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Arsenal Versus Basel: What Year Is This? Who Is The President?

Posted by steww on December 6, 2016 in All Posts

I Give Up

I must confess you’ve caught me with my pants down this morning. I woke up still reeling from a stinging rebuke delivered by our very own Foreverheady, which reproof came in response to some perhaps ill advised and waspish comments I made last night. I was responding to the childish and frankly embarrassing shambles which was the BBC’s idea of how to present an FA Cup draw. The puerile humour, the schoolboy giggling, the whole flatulent, uncomfortable performance was in such contrast to the measured, solemn, suited draws of memory that I felt moved to pass comment.

I have only myself to blame. Why was I watching it anyway? The matches won’t be played until next year and I am fairly confident I would have heard the details of the fixtures before then. In any case Tim thought I was being a little snobbish in my reaction and if I came across like that I apologise. I have nothing against inarticulate working classes cocking their legs in the palaces of the mighty. In fact, I’m all for it.

What gets my goat is when the media is deliberately designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It is a phenomenon which gives rise to the likes of Robbie Savage and Michael Owen. It patronises and insults the audience and actively assists the growth of a society in which a minister of the crown can state that “people in this country have had enough of experts” and not damage the cause for which he is campaigning.

Anyway, I think I deduced among the barnyard mooing, clucking and cooing that Arsenal will face a trip to Deepdale where they’ll play Preston North End. There was once a time when this would have been a clash of footballing titans, a ‘super Sunday’ in the revolting modern parlance, but such are the vagaries of the sport that Preston now languish in the second division.

Had we played them in the first ever league season we would have been very much the underdogs. Preston went on to win the title without losing a match and the FA Cup without conceding a goal. As it is the game will be the clash of the only two invincible teams in the history of the English game.

But that is all for the future. I mentioned at the top of the page that you had caught me somewhat in flagrante. This is because, as I strapped on my sleep apnoea mask last night and commenced an attempt at seven hours of the dreamless restorative, little did I suspect that at seven forty five ack emma on the following day I’d be bashing away at the old Logitech trying to think of something to say about football. I had it in my head that we were playing on Wednesday. Or that today was Monday. Or that this world is in fact an illusion and that I am merely an aspect of a greater consciousness experiencing itself in an abstract and fanciful manner.

Whichever excuse fits best, rest assured that I had forgotten there was a blog to write. It appears that tonight sees the final act in this season’s Champion’s League group stage. A stage the manager and his charges can look back on with no small satisfaction. Unbeaten, even by the favourites, separated from them only by the most ludicrous rule in football, we are already guaranteed to progress to the knock-out phase.

It is a moot point as to whether finishing first or second will be an advantage this year but do you know what? If we want to reach the final we’re going to need to beat a couple of decent teams along the way so there’s no point in bleating about when that might happen.

The very little reading I’ve done on tonight’s fixture in what passes, laughably, for research suggests two things. One, there is no point in playing as we are already certain to finish second. This is at best illogical, untrue, counter factual and just plain made up. Two, Arsène had better play a very much weakened team or else there are going to be some terribly cross people on twitter tonight.

I view the proceedings somewhat differently. The people who say we are bound to come second are in all probability the same people who told us we’d finish below Spurs last season. They need to throw out the ouija board and just let events unfold. As far as team selection goes I have a very strong suspicion that the manager, his coaches, fitness staff and medical team will all feed into the ultimate decision and they will bring knowledge to bear that even the most widely read and respected Arsenal bloggers simply do not have.

I let the mechanic tell me what’s wrong with my car, I let the surgeon decide which bits to chop out of me and I let the club’s greatest ever manager pick the team. I’m not saying it isn’t fun to speculate, of course it is. I’d accept favourable odds that many of you are busy wondering just what is going to be under the Christmas tree this year. Speculation is fun, and we all indulge.

The point isn’t that you shouldn’t enjoy hypothesising over the line up. It is rather that it’s silly to praise or criticise the manager about it without having the faintest idea of the reasoning behind his decisions. It is up to Santa what he brings you and it’s up to Arsène who he picks. You don’t have the relevant information to second guess either of these fine old men as they go about a job you simply are not qualified to do in their place.

Well that’s enough of all that, I have to get my porridge cooking and I have to go to work this evening and have much to achieve in the interim. I will not get any of it done trying to fill this page. Fancy starting a new job on a Tuesday evening when Arsenal play in the Champion’s League. What a fool. Unless of course I’m supposed to start tomorrow. I’m really not very good at all this you know.

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Arsenal : Sanchez inflicts Hammer Horror

Posted by anicoll5 on December 4, 2016 in All Posts

 

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早晨 (Jóusàhn) Positivistas,

A most pleasant trip to Stratford last night I am sure we can all agree. The hosts, as has happened so often in the past 20 years, putting on a display that made the journey entirely worthwhile. How they manage it season after season I shall never know. New restaurant, same menu. To be fair our lads, confronted with such abundant generosity, did themselves proud.

Of our display I was particularly impressed that they we took command of midfield within seconds of the kick off, and never gave it up for the following 95 minutes. Even before the words “we’re missing Santi” ( banned sobbing face, banned sobbing face) could be posted on Twitter Le Coq and Granit were into gear, capturing the ball , pushing it forward for Theo, Ox and Ozil to twist their way toward the ‘Ammers goal.

On the odd occasion the ‘Ammers managed to get hold of the ball a swarm of yellow shirts was onto them, denying them time to look up or pick a pass, flicking the ball away before sweeping back towards Randolph’s goal, poor soul.

And having grasped the initiative in that opening few minutes I do not think that we ever let it go at any time in the evening. Two players who stood out in the first half were Ox and Monreal, both of whom have had a lot of criticism in recent weeks. They worked together as well as any full back/winger combination I can remember when attacking. If they did have a West Ham player against them on the wing to defend against I have no idea who he was because he never made any impression with or without the football.

The opening goal was as simple as it was inevitable. Ironically it was a recklessly misplaced pass out of defence from West Ham that Le Coq cut out that finally sank them. That it took 24 minutes to finally arrive was the result of some desperate defending and a weakness on our part to translate overwhelming control in the final third to a killer pass or clear shot on goal.

I sensed, and I am sure you did, that having got the first goal that the metaphorical floodgates would open and we would rattle in a few more by half time. As is the way of football however we did not translate our domination into that important second goal.

Half time slowed us down and afterward we had an occasional attach by the Ammers to deal. At just 1-0 there was that uncomfortable feeling that a silly error, a Payet free kick or even Mr Pawson might even the score unless we moved the scoreboard on.

I need not have worried and the best player on the pitch, probably the best player in the Premier League this past month, struck decisively on 70 minutes. Despite his size Sanchez used his strength to break tackles and make space in the West Ham box before steering the ball past Randolph. He brushed off two WH defenders like dust. It was exactly the same type of strength that Costa had used at the Etihad earlier in the day. I look forward to him applying the same physical rigour to Ottamendi, Stones and Kolarov in three weeks time.

Having scored the second there then followed the next three, each a peach in its own way. For the Ox he badly needed a goal, even a really good shot on target, and the goal he managed was both and perfect. Alexis’ final solo effort, with THAT STEPOVER brought the curtain down on our biggest win against the Ammers away from home in my life time, and perhaps ever. By that stage the London Stadium was more than half empty, the home supporters unable to bear the crushing humiliation.

Normally I am able to single out opposition players for praise, generous opponent that I am. It is difficult this week. Other than Randolph, and the ever so lonely Fletcher, they were collectively and individually rubbish. Fucking amateurs. At least the ball boys had the right idea.

So onwards to Basel and I anticipate a second string squad. I also expect a win. It is on Tuesday so we shall know soon enough.

Enjoy your Sunday.

 

 

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Arsenal Versus West Ham: Esprit De Corps

Posted by steww on December 3, 2016 in All Posts

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I was lying in my bath last night reading a yellowing, dog eared paperback when something unexpected popped up. The tome in question, I should add, is the rather excellent To Sea In A Sieve by Peter Bull. First published in 1956 it is an unvarnished account of the author’s experience in the Royal Navy throughout World War Two.

I enjoy these little known, unfashionable books for their own sake and for the necessary colour and detail they bring to our understanding of that terrible conflict. One cannot properly appreciate the almost abstract nature of historical accounts when they glibly speak of hundreds of men here and thousands of men there, but when you read an everyday and above all ordinary tale of the day to day experiences of just one of the combatants it puts flesh on the otherwise cold statistical bones.

Anyway, the thing which popped up you’ll no doubt be delighted to learn was a coincidence and nothing more shocking than that. The author was recounting time spent in his tiny craft at anchor in Anzio Bay, almost entirely defenceless from the shelling of shore batteries and surrounded by air dropped mines. He was understandably completely terrified, and, as the days dragged into weeks, he staved off the urge to leap into the sea and swim away by, among other things, games of patience.

He would make appalling bets on the outcome of these games. If I fail to get out this time we will be sunk today, if I succeed we’ll survive, that kind of thing. It struck me how similar our behaviours can be in times of dreadful torment as in times of relative comfort and tranquillity.

I have, for as long as I’ve followed football, been prey to silly superstitions which I would laugh at in any other aspect of my life. Go to the toilet in the pub during a game and I am guaranteed to miss a goal. If my wife enters the room and the opposition contrive somehow to score then clearly it is her fault. This last has become so ingrained that Liz happily accepts responsibility now whereas once she may have protested. She claims it’s worth it for the times she causes an Arsenal goal to be scored by walking in or phoning at the decisive moment.

I too have played games of chance or skill before a match convinced that the outcome of one depends upon my fortune in the other. It’s ridiculous I know,  but reading of that poor man, an actor in civilian life who found himself suddenly faced with the prospect of not only his own violent death but also that of those men he’d grown to know and revere above all others, behaving in the self same way reassured me that perhaps I was, if not sane, then at least not alone.

I don’t know what rituals you may feel necessary to bring about a return to winning ways after the rather damp squib of a game on Wednesday, but I hope they prove successful. The end of an unbeaten run is of course a depressing turn of events and I wonder if we don’t feel every disappointment a little more keenly in 2016 given what a dreadful year it has been. The obituary writers have been working flat out, the political landscape has been painted in dark and drear tones and at such times the distraction of sport seems like a convenient piece of buoyant flotsam to a man adrift.

In many ways I find the contrast between the life and death struggles people endure now and those others have endured in the past shines an unflattering if not downright embarrassing light onto our silly tantrums over what is at the end of the day just a game. It’s not much of an excuse to say that we have invested a lot of years or much money in our fervent support when truly we ought to be grateful to have lived lives so free from genuine harm to enable us to indulge ourselves in such frippery.

But then I read how passionate were the games of both baseball and cricket between the crews of the British ship and their American allies during moments away from the action, and I realise that they took their sport every bit as seriously as we do now. So as you fill your lucky mug, wonder if a late kick off is a charmed or unlucky thing, put on your lucky socks or offer up a sacrifice of burnt toast this morning don’t be alarmed at your palpably loopy behaviour. It is perfectly natural.

When the outcome of that which we endow with great importance is beyond our control. When we feel powerless. When our own pathetic insignificance in the grand tragedy of human existence is brought forcibly home to us. These are the times when we turn to the supernatural no matter how rational we might prefer to think ourselves to be.

We happy few cannot hope to influence events at the London Stadium today. Not beyond countering the negative miasma through which the players must peer if they make the mistake of perusing the on-line Arsenal debate. Maybe one or two will be able to raise a cheer of encouragement from the stands but otherwise we will not be of much import when the teams face off at five thirty this afternoon.

You know and I know that it is down to the eleven men on the field to get the job done today and put that smile back on our faces. They won’t do it for that reason – of course not – they’ll do it because they’re professional sportsmen who hate to lose, because of camaraderie, team spirit and for the manager who has placed his faith in them.

None of which is actually far removed from the reasons Peter Bull gave for the stubborn refusal to break which he and the young men under his command displayed as the shells fell around them in that beautiful Italian bay all those years ago. Win or lose today we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that it really isn’t life or death. There are no ‘must win’ games and perhaps we might count our blessings that the happiness and despair of our lives hinge on such indescribably petty and above all transient events.

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Arsenal: We Fall, Then We Rise

Posted by anicoll5 on December 1, 2016 in All Posts

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Good morning Positives.

The task I have this morning in front of me I have all but forgotten how to get to grips with. How to process a defeat? The requirement has been so rare in 2016 it took me a little while to get to grips with.

I look at why we lost, and as a foundation let me be clear that, on the night, the better team won. Anyone who believes otherwise I admire your one-eyed enthusiasm but there was no luck to the result, no dodgy incident that robbed us. Nor, over 90 minutes was it some sort of abominable display riddled with Arsenal errors or individual player’s incompetence. We were well beaten. Good luck to the Saints, plucky little devils, in their next step on the Wembley road against Klopp. I see this morning the media are wetting themselves over a Manyoo v Liverpool League Cup final – fingers crossed they will be disappointed.

The technical conversation concerning the defeat last night I would refer any reader to the manager and his various post match comments: “lack of urgency….”, “disappointing start”, (Saints) sharper and fitter” “cheap goals”, “mountain to climb”, “could play two hours without scoring a goal.”

Arsene did not feel the players chosen were insufficiently experienced to take on Southampton, who themselves had a few fringe players in the starting line up, at home. He acknowledged that we were better in the second half. Would eight or nine changes to the starting line up have made a difference rather then the full 10? I doubt it. I  cannot add much to the manager’s succinct commentary. Disappointment is mutual.

Perhaps I would disagree on the “cheap goals” jibe as the visitors had two chances in the first half, both shots, and scored twice. That suggests a bit more quality than “cheap goals”. Cheap goals, or wonderfully crafted Wengerball gems, you have to hit the target. The contrast between Southampton’s conversion of those two first half chances, and our own profligate waste of the few chances we did manage to carve out in the second half was what killed us

With regard to individual performances I thought Alex Iwobi had a good night. He was the one genuinely creative player in our midfield and he battled away to try and spring the Saints defensive lock. With no Ozil, Sanchez or Santi to work with, what the young Nigerian did achieve was creditable. Fatigue and injury left us with Perez, a central striker back after five weeks injured and with barely any game time all season. He performed as one might expect and brushed away some of the rust that must have built up. I thought Kieran Gibbs, Emi Martinez, Rob Holding and Granit all did well. I attach no criticism to Le Coq. As Elneny was “sick”, and lasted only 10 minutes, that he began the game was obviously an error on someone’s part. Presumably it is difficult to know how you will feel on the pitch unless you try.

Of the other players the more experienced will be disappointed not to have contributed more, the youngsters that they did not show their best on what, for some, may be the last time they will play at the Ems. With loan deals beckoning in January, from which some may never return, it will have been a poignant night

So onward to the “London Stadium” on Saturday early evening. A new venue, and the next page in our season. We shall see if the midweek break has been genuinely beneficial for Ozil and Sanchez. The ‘Appy ‘Ammers had their own night of grief last night. We can step forward smartly, and together.

Enjoy your Thursday.

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Arsenal Versus Southampton: Wither Young Yaya?

Posted by steww on November 30, 2016 in All Posts

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I probably don’t need to tell you what happened the last time we played Southampton in this competition. What did surprise me however was to discover that the match took place more than two years ago. I believe this is a common problem as one gets older, the memory plays tricks and our understanding of time contracts and stretches in an alarming fashion. This probably explains how I can still name the first eleven from 1970 / 71 season without breaking sweat but struggle to recall what the hell has happened to Yaya Sanogo.

Talking of Yaya we could well do with someone of his stature in the squad right now especially in light of Olivier Giroud’s injury. There is, for an old fashioned chap like me, nothing so comforting as seeing a couple of big handy blokes on the pitch. Silly and counter intuitive when you look at the diminutive stature of some of the world’s greatest ever players, but it’s there nonetheless.

It probably has something to do with the traditional significance of set piece goals in the English game. We all feel vulnerable when the opposition has a corner and so there is solace in the presence of a hefty header of the ball in our area, especially if he’s the kind of chap who is equally dangerous up the other end.

This is in all likelihood one of the reasons many of us felt a little more secure with our no nonsense makeshift right back on Sunday. After coming on for the desperately unfortunate Matt Debuchy, Gabriel didn’t do much wrong to my eyes and he brought us extra threat and extra protection. It was however his nifty footwork and crisp passing which surprised a few of the Arsenal faithful and I for one would be happy to see him there in future – assuming Jenks recovery is being handled with care. Having said all that he must be favourite to start at centre back tonight given the partnership he has formed with Noddy Holding during this year’s League Cup campaign.

At the weekend I took the bold and brash step of predicting victory in my pre-match ramble. I did so because I’m always honest with you about how I feel before a game. You may not be overly surprised to learn that I’m not experiencing quite the same confidence  in the result this evening. Not that we can’t beat Southampton, of course we can. We’ve done it before and can do so again. The problem lies with the make up of the sides.

Their first team is in fine fettle right now. Organised at the back, slick in midfield and with some sharp players up front. If they field a strong team and we put out a patchwork quilt of youth teamers and second choice first teamers there is no question that they should be favourites.

Given the strength of our first team squad we can of course start with a pretty strong eleven and still rest a few of our tip top best quality star turns. The problem is that they won’t have put in much time together on the pitch and so much will depend on how quickly they settle on the night.

All of that notwithstanding I’m still excited about the match. This is a competition in which it doesn’t sting as much to lose but is still great fun to win. While no one wants to lose any game and naturally we want the second string players to progress as far as possible thus gaining valuable match sharpness for when they are called upon to take part in the more heavyweight matches, going out has never been the end of the world. Except perhaps when we lost in the final that last time. I must confess that one did smart a bit.

A glance at the form table shows the Saints only winning one from their last five games. This may be a little deceptive as their previous two matches saw them gain a creditable draw with over achieving Jurgen Klopp’s Flying Circus™ and beat an Everton side which had until then been doing rather well. As we all know league and cup form are seldom related so apart from padding I’m not sure what I hoped to achieve with this paragraph.

According to the club website the game isn’t being televised so many of you will be listening on Arsenal Player which will be an interesting experience for you. Others will no doubt discover the delight of the foreign stream. If you’ve followed my advice and installed the Sopcast Player then the Russian and Spanish streams tend to be the best quality and the most stable but there are good Android links available too so if you have a tablet check out social media just before the game and you should be fine.

If you’re at the ground then I suppose none of that has any relevance but I mention it in the spirit of public service. So here’s to a victory, progression to the semi finals, a solid recovery for Lucas Perez and game time for the other understudies. And if anyone does happen to bump into Yaya, tell him I’m thinking of him.

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Arsenal – Fluent Finishing

Posted by anicoll5 on November 28, 2016 in All Posts

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Bwayne Errz Dee Arse Positivistas*,

A fine morning up in Norfolk to start the week as we move into the final days of November. Not such a bad few weeks was it? Not all we wanted so far as points or performances go, and a couple of injuries that cast a bit of a pall, but an unbeaten month (so far), two wins and three draws, easily into the CL R16, three points off the top of the PL with two of the teams ahead due to clash on Saturday – not so dreadful is it?

Yesterday was a good game I thought. We started, and persisted for about 20 minutes, in a style that suggested we were going to slaughter the visitors. The early goal, pressure aplenty, the yellows for two Bournemouth bemused defenders, a large score and extremely comfortable kind of early afternoon beckoned.

And then ……….! Something, somewhere shifted, the metaphorical butterfly effect. Debuchy went off on 16 minutes – poor sod – but I don’t really know what “happened”. Suddenly the command we had of the contest slipped away, Bournemouth took possession of the ball and pinned us back, referee Jones obliged with a dubious decision to even the scores, tackles flew in hard, and from an easy afternoon suddenly we were locked in battle with a determined opponent and one that, for most of the remainder of the first half, looked more likely to score again than we did.

Whether Debuchy’s departure upset the back line is no doubt a point that AW is pondering this morning. Mathieu is hardly a regular so that his 15 minute cameo as the source of a nervous breakdown amongst his defensive colleagues seems implausible. Gabriel came on and immediately fitted in, not a natural right back but he has played there before. Most odd. It would be churlish however to not give the Cherries due praise for taking the initiative as it fell open. I have no idea what the simmering row is/was with Arter. He was the target of a couple of serious assaults and the perpetrator of a potential leg breaker on Monreal. I remember Arter and Le Coq squaring up last season so it may be a hangover from that. The boy needs to sort his head out.

Thank Gawd after half time Arsenal switched back on and put together as good as half as football as we have over the past month. Alexis was imperious all afternoon, not just the goals but his passing was really, really good. Granit and Mo, after a first half wobble, got on top of the Bournemouth midfield. Mo’s energy was exceptional, and Granit I see put in eight tackles. That is le Coq output from the Swiss. Good lad. Theo was not particularly sharp yesterday compared to earlier in the season but his goal scoring header was top quality. No complaints about Gabriel, he played well. And the one moment in the game we needed him our Cech made a decisive, almost point blank, save from Afobe. On such small moments are titles won, and/or lost. And finally, to relieve the pressure the third goal, a sweeping, fast passing goal, the visitors flattened and their defence opened up. Sanchez’s second tap-in of the afternoon, another late, late goal,  a sweet finish.

For the visitors I was impressed with Nathan Ake – playing centre back but a good footballer – no doubt he will be cast off by Chelsea as superfluous to requirements. I shall keep an eye on the young Dutchman.

So that is about it today, just a short break before the next contest against the Saints who looked very useful against Everton yesterday in the late game. I fancy another exciting game on Wednesday night. And finally, for those who enjoy vigorous debate on football matters this caught my eye  from this week’s Private Eye;

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*I thought as our Chilean tiger has been making an effort to master the lingo we could join in. Next week we shall learn “Qué piensas de ……..” (trans. ‘What do you think of …..’)

 

 

 

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Arsenal Versus Bournemouth: Juggling and Balance

Posted by steww on November 27, 2016 in All Posts

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So it’s nearly over. The colonists have celebrated their annual feast of thankfulness and the retail addicts have fought in the car park of the shopping mall. The dreaded dark month of November of which many were, just a few short weeks ago, so scared, has nearly passed.  The disastrous run of unbeaten games which everyone predicted has happened and we have only two fixtures left to get through before we can all sigh with relief and enjoy the downhill toboggan run that is December, January and February.

Sarcasm aside and trying to look at the thing objectively, we dropped two points at home to Spurs, otherwise nothing to be embarrassed about in the other results. A return to winning ways today and the start of another winning streak would of course be the perfect end to Black November and that’s exactly what I expect.

I do not say this from an emotional, hopeful perspective. I expect it because seldom do we go on a long run without a win. As Shotta will no doubt confirm very rarely do we play four games and not win at least one of them. We did once manage six draws on the trot – a club record in fact – but that was way back in 1961. We ended the sequence with an emphatic 4 – 2 defeat of Fulham and in case you were wondering Barnwell and Henderson both scored twice.

I don’t see our recent results as a problem because the squad isn’t suddenly altered in any way just because of a few drawn games. The players are precisely as talented and skilful as ever they were and the manager as wily and experienced as at the start of the season. If I have any sort of concern it would be more about the patchy nature of the performances. This must in some part be down to the ever changing make up our first eleven. Disruption to the line up is seldom ever conducive to consistent displays on the pitch. We have lacked a settled deputy for Santi and have seen several players tried next to Francis Coquelin. Aaron is the latest to attempt not to fill the Spaniard’s boots but to bring his own style to the position.

Like anyone else, and especially given his recent return from injury, he needs time before we can judge him. Personally I prefer to see him there rather than anyone else. He has the ability to tackle, the nous to keep the ball, a range of passes, can run with the ball and is deadly when he does get forward. Is it his best position? I don’t pretend to be sufficiently knowledgeable to answer that one.

We have also rotated on the flanks, at full back and up front. I entirely support the manager in this as only he has all the information on fitness levels, and only he knows his own long term plan for the season. To second guess him on why certain players are rested for certain games is an exercise in futility. You had just as well tell me I should have killed off a character in the first chapter of my book without knowing that he is pivotal to the plot in the final pages.

However I have eyes and they occasionally function reasonably well and I can clearly see that a game built around fast, instinctive, flowing football is disrupted and can stagnate into blunt predictable patterns when players don’t anticipate each other’s movements. I’ve always believed the game is about partnerships all over the pitch. Certain players bond better with some team mates than with others. Also there are some players who have the kind of influence on those around them that can change a game. Gerrard did it famously for Liverpool on many occasions, Vieira has done it for us and I would argue Aaron, when he hits form and confidence is that type of player.

Regardless of the formation or personnel around him he has the ability to take the game to the opposition, to open up space for others and to score important goals. If he gets a run alongside Francis I think we’ll see evidence of this and the weight of expectation on Mesut and Alexis will diminish as a result thus freeing their games to the benefit of everybody on the team.

Today we face Jack Wilshere’s Bournemouth. He has answered the question as to who he wants to win in the only way he could. His team mates would surely look askance at anybody in their own dressing room who publicly called for them to be defeated. Arsène brushed aside the attempt to squeeze some controversy from this and I believe we should do the same.

In any case Jack’s temporary allegiance to his rehabilitation team won’t be subjected to public scrutiny as he can’t play against us today. I might have been blissfully unaware of the ludicrous ‘head to head’ goal rule in the Champion’s League but I’m up to snuff on Premier League loan regulations. It’s section 7.2 of rule M.6 if you’d care to have a look yourself.

Bournemouth like to play the game in what we consider to be the right way. It must have been a factor in Jack’s choice to go there. They are finding it hard going though and while they haven’t endured the kind of Novemberus horribilis which so many were predicting for the Arsenal they did lose to Sunderland and that takes some doing. They sit a mere four points from the relegation zone but this simply illustrates why I care so little for league tables this side of the new year. Four points from the gallows they may be but they’re also only four from sixth place. Given the quality of the five teams above that position it must be the high water mark for every other side in the league.

I’d like to see a settled line up today, yes even the same team that duked it out on Wednesday night, but as I’ve said before I won’t carp whatever team sheet Arsène pins up because he is the only one with sufficient information to understand the decision. Our job isn’t to manage the team it’s to cheer them on. I’d have loved to have been there to do so in person today and thanks to splendid PA regular Steve, that nearly became a reality but circumstances conspired against me. I shall therefore be watching from the armchair and will see you here at a quarter past two. If, like Steve, you are at the match then why not sing a song for the folks back home? I’ll listen out for you.

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Arsenal – We sail on toward the Old Port

Posted by anicoll5 on November 24, 2016 in All Posts

4c1ffa381754bec3b349053e2ab1cfbeGood morning Positivistas,

A fair night’s football I think all round. PSG area good quality football team with some excellent players and to split the points with them over two contests is probably what we would have accepted when the group was drawn, “par for the course”. A degree of frustration on my part last night as, at one point, we displayed the momentum to win the game, and allied to that quality we had two slices of luck that on another night would have won us the match. But just as the goddess bestows her favours so she snatches them away, as young Alex Iwobi is no doubt contemplating as he stares slack jawed into his ReadyBrek this morning.

I am afraid if you are anticipating any penetrating insights on the events on the field from me you are reading the wrong blog. Watching on the TV you saw a lot more than I did. I was tucked up toward the back of the Clock End, side on to the screen, and distracted for about an hour by a fellow Arsenal fan of such an unspeakably miserable disposition that had we been inmates of one of HMPs I would have pleaded for him to be put on suicide watch. As I mentioned last night so incoherent was he with disappointment and what he perceived to be the poverty of our display he stormed out after the Veratti own goal, never to be seen again. He also seemed to think we were playing Leicester. Between you and me I think he was a bit “drunk”. I expect he is out a usual this morning, knocking on doors and offering people a “spare bit of tarmac” he has from “another job” he has just finished “up the road” to repair their drive.

From what I did see of or lads it was a slow start all over the pitch. I expected the Parisians to start the game as they had in game one but both sides started warily, and it took a while for either to settle into a passing rhythm. It was not until half an hour had passed and PSG had run out of steam that we managed to get any grip on the game and string passes together. For the next 30 minutes I thought we were performing well enough to have won the game. We finally started getting some joy from crosses and finding Giroud. The final third of the game from my seat, now relieved of my burdensome companion, PSG stepped up a gear and showed the same flair they had displayed in September in Paris. Both sides traded blows, tried to win, with the French side probably enjoying the best chances.

For us I thought Olivier was good, as was Mesut, Aaron and Le Coq. Kosc was excellent against the very sharp Cavani.

For them I was impressed again with Matuidi and with Moura. Decisive, fast ball players. They would fit in anywhere.

Both sides sail serenely on to the Round of 16. I cannot really see Basel as more than a distraction. It is a non event, other than for the Swiss, and I suspect the manager will treat it as such. Since Herr Brych brought the curtain down last night I have read what seems about a dozen different permutations of who we might be drawn again in the next stage. The Devil in me knows it will be Barcelona, the rational being inside attaches no significance to the malign position of the planets. The nice thing is we need pay not attention until the draw on the 12th December, and even then two more months of important domestic football until the games begin on the 14th/15th February.

For any who have not seen the cartoon I could not let you miss it;

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Onward to a very different prospect on Sunday and the Cherries of Bournemouth. Back to winning ways I think. Enjoy your week.

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Arsenal Versus Paris St Germain: Get Orf Moi Land

Posted by steww on November 23, 2016 in All Posts

Weston sign

I was listening to BBC Somerset on the car radio yesterday. Not proud of it, obviously, but Radio 4 had decided to lead with Nigel Farage and I didn’t want him in the Hyundai with me so had switched channels in haste. They were interviewing some poor beleaguered soul from the Environment Agency or National Rivers Authority  (an NRA I think we could all get behind) as people of my generation know and think of it. The subject was flooding. It’s a popular pastime in parts of Somerset, most notably on flood plains where rivers have expanded from time immemorial regardless of whether someone had built a house there or not.

The interview was interrupted by an enraged farmer and one could almost see the ruddy cheeked apoplectic countenance as he yelled inarticulate hatred towards the guy who had just assured him there was no danger of his land being inundated. ‘Hold fire on that ark Jethro’, I shouted. When the interviewer took aside the horny handed son of the sod and asked to see what was sufficiently bothersome that he would so berate a poor civil servant he had to admit there was actually no flood water to be seen and the moisture levels had in fact dropped.

“Don’t you think you were being a little hasty, unfair perhaps, had no grounds to yell?” these were perhaps obvious questions. “Yeah well maybe – but I got a right to an I?” came back the farmer with the kind of snappy repartee which has earned my home county a well deserved reputation for breeding great thinkers.

I can’t help feeling that farmer summed up much that is awry in our society and many of those who purport, at least, to support Arsenal. If they moan and yell abuse and complain with no obvious rhyme, reason or rationale, they almost certainly feel they are doing so because they have a right to. Now, no one wants to live in a society where one cannot complain, of course not, that system has been tried in many countries and has always been found wanting by its citizens. But the way our players and manager get treated just so these people can exercise their ‘rights’ is shocking.

As we ponder the senseless scapegoating of one of the best players the club has ever had, one of the other whipping boys of the Arsenal online family has seen his stock actually rise this week. Buoyed up by his decisive intervention at Old Trafford, Olivier Giroud was, at least at one stage, leading a poll of Arsenal Twitter followers as to who ought to open the batting against PSG this evening.

Part of me wants to rejoice that at long long last one of my favourite players is receiving the recognition he deserves. However a much bigger part of me dismisses such fair weather friendery for the fickle, false and febrile baloney it surely is. In fact suddenly liking a player for doing what he has always done just because he saved you getting a roasting from your Man United supporting pals in whichever asylum you are confined is not supporting at all. Not in my book.

Larry deserved everyone’s backing from day one and needed it most when things were not going his way. Moaning about Aaron while simultaneously clamouring for our Gallic heartthrob to lead the line again is a symptom of an unbalanced mind not of a person coming to their senses. It is the very act of scapegoating players, of leaping on bandwagons of disrespect and abuse the moment one rolls past you, that is the problem.

You can’t chop and change from game to game and expect things to always go well. Football doesn’t work like that. Are we supposed to think Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is a hero now because of one cross, just like he should never have played for us again after a couple of miss hit passes in his previous game?

Thank goodness we have a manager able to withstand such capricious whimsy when it comes to team selection. Of course if a player is in form he deserves a run in the team. He also, I would argue, deserves to maintain his place if that form tails off a little. Surely his morale would only be improved by such a show of faith from his manager. It wouldn’t kill us perhaps as supporters to show a similar faith in the people we claim to be supporting.

I know I’m encroaching heavily on Kelly’s piece from Sunday evening but we here at Positively Arsenal are often motivated by similar emotions and really all I’m doing is extending her defence of Aaron to all of our players. We should be disappointed for them and not in them when things don’t go well, we should have their back and not get on their backs when they are struggling and above all we should stop, as Shotta pointed out, being such cry babies and realise that we have little right to celebrate the good times if we weren’t there for the team during the bad times.

Right, that’s better, now lets have a look at tonight’s match. Paris St Germain are on a fine run  at present. Unbeaten in five they’ve won their previous four only conceding once in those five games. Like Arsenal they’ve amassed an impressive ten points in a  Champion’s League group which shows an emphatic gap between the top two teams and the also rans. Billed as a decider to see who tops the group tonight’s match won’t necessarily be all that decisive as both sides have another game to play on December 6th.

It is hard to say if finishing first will guarantee an easier fixture in the next round with this year’s competition throwing up some curious results. Overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy this season and everybody’s most cherished team, Spurs, won’t even be seeing the knockout stages. It’s a funny old game.

It’s not often Arsenal receive any help from officials but someone at the Home Office must like us as Serge Aurier has been red carded by the visa panel without a ball being kicked. Whether his absence will have as big an impact as our injury list remains to be seen. Hopefully we’ll have a good match to entertain the faithful and this time it’d be rather nice not to gift them a 1 – 0 head start.

Anyway I’ve got  to go put on my wig and false beard in the hope I’m not recognised by an angry Spurs supporting farmer. Enjoy the occasion if you’re lucky enough to be there. If not don’t forget to get on the internet and slag off our useless players at every opportunity, after all, you’ve got every right to do so haven’t you?

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No Cry Babies Needed At Arsenal

Posted by R. Green on November 21, 2016 in All Posts

adult-cry-baby

There is a cry-baby culture developing in the wider society that seems to have pervaded the supporters of our great football club, at least among those who frequent Arsenal-twitter.

On a societal level, very recently we have had the pathetic,  hilarious spectacle of colleges and universities in my country (the good old USA) setting up cry-rooms, healing spaces, petting zones, handing out Play-Doh, postponing exams,  because young adults (our future leaders in government, industry and commerce) were upset by election results.  See this, and then here and there.

Note there was no coup, no burning of the Reichstag (Congress), no night of the long knives, no assassination of opponents of the new regime, no turfing-out of academics from the universities, no purging of the Judiciary; (not yet Ed.) it was a plain old election, as has been the wont of the US republic for over 200 years.

There is nothing wrong with getting upset when results go against us as individuals in an election, referendum or football match. It is our indivisible right as human beings. But as adults, it is a dangerously narcissistic to expect our needs and desires to be always satisfied, to not expect disappointments, to not  expect other individuals and groups to have diametrically opposing objectives and to actively work to frustrate ours. In life you win and you lose. To have university and college administrators and their academics encouraging the millennial generation to believe that being like cry-babies will change reality and that Mummy and Daddy will make things right is doing them a terrible disservice.

A similar mentality is evident in many supporters of our football club.  Take Saturday’s game against United for example. Apparently it is not good enough to struggle against a club whose squad is valued by transfermarkt.com at £578 million vs £323 million for Arsenal’s. Even worse is to fall behind and then to successfully struggle and fightback to earn a draw. Apparently Jose Mourinho with his four (4 )Premier League titles is simply a fraud who doesn’t have a successful history of setting-up his team to frustrate and throttle the Gunners in midfield and to eventually sneak a goal on the counter-attack or take advantage of a mistake by a beleaguered defender.

Again, let me stress, every supporter has the right to be disappointed that the team was not at its best and was unable to outplay United. But it is delusional to not give the opposing team any credit or to not give your own club credit for their achievements, limited as they may be.

To conclude that Arsenal was simply lucky to earn a point is simply being in denial. Unlike actual reality on the field of play, the players earn no credit for responding to the challenge of falling behind and never giving up. Similarly the manager is seen by some as literally being asleep at the wheel and out of touch with the ebb and flow of the game when he made his substitutions; Giroud on the 73rd minute mark and Oxlade-Chamberlain after 83 minutes, i.e. the duo who directly assisted and scored the goal. The narcissist inside us is cursing Daddy Wenger because he was unable to give us the victory we felt entitled, a draw is not good enough. Predictably it is cause for more squawking by the little babies.

This nicely segues to the data which is at the core of today’s blog. It is a fact the club has had a long history of poor results during the month of November. I wonder how our cry-babies and tender snowflakes would/will cope with this continuing trend.

So far, this November, the club has had two points from two games or .67 points per game (ppg). With two more matches in November this could be improved.  Last year was brutal, as the club was ranked 16th in points accrued during the month of November at 0.67 ppg. The raw data is presented in the table below.

YEAR PPG (NOV) POS (NOV) FINAL PPG FINAL POS
2015/16 0.67 16 2.13 2
2014-15 1.50 8 2.29 3
2013-14 2.25 2 2.26 4
2012-13 1.20 9 2.34 4
2011-12 2.33 2 2.11 3
2010-11 1.80 6 2.26 4
2009-10 1.00 14 2.37 3
2008-09 1.20 13 2.29 4
2007-08 2.33 5 2.34 3
2006-07 0.80 15 2.39 4
2005-06 3.00 2 2.50 4
2004-05 1.25 11 2.37 2
2003-04 2.50 2 2.18 1
2002-03 2.40 1 2.29 2
2001-02 1.50 10 2.11 1
2000-01 1.00 14 2.39 2
1999-00 2.00 3 2.08 2
1998-99 1.25 15 2.05 2
1997-98 0.75 19 1.97 1
1996-97 1.75 6 2.16 3

From the data I wish to emphasize the following :

  • Over the last 20 years the club averaged 1.62 ppg in November, compared to 2.24 ppg per season, a 38% difference.
  • In the Highbury era the club did slightly better at 1.74 ppg compared to an average season of 2.21 ppg, a 27% difference.
  • During the Emirates era, the November average hit a low of 1.51 ppg, but the season average of 2.28 ppg is higher than at Highbury.

Fortunately for the club the November points haul has little correlation with the club’s final league position.  In fact, there was the remarkable situation in 1997-98 when the club was 19th rank in points that November and finished the league in 2nd place.

  • Over the past 20 years the club averaged 9th in the league in terms points accrued in November, compared to an average end-of-season league position of 3rd , a 6 places difference.
  • In the Highbury era the club average league ranking for points in November was 8th but averaged a season-ending position of 2nd in the league, also an improvement of 6 places.
  • Since moving to the Emirates, the club’s average ranking for points accrued in November was 8th place but averaged 3rd at season-end, in the league, an improvement of only 5 places, i.e. less than at Highbury.

I am fully aware that data has little persuasive influence on the majority of our fan base. Sigmund Freud long discovered that behaviors are changed by triggering deep primal emotions in the unconscious particularly instincts like fear and greed. Let me remind you that the elites of our countries, those who control the economy and power structures, have well developed systems and institutions, primarily the media, to manipulate and influence us as a group to adopt behaviors that are counter to our interest. Along those lines I fully expect a run of poor results in November will no doubt bring all the fear-mongers and WOBs to the fore. Expect those who hate the self-sufficient model and Arsene’s artistic, aesthetic approach to the game to whip our little cry-babies into a frenzy, doubting our title potential. The data is clear; points in November have little bearing on our final league position. Hoping my research will give you the tools to stop them dead in their tracks.

No club for cry babies. Up the Arsenal!

PS: For a greater understanding of how our behaviors are manipulated by the powers that be check out this piece: We’re Being Played. The youtube video is a must watch.

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