Hello and welcome to this week’s round-up.

First up in a busy week is the news that Andrei Arshavin is likely to be in his final season at Arsenal. With so few games left to play, it is likely that we’ve seen our little Russian dynamo in an Arsenal shirt for the last time. Arshavin accomplished some great things at the club such as the 4 goals in Anfield and the Barca winner and will leave a lasting impression on many fans. Anyone in the comments making a joke about him leaving a lasting impression on his sofa will be banned for life.

In the same interview, Arsene Wenger mentioned Vermaelen’s remarkable response to being, in the kindest possible terms, ‘rotated’. In a rather unsubtle pick-me-up from the boss before rejoining the team, Vermaelen’s attitude received great praise. He is understood to now be ‘facing the right direction’.

It’s fairly uncommon for football players to say just the right thing but it happened this week. I tried to think of comparisons to make it sound better: ‘It’s like your wife endeavouring to emulate your favourite chef’, or, ‘It’s like your girlfriend taking the time to master the techniques of a famous porn-star’. However, nothing sounds better than when the Ox expressed his desire to learn from Tomas Rosicky. A short, montage-heavy, training video will go into production once terms are agreed with Tomas for the Miyagi role.

Arsene said the C word! Ahead of the Norwich game, Arsene Wenger said that it was important to continue to start games in a confident way. He spoke of how early leads force teams out of their defencive huddle and force them to leave some room for Wengerball…

83 Minutes in and we’re a goal down to a poor, albeit industrious, Norwich side. Unable to resist Olivier Giroud’s sheer sexual presence, Kei Kamara had to have him and he didn’t care where it happened. Luckily for us, the linesman had similar designs on the Frenchman and was incessant when he saw Kamara wrestle the object of everyone’s affections to the ground. Arteta scored the penalty and the whole of the Arsenal community exhaled in unison. Some great play from Alex Oxlade Chambicky  set up Giroud to get in front of the former spud, Bassong, to tap home and take the lead. Fabianski then made a good save with his legs to deny Delia’s dipshits an undeserved point. The mayhem continued when Podolski dragged the ball out from under his feet and launched it into the bottom corner from just outside the area. 3-1 to the Arsenal and we’re in third place.

In the aftermath of the win, Arsene Wenger spoke about Lukas Podolski and his new training regime. Podolski has primarily been working on his centre-forward play, which is bound to increase the sulking German’s value when he is sold in the summer. Recent pictures show just how happy he must be to be leaving and the manager is giving him special tuition, which brings about one obvious explanation. Kroenke is obviously selling him like he did with Na$ri.

Then came the game against a robust Everton side who have a sneaky eye on our Champions’ League spot. In a battle where successful consecutive passes were at a premium, there were only a few chances for The Gunners to clinch victory. The best of which fell to Olivier Giroud from an excellent Aaron Ramsey cross. Giroud was first to get there but only in time to stretch out a leg and get any kind of attempt away. It went wide. Mikel Arteta made an excellent run to break the Everton defence and Cazorla duly found him, but good defending from Distin, combined with a slight sense of panic in the unknown, prevented the skipper from getting a shot or pass away. The Arsenal performance was spirited and tough and those are not traits many people would associate with Wenger’s men. They would, however, say those things about Stoke so maybe that’s not all bad.

If anyone deserved to win the game, it was Arsenal.

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading.

Up the Arsenal!

The Referee increased Everton’s chances  markedly in the first ten minutes.

Fellaini should have had two yellows in that time.By not giving the cards when they were deserved he gave Everton license to make the game physical and disjointed.That was exactly what they did.

Fellaini was strong ,uncompromising and generally cuntish all night.He also dived to win free kicks at every opportunity.I don’t know about you but I call that cheating.

Now how Gibson escaped a second yellow is beyond me and any right thinking person.It was a total bottle job from the man in black.Gibson seemed to understand he had been lucky and never made another tackle all night.

Now we must give credit to our lads for matching them physically and not either losing their heads or wilting under the injustice and pressure.

For me there was little between the two teams in the first half.

The second half was all us.

I don’t intend to tell you all how things panned out ,you likely saw it yourselves.

Again the substitutes seemed to add momentum ,but sadly we could not make it pay.

Some of our player were immense.

Aaron was MOTM for me.

Laurent,Gibbs and Per,also had stand out games.Santi also in the second half.

Some were their usual high standard.Like Mikel and Bac.

Sadly.some were off colour.Theo,Giroud and Jack all failed to impress.Without any of them being particularly bad.Although Jack tried his hardest to get into the bad category.The only good think he did all night was get into a scuffle going down the tunnel at half time.

On twitter Giroud was being thrashed to within on inch of his on-line life.Personally I did not see anything to get that upset about.Yes .he perhaps should had scored from Ramsey’s wonderful cross,but it was anything other than a sitter.

I can only think that Arsene did not want to risk Tomas ,because he is miles ahead of Jack.The team needed exactly what he brings to the table.Better though not to lose him for the rest of the season.However in his absence the Wengerball has gone.For now at least.

All in all it was a game that we matched them ,then pressured them .They were hanging on for dear life in the second half .

It is also a game that we could have ,and in the past may well have ,lost.

This team is on the up.No question.

The fixtures are still in our favour,

Five more Cup finals to go.

Lets just get behind the club and support them to the end .That should not even be optional

A step back from the battle in the PL today, we can get return to the trenches tomorrow.

Today however wander with me in the warm sun, along the sunny beaches, blue sky  and verdant greenery of Brazil.

I confess I am old enough to have watched the 70 World Cup. I saw the finest football team ever and I realised they were not English. I have in my life bought but one replica football shirt ever – yes – the 70 shirt worn by Pele, Tostao, Rivelino and Jairzinho. The shirt has conferred no more magic skill on me than it ever has on a Norwich player.

Until Arsene arrived at our club the proposition of a Brazilian footballer playing for AFC club would, in my opinion, have been absurd. We did not do what Brazilians do, we were strong, organised. Our strikers were disciplined and effective. Flicks and tricks ? Bending a ball ! Pah – nonsense. When an Arsenal player kicked the ball it stayed kicked. We would not have known what to do with Zico or Socrates despite their talent. Like Mirandinha on the Tyne in the late 80s the poor soul would have shrivelled and died (although that unfortunate chap had the services of Gazza as an interpreter to contend with too).

Enter our French conductor however and the best qualities of movement and skill were demanded of every one of our players. He brought in Frenchmen, we had a Dutchman who was in that class already, another followed. They came from Africa. Inevitably when we required the best they also came from Rio, Sao Paulo and even one from Lagao da Prata (where?).

And over the years Gilberto, Edu, Sylvinho, Denilson, Baptista, Andre Santos  (and  don’t forget the Brazillo-Croat Eduardo) have added to the quality of our football. Now don’t misunderstand me. I do not claim any of our recruits from Rio were on par with the gods of Brazilian football from times past. Thus far, and I will come to that presently, we have not had a Pele, a Ronaldhino or a Ronaldo. Each player who has signed however has added a dimension to Arsenal and, in some instances, provided some of the best moments of the season.

Who can doubt the relentless efficiency of Gilberto across the centre of the park, tracking, tackling, moving the ball with a short pass to the position of maximum advantage. Fit, alert, season after season – oh Arsene say you did not flog him for just a £million ! Nooooooo

Edu – he took time to settle, and had a bit of a talent for the spectacular own goal, indeed he allegedly took time to find a passport. But when he came good he was very, very good. My favourite game of the modern era was the squeezing of Chelsea at the Bridge in the February of 2004. 0-1 after a Gudjonsson goal in the first minute. We ran out winners 2-1 with Paddy, Gilberto and Edu grinding Chelsea to dust in midfield.   With the trip to the Bridge done the unbeaten season was downhill thereafter. Another one who left too early and at the same time as Paddy.

Baptista – the Beast – pursued but slipped away to Madrid then landed on loan. Well his close control at times was most   unBrazlian I admit, more a blind man in diving boots. The Carling Cup night at Anfield in January 07 though, the first Arsenal player to net fourgoals at the old stadium, in a 6-3 win was a night long remembered by me. I thought you might enjoy this clip of the Beast on the rampage including the two he scored at the neighbours.

Brazilian bulldozer indeed !

Eduardo, Sylvinho, Santos and Denilson, – I could give then all a paragraph, all good players who scored good goals and added to the club. Chelsea know well the threat of a full back at the Bridge. The latter two endured abuse that it disappointed me to hear.

What now though ? Santos and Denny on loan with clubs in their home country, both doing well and barring civil war in South America likely to stay there. Are we Brazil free and likely to stay that way ?

Well in February 2013 Arsene brought over a young midfielder from the Rio club Vasco da Gama by the name of Matheus da Cunha Gomes, or as he is known on a football pitch ‘Indio’ – He was sixteen years old, has a formidable reputation in youth football in Brazil already and was spending a few days with us, as he said, “It will be a good experience. I want to learn.” His visit paseed me by tbh. Here is a clip of Indio playing for the national u15s last year.

As the Brazilian commentator says “Goooooaaaaaaallllllllllllllllll’ The option to sign him comes when he turns 18 in early 2014.

We shall see.

Today’s guest post by Varun (@WengerArmy) gives us a possible view of the thoughts in Arsene’s head in a pre-match presser  ahead of Everton.

A lightning rod of pain shot through his head. It was as though he had been speared by…well, a spear. Only, this one was invisible- like ‘Arry’s Cloak.

Press conferences, even on the best of days, were about as enjoyable as watching Tony Pulis picking his nose on the touchline. Today however, it’d be like watching Tony Pulis pretending to be a manager.

As he prepared to face the horde of ‘media personalities’- cause they sure weren’t journalists- a suitable opening remark struggled to find him. The bloody flashes from the cameras didn’t help either. In the end, he decided to go with something simple. “I have a selection headache.”  Nobody got the pun, though. It was partly true. Although Theo and Jack were back and had performed to a varying level of competence in the last game, Rosicky was suffering with his hamstring. Even before Norwich, he would’ve preferred to have continued with the same lineup that had been so good over the last 4-5 games, but you can’t help it if a player is injured or suspended. It’s all about the balance and understanding among the team. How else did people think the Invincibles were made?

They would have all sorts of questions about Wilshere, he was sure. Jack this, and Jack that. Of course he was a brilliant player- heck, there was a reason he was touted as England’s best prospect- but he wasn’t perfect. He often left his defensive partner without cover when he went forward with his driving runs- The covering that was essential, and something that Diaby was very good at. He also lacked a little bit when it came to his final ball and his decision making in that situation-Both of which were essential as a #10, and something Rosicky was very good at. And yet, Jack was everyone’s favourite.

In the former’s case, he supposed it was to do with their style of play. Jack wore his heart on his sleeve and played that way on the field. Diaby appeared to be calmer, almost as if he were a stream carrying the ball. That was what they saw, and that was what they wrote about. Jack had the ‘spirit and desire’ and Diaby was ‘careless’.

What did they know? They hadn’t seen Abou in tears, profusely apologizing for letting him down. The constant battles with injuries, just so he could play. He overcame all that mental and physical trauma to come back, time and again. The guy just wanted to play football. If these ‘journos’ had had even a fourth of those injuries, they would have been gibbering wrecks by now.

Not one of these media people appreciated football anymore. To them, it was all about the shiny silver trinkets called trophies. Football was such a dynamic game, filled with possibilities. Each step a player took ruled out and created options. It really wasn’t about the goal that was just scored, but how that goal came about- how your players functioned as a unit, each playing his own part in that creation. Everyone misses out on those nuances and  notices only the obvious parts.

Giroud labeled a ‘flop’ because he doesn’t score in 8 games. Is a striker good only if he scores goals? No one mentioned his flicks, layoffs and general hold up play which brings others into the game. And he was still in his first season. Like magic, the criticism disappeared when he scored and won a penalty. To them, this was actual football.

A good defender is one who is tall, black, has a face like a mashed potato and makes goal-line clearances. A midfielder is great if he plays incisive passes game after game. He smirked. They were guilty of the very offence they often accused the Arsenal defence of committing- ballwatching. Very few look at the field in totality.

“Now that Theo’s back, what happens to Gervinho?” says a pustule from the Daily Mail. “He’s not very good, is he?”

There they go again. Gervinho, or The Forehead as some people call him. A waste of space, they say. And why? Just because he had missed a few chances and fluffed a few crosses. Wenger sighed. Why didn’t they focus on Torres? Torres missed sitters- there was a phase when he was absolute bollocks. Yet, no one says anything since that Russian forked out 50 million for the transfer. Which must mean Torres could do no wrong.
Hadn’t Hazard himself said that Gervinho was the best player he’d played with? He himself had admitted that Gervinho rushed things somewhat, and that would improve as he calmed down- he was one of those players that flourished in a positive environment. The home fans hadn’t exactly provided that.

Just yesterday, he had chanced upon a blog by that PIMP guy. It was brilliant, he thought. He smiled inwardly at the Eurofighter comparison. Gervinho only appeared erratic-like the Eurofighter that was aerodynamically unstable, hard to control and yet it was this unpredictability that allowed it to maneouver quickly in a dogfight. The very people who had mocked him have suddenly begun to praise him. Again, it is perception- he’s assisted 3 and scored 2 in 3 weeks, so he is suddenly a good player. And when the same player does the same things without scoring or assisting, he becomes ‘average’. Add ONE mistake to that and he becomes a scapegoat.

“Gervinho is a great player and he has confidence. Theo will have to fight to get his place back”

As he waited for the next question, Arsene ruminated on the other players that had been mocked by the ‘faithful’. Ramsey for ‘dwelling on the ball’ too much last season. People conveniently forget that it was his first full season after that ‘footballer’ Shawcross had almost ended his career. Also, he was overplayed and had to cope with the tragic suicide of his mentor. For all that, Aaron had never hidden. He came back stronger, and was now enjoying football, particularly as the deep lying midfielder. He’d performed solidly when asked to play in the defence too. Part of this was down to his being played on the wings- a position which had helped Aaron improve his composure and decision making significantly, Arsene thought. Yet he was still criticized for playing him ‘out of position’ by people who simply didn’t realize that they were witnessing the outcome of that exercise with Aaron’s arguably Man of the Match performance against Norwich.

Denilson- once such a bright prospect and now on the edge of leaving, all due to constant heckling by the fans.
Walcott- Once thought of as a waste. Till this season, when he burst into goal scoring form. He then became ‘indispensable’, signed a new contract and hasn’t shone since. And so many others for whom he took the blame- Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie, Hleb etc. when in reality they had betrayed his faith in them.

It was then that realization hit him. Almost all the people who ‘wanted their Arsenal back’ had no idea what they were talking about. They were like sheep, being egged and pushed on by the media who in turn were encouraged to pursue negative angles due to this culture of ‘instant gratification’ that had pervaded society through the Internet.

These days, a Twitter handle knew more than the Club Staff. Why, the person was qualified to become the Manager! On what justification? 8 trophyless years. He wasn’t about to waste his time defending himself because none would appreciate the difficulties the Club and he had faced together. Other clubs would have crumbled. Other managers would have gotten another job. Hadn’t Barcelona, Madrid, Bayern etc wanted him? Not Arsenal, and not him. He was an honourable man and he loved this Club. They would all see the plan unfold in the years to come.

For now, though, he just wanted a break. For now, he wanted to tell them all- the crowd of journalists and the so called ‘supporters’, nay, SING at them “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Putting these thoughts aside, Arsene Wenger sat up straighter in his chair. Smiling, he pointed to the next reporter in line.

Today a new ‘guest’ writer from Twitter, a certain @arseblagger gives us his take on yesterday’s game and then we’ll hear from @Blackburngeorge.

First up our new twitter friend @Arseblagger.

A gift of a penalty, an own goal and an offside goal gave us three points that we never looked like getting.

From the moment I saw the team that Wenger had picked I knew we were in trouble.

I called it.  I simply knew we should have started Podolski and Theo rather than the hapless and out of their respective depths, Gervinho and Cazorla.

The game proved I was right and Wenger has lost the plot.  If they had started we would have scored three goals in the first 10 minutes rather than the last.

We started slowly and quickly ran out of the steam we had never had.  We never looked like scoring, and defended like a pub team.  Norwich out-played us.  Those reliable BBC statisticians told us that they had 51% possession.  Imagine that.  We are a disgrace of a team.

We should be beating teams like that by five clear goals at home.

It makes me sick to see us in such a poor position with this bunch of second-class players.  If we manage to fluke a Champions League spot we will be humiliated again next year.

This lot are so bad they have dragged Jack down to their level.  Now he is useless, as well.

ArseBlagger

***

Okaaay, thanks for that Blagger.  I’m sure I speak for precisely none of us here in looking forward to your next article.

Now here is how George judged the same game …

Alan Hansen, on Match of the Day (MOTD) last week said that Arsenal’s problem was that we could not play poorly and win.  Well I am glad he pointed that out because Arsene seems to have addressed that particular problem this week, and put it right.

I find myself hard pushed to think of many moments of Wengerball.

I was disappointed in our first half performance.  I think we were slow and lacking more than a little spark.  Personally I think that missing spark was one Tomas Rosicky.  His replacement – Jack – was definitely out of sorts.  And Arsene removed him just about as soon as he could without denting the lad’s confidence.

Jack has been 6 weeks out and it really showed.  I hope Rosicky is fit for the visit of Everton on Tuesday.  For me he is currently miles ahead of the youngster.

Another youngster that was definitely not out-of-form is Aaron Ramsey.  I thought he was our stand-out player – and by quite a margin.  He worked tirelessly and looks brimfull of confidence and class.

It just shows what can be achieved with a little perseverance by the manager and a good attitude by the player.  He has gone from deadwood to dead-cert.

I understand I have not mentioned their goal and how it came about, because I assume you have all seen it and I don’t want to think about it.

Anyway, Arsene hooked Jack and Gervinho, and Theo and Podolski entered the fray.

It seemed to inject a bit of pace and urgency to the team and the visitors were pinned even farther back.

The pressure mounted and on my dodgy internet stream Tony Gale urged Norwich on and lambasted our teams efforts and players.

Then Giroud was hauled down in the box and the assistant referee flagged it up.  There has been moaning and carping about that ever since, but I don’t understand why anyone can complain about the correct decision being made.

Up stepped our cool cat Captain and it was 1-1.

Three minutes later we took the lead through a Giroud/own goal (I couldn’t care less which).  By this time Arsene had brought Alex Oxlade Chamberlain on for Sagna (a bold move for a man who supposedly never makes good tactical changes or bold substitutions) and the kid burst into the box, made the byline and with the outside of his right foot cut it across the face of goal.  Yippee.

Now I am cursing the fact that due to their persistent time-wasting they have six minutes of additional time to rescue an undeserved point.

Then Safehanski make a wonderful save with his legs.  Safehansnlegski, it would seem.

However, when Theo was played in behind (quite a bit behind actually, but let’s not go there, either) Podolski showed us just why he has 100+ German caps to his name.  It was a brilliant bit of finishing from him.  He could have had a hat trick if not for two previous thundering efforts being miraculously tipped over the bar.

All the things Arsene has claimed this team have, grit – Finsbury will like that- mental strength and a never-say-die spirit were displayed in the closing stages.

It was, in the end a great three points and one step closer to our remaining target for the season.

It turns out we actually had 68% possession by the way (and no thanks to the BBC).

I suspect we will have to do better against Everton, and I am convinced we will.

Oh, and we are third in the table, don’t you know?

George

***

Blogs are about opinions.  Or so I am told.  Well I am about to open myself to ridicule and abuse by giving my opinion on Andrey Arshavin.

Before I get stuck into my gushing love fest, let me say that much of what I will say is based on memories rather than research and facts backed up by figures.  And I apologise in advance for factual errors.

I read this article standard.co.uk/sport/football/arsenal-outcast-arshavin-is-ready-to-retire-at-just-32-8565388.html … and I have to admit, I felt like I had been slapped several times with a large wet fish.  It was akin to the moment I realised that I had watched Dennis strutting his stuff for the last time.

Now I am not for one moment trying to compare Andrey to Dennis.  That would be more than a step too far, but the little chap has given me more joy than any player since The Ice Man hung up his unfillable (is that even a word?)boots.

Just the sight of that impish little fellow brought a smile to my face.

He has in the last two years been MIA.  It has been a fall from grace that beggars belief.

With his talent he should have been an all-time Arsenal legend.  Well he isn’t, and he wont be.  But why not?

I watched him in Euro 2008 and he was quite simply unplayable.  When he stood outside the Emirates and declared “I am a Gooner now” we had a genuine world class talent on our hands.

Guus Hiddink said “Arsenal don’t realise what a great player they have gotten”.  On the evidence of his first 6 months at the club, few could have disagreed.

I honestly believe he was the most talented player at the club.  And that is quite something when you think that both Fabregas and Rosicky were also on the books.

He was a huge factor in us turning the season around and securing our customary Champions League berth.  Something that had looked very problematical prior to his arrival.  And, as I recall, scoring four goals away at Anfield in the process

The following year if not first name on the team sheet, he was likely second.  He scored and assisted at a tremendous rate, and for months played as a lone striker.  Something I am sure he didn’t want to, yet never once did we hear a murmur of dissent.

So what the hell happened?  What went so badly wrong?  It’s depressing me just thinking about it!

There are a few theories.

One of which is that he just got fat and lazy.  To this I simply say: “Oh please,do me a favour”

So to the important stuff.   This is what I think, if you were wondering!

First off I believe that his spell leading the line did him and his confidence no good at all.  He was, for the good of the team, doing a job totally unsuited to his style of play and his mind set.  So instead of feeling like a vital contributor to the team, he felt like a passenger.  Something that he likely never felt before.

The next big blow to him was Russia – for whom he was the Captain and star – failed to qualify for the world cup.  He admitted at the time this hit him hard.  Just how hard I don’t think we ever appreciated.  I suspect he saw it as his big tournament.  What should have been the pinnacle of his career.  Perhaps he never really recovered, who knows?

The fact remains that he was never the same player. He flickered, but never really shone again.

There is no getting away from it – you need more than just ability to be a truly great player. You need fight and determination. Perhaps something a bit thin on the ground for Andrey.

There are some who say Arsene ruined him by never giving him a run in his best position.  I don’t hold with that.  He played wide left, in a somewhat free role, for club and country.

I think that there was a fundamental difference in the way Andrey thought he should play, and wanted to play the game, and the way Arsene required him to play.

He is a high risk, high dividends player.  He said in an interview I read that he believes if you want to win, you have to take chances and risks.  When you accuse him of losing the ball you also have to balance this against the number of chances he creates.  In Euro 2012 he created more chances for Russia in his three games for them than the rest of the Arsenal players did between them.  That included such players as RVP, Rosicky and The Ox.

However Arsenal play a possession game.  I remember him coming on as a substitute for us when we were trying to hold on to a one goal lead.  That night he had 100% pass completion.  He could do it.  I just don’t think he wanted to.

He is often accused of not tracking back and being lazy.  Well let me explain that because you don’t do the former, it does not follow that you are the latter.

I once had an argument with a belligerent chap on twitter about him being lazy in a particular game.  When I pointed out that despite him leaving the field around the 80 minute mark, only Mikel Arteta had run further.  I was met with a flurry of insults.  But the facts were there in black and white .

When he lost the ball he did not immediately run after it and try to reclaim it.  Sometimes he put his hands on his hips while he looked to see what space to move into for when one of his team mates got the ball back for him.  That’s why he was often so well placed to turn defence into attack.  I think he saw it as the job of the midfield to cover the full back ,rather than his.  Clearly a lot of our fans – and likely the manager – disagreed with him.  Perhaps even I do, too.

If you want someone to scurry around chasing the ball, buy Scott Parker, not Andrey Arshavin.  But popular opinion of the supposedly ‘knowledgeable’ (that’s sarcasm, by the way) masses, condemned him as being lazy.

He even got blamed for us conceding the decider against United last year, despite it more being the fault of Vermaelen and Song.

I recall that was the very game that his introduction as substitute had been greeted with a chorus of Boos.  Apologists for this scurrilous behavior claim it was not him being booed, rather the substitution.  Well I saw his little face when he heard them, and it looked to me that he was  surprised and upset.  Also I have never had an explanation from these apologists as to why, when his name was read out as a substitute at the next home game, that too was booed.

I have to say that had I been standing next to one of these people who think part of the ticket price is to buy the right to act like a complete bastard, I would have expected a trip to either the Magistrates Court or Casualty, or perhaps both. That incident proved to me that although we have some of the best fans in the country, we also have some of the worst low-life scum imaginable.

That was also the game that despite him tracking Valencia all the way into the box .  Always a step behind and unable to make a clean tackle (which it being United, anything else would have resulted in a sure penalty and red card), he did prevent him shooting, but could not stop him laying the ball off to an unmarked team mate. Perhaps he should also have been marking them, whilst dashing to the goal line to make a clearance?

I remember my good friend Stew Black saying at the time

“How can people criticise our plucky little Russian for doing nothing more than trying his best for the team?” 

Well they did.

Daniel Cowan, who runs a much respected blog (North London Is Red ) and a person who knows a thing or two about the game, once summed it up in a tweet to me when he said “people don’t understand his game. It’s not about 100% effort 100% of the time”.  I agree, he simply is not built physically for that. He is about bursts of extreme effort.

But don’t tell me he is lazy.  And don’t just take it from me.

“LadyArse ‏@LadyArse 19 Jan

Francis Coquelin, when asked which Arsenal player is the best trainer replied “Andrey Arshavin works really hard”

Also Arsene himself recently said that he cannot accept the criticism of him being lazy and not caring.He in fact said “I am not having that said about him.its not true”

When we played Reading in the Micky Mouse Cup, in the 120th minute he picked the ball up on the halfway line and burst into the box, skipping past umpteen players on the way, he smashed the ball at the goal.  By fluke it hit a players heel on the line and landed at Theo’s feet.  Goal. Let me repeat – that was the 120 minute mark.

Anyway, I am sure that no one who thinks he is lazy, now thinks any different.  But I don’t care.  Because I think they are idiots.

His last telling contribution was when he came on as a substitute for a whole two minutes, on a ploughed field, cunningly disguised as the Stadium of Light, and threaded a ball through the eye of a needle for the Old King Henry to poke in the winner.  An extra two points and a win that had we not won them might well have seen us condemned to Europa Thursdays.  A moment of magic, if ever there was one.

Finally, a bit of pure unsubstantiated speculation on my part.

Some have suggested that RVP had it in for some players.  Those players who did not bow to his will and fan is enormous ego.  Ramsey and Andrey, apparently, were two of them. If that is the case I understand . Why should Arshavin bow down to any player?  And if he did not like Judas, then that’s a good thing as it turns out .  He was right not to like the prick.  It could though explain his rapid exclusion from the team when Judas was king.

I love Arshavin and I will miss him more than anyone.

Perhaps even Dennis

A few of weeks ago I was talking about Arsène’s contention that we had ten cup finals ahead of us and that he intended to do his darndest to see that we win every last one of them. I loved that he said that because it shows how clever and brave he is as a manager and what chumps some others are by comparison.  Think about Villas-Boas’ comment “They are now in a negative spiral in terms of results — it will be extremely difficult for them to get out of it.”  Thanks Andre; I hope Steve Bould stuck that one on the wall of the changing room. Of course if we had gone on to lose the next two games he would have looked like some kind of visionary genius and the insufferable pretenders from the Lane would have had reason to sink to even greater depths of self delusion. But of course we didn’t. The poor man has been been scraping the foo-yung from his ginger beard ever since and no doubt regretting those rash words. You don’t inspire your own players nor your own supporters by snide denigration of your rivals. Especially when they have either overhauled you or left you behind consistently for many many years. Oh and if they are managed by a man with enormous footballing nous and huge experience, you’d have been wiser to  just smile sweetly , clench your cheeks together and shut up. I actually know that some Spud fans were shaking their heads when he said it and I can guess why, after all  it made me think – ‘Oh yeah? You fucking think so do you?’ and I’m sure our players and coaching staff had a similar reaction.

Compare if you will, the rashness of AVB’s downhill spinning top baloney with Arsène’s ten cup finals remark. It gave me a little shiver down my spine. Made me really realise that we are here at the sharp end of the season and we have to fight for every single scrap that each opponent may let fall our way. That we need to dig deep for ten games. Either deep into our mental resources and sheer bloody mindedness as in our last 20 minutes of competitive footy or dig deeply into our glittering pirate’s chest of shiny passing and shooting skills as we did in the 250 minutes before Per’s telescopic leg failed him at the Hawthorns. Because that’s where we are right now. Three cup finals down.  270 must win minutes played. Eight wonderful, glorious, lovely goals scored and a miserly two conceded. Two away wins, one home win. So far so good. Now look, before you all gang up on me please understand that there is no hubris here, no AVB style chicken counting from me at all. I know full well that we have a very long way to go and seven cup finals still to play. But there does seem to be a little bit of strain , a few cracks beginning to show in the pretenders to our throne. Both Chelsea and AVB’s downward spiralling Spuds have looked somewhat shaky of late and I have to believe that is in part down to us piling on the points and pouring on the pressure.

Arsene’s remark certainly put his own players under pressure, but what did it say to them and to us? I think it said ‘here it is, a really big ask. Ten cup finals in the toughest league out there. And I’m laying on the line . Not talking about what our rivals might or might not do, not trying some feeble ‘mind game’ on anybody else.  I’m saying that we have a massive job ahead of us and by saying it I am telling you publicly that I believe you can do it. One final at a time.’

And by God the team has come out looking like they’re ready for a fight in each match.  And for us supporters he’s given a real meaning and edge to what some denigrate as another failed season. Let’s be honest we all want to win every trophy and every August I hope and believe that we will. It’s the joy of following football as a sport, you get reborn every summer and each close season sees all your hope and belief entirely rekindled and fired up in readiness for the next go around. OK so this time there is only one thing left to fight for. A top four finish is for me more than the league cup and just shades the FA cup – you may see things differently, if so feel free to disagree with me,  I can take it. European qualification is third choice on my list of five targets when August comes around. But here’s the thing, there’s a whole lot of clubs dream of a top four finish in the Prem and we are one of the few capable of getting there. We have seven finals left and while we would like our rivals to do that vertical downhill spinny thing a few more times just to ease our way (it adds spice after all), whether they help us or not this season looks like going all the way to the wire and as a football fan you simply cannot ask for any more than that.

Imagine having secured mid table tedium a few weeks back and just playing out the remaining fixtures. Of course the matches themselves might be exciting but the season would be effectively over for you. We are one of a very few clubs at the absolute pinnacle of the English league system who have a big old prize still to aim at and the way Arsène laid that out for us has really whetted my appetite for the home straight. And I’ll tell you what, the players look like they’re up for it too. We’re so lucky to have experienced campaigners like the incomparable Tomáš Rosický and the unruffleable Vice Captain Fantastic Mikel Arteta to help steer the ship through the rocks and rapids which will no doubt try to sink us, but more than that all the new faces that so disrupted our progress way back in the autumn of last year now look like a team. A special mention for Nacho Monreal here who has had literally no time to settle but looks like he was born in the red and white. What a buy he turned out to be and be honest not one anybody saw coming. The squad is in pretty good shape, obvious and tragic injuries aside, and we have some pretty phenomenal experience and young talent on the bench these days.

So as far as my flu addled brain can make out we have made an impressive start to climbing this particular hill, there is a long way to go but every week brings more excitement and more drama and every week the results around us become harder to predict. If I still drank I’d raise a glass to you all and say what a joy it is to have you along for this crazy ride, and if you’ll allow me, I’ll make just one small prediction. If we do pull off the unlikely but not impossible ten cup finals, we will have laid the perfect foundation for the next campaign. The self belief that every squad needs will be in place and the bond forged between the artists on the pitch will make 2013/14 a truly mouth watering prospect.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. One day at a time as we say in AA. Or one final at a time as we say at The Arsenal.

Hello and welcome to this week’s round-up.

First up is the tragic tale of illness, sabotage, friendship and woe that was Arsene’s sore throat. His illness forced him out of the pre-match interviews and thrust Steve Bould into the limelight. Was Arsene faking it because he just couldn’t be doing with it? Did Wenger see it as a funny way of squeezing an impression of the spuds manager into an interview? Did Bould somehow infect his boss’ food with the flu virus because he just wanted a go?

Well, no. Probably not.

Santi Cazorla Titanicked the Arsenal awards this month, picking up the prizes of best player and best goal for March. His shaped effort into the bottom corner against Reading was the favourite amongst the voters. Cazorla has been playing most of his award winning football form left this month. Previous players who have gone from the centre to the left of the Arsenal midfield have gone on to sit on various benches throughout Europe or even straight to the fridge. All eyes will be on the Spanish magician’s waistline and agent.

Theo spoke to Arsenal player about his burning desire for a trophy. This may offer some insight into his latest injury, and with Dr. O’Driscoll likely to have prescribed a cream, it should clear up in the three to four days. Theo went on to say that he’d trade all of his appearances to lift a trophy with Arsenal next season. Unfortunately for Theo, when we do win a trophy, and he is held to his word about giving back his appearances, he won’t have played enough games to qualify for a medal.

Nacho also gave an interview to the official site. It’s not as easy to tell when somebody is drunk in a foreign language but when talking about Arteta and Cazorla, Monreal said “Those two guys! Where are they right now? I need to tell them I love those guys so damn much”. The full-back, clearly emotional, went on to say that his new manager gives him confidence by playing him even though he is new. The tears ran down his face as he looked deep into the camera and sang Wind Beneath my Wings.

Then came match-day. We were away to West Brom and fans seemed to be more hopeful than confident. The speculation which suggests that Napoleon Dynamite is running the Arsenal twiiter account was all but confirmed when they teams were grumbled out: “Same players as last week…god!” The line-up was the same but the tie looked a very different proposition. Gervinho’s streak continued as he earned himself an assist for the first goal. Tomas Rosicky scored his first headed goal bringing his total headers for the club to 5 and

his career total to 8. Aaron Ramsey had a pretty funny miss at the end of an excellent bit of football. Giroud flicked it down and, even though you can clearly see why it happened, how on earth did he poke it wide? Gutted!(Welsh accent) Ramsey, having a good performance, more than made up for his fluff by setting up the one they call The Little Mozart for his second goal of the afternoon. Rosicky’s first touch set him up to thump a volley which brought a good save from Ben Foster. The ball bounced once and Rosicky smashed it home. The tide turned in the game when a chipped ball over the top exposed the poor positioning of a player who you expect to be more astute. Per was wrong-sided and, in overestimating his stilts, didn’t get near the ball and cleared Shane Long out. Straight red, get Vermaelen ready! Morrison scored the penalty and our cruise to victory was now looking more like a draw. It took a lot of fight to cover the ground against a team with this new-found belief. We weren’t playing our best Wengerball but we were winning a football match. Sometimes that’s enough. It finished 2-1 to The Arsenal and the spoils went the way of the Gunners.

And finally, with two home games coming up against Norwich and Everton respectively, Theo and Jack couldn’t have timed their returns to the team any better. They manager is hopeful that they’ll both be included but will they want to sit and talk about Wrestlemania with Szcesny and Vermaelen? A lot of players are in form and the proverbial selection headache will be troubling the manager. I daren’t write about how the table might look should we take all six points. The march to third continues!

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading.

Up the Arsenal!