Sunday Bloody Sunday.

May 13, 2012

It is some time since  the final day’s matches have carried such import. So may permutations, so much angst – one thing is certain today, there will be tears.

This being Big Raddy’s final pre-match of the season it should be stated that I have an agenda today; not to muster the troops nor review the possibilities and permutations  – there are other sites who can do all that for the reader – No, this post will be a paean to the 44 (some say 48 – he joined as an apprentice in 1964) years of Pat Rice.

Can you imagine working at the same place for 48 years? Going the same route to work, the same route home? It is almost impossible to conceive of such loyalty.

Pat started at Arsenal when I first became a Gooner, his time almost exactly corresponds to my  initiation at The Home of Football. Alongside the Hill-Woods he has been a constant, and the Arsenal Club we see today is set in his image – honesty, hard work, tradition, belief in an ideal, and above all loyalty.

I cannot honestly say I saw Pat’s first game (though it is highly likely, I foolishly sold all my programmes!) but I did witness his progression as he became part of one of Arsenal’s best ever defences – Wilson, McNab, Simpson, McLintock and Rice may not get the plaudits of the Famous 5 but believe me they were a solid unit, a good enough unit to win the Double at a time when no one club (nor money) dominated football.

As a player Pat was good enough to force the existing right back, and England International, Peter Storey to move into midfield. What is more Pat played with a smile, always had time to sign autographs, and yet was a tough man, as any player with over 500 games for the Arsenal must be. 49 caps for Northern Ireland in the same team as George Best, he never got the chance to go to a World Cup, but what a career he has had;  Club Captain,  5 FA Cup Finals, League Winner, Arsenal Youth Team Coach for 12 years, 16 years as Assistant Manager to AW, and even a short spell as The Arsenal Manager (surely the pinnacle of any football career).

It is a testament to the man that he retains his enthusiasm for the Club after a lifetime of work. Like his fellow ’71 Double Winners, McLintock, George, Wilson etc his commitment to the Club is total – you know that if he didn’t work at Arsenal he would have a season ticket. Cut him and he bleeds Red and White.

People are often called Club “Legends”, few deserve such an epithet – Pat Rice is one of those few.

So…. onto today.

Calm down. We will win.

Nothing else to say.

My Team:

Difficult selection today. I would be tempted to play Coquelin at RB and Ramsey in midfield thus allowing a flexible 3-4-3. but with WBA’s attacking pace I would pick an authentic RB. If Theo doesn’t make it then Bennie should go left. Not a game for O-C to start but one for him after 60 mins. We cannot take risks.

Why the title today?.  SBS.  Squeeky Bum Sunday. Sunday Bloody Sunday. The portents are aligned with us. Forget Hodgson’s last game – his one season hardly compares to Pat’s commitment!

BR has to admit he is not good with this type of tension, in fact he is so bad he is sitting in Italy as you read this, out of  internet contact and even TV coverage. Lilly-Livered? You bet. However, be assured that lucky socks, shirt, pants and hat will be worn. Lucky beer drunk (Peroni), lucky lunch eaten (scrambled egg on toast), sacrificial herbs will be burned, prayers said, acorns buried, St Cristopher stroked, Buddha patted, horseshoes hung, pennies picked up, 4 leaf clovers picked, coins tossed into fountains and every digit and limb will be crossed. If a team is to win by good fortune we are nailed on.

All for One, One for All.

Pat’s Final Game on the bench for Arsenal. 3rd place. St. Totteringham’s Day. Get out there boys and show why we are “By Far the Greatest Team the World has ever Seen”

COYRRG

Written by  a very tense Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Szczesny: Future Legend or Egotistical Flapper?

May 12, 2012

I am perplexed, after last weeks draw with Norwich several fans came onto this blog to slam Szczesny for his performance during the game. Whilst I admit it was not his best game I was shocked at the tone of some of the criticism:

Szczesny is learning on the job and cost us valuable points with his inexperience

Do you know what, we are pointing finger at everybody, but the guy that did lose us the game, ie Mr Bloody Szczesny. I am sorry GiE, but he did, he was awful. If we had a better goalie, we would have won the game 3:0.

Isn’t anyone going to mention the failures of our noisy overrated goalkeeper. Positioning is awful ,and he shares responsibility for at least four defeats,inc Totts away and Swansea..

And I’m sure if I looked elsewhere I could find many more examples, I really don’t want to do that to my blood pressure though as Arsenal results are already pushing my heart to previously unknown limits of endurance.

I am well aware that Arsenal are in the results business and that some fans feel we should not be the club which suffers when our youngsters make mistakes and would prefer that our young talent “made mistakes at other clubs” to enable them to learn before the big time. Unfortunately that is not always possible, playing for Brentford in the 3rd division, or Bolton in the Premier League these players will never experience the pressure that they will endure at Arsenal.

The last quote above states that Szczesny has been responsible for a number of defeats (at least four) yet only goes on to mention Spuds away and Swansea away and runs out of steam if it was at least four defeats surely a maximum of 20 letters wasn’t too much to ask to complete the evidence.

I guess I can see how some could blame Szczesny for the goal against Spuds, although in the last two years with the modern football we have seen the best keepers befuddled by the unpredictability of the beach balls football is played with today. The Swansea game he got his angles wrong for the last goal as he did against Norwich on Saturday. In both situations he was left between a rock and a hard place by an AWOL defence, and his inexperience was highlighted as he got caught coming for the ball and then stopping. As a keeper once your mind is made up to go for the ball there can be no second thoughts, sometimes you are made to look a clown (witness Almunia on far too many occasions) and sometimes you are a hero, by starting and stopping you leave yourself in a difficult place of trying to recover your angles and getting set for the shot.

However despite these errors I think our young Pole has been crucial to us winning games this season more often than he has been responsible for defeats. I was hoping to get videos but YouTube has some vicious copyright adherence policy so unfortunately you will have to settle with BBC match reports, I always find for saves to be mentioned in match reports, they have to be crucial or outstanding. After the £20million penalty save against Udinese we went to Old Toilet and got stuffed, then our winning streak started in the Premier League, here are some excerpts:

Swansea H 1-0: Kemy Agustien’s cross found Graham, only for Szczesny to produce a brilliant low reaction save to stop what looked a certain Swansea goal. (Score at the time 0-0)

Bolton H 3-0: Arsenal came into the match under severe pressure and nerves were palpable early on as Pratley was brilliantly denied by Szczesny (Score 0-0)

Sunderland H 2-1: Sunderland who could have led at the break but for a brilliant save from Szczesny as he kept out Lee Cattermole’s close-range header. (Score 1-1)

QPR H 1-0: Taking the lead seemed to fill Arsenal with nerves and Wojciech Szczesny had to save well from Adel Taarabt (Score 1-0)

Bolton A 0-0: N’Gog got in front of Laurent Koscielny and forced a close-range save from Szczesny (Score 0-0)

Sunderland A 2-1: Arsenal were also indebted to Szczesny who made a couple of good saves from Craig Gardner shots (Score 0-0 for both)

Liverpool A 2-1: Kuyt was given responsibility from the spot but could not beat the Polish keeper, who sprang to his right to keep out the penalty and recovered to push away Kuyt’s follow-up too. (Score 0-0)
Corner taken by Stewart Downing, fantastic save by Wojciech Szczesny (Score 0-0)
Another neat build-up ended with Szczesny saving Henderson’s low shot (Score 1-1)

Wolves A 3-0: Yet Connor’s side improved after the break as Doyle and substitute Nenad Milijas were denied by brilliant Szczesny saves. (Score 2-0)

So on the basis of scores at the time of these important saves Szczesny earned us at least 12 points, probably more considering the state of the teams confidence at these times. He has been an integral part of the Arsenal comeback story this season, and concerns over one performance against Norwich are overemphasised because of the pressure on that result, I would say to those doubters, without Szczesny we would not even be in this position right now.

I will leave you with two videos, one highlights of a game in which Oliver Khan was moved to say “Tonight there was only one world-class player – Szczesny.” The German team that night contained Mertesacker, Podolski, Klose, Lahm, Gotze. So to say it is high praise is an understatement, but it is evidence of what the young man is capable of and he is just turned 22, and he is the future legend (the second video explains why)

(The idea for this post came before I had heard that Szczesny is a doubt for Sundays game, Squeaky Bum Sunday (copyright GliC) just got a whole lot squeakier.)

Written by Gooner In Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Will Henri Lansbury get his turn?

May 11, 2012

Lansbury wonder goal for Under 21’s vs Belgium

Signing for Arsenal at the tender age of 9, central midfielder Henri Lansbury came up through the ranks until he eventually signed a professional contract in  1 July 2008. After a successful loan spell at Scunthorpe United in League One  (which included 4 goals and 5 assists in 16 appearances), Lansbury featured in Arsenal’s FA Youth Cup winning team (6-2 over Liverpool, Lansbury 2 assists).

Further Loan deals have included:

  • 2009/2010 Watford (English Championship) – 37 appearances (3 of those as a sub)- 5 goals, 4 assists
  • 2010/2011 Norwich City (English Championship) – 23 appearances (8 of those as a sub) – 4 goals, 4 assists (missed out on the 2010/2011 Football League Championship Young Player of the Year award when he was beaten by Connor Wickenham).
  • 2011/2012 West Ham United (English Championship) – 23 appearances (10 of those as a sub) – 1 goal, 4 assists (including a game where he spent time as the goalkeeper after Green was red carded. He managed to shut out the rest of the game).

In between then he has made 6 sub appearances and one start for Arsenal. But what a start it was! A 120 minute game in the 1-4 victory against our bitter rivals Tottenham in the third round of the Carling Cup. Lansbury lined up on the right wing scoring the first goal of the match with a lovely tap in after some great anticipation.

For those who don’t remember here is the video:

He later described the moment as “like a dream.” It was the sort of midfield tap in goal that we haven’t seen since the likes of Flamini, and it was great to see a midfielder get into that position.

After the match Arsene had this to say:

“Henri Lansbury is a type of player who I rate because of his qualities, but as well his mental strength, the timing of his runs. He gives you qualities that are very difficult to find in the modern game. He goes always behind [the defence] and he has the timing to get in the box and scores goals from midfield. He is showing that again the other night when you see the cross coming in, who is on the move? It’s Henri. I like his attitude, his spirit, his mental strength and of course his qualities. He has not played for a while; he played with cramps until the last minute [against Spurs] and has a fantastic team attitude. I rate him and I like him.”

Other comments Arsene has said in regards to Lansbury include:

  • “Henri Lansbury is in a situation where I believe he will make a career,” said the manager. “At the moment it is a bit congested for him but I believe he has the talent to play for Arsenal Football Club.

“I have to give him a chance at some stage and as quickly as possible. I believe in him. But if I honestly believe he will not play this season or has no chance to compete for a position I will tell him and let him go.”

  • “For me, Lansbury will be an Arsenal player,” said Wenger. “He is doing extremely well [on loan].”

Arsene clearly believes in Lansbury and Lansbury is willing to do what it takes to get into this Arsenal team. After the Tottenham game he said:

“Obviously I’m pushing for a place every week, that’s why I want to be in the first team. I’ve just got to keep working hard in training and hopefully I’ll get my chance.

“It was good to get on the score sheet and it was a great performance from our team.

“Coming into a London derby is a great experience. Seeing the tempo of how the first team play – I just want to get involved in that.

“To come here and win is always a great time for the fans. We put on a show tonight for them.”

The talent is there (regular in England’s Under-21 team including a brace recently against Belgium), the will and passion is evident, but will Lansbury get his chance to prove himself? Wilshere got his chance and he grabbed it, Ramsey is getting his chance now (just how well he’s done depends on who you ask. But that debate has talked about too much for some people to bear), and Diaby is struggling fitness wise with only 25 appearances (8 of those as a sub) in all competitions over the last two seasons.

The 2009 FA Youth Cup winning team was as follows:

Starting:

Shea (young keeper working his way up)

Eastmond (loan –  Wycombe Wanderers)

Bartley (loan – Rangers)

Ayling (realesed)

Cruise (released)

Lansbury (loan – WHU)

Wilshere (injured, but very much a first teamer)

JET (sold – Ipswich Town)

Coquelin (come into the picture this season and bidding his time)

Watt (loan – Crawley)

Sunu (sold – Lorient)

Subs:

Murphy (loan – Preston North End)

Mann (sold – Crystal Palace)

Henderson (back after a long injury lay off)

Ozyakup (exciting prospect)

Evina (released)

Which way will Henri Lansbury go? Will he leave like others have from that team? Or will he take the next step and become a regular Arsenal player? After his loan spell we shall see! Personally i hope he is given his chance in the pre-season games and as a starter in cup matches. I love how Lansbury goes about it, he is a fighter with Parlour like attributes. I would rather Lansbury take Diaby’s squad position until he gets his fitness back on track. Having another Arsenal fan in the squad like Jenkinson would be great to see, they give you something extra, a passion that is unrivalled. Hopefully he can carry his Arsenal dream further, and we can help support him along the way.

Written by oz gunner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Why Ramsey should be the first name on the team-sheet this Sunday

May 10, 2012

Let me start by reiterating where I stand re Aaron Ramsey, or for that matter, on any young Gunner who wears the shirt with pride and gives their all for the team: I support them unreservedly.

For me, they are not machines from which we can pull the plug if we don’t like what we are seeing.

Anybody under the age of 23 at Arsenal is still growing into a mature, top-Gunner. Some will make it and some don’t, but just like potted flowers need to be watered regularly, our young talent need to be showered with encouragement and support as much as we can. We, as supporters, need to help our (young) players to reach their potential, because they are part of us, and by investing our energy in supporting them, on and off the field, we will be richly rewarded eventually.

That’s how the likes of RvP, Theo, Song and Koz have become such important players for us now: ‘we’, especially Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff, made them believe in themselves and finally they are starting to deliver for us.

Although the above sounds utterly logical – well, at least it does to me – a large number of fans seem to do the absolute opposite. Aaron Ramsey has recently become the favourite scapegoat for all that is perceived to be wrong at Arsenal, and he is suffering from it.

I could, now, go down the path of the hardship Aaron has had to endure over the last two years. How many times will he have woken up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat, worrying he might never play footie, or anywhere near to his full potential, again? It’s likely that the suicide of Gary Speed, his former national manager and hero, also has had a profound impact on him during the last six months.

Anybody who possesses a healthy dose of empathy and compassion should therefore take it easy on him at the moment – this is only his first full season for Arsenal, after all.

But, I don’t want to pity him too much. This post is about fighting back for Aaron from a pure footballing point-of-view.

As with any up and coming young player, it takes a while before we decide whether we believe he is good enough to make it at Arsenal. But I never doubted Aaron would make it at Arsenal before he broke his leg, and a number of fine performances at the start of the season – notably in Europe – have reconfirmed to me that he still has what it takes to become one of our future legends.

This season, he has been finding his feet, sometimes literally, but only now does he play in the best position for him: the one next to the DM – the link-up, box-to-box midfielder.

Ramsey is no Arteta, but then Arteta had effectively become our ‘first’ DM, and our more obvious choice of DM, Song, became our main link-up midfielder, although these roles were interchanged regularly during matches. Song and Arteta established a fine partnership this year and the latter has been duly missed since his recent injury.

Since Arteta’s season-ending injury, the defensive duties of our midfield have been a shambles. Song has not reverted back to the more traditional holding DM role and Ramsey cannot fill the gaps that are left behind in the way Arteta did. On top of that, and just as worrying, Song and Ramsey are not playing closely together and don’t form a strong partnership at the moment. There is no shape to our midfield as all players – including our most advanced AM, Rosicky – seem to be moving all over the place without much cohesion. Add to that the recent tendency of our CB’s to go bombing forward, running or passing straight through our midfield, and it becomes clear why our midfield has been struggling so much with being the absolute centre of our team.

In the game against Norwich, Ramsey had the highest pass accuracy of all 28 players on the pitch. See match statistics as per link below (posted by Gooner in Exile on Monday):

http://www.whoscored.com/Matches/507262/LiveStatistics/England-Premier-League-2011-2012-Arsenal-Norwich

Yet, he only had 51 touches in 63 minutes of football, and that for an Arsenal – Wenger era – midfield link-up player! I watched the game again (Sky extended highlights) and I got tired from counting the number of times the ball should have been played to Ramsey, who was working his socks off to move into space to receive it. So, he received/touched the ball less than once a minute on Saturday: an absolute crime for such a pivotal position, and the main culprits were Vermaelen and Song. And there have been more games recently in which exactly the same has happened. The only time Ramsey seems to receive the ball is when his colleagues really have no other options, and that is simply not acceptable.

On the extended highlights, Ramsey’s passes were not only accurate but also very effective, moving the game on with precision and momentum. But the game needs to go through a player in his position constantly, and together with Song, Ramsey should be the fulcrum of the team: both the wall in midfield that shields our defence and the instigator for clever and effective attacks. On top of that, they should ensure the shape of our formation is kept in place and guard our style of play. The midfield also needs to bring composure and calm at times, and if this sometimes means that the game is slowed down, so be it. None of this is happening at the moment and Wenger needs to sort it out as soon as possible.

I am no expert, just a passionate life-long footie fan, as all of you are, and for the sake of blogging I am going to share with you what I believe needs to happen for the game against West Brom, if Arsenal wants to get a result there on Sunday:

First, the team need to be told by Wenger that Aaron is pivotal to our team and the ball needs to be played to him, whenever he is in a position to receive it. He should be the first on the team-sheet, so everybody knows how important he/that position is to the team. He needs a strong vote of confidence by the Boss.

Secondly, Aaron needs to be told to stand up for himself and be more demanding. He needs to remain focussed and make the game look simple, moving the ball on constantly and effectively, without feeling he needs to make a killer-pass every two minutes. He can do this.

Thirdly, Song and Aaron need to be working as a close partnership, bringing shape to the midfield, and therefore to the team, once more.

Fourthly, Song needs to sit back as a disciplined DM and shield the defence in our last game. Whether this is the best position for him long-term remains to be seen, but it is absolutely crucial that he is our traditional DM in this last and pivotal game of the season. He can do this.

Fifthly, the CB’s and the rest of the defence need to be more disciplined in holding their shape and keep their composure. Although it is great that both Koz and especially TV like to bomb forward, this needs to be carefully timed and executed. Both CB’s need to be told to play it simple most of the times, which means passing it to either Song or Ramsey, so they –especially Ramsey – can set up the next attack whilst keeping our team-shape intact. With our FB’s already going forward at the first opportunity, I see a lot more risks than benefits in our CBs also leaving their defensive positions constantly. Yet, in recent games our midfield has often been skipped by our CBs with no need to do so, leaving enormous gaps behind them (see also Rocky Lives’ great post on Monday).

Sixthly, Rosicky needs to play closer to both Ramsey and RvP, and not constantly chase the ball all over the pitch. He needs to position himself in the area in front of the opposition’s ‘D’ as much as he can. He needs to help Ramsey in setting up attacks and RvP and the wingers in finishing off chances. Rosicky and the wingers need to make each other constantly available by clever movement, so Ramsey or Song can move the game forward quickly.

But the most important thing is not to give up on Ramsey now. With the above mentioned adjustments we can get the very best out of him again and the team will fully benefit. At pivotal moments like this, we all should hold together and help a player reach another level: this is when we make them rather than break them. Victoria Concordia Crescit are not just three beautiful words: it is what makes Arsenal such a special football club, and why we are fully entitled to associate ourselves with the classification of ‘permanent class’.

TotalArsenal.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Do Arsenal Deserve Third Place?

May 9, 2012

If we retain the precious third spot after next weekend, will we, as fans, really be celebrating?

I don’t mean celebrating as if we won a cup, or the league. But will we really feel satisfaction or accomplishment? I know, that with about eight weeks left, looking at the run in for ourselves, Spurs, Newcastle and Chelsea, it was exciting. Granted, we were in good form then. Our rivals were just the opposite. We liked our chances against anyone.

But now, like many of you, for a few weeks, I can’t wait for the season to be over. That is not how I should feel. I should be looking forward to more matches as opportunities to pile on points and getting closer to the Manchester in second place, if only for respectability and building up momentum for the transfer market. Instead, I have been feeling dread and pressure. After our late season collapse last year, our team and manager should have been on guard, especially against lesser opponents.

Before this stretch of mediocrity, I was looking forward to some changes in the transfer window. But although we hope for a lot of sales (clearing of deadwood) and acquisitions, I was confident in the core of our team. And more importantly confident that we could extend van Persie’s contract, and make the decision on whether to give Walcott and Song a raise, but do it all from a position of strength and optimism.

Even before this Norwich debacle, the news about Podolski signing made me feel that Robin and the rest of us could go into the off season thinking positively about our prospects for next season, assuming we would take care of our on-field business in this last two weeks. Well, Saturday showed just how wrong that assumption was, again.

I understand that this is the toughest league in the world ( as I often debate with my Spaniard friend ) – so, no game can be taken lightly, as all of our rivals, including Man U have seen themselves of late. But can we please take 3 points from someone?

Right now, I’m sure I sound like a pessimist, but I am actually the opposite. When we were nearer the bottom of the table early this season, with all of our problems, and the media writing us off, I showed my faith by wagering two mates that we would finish top four. That’s because I believe in our talent, organization, and football philosophy.  Also, I knew Cesc was going eventually, Clichy could be replaced, and I believed Nasri was not a true gunner, over-rated, and  I thought 25 million was good business to send a player that I don’t fear to a rival.

So, to answer the question in the title, I won’t personally say it’s undeserved if we finish in the third spot. Because I know what we’re up against in this league where oil money is clogging the way to the top of the table, as well as in UEFA with more super rich spenders coming into Spain and in France (where it is already paying off at PSG).

I don’t accept excuses for our current form, but there is no doubt that we don’t get many of the calls we deserve because we are not divers, and we play the right way. And no team has been as unfortunate with injuries as we have in the past two seasons. I look at our core and I see so much talent and skill, and I have a feeling Wenger will do some good things this summer, I hope I”m right about that. Moving Arshavin out and signing Podolski early lead me to believe this. And more importantly, I hope our captain sees the same things, and that we can head into the finish with a respectable victory, and our heads held moderately high after the terrible start of the season, and after the – no full backs period we went through.

So, instead of backing into the end, or stumbling towards the finish line, maybe we can focus our memories on our table climb this season, forget the fact that Spurs in third collapsed completely, even when we tried to give it back to them the past few weeks.

One good victory – three points –  could change the whole complexion of the summer and that certainly will have a huge effect on the future of The Arsenal.

Written by jnyc

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Saints Preserve Us!

May 8, 2012

This weekend or next we have the opportunity to clinch third place, and to celebrate, each in our own way, the annual pleasure of St Totteringham’s Day.

Although of only recent inception, St Totterigham’s has now become a popular and much anticipated event. Oh how we love it! But it is not the only annual Arsenal celebration, and so I propose that we formally instate another shared feast.

St Invictus Day.

This is the day on which none of Arsenal Premiership competitor’s remain unbeaten. It is the day on which we know that the legend of the Invincibles cannot be besmirched by the upstart over-moneyed Johnny-come-latelys. It is the day when there is a reassuring lack of zeroes in the losses column of the premiership table. And it is a day when the whole of English football is reminded just how incredible the achievement of the Arsenal team was in 2003-04.

It is a day we should celebrate every year.

Historically, there have been eight St Invictus’ Days to date:

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as the years have passed, the media has gradually devalued the Invincibles season. The last remaining unbeaten team of each season suddenly becomes a candidate for equalling their achievement. A quick Google search brings up articles in this vein by TalkSport for both this season and last, some of them as early as October!

But as we can see from the above, in eight attempts only one team managed to get anywhere close, and they were unbeaten for less than two-thirds of the season.

So let us continue to celebrate the Invincibles and the Arsenal when the next St Invictus Day comes around!

Written by MJC

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Posted by Rasp

Thomas Vermaelen Needs To Grow Up

May 7, 2012

I’m sure you have all heard of the “Canary Test”.

In 19th century coal mining there were no automated ventilation systems, leaving the pit workers at risk of perishing from toxic gases.

So they used to bring a caged canary down to the coalface with them. Canaries are especially sensitive to carbon monoxide and methane and would keel over dead soon after inhaling them.

If the little yellow bird kept singing, the miners knew that all was well.

I thought of this before Saturday’s game against Norwich: given the haphazard nature of our results this season and, in particular, the untimely run of form we have struck of late, it felt like we were getting our own Canary Test.

Newly promoted Norwich are a decent side who have played some nice football this year and have managed to stay out of relegation danger. But that’s about it.

They certainly should not be too great an obstacle to a side with Champions League aspirations like Arsenal, right?

And yet, and yet.

Losses to QPR and Wigan in recent games had exposed Arsenal’s fragile underbelly (apparently our overbelly is just fine, although currently holidaying in St Petersburg) and raised old questions about our mental strength and tendency to choke when it mattered most.

So the visit of Norwich was a Canary Test, but with the outcome reversed: if the Canaries died, all would be well in Arsenal Land. If they lived… not so good.

We all know what happened. The Arsenal performance can be summed up in four simple stages: dream start; abysmal capitulation; spirited fight back; stupid capitulation.

The first half, after our early goal, was particularly worrying. Our midfield vanished like a coin in a magician’s fingers and Norwich made full use of the empty acres in front of them.

But it was the Canaries’ third goal that really ticked me off and which (I’ll get there eventually) prompted the headline to today’s Post.

We were 3-2 up with five minutes remaining in a game where a win was vital.

Any top team – and I mean ANY top team, including Barcelona – would, at that point, have attempted to close down the game to see out the remaining minutes and secure the points.

And they would look to their senior players to lead by example.

But, right now, Arsenal are not a top team so we did not behave like one. Inexplicably, we behaved as if we were chasing the game and needed another goal to win it.

In the run-up to the Canaries’ third, Song gave the ball away stupidly while trying an over ambitious pass and both Gibbs and Vermaelen were too far up field and out of position when possession was lost.

Think about that for a minute. A goal up with minutes to go, and our defensive midfielder is trying fancy-dan passes while two of our back four think they’re in the US Cavalry. As it turned out, they were in the US Cavalry – unfortunately they were with General Custer. Hadn’t we learned our lessons from Norwich’s second, when TV5 was stranded up field as the away team broke and scored?

Inevitably Norwich again exploited the empty spaces and scored.

Could you imagine Chelsea behaving like that? Or Manchester United? Or Manchester City?

Of course not.

The only highly placed Premier League team I can imagine doing that are the ones who live down the road and pong a bit. So that’s what it has come to: we, the mighty Arsenal, are behaving like your common or garden Spud.

I’m angry with the manager and the entire team for the first half performance and I am angry with Song and Gibbs for the third goal. But most of my anger is reserved for Thomas Vermaelen – a man pretty much universally adored by the fans.

Not for the first time this season, his lack of discipline as a defender has cost us points.

I am all in favour of him going up for set pieces (the break in play involved in set pieces means we can make sure to keep other players back to cover) and I am delighted when he drives forward towards the end of games where we are chasing a goal. His late winner against Newcastle was testament to what he can achieve in those situations.

But to behave that way when we are narrowly winning a vital game is immature and unbefitting of an Arsenal Vice Captain.

I hope all you Gooners who think that Vermaelen and Koscielny comprise our best centre back pairing are learning your lesson.

The great Tommy V, the Muscles from Brussels*, our Lion of Flanders has, to my mind, been getting carried away with his own publicity. For all his strengths, his indiscipline makes him a liability at times.

Before everyone slaughters me, I will mention his strengths: he is powerful, brave, fierce, a battler, great in the air, strong in the tackle, indefatigable, charismatic, intimidating to the opposition.

His combative qualities put him in the top echelons of Premier League defenders. But if he does not start showing more discipline and maturity, he will struggle to be remembered as a true great.

Let’s not forget, he is 26 years old. Unlike Gibbs, we cannot blame youth for his mistakes. In those final minutes when we were beating Norwich he should have been using all his experience and authority to scream his head off at his colleagues about holding their shape and holding the ball.

That job is even more important when you take into account how wasteful Alex Song can be. He is nominally our Defensive Midfielder, but his obsession with trying Hollywood passes when a bit of Ealing Studios is called for, and marauding up field at the very times when he should be shielding the defence, is slowly killing us.

When the experienced Arteta is playing, Song’s rampages are usually covered. But Aaron Ramsey does not appear to have the understanding to do likewise, making it even more vital that the Centre Backs stick to their duties.

On Saturday Vermaelen did not.

For me, the first CB name on the team sheet (assuming all are fit) should be Per Mertesacker, with either of Koscielny or Vermaelen alongside him. Beside the BFG, I feel that either of Kozzer or Verm are excellent options, but both of them need the organizational nous and composure of the German Giraffe to bring the best out of them.

In fairness to Tommy V, our approach to defending as a team and a squad is a bit all over the place (there is an excellent and balanced deconstruction of the issue on Desi Gunner’s blog: http://desigunner.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/a-detailed-look-at-arsenals-defensive-issues-tactics-shape-mistakes/ ).

Whoever takes over Pat Rice’s job next season needs to help Arsène Wenger make us more difficult to score against. It’s about far more than just the personnel, but it is also essential that the senior players focus on their own responsibilities.

I love what Thomas Vermaelen brings to Arsenal, but if he can apply a bit more maturity to his game I will love him unconditionally.

RockyLives

*Actually Tommy comes from Kapellen, which is nowhere near Brussels. It’s on the outskirts of Antwerp, which might make him a Twerper. ‘The Muscles from Brussels’ sounded better.

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Posted by RockyLives

The season unravels again

May 6, 2012

I’m pretty fed up of having to write posts after a miserable game.

Miserable game or miserable result?

Definitely a miserable result. This was a must win game – together with all the other must win games that we haven’t won in the last four since we lost to Wigan. We don’t have long to find out whether the point gained yesterday will be of any value as todays games will either see us stay in the top four or drop out.

We all know that this season, third in the table is far more precious than fourth just in case those west london chavs go on to lift the trophy in Munich and so it would have been so immeasurably wonderful to have just won this game. Instead we scored in the 2nd minute and then failed to play for the next 45 minutes.

Miserable game? Miserable first half. Having started so brightly we then conspired in a pretty typical fashion to let the opposition into the game. What is wrong with us attacking the ball? Is it the New Arsenal way to not think about defending as a team? Not unusually, we conceded a sloppy goal as soon as the 12th minute. How many ridiculous goals have we conceded at the Emirates this season? Far too many and this was followed by another in the 27th minute.

How do we expect to get back into the game when we don’t challenge for the ball, when our mid-field just allows the opposition to waltz through unchallenged?

I really can’t be bothered to write about the nitty gritty of the game and which players did or didn’t perform  as I’m sure you can read better reports elsewhere. I know we’re missing Arteta and he has been the glue this season but there are other players who could put in more effort and concentration to ensure we’re tighter in the middle. Just challenging for the ball and working harder would make a big difference.

Anyway, on the half hour mark Sagna went down apropro of nothing and it turns out his leg was broken – poor Sagna. He was replaced by Coquelin which was a bit of luck because I think Coquelin is rather good. Someone kindly played Coquelin a hospital pass for his first touch and he was awarded a free kick following an unfair challenge by Hoolahan who should have been carded. The first half closes 2-1 down.

The mutterings of supporters around me hoping Arsene gave them a good telling off at half-time seemed to be true as they were out early and started brightly. But no, was it going to be one of those days where for all our creative play we just couldn’t put the ball in the net?

Robin could have had at least three already but we know ‘he scores when he wants’ and so it came to be that he found the net for an equaliser. Funnily enough, I had in the previous passage of play implored someone to ‘just put it in the back of the net’ in a rather unladylike way and the very nice young frenchman sitting next to me was rather shocked. Once Robin had scored I wondered whether I should throw caution to the wind and just swear like a trooper. Clearly it worked because Robin scored another to make the score 3-2.

And here it all goes horribly wrong again. There we were deliriously happy, third place almost secure for another few days, singing ‘by far the greatest team’ at the tops of our voices when another lapse in concentration allows Norwich to score for the third time. Talk about having the wind taken out of your sails, crushed is the only way to describe the feeling.

While all that was going on Ramsey was subbed for The Ox on 60 minutes and Yossi came off for Chamakh on 69 minutes.

We may be extremely lucky and hold on to third place but don’t hold your breath as some of this team just didn’t stand up to the challenge of getting us over the line yesterday and there’s no guarantee that next Sunday will be any different. Too many clever touches, too much intricate play, not enough simple football tactics.

Who takes the blame? The team or the manager. This game wasn’t a one off, I’ve seen too many of these this season to be fooled into thinking this is a transition and patience is required. We needed to win today and we didn’t turn up first half and that is just not good enough. There are many that think that success is just around the corner for this team and I believe we have some very good players but do they have the motivation to be successful? On yesterday’s evidence I’m not sure.

Written by peachesgooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Fight for the Right: Norwich Prematch

May 5, 2012

Today an acquaintance asked after Arsenal’s weekend opponents. After I explained the significance of this afternoon’s match he said “why worry, it is only a football game.” Firstly, this shows a total misunderstanding of the Raddy psyche, but more to the point, it indicates a lack of understanding of the nature of importance. Let us not be fooled, sex is not important (though the lack of it is!), breathing is not important (though the lack of it is!), what is important is that Arsenal finish the season above the Miscreants crawling their way out of N17.  And beating Norwich is not just important  – it is vital.

If one had to choose an opponent to play in this situation it would be a mid-table team who had an attacking, open footballing philosophy. Norwich fit the bill perfectly. We couldn’t have asked for better opponents. But ….. in recent seasons, we have seen an Arsenal team crumble under the weight of expectation so regularly that we can no longer trust them to take 3 points in these circumstances. Hence the nerves.

And there are nerves aplenty. Fans will be taking lucky routes to the ground, wearing lucky socks, knickers, shirts, hats, eating lucky sweets, drinking in lucky pubs, sitting in lucky seats etc etc. And from what I read on the site Corks will be much in evidence 😀

What is needed today is strength of character. We are a better team in every area than Norwich and under normal circumstances 3 points would be de rigeur;  should our boys perform there will be little of concern. Any doubts within the team must be dispelled -as such the team Leaders have to get in the faces of the more reticent players and fire them up.

We need some of this ….

with a large spoon of this

It is the time for RvP to lead from the front, for TV to inspire his defence and for Song to grab the game by the scruff of it’s neck . Time for our wingers to be lethal in front of goal and for our shots to be on target. No quarter must be given and every ball fought for. Norwich will not just cede 3 points, they can be a dangerous opponent. Concentration from the whole team is essential, and should things go awry we must find the Sagna spirit shown in the Spurs game.

…. none of this.

The team almost picks itself. We have a solid and dependable Back 5, with either Gibbs or Santos at LB depending upon the opposition. I would play Santos today.

My Team:

One hopes that Mr Wenger decides to be more attacking at home and play O.C from the start but I cannot see him taking the risk.  In such an important game it would be foolish to experiment and as such I expect him to play safe.

The last home game and therefore this season’s final Gooner. I think it should be a man who never gave up, a proper Gooner and a working class hero. To those of a certain age the Henry Cooper / Cassius Clay fight at Wembley is a stand out point in sporting history. Our ‘Enry was the first man to knock Clay down and had it not been for some Angelo Dundee skulduggery Cooper would have won. Instead he got badly injured and forced to retire. It was a special night and made ‘Enry’s ‘Ammer a household name. In the rematch at his beloved Highbury Stadium Cooper lost and soon after retired.  Twice Sports Personality of the Year and made a Knight in 2000 (the only boxer ever to be knighted) Sir Henry Cooper remained a National Treasure until his death in 2011.

and most of all Our ‘Enry’s courage and determination

Once again faith will be the bedrock of our game – a belief that through teamwork Arsenal will win. And today even more than normal the fans have to be behind the team. No losing patience, no getting on the players backs – we need the type of atmosphere created against Spurs, Milan and City. To those lucky enough to be going – make it loud!

Today is the 900th game of Mr Wenger Arsenal career, it is also likely to be the final home game of Pat Rice’s working life at Arsenal. So, let’s win in style and give them something to remember .

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Pat ‘MR ARSENAL’ Rice

May 4, 2012

Whatever the result at tomorrows crucial game against Norwich, no doubt there will be a lap of appreciation from the players to their supporters after the game has ended. One man deserves to have his name sung loud and proud as he walks around the Emirates pitch for the last time. It is expected that Pat Rice, Arsene’s right hand man, will be hanging up his track suit following many years as an excellent servant to the club.

The bare facts of his career do not do justice to a wonderfully loyal and gentle man, who served Arsenal so well both as player and Assistant Coach.

Patrick James “Pat” Rice (born 17 March 1949).
Pat was born in Belfast, which explains his unique London/Irish accent, because he then grew up in London.

He played more than 400 times for Arsenal, including winning the first Double, before moving on to play for Watford.

As an International player he won 49 caps for his home country Northern Ireland. He has been the strong right hand of Arsene Wenger ever since Wenger became the Arsenal coach, and reinforced his reputation by being an intrinsic part of the management of two wonderful Double winning teams.

Born in Belfast, Rice grew up in London.

But what of the man? Pat has become indelibly linked with Arsenal and has clearly become assistant, friend, confidant and advisor to the greatest manager Arsenal has ever had.

If Pat gave a soliloquy about his time at the club, it would be full of self deprecating modesty and good humour. For all Arsenal fans he is far more than that. We all will have our own thoughts and memories, both involving his playing career and his time in administrative management.

Nothing will honour Pat more than for all of us to exchange these wonderful memories of a great man among ourselves today on the penultimate day of his final Arsenal home game.

Written by Red Arse

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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