Shift of Power in North London? Dream On

March 11, 2012

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single journalist in possession of an empty page must be in want of a story.

And in the absence of a story, he’ll make one up to suit his agenda.

No pride, but plenty of prejudice.

And when nearly all the journalists are in the same predicament, the wave of spurious content will hit us like a tsunami.

One such tsunami this year has been the supposed shift of power in North London footballing circles.

After our 8-2 drubbing at Gorbals Towers many journalists decided that this was the year when Arsenal faced mid table mediocrity (or even a relegation struggle); and as for Arsenal’s manager – well, he’d lost it, hadn’t he? First in line for the sack race.

Fast forward to the end of 2011 and, improbably, Arsenal had hauled themselves back into the top four and some of our national sports scribes were beginning to get the faint whiff of egg on face.

There was going to be no relegation battle for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger was going nowhere.

But there was one straw for Fleet Street’s finest to clutch at: despite Arsenal’s heroic climb up the table, we were still behind that other North London outfit in the league table.

So… no relegation battle, no “Wenger fired”… what’s a poor journo to do in such circumstances?

Aha!

“Shift of Power in North London.” Read all about it!

As an example of lazy journalism, the SOPINL story is like a tree sloth kicking back in a hammock on a beach in the Bahamas. With a big spliff.

A “shift of power” is something seismic. It happened after the Second World War, when the United States emerged as the global superpower. It’s probably happening now, with an ailing USA reluctantly passing the baton to China.

Shifts of power take years to happen and cannot be judged on temporary blips. As the saying goes, one swallow does not make a porn star.

When we hammered the Lily Livereds at The Emirates a few weeks ago the emphatic nature of the victory struck a chord with me. Perhaps I was more sensitive to the issue precisely because of all that has been written about the SOPINL.

Let’s be honest, we have had some poor results against the enemy recently. But when I started to think back through those games I realised that despite occasionally nicking some points off us, the Tinies have never been able to demonstrate what you might call ‘footballing superiority’.

When we lost in N17 earlier this season we were the better team overall and it took a handball and a ‘wonder strike’ to sink us.

Last season we were the better team in a 3-3 draw at Riot Hart Lane (the home team needed a late penalty to get a point) and, at home, we absolutely outplayed them to take a 2-0 lead at half time before giving away three stupid goals (remember Cesc’s handball in the wall anyone?).  However, our second string killed them 4-1 at their place in the Carling Cup.

In 2009/10 they were second best again at their place but a goal-of-a-lifetime from somebody called Danny Rose brought them all three undeserved points. I’m not sure what’s happened to Danny since – I heard he was destined for Chelsea, but then his fare asked to be dropped off at Victoria instead. That season, at Arsenal, the Spuds were, again, destroyed: three nil to the good guys.

In 2008/9 we had that ridiculous game where we gifted them a 4-4 draw at the Ems. We were all over them and had created enough chances to be 10-2 up going into injury time instead of 4-2. With hindsight that was the game where we first saw the dangerous fragility of the “Fabregas” Arsenal – a team that could dominate the opposition but still collapse like a pack of cards under pressure. The return fixture was a pretty uneventful 0-0.

Before the ‘08/09 season you just have the long, long unbeaten run against the Spudders in the league, with us dishing out humiliation after humiliation to them.

So what’s my point?

It’s that even though the Skinny Cock Brigade have got their noses in front of us this season, there has NEVER been a game in which, on the field of play, they have shown themselves to be better than us. They have only taken points when we have outplayed them and then shot ourselves in the foot. Even on our off days we have more than matched them, despite the result sometimes going against us.

Quite simply, in most people’s living memory they have NEVER been even remotely as good as us and they are not now.

This has been the most difficult season for Arsenal since Arsene Wenger joined us and we are still miles better than them, as the 5-2 demonstrated.

No doubt some sad Spuds will point to their 5-1 win in the Carling Cup in 2007/08 to disprove my point. Well, yes, that is one game where we were properly beaten by them. But it’s the exception that proves the rule. It was in a season when we had much bigger fish to fry. We were gunning for the title and the weakened team we sent to the Theatre of Screams knew how low the CC was on our priority list. We were chasing the title, the ECL, a top four finish, the FA Cup and the CC in that order.

Still, at least it provided the Spudders with a DVD to cherish.

There is still a very good chance we will finish above them in the league this year (although we can’t afford any slip-ups). We are hitting momentum just as they are beginning to stutter and twitch. We are gaining self belief while they are plagued by self doubt.

They have a small stadium, they may be about to lose the one manager who has been able to get them playing competitively and some of their biggest stars will likely be out the door this summer.

We, on the other hand, have an excellent financial set-up, we have a genius for a manager and we have some of the best young players in the world starting to emerge in a team also laced with great experience.

There is no shift of power. Why some journalists choose to treat a brief run of decent form as proof positive of a SOPINL – while ignoring the macro picture of both clubs’ finances, up-and-coming players, history and so on is completely baffling.

The Tinies have had a decent run of form while we have been experiencing a substantial reorganisation. Theirs is a temporary case of flattering to deceive, ours has been a temporary case of being deceptively flat. It’s all about to change and the natural order will reassert itself.

To leave you with another saying: Form is temporary; Class is Arsenal.

RockyLives

* Note: This was written before yesterday’s Everton-Tottenham game which, as we now know, the Tinies contrived to lose. Don’t you just love ‘em?

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Posted by RockyLives

Let’s go Berserk for the rest of the season

March 10, 2012

The year is 1849, and somewhere concealed among the windswept rocks on the The Isle of Lewis, a Chess Set was discovered. People with large foreheads and sticky out hair did some thinking, and worked out that these finely carved pieces were of Norse origin and probably made in Sweden during the twelfth century.

Interestingly, one of the reasons the people with large foreheads and sticky out hair came to this conclusion, was because they reckoned some of the pieces were modelled on some fearsome Scandinavian warrior mercenaries called The Berserkers. These lunatics were known for entering the arena of battle stark bollock naked and ripped to the tits on hallucinogens. Now I am not suggesting our boy’s rock up “tackle out” with “faraway eyes” for the next game, but these Beserkers did set me thinking.

I made a comment following the terrific win at Sunderland that I thought the combination of Mert going off, combined with them scoring actually helped us. The forced substitution of bringing on Ramsey and dropping Song into defence, together with a nothing to lose scenario, seemed to me to liberate us. I am not saying we went beserk, but we appeared to start playing with the handbrake off. We played with more of a “let’s go get ‘em” attitude.

What then followed was games against Spurs and Milan. Two down against the former before the handbrake came off. With Milan, it was a whopping four down at the half way point, at which point we simply took charge.

Unlike the Berserkers, we cannot employ liberating mind altering medicine, but why the difference when all should be lost. It appears that confidence returns. But surely conceding a goal should have the opposite effect, shouldn’t it? Perhaps it is simply by removing the pressure, you are suddenly in the “nothing to lose zone” where our warriors feel less restricted. Not unclothed but loosened up in the mind.

In other words, what we’re after is some Controlled Berserking. As this is a football blog, I suppose I need to add some tactical bollocks to add meat to the way I think we could achieve this. What was the effect against Sunderland of removing Song from the midfield into the back four  and adding Ramsey? The answer is no specialist or appointed DM.  I do have my own reservations about the need for a DM type of player when playing with two deeper midfielders, and I have also stated here before that in the longer term I see Ramsey and Wilshere filling those two berths adding more fluidity to the team. Looking at the second half of the tie against Milan and we did not deploy the usual defensive shield of Song and Arteta with one Creative in front. It was one defensive in Song with the combination of Rosicky and The Ox in front.

Now that we finally have a solid centre of defence, in conjunction with returning specialist full backs, perhaps there is less need for the two defensively minded midfielders. Could it be that by selecting a more attack minded midfield, that Arsene is indirectly liberating the team and effectively saying we have nothing to fear, so let’s attack?

All of this reminds me of the words attributed to Marshal Ferdinand Foch: “My centre is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking.”

I think that as we enter the final stretch of the season, the dynamics of many games will change. A point will be of little use to some teams, and for as long as a game remains scoreless, they will sniff an opportunity. We need to find a way of getting teams on the back foot right from the off, not when we go a goal behind.

Chess is a tactical game, and while you need to have the confidence of knowing you are solid defensively, you need to be free from inhibitions, tight clothing and a fuzzy brain in attack. How do we get The Berserker Spirit into our boys?

 Written by MickyDidIt89

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

This Arsenal is not for turning

March 9, 2012

So here we are, for the seventh season in a row and despite a magnificent effort against Milan, we will not be collecting any trophies, medals, or even pots to urinate in. In fact, the season could turn even uglier if we fail to secure top four and our friends down the Road finish above us and lift the FA Cup. The thought of Chas & Dave making a comeback fills me with a sense of loathing and dread not felt since Ricky Villa scored that fluky goal at Wembley.

What does this all mean? How do we address this drought? Do we sack Wenger? Do we sack Rice? Does Kronke have to go and with him his cronies Gazidis and Law? Do we demand Usmanov takes over, and bring Dein back to the Club? And what about money? Where is it all going? Do we demand “Spend some f…..g money”?

Well, for what it’s worth, I will give you my answer. We do not change a thing. Yes, I said it nothing, nada, zilch. We just continue with the same strategy, same philosophy, same tactics, same management, and same tea lady.

Ok, a lot of you are now thinking what kind of shit is this geezer on?, (and some might be thinking were do I get some, but that’s for another day) How can we change nothing when we keep winning f..k all? Let’s put it this way, has any one ever heard the saying “Lose the battle but win the war” or alternatively “Retreat to go forward”? Well you should have, because this is what the last seven years has been all about.

Since the move to the Grove ,the Club has been going through a “Consolidation period” The aim has been to keep our necks above water financially, and try to produce teams filled with young players were the minimum target is securing champions league football. We all know this right? The good news is that there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel, and what an illumination it promises to be.

Why change when going forward we have this:

  • One of the best, if not the best coaches in world football. If you doubt this, don’t ask your angry mate, ask the board at clubs like Madrid, Man City, and Barcelona instead.
  • Increased revenue streams (see the clubs accounts, or do your own math), which will enable the Club to keep its emerging players. This is the fundamental key to our future success.
  • A fantastic pool of young players that will lead us to glory. If there was an under 23 cup tomorrow we would walk it.
  • Financial Fair Play. This is already having an impact. If you doubt this one to, then look carefully at Man Citys and Chelsea’s actions recently. They are all gearing up for FFP. Don’t ask your angry mate about this one, the standard response is that they will hire flashy lawyers and Accountants to circumvent the rules, the reality is that that those flash gits will help alleviate the pain only, not break the rules.
  • No future strategic handicaps. What I mean by this is that while clubs like Spurs and Liverpool scramble around for new stadia, or City and Chelsea trim there squads and wages to accommodate FFP, we will have no such hang ups.
  • A brand of footballing culture, so embedded in the club now, that it will keep churning out stars for the future
  • We are in a great position to strike. We are fourth at present, not some mid table team languishing hopelessly behind.

So you see, the above reasons are why this Arsenal is not for turning. When you know your doing something right but others try to convince you otherwise the pressure can mount. This then becomes a question of character and an ability to hold your nerve, despite the hostility and angst that may surround you. Lets hold our nerve because if we do, a great Arsenal team awaits.

My final point is this. You can only operate in the environment you find yourself in. For the last seven years we have cut our cloth accordingly. The 2 unexpected’s during this period which have made things even harder have been the downturn in the property market, and perhaps even more significantly the arrival of the Sugar Daddy owners. But guess what, we are still here, and the environment is changing in our favour both internally as a club, and externally to the detriment of our rivals. Shoot me down or not, “Arsenals future is fantastic”.

God Bless

Terry Mancini Hair Transplant

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Posted by Rasp

The interview that tells us RvP will stay at Arsenal

March 8, 2012

Ever since, Robin and Arsène announced they will not talk about a new contract for our Boy Wonder till after this season, I haven’t given RvP’s contract situation a second thought. That is, until last week Tuesday, when by chance – I was looking for some pre-match info for the Holland vs. England match. I found a video-interview between a NOS reporter, Bert Maalderink, and RvP.

NOS are the Dutch equivalent of the BBC and Maalderink seems to do the majority of NOS interviews with football players. His interviews are performed in a typical Dutch way – no, not naked and stoned – but open, challenging and at times even confrontational. ‘The truth’ is usually not covered up and there is often a mutual desire for a meaningful dialogue between the interviewer and the interviewee. I dare say, most English reporters would not get away with Maalderink’s style of interviewing and be told to do a personal bum-cheeks-splitter with their microphone. But, for the purpose of this post, it is great that the interviewer and interviewee are both Dutch, as the direct and open nature of the interview reveals a lot to us.

Although, I am usually a glass half-full person as with regards to players staying or leaving, I tend to be a bit more of a pragmatist: as long as no new contract is signed a player is more likely to leave than to stay, especially when a particular player only has one year left on his current contract (as RvP will be this summer). However, when I was watching the interview with Robin van Persie last week, I became unexpectedly, yet instantly, convinced RvP is staying put and will sign a new contract this summer.

Here is a translation of the second part of the interview (from 2.33 minutes onwards). Although I am not a trained translator, I am pretty confident my translation is doing the interview full justice:

BM: The question on everybody’s lips is: ‘What is he [RvP] going to do next year?’

RvP: Yes, we will see.

BM: Are you struggling with this?

RvP: No, not at all. I am doing fine, enjoying everything, training well, I am fit – knock on wood (he taps the microphone) – and all is going well.

BM: But what about people saying: ‘It’s a bit of a shame – Van Persie, who is head and shoulders above everything, playing in an Arsenal side which is not quite the very best of Arsenal sides ever’?

RvP: Well that’s funny, isn’t it? People consider this Tottenham team as the best ever and our team as the ‘worst’ (he makes a quotation mark with his fingers) ever, and we beat them 5-2: it is a bit crazy sometimes…

BM: Does that nag/hurt you a bit?

RvP: Sorry – what do you mean?

BM: Because I know why this is: everybody regards Arsenal as a higher-up team, and Tottenham, yeah – well, a bit lower-down, and when they are doing OK and Arsenal are doing less, well then people will say: oh how well Tottenham are doing, and Arsenal are performing less (below par).

RvP: Yeah, yeah, that is correct. Expectations are very high at Arsenal: we have a gigantic, beautiful, big stadium, a great number of fans, very beautiful history and people expect that we perform well right now – in the present.

BM: Do you think you [Arsenal] are performing well?

RvP: No, it can always be improved, we go for the highest achievable. In the last few years, as a club, we have not achieved that, so in that respect it has not been good enough.

BM: Are you somebody who will try his utmost with this club to still achieve success?

RvP: Well yes, I have been there eight years of course, and I am proud of that, and at the end of the season we will calmly sit down with the manager and the chairman [I assume he means Gazidis] and we will have a ‘nice cup of coffee’ (in Dutch: ‘dan gaan wij een bakkie doen’, which could not be more Dutch if you tried), all of us together, nice and cosy (in Dutch: ‘gezellig’ referring to a very friendly/informal sort of meeting/conversation).

BM: Because I feel you have become a ‘club player’ over there…

RvP: Yes, I am a real Gunner, which goes without saying, I have been there eight years, I love this club, that is no secret, and that will always stay like that.

BM: Therefore, would leaving now be ‘blasphemy’?

RvP: Well once again, at the end of the season, we are going to have a calm/relaxed talk about it, and then we are going to talk about a number of things, which I do regularly with the manager, and because of that occasion [contract talks] the chairman will be there as well.

BM: You are going to make the final decision then [at that meeting]?

RvP: Dan gaan we een bakkie doen: that is when we are going to have a nice cup of coffee.

Click here for the link to the interview

Most of you will not be able to understand any of this, but it is worthwhile to look at the last 3 minutes of the interview, just to see Robin’s face, and especially his eyes: they are smiling throughout and mostly so during the last five seconds of the interview. He also never touches his nose (a well-known sign of a possible lie being made), looks shifty or is not in control of the situation.

He is speaking to a Dutch journalist and does not need to do any Arsenal PR to him, so he himself chooses to say everything he does and that to me is the best proof that Robin really loves Arsenal and is going to sign a new contract. He is not exactly saying the latter of course during this interview, as he will still want to negotiate a fair and attractive contract, but in my opinion he said more than enough to convince me he will be at Arsenal next season and beyond.

RvP said: ‘Yes, I am a real Gunner, which goes without saying, I have been there eight years, I love this club, that is no secret, and that will always stay like that’, and this statement, combined with his wish to sort things out whilst doing ‘een bakkie’ is enough proof for me that he will stay at Arsenal.

RvP10, like DB10, has Arsenal-DNA in his blood and like the latter he will make a decision about his future based on a healthy balance between earning what he is worth, playing quality football and doing the best for him and his family. He is one of ours and around him we will build the next super-Arsenal team.

You might say, I am Dutching at Straws but I am very confident RvP will sign a new contract this summer. Without any doubt, there will be a million or more words written about RvP’s contract shenanigans, before he will finally put ink to paper. You can choose to read all of them, or be sensible and just remember what he has said in the interview above, and go with my interpretation of it. As I said a few days ago, I will eat LB’s newly purchased hat this season, if I am proven wrong. RvP is a true Gunner-for-Life and we are so lucky to have him.

Written by TotalArsenal

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal 3 – 0 Milan Report: The Ox and TR7 pair-up to rejuvenate our midfield

March 7, 2012

Written by TotalArsenal

4-0 down from the first leg in the San Siro, and only two midfielders to choose from by Wenger: the task of reaching the next round in this year’s CL competition could not have been harder. On the other hand, because the first leg result left us in an almost impossible position to go through, the players could go out on the pitch and play free and attacking football, as per the DNA of the Wengerball-era.

First Half
And boy, did they enjoy themselves in the first half! With Song as the only DM in midfield this time, we played Rosicky and The Ox in the more advanced midfield positions, and we pushed hard from the wings as well – especially our right wing, where Sagna and Walcott formed a constant threat, with which Milan’s LB, Mesbah, and his nearest CB, Thiago Silva, really struggled in the first half. Arsenal’s defence played a high line which was necessary so Song would not get swamped in midfield, as he had the enormous responsibility of controlling the midfield last night. We basically played the Barcelona-way in the first half, only better (lol)! The combination of The Ox and TR7 gave us a fresh and dynamic style of play, and the Italians had simply no answer to their energy and attacking ingenuity.

We played a high tempo from the start and never allowed Milan to settle. Milan did manage to get out of our grasp now and again, but it mostly led to quick passes to Ibrahimovic, who managed to be in an offsite position almost every time.

Incredibly, we scored three goals in the first half, reducing the two-leg deficit to just one goal.

The first one was from a corner that was whipped in with real venom and a strong curve by the excellent Ox. Koz, super Koz, was too quick for Van Bommel, who started the game sluggishly for Milan, and he manoeuvred himself in a free position to convert a relatively easy chance. The Milan goalkeeper, Abbiati, had no chance: 1-0.

The second one was a result of bad defending by Thiago Silva, who intercepted a misguided pass into the box by Walcott, only to clear it straight to Rosicky. The latter had time to control the ball with his first touch, after which he placed a shot into the corner of Abbiati’s left corner, whilst cleverly hiding his intensions by using the defender’s body in front of him that was shielding the view of the keeper: 2-0, 26 minutes played, and game truly on!

The third one came from the penalty spot. A few minutes before half time, the Ox took on Mesbah and whilst moving himself decisively into the penalty-area, he got squeezed between the latter and fellow defender Nocerinio, and he was clearly fouled: penalty! RvP steps up and scores with a text-book, absolutely unstoppable, penalty: 3-0.

Just before half time, Milan created an excellent chance to make it 3-1, which would have meant Arsenal needing at least 3 more goals to go through. El Sharaawy fluffs his effort, however, probably frightened by the menacing tentacles of the forward pouncing Polish octopus. Szczesny’s presence and ability to intimidate in the box is simply a joy to watch.

Second Half
The second half was of a totally different order compared to the first one. The pressure and nerves were back on, as we now had a very decent chance to go through to the next round.

We started well again, albeit with a bit less intensity, and cohesion in the midfield. Milan started to battle more effectively in midfield, and Ibrahimovic had decided to start putting in a shift for his team at last. But what really made the difference was the apparent hamstring injury to the Ox. It took a while before Wenger finally decided to take him off, and the possible reason for this is that the most like-for-like replacement, Ozyakop, was too nervous to come on (some on AA have suggested that he threw up whilst being on the bench?!). With the Ox no longer able to support Song and Rosicky, and both quickly tiring as well, leading to more and more misplaced passes and often unnecessary fouls, we slowly but surely lost the battle in midfield, which allowed the Rossoneri to play out the game without conceding any further goals.

Just before the hour mark, however, Arsenal was still able to create a golden opportunity to score the all important fourth goal that would have levelled the tie, but it was not to be. Gervinho, who had been worryingly ineffective throughout most of the game, saw his deflected shot from inside the box saved by the keeper, only for the latter to push the ball right in front of our Boy Wonder. Robin’s attempted delicate chip over the keeper is well-anticipated by Abbiati, and he is able to save at a very important stage of the game.

With the Ox out and Rosicky knackered, and nobody on the bench to help us regain the midfield, we left an enormous gap between defence and attack for the last 30 minutes of the game. As a result, we were no longer able to create decent chances, and we had to helplessly witness Milan’s late escape from our previously established deadly grip. What a shame!

To be fair, Milan produced the best chances in the latter part second half, but a combination of woeful finishing on their part and a very impressive defensive display by our back-five, ensured that we were able to keep a clean sheet till the end.

Conclusions
We played without fear and with real verve, especially in the first half. And in a transitional year like this, it is immensely important that Arsenal was able to erase the memory of the 4-0 drumming by the Rossoneri three weeks ago, by winning with a convincing display and a big margin last night.

Games like these build belief and character, and this ‘new’ team – as in a rapidly developing/gelling group of players – became a lot closer and stronger on this fantastic night of football at THOF.

We will never know for sure whether we would have won this game, with the required bigger margin to go through to the next round, if the likes of Wilshere, Ramsey, Diaby and Arteta would have been fit and available last night. In my view, just two of those on the bench would have been enough for Arsenal to be able to enter a plan-B in the second half, and go through to the next round. We really only had a Plan-A for this game due to the many injuries of our midfielders, and in the end it was just not enough to complete the miracle.

The boys have done us proud with a passionate and high-quality performance, and last night they showed us all that we continue to belong in the Champions League. The squad will develop further in the next few months, and hopefully we will be a bit less unlucky with regards to long-term injuries to key players, and in key positions next year. On top of that, we can add one or two players in the summer, and then we should be able to push all the way, in the PL and CL, from next season onwards.

I would like to finish with a few special mentions:

For the boys who came through the youth ranks, Szczesny and Gibbs: they were absolutely amazing and how good is it to see that our own talents are making it at the highest level;

For the partnership between TV and Koz that performed so well last night (a little bit against my expectations);

For that performance by Sagna last night: what a warrior, a legend in the making;

For the rejuvenated Rosicky, who played an absolute blinder last night; (especially the first hour or so);

For the battling Alex Song, who completed a very difficult task of holding a midfield almost continuously on his own;

And for the incredible, truly wonderful performance by the Ox, who became a man last night.

TotalArsenal

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

‘Til the End of the Day: Match Preview

March 6, 2012

How exciting to welcome the reigning Italian Champions and current leaders of Serie A.

AC Milan arrive fresh from another 4-0 victory, away to Palermo. They sit 3 points ahead of Juventus who have a game in hand. Is this important? I would say Yes, because apart from the over-confidence rising from the first leg, Milan will not want to expend too much energy prior to facing their next League game (home to Lecce). Clutching at straws? Probably …

We were rubbish in Milan.  Apparently it was the worst CL performance in Arsenal history. The Milan pitch was much to blame but so too were the players who just went missing, even Mr Wenger publicly criticizing his team which to my knowledge is a first.

Were we over-confident? Were we tired after a long trip? Did the players have an argument prior to going out onto the San Siro pitch? Were they overawed by the occasion? Were AW’s tactics ignored or did he get it totally wrong? Whatever it was, we were pants and got just desserts for our performance.

However, since then we have beaten two rivals for the CL places and done so in an encouraging manner. We have scored 12 goals in our last two home games and should we keep up the average can advance into the last 8 of the CL. But and this is a huge BUT – we need to keep a clean sheet. With the Famous Five at the back I would bet DanDan’s house that we would do it, but with this current defence the chances are slim. Nonetheless, we have to hope and stay positive.

I expect the atmosphere to be great tonight, few will expect us to go through, and the fans will get the opportunity to see some superb players in the Milan side. The mood from the blogs indicates we are favourites to win but not by much. I tend to go along with this view. Arsenal are a damned good team, capable of beating anyone when on-form (including Barca and RM),

Mr Wenger has stated that he will play a full team which is exciting. We do not play again until Monday evening, so the players can go flat out from the first whistle.

My Team:

Milan will look to play on the break and as such we will have the opportunity to keep possession and play tippy-tappy. If he were fit, I would play Ramsey instead of Rosicky. He is better at beating a player and is more likely to score but the latest news sadly is that he will not make the squad and Arteta is ruled out for a week following the mild concussion he suffered against pool. We can expect Milan to double up on the flanks but both our wingers will do much better playing on the Emirates Bowling Green.

Today’s Gooner: Ray and Dave Davies of the Kinks are confirmed Arsenal fans, both having had season tickets at Highbury. Born in Muswell Hill, they went to Fortismere School and onto Hornsey College. Forming the Kinks in 1963 they had their first Number One in 1964. The Kinks have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Ray was made a CBE in 2005.

The Lads anxiously watching the !971 Cup Final in the Top of the Pops studio

It is rare to see Arsenal in this situation, one where attack is the only policy. It should be fun.

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Ban The Divers

March 5, 2012

Lightning may never strike twice, but cheating scumbags certainly do.

It beggars belief that less than a week after Gareth Bale pulled off a forward pike with tuck to win a penalty against us, Luis Suarez went and did exactly the same thing with the same effect.

Both executed perfect examples of what’s known in coaching circles as “The Rooney.”

It works like this:

You’re closing on goal but the opposition ‘keeper has come out and spread himself to narrow the angle.

You have slightly overrun it, or you’ve taken a touch too many, so now you’re too close to the goalkeeper to chip it over him.

You’re going to have to try and go round him, but at the speed you’re running, and with the touchline looming, it’s virtually impossible to round the ‘keeper and still be in control of the ball with a shooting angle.

You try it anyway, but the touch is too heavy and the ball is heading out for a goal kick.

However, the goalkeeper has had to commit himself and here, if you happen to be of a dishonest persuasion (medical term: gerraditis), is where you seize your chance.

Following behind the now wayward ball, you trail your foot to try and effect a contact with the ‘keeper’s arm or leg, depending on which way he has gone down.

As you trail the foot, you start falling forward like a tree that’s just been felled. Whether or not you actually make contact with the ‘keeper is irrelevant now because momentum and gravity have taken their course.

TIMBER!!!!!!

Over you go… and as you lie prone, the extent of your appeals for a penalty depends only on the extent of your shamelessness.

The two penalties against us in the last two weeks have certain things in common and certain differences.

Let’s take the Tottenham one first (although before we do, does anyone have the time? Oh yes, thanks – five-to).

Primatologists have managed to get monkeys and great apes to do many remarkable things in recent decades: reasoning, reading, doing maths puzzles, even speaking. But full credit to the trainers at Tottenham for producing the world’s first ever diving monkey.

As monkeyboy bore down on our goal there was a coming together between him and Gibbs. Ironically, if Bale had chosen (note the use of the word ‘chosen’) to go down then, he might have had a more justified penalty shout because there was some upper body contact between the two.

Instead he kept going, pushed it too far past Szczesny and went for the Rooney. As the replays seemed to prove, there was either no contact or negligible contact between our young Pole and the primate, even though the latter went down as if pole-axed.

The ball was going away from goal, which probably helped keep Szczesny on the pitch once Mike Dean had bought the dive.

Bale’s appeal for a penalty was a little half-hearted, as if he knew he was trying to pull a fast one. He just sat on the turf and raised one paw in the air in mute appeal. In fact, given that he has been booked for diving twice already this season, he must have been worried about a third yellow coming his way.

Dean, it should be noted, was a good 30 yards behind the incident and could not possibly have been able to see clearly what happened. He did consult his linesman, who was theoretically better positioned, but according to one account I read all the lino wanted to do was moan about something having been thrown from the crowd.

And so to Saturday’s penalty for Liverpool. Suarez, a man with more baggage than Victoria Beckham on a world tour, hared in towards our goal from the left of the penalty area.

When Szczesny narrowed the angle Suarez took a concrete-boot touch with his right foot, sending the ball straight towards the touchline and a goal kick.

Realising this, he too switched immediately to Plan B – the Rooney, dragging his feet and falling as if he’d just been hit in the back by a sniper.

Once again the referee, this time Mike Halsey, had no clear view of the incident. He was closer than Dean had been but his line of sight was obscured by a cluster of three players.

Suarez compounded his initial act of dishonesty (the dive) by putting on an elaborate show of having been badly injured. It was pure theatre, but perhaps helped convince Halsey that there had been genuine contact.

Similarities between the two dives: both players had lost control of the ball; both went for the Rooney; in both cases the referee could not possibly have seen the incident properly.

Dissimilarities: Bale had had some upper body contact from Gibbs, whereas no-one touched Suarez; Suarez showed his out-and-out dishonesty by putting on some real theatrics.

Both were pretty awful, but the Uruguayan racist’s was particularly heinous.

So what do we do about this?

For a start, some players are now so good at this sort of fakery that the referees’ association needs to aggressively counter it. I always thought that if a ref had not clearly seen an incident he could not act on it. That certainly wasn’t the case with either Bale’s or Suarez’s penalties, where Dean and Halsey seem to have made their decision based on probability or instinct.

If refs get together to try to clamp down on this sort of cheating, the net effect will probably be fewer penalties given in these sort of circumstances (including some genuine pens which will be missed because the ref cannot be certain there was contact).

It’s not perfect, but the consequences of not awarding the occasional genuine penalty are not as great as those of giving too many fake penalties (which usually means a goal for the cheating side and often a red card for the victims).

But refs aside, the real answer to the problem is retrospective video analysis by the FA, followed by severe punishment (bans) for cheating.

Then, and only then, will cheats like Bale and Suarez know that the consequences of doing what they do will outweigh the possible benefits.

The FA already hands out retrospective punishment for serious foul play when the referee ‘did not see the incident’. So they would not need to stretch the rules too far to also come down hard on cheating in circumstances where the ref could not possibly have had a 100% view and where the offender’s play-acting has been deliberately aimed at misleading the officials.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Our hubcaps? Have them, we’ve got the points.

March 4, 2012

Smash and grab, against the run of play, undeserved, call it what you want, Robin van Persie’s two superbly taken goals gave us a very important win at Anfield and with it three extremely precious points.

Buoyed by the glorious fight back last week against spuds I sat myself in front of the telly ready for the match with a greater confidence in my heart than had been the case in more recent weeks. But, continue where we left off last weekend, we did not, Liverpool came on to us with drive, and purpose; they, it has to be said were bossing the game – this lasted all of, well, exactly two and a half minutes, lol before the good guys collected themselves and started to play.

Although, it wasn’t pretty, not as pretty as last weekend: the passing wasn’t as crisp, the creativity wasn’t quite as ingenious but enough collective self belief remained to hold things together and that is in spite of having to suffer yet another totally unjust penalty being awarded against us.

Did you see the replay on the telly at the end where they put what seemed like a magnifying glass on the incident – never touched him, not a feather?

Still, today was the day when Szczesny had decided to be Man of the Match, up stepped Kuyt and across went Chesney’s hand, have another go Kuyt, hahahahah missed again. Did you see Vermealen’s celebration, if you haven’t take another look, passion or what?

No, Liverpool were not going to score today, it took one of our own to give them a leg up. I think it was a very dangerous game that Kozzer was playing; although, I am prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt when he said that he knew that by giving them the lead it would fire Arsenal into action, the same way as it did last weekend, fair enough Koz I am just glad you never tested us by giving them a two goal lead. Am I making too many references to last week lol?

The truth is we were disjointed, the three elements of the team, the defence, the midfield and the attack seemed unable to link up with each other, Song was poor — there I said it, Alex does have a tendency to start slowly but he is usually covered by Arteta, although, today he was miss placing passes which is completely out of character; Theo was having trouble getting past Enrique, and offensively Benayoun offered nothing which left van Persie isolated.

But, remember when the BFG got injured and many said that the ideal CB partnership was Koscielny and Vermealen, I was one of them, well, they were magnificent, my only surprise was what took them so long to gel as a unit. Gibbs helps as does Sagna who was outstanding for the full ninety minutes which brings me back to the game and our only attempt on goal in the first half.

Be honest now, when the ball was rolled out to Bacary on the right wing which one of you expected that kind of cross? Guilty, I didn’t, what a peach, the most perfect angle met sweetly by the Boy Wonder to head us back on terms just before the break.

As both teams took to the field for the start of the second half you could tell that Liverpool’s resistance had not yet been completely broken, there was something about them that still naively thought they had a shot at fourth place, they huffed and they puffed, they hit the post a couple of times but there wasn’t really anything too troubling.

The first significant incident came when they knocked Arteta out cold but just as I was thinking ‘you hubcap thieving bunch of banned words’, their supporters silenced me by giving him a standing ovation as he was carried from the field. That kind of behaviour may be rare in football today but nowhere near as rare as an appearance of a Lesser Spotted Diaby, a real collector’s item this was.

I happily admit I was excited to see him back and his first shimmy that took him effortlessly past a Liverpool player got the blood racing even higher, probably for the first time in the match we started taking the game to them. That’s not to say we started to look like we were going to score, we never gave that impression but it no longer looked like the only winner, if there were to be one, would be the Dippers.

But, as quick as the Lesser Spotted Diaby appeared he was gone, did I dream it? On came the Ox full of fight, at the end of the game I was left thinking that it was a tough call to decide who was more effective: Diaby or the Ox?

But either way it was getting towards the time when van Persie had a decision to make. Some may have noticed him around the ninety minute mark looking up thoughtfully, obviously pondering that all important question: do I want to score, because as we all know, ‘he’s Robin van Persie and he scores when he wants‘?

Robin decided he did, all that was needed was someone to supply him with the opportunity: enter the world’s best DM, that god like, lion of a man (a bit too much?) Alex Song sent in a chip that Fabregas would have been proud of for van Persie to rifle home. Comparing Song’s pass to Fabregas is, as we all know, high praise indeed but there is a higher being in the Arsenal pantheon, sit up straight, pay attention, deference is required, I am about to use the “B” word. The way van Persie guided the ball past Reina was Bergkampesque. The away supporters went wild and deservedly so in my opinion when you consider some of the disappointments they have had to endure first hand in the not too distant past.

COYRRG

Did I mention the chavs lost? Hahahahahaha.

Szeczney: as I have said, Man of the Match, commanding, powerful, intelligent, good distribution, he just gets better and better. 9

Sagna: one of his really, really good games, I expect a great deal from him defensively and he delivered, I don’t expect too much offensively so his cross that led to a goal was a really good surprise. 8.5

Koscielny: superb I thought, it is not easy playing against that diving little Uruguayan rat but our Kozzer stopped him scoring so, 8

Vermaelen: can’t play two games of ninety minutes in a week purleese, this is Thomas Vermaelen we are talking about here. 8

Gibbs: he is getting better isn’t he? I thought his major significance this season would be what he brought to the attack but I like the way he is going about improving his defensive game. 7.5

Rosicky: hmmmmm, not easy, he did work hard it must be said but the job of the person who plays in between Song and RvP is to produce magic and there wasn’t enough of it 7

Song: a very poor first half, ponderous, wasted passes, I thought ‘I am going to have to eat Peaches’ humble pie’…….nooooooooooo, what a pass, what a magnificent piece of football to help win us the game. 12

Walcott: oh why me? I don’t think that last week’s goals change anything, in games when teams are foolish enough to come onto us then Theo will excel but they are the tiny minority of a season, the majority play two banks of four and he has never once shown that he is capable of dealing with such a situation. Still not convinced 6

van Persie: the Boy Wonder can do no wrong 9

Benayoun: I wrote above that he offered nothing in attack in the first half and I stand by that but what I purposely left out, until now, was to say that he worked his socks off for the defence; he tracked back like a demon, covering Gibbs whenever necessary. 7

PS The Lesser Spotted Diaby should not be confused with the Greater Spotted Diaby which, as I am sure you all know, is far more common.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Written by LB

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Let’s Stay Together: Match Preview

March 3, 2012

Following on from Rocky’s finely researched post about the curse of the Carling Cup:

Another lunch time fixture, another outing for our dreadful blue away kit and a tough fixture.

I am from the generation which remembers Anfield as the toughest fixture of the season. Win up there and you were a quality team, you had to be because for many, many years Liverpool were supreme: The Liverpool side of the late 80’s was the best team ever seen on British soil until the arrival of  The Invincibles.

However, times move on and this Liverpool side despite having been expensively assembled is nowhere near good enough to win the PL (not that we are!), they are as unpredictable as a Nik Bendnter finish. Scraping past a very average Cardiff is proof of their weaknesses.

The hugely expensive purchases of recent years have shown that money cannot buy success – our record signing is Wiltord at £16m approx; in the last few seasons the Scouse have bought Aquillani, Torres, Downing, Saurez, Mascherano, Carroll, Henderon, Johnson and Keane, all of whom cost more than Wiltord. And what have they won? The CC. How many times have the been in the CL? Not enough for the investment.

Still swallowing the King Kenny Dream

However, they remain a potent force at Anfield and it must be remembered they beat us at THOF. They are unbeaten this season at home and yet have won only 4 out of 12.

Liverpool have some injury problems with Agger out but Stevie Me is likely to have recovered from his half hour for England.  Carroll may be a laughing stock but we are prone to concede goals from players of his stature. Had Mr Wenger had his way Reina would be playing for the good guys, he remains the best GK in the Prem (IMO). Their defence is shaky without Agger. Midfield will be where the game is won and lost. The impression I get from L’pool blogs is that Adam has not been a success, nor has Henderson and the loss of Lucas has been costly. Which brings us to Liverpools’s most potent weapon, Suarez.

Is there a less popular player in English football? It cannot be denied Suarez is blessed with huge talent but his cheating and demeanor are appalling – he is the new El Hadj Diouf. As to the racial abuse case: Dalgleish’s stand and the general support from the fans was shameful, in particular at a club with the proud heritage of LFC. There is no possibility Mr Wenger and The Arsenal would have supported the player in this case. It has harmed the standing of a great club. Will Liverpool sell Suarez in summer as I hope would be the case at Arsenal – probably not, just look at the way MC have handled Tevez. One insincere apology from the media dept and all is well  …. shame on them.

Arsenal have the usual injury problems. There are doubts about key players: Vermaelen, Rosicky and RvP, without whom we will struggle. Diaby is back in the squad but is unlikely to play.

My team:

Benayoun played very well last weekend and it is hard to drop him but I believe Gervinho’s pace will cause the Scouse problems. Mozart is on his best run of form in his Arsenal career and will surely start ahead of the fit again Ramsey.

Inventor from Liverpool: Mr Frank Hornby. Inventor of Boys Toys Extraordinaire. Not just the Hornby train sets but also Meccano and my personal favorite, Dinky toys. At one time Meccano was the most popular toy in the world.

Calm Down now

March is Mr. Wenger’s most successful  month with a Pl 52. W36 D10 L6 record. A win today could knock one of the 3 challengers for a CL place out of contention.

Beating the Miscreants was a result of team play and pressing all over the pitch, if we can reproduce this team ethic we can win …. Let’s Stay Together!

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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Carling Cup Curse Will Help Arsenal

March 2, 2012

The euphoria of last Sunday’s win will soon dwindle if we don’t get any points at Anfield on Saturday.

Not that it hasn’t been fun.

Even the densest of Spudders (which is a bit like saying ‘the tallest of giraffes’ or ‘the reddest of tomatoes’) have learnt to think twice when asked “what time is it?” by their Arsenal colleagues.

Meanwhile a quick trip round the Spud blogs reveals a hilarious outpouring of rage at ‘Arry, at Monkeyboy, at Adebarndoor, at Assou-Ekotto… in fact at anyone in a LilyLivered shirt.

But in terms of our league campaign it’s still only three points. Beautiful, heart-warming, Spud-humbling points, but still only three of them. Now it’s time to get another three in Liverpool.

With the return of real full backs and with Rosicky hitting his groove (hopefully he’ll be fit), with Theo having found his scoring boots again and with even Benny the Goon showing what he can contribute, there are reasons to be optimistic.

And there may be one other factor in our favour.

As we all know, Liverpool charged to a triumphant, buccaneering victory on penalties over Championship Cardiff in the Carling Cup Final last weekend.

You would think that would fill them with new confidence and vigour, but if you look back through the records, you’ll find that teams that win the CC often struggle thereafter.

The phenomenon is so marked it has even led to talk of the Carling Cup being a “cursed” trophy.

Look at Birmingham last year. They nabbed the cup in the dying minutes thanks to Koscielny and Szczesny’s Laurel and Hardy act, then went sliding down the table like a turd down the toilet pan, except with less glamour.

In 2010 Manchester United were gunning for the title. They won the CC final – and promptly let Chelsea in to take the Championship.

In 2008 the power and might (sorry, I meant “shower of shite”) from up the Seven Sisters Road captured the Carling Cup. They managed only three wins from the 12 games they played afterwards and ended up 11th in the table. Which sort of suits them, if you ask me.

In 2007 Chelsea had title aspirations, won the CC and gave the league away to Manchester United.  In 2006 the reverse happened – Man Utd got the CC and the Chavs got the title.

In 2004 unfashionable Middlesbrough picked up the trophy while also going good guns in the league. Like the Spuds after their victory, they went on to finish 11th, winning only five out of 13 after lifting the CC.

Liverpool were the CC winners in 2003, but couldn’t subsequently get themselves into the all-important Champions League places, finishing 5th.

Then there was Blackburn in 2002 – Carling Cup champions, 10th in the table at the end of the season; they took 8 points from a possible 21 in the seven games after their trophy win.

Liverpool again in 2001: In the five games immediately after winning the CC they took just 5 points out of 15.

There have been a couple of exceptions in that period: Man Utd in 2009 and Chelsea in 2005 both managed to win the CC and the EPL Title in the same year, but in both cases they had incredibly dominant teams during the seasons in question.

Will the Curse of the Carling Cup strike Liverpool on Saturday?

Who knows, but we can all hope…

RockyLives

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