Written by Harry

{What if Wenger says  ‘Cela, Je Pars’, that’s it I am leaving}

It’s August 2015, 4 seasons since Wenger was hounded out of his beloved Arsenal, by the Black Scarf Brigade, after falling short of another trophy in a 6 year continual spell……

It was a bleak period in Arsenals History, empty stadia and trophy cabinets again left fans and club with little post season cheer, only staving off relegation on the last game of the 2014/15 season. But how did it get this bad?????

When the season had ended in 2010/11, Wenger had vowed to continue and show he could turn it around, but a section of dissenters had upstaged the final game of the season with a pre-match protest primarily aimed at the hike in season ticket prices, but in turn this was hijacked by the Arsène Must Go Boys, Arsenal fans turned on Arsenal fans……Arsenals standing was at rock bottom…..

At first, Arsène rose above it all, but after he returned from a 3week break on a sunny isolated beach somewhere in the Mediterranean, recommended by a close Canadian source, he called a press conference……Transfers in, everybody thought?

No good news, it was a shock announcement, he had come to a conclusion that he felt that the pressure to deliver a trophy would always hinder what he was trying to achieve and build and that the Black Scarf Brigade were  becoming too vocal…..They had been at the airport awaiting his return….Je Pars……!!  Wenger retired from Football altogether…..

With Arsène’s shock resignation and complete departure from the club, a replacement was sought, just before the start of the 2011/12 season the appointment of Louis Van Gaal who had been released from his contract by Bayern Munich was announced….

Renewed optimism, Black scarfs were thrown away, the red and white mighty Arsenal were back in their 125^th Anniversary year………The dissenters who craved change had got their way……

LVG only had a few weeks to deal with transfers, Fabregas had gone to Barca, Nasri to Inter Milan, both citing Wenger’s departure as too much, although Cesc had already agreed terms before Wengers announcement……

Also on the bus out were Clichy to Juve, Arshavin to Zenit, Bendtner to Munich and Chamakh to Fenerbache……..

Short term solutions were needed, using his dutch connections, in came Van Bommel, Huntelaar and Seedorf, experience pros with a winning mentality……

He tried to get Thomas Mueller from Bayern but was quoted £40million, so he tried for Mario Gomez this needed £30million, LVG’s budget was £20million, so both were out, Huntelaar was best of the rest available……..He did seek to convince Klose, but he chose Man City instead…..they needed a 6^th striker just in case……..

But Arsenal still had Wilshere, Ramsey, Walcott, Van Persie and TV5 amongst others….And also Denilson, who stayed buoyed by Fabregas leaving, Stating he would make the fans forget the Spanish Captain, who he felt was over rated and could himself surpass….

LVG’s team started well, 4 straight wins, but then United came to the Emirates, Van Bommel was sent off by Howard Webb, for a high foot in the chest of Rooney who missed the rest of the season whilst been nursed by Princess Fiona, 10man Arsenal were crushed 4-0…….

Showing little understanding and poor consistency, Arsenal crashed out of CC, FA Cup and CL in the early stages and limped to 6^th in the league, missing the Champions league for the first time in over 10years………The only plus side was that Tottenham finished 7^th, after their season fell apart when their Manager Harry Redknapp was arrested for fraud.

At the end of the 2011/12 season, LVG demanded money to sort out the problems, but again a minimal budget was put forward, he complained that this wasn’t enough and that he wasn’t Arsene Wenger, you need to spend money to stay at the top….Silent Stan sacked him and installed Sven Goran Eriksson as manager…….

His reign was blighted with problems on and off the pitch, Wilshere went to Eastlands and Ramsey back to Cardiff, worse still as off pitch rumours of an affair between Sven and Gunnersaurus were vehemently denied, Sven said he had more than enough dragons in his blackbook…….

Svens reign lasted 3years as Arsenal slipped further down the table, shining lights had left, journey men had come in, Arsenal’s captain, Denilson vowed he would restore Arsenal Pride after staving off relegation at the end of the 2014/15 with the winner from 3yds……that saw Spurs relegated……..

But he didn’t start the next season as Captain, Jack Wilshere returned with a few splinters in his backside after a miserable 2 year spell at the Eastlands Oil Refinery, and that wasn’t the only shock as Dennis Bergkamp was named as Arsenal Manager, after leading Ajax to successive titles and the Champions League final beating Barca 5-3 with total football……

In a statement  he said that he was lured by the chance to restore Arsenal pride and bring back the Wengerball style of football and show truly that it can work and that you must utilise the players from within……

In his first season in charge, Bergkamp took Arsenal to the title and the FA Cup double, followed the next season with the Quadruple………as Arsenal dominated the world of football once more………Bergkamp later revealed in his autobiography, that his inspiration was Wenger, and had indeed sought advice from Arsene throughout his managerial career………

Always remember, the grass is not always greener on the other side………………..

Be careful what you wish for ………..

Written by TotalArsenal

Your dreams are china in your hand…………………..

‘Don’t push too far your dreams are china in your hand’. The lyrics of this well-known, and somewhat tacky song by T’pau in 1987, came to my mind when I read recent comments regarding Arsène Wenger’s position on a variety of Arsenal websites. The song is (roughly) based on what happened to Mary Shelley after she published her world-famous book ‘Frankenstein’. Her enormous success created dissent and jealousy in her marriage and friendship, and in a way, she created her own monster. Are we perhaps pushing our Arsenal dream of winning major titles and being a world force in football too far at the moment?

It seems we have arrived at a crossroads. Most if not all of us, expect Arsenal too push harder for trophies and are not happy with our achievements in recent years. Quite a few are even calling for Arsène’s head as they are unhappy about his recent decisions on players he bought and/or nurtured, his (lack of) tactical nous at times, his chosen style of football etc, etc. However, there are also still a lot of supporters who would like to give Arsene at least another year, and there are even still a few who passionately argue that he has done very well, given the budgetary restraints since we moved to the Emirates, and that there is no problem at all.

Should we aim to push Wenger out, so we can give our desperate dream of winning major trophies another and different impetus? Or, should we be a bit more content with what we have achieved, and trust a man with a great vision to finally deliver the silverware? And, is there a risk we could push too far and too hard and as a result shatter the china once and for all?

What would be the benefits of Arsène Wenger leaving?

• The biggest initial benefit would be that scintillating feeling of a new beginning, of renewed hope. It has been a frustrating few years for most Arsenal fans, caused for a big part by our incredibly high expectations. More and more of us are complaining about the annual ‘Déjà vu’ syndrome. Recent seasons have shown a similar pattern towards the final months: during the course of a few weeks we lose out on all the trophies, and everybody gets depressed again. A new manager, with a few new signings and a few departures would, at least for the time being, fill our hearts with hope again.
• There would probably be fewer arguments, over time, between the pro-Wenger and anti-Wenger brigades: so maybe a bit more harmony between the fans.
• Success cannot be bought automatically, but by recruiting the likes of Guardiola, Mourinho, or Rijkaard our chances of winning trophies would probably increase, although there are no guarantees! And, if we were to attract these kinds of top managers, would the club be prepared/capable to give them the large sums of money they require in order to deliver the coveted trophies?

What would be the risks of Arsène Wenger leaving?

• The biggest risk is that whoever becomes the new manager, does not achieve instant success and we do not qualify for the Champions League in 2012-2013 and, possibly, beyond. Wenger, despite significantly increased competition over recent years, has been a safe pair of hands in keeping us in the CL. As we all know, this is of vital importance both for our finances as well as our ability to hold on to, and recruit, the best players.
• Key players could decide they want to leave when Wenger leaves (to join him at his new club, or just leave).
• We could become pragmatic and result-orientated and our style of football is sacrificed as a result (ok, I am being subjective here, but I am quite sure this will matter to a lot gooners).
• We could become one of the many clubs who keep changing their manager every 1-3 years because it is just not working out (look at Real Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Milan, Inter etc etc).
• As a result, we could even become a mid-table team who cannot get into the top-4 anymore for a long, long time.

This simple, and quickly produced, and I am sure by no means complete, benefits and risks analysis shows there are simply no guarantees that either Arsene Wenger’s staying or leaving will lead to trophies. In my view, the risks are higher than the benefits, but that does not mean we should not opt for change. We could take the risk just to make us feel better, and push our dream to the limit: all or nothing? But be aware, that if the dream gets shattered it could take a long, long time before we will be up there again. We could be on our way to producing our own ‘monster’.

Or we could stick with what we have and give Arsène Wenger one more chance, back off a bit, and let him complete his mission. Nobody puts more pressure on Arsène then he does himself, and recent adversity will only help him to focus on what needs changing to make the final step to success. Personal growth, managerial achievements and trophies for the club do not only depend on the manager’s ability to develop a vision, to lead and to dominate (which Arsène has in abundance), but occasional doubt, humility and willingness to make changes are just as important.

I am absolutely convinced that, after a short period of reflection and consultation with key people inside our club, he will make significant changes this summer.

A few weeks ago, I was adamant that Arsène should go: that it was time for change. Having thought hard and long about it, I now believe we should wholeheartedly give him another crack at the whip.

TotalArsenal.

I sat down in front of the game at 14.05 (kick off times are getting stranger and stranger), with a sense of optimism. I know that’s my default setting but I had good reason. We had got the monkey off our backs by beating ManYoo at home, right? A clean sheet against the league leaders last time and our superior record on the road this season led me to believe that we could get something. Stoke would also be preoccupied with their forthcoming date with destiny at Wembley, wouldn’t they?

A first half where we dominated possession, but failed to hit the target when we chanced a shot, and ended up going in at half-time 2 goals down ensued. There was, as always, some attractive link play with some individual flourishes, but in the end our performance was cosmetic, Stoke’s was surgical. There were positives: Arshavin trying to tackle back and RvP leading the line with spirit spring to mind but as the game wore on an image started to form… Stoke were playing like George Graham’s Arsenal side on their Cup Winner’s Cup run. They won every tackle, every aerial ball and shepherded our players back away from the danger zones. The team defended as a unit and wasted little time in turning defence into attack. And we had nothing to offer as a riposte, no tactics, no spirit. We couldn’t even muster a man on the near post for the set piece that led to their first goal!

Second half and Wenger brings on both Bendtner and Chamakh for Arshavin and Ramsey respectively. A bold move from the manager, who I have often urged to make earlier subs. But the combination of these two with RvP has yet to work in any game it has been tried and it smacked of desperation. And so it came to pass, or rather, we failed to pass well in the second half, conceding possession and trying to play Stoke at their own game. The futility of this approach got me seething as every dead ball situation was wasted, crosses didn’t reach their targets and Stoke cut out every threat with determination.

A lot has been said about Stoke’s approach to football, but what I saw was a far better team than the Allardyce-esque team of last season. They are confident, well-organised, neat and efficient. They can play ball to feet or in the air and allow very few risks to their own goal whilst causing our defence a real headache or two… from Pennant, Jones and Walters in particular, all of whom got on the scoresheet. I, personally, was filled with a hateful admiration of their strength and their belief in their game plan- I supported a team very like it 18 years ago!

Throwing yet more caution to the wind, the renowned game changer Tomas Rosicky came on for Alex Song in the 80th minute and shortly afterwards our best player on the day was finally played into enough space to score from just to the right of the penalty spot. “Thank the gods for Robin Van Persie”, I thought, hoping against hope that we could turn it on in the final 10 minutes. With that hope rekindled, I turned back to the screen to see Djourou floundering against Walters in our own box and instantly restoring the 2 goal advantage. Hope shattered, and so did my chair which will be kindling itself now I’ve kicked it to pieces!

I turned it off and walked out into the sunshine in disgust. If anything of note happened after that, please let me know in the comments. I had a fury towards this team that I cannot quite rationalize. Why should I be so upset when the actual result of the game was unlikely to mean anything? I put it down to 3 reasons:

Firstly, the team whose style of play I actually identified with was the opposition’s. I understood their formation, their strategy and desire. Their mentality was admirable and they played as a team with a common sense of purpose. Someone in the comments yesterday said that if we had Shawcross and Huth at CB we would have won the league. I am not sure that is the case. Neither of those players are better that JD and Kozzer in my view. The difference was the coaching they have received and the “no-one shall pass us” mentality that has been instilled.

Secondly, our team’s style of play- with heads dropping once the first goal went in- with the emphasis on individual skill and “trying to play football” yet getting turned over by a proper team of (less skillful) professionals reminded me of a team I have always hated. Yep, you’ve guessed it, they who shall not be named from down the road. We cannot continue in this vein. We are The Arsenal. We are in the business of winning games. The result is more important than the manner in which it is achieved. Were it the other way round, we’d go weak at the knees for players wearing lillywhite! (If we can win with style, so much the better and I will always be grateful to our current manager for having managed to do so for so long, but…)

Finally, it was evident from the way the players communicated with the referee and the way their heads dropped that we have a “victim culture” developing in the dressing room. This has got to stop. The worst tackles yesterday were perpetrated by OUR players, yet from the almost whinging way some of our players pleaded with the referee I discern that they felt it was the other way round. It was not a dirty game yesterday, but you could see that some of our players were saying to themselves. “not fair” like sulky teenagers.

I am angry, and I am sure it will pass. It always does. I love the club but the tactics in particular, and the heart and determination in general HAVE to improve. This is The Arsenal and THAT wasn’t good enough!

Written by CarlitoII

What sort of reception will young Ramsey receive at the Potteries today?  Will it be a” well done lad upon recovering from a dreadful injury?”   What do you expect from the superb fans at Stoke – according to Sky Sports who regularly tell me about the marvelous atmosphere. We know better – they are pond-life, requiring amplification of their offensive chanting in order to create an atmosphere in their half empty stadium.

I think it important to insist that this game is not about Shawcross/Ramsey, it is about Arsenal doing all they can to gain 3 valuable points against a team who have caused problems in the past. Unfortunately, the focus of the media will be all about our young Welshman’s return to the scene of Shawcross’s grievous assault.

Even more than usual the referee is going to be a central figure in creating the tone of today’s game. Halsey is a decent ref, even handed and experienced, plus we tend to do well when he officiates (may I recommend Untold Arsenal’s well researched Ref Watch).  If Stoke start the game as I expect with a flurry of strong, “let them know you are there” tackles which go unpunished, we could be in for a long 90 minutes, however should Halsey , in what is likely to be his final game as a PL ref, stamp his authority upon the perps, we could flourish.

Injuries to our creative players will deny Mr Wenger the chance to play an expansive game though we have talent in such depth that their absence shouldn’t hinder us too much. Could any other team lose 3 International attacking MF’s and still put out such an effective midfield?

You know what to expect from Stoke, and theirs is just the style of play to upset us. Arsenal’s record of goals conceded from set plays is alarming and we must hope for a fit Djourou alongside Koscielny. The strength of Szczesny will be important today , he cannot stay on his line with all the crosses and throw-ins which will arrive into our box. There is rumour about Vermælen making his PL return and should JD be unfit I would welcome his return,however this is tempered by a total lack of competitive football – 90 minutes of reserve team action is no preparation for a team with a playing style like Stoke.

On the ground Kenwyne Jones is a major threat; in a decent team he could flourish (ours?), that said, he is just the type of player Kos likes to defend against. Koscielny has been improving throughout the season and shows excellent tactical awareness, plus he is very good at linking defence and attack.

I think Arshavin will be the key to unlocking Stoke’s defence. The meerkat is so clever and against MU showed an appetite for work we haven’t seen from him  before. More of the same please ,Andrei.

My team:

What I do not want to see is at  70 minutes with a one goal lead AW shoring up the defence. Many on AA have written about the withdrawal of Walcott towards the end of the game and how this affects our ability to counter-attack a team committed to attack. I detest this tactic, it reeks of fear, when one up, go for two, when two up go for three. Did it help at Newcastle, Spurs etc etc to put on another defender?

Stoke have yet to lose at home in 2011 and are in a decent run of form, furthermore they have won 5 0f their last 6 home games against Arsenal; they will not want to get beaten prior to the Cup Final next week, however with this game in mind they may not give it 100% gas. Arsenal have scored the most away goals and have  the best away record in the PL.

This is going to be another tough game but one to which the Song/Ramsey/Wilshire should be suited. Counter-attacking at pace will be the key.

Bruno Brookes and Peter Wyngarde come from Stoke ……… ’nuff said!

COYRRG

Written by BigRaddy

Written by Geoff Strong

During the 17 seasons from 1930 to 1953 (excluding the war years), Arsenal Football Club won 7 league titles, 3 FA Cups  and had only 7 barren seasons, never waiting more than 3 seasons for a trophy (of which there were only two per year). A golden age, the best of times.

Over the past 13 years we have won 3 league titles (one invincible), 5 times runners-up, 4 FA Cups (2 doubles), a Champions League final and not one season outside of the top four. Another golden age, the best of times ?

The past 13 years have also produced 8 barren years, including the last 5, not 6 until the fat bloke (without a shirt) sings. The worst of times? With continued involvement in the Champions League and being thereabouts in all competitions every year, how can this be the worst of times?

Well, for those who became Arsenal fans over the last 20 odd years this is their longest wait for a trophy. First George Graham and now Arsene Wenger raised their expectations and unfulfilled expectation brings disappointment and despair, for them these are the worst of times and for some the latest golden age ended in 2004/05. Many, before the season started, confidently predicted that we would drop out of the top four, and despite the team exceeding their expectations continue to call for Arsene to be sacked. They really must believe these are the worst of times.

They don’t know what it was like to stand on the North Bank in a crowd of just over 4500 watching us lose 3-0 to Leeds (well that’s only half true as I used to watch the first half from the clock end and then walk round to the North Bank at half time), going to the 1969 League Cup Final at Wembley against 3rd Division Swindon, armed with my double page souvenir picture of   # Viva Bobby Gould, Viva #  , full of expectation of our first trophy in 16 years, the first in my lifetime……..having to go to school on Monday, the worst of times.

Are we still in a golden age, the best of times? For me the answer is yes, never before in my lifetime have Arsenal been competing for so long at the very top level. Arsène’s youth policy has unearthed some genuine talent who I hope will be the foundation of our side for years to come. For me it is “job done” following the move to the Emirates, now it’s time to move on to the next stage. Arsène, bring in those two or three players to add that little extra we need (I know you are looking). Some players will go this summer to make way, some of whom joined us at a very young age, to them I say thank you for being a part of a squad that has kept us in the top echelon of European football in times of financial restraint.

So, fellow sufferers, try to enjoy the ride (it’s always a bit bumpy with Arsenal) and remember that to be really disappointed you have to have believed success was possible before it was snatched from you. Keep that belief for when success comes it will be that much sweeter.

But this is just my view………..

The best of times or the worst of times?