I was recently watching a Bolton game (how sad!) and Bolton started to play the ball around using intricate passing, fast movement off the ball, and accurate cross field play. The commentator said ” Bolton are playing “Arsenalesque” football ! In the old days it would be called “champagne” football. We Gooners take it for granted, in fact there are many who believe we should be far more direct and cut out the intricacy. To them I say look at Bolton. Their fans are thrilled that Coyle has stopped the kick and run tactics of Allardyce, Lee and Megson, they love to see the ball played on the ground, and the introduction of one of our own has lifted all Bolton fans spirits.
No-one ever mentions United-esque and certainly not Chelsea-esque. As to Dipper-esque – you must be joking!!
We all know what the commentator was referring to, we call it Wenger-ball, and it is to AW’s credit that an attractive and entertaining style can be created whilst maintaining a level of success. Before I am reminded (once again) of the fact we have won nothing for 5 years, I would point out that Barca win by playing Wenger-ball – they are just better at it than we are (and they have Messi).
When Mr. Wenger arrived at the club we had been through a decade of some of the most boring football ever seen on the green fields of Highbury. Not for nothing was “Boring Boring Arsenal” sung at every Premiership ground, nor was “1-0 to the Arsenal” our anthem for any reason other than the scoreline was George Graham’s modus operandi. I can honestly say that had GG not left I would have given up my season ticket – it had become that dire. Sure we won Cups, but take Wrighty out of the team and there was nothing to entertain us – no wonder he was such a hero to us in those gloomy days. For anyone who doesn’t believe me when I write how appalling our football was, I refer them to the 3 games at Wembley v Sheffield Wednesday. I challenge you to sit through all 300+ minutes without yawning. Yes, we won the Cup Double, yes we celebrated long into the night, but we knew we were watching tedious fare. Whilst the Spuds thrilled to Ginola and Gazza, we were watching yet another brilliant defensive performance.
Bruce Rioch was clearly a stop-gap until a long term replacement for GG was employed, and it is thanks to Rioch’s foresight that DB10 was signed. He and David Platt gave us fans the indication that the Board, and in particular David Dein had ambitious plans for Arsenal’s development..
Then Wenger arrived. Bergkamp flourished, Vieira was signed showing what AW thought was a decent midfielder after the years of Morrow, Selley, Jensen, etc etc. We started to play football!! The best back 5 in history learned to pass through the midfield instead of hoofing it up to Wrighty. Other stars were signed to suit the method of play that Wenger promoted. Skilful, pacy, technically adept and instinctive players. Can anyone imagine that Graham would have signed Bobby Pires? The football played by The Invincibles was better than anything seen in the past 50 years and we have been privileged to witness it.
Whatever the opinions of the British (Sky) pundits, Arsenal are considered the entertainers of the Premiership, our football is admired worldwide. From Africa to India to Australia, we are the team that people turn on their TV’s to watch. MU v AFC is the most watched PL game (and probably the second most anticipated game in World club football). Football fans love Wengerball – it is how fans imagine the game should be played. Sure, there are doubters, those who believe that power is more valid than skill, that good old-fashioned British cut and thrust is more successful, and that if AFC had enforcers we would be Champions, but that isn’t Arsene’s way. His way is the Beautiful Game and thank goodness for that. That said, I believe there is room for a more direct style occasionally, who can forget those sweeping movements starting from an opposition attack, two passes through midfield onto an onrushing scorer (think TH, Freddie, Bobby).
We are entertained, and if we aren’t it isn’t because of Wenger’s football ethos, it is because the players don’t hit the heights every week (or sometimes every month!).
I know that many fans would give up the entertainment for a piece of silverware, but this writer hopes for the same as Wenger – to win with great football, to play with brio, to mesmerise the opposition. It can be done, Wenger has proved it, and Guardiola has shown how to do it at Champions League level.
Arsenal-esque indeed.
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Magic stuff Raddy and right on the button, long live Wengerball and if trophies come second so be it. If you wanna know what pot hunting and spend, spend, does to a even a big club, look at this from this morning paper written by what most Gooners consider a top journo.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/patrick_barclay/article7113115.ece
Morning dandan,
Great post Raddy, it’s almost like there are two opposing schools of football – the Barça/Arsenal model and the anti-football Inter displayed so effectively to negate Barça’s strengths. I would hope that the flair football will prevail in time, but it does rely on referees protecting ‘targeted’ players, Cesc came in for serious abuse this season and for the most part, the referees allowed it to happen.
Morning all
Great read Raddy. I’ve calmed down now, there’ll be no more ranting from me for at least 2 months and I’m already looking forward to future wonderful displays of the Wenger-ball that I love.
I’ve buried all the if-only’s and as long as we sign a new keeper I’ll be happy 😉
Good point rasp about referees having a part to play in allowing us to play creatively. Poor Cesc, he was targeted every game – shouldn’t be allowed to happen really.
Morning peaches, did you see we passed 100,000 hits yesterday? 😉
go and read le grove the so called ars fans want wenger out and how rubbish we are what a load of ballacks i love wenger ball we need to strenthen our defence and that league can be ours
Great read and I wholeheartedly agree. Most of the Arsenal blogs are utter tosh, calling for Wengers head everytime we have a bad result or two. I too love Wenger ball, hopefully he recruits a top keeper, defender and maybe an uncompromising English midfielder, personally I’d like Scott Parker but the hammers said he’s the only player that won’t be leaving. Noble anyone?
Oh dear Ros its all your fault, for the first time ever I posted a reply on LG and am being monitored I am mortified LOL
ROS – asking this place to go over there and read “that place” is like asking a muslim to go and work in a sausage factory.
lovely post, btw BR 😉
Spot on mate. Good read & couldn’t agree more! Made me laugh the othe day, i was reading one of the other arsenal blogs (can’t remember which one) and they were doing the usual Arsene hating spill which makes my blood boil (obviously never been a gooner throughout those GG days that you mentioned) and it was one comment that just made me laugh. Some numpty wrote (in pure Championship Management style) how Arsenal are never going to win anything and what we need to do is sign one world class keeper (granted – i’ll give him that one), two world class defenders, three world class midfielders two world class strikers (and he then went on to say who those players should be. His next words were, “WE ALREADY HAVE A GOOD TEAM BUT IF WE ADD JUST THESE EIGHT WORLD CLASS PLAYERS TO WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE THEN I PROMISE YOU WE WILL EASILY WIN THE LEAGUE NEXT SEASON”! Errrr…… Yeah so let’s just buy a whole new team and how much would eight world class players their respective salaries cost??? A lot of these bloggers and their followers just don’t live in the real world so it’s nice to finally read a sensible arsenal blog for a change and for that i thank you 🙂
kev, lol… remember the age of blogging is vastly proliferated with new age goons (post 1999)
they will tell they are lifelong gooners etc but in fact many of them would love to go man overboard and jump onto the passing cruise liner(s)
Spoken like a true Gooner BR.
I must admit I get frustrated by Le Gaffers actions, especially when it comes to signings, not. But I am sick of reading personal insults about the the man by some Arsenal people.
The post is about football ethics, and what we should be thankful for.
I am definitely not saying that AW is above criticism, but it is important to state categorically the benefits he has brought to our club. Among those is our playing style.
Kev. There are fools everywhere and as SfH intimates, these “Gooners” don’t blog during school hours. Furthermore, thanks to Sky and the internet, we have AFC fans worldwide who have instant access to what was once just UK based.
And I am an example 🙂
As for Le Profs dismay @ the recent AA23 comments, he should show real leadership & repremand the little Russian. Make a stand now. The form/attitude that AA23 has shown lately can be traced back to AW’s Mr Nice Guy attitude. Its time for old Frenchie to get mean & nasty
And GG is another. G’day mate.
We had some Aussie Rules on Danish TV last night – weird! Good game, though I cannot understand the rules yet. It was WB v St Kitts.
I bet AW has given AA a polite smack around the ears and told him to wise up.
……& couple of jabs in the guts before he hit the ground 😆
St Kilda its was. Hailed as a disgraceful boring affair by the football purists here.
he needs more than a polite smack around the ears, aa23 has been nothing short of a disgrace this entire season.
apart from his obvious talent, the man has no other redeeming qualities.
even his surly, negative celebrations piss me off.
he rarely celebrates goals scored by his teammates either.
i would not be too fussed to see him shipped out and a hazard type player brought in his place.
Not traffic hazard types like Denilson & Fish face SFH, who opo players negotiate with ease 😉
Silvestre is not one of my fave players, but apart from that goal at west ham in the cup… how many mistakes did he make to cost us?
its a myth…. we certainly could do better, but the ire directed at him is false.
same for denilson, he was a monster in midfield for us when he came on as a sub for aa23 in the home barca game.. changed it, we were getting bashed around in the middle, without getting a grip on the ball… he helped us retain possesion big time.
Oh well first ever post on LG just four sentences and no bad language and I got dumped in the trash bin am so distressed.
Where is peaches when your battered ego needs a verbal cuddle LOL
here is where i hate gooners.
if silvestre cost 10m and was 27, but played EXACLTY as he has done… not one complaint!!
That the man is an egoist is no surprise, but ultimately it is his performance which s important and in too many games he goes AWOL
Nice work DD. Must have been controversial….
controversial or reasonable?
that place does not like reasoning.
So sad to see the lunatics take over the asylum. But it is anti-AA to discuss other sites, so I won’t….
SFH
There is a reason why The Arsenal hasn’t won a trophy for 5 years, & its not because of bad luck. Now the reason being is because of Stadium debt? Whatever, but in short its coz our players haven’t been good enough. & 2 of those players are Denislon & Fishface.
they are both back up players, who when called upon have done there job more times than not.
if they were first 11 when all fit.. you may have a point.
every top team has back up players that are not quite top level.
if fishface had played 20 games this season and been responsible for many goals… gooners would have a point.
but he has not.. so why the ire towards him?
I think you will find that more often than not Denilson has been starting 11 when fit, it was only mid season when he made some stuff ups that AW stopped auto picking him. As for Fishface, I agree with you.
starting midfield trio is song, diaby, cesc… only if one of those 3 are not fit has denilson been first choice.
i am not overall one of denilson’s biggest fans, he made me very angry with his appaling non tracking back in jan against both manu and stoke
but i think that rib injury against everton hindered him…
since being back to full fitness, and especially that performance against barca… i am now seeing what kind of player he will be when he is into his peak years.
always look at the example of flamini who was nothing at 21 but world class at 23
that is where AW has the special ability, we mere fear will knock a talent at 20/21… (song?) AW says stick with them and see.
Denilson’s form did pick up later on, but, Arsene Wenger needs to bolster the squad with ready mades. His dilly-dallying with the squad is polarising Arsenal fans, & its not a good look.
all about the benjamins
so surprised more gooners have not picked up on AW direct quotes in recent weeks
“we can NOW buy the players we want”
why now?
I wonder if the Reyes debarcle has had an effect on Wengers unwillingness to pay big bucks since?
lol, i would back my house the builiding of a 400M project had more of an effect than a spanish pikey 😉
What are you saying? AW talks in code/tongues? I wish he would not say, just do!!!!
what codes? pretty straight forward is it not?
we did not have money for big money signings in summers past, so made do with what we could
now we DO have money
where is the code? 😆
Well that 400 million quid 😳 euros now you are a mere state, can no longer be used as an excuse, so we can expect AW tospend big
What is a benjamin?
exactly, and totally in line with what AW is saying… so what codes?
he did not say we NOW have money to compete last summer? did he?
he has only said it for the first time since the emms was buils this summer
have a moan and groan this time next year if we fall short and thhe players were not bought.
but to do it now and over the past 4 seasons is foolhardy.
bejamin franklin is the face that appears on the dollar bill 😉
So you are one of those In Arsene we Trust types. You have a lot to lose then if AW doesn’t deliver next year 🙂 Pressure is on. Its Last Chance Saloon for him.
yes i am, but firstyl i am an arsenal fan and amazed at the club i support today from the one i started supporting all those decades ago.
we are a super club now, and that has a lot to do with the work AW has put in.
i also wish to be supporting a big club for years and year, and i want my grankids to be supporting a big arsenal.
i am thankful i was blessed with foresight and not the hope of short term gains at the expense of long term despair.
what we have achieved over the last 5 years is a miracle.
but only a certain type of person can see that.
gg9 – last chance saloon? 😆
you would be hailed a god with comments like that over on the thick mick site.
Ok, who is thick mick then?
i’ll leave that to your imagination.
There you go with this code thing again. I have no idea what a thick mick is.
whose code?
earlier it was the AW code, which never was a code.
now what code are you banging on about?
a clue… google is your friend 😉
blueprint for the goons:
blame it all on wenger now
hail him as the greatest when he wins the title next season
😆
He won’t win the Title next season unless he brings in some ready made quality. But hey, like you say I support The Arsenal, AW is just warming the seat.
we all agree with that, and i think you will be pleasantly surpsied that now the borad and AW say they have money…. not spun press releases that AW has nowt to do with… we will indeed buy the players.
Warming the seat for who?
I personally do not believe he will buy the necessary players in the off season. I do not trust him to do so. But I hope I’m proven wrong.
gg9 it would benefit your wisdom greatly if you spent 5 mins reading this..
http://swissramble.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-big-is-arsenals-transfer-budget.html
and understadn why he has not splashed out in seasons past… and why he now CAN !!
Gg9 a thick mick is a not very bright Irishman, Have you followed the link on the first post on this article if not go and read it and you will understand how diligent Arsene has been and how foolhardy it is to call this season the last chance saloon.
Warming the seat for the next manager.
Afternoon string, you are in good form today
not before his greatest arsenal team has achieved the success he knows it will do.
sorry about that, but you may have to wait a few years before the new man takes the best job in football.
hey dandan, any rain where you are yet?
bloody bank holidays and rain
SFH
You sound like you are in love with the man? Thats foolhardy 😆 I’m happy to see him stay, but you sound obsessed to see him stay old boy. It didn’t take much for me to induce that absolute love for Arsene outa you 😆 thick mick
classless comments, gg9
why are you so rattled to come out with rubbish like that?
Whatever. Why aren’t you over on your site answering questions there?
It’s not a discussion blog, this is.
Nice change of direction.
Now tell me, what has got you so rattled today?
maybe we can help…
There is a question you might be able to help me with actually. Why do you love Arsene so much?
Why do you put your trust in him so much, when he fails to deliver?
I love the work the man has done at the club, it’s there for all to see… maybe genetics prevent some form seeing this though.
Which is unfortunate for them, but a blessing for those lucky enough to see it.
Now, tell us why you are so rattled today?
gg9, i presume you did not follow the link posted above… a sharp tongue is no indiciation of a keen mind fella.
I’m not rattled @ all.
so why suddenly start with the insults? you must have been rattled to change to such a tact.
You sound rattled old boy. Have I upset you by daring to question Lord Wenger.
not at all, i am controlling this situation. no need to throw insults you see.
however… you…
Don’t knock Lord Wenger, I did but I think I got away with it 😆
Did you knock him?
you posed questions about a lack of spending, i tried to educate you away from the foolhardy way of thinking.. even provided literature to read… you countered with insults.
strange, but true.
Listen SFH, if it makes you happy, I’ll let you be right on whatever you are on about, not that I actually give a shit. But being a Wenger lover, I guess you wouldn’t be getting to much success lately so I’ll grant you your moment.
Adios amigos, this is gnarleygeorge9 signing off for the final time, over & out.
Guess I am different from you, i like to study both sides of the story.
I cannot justify making decisions based on one argument.. i want to hear them all, and then decide.
I take it from your lack of dissecting the link i provided you with, you wish to stick with the wenger hatred and the myth he is destroying the club with his lack of spending the 100’s of millions you think he has had to spend over the ladt few years.
Good luck to you if this is how you lead your life.
Come and fight your conrner with real answers and not insults… and then
you maybe won’t have to run away 😉
Run away? It’s probably 2 in the morning where GG lives.
So, after today’s results we are in for a humdinger on Weds evening. And once again, we saw the value of a decent GK, Gomez made a save late in the game from a shot very similar to Rose’s “wonder”goal at WHL. He secured the win for THFC and Almunia secured a loss for us.
Noises coming out of AFC indicate that a GK may not be a priority to AW, contrary to all Gooners wishes. I hope I am wrong.
Hi BR, could be a decent week of football. Arsene has his own way I guess – perhaps Chesney is coming back next season or something. Who knows?
GG, come back tomorrow, your point of view is perfectly reasonable. I’m more positive about AW than you are but I bet even he in his quiet moments would admit that at times he has selected a weaker team for a ‘non-critical’ game (e.g. the FA Cup) when maybe he could have kept us all happier by just going for it. If Pompey can be in the final so could we surely, our reserves ought to be better than them and their players have taught some of ours a bit of a lesson about professional commitment I think.
Like you as well I’m not convinced he’ll spend big in the summer, maybe one other decent signing apart from Chamakh but not a megastar. But either way, we’ll all just have to wait to find out, which is all part of the fun.
Can anyone recall the last superstar AW signed?
How many superstars were signed in the team that was invincible?
Alfa – did you manage to read that link posted above?
that so clearly breaks down the accounts and proves he has not had money to spend but now does?
just been reading back some posts on blogs from last august
dam the grief AW was taking for singing “Shortie” “unknown” “not good enough for the premiership” Vermaelen 😆
team of the year no less
BR – do you rate gomes at spuds?
think spuds fans hated him and trusted him less than we do fabianski right now, during his first full season 😉
May i remind everyone what i wrote on the 27th.april.
This is part of it
I don’t express myslf as elequently as others but through the internet I find there is now a level of blog writers of a higher education than your average(what used to be called working class ) fan. So much so that sometimes they come over as knowlegable businessmen and accountants rather than Arsenal football fans. There is sometimes an aloofness which doesn’t sit well with me.In other words they are never wrong and always want to have the last word.
If we lose 6-0 or 1-0 I feel gutted for days,just as i did some 50 years ago, but I don’t hold extreme views about our manager one way or another, but I am still entitled to my opinion, because at the end of the day we are just fans and have no control over what goes on at the club.
I am not addressing anyone on here, as it applies to a number of blogs, some far more extreme pro or anti Wenger than I feel.
When people express an opinion which may offend another, it is easy to just brush it off afterwards by saying it wasn’t meant to be disrespectful as it is only an internet.
Take the same group of people with opposing views and put them together say in a pub, I am sure one would get a totally different picture,or at least more of an understanding of a point of view, where one face to face.
kels – any idea what this big racing scandal story the NOTW are breaking tommorow is?
they have had it for a while but was blocked in recent weeks, cleared for the morning.
can’t be frank spencer knocking hayley? old news that one
No, but i can find out.i play bowls tomorrow with a pal who was pat eddery’s racing manager for over twenty years,name of Terry Ellis and even geoff lewis plays with us.he’s a complete nutter.
mill reef lewis? wow
you do mix in top circles
I could tell you about some stories about bruce raymond in Hong kong, but excuse me i literally have to go now.Maybe we could have a racing section on the blog 😉
catch you later
can’t even spell hong kong. he, geoff lewis is a good pal of mine. the queen’s former jockey, only second to piggott in his day, but gambled everything away as most of them do.i used to go to his stables in epsom, now i must go.
Brilliant Post.
Surely do not want to give up Wenger ball for anything in the World but im afraid the difference between us and Barca is not just Messi. Its the work rate..and you cant put that solely on the players.
I think its sad everytime we talk about Arsenal FC and success we have to start with a history lesson.
It is imperative we start getting things right now…and hopefully more players as well as a better coaching staff can come in.
GF – i think all our gooner dreams will seem closer to attainment soon enough.
we ALL want to see a better class of player at the club this summer, especially in defensive positions.
with a sack full of cash available now for the first time in years, no more excuses will be seen if we fail next season.
but there have been valid reasons for just falling short in recent times.
SfH, if you look back at my posts you’ll see I agree AW hasn’t had money to spend. I think he has more now but not as much as you think. I also agree with London’s theory that he decided it wasn’t worth wasting the money he did have competing with the billionaires. None of os really know though.
Whatever, we still have 2 games to win and a summer of speculation ahead.
Kelsey, hi, I know nothing about horse racing at all but glad you are getting so much out of it 🙂
considering he part owned a dual cambredgeshire winner in the 80/90’s
he has got it all out 😉
i think there is a lot of merit in what london suggests with the giving up on spending what he has on 1 player a season and using it instead on develpoing a youth squad.
but i think this
http://swissramble.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-big-is-arsenals-transfer-budget.html
is one of the best, if not the best, post i have read on our finances and why we can expect a big pot at AW’s disposal this summer and jan window.
It is an excellent post SfH.
But having the money to spend is not the same as spending it!
Let us hope negotiations are under way for a new GK. A swap of Jaaskalinen for another year loan of JW may be good (however unlikely)
SfH, I read the post yesterday, it’s a useful analysis but as BR says not the same as spending it.
BR, do you think that a move for a Lloris/Akinfeev level GK is unlikely?
Morning all
Theres a NEW POST
Highly unlikely Alfa. Due to the excellent reports about Chesney – we need a quality interim GK,. I would blow €20m+ on a young keeper and those two are sure to be very hot property.
MU will be on the hunt for a world class GK – VDS coming to the end of a fine career. I expect Akinfeev to go to MU and Lloris to stay at Lyon. But I have to say I know SFA
Thank you so much for this beautiful Article