@arse_or_brain sets the afternoon up nicely

We have all seen our back-up lads do extremely well at the start of the season and we all know they would be needed in the Premier league at times this season. With the international break taking its toll on already tired legs, wild emotions and injuring some of players that looked fully fit, then this could be the time those players on the edge to step into the spotlight, take centre stage and take the plaudits for the quality we all know they have.
The Hornets have done well away from home and this is the best start to a season for a long time but their home record so far has been poor, even though they have played top teams. Conversely our away form has looked poor on paper until you look a little closer and realise although we weren’t on top form at Stoke we were still very unlucky and against chelski gave possibly our best performance of the season.

JACK IS BACK and with most of the squad dusting down the international cobwebs this could be his re-coronation as young King and saviour of English football, even though Arsene has said he wants to be cautious with him. Talking of returning players Per could be back in and obviously his height could be vital and his experience calming for those around him.
I would suggest we need a fast start so in the later part of the game when the miles start to tell we can control the tempo and reduce the need to run at full pelt except on the counter of which we need to make more use of and make correct decisions at critical times. Our counter attacks are one of our poorest areas and if we get that right the goals ‘for’ column could be greatly inflated and teams would be finished off earlier.
Enjoy yourself wherever your watching P.A.s COYG.

Our thanks to today’s guest poster Eduardo @edminton1966

There has been lots of noise in the last couple of days about KSE attempting to buyout the 30% Arsenal shares held by R&W Holdings. 

It all stemmed from an article on Arseblog – http://news.arseblog.com/2017/09/kroenke-turns-the-tables-and-makes-bid-for-usmanovs-shares/ – from almost a week ago, but was not taken up by the mainstream media till one of them did a Q&A at this month’s AST meeting.  Something I found very odd.

By the way when journos contacted Arsenal FC they said they were unaware of any such bid.

So there was lots of fake panic and gnashing of teeth on Arsenal blog world and across Twitter, with the AST and many of its members to the fore in demanding that Arsenal not be let into a single owner’s hands, you see if this 30% was bought out by KSE that would mean that 97% of AFC shares would be in a single owner’s hands and this in turn would open up the option for that owner to force the buyout of the other 3% of shares.  It would be the end of the AGM, it would be the end of accounts on display, it would be the end of endless analysis of the accounts, it would be the end of the 15 minutes of fame some AGM go’ers receive through interviews with the media, where they proclaim how “upset” they are with all things Arsenal, and most outrageously of all it would probably mean the end of the AST (now I know there is a reason they are upset at the prospect of a single owner, but what could it be).

Anyway seeing as Arsenal deny any knowledge of the buyout and silent Stan has remained silent on the topic, the whole of Arsenal world awaited with baited breath for some confirmation of the story, one way or the other.  And never being one to miss a good PR opportunity Mr Alisher Usmanov has obliged by releasing this statement.

Usmanov Statement.

“In recent days there has been speculation relating to a possible offer for my 30% stake in Arsenal.  As part of that I can understand the anxiety that these rumours are causing to the fans as reflected by the Arsenal Supporters Trust.  In light of this, I would like to be clear that I am not holding any talks with Mr Kroenke about a sale.  My interest in Arsenal from the beginning was long term and my intention has always been to buy additional shares should they become available.  This I did with the purchase of the stake of my business partner Farhad Moshiri with which I increased my shareholding from 15% to 30% and also with my proposed offer for the stake of the majority shareholder which valued the Club at some £2bn.  That offer remains valid today.  I have always been and will continue to be an ardent supporter of Arsenal and I see my 30% stake as an important aspect in protecting the best interests of the fans in the Club. It has been well documented that I have no say in the running of the club, that my views differ from those of the majority shareholder and that I would like to assure supporters that I am open to various future scenarios – a constructive partnership with the majority shareholder, the purchase of this stake either alone or in a consortium, or if a party appears who shares my and undoubtedly the majority of fans’ vision for the club, I could consider the question of selling my stake.”

So that clears that up, or does it.

Has he said an offer was made, no. All he has said is he is not in talks to sell his shares to KSE.  So was any bid made ?

Any way I digress.  Back to the statement.  AU says he is in it for the long haul – finally something he and KSE agree on, that is Stan’s stock and trade line re AFC. Only difference is some AFC fans dislike it when Stan says it but do not object when Alisher says it, in fact they greet it with relief (even AST do, oddly enough)

Now more on the statement content, you see this is where I’m a bit confused, and I think that is exactly how the statement is designed, it’s a fudge.  You see AU says that he and Stan do not agree on how the club should be run, but bemoans that he is not allowed any say in the running of the club.  Why would anyone bring on to the board someone who does not agree with your views and methods of how the club is run. Who would create divisions in their own board.  Oddly this is exactly what AST called for once again only this morning.

That was fudge 1, well fudge 2 is AU saying that he is in it for the long haul, but he goes on to say that he would sell out if an agreeable candidate was buying out KSE shares too.

So reading the Usmanov statement I straight away flagged two scenarios that AU put forward, that I expected to have enraged AST and all those fans who were in meltdown over the prospect of Arsenal being owned by a single party.

1.      As stated above Usmanov would consider selling out to a third party if that third party was buying out KSE too.

2.      Usmanov would buy out KSE right now, in fact he reiterated that his buyout offer from earlier this year was still very much on the table.

So there you have it, Usmanov, very clearly states that not only does he want to have sole ownership of Arsenal, he is not opposed to someone else being sole owner of Arsenal, as long as that sole owner is not Stan Kroenke, after all big bad silent Stan is refusing to allow him a place on the Arsenal board, just cos poor little Alisher is opposed to him. 

Having spotted the glaring contradictions in Usmanov’s statement, and especially seeing his views on single ownership of Arsenal, I looked forward to seeing AST’s response.  I expected them, like me, and dare I say most of you as well, to have spotted how Usmanov’s views were so totally at odds with AST’s stance on ownership of Arsenal.  So quelle surprise, when I saw an article on football.london with quotes from an unnamed AST spokesman, welcoming Usmanov’s statement.

So what has Arsenal Supporters Trust got to say about this statement.  (taken from football.london article

“We got the statement we wanted Arsenal Supporters Trust welcomes Usmanov’s response”

“We got the statement we wanted from Usmanov,” an AST spokesman told football.london.

“It’s actually a reiteration of where he has been all along, which is ‘I would put money in, ‘I would buy it if it were available and I want it to be stronger’.

“There is almost a hint there as well that if someone else came in to break the impasse, as long as Stan sold then he would sell as well.

“It’s as good as you are going to get out of the situation for now.”

“Arsenal is too important to be owned by any one person,” said a spokesman. “The reason we say that is that having shareholders involved in the ownership structure, shareholders as in supporters, is kind of what custodianship is about and what being a club is about.

“But it also keeps accountability. We get the important accounts, which of course have just landed with everybody today. That’s helpful.

“We were able to make such a noise over the last couple of years about the £3 million payment, that’s it’s been stopped. That was mainly an AST campaign that we took into the AGM.

“If it were private, he (Kroenke) could take money out like that and it would be much harder to protest about. First of all to find out it’s happening and then what’s the forum that you protest in?

“So it’s really about keeping the club listed so you get the accountability that comes from it.”

The spokesman added: “And there are other protections that arise if he doesn’t own more than 75 per cent. He can’t do management fees, he can’t change the name of the club, he can’t load debt on.

“It would definitely be a retrograde step if he took it private – which I’m sure is his plan, he would love to if the opportunity arose.”

So you can see clearly from the quotes that the spokesman has seen that Usmanov has stated he would buy out Arsenal, and that he would even allow someone other than KSE to buyout Arsenal, the spokesman still welcomed it. 

Oddly enough the spokesman went on to extol the virtues of having multipal owners, “it would be a retrograde step if he took it private”.  But he welcomed the Usmanov statement.

Has all it took for this double speak from AST, been Usmanov to imply that he would be a sugardaddy owner “’I would put money in”.  The AST spokesman was quick to point out this line by Usmanov.

It seems AST’s principles are as easily bought as any glory hunting fan of any club, the promise of “I will put money in” is all it takes. 

Or is AST only opposed to Stan being a single owner.  Usmanov is fine though, this despite high ranking AST member Tim Payton tweeting today that it was Usmanov hoovering up shares that killed AST’s FanShare scheme, and also oddly enough that when FanShare offered their shares to him, he refused to buy, meaning KSE got to buy most of them.

You have to ask if  the  AST want a divided board at AFC, as they want Usmanov given a place on the board despite saying he openly disagrees with their decisions or how AFC is run?

tim payton‏ @timpayton

His desire to get to 30% damaged Fanshare as it killed Liquidity and requests for support got nowhere.

Tim Payton also tweeted Usmanov was offered the FanShare shares.

AST have questions to answer, or are they just hypocrites? 

Good morning Positives far and near,

My apologies for the late start this morning, a roofer booked at 12.00 arrived at 9.30 and if you knew how hard it is to find a decent contractor to repoint your stack you’d understand my priorities.

Yet another Arsenal win yesterday and another professional  performance from every player. For long periods of the game we were totally in control with Brighton pinned like a butterfly under glass, and Arsenal prodding and poking at them to find the relevant opening. It was not until the final 20 minutes that they managed to gain any consistent possession and by that stage we were comfortable and the points in the bag.

Most of my focus yesterday was, understandably on out attacking efforts but our defensive performance yesterday was very good and domestically it is five weeks since anyone managed to get past Cech and score. During that time we have had to employ several central defensive formations by reason of injury so the record over four PL games is to our credit. Nacho has been a permanent rock but yesterday Mustafi was the leader of the defensive gang, confident on the ball and always pressing the attacker.

Of our lads in midfield and up front it was definitely a day to saviour for the Alexiphiliacs rather than those of the phobic persuasion. The Chilean is getting back to his form of last season and yesterday had him creating several prime scoring chances, the most notable being the back-heel with left three Brighton defenders on their heels. Even I went the wrong way watching on TV. Top finish from Iwobi required and executed even with the space he had. Evidence of a maturing player, and congratulations to him . Aaron and Granit very business-like all afternoon. Lacazette another good day and a little unlucky not to trouble the scorer.

My only gripe on the day was that at 2-0 in front and with 20+ minutes to go we did not create more after Theo and Olivier came on. Both had enjoyed a goal scoring week so their ‘eye’ was in. I fancied that we would open up our by then tiring visitors but it was not to be. In fact, as I mentioned above, in the final 20 minutes it looked as though we had relaxed and allowed BHA to come back into the game. While a five goal margin to pass Chelsea I admit was ambitious I expected a little more.

Of a well organised Brighton a sound effort from their keeper and defensive eight. I fancy them to stay up. No complaints about Friend on what was a clean game, although a bit pernickety at times.

What does all this mean for us?

Well April the 2^nd is the last time we dropped any points at home in the Premier League. We have won game after game at home. Some easily, others with sweat and little art. Two away games in prospect starting on Saturday, both winnable although we went to Everton last season when they wee in the same disarray and let ourselves down. Koeman is the media’s whipping boy this week so they may be managerless by kick off Sunday week. However home form is the key. Next up at the Ems is Swansea on the 28^th. The foundation of a genuine challenge for the Premier League title by any club is winning games at home, not drawing, not allowing a keeper the benefit of save after save. We must perfect the art of breaking into the bus for the full 90 minutes.

Enjoy your week

After the first half I was looking forward to writing a glowing report, but after the second half a was less enthusiastic .

In the first half we were completely dominant and were 3-1 up, we could easily have been 5 or 6 up. I thought Jack had scored a beautiful goal that was oddly ruled out for an offside that was nowhere to be seen. There had been some glorious play with Jack pulling the strings in a way that suggests he is not going to be kept away from the first team for long. The lads star looked to have faded, but last night was a reminder why he was seen as a star in the first place.  Wonderful stuff.

The second half was more of an even affair with the home team throwing caution to the wind and displaying that they are a decent side. Despite Theo’s brace in the first half, I felt he was selfish in the second and could have played his mates in on a couple of occasions , for easy chances.

ElNeny was his usual effective self and Giroud ,as ever, put a good shift in. The youngsters were great until they seemed to run out of steam, but that is to be expected.

All in all, a good night and the first eleven basically rested.

We march on.

Good morning Positively Arsenal,

A genuinely good contest last night, which is unusual for Monday night. Very much the “game-of-two-halves” for Arsenal.

The first 45 we played in patches and, for my second surprise of the evening, the visitors set about us with a bit of quality. For various reasons that were debated to death last night we may have been slightly lucky to go in with a 1-0 lead at half time. “I’ve seen ’em given Ron, I’ve see ‘em given” et cetera. If it had been Deano rather than Bobby Madeley last night the penalty count might have been 4-2 (to the Arsenal obviously). If I was looking for a decisive moment in the half it was Nacho’s kung fu clearance from Rodriguez’s header. If the Baggies had gone level at that point, and they were playing well, it would have rocked us hard.

The second half there were no patches in the Arsenal display. Cech barely touched the ball and Mustafi and Kosc had a leisurely time at the back. We controlled the ball and pinned the Baggies back. The second goal seemed a long time coming despite our dominance and until it arrived the visitors were still in with a slight chance. From the 67^th minute however the points were assured. I was hoping for one more but we slightly eased off the tempo, perhaps with Thursday night in mind.

For us as has been said elsewhere on here Nacho was in his element last night. Decisive in defensive and on two occasions he could have scored, with only a bobbling ball and the grasp of Nyon defeating him. His left side partner Kolasinac also had another good evening, an uncompromising physical first half and a much more fluid attacking second. And finally on the podium this week I place Alexander Lacazette. Two chances, two goals. The first a classic ‘predator’ six yard line finisher goal. If you look at his penalty thought it was even better. Foster dived the correct way and any less power or careful placement of the shot he would have had a hand on it. An important penalty, and they all count.

For West Brom I was impressed with Krychowiak and Rodriguez. Both were at the heart of the expansive first half effort were they attacked us hard and in numbers. It is interesting that the Baggies have the profile to attract a player as good as the Pole on loan, and Rodriguez I have always liked. Nice to see Kieran get in 90 minutes last night too. Good lad. Whether it is the influence of the new Chinese owners or Pulis has seen the light I don’t know. Watching two quality ball players must be a tonic for the Hawthorn’s regulars though who for years have had to put up with some dull stuff. I can see a top eight finish for WBA if that progress continues.

Anyway that is me done this morning. I will be missing on Thursday evening, and on my way to Wroclaw (Ryanair permitting), but back on Sunday so if anyone fancies a little post match delight from Byelorussia speak now !!

Enjoy your Tuesday.

We constantly hear pundits commenting on the “balance” of a team. But how does this state of balance come about? How is it developed, nurtured and maintained?

Where is the centre of balance in a team, and what is the perfect balance? I suspect Pep sees the balance of a team very differently to Jose, and yet both have produced very balanced teams in the past.  Arsene, Klopp and Pep favour an attacking style, whereas Jose and Conte favour a defensive setup (despite Jose’s protestations to the contrary) and  Pochettino seems to have found a very good spot in the middle.

Guardiola point blank refuses to compromise his attacking style. Why should he? It’s brought about unprecedented success and made him the most sought after manager in the world. Yet as soon as it doesn’t work, expert are suggesting he should?

Arsene is the same, achieved the impossible, playing with a style and panache never witness before, and yet he should change? I can understand if people don’t like a managers style, but to ask him to change? Do me a favour.

I see three ways of finding a good balance. It can be developed, bought or stumbled across. It think Arsene developed the Arteta/Ramsey partnership,has bought Xhaka to recreate it and stumbled across the Santi/Coquelin pairing. It would be lovely if he could just nip out to the CM shop and buy a Vieira/Gilberto pairing, but that ain’t happening.

We saw last week that the team looked better without Sanchez (and perhaps Ozil too?) but surely the answer is to find a balance that can include our star players. But its not inconceivable that the best balance does not include the best players.

The easiest way of building a balanced team is to identify what and who you need, and go out and buy that player. However, if you are Arsenal, rather than United or City, this is not a realistic option. So we can buy second shelf players and accept being second best, or we buy the best players we can, and try to find a balance with them. We have to accept though that this is a more difficult way.

Then there are players like Theo, that on the face of it don’t fit into the overall playing style of a possession team, yet his skill set brings a balance to the team. His constant runs off the ball are mostly unseen and unappreciated, but he gives a balance that isn’t quantifiable.

What seems easy for fans is in fact the most difficult of tasks in football.What we do know for certain is that when Arsene gets the right players, he can put out a balanced team, getting those players in today’s market place may prove impossible, but then again……..????