I was going to do one of those clever invite the opposition blogs. You know, chat to my Sunderland supporting mate about how he sees Arsenal, what his own side’s strengths and weaknesses are and generally give the P.A. readership, erudite and urbane as you all are, the chance to see the world through their eyes.

Problem is he’s a bit blinkered with hatred for us (doubtlessly born out of jealousy) and tends to answer even the most ambiguous questions with a long drawn out “Aye”. Only the subtlest alteration in stress or inflection gives you a clue to his thinking. Wouldn’t have read well so I scrapped that idea.

Unperturbed and determined to pursue some semblance of the plan I searched for a few Sunderland blogs online so I could quote extensively from the comments they attracted. Unfortunately the first one I came to had me screaming at the monitor after they talked about Per’s injury which lead to their goal the last time we played up there. They seemed to suggest he was somehow inept or bumbling not to have stopped whichever clodhopping Sunderland player it was that lurched passed him as he lay injured on the floor. I fought down the bile and ploughed on. The next site I came to had robbed my idea. Well, ok it’s a pretty well worn and old idea but I had thought of using it so that much was down to me. This Black Cats blog had interviewed a man who shall remain nameless but writes for a leading allegedly Arsenal supporting blog. He used the platform of today’s opponents supporters blog to display disloyalty, dishonesty, dishonour and generally bleat in the most abject way about how miserable he was that we lost to Birmingham in the widdley diddley cup final and how it wasn’t fair that nasty old Arsene wouldn’t change his ways having singularly failed to replace any of the hundred stars he’s sold in the last two weeks. You catch my drift. I was angrier than ever by now so shut down my search and just started to think about Arsenal versus Sunderland without any outside help thank you very much.

Sunderland to me is two memories. The first shared by many of my generation features a trilby hatted man with a flapping mac and red tights who looked like a nineteen fifties car mechanic and part time Butlins Redcoat in his best clothes on a day out, doing a funny hop skip and bouncy jump across the hallowed turf of Wembley. Bob Stokoe had just witnessed his fabulously coiffured and bewhiskered Sunderland team hand out an unlikely FA cup final defeat to an infamous Leeds United team who were in their pomp back in 1973. The nation cheered as the red and white striped journeymen who had come down to London as little more than sacrificial lambs bullied Leeds (not many did that) and kept them at bay, thanks in no small part to some truly incredible goal keeping from Jim Montgomery. The double save from Trevor Cherry’s header and Lorimer’s follow up shot was so ridiculously good that even as I watch the youtube video now, knowing what will happen, I’m still convinced it goes in. Brian Moore commentating for ITV at the time was equally bewildered, shouting “And a goal … NO.. my goodness I thought Lorimer had got that one”. I’ll draw a veil over the fact that Sunderland knocked us out of the FA Cup in the semis to deny us our rightful chance of revenge against a hated Leeds side who had somehow beaten us in the previous year’s final. It’s a measure of how much Leeds were despised in the early seventies that despite the indignity of being dumped out of the cup by second division opposition I still wanted them to go on and win the cup.

 My other memory when I think of Sunderland, shared only by me and my immediate family, is being driven around Roker Park about a dozen times on our way to a bizarre holiday destination somewhere on the North East coast. Mum was wrestling with a Bartholomew’s road atlas and Dad was becoming increasingly exasperated as no matter how many different escape routes she plotted for us the magnetic force of Roker Park pulled us back into it’s orbit.

Of course Sunderland left their historic home back in 1997 exactly a hundred years after building it on what was originally farm land. Like Arsenal they built and moved into a new shiny stadium and despite the financial implications and inevitable stresses of a stadium move they stuck with the same manager and continued to play in an attractive, exciting style and remained firmly among the elite of European football, their beautiful pitch with it’s flawless playing surface being the envy of other less fortunate clubs.

Oh wait.

Sunderland like many others who’ve built new stadia have struggled to find consistent success. Or even consistent top flight status. In fact the last time they achieved consistent success was between 1891 and 1895 when they won the league three times in four seasons. That 1973 triumph against Leeds was their last ever trophy.

Strangely though, as I was trawling the blogosphere to find Sunderland quotes for my abortive article and whenever I speak to my Sunderland supporting friend the mood was and is always positive. The passion and support and self belief are everywhere self evident. One blog had at least five of the current Sunderland first team better than their opposite numbers in our team. And it’s been forty years without a trophy. Seventy seven years since they won the league. Something to ponder the next time you have to read or listen to some whining anti Arsenal ‘fan’ bitching because Sky told him to about seven years, and trophy droughts.

Modern day Sunderland as far as we’re concerned means packed defences and a lack of ambition at our place and a deliberately ploughed pitch with knee high grass at their place. I feel embarrassed for those passionate loyal supporters having to stand up and shout for a side that showed such a craven lack of self belief and desire at the Emirates or for a club that along with Milan should hang their heads for deliberately creating an unplayable surface just to stop their visitors producing decent football. Having said that their fans have been known to stand and applaud some of our players on occasions so hats off to them for that. O’Neill as a manager has always been an annoying waspish presence on the touchline but he knows how to organise his teams and does have some good players. It’ll be vital Theo has a good game to keep their speedy left back penned in his own half, but if we show the same patience we employed against the Orcs and the bravura with which West Ham and Liverpool were put to the sword we have enough to beat them.

Of course as Per can testify, sometimes a deep hoof print in the wrong place at the wrong time can make a mockery of even the best laid plans.

These are two of the most damaging allegations against Arsenal in a decade, including those of the anti-support, the combined efforts of the village idiot trust, precisely because they sound a bit well-dressed, respectable and tidy, backed by ‘data’ in one case. They allow those embracing such ideas to speak the telltale words “I have always supported Wenger but …. I was as shocked as you when I found out, you know, the damning evidence of mismanagement”. The intelligence and corporate worlds refer to this as “plausible deniability”.

On the other hand, being an Arsenal-positive kind of bloke, I saw opportunity, not threat, to debunk such fiction. I am not going to talk about the financial limitations 2006-2011 and the restrictions these placed on the types and calibre of Arsenal players. I am not even going to talk about how many players ended up in just one other club, Manchester City, spirited away by big money, the major destabilising factor at Arsenal by a distance (an outcome ironically of Wenger’s incredible record in identifying technical players).

I am trying to imagine the soap-opera script telling the story of an economist who orchestrated the strategy of moving stadium, unparalleled in modern football management, a plan that by definition must envisage 10-25 year financial projections interwoven with narrative arguments exhaustively justifying the strategy, becoming the same chap who, it seems incredible, abandoned planning, alongside intensive research and stats, as a prime instrument of football management and now “flies by the seat of his pants”. Such genius strikes me as too far-fetched for Mr. Wenger.  How on earth did he manage this feat of duplicity? How did he fool us?

The second argument concludes that, by the evidence, Wenger never had a fully conceived football plan in the first place, post-Invincibles, that his tinkering and change of course and composition exposed the paucity and critical weaknesses of any plan he might have had scribbled down. The evidence is presented primarily in the outcome, that as we know is no trophies for 7 seasons.

The evidence is further based on a hotch-potch of alleged figures and flimsy anecdotal references alluding to and describing a pattern of ‘incomprehensible’ transfer decisions, and mistakes: you know the drill I’m sure, Cole, Pires, Gilberto, Flamini, Hleb, Diarra, Reyes, Adebayor, and a phalanx of hopelessly fat, lazy and geriatric defenders, Gallas,Eboue and so on (sorry, I’m bored already) through to the “inevitable” fall-out culminating in the summer of 2011.

I have an alternative theory. Wenger is fallible, in a strictly football sense, in that his football philosophy places tremendous trust and responsibility in his players. His post-2006 formations came close, damn close, twice if we examine the truth of it, but (injuries aside) had a human flaw despite meticulous planning and fine-tuning. The central premise rested on his ability, as coach, motivator and tactician, to coax, from four or five key players and a supporting cast, a degree of self-belief that they did not, and possibly could not, possess.

He had the best (young) central midfielder in the world, not fully matured, but acknowledged; what he thought was one of the best strikers in Europe (post-injury, proved correct); one of the best left-backs in England (a key position in modern football); and, in time, he had a twin compliment to these in two French internationals: Nasri, seemingly destined for greatness with his deftness of touch, and Diaby, despite injury, showing ability to dominate with an awkward gait, stance and movement on the ball. His teams were decidedly continental, technical and rested (they still do) on dominating the opposition. It has been said that training rarely includes tactical counter-moves to negate opposition strengths or advantages to be obtained from their weaknesses. Yes, I can believe that. Wenger only knows one strategy, to overwhelm, from passing, possession and technical mastery; to emphasize your own team’s creative ability.

He believed in his players, the core had joined young and were nurtured by him from early twenties or younger, and believing in them, he must have believed in his ability to impart self-belief to this core, more than anything that with hard work and freedom to express themselves they would reach their highest creative potential. Yes, I would think Wenger tried every conceivable combination to unlocking these players’ potential, as a team. He spoke passionately about these players, and they about him.

Wenger’s second Arsenal vintage was all but disbanded with the departure of Fabregas, and a summer later, van Persie, combining to make these the most poignant moments in the history of Arsenal in 17 years, and probably much longer. Nine other players left or were required to leave over two summers. Change was resolutely underway. Fans were shocked. Wenger acted decisively, even ruthlessly.

What belies the idea that Wenger did not have a plan underlying a plan was the speed in the re-building, and the actions we now know that could not possibly be ‘purely’ reactive: the clear-out itself, building a young British core, identifying Giroud and Podolski in advance of van Persie’s departure (and what players they turn out to be) andcontinuously strengthening defence with Per, Jenks, Santos, Miguel’s promotion, young Bellerin, now Nacho. The midfield having lost its (then) pivotal players, barely broke its stride, and that’s worth dwelling on as a feat of football engineering. There are a couple that do strike me as speculative, Park and Benayoun on loan, maybe Santos, but overwhelmingly not, nor was there any sense of panic or over-reaction (what the media drooled for) in recent transfer windows. It has been composed. The steady incorporation also of younger players has continued without so much as blinking.

I cannot think of a comparison in recent football history in the scope and speed of successfully transitioning one team into another. Manchester City bought their way with mind-numbing expenses through a transition, and it took longer. Can it be accidental that in the first season of a new-look, transitional side (last season), having lost someimmense talents, an unsettled team attained a higher placing. Was it luck? Many ascribe this to van Persie’s skills, to Benayoun’s or Rosicky’s late-season surge, or Chelsea’s ‘collapse’, but this season the team is out-scoring last season, over-reliance on one striker is thrillingly overcome, we have a lethal trident-attack, centred on a gem named Giroud, the midfield is purring with options and I think we will overhaul Chelsea, again. Somebody is doing something right.

“Planning” (in the sense I mean) is under-pinned by a philosophy, a coherent set of ideas, an identity. Wenger’s overwhelming contribution to Arsenal, his principle legacy will not only be bricks and mortar, but a vision of why football should be played and watched, and how to get it there. I doubt this has changed much, if at all over the years. The least ambitious ideas need the least gestation (for example, Manchester City’s contribution to the game); in Wenger’s case the converse is true. I look forward to the definitive book. When coherence of ideas is principled and tested, planning becomes embedded, continuous and elastic and allows for rapid action when required, because circumstances can and do change; this alone can explain how Wenger has achieved this transition.

Those howling in the wind for “change” are already over one year late, almost two as we speak. By this time last year, a full-blown transition was underway, and it shows every sign of being thought out, articulate and part of something bigger. That Fabregas and van Persie were plausible components of ‘a plan’ (elastic enough to include some probability of their departures) does not change direction and strategy. I was intrigued reading this Wengerism “don’t rule out the possibility that Fabregas will one day return to Arsenal”.

I am confident and delighted that Wenger seems not to have altered his intuitive trust in players, as people, and as a team. What proved fallible or premature with one core of players can and will excel with another; that is a question of character, work ethic and stressing such values as loyalty, teamwork and vision, as much as skill and technical ability. I cannot speak for players who departed. It hurt. Yes, they were young and so much was expected of them at the time. We suffered horrendously from injury “plague” season after season (lest we forget, van Persie, Diaby, Ramsey, Eduardo, Wilshere, Denilson, Walcott, Gibbs, Fabregas, Rosicky and Gallas all suffered extensive lay-offs through injury at critical periods). But Father time, as always, will tell us the big truth much more simply.

In the meantime, Wenger’s method has given everything I wanted from football, the opportunity for players as a team to express themselves creatively, and so, memories of the best football I have seen, certainly in England, and this has never changed in Wenger’s period. The consistency of this standard of football should tell us something about the philosophy behind. I have noted key tactical changes in the latest Wenger team, nuances, but I suspect these are built around the player’s attributes as much as tactical innovation, a combination. Is it my imagination, or has Theo Walcott just grown up, boy-to-man, at Arsenal? I could mention others, Jack and Chewie’s maturity, the story of Diaby, of Aaron, or my favourite, Rosicky. Wenger is a people-trusting person. That’s my kind of football manager.

We’ve had some fascinating discussions this week on a variety of themes, most recently the fans’ role in lifting the team over the final hurdle to greatness and the story of our outgoing players in the transfer market. The latter got me thinking, not about those who have gone to pastures new but rather those who have joined us.

The whole vexatious topic of transfers can become a little toxic. I have had to unfollow people on Twitter in January just because they insist on babbling with incoherent breathless prose day after day about this rumour, that target, this price or that wage demand. Was it like this before the window? I wonder if it isn’t more to do with the internet, social networks and blogs and the utter desperation of Sky, Talkspite and the back page print journos to remain relevant in a swiftly changing media environment rather than the effect of the dreaded window itself.

My thoughts are fairly well known and usually proved wrong. I don’t like it when new players come in. It unsettles me, takes me too long to think of them as our own and I believe unsettles the squad and takes too long for new partnerships to become effective on the pitch. It was a whole season before I could really see Sol Campbell as one of our own and not some mercenary Spud in an Arsenal shirt. I cannot begin to tell you how bewildered I was when Bruce Rioch signed the Ice Man for a ridiculously high £7.5 million. It just wasn’t the Arsenal way. International superstars who would in Rioch’s words “..clearly indicate our ambition, intention and determination to compete with any club for the very best players.” were not what we were used to and I, foolish and, let’s not shy from the truth, weird as I was, didn’t like it.

The only mitigation I can offer for my seemingly bizarre antipathy to new arrivals is the close season of 2003. A legend was leaving us. David Seaman, who pulled off what Peter Schmeichel famously dubbed “the best save I’ve ever seen” to see us through to the FA Cup final where he would lift the jug eared old trophy, was retiring. Arsene Wenger had inherited the famous defence and there were some who had wondered what he would do when their creaking old legs and arms were no longer up to the task. Apart from Martin Keown, David Seaman was the last of that exulted old guard and he needed replacing. Who did Le Prof bring in to replace him? An erratic German keeper with a reputation for unreliability, unpredictability and downright madness. He’d failed at A.C. Milan and had just spent an entirely unhappy final season with Dortmund where (according to Wiki) he “currently still holds the record for most red cards for any player of Borussia Dortmund”.
Apart from a couple of unknown Swiss centre backs, some kid on a free from Barca and a young French left back that crazy keeper represented our only big business in the transfer market. My mitigation for not liking too much transfer activity and simultaneously for trusting Arsene Wenger’s judgement over my own is the simple fact that Mad Jens completely failed to play on the losing side in any Premiership match in the following season. We had our most successful ever time at the top after an extremely quiet summer of transfers.

Look, I’m laying all my cards on the table like this because I want you to understand the pathological depths of my transfer psychosis. If anyone can be upset at Dennis Bergkamp coming to play for their club then they need help, right?

Well you’ll be happy to know that help has arrived. A strange thing has been happening this season. I have of course been on edge over all the new faces joining us, trying to imagine them as our own when I’m not even sure how to pronounce their surnames is hard for me. Santi is unquestionably an extraordinary footballer but I don’t know him quite well enough yet. Next year it’ll be fine. I’m warming to Lukas, he works so hard and has a left foot that Thor could use if he ever lost his favourite tool, while Nacho is a surreal creature who just suddenly materialised at left back out of nowhere. But the something I referred to just back there, the something that has happened to me started 88 minutes into our match against The Orcs at the Brittania on August 26th 2012. With the score at nil nil and chances hard to come by, tenacious work on the corner of our box from Alex Oxelaide-Chamberlain and a quick pass forward set our new and largely unknown centre forward loping down the left wing in pursuit. The ever willing Aaron Ramsay was charging up the, middle in support and with the right weight on the pass would have been in a very strong scoring position. But then it happened. Out of absolutely nowhere and without bothering to so much as take a touch never mind think about a pass, Olivier Giroud, still some thirty yards from goal and near the touchline unleashed a terrifying dipping shot which would have snapped the Mordor keeper in half if it had hit him. OK so the shot missed the target by a fraction, Arsene got off the bench and signalled his displeasure, the commentators pointed out how well placed Ramsay was and we came home with a well earned point but no more.

But I was captivated by that moment. The audacity, the confidence, the technique. Name three other attributes you want more in your centre forward. Go on. Name them. As it turned out that wouldn’t be the first time Olivier (or Larry as he should surely be known) missed by a scintilla or fluffed his lines in front of goal and the anti Arsenal press had their all too predictable field day making negative comparisons with his predecessor and labelling him a flop and generally trying to turn us against the new boy and thus rob him of our vocal or written support. I think his Arsenal career would have started very differently and brought many more if different pressures had that goal gone in. I think he’d have settled more quickly and people would have forgiven him for not being Thierry/Denis/Persie all rolled into one.

But of course the goals started to come. He opened his account against Coventry in the widdley diddley cup and gave us this fantastic quote “This goal has taken the pressure off me. It’s done, I have my first goal. But it has to be the start of a beautiful adventure.” And I started to love him just a little bit. “But it has to be the start of a beautiful adventure.” Perfect. I’ve been accused of being a bit of a romantic where football is concerned and maybe that is true but like Larry I believe a player’s career and relationship with us should be just that. Wasn’t Thierry’s Arsenal career a beautiful adventure? How else would you describe it? I like that bit of poetry in Giroud’s make up. It complements his physical prowess rather neatly.

After scoring in the prem in October he put away four in November. The Fulham game was a high water mark in his burgeoning Arsenal career, not just the goals but his all round play started making us sit up and take notice, and it is his assists as much as his goals that excites me. As I suggested earlier it takes time for partnerships to form and for players to get to know each other. We have seen Olivier play deft passes for others to run on to but more than that we’ve seen him play mind bogglingly accurate audacious flicks over defenders and into the path of the on-running Arsenal player. It takes time for those around him to even realise those passes are possible never mind likely to come. It takes a while for the all round aspect of his game to be picked up on by his team mates. I’ve noticed lately Theo and Lukas seem more aware of where to be when he goes up for a header and to keep running when he receives the ball, back to goal, expecting the pass to come. I think he’ll score plenty for us. But more than that I think Theo and Lukas will score more because of him.

I also have to confess that for the first time ever I have taken to a bought in transfer window player. A man who should have taken a season to win me round had me in that one sparkling moment of near brilliance back in August. There’s just something very Arsenal about him.

Post by Varun Shukla (@wengerarmy)

While browsing through the new Arsenal website (which is an absolute corker by the way) I stumbled upon Lee Dixon’s interview. He talked about how he was scouted, approached and signed by Arsenal and his feelings during the entire process. An extract here:

“I walked through the marble halls and I just went to myself, ‘whatever happens today, I am not leaving here until I sign’, because the place smelled of football.”

The more Sherlock Holmesian of people will stop me right now with an “Elementary, my dear author” comment here and deduce where I’m going with this, but for the more mortal of us, read on.

Every Gooner remembers the summer transfer window and one Dutch Skunk in particular. There’s no need to go into the details, I’m sure- he is where he wanted to be and no one this side cares. He however can’t stop talking about us. When he’s not busy getting impregnated by little boys or spending time in sweet shops, he talks about how he’s ‘‘seeing things he’s seen before only with Henry and Bergkamp’’ and about how his current employers ‘breathe football’.

What’s the difference between Lee Dixon and United’s number 20? Aside from the fact that one is an Arsenal legend and the other would give Brutus a run for his money in the Best Betrayal of All Time Award, it’s in what they said about their respective clubs. On the face of it both statements seem to be similar (though Lee has better grammar). There’s a huge difference though – Lee was bowled over by the sheer history of the Club, the way one might feel while visiting Buckingham Palace. The other guy’s statement was just a PR exercise to enhance his image.

And that is the difference between a legend and a good footballer. Players of the past – Dixon, Adams, Bergkamp, Seaman, Rocastle etc respected the Club as a historical institution. They felt a sense of responsibility and belonging – it was almost as if they were supporters themselves. Henry is a legend not because he scored the most goals or because he won with us. It is this statement which says it all “You need big shoulders to play for Arsenal – the cannon is heavy.” The same can be said about Gerrard, Pirlo and Antonio di Natale for their respective clubs. They believed.

Most modern players however, are more individualistic. These days, it is Club A for development, Club B for winning stuff and Club C for a comfortable retirement and so on. They plan every stage like a corporate career and that somehow just doesn’t go with the spirit of football. A football player is a role model to many and for me; he is complete if he is a good person as well. This is one of the things which make me proud to say that I am a Gooner – by and large; we’ve always had players who are great humans as well as footballers.

Much has been said about the ‘family spirit’ at Arsenal. We have top class facilities, one of the best footballing arenas in the world and a visionary manager who has always cared about his players. On more than one occasion, we’ve heard from ex and current players about how great it feels in the dressing room, how Arsene is like a ‘second father’ and how life is generally top class. Even the new signings admit that their national compatriots were a big factor in convincing them to sign (Mertesacker for Podolski and Cazorla for Nacho to name just two). Which makes it all the more baffling when players leave for no apparent reason.

A big part of the reason for our trophyless run (aside from financial restrictions, oil money and even some refereeing ‘errors’) is the outflow of players. Every season since 05-06, the manager has had to contend with key players leaving which results in an overhaul of strategy leading to rebuilding of the team and a loss of ‘chemistry’ and stability.
A chronological list here would be helpful:
Ashley Cole
Hleb
Flamini
Adebayor
Nasri
Fabregas
Clichy
Song
 van Persie

You’ll notice that I omitted players such as Henry, Ljungberg, Gallas, Toure, Lehmann etc. Here I’ve considered only the players who could have contributed significantly to the team by staying. The list also has some of the biggest ‘traitors’ in AFC history (except Clichy maybe). This, however, is exactly my point.

Why, when everything is so brilliant at our club, do players leave? Out of all of these players, Cole was perhaps the only one who admitted outright that he wanted more money than we could offer. The rest had varying degrees of ‘trophy sickness’. And more money of course. The thing that hurts is the way in which the Club is made a scapegoat and the way in which it becomes widely accepted opinion.

Particularly in Persie’s case, he released a statement which effectively disrespected the Club and said ‘they lack ambition’. What does ambition mean? How does signing 5 players (some of whom are targeted by teams fighting to avoid the drop) show that we’re serious about winning the title?  Is the board, Dick Law, Wenger or Gazidis out there playing on the pitch? No. The best the Club can do is provide the best possible environment for the players to excel. It is the players who need to show that they want to win, not the Club.

Don’t get me wrong here; I’m not saying the players don’t make any effort. Just that blaming the Club for what are essentially their mistakes is wrong. An open net, just the finish required. A goal takes us through to the next stage, and it is shot wide. Instead of working harder and improving that, player takes the easiest option to move in transfer window and accuse us of lack of ‘ambition’. It’s a similar thing with defenders. Let in a goal, and yet they say that Wenger didn’t handle the ball better.

Coming back to Persie. After nearly 6 seasons at the treatment table, he showed the form of his life. We finished 3^rd, and were raring to go in the next season. He knows that he could have helped us do better by staying – repaying the faith shown, but he chose to leave. And before that, he even took the pains to undermine the club that made him. Wasn’t it his attempted chip against AC Milan which was saved and cost us progression in the CL? No, that was somehow Wenger’s fault.

Fabregas, beloved captain. Got homesick apparently and went on strike to force a move. He knew that the team was built around him – the boss must have talked to him about it, about the difficulties we’d face in rebuilding – but no, he went home to Barcelona who willingly let go of him at the age of 16.

Maybe the agents are to blame. They make the players believe that they are the best thing to happen to the human race since the wheel, talk to their ego and tell them the Arsenal isn’t good enough. Of course, the agents want their commission too. What it all results in is instability in the team, and still the great man finds the resources to qualify for CL each year (for well over a decade running now). And finish above Spurs for good measure.

It’s not as if all players have had successful careers afterwards. Barring Cole, no one has achieved much. Nasri was on the bench for City’s triumph, he doesn’t count. Hleb and Flamini, Adebayor have all come out to admit that they should never have left Arsenal, Fabregas only played in the final of Spanish equivalent of Community Shield in his first season, Song is miserable at Barcelona.

What they fail to realize is as a bunch, staying together, they could have achieved something much much greater than they will ever do with other clubs. And that is what is good about the current team. No exit in sight (only Sagna’s contract situation left), everyone has ages left on their contracts, they all want to win something NOW. And God damn, we will.

This is the inaugural Bradyesque7 weekly Arsenal round-up. The only place to get your Arsenal both rounded and upped.

First up is the arrival of Nacho Monreal on Sky Sports Deadline Day. Monreal was destined to be a professional footballer. His father, a huge supporter of their hometown club, in Spain, is believed to have pleaded with his wife to allow him to call their son Nacho which is, of course, the Spanish word for match.

The fees paid for players such as Monreal are rarely confirmed by the club but, if reports are to be believed, we paid every figure between eight and twelve million for Nacho and almost certainly a little more and a bit less for Olivier Giroud in the summer.

Strikers and defensive midfielders may have been on the top of everyone’s wish list, but the second most important day of the football calendar came and went with only one player arriving.

HRH Lord David Beckham trained for a day.  Arsene Wenger joked that one day in training with Arsenal was enough for Beckham to regain fitness and be snapped up by PSG.  The medical team are said to be having it engraved onto a plaque.

We drew 2-2 with Liverpool this week in a belter of a game. There were thrills and spills and there were defensive howlers, which are spills. We went two goals down and the defending was pretty, pretty poor. Brazilian party animal, Andre Santos, was at fault for both goals. In possession, for both halves, Arsenal were terrific. Some might say the best football we’ve played all year. Other might say that trying to make a big statement because it’s the INAUGURAL BRADYESQUE7 WEEKLY ROUND-UP is pathetic.

Giroud’s fantastic debut season shows no sign of relenting as he continued his scoring run this week. Potency which can only be rivaled by Giroud himself, but in smaller, greener shorts.

Steve Bould may have fixed our problems at the beginning of the season but we’re conceding again. Some of the goals probably were preventable and we possibly could have gone on to win more points. As far as I can see, the problems seem to stem from two issues; tactical errors and individual mistakes. However, it can’t be ignored that we have been unfortunate from time to time too.  Pinpointing that particular problem has probably been your highlight so far and you’re welcome to that.

The weekend brought a return to the bygone days of ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ as Stoke City visited the Grove.  Several impressive saves from Begovic kept the scores level for 78 minutes and proved what we’re all thinking; They do have six fingers!!! Santi Cazrorla and Lukas Podolski were introduced and the game was up for the tiring, Cleetuses.  Podolski aimed his free-kick off the knee of a Stokel and cleverly wrong-footed the digitally enhanced Begovic.  The game was over, the war was won and the sheet was clean. We got our Arsenal back???

And finally, Liam Brady has agreed to become Head of Youth Development at Juventus in 2014.  Brady has given over twenty years service to the Gunners and is probably going to remain involved with the club.  Arsenal are believed to have begun the search for Brady’s successor.  Some new guy will be tasked with “building on what Liam and his team have created”.  Good luck with that dude.

Regardless of what you may think, that is everything that happened in the last few days.

Thank you for reading.

Our very own Arsenal Andrew looks to the future

Normally I’d hesitate to write at any length about a Reserves’ match, regardless of the branding, be it U21’s, U18s’s or this new-fangled Next Generation business we’ve been keeping half an eye on. And certainly, as I drove my post-pneumonic self to Barnet’s bizarre mountain slope of a pitch on Tuesday night I entertained notions of a quick in and out and home in time to catch my favourite radio show of the week – Somer Valley’s Stew Black and the Slow & Dirty Train – not least thanks to the early 7pm kick off time.

What transpired was something very different.

As an FA Cup match, we were primed – braced even – for a game that had to be settled on the evening via the unwelcome mechanisms of extra time and penalties. Heaven forbid it went that far as the weather turned treacherous and an ugly storm blew in.

It had been warm in London on Tuesday – equivalent to a cool summer’s evening. The storm, albeit free of lightning and thunder, was the likely consequence of a temperature swing of 15 degrees from just a few days earlier when snow and ice had gripped the capital. Barnet’s old-school stadium is a remarkable, wonderful place. At no other ground in quite the same way do you feel transported back to the game ‘experience’ as it must have been known to our fathers and grandfathers and their families.

Spectators are placed pretty much level with the pitch and close to the touchline – so close you feel you can almost reach out and touch history itself.

Unfortunately, the finances of the club don’t extend too far these day, if they ever did, and the absence of a big screen forces the fan to follow the game rather than muck about with phones and Twitter. It is in fact the footballing equivalent of watching a film with subtitles; one blink and you risk missing the bit upon which the whole event turns. If you could video spectators watching the game at Barnet and compare with one taken at a game ‘blessed’ with a screen, you could be forgiven for assuming two different sports were being played out, such are the differences in the levels of concentration required.

The only real downside to Underhill’s ‘missing’ screen is that without replays it’s much harder for one not intimately familiar with both teams’ players to write a bona fide match report. So this isn’t one.

But it IS, however, a short acknowledgement from this reluctant weather-cowed spectator that what came to pass in the little publicised U18 FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Fulham, was one of the toughest games I’ve ever seen played. Conducted at blistering pace with breathtaking commitment, skill  and sheer raw courage by the lads of both sides, it was a match the likes of which I’d be surprised to see again.

The weather was such that, when the ball was kicked into it by despairing goalkeepers from one end in particular, it frequently barely reached halfway, sometimes got picked up by the breeze, examined and sent back towards the kicker in a gravity defying route dictated by a malevolent gale-force wind that clearly had other, more mischievous, ideas.

A breeze this most certainly was not.

And it DID go to extra time in the end.

In the event, two evenly matched sides more or less blew themselves out as the gale subsided close to the two hour mark. An early goal from Arsenal’s Anthony Jeffrey (“AJ!”) was cancelled out by one from Fulham’s Tankovic. That there were three foul throw-ins tell you something about the conditions as the oily ball was blown from the grip of boys, playing like men – nay warriors – and against the weather, as much as each other. I’ve never seen so many go down with cramp as tackles turned into car crashes and the only things missing from this battling vista was, thankfully, any blood or actual thunder.

That Arsenal eventually ran out worthy 2-1 winners was in no small measure thanks to the second-half arrival, following the substitution of star player Serge Gnabry, of the immaculate and cool-headed Austin Lipman.

Things always seem to happen to me at Barnet.  Magical, wonderful things.

On my birthday last summer, at this same stadium I found myself sat a dozen seats from Arsene Wenger. No fuss, no security (I’d left my people outside the ground), and with just the presence of Ivan Gazidis by Arsene’s side – I took a picture that can still be seen today on my Twitter page for anyone caring to look; he’d just smiled at my delighted better half as I fumbled for my phone and its camera to record the moment. You can clearly see how thrilled Arsene looks.

Last night I was sat next to a gentleman who texted someone called Austin halfway through the first half. Unusual name that, Austin. He was arranging to meet ‘Austin’ by the substitutes bench at half time, writing a message using enlarged typography intended for those with poor vision. I don’t normally read other people’s text messages but the seats are very close together at Underhill. No, really, they are. Honestly, I don’t.

A few weeks earlier by chance at Barnet during a similar game I’d sat next to the impossibly young looking mother of an Arsenal Under 18’s player – a substitute who didn’t actually get onto the pitch – the delightful and charming Mrs Lipman. Last night by remarkable coincidence in a crowd of several hundred I’d managed inadvertently to sit myself down on a seat close to the halfway line, next to Mrs Lipman’s Dad – Austin’s Grandfather.

From the scale of this coincidence alone, we can see that this lad Austin is destined for great things. Very great things.

Sadly his mum, who was at that point, according to her dad recovering from ‘flu, wasn’t there to see her boy, at the age of 17 years and two months, as he hit a brilliant winner for his side at the end of this toughest of games.  She got an excited call from Dad though, when it happened. No, I didn’t listen in.

But her young Austin, with the club, incredibly, since the age of six, was very much the hero of the (2) hour(s).

I wasn’t going to write about any of this, what with the next evening’s big game ahead against Liverpool, we surely would have much bigger fish to fry, wrap and drown in salt and vinegar.

But an hour after the game ended, a photo started to be tweeted and re-tweeted depicting the celebrations of the players immediately following Austin’s Great Strike. It’s that rarest of rare things, a picture that somehow tells a whole story.

This picture is so good, so special, that had I taken it I’d have given it a name all of it’s own.

Joy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35115236@N03/8427452323/

Taken by Arsenal’s brilliant club photographer, David Price.

Austin Lipman’s in there somewhere, I’m told. But in the foreground is another player who has to be one of the brightest young prospects for right back since, ooh, well, Carl Jenkinson.

Pacy, VERY pacy, skilful and fearless, repeated checks on the line up sheet confirmed he definitely is a right sided defender though he played more like an out and out winger.

17 year old Hector Bellerin came Arsenal’s way when Cesc went the other two years back in a largely unnoticed (by me) swap deal with Barcelona. His stunning talent made him, on Tuesday night, this observer’s Man of the Match. He’s also my tip for the role of Next Big Young Arsenal Star – ahead, even, of the always impressive Serge Gnabry and Thomas Eisfeld, both huge prospects themselves. He’s that good. His unusual first name reminded me of my reaction upon hearing Robin van Persie’s for the first time and I’ve little doubt he has the potential to make waves of a similarly exciting nature as Robin did, at least before all that transfer trouble blew up last summer …

At the end of the evening and as I battled with the storm’s remnants back to my car, I marveled at how much the cost of the £3 entry fee had given me.

For sure, the game against Liverpool was more ‘important’. But at that moment I doubted whether I could possibly feel quite as connected to the game, the players or the other spectators as I did that evening.

Joy, indeed.

Guest Post by @GBVishJourno

Have you sat down to watch the Africa Cup of Nations this year? No, not just sit in front of a computer and spool through YouTube clips but actually turn on the television and watch ninety minutes of African football.

Well I have, but you don’t need to watch the tournament to know that Gervinho has scored two magnificent goals for Cote d’Ivoire in the Group Stages: one a late winner to seal three points in his side’s opener against Togo, the other a lovely give-and-go between himself and Lacina Traore to open the scoring against Tunisia.

Both goals were expertly taken, beautifully crafted and probably the most important goals of the two games the Ivorians have so far played at the time of writing. A late, late winner always bursts the bubble of pressure that encapsulates players and an opening goal gives a team both comfort on and off the ball.

But why has he scored such magnificent goals for his national team? Wearing an orange shirt is no indication to that. Representing your country does not guarantee you a better performance. It is because the fans are behind him. The nation as a whole wants him to play and therefore support him unconditionally.

But what about those at Arsenal? Can we honestly say we are always one hundred percent behind Gervais Yao Kouassi when he is in the scarlet and white of the Gunners? No. We can’t.

Or at least some of us can’t.

But it is not just Gervinho but a raft of other players who have been booed by some of the most fickle fans in the world of football – in my opinion – if not the most fickle. I can understand if a player doesn’t give it his all in a game and then receives stick for it, such as Andrei Arshavin failing to track back for the Gunners.

I happened to witness one such incident at the City of Manchester Stadium (it was still called that back then) when we spanked Roberto Mancini’s men 3-0. Dedryck Boyata had been sent off inside five minutes and Nasri, Song and Bendtner scored our goals.

Lukas Fabianski was in goal and I was in the first row behind the goalmouth. Throughout the game, the away fans continued to cheer him on. In front of me was not Lukas ‘Flappyhandski’, but an international goalkeeper who pulled off world-class saves time and time again.

My point is, certain sections of fans need to get behind players when they fail to deliver. They don’t just need our roaring adulation and rapturous applause when they are banging in the goals week in week out or effortlessly breaking up play at the other end of the pitch.

They need our support and our backing even more when they fail to deliver. When they are unable to find the back of the net or hold our rearguard successfully.

Unfortunately, the human mind tends to focus more on the negative than the positive side of things. Over time, this can take its toll on even the most resilient of individuals.

Marouane Chamakh was being praised to high heaven when he was leading the line for Arsenal, scoring at will and assisting freely. Much was made about how he offered us a Plan B and was an absolute steal since he had joined us for free. His name echoed throughout the Emirates when he scored those ten goals in the first half of 2010.

But less than six months later, the same group of fans called him horrible! How conveniently they forgot that he had barely played in those six months (or in the next season either). Suddenly, the striker who had earned us a Champions League place and a berth in the Carling Cup final was being derided.

Awful, they called the Moroccan. He was dead-wood, a useless player who didn’t deserve to pull on the Arsenal shirt. How many times had he played since the return of Robin van Persie? He’s scored four goals in that time, a decent return given the rarity of his appearances.

And what of little Andrei, who owned Anfield with those four goals and orchestrated some of the most crucial strikes for Arsenal Football Club. What about the equaliser against Everton, the opener against Aston Villa, the winner against Liverpool on his return to Anfield. The assists he so unselfishly contributed time and time again. He was lazy, they said. He refused to track back, they said.

He was played out of position, they never said. He was no longer the fulcrum of a team, they never said. The meerkat was ageing, they never said. He offered to play alone up front when no one else was available, they never said.

Arshavin dragged us to the Champions League places during the 2008-09 season, after we had lost Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva the previous season. Tomas Rosicky had been on the sidelines for more than a year then.

Sebastien Squillaci has also been barracked in the past. Answer me this, if you will. How many of the mistakes he actually made were actually his fault? Was the one against West Bromwich Albion where Manuel Almunia came galumphing forward his fault? Was the header which he directed away from his goal which unfortunately fell to Steven Sidwell his fault?

Yes, he did get sent off against Huddersfield Town and put through his own net at Wigan, but that can happen to any defender. He might not have adapted to the best of his ability to the premiership and reproduced the displays in La Liga and Ligue 1 that put him on our radar in the first place, but does that warrant the jeers and abuse?

And why, for the love of God why, was Aaron Ramsey booed? Are you actually booing the player who returned to the Arsenal fold after suffering a double leg break? In that case, why not boo Eduardo as well? Are you booing a player who lost his life-long mentor? Who was stripped of his nation’s captaincy? Who was played out of position at Arsenal? Who was within an inch of joining Manchester United after his parents had gone to Old Trafford first, only to find out that Sir Alex had gone on holiday?

Arsene left him and his parents flight tickets to Switzerland to meet him at the Emirates, and a deal was thrashed out over dinner that night.

Or are you booing Ramsey because he’s actually trying his damndest unlike Eduardo who sadly was left psychologically scarred by that incident at St. Andrews? In that case, you do not deserve to support Arsenal.

And that brings me to Arsene Wenger. He’s tried his best to manage the club with what resources he has, which are limited because of the move to the Emirates. Yet he has managed to deliver us Champions League football season after season after season. We accuse him of not buying, but has he not bought when was absolutely necessary? Has he not stuck with the club despite knowing the constraints moving to the Emirates would bring?

Then why is he barracked so much?

It’s easy to say ‘we want our Arsenal back’. It’s even easier to forget that it is Arsene who has built today’s Arsenal.

As Bill Shankly said,

“If you can’t support us when we lose or draw, don’t support us when we win.”

It is the players who convert draws and losses to wins. Remember that they are also human. They also need to feel reassured, loved and happy.

So get behind them so that they can make us feel the same way.

One of the reasons I often bang on about how a gripping, exciting game, preferably one where the lead changes hands or one or both teams stage unlikely come backs, where controversial decisions change the game, is this. I think they’re important. Now I know football isn’t really important. I understand the part it plays in our lives is peripheral to the make or break decisions which genuinely affect our future, and I see that a hobby, a diversion such as football will always pale into insignificance beside the more momentous and genuinely important aspects of our existence.

Sorry ignore that last pile of horse manure. Of course football is important. We have mortgaged our souls, bet our future happiness on it. But getting back to those kind of games, the ones I described above, this why I think they matter, because they can provide the spark, they can ignite in a young mind the imagination of the football fan and that fire can burn on throughout that young person’s life. I love that football and my crazy passion for Arsenal spins off back into the dank reaches of my past like a lifeline, a rope of memories, joys, miseries, thrills and many many spills which connects this wizened washed up old curmudgeon with his innocent boyhood self.

The draw against Fulham this season was a perfect example. I know we miserable grown ups with our corns, our back aches and our dodgy knees felt a little deflated at the perceived loss of two points. The ecstasy of the last gasp penalty, and the sharing of Mikel’s agony at the miss. But imagine if you can a youngster who, having had Arsenal foisted on them by a parent or having made that all too important random choice to follow the red and white, imagine them watching that match. The wild swings of fortune the moments of brilliance, the errors, the unlikely outcome, six goals,bad decisions, a missed penalty, Giroud’s brilliance, Koscielny’s miracle tackle, cheering, groaning crowds, wildly apoplectic commentators. Imagine the effect of all this on that young impressionable mind. That would be the kind of game he’d be boring his grandchildren about during the 2072 – 73 season. Before money ruined the game, he’d be saying. “And did they all wear funny shorts in those days Grandpa?” the kids would ask him, “Like on the old holo-reels you watch from the turn of the century. Was Carl Jenkinson Captain in that game Grandpa?” “No no, he’d only just started his career. He didn’t become Captain for another five years. You know we won the double three years running with Captain Carl don’t you kids” “Yeah yeah yeah Grandpa we know – you’ve told us enough times”

I was seven when I decided I liked the Arsenal kit. Or the badge. Or Charlie George. I can’t tell you now why I chose them. I know my Dad, a Portsmouth fan always told me that The Arsenal were synonymous with class. He spoke of innovation on and off the pitch, of marble halls, under soil heating and a beautiful stadium. Well for whatever reason I chose keeping a scrapbook of Arsenal newspaper clippings as my project at school that year and we went on to win the double. My formative memories of those early years in my Arsenal supporting career involve the bathroom, a small green plastic transistor radio and Stoke City.

You see as impossible as it may seem the name Stoke City hasn’t always conjured images of Broud from The Clan Of The Cave Bear. In my young life we were permanently playing them in the FA Cup. In the semi final. In a replay. On a school night. There was no internet just the unsurpassed voices of Peter Jones and Bryon Butler fighting to be heard above the roar of the crowd and the crackling static of the medium wave band. I would take the tranny and retire to the only room in the house where I could lock the door and lie there, eyes closed, bubbles quietly popping, water up to my chin picturing the floodlit battle taking place at far away romantic sounding places like Villa Park and Goodison.

Stoke had players to be reckoned with, names every schoolboy knew. Banks in goal, getting on a bit but when he still had both eyes, Jimmy Greenhoff, and um, Peter Dobing. Well, we knew the first two in any event. But we always seemed to beat them in the end even after controversial and drawn first matches, the quality shone through and won through. To be honest little has changed over the years between the two teams. We usually win, they huff and puff but seldom blow our house down, the only thing that has changed for me is that where I used to see them as worthy, difficult opponents to be respected and approached with care, I now see them as the most hated of all premier league teams and the ones I most want to see relegated. To be fair to them they have changed their style a little now. But they haven’t changed their revolting manager and nor do I recall them ever apologising for their Captain and his despicable cowardly assault on one of the flowering talents of British football.

I hope we get a game to inspire the youngsters today. But I’ll tell you what, I don’t hope for a nip and tuck, lead changing hands type inspiration. I want that other kind of inspirational performance. You know the type of thing I mean. The one where we utterly annihilate and devastate a bewildered opponent with fast free-flowing improvisational football and lots and lots of goals.

Of course as it’s the knuckle dragging Neanderthals we play today I’ll be just as happy with a one nil off a Shawcross own goal against the run of play and bugger inspiring the youngsters.

Guest post by Adi (@positivegunner)

So the transfer window filled with ITKs, Exclusives, Airport Sightings, constant reminders of our bank balance and more has finally passed us.

We’ve added one genuinely top quality player to play left back as part of a quality foundation that already exists here. Now, this might not be the position where you thought a player was needed and it certainly wasn’t the first position this author would have strengthened if given the choice (I’d have gone for a CF). This might not be the only signing you thought we needed and you could even feel that if we have the money it should have been spent right away on whoever was available to add to this team for now. There’s a couple of reports from Italy about getting rejected by Fiorentina for Jovetic and plenty about Barcelona refusing to sell Villa, so it looks like we did try for a top quality forward (though some of you don’t like the “we tried” line).

However, we need to be reminded that as much as we’d like, we have zero say in this process and this is finally the decision of the manager. He thinks what he has is enough for now to get the job done between now and May and whether we like it or not, the squad will remain as it stands and no amount of complaining or moaning or lambasting or screaming is going to change that now until May.

So this is it, our team and potential depth for various positions from now until the end of May. Take a good long look at it. It seems thin in some areas, strong in others but has quality and versatility in it capable of getting us the top 4 (especially as we seem to be getting a lot more cohesive and deadly going forward)

Now let me let you in on a little secret. I’m furious and have been for a while. About a signing we missed. I thought we could have used him in the summer and I thought we should have paid beyond our means to get him if that was the stumbling block (other clubs, their own interest in moving is really no issue if you throw money at it)

This is a player, the likes of whom we used to have before, and I wish we had signed. He’s a free agent now, so it still isn’t too late to sign him and he could make a massive difference between now and the end of the season. Who is this you say?

Let me give you some clues while I hold your attention for just a little bit longer.

To narrow down his style, I’ll just say that he’s a fierce defender and truly loves the club.

I believe this kind of player is what we need to help push past and overcome the Jekyll and Hyde act that we do in the two halves where we play the first half fearful and flat and the second half at a level near our true potential.

Besides any big quality signings that you might think we need or didn’t get, this is one player this team needs to push it on to every success even if we sign other world class players.

He has had the reputation of going missing sometimes against weaker teams but he’s the ultimate big match player, delivering his best performances on the biggest stage or against the biggest rivals.

He is loud and usually dependable, and often the one that players turn to when they need inspiration, confidence and self-belief and need to shake themselves out of fear and nervousness.

He can induce fear in the opposition and reduce them to nervous wrecks and has the ability to singlehandedly spark his team to life from the lowest of depths to achieve anything and fight like warriors.

He’s supposed to be so good that he makes people feel like they’re up against an extra man, a 12th man if you will.

A whopping 94% of professional footballers believe that playing with this guy, helps them play miles better.

Wondering who this is if you haven’t figured it out already?

The answer is simple, its Mr.Vocalis Fultus.

Confused? Well you’re supposed to be. This is Latin for vocal supporter.

That’s right, the signing that I hope we’ve made and if not yet, then can still secure is the vocal supporter. The one who makes himself heard in the stadium in full support even when the chips are down at 0-4 like we did against Milan. The very one who resides inside each and every one of us who claim to love this club and support the players in red and white. And this is not just when the team is playing well, but more so when the team is playing with fear and looks completely flat when the extra 12^th man counts for so much more.

Support means a lot of things to a lot of people but I see supporting the team you love as similar to supporting someone you love. When they’re going through a bad patch, you don’t just pound on them and make them feel worthless, you do what you can to help them out of that patch.

Our opinions on matters of ambition, how much money we have to spend and we haven’t spent, why we spent or didn’t spend, can be far and wide and extreme. Our opinions on the quality of players (and whether they’re Invincibles level or not) can differ between shit and world class. Our opinions on the board, Gazidis, Kroenke, Usmanov and Arsene Wenger can range from they’re right and they know to they’re ruining the club. All this is and more can be up for debate, and you have every right to do so.

But what is not up for debate anymore is the fact that now that the January window is over, between now and May, the constant unabated support of every player on the pitch, ranging from Santos to Santi, is needed more than ever. We cannot let our opinions of things that cannot change for the next four months cloud our support for the team or detract from it in any way. We cannot take out our frustrations or anger of any perceived decline since the stadium move out on the players who are on the pitch now. We cannot put the pressure of that frustration onto every misplaced pass, every missed challenge, every scuffed shot and every goal conceded. Now is not the time for that, now is the time to stand up and be counted as a genuine 12^th man.

So what do you say? Can we as fans provide this massive signing that will prove as big a boost to the team starting Saturday against the cavemen? Or do we as fans dither until the summer or the next trophy and refuse to make this one signing that could prove to be the difference towards achieving those goals?

A guest Post by @Wilsheristic that looks at the promise that this team holds.

“This is the Real Arsenal!” This hair-raising statement from the commentator resonated among the fans as we celebrated the showcase of spectacular football during the game against West Ham. Arsenal had showed us all a teaser of the movie we have all been waiting to watch. In those twelve scintillating minutes in the second half, Arsenal unleashed the fury of its wrath. On the press. On the critics. More importantly, on the cynics. Fan ecstasy dominated all around while pessimism crumbled.

The performance against West Ham was exhilarating, but I intend to use it more as a reference point than as a focal point for this post. Arsenal is on the cusp of reaching the light at the end of a tunnel and I do not say this without reason.

Lets first foray into the exhausted topic of player exodus. Arsenal’s colossus, Arsene Wenger, had recently claimed that he had in his hands a near-finished product in 2010 – a team which was on the verge of having the potential to replicate the performances of Arsenal’s best teams and one oozing with class and chemistry. This dream was shattered when the procession started. Regardless of the reason, a lack of loyalty among these exiting players was painful to see. You thought loyalty along the lines of “Other clubs never came into my thoughts once I knew Arsenal wanted to sign me” (Bergkamp) was a thing of the past.

Then came Wenger’s masterstroke: Tying six British players down. Six players from the same nationality contracted to play together for the better part of the next 3 years (at least). The move doesn’t guarantee the fact that all these players are going to end their careers at Arsenal but it does, unquestionably, breed loyalty. The list includes Wilshere, who is destined to be the captain at some point and who will no doubt demand loyalty himself and Jenkinson, who has an Arsenal DNA in the true sense of the word (Take that Fabregas!). Add to this list, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud and Arteta, the last of whom had taken a massive pay cut to join Arsenal. Think about it, all these players are in the first (2nd for Arteta,Per) years of their contracts and if Newcastle and West Ham games are anything to go by, boy, this team has got some potential! Suddenly, you have got newly contracted players who are saying “When I heard the song the fans made for me, I felt I could die for them” or “I don’t kiss the badge and go to another club. I am here to stay.”

Sure, you might argue that our season with these players hasn’t been the most remarkable. To understand that, you have to consider the aspect of team chemistry. Wenger’s teams have always played well given time to gel (The Fabregas-Nasri-JW connect didn’t develop overnight). Giroud’s defence-dwarfing passes to both Poldi and Gibbs gives you a glimpse of a budding partnership. Poldi’s passing to teammates despite being one-on-one with the GK gives you a glimpse of a budding partnership. Santi congratulating Gervinho for scoring a goal in AFCON gives you a glimpse of a budding partnership. So, be patient. Good times are waiting.

Next, our strike force. Lets make a few things clear. We are the fifth most prolific scorers in Europe this season. We average over 2.2 goals a game. We have scored only one less goal than Manchester United after selling our main striker for £23m. And, we are just getting started. Let’s discard the possibility of a new striker for the meanwhile. People have been quite critical of Giroud until now and he showed them who’s Boss at Brighton and WHU. At least for the meantime. The near miss against Chelsea at home earlier in the season derailed his confidence. He rounded Cech to have an open goal but didn’t hit the target. Happens. But this is a guy who has top scored in his previous two leagues – one of them being Ligue 1 (Fun fact: Only one goal from headers). That his confidence is growing with every game and that he absolutely loves Arsenal fans, can catapult him into a lethal weapon. I think people have read or seen enough of Walcott to form a positive impression on their own. The dark horse here is Podolski. The importance of his partnership with Gibbs was highlighted when the latter was injured which coincided with the our lack of chances going forward and our defense starting to leak goals. Once the partnership was restored, the goals magically started to reappear and the defense presented a better picture. Surely not a coincidence? Podolski contributes immensely to our offense (part of that thanks to Gibbs) and has become the ultimate assist machine. Him and lazy? No thanks. There’s also the small matter of Joel Campbell and Gervinho, who is in roaring form in AFCON.

Imagine adding David Villa to this fold. *Goosebumps*

Our defense and midfield have been examined enough for me to jog past them, although, I would like to highlight a few points along the way. Prior to injuries to Diaby and Gibbs, our team resembled a fortress. Unfortunately, their injuries exposed an area we were found lacking in: “top quality” injury backups. With Ramsey moulding into the new Arteta (Wenger: CDM position is made for Ramsey), Jenkinson excelling as Sagna’s understudy, an impressive Coquelin on the horizon, Rosicky providing cover for Jack and Santi and a new DM imminent, Wenger has hit the nail on the head. Santos has drawn abuses from almost every section of our fans so much so that we have all conveniently forgotten how critical his goal against West Brom was last season. True, he has had a succession of poor games but in no way does that imply that he is inept. If Wenger, the man who orchestrated the Invincibles run, trusts him, so will I, blindly.

Finally, finances. A lot of people have spoken about this and I will try to have a piece of the pie too. It is safe to say that a part of the reason we haven’t exactly splashed the cash over the past few years is the stadium debt. However, if recent bids are anything to go by, we are on the way back. A bid for Hazard valued at  £32 million in the summer and a mysterious  £30 million do give you an impression that we are starting to flex our muscles. Though I am no expert, I wouldn’t be surprised if we are not far away from  £45-60 million bids. That we managed to finish in the top four whilst having a heavy constriction of finances and whilst being burdened by debts, speaks volumes about our manager and his players.

If the midfield trio of Wilshere, Cazorla and Arteta doesn’t breed optimism, I honestly have no idea what will.

I hope I have proffered a convincing insight into our bright future because I, as an ardent supporter, believe we are on the rise. Let’s galvanize the rise. Cynicism (read Piers Morgan) will only serve to pile on the pressure. Let’s cheer the players on their road back to glory instead of booing them on their way to the tunnel.  I will leave you with one of Arsene Wenger’s quotes which, sadly, emphasizes his own situation.

“The biggest things in life have been achieved by people who we would have judged crazy. And yet if they had not had these crazy ideas the world would have been more stupid.” – Arsene Wenger