentially conservative. I may be off here and there, since I don’t actually know the formula, but the principle is correct. It’s just TV, and revenues.

One asks again then what kind of influence Arsenal, one club, representing miniscule economic interests relative to the whole money order, might bring to bear? We are also capitalists, making money and large personal incomes, sometimes fortunes, but we run a tight ship and play by the rules. We run a business enterprise, and at the same time have a great deal of integrity when it comes to respect for football culture.

And yet, this highly negative, but I think realistic appraisal ignores facts in our advantage. Popular consensus is one, and it is clearly changing fast in our favour. Another is that the EPL has powerful competitors, such as Bundesliga, who have much in common with Arsenal’s approach and highly respect us. Yet another are the smaller clubs, who will increasingly see their future, indeed their only route, by broadly adapting Arsenal’s strategy to their own situation (financially and in football) despite the money order. We are showing what can be done to bring greater equity into the equation. We are showing that the interests of football, as opposed to rampant consumerism, is not powerless. It has more leverage than it thinks it has.

Therefore, the future is with us. But don’t expect it to be easy, or comfortable. I would have thought it has already been discussed amongst a few people that a City win makes perfect sense for the future of the EPL super-brand and its global market. When Pellegrini says “we are the Real Madrid now”, I suspect he is not only talking to the masses, but to the money. Very marketable that one.

Today a guest post from Muppet (@MuppetGooner )

With possibly the tweet of 2014, Rob Ross (@gooner145) nails apparent media attitudes towards AFC

I read over the weekend that if the title race was down to media perception, then Arsenal would be 5th.

An alternative to this was if you list the top of the table, the club sitting in top place would be nameless [see above, ed].

Such is the contempt held of our title challenge in great swathes of the media.

I have lost count of the times I have heard the words “Awesome” and “Manchester City” in the same sentence.  This is a team that has never, until this season, reached the 2nd stage of the Champions League, despite having a squad worth around €450 million.  Whilst they are extolled, Arsenal are consigned to the dustbin.

On TalkSport at the weekend, Adrian Durham: “Everton outplayed Arsenal at the emirates and that was the moment everybody realised that they were not going to win the premiership”.

A co-presenter –  “Newcastle outplayed Arsenal at St James Park.”

Then a Liverpool pundit, Houghton – “Everybody is waiting for Arsenal to fail”.

He then follows up with the idea that Liverpool will step into the void.  Righto …

It gets worse.

A Chelsea fan on BBC 606 is asked about Chelsea’s title challenge.  She says:  “Well, City are looking so strong at the moment.  I don’t think we’re going to get past them.”

Then Geoff Shreeves comes out with his “2 points off City now”, statement.

These people are not alone in doubting Arsenal.  There are worst offenders out there.  Shearer for one.  Furiously backtracking on MOTD with his “Arsenal can’t win the premiership statement”, changing it to “won’t”, because he didn’t want to look like a massive twerp on national television. Then, squeaky voice Owen, who still maintains Arsenal will finish 5th.

Now, I have no trouble conceding that our opposition are pretty good. None at all, especially considering the levels of “investment” in their squad.  Since 2008 we have:

Arsenal net spend: £11.1m.  Chelsea net spend: £328.7m.  Man City net spend: £509.6m.

Want to go back further ?

Net spend 03/04-13/14: In first place in the expenditure table is Chelsea with a net spend of £585m.  Next up City net spend: £507m. Then Liverpool net spend: £198m.  And Man Utd net spend: £169m.  Then, in 17th place – Arsenal net spend: £17m.

Actually, looking at these figures, doesn’t it seem remarkable that we are top of the league?  Will we get credit for that?

No.

The media perception that we are also-rans still grates tremendously.  More so because of the media love-in of 2 clubs (City and Chelsea) who don’t appear to be playing it by the rule-book.  A 3rd major rival, Manchester United, also don’t really appear to be playing it by the rule-book, but in their case, they are becoming unstuck, as evidenced by the league table and their own fan protests at the weekend, holding banners claiming that they have a “£600 million debt to service“, before they spend anything on new players.

In defence of City and Chelsea, Martin Samuel claimed in an article within the last year that without the “investment” from them, Manchester United would be a monopoly, and how would other teams get a look in?  This is where Samuel has got it completely wrong.  Nobody has a problem with investment in a football club.  The problem here is when the line is blurred between investment by people that would reasonably secure the future of a club, where risks have to be taken within economic constraints, and that of the kind made by Chelsea and Manchester City, where no economic rules apply in a standard business model.

Everybody knows what City and Chelsea do when they don’t win the title.

They simply go out in the transfer market in the summer and spend a minimum of £100 million, and change their manager. There is no risk attached to this.  If they fail, they will go out and spend another £100 million.  This was Abramovich’s response when Arsenal won the title in 2003-2004.  This was Mansour’s response last year when City lost the title.

But hardly anybody in the media will speak out against this.  Arsenal fans who quite rightly express outrage at this, are quizzed as to why we don’t join the party, which makes it doubly insulting.  The witch hunt engaged against Arsenal on TalkSport, in certain quarters, should instead be turned on City and Chelsea, asking how is it fair that 2 clubs can get away with such abuses, at the expense of all other clubs in the premier league who are trying run a football club and living within their means. The media instead, embrace the situation, which of course they will, as they know which side of the bread is buttered.  Speak out against it, and you will probably not have a job for very long, as Sky and others have massive vested interests.  Just talk up the circus, and paint the like of Arsenal fans as sanctimonious, with sour grapes.

But this is not sanctimony.  Samuel’s accusation of a monopoly, to me, should be turned on its head.  Instead of a monopoly, what we have here is a cartel, 7 or 8 super-clubs in Europe, who will dominate the landscape, and others will have very little chance of winning league titles and the champions league. When I grew up, a lot of teams were in the mix.  Here, and abroad. Villa and Nottingham Forest won the European cup.  That brilliant Everton side in the mid 80s won the European cup winners cup.  Even Spurs won the UEFA cup!  European teams such as Hamburg, Red Star Belgrade and Dynamo Kiev added to the plurality.

The current situation? I don’t have to work very hard to predict the dominant forces – Bayern, Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea.

It is not for the good of football.