Surely no smiling matter, Alexis?

The false dawn of the West Ham result has proven to be a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

That game was a convincingly dominant, effective and exciting performance and one we all believed would surely herald the start of our traditional end of season run-in that would see us stake a place in the top four, at the very least.

What we got at Palace was something very different on a night when our supposedly star players were anything but regal. And almost immediately after the game the ‘war chest’ stories being floated had seen their headline sums inflate from a more modest £100 million to a snappy £200 million overnight. Walcott let the cat out of the bag, post-match, by confirming what we all feared – that our opponents somehow, surely inexplicably, ‘wanted it more’.

It was the single most damning and telling thing to come out of a dressing since Robin van Persie’s ‘updates for the fans’.

Quite what is the nature of the relationship between Theo’s cat and Alexis’s dogs remains undisclosed but we can probably assume it’s messy.

I’ve done the maths and whilst there is always a danger of getting to five when adding 2+2, I’m pretty sure that the handy extra £100m that has suddenly been added to our transfer budget by the forces of rumour, speculation and leaks from inside the club, will come from the £50 million Arsenal will expect to get for each of Sanchez and Ozil.

It was evident from the extraordinary performance of both players that neither were exactly ‘playing for a contract’ but instead playing very much for ‘a transfer’.

For me Sanchez has always looked like a square peg trying to fill a round Wengerball-shaped hole. Actually, he’s just looked like a square peg. Admittedly a supremely gifted and a dynamically attacking one. But not one that ever seriously countenanced fitting in with the team, assuming he ever actually understood that that was precisely what was expected of him.

We have seen, periodically, over many years, what happens to Wenger’s sides when the machine doesn’t fire on all six cylinders. It very quickly breaks down and invariably takes time to fix. As a rule, it’s been the influx of new players following a transfer window that has led to a temporary dislocation of the side and often with hilarious results with pundits falling over themselves in the queue to write off Arsenal prior to the bedding-in process of the newbies seeing a return to the stunning free-flowing stuff we all know and love.

Sadly, this season it’s all gone Pete Tong with the reverse of the above taking place with alarming results. The team this year is, uniquely, looking vulnerable and struggling for form and consistency at the end of the season, with our best matches all far behind us.

The signs with Sanchez have been evident for some time. His very public castigation of fellow pros on the pitch. The tantrums. His apparent ‘undropability’. His evident, barely concealed and juvenile jocularity during the Bayern Munich debacle that saw him giggling on the bench at the team’s ‘misfortunes’. To the acute discomfort of his nearest neighbour On said bench.

Not the actions of someone who cares a jot about the club and I can’t wait for him to clean out his kennels, roll up his poxy poster and take up a solitary berth on some other tramp steamer. Preferably a slow boat to China.

Ozil on the other hand is the greater tragedy, for me. I think he did (and possibly still does) care about the club and his team mates and Le Boss. He looks to have witnessed Sanchez’ antics and is heartily sick of the whole thing. Sick of the permanently squandered possession. Sick of the failure to play in better positioned team-mates. Sick of the selective industry brought to bear on his day’s work. That Sanchez is above and beyond the audible abuse of the fans – indeed the ignorant veneration of this ultimate non-team player is, instead, one of the last straws.

Ozil remains to this day, in the eyes of many, falsely accused of being the lazy one alongside the heroic Alexis who at least ‘always tries’.

If Arsene could level a criticism of himself it would surely be, for whatever reason, his failure to being Sanchez to heel. When he needed a lead put on him, Sanchez was allowed to run free, playing in every match, playing just however he felt like playing.

One suspects Ozil is a modest but proud man. If ever there was an actual final straw for him, our abject capitulation to his fellow countrymen on two successive occasions was it; the white flag of surrender to Munich was one that should never have been packed let alone waved on his watch.

I don’t for one second believe Wenger is ‘past it’ although I think he will always regret his handling of Sanchez, one way or another.

But Arsene is presently in a deep hole and whilst the truth will inevitably come out, for now he appears to have taken a huge hit.

There is no togetherness amongst the players and no talk of mental strength from the manager. The season can’t end soon enough. But the degree to which a heavily splintered, dysfunctional and misfiring squad will continue to free-fall was hard to gauge from the Palace match which, like countless others this season, saw multiple game-changing aberrations from the referee, universally to Arsenal’s disadvantage.

But it may already be too late, even if Middlesbrough were to represent another dawn of sorts. The points chasm now looks like needing a bridge too far.

The loss of Sanchez, whilst regrettable, is hardly the catastrophe that awaits.

The loss of Sanchez, Ozil and Wenger will be.

Finishing outside top four will most likely see our genius Frenchman say farewell.

Attempting to replace our star players from a non-Champions League berth will prove more than a little tricky.

Replacing Arsene will be impossible.

I was charged with doing the post match review as unfortunately ,for us all, our forever chirpy Andy Nic. is hibernating in the Hebrides.

I was minded to give it a swerve, hide under a rock and hope no one noticed. As my old Mum says “if you have nothing good to say-say nothing”. Had I written last night ,I suspect I would have had to ban myself.

Anyway, I’m sure by now you have all seen the match and don’t need me to explain what you saw. I found it painful, depressing and disappointing. Normally I can see a reason or at least come up with a feasible excuse for a poor performance. But not last night, it was a shocking display.

However, football is football and these things happen. Just the other night I tuned into watch Barca v Malaga only to see the mighty Barca churn up a load of old tosh in what was for them a must win game against a struggling opponent. The problem is that for Barca its a surprise, whereas for us its becoming somewhat of a norm.

People are collectively shitting their knickers on twitter, blogs and podcasts. Its a feeding frenzy and no one is safe. Arsene, the board, the players and any fan that has of yet failed to soil their Arsenal underpants, is being torn to shreds by the passionate hoard that claim to only have the best interests of the club at heart.

Each and everyone of us has a simple choice, do we help the team through this awful period, or do we hinder them and add fuel to the fire?

Arsene Wenger was, is and always will be a great coach, We have some great players and a whole lot of very good players, but something has gone badly wrong. If I knew what or why I would happily share my wisdom with you. The question is what can we do about it?

Well the answer is really simple. keep supporting and hope that the people who do know the whats and whys can find a solution. There is no option. When you choose to fully commit to a football club, the pain is part of the deal.

We can accept that all is not well without wanting to burn the whole lot down to the ground. I simply refuse to throw Arsene and the players under a bus because I can’t control my emotions.

A supporter in times of need is a supporter indeed.  No retreat, no surrender.

Good Morning Positivistas,

What a gorgeous Spring morning. Little lambs gambolling happily and noisily in the field, scurrying packs of ducklings on the river bank. Hullo clouds, Hullo sky.

As you can probably tell it is my last day before the annual retreat to the Hebrides – and my mood is rather good.

And to send me northward we were treated to a sumptuous footballing display last night against the ‘Ammers. 3-0 may have been the official score but if it had been 5-6-7-0 then the visitors could have had no serious complaint. As Shankly quipped “they were lucky to get nil”. The unusual thing about our three goals was they all went in the same spot, low to Randolph’s right.

We saw on Sunday confidence seeping back into our players against Citeh. No sudden upswing, just a little more assured, less hesitant. The recent domestic and European misfortunes had clearly dented their belief in themselves. Last night that improvement moved on a further pace. Ozil had his best game, in terms of influence and involvement for three months. It was Mesut’s snap shot that undid what had been, up to then a good night for Randolph.

The recent boo boys target Sanchez had a very good evening, working like clockwork with the German maestro and chipping in two of the sweetest balls to Danny and Hector that I have seen this season. We saw Granit last night also hitting some sweet passes, again the Swiss played (to my eye) like man with a weight lifted from his shoulders. Much praise has been aimed at the Elneny and Xhaka combination last night. A little early to say yet but two tall, long legged central midfield players ( neither of whom is the new Vieira), both comfortable on the ball, certainly did for the ‘Ammers.

Going forward therefore we were totally dominant then but spare a thought for the lads at the back. Andy Carroll has a reputation for success against Arsenal, with his biff-bash-bang style unsettling even the smooth Koscielny in seasons gone past. With Kosc out and our third string keeper in last night Oor Andy must have fancied his chances. But no – not at all. Last night the pony tailed one received just as much stick as he handed out, courtesy of Gabriel. It seemed to me every time Carroll was in the air or challenging for the ball that Gabriel was all over him. At one point in fact he was through the back of him. It is good to know that an opposition striker went home with a few bruises for once. Martinez had one serious save to make all night. Says it all.

For the team from the London Stadium, soon to be the Vodafone Stadium apparently, a fifth defeat on the trot. Bilic tight lipped, relegation looms. What a shambles that enterprise is turning into.

Poor night for Martin Atkinson. Evidently he had set out not to award a penalty no matter what and resolutely stuck to his guns. Let the cameras roll.

For those of you who cannot stomach the MSM I can save you the bother and we are now “officially” back in the hunt for a Champions League place, as though we were ever out of it ? Liverpool and Citeh obliged us last night. With games in hand and the confidence flowing I rather fancy the game at Selhurst Park to be a opportunity for reeling them in some more rather than an obstacle.

Enjoy your Thursday.

Good morning to All Positive Arsenal fans,

This Monday normal service has been resumed.

After a few disappointments in our recent PL form we faced an important test yesterday. By ‘we’ I mean the club, the players, fans, and our manager. I’d say we came through that test well. Admittedly not with the three points we all wanted and that would have put us above the perpetually whining Portuguese but a solid point earned. To have endured a further defeat yesterday would have been destructive to morale, terminal even.

The football played by both side yesterday was not particularly flowing or of the best quality. In the first half neither side rarely managed to string three passes together. Movement into space was hesitant. Short passes were intercepted, long balls skipped out of play, tackles flew in across midfield and cards were brandished. Even Theo joined in the violence, bizarrely waved on by Andre Marriner. Playing Navas as wing back/right back was a Pep wild card that could have had fatal consequences as he launched into Nacho. Dreadful challenge. Clearly we were not the only team having an edgy afternoon.

By the second half both sides had calmed down and the football began to flow a little more smoothly. The departure of Kosc was unwelcome but Gabriel fitted in well. Gabriel is the sort of defender who would trample over his Grandma to clear a ball. The Brazilian’s more ‘direct’ style of defending may have been the better choice on the day than Kosc who did not look comfortable during the opening 45.  I suspect we may be without the Frenchman for a month or so until his Achilles problem is solved. Our defensive shape is a work still in progress, as Sane and then Aguero’s goals yesterday showed so it may do no harm for Gabriel to start and have his place assured for the next few games. Despite their early bookings Xhaka and Le Coq stuck to their defensive tasks and were strong without being reckless. The man who was out best performer yesterday scored the second equalizer and the point was won. A decent 15 minutes from Alex Iwobi again yesterday. The youngster added a bit of late but welcome craft in the visitors’ half.

From 85 minutes onward I was pacing, I admit it. I welcomed the final whistle.

Reflecting on the game this Monday morning what pleased me most yesterday was that our players showed they have it in them to recover from a setback, or two setbacks to be more accurate, and to get back into a game. In recent games when an opponent has scored it seemed to me their reaction betrayed a lack of confidence and a resignation, and that response is really is not good enough. In contrast yesterday no heads appeared to go down. There was no arm waving or finger pointing histrionics from anyone. Every man took responsibility, worked hard to get back into the game and broke through the Citeh shield twice. We played as a team, and that is a step forward. And the fans in the stadium ? From what I heard on the TV plenty of noise, plenty of good encouragement. Much appreciated.

A short break now and West Ham on Wednesday. We go into the game a little more confident and facing an opponent whose poor form is dragging them inexorably towards the relegation zone. 12 months ago Slaven Bilic was a man whose reputation very much on the up. Well he is not blowing any bubbles now.

Enjoy Monday.

What is ambition?

Aspiration, intention, goal, aim, objective, purpose, intent, plan, scheme, mission, calling, vocation, desire, target, end dream, or hope?

No matter where I look I cannot find a definition that claims its spending money, or more to the point, spending someone else’s money.

Arsenal have been the most ambitious club in the modern game. When they were enjoying unprecedented success at Highbury, they planned and executed the most ambitious move in football history. The club sacrificed years of possible short term success for a future as much bigger and more competitive club.

The fact that circumstances changed does not detract from the ambition shown. The arrival of multi-billionaires that were going to fund their toys to the extent never even dreamt of previously in English football and TV money reducing the advantage Arsenal had expected from the improved gate receipts does not mean that the ambition shown by the club was  not staggering. That FFP failed and the authorities were unable to resist the influx of cash to the game was not the fault of Arsenal and again, takes nothing away from the bravery and ambition the club showed.

The team, under Arsene Wenger always shows ambition. Even when forced to buy those the critics claim are 3rd rate players and journeymen, they had the ambition to play an open and expansive entertaining brand of football. If anything Arsene is guilty of being overambitious. I feel he asks players to play in a way that only the very best players can consistently achieve. Lack of ambition would be 5 at the back , 2 defensive midfielders and hoping that a player will do something special to score . Of course every defeat brings out the experts with their “painting by numbers” ideas on tactics and formations. But is that AMBITION? Is it bollocks.

So if people think we could have spent more, bought ‘better’, more expensive players,  played the game in a different way, and/or changed managers half a dozen times like “ambitious”clubs do, fine. Think what you like. But don’t be calling it ambition. I’m not having that. It is bullshit.

Before I go into my thinking let me make state my opinions:

1. Arsene Wenger is the club’s greatest ever manager
2. Arsene Wenger remains one of the world’s best managers
3. Arsene Wenger can achieve as much success as any possible replacement
4. Arsene Wenger should leave at the end of this season

So how can I say 4 after the previous 3?  Let me try to explain.

Arsenal are not a poor club; compared to the vast majority of clubs we are rich. However, compared to 3 other English clubs we are very much the poor relation. The problem is a huge swathe of our fan-base flatly refuse to accept this reality.  So let’s look at the reasons why so many think we should be able to compete with these clubs and why their thinking is wrong.

We are the 5th most valuable football club in the world and worth more than City and Chelsea.

Yes we are, but you can’t spend your share value.  An owner could of course borrow against it and fund the club that way, as Manchester United basically do, but our owner chooses not to. So just like the value of your house does not mean you can buy a new Ferrari, the value of the club does not buy players.

We have the largest cash reserves in football.

Yes, we do, but all of our cash reserves are shown in our accounts.  City and Chelsea’s cash reserves are in the bank accounts of their owners and don’t show in their accounts. And importantly, their owners are prepared and willing to spend their own money to subsidise the clubs. Ours has no such willingness. It  doesn’t matter how rich your Dad is, if he won’t fund your lifestyle, you are on your own. The fact that Stan is fabulously wealthy does not help a jot if he insists on the club paying its own way.  And he does.

There is a proven 85% correlation across all leagues of money spent (on fees and wages) to success.

Did LCFC club outspend the rest?

No they didn’t. They were a once in a lifetime exception, and people should understand that for every 5000 to 1 winner, there are 5000+ losers. Using this freak result as an argument against years of proven data takes an incredible amount of stupidity, but that doesn’t seem to put people off.

Until fans accept that there are 3 teams much more likely to win the league at the start of every season there will always be rebellion. I don’t care who the manager is, each and every year there are 3 teams that will have vastly more expensive squads and who will most likely have out-spent us on transfers in the previous window.  Some fans will ignore the financial gulf and demand we “compete” with the super spending clubs. But why?

Well, Arsene Wenger for a start.  His massive early success set the bar, and the change that has happened in the game since is ignored. We want doubles and unbeaten seasons, no sausages for us, oh no-sir. We deserve better.  We have tasted it, many are fans because of it and we demand it again.  And again.

But we just want to compete I hear you say?

But that is bollocks, because if we did compete, the same fans would be accusing the team, manager and club of “bottling” it if we didn’t go on to win.

The connection between the fan-base and the team is broken.  A huge portion of fans blame Arsene.  If he achieves the finish we should be achieving – 4th- this will be hailed a failure.

But here is the thing. Any future manager getting 4th or better will have succeeded.  Only Arsene can both achieve and fail at the same time.  He needs to massively over-achieve for it to be seen as acceptable.  If we finish outside the top 4 this year, it will be his first failure in real terms. But it is accepted thinking that he has failed for 13 years.  And this thinking will remain as long as he is manager.

He has to leave before fans will see and accept that he is not the problem, and never has been.

The players appear to back him almost to a man. But until he leaves they will hide behind him and he will let them. He will take the flak for the players and the board until he leaves.  I doubt a new manager will be as selfless.

Also the players could be carrying his burden onto the field.  The pressure applied by fans and the media will not be released while Arsene is in the driving seat.  They are sure he is the problem and will not consider an alternative view.

All this does not justify our current form which, by the way, is unprecedented in 21 years, but it might go some way to explaining it if people would be prepared to be a little open- minded.  The problem is they are not. They are convinced.  And only Arsene leaving will satisfy their lust for blood.

Arsene simply cannot win. He should leave, even if the club will actually be worse for it.

That said, if he stays, he will get my 100% support.

Because, well you know?

He’s Arsene Wenger.