Are the later stages of the Champions League vaguely interesting?

April 22, 2015

 

This was inspired by a few comments on twitter during Tuesday evening.

The first speculated that the Champions League was becoming so predictable that it had become a case of fighting for the 4th Semi-Final spot left vacant, after Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich had taken theirs.

The second was in response to the two hammerings which were taking place that evening. The Quarter Finals of the top competition in the world and the ties were not even close as contests. As a result, the person commenting asked if the Champions League would eventually “eat itself”?

So as a matter of interest, I decided to have a look at the semi-finalists for the last few seasons and see if this trend was true. Here goes………

2009/10

Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Lyon

2010/11

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Schalke and the Mancs

2011/12

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Chavski

2012/13

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund

2013/14

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Chavski.

(Barcelona went out in the quarters to Atletico)

2014/15

Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Semis at a canter.

Atletico could stop Real Madrid getting there with a couple of away goals and as for Juve v Monaco, we all know what’s wrong with that tie, don’t we, Micky?

What do you think? Is this exactly how you would like it because you get to see the top players at the climax of the competition each year? Or does it make you seethe that a team like Nottingham Forest or Villa could ever win the trophy (albeit, in a completely different competition and totally different footballing era)?

W CL

Worst of all, are The Arsenal fighting for that 4th Semi-Final spot each year from now on?

Written by

chas

 

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Will winning the title next season be determined by Arsenal’s injury list?

April 21, 2015

I recently saw a clip of Guardiola sarcastically clapping his medical team during a league game against Leverkusen.

It was reported that the relationship between the club’s doctor and manager has been visibly strained this season. When Benatia went off injured against Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup recently, a furious Guardiola walked straight over to the chief doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt on the bench and clapped sarcastically in his face.

Bayern fielded a weakened team against Porto in the CL and were beaten 3:1 without the injured Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Mehdi Benatia, Bastian Schweinsteiger, David Alaba and Javi Martinez. Even the best teams fail when the injury list is too long.

Müller-Wohlfahrt released this statement “After the Champions League match of Bayern Munich against Porto the medical department was for some inexplicable reason made primarily responsible. The bond of trust has been damaged.”

The following day, the whole medical team resigned claiming that it had been scapegoated for the poor performance.

This got me wondering how many of the repeat injuries that players suffer are down to the poor quality of the medical staff and physios and how much to do with managers wanting players ‘patched up’ to be sent out onto the pitch when not fully recovered? It looks like Guardiola was unhappy that a player had become injured during a game, not that he was throwing a paddy because his best payers were in the treatment room.

What is apparent is that the medical staff and physios play a huge part in team management these days and can make the difference between winning titles and falling short.

We all know that Arsenal has suffered a disproportional number of injuries in recent years and we also know that Arsene has identified this as a problem and brought in new medical personnel and the medical centre at London Colney has been upgraded. At the start of Sundays FA Cup semi final, there was only one squad player missing through injury – The Ox, and he is due back in 2 weeks. I can’t remember the last time we had so many players available.

Could it be that we have at last come to grips with the underlying cause of our injury problems? Well I certainly hope so because with the quality we have in the squad, rotation for the sake of resting players rather than covering for injury will be key to our success next season.

Rasp

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The Wobblers at Arsenal

April 20, 2015

Six games left in the league, and then the Big One at Wembley.

It would be very nice to beat Chelsea, but simply securing 2nd or 3rd would be good as far as I’m concerned. Therefore, some players will be looking at selection for the game on May 30. If Arsene were to announce his side today for that game, not many would be surprised were he to announce this lot:

Ospina, Monreal, Kos, Mert, Bell, Coq, Santi, Mesut, Sanchez, Rambo and Ollie.

Thing is, he needs to keep things fresh and buzzing for the important league games, and no better way than giving one or two the wobbles with selective rotation.

I’d say The Wobblers would be Monreal, Bell, Mert and Aaron. The obvious candidates of Gibbs, Easter, Debs and Danny could give them the jitters, but how about a late surge in form from Theo or Jack.

How would you play the run-in if you were Le Boss?

MickyDidIt89

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Your Arsenal Life. Depressing?

April 14, 2015

Seeing the Rich Kids from Monte Carlo lining up against The Young Boys from Turin this week really cheeses me off. Then I note that some blokes from a fortified wine growing region of Portugal are hosting The Bavarians, and suddenly the blood begins to boil.

However, what really makes me very most vexest of all, is seeing two teams lining up in Madrid. That was MY spring break right there. Either Team. Not bothered. Preferred Real, but whatever.

Just penning those two short paragraphs may give the impression I am an angry doomer. I am not. I am a happy person and all is well. I am, however, slightly concerned that a good many Gunners are more sensitive than I. Mood swingers, if you like. All is rosy then wallop, one Cup defeat, one League defeat and suddenly Arsenaldom is an unbearable hellhole.

How utterly depressed are you that Our Boys are not lining up tonight?

I am not depressed at all, just bloody furious, that’s all.

MickyDidIt89

Ed: I’ve added this poll – just for amusement value 🙂

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Arsenal’s best keeper for next season is ……….

April 13, 2015

Apparently David Ospina has the highest win ratio (92%) in Premier league history after 11 wins from 12 games played. Obviously this is a meaningless statistic since when he came into the side other factors will have influenced our current run of 8 games unbeaten in the EPL – not least the emergence of Le Coq as the midfield enforcer we always wanted.

But I have to say that I am mightily impressed with Ooooospinnnaaaaa (that makes me laugh every time I hear the crowd sing it 😀 ). For a guy who is 5-6 inches shorter than the likes of Courtois and De Gea, he certainly makes the most of his attributes. As our resident GK expert GiE has observed, it is Ospina’s calmness and the timing of when to come out for the ball that make him a better keeper than Szczesny at this particular time.

I have heard us being seriously linked to Petr Cech recently as he has been consigned to the bench by the emergence of Courtois. Now Cech is a good keeper and a very decent man – but is he a better keeper than Ospina? Moreover, we are second in the table to Chelsea, why would we want to enlist their second choice keeper if we aspire to be better than them? It makes no sense.

What also makes no sense to me is why we didn’t go for Lloris a couple of years ago. I can only assume Arsene had hoped that Szczesny would iron out some of the rough edges to his game.

So the question I ask is, who would you like to see between the posts for Arsenal next season?

Rasp

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Arsenal Fail To Entertain Us

April 2, 2015

We’ve had many debates on this site regarding the role the Emirates crowd plays (or more accurately, fails to play) in creating a positive atmosphere that will lift the players. The negativity can be suffocating at times. But then I got to thinking – is there more the club could do to help in this respect? All of a sudden not only did the light bulb come on, it blinded me with its intensity.

The answer is YES, YES, YES, Arsenal could do so much more. We cannot complain about the entertainment value of the superb football that Arsenal is famous for, but what comes before and after is pretty woeful.

The matchday/evening experience should be just that, a time of fun, of bonding, of celebrating everything about Arsenal with fellow supporters, not just 90 minutes top class football sandwiched between lengthy periods of dirge.

Our older contributors who went to Highbury will remember the characters, the bands that used to play downstairs at the Northbank, the Peanut Sellers, the guy who used to shout out “Come on you rip roaring”, the friendly rivalry between The Clock End, The Northbank and The East stand (whatever went on in the West Stand?) and so many other things that made the whole matchday experience more enjoyable …. and more importantly bonded and united us as Arsenal supporters.

Pre-match at Highbury was a blast, the crescendo of energy leading up to kick off was intoxicating. Not so at The Emirates. Unless it’s your first time, no-one gets to the ground early to be entertained – the stadium is awesome, but there isn’t any entertainment to speak of in the build up to kick off.

There is a reason why TV companies use warm up acts to get the audience in the right mood to play a part in live recordings …. it works. Yet the build up to games at the Emirates is antiseptic and insipid.

We have an American owner who knows only too well from his US sports franchises that add on entertainment either side of his events is a real crowd pleaser and increases income – so why not in football? Would supporters of his US sports businesses be content to settle for 1 guy in a padded dinosaur outfit to entertain 60,00 people – of course not.

We play scintillating football, but let’s be honest, the build up to games in the stadium is just plain dreary. What’s wrong with injecting a bit of razzamatazz into proceedings? Let’s get the supporters fired up and in the mood to be positive.

I’m not advocating turning Arsenal into a cheap carnival, the football is why we go, but much more could be done  in the build up to the game to raise the supporter’s spirits and create an upbeat atmosphere for the game. The young supporters that go to the Emirates deserve a bit more effort from the club.

So what could we do? Its simple, just look at the things about the game we used to love 30 years ago and where possible reintroduce them, and take a leaf out of the American’s book and adopt some (not all of the cheesy stuff) of their practices.

For a start, the music at the Emirates is rank – not Uptown Top Ranking. There could be events/competitions on the pitch that encourage crowd participation ( – without interfering with the player’s warm up). Certain types of food and drink could be sold to you in your seat without the need to queue for the entirety of half time. There could be entertainers moving among the supporters in the lounges. Why not have a band playing in the bar area and maybe use them to promote some much needed songs for our players – what Londoner doesn’t enjoy a sing-song?

The stewards could be trained to be more helpful and more positive in their approach. I feel for chas, the steward who regularly stands in his area is one of the ring leaders of the moaners and groaners – he should not be in the job.

There could be competitions, free promotional hand-outs, the big screens could be used to interact with supporters before games as they do in the US. Perhaps we could have a guy with some wit and personality making the announcements? Everything should be Arsenal related, and everything could be so much more fun.

This is a win/win situation. The fans are happy; the atmosphere is positive; the team benefits; the club makes money, The Arsenal wins.

I’m expecting many of you to tell me I’m mad and football is a serious business that should not be turned into a carnival, but others may buy into the idea … I’d welcome suggestions of other things the club could do to enhance the matchday experience …. over to you ……..

Rasp

 

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Theo or Raheem ….. who would you prefer at Arsenal?

March 31, 2015

Theo Walcott was looking to be developing into the player we always hoped he could be just before he was injured in the infamous game against Tottenham and lost another year out of his career. Since being eased back into the side recently, he has got into very good positions and made excellent runs but so far his shooting (which is usually pretty accurate) has been poor.

Theo seems to have lost none of his pace after the injury. We know he scores goals, so it is reasonable to expect him to start banging them in again soon.

Raheem Sterling is out of favour with many at Liverpool due to his reluctance to sign a new contract, allegedly because he wants more Sterling! We may be doing him a disservice, maybe he wants CL football and it’s not just about the money.

Sterling looked very good against Lithuania in the second half and has a level of control and ball skills above Theo. Is he such a good finisher – not at the moment.

Yesterday it was all over the media that Arsenal want Sterling. I’d put that down to hyping up Saturday’s game rather than anything remotely originating from Arsenal sources – but still with Theo’s contract also up for negotiation it does beg the question, could even some kind of swap deal be on the cards?

Compare the stats:

Theo is 26, 5ft 9ins and has scored 47 goals in 202 games for Arsenal = 1 every 4.3 games

Raheem is 20, 5ft 7ins and has scored 17 goals in 88 games for Liverpool = 1 every 5.17 games.

Theo is a thoroughly nice fella. He has married his childhood sweetheart and they have a baby son.

Raheem’s public image is not so squeaky clean. Despite internet stories of fathering multiple children he has only one daughter.

None of that is relevant to performance on the pitch ….. so which of the two would you prefer to see playing for Arsenal next season?

Rasp

 

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Bale To Arsenal?

March 24, 2015

There was an amusing incident after Real Madrid’s loss to Barcelona in Sunday’s “El Classico.”

As he was driving away from the stadium after the match, Gareth Bale was shocked to find his car set upon by some angry Madrid supporters.

Now, I have been to Whipsnade Safari Park, I have been to Longleat, I have been to Woburn Abbey, but at none of these venues have I ever seen a situation where the monkey is inside the car and the people are on the outside ripping off the windscreen wipers.

This was just the latest in a string of unfortunate moments for Bale, whose Spanish adventure is turning sourer by the day.

The world’s most expensive player had an OK first season in Madrid but in his second he hasn’t really progressed and seems to be going backwards.

ogbIn Gareth’s defence, it can’t be easy playing alongside the walking ego that is Cristiano Ronaldo. Particularly when the preening ladyboy of international soccer is happy to parade his dislike of Bale very publicly (last week he celebrated a Bale goal by looking like Wayne Rooney had just crapped in his best pair of Nikes).

So now, inevitably, there is much talk of a return to the Premier League for the Welsh wizard, presumably with a price tag considerably lower than the one when he left.

Manchester United are said to be in pole position to repatriate him, but other clubs are also no doubt paying attention. Which brings me to this question: would you like Arsenal to sign Bale?

I know, I know. He used to hang out at that cesspit of subnormality that is known as White Hart Lane (where he was awarded the honorary title of Primate of All Tottenham). But surely even the most churlish of Arsenal supporters would have to admit that – by his final season there – he had turned into a devastatingly effective footballer.

And just think of the anguish it would cause in N17 if their former hero returned to wear the red and white of a real club. It would be Sol Campbell all over again (and would probably lead to another riot season in the swamplands).

So, what do you think? Yes or no? And if we signed him, who would make way: Welbeck? Alexis? Walcott?

Over to you.

Rocky Lives

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Will Arsenal make it 19 in a Row?

March 19, 2015

The race for the top four Premier League positions is on in full force. Twenty nine games played and just nine games left. Fourteen teams still have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top four but I will only concentrate on the battle involving the top seven.

Chelsea still appears to be Championship favourites although their form has dipped of late and as it’s dipped their tactics have become even cruder. So far this season their only slip ups against non top seven teams were draws with Burnley and Sunderland and a loss to Newcastle. They only have three remaining games against the top seven – United and Liverpool at home and Arsenal away. I fully expect them to play ultra defensive football, hoping for a breakaway goal but happily settling for a point in each of the three games, while winning all of their remaining games against the non top seven teams.

However they have only managed to gain 19 out of 30 points in their last 10 PL games so my prediction may be overly optimistic.

My predictions are –

Hull – away win, Stoke – home win, QPR – away win, Man U – home draw

Arsenal – away draw, Leicester – away win, Crystal P – home win

Liverpool – home draw, WBA – away win, Sunderland – home win

Last 10 games DLWWDWWDWD (Pts % 63.3)

Current points 64

Projected points 88

Manchester City is difficult to predict as their form is inconsistent at best and erratic at worst, which was highlighted by their loss to Burnley. Against the non top seven teams they have drawn with QPR, Burnley, Everton, and Hull and lost to Stoke, West Ham and Burnley. Against the top seven they have already dropped 12 points.

City has only managed to win just 50% of the points in their last 10 games so they will have to turn things around to hold on to second place.

My predictions are –

WBA – home win, Crystal P – away win, Man U – away win, West Ham – home win

Aston Villa – home win, Tottenham – away draw, QPR – home win

Swansea – away draw, Southampton – home win

Last 10 games WDLDDWWLWL (Pts % 50.0)

Current points 58

Projected points 81

Manchester United have really ridden their luck this season by winning games that they should have lost but they are now heading into a run of very difficult games. After their loss to Arsenal in the FA Cup ended their hopes of any trophy’s this season their consequent win against Tottenham will be a boost to their confidence.

My predictions are –

Liverpool – away draw, Aston Villa – home win, Man City – home loss

Chelsea – away draw, Everton – away win, WBA – home win

Crystal P – away win, Arsenal – home draw, Hull – away win

Last 10 games DLWWDWLWWW (Pts % 66.7)

Current points 56

Projected points 74

Liverpool is showing some impressive form and is undefeated in their last 13 PL games.

I only see Pool dropping points against Man U, Arsenal and Chelsea. In their last game against Swansea they rode their luck but in the end they won the game on a very fortunate deflection. I see them as legitimate contenders for a PL place.

My predictions are –

Man U – home draw, Arsenal – away draw, Newcastle – home win

Hull – away win, WBA – away win, QPR – home win

Chelsea – away draw, Crystal P – home win, Stoke – away win

Last 10 games WWWDWWWWW (Pts % 86.7)

Current points 54

Projected points 75

Tottenham have beaten both Arsenal and Chelsea in their last 10 games but have also lost to Man U and Liverpool so they are very unpredictable, in their  0-3 loss at Old Trafford they did not look like a team capable of finishing in the top four.

Our shadow over the North London midgets is getting bigger and darker by the year.

My predictions are –

Leicester – home win, Burnley – away win, Villa – home win

Newcastle – away win, Southampton – away draw

Man C – home draw, Stoke – away draw, Hull – home win

Everton – away draw

Last 10 games WLWWWLDWWL (Pts % 63.3)

Current points 50

Projected points 69

Southampton seems to have run out of steam and have dropped 13 points in their last 10 games. In their last game they gained a point at Stamford Bridge and looked good in the process. I only see them losing to Man C in their final 9 games but I cannot see them making the top four.

My predictions are –

Burnley – home win, Everton away draw, Hull – home win

Stoke – away draw, Tottenham – home draw, Sunderland – away win

Leicester – away win, Villa – home win, Man C – away loss

Last 10 games WWWLWDLLWD (Pts % 56.7)

Current points 50

Projected points 68

Arsenal has won eight of the last 10 PL games and our only losses were to Tottenham and Southampton. During this period only Liverpool gained more points winning 26 while we won 24. I cannot remember the last time our squad looked so strong with only 9 games left in the season.

Our key players are close to their top form with Cazorla, Ozil and Alexis just oozing class. Ramsey and Walcott still have a way to go but it’s great to see them both fit again – they will be needed. Ospina has been very steady in goal and shows a lot of confidence, which spreads to the team.  Coquelin has added some steel and tenacity to our midfield while Giroud proved his worth with his performances against West Ham and Monaco. My main concern is with our full back positions, we always seem to be exposed down the flanks – when they make their forays downfield our center backs are drawn out of position while they are covering for the absentee’s.

My predictions are –

Newcastle – away win, Liverpool – home draw, Burnley – away win

Sunderland – home win, Chelsea – home draw, Hull – away win

Swansea – home win, Man U – away draw, WBA – home win

Last 10 games LWWWLWWWWW (Pts % 80.0)

Current points 57

Projected points 78

The season will hinge on the following 10 games and will most likely be decided based on the outcome of the first seven of them.  To be honest they are the type of games that should decide the championship – the best against the best – I await them with nervous anticipation.

 Arsenal v Liverpool

Arsenal v Chelsea

Man U v Arsenal

Chelsea v Man U

Chelsea v Liverpool

Liverpool v Man U

Man U v Man C

Spurs v Man C

Man C v Saints

Spurs v Saints

I firmly believe that we are up for the task – how about you?

To arrive at my final conclusions I’ve predicted the outcome of 54 games so I’m bound to be wrong but how wrong do you think I am?

19th march

GunnerN5

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Coq Sure? …… or not so Sure?

March 11, 2015

For several years now Arsenal has been described as “two to three players short of a top side”.

The spot that many identified as being an urgent need was that of defensive midfield. Arsenal needed someone who was disciplined, mobile, strong, quick and aggressive. Someone who loved a tackle.

Arteta had adapted his game to fulfil the roll to the best of his ability but he lacks some of the attributes that a true DM should possess. He did the job admirably with the help of the mercurial Flamini – but neither could be described as a top drawer DM.

Francis Coquelin had been on the periphery of the squad for several years. He had been sent out on loan to Lorient, Frieberg and Charlton Athletic without ever really impressing.

He was brought back to Arsenal in December 2014 as cover for the injured Ramsey.

No one expected much of him. Arsene Wenger has been on record as saying he expected Le Coq to leave in the summer.

But something happened. Coquelin not only rose to the task – he excelled.

Since his return, he’s been man of the match several times and has hardly put a foot wrong.

His performance against manu was pivotal. He can cope with lumps like Fellaini despite giving away 6 inches in height and several stone in weight.

What I particularly like about him is that he is in awe of no-one. I love the way he shouts at his teammates to get back into position when celebrating a goal. I like the fact that he has a ‘Lauren type’ scowl on his face.

I was very vocal in calling for a big signing at DM over the summer. It didn’t happen. I can quite honestly say that if Coquelin can remain at his current level, I would be more than happy. If he continues to improve we may have to fight off the likes of Bracelona to keep him in the future.

He is 23, just about to enter the peak years of his career. He has shown leadership qualities that others lack in our team ….. a future captain? …. who knows …… anything is possible.

 

Rasp

 

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