Second in the league
Semi final of the Carling Cup
Through to the last 16 of the Champions League
Yet to play in the FA Cup
The best stadium in the Premiership
Zero debt
The only way is up………..
Thanks for all your support on Arsenal Arsenal
….. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year…….
47 Comments | 
Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas, Champions League, English Premier League, Football | 
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Posted by Rasp
The thing about Christmas gifts is that they often tell you more about the giver than the receiver.
Like when your wife gets you a set of DIY tools even though the only thing that’s ‘handy’ about you is the pair of appendages at the end of your wrists. Basically, she’s telling you to fix the broken curtain rail, or else.
So when I was killing an idle moment speculating on what would make the perfect Christmas present for Arsène Wenger, I realised that it would all depend on who the gift was coming from.
For instance, a set of fine towels sent to the boss from Lady Nina would have a totally different meaning to an equivalent gift from Tony Pulis.
And a “Have A Great Break” Christmas card from Ivan Gazidis would be a whole lot more palatable than the same message from Ryan Shawcross.
In that spirit, the list that follows is what I think the perfect Christmas present to Monsieur Wenger would be from a selection of people about whom we may all hold strong opinions.
And when I say perfect, I mean from Arsène’s (and Arsenal’s) point of view.
From Sir Alex Ferguson: A copy of his secret text book: “How To Win Ugly.” However, this present will turn out to be a disappointment for Arsène. Far from being a manual on how to grind out results while playing like a well-heeled Blackburn, the book is, in fact, a series of portrait photographs of Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney.
From Tony Pulis: The Stoke City 2011 souvenir football, complete with club crest. Unfortunately Arsène will not be able to do his trademark keepy-uppies with it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkchgKFTKys), because the ball is oval shaped.
From Pep Guardiola: A syringe and a specimen bottle, with a request that the objects be used to extract the Barcelona DNA from our captain and return it to Catalunia, where it can be injected into Barca’s youth players. (Arsène will sabotage the plan by filling the specimen bottle with Essence of Eboue, which will cause the Barca youth team to grin a lot and put itching powder in each other’s underpants).
From Julian ‘Wikileaks’ Assange: The secret dossier that reveals how both Dennis Bergkamp and David Seaman were deliberately targeted with laser rifles (causing momentary blindness) during certain key moments of a 1999 FA Cup semi final. The confidential papers also reveal who paid for the hit: Alex Ferguson and Sky Sports.
From Harry Redknapp: An important email message:
Subject: Contact me urgently
MR.HAROLD REDKANPP,
BANK OF COCK PLC
LAGOS NIGERIA
RE: TRANSFER OF ($19,780,000.00 USD) NINETEEN MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED AND EITHY THUSAND DOLLARS(URGENT & CONFIDENTIAL)
Dear Friend Wenker,
I have the honor and confidence to introduce you to this business in view of the fact that you are trustworthy and reliable.
I am Mr.Harald Rednakp
I work in the foreign Payment Department of BANK OF COCK PLC LAGOS NIGERIA.
There is an account opened in our bank in 1990 but since 1996 nobody has operated on this account again.
After a private investigation I discovered that the owner of this account was a foreigner who has since died without having a beneficiary to this account.
My investigation proved to me also that nobody from the company knows about this account since the company has not become operational.
The amount contained in this account is US$19,780,000 USD.
It is my wish and intention to take this fund abroad for investment and I am believing you are a trusty man. THIS IS OPPRTUNTY TO GOOD TO MISS. OH YES.
My colleague and I will need you to send an existing account for us to transfer the money into. Please send me all your bank details including account number, sort code, secret password and PIN number at once and you become very rich man Mister oh yes.
Contact me urgently at twitchyisabentcnut@yahoo.com
Best Regards,
Mr. Hairy Redknip.
From Emmanuel Adebayor: One banjo (worse for wear). One cow’s arse (as new).
From Ashley Cole: A selection of store cards, with the following note: “Dear Arsene, I have been sent these cards by some of the stores where I regularly shop. These include Phones 4 U (mobile phones), Victoria’s Secret (sexy lingerie for my many ladies) and Harrods (butt plugs). I do not know why I have been sent these things. It says that they are ‘loyalty cards’ but I do not know what ‘loyalty’ means. I thought perhaps you could pass them on to Tony Adams for me…”
From Alan Pardew: A DVD copy of Rocky and a brief note: “Round Two – It’s On.” What Pardew doesn’t know is that Arsène keeps a knuckle duster in that knee-length duvet coat. He confiscated it from Armand Traore.
From Sam Allardyce: A polite letter:
“Dear Mr Wenger,
As you kno, I have always admired yure work and the way yure teams play futball.
But no team is perfect and if you shud find yourself thinking that maybe you do be needing sum extra tactical coaching then perhaps you mite consider me for a job.
Please.
I really need a job. Pretty please.
Yours insinseerly,
Sam.
PS: I am not fat like they say I am and I will eat broccoli if that’s wot you want. Please giv me a job.
From Phil Brown: A litre bucket of fake tan, with a note: “Get your orange side going Arsène – you look pale enough to be English. Mind you, I don’t use the stuff meself; my skin was made for me at World of Leather in Purley Way, Croydon. It’ll last for ever.”
From Alisher Usmanov: Princess Leia, and Han Solo in a carbonite panel.
From the Supporters of Manchester United: A vow to replace their repulsive anti-Wenger chant with a new version that celebrates his love of French wine. From now on, the Old Trafford faithful will sing: “Sit Down You Oenophile*…”
And to finish on a more practical note, if it was down to me, Arsène’s perfect Christmas present would be a win against Chelsea on December 27th. Once we break our hoodoo with the top sides there’ll be no stopping us.
What would you wish Arsène for Christmas?
RockyLives
36 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, English Premier League, Football | Permalink
Posted by RockyLives
Written by gunnern5
We all have blood running through our veins; I’m just the same with the exception that my red and white cells equal Arsenal. You see Arsenal is as much a part of me as my blood – we are totally inseparable, one without the other is simply impossible.
My family ties with Arsenal go back to 1913 (almost a century) when my maternal Grandfather witnessed the first game at Highbury. I have no idea if he was already an Arsenal fan but there was never any doubt in his later years – he was close to FANatical.
He lived on Stavordale Road and was a local coalman, a big strong man standing six feet five inches tall, arms like tree trunks, with coal dust permanently embedded in his face, an imposing man and someone to be feared.
On match days Stavordale Road became a parking lot and Grandpa saw this as a source of revenue. When a car parked he would be there to open the car door, he would place his hand, heavily, on the drivers shoulder and say – “hey mate, if you give me a bob (shilling) I’ll make sure that nothing bad happens to your car” the driver would look into his coal grained face and then down at his hob nailed boots and quickly cough up a bob. The fear factor (what Grandpa might do to his car if he said no) rarely failed. When the street was full he’d zip up to the Drayton Arms and down a few pints of brown and mild then trot up the hill to Highbury to watch his beloved Gunners – he was very wise in the use of his” bob’s”.
As a kid I would stand on Avenell Road and hear the ooh’s and aah’s and roars coming out of Highbury and I just yearned to get in to see a game, well, Grandpa indoctrinated me at the age of ten, November 22nd 1947, Arsenal vs Huddersfield Town and I found my form of heaven
My paternal Grandfather, who lived on Caledonian Road, was equally FANatical our combined family was huge I had eighteen uncles and forty six male cousins, all Arsenal fans, well almost all as four sad souls were Spurs supporters.
To say that we lived and breathed Arsenal is a monumental understatement, family occasions were dominated by Arsenal dialogue, before dinner, the men would all go up the pub and we kids would stand outside listening to all of the Arsenal banter and waiting for our bags of Smith’s crisps, with the blue twist of salt.
You know I really had no other choice than to become an Arsenal supporter and it has remained such a dominant part of my life that all family and social functions are scheduled around Arsenal games – so you see my DNA is also known as a….
Dysfunction Named Arsenal.
Not that I’m complaining.
GunnerN5
32 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, Emirates Stadium, Highbury | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner
Written by dandan
Football is no longer a team game, nor in many ways is it just a squad game either, unless we are prepared to accept that all the behind the scenes experts that drive the club are squad members.
The fact is that the sports psychologist, dietician, statistician, lawyers and fitness coaches are as important to a top club and its manager as the players that wear the shirt on the pitch or warm the bench.
Many fans of course never see these guys or understand the dynamic that surrounds the word team. A new centre forward or giant goalie being far more important in the fans eyes, than the faceless entities who provide the information that any manager needs to successfully integrate the diverse individuals that are the players.
We are all aware of the clichés, like, “a successful team is more than the sum total of its parts”: Indeed it is because its reinforced by the collective expertise of the management team that runs the playing side of the club
Or, there is no ‘I’ in team, supposedly meaning that individuals have to conform to integrate, really? But then there is an M and an E in team and how different to ‘I’ is ‘ME’? Not a lot, it would suggest.
So Arsène the manager is also a team leader and a squad player, he cannot be seen to be one of the boys, but at the same time must not be so remote that he is unable to give some fatherly advice, an arm round the shoulder, or a bollocking when required. The man you see on the touchline or in front of the Sky post match cameras is just the tip of the iceberg, a professional protecting his players from the Richard Keys of this world, headline grabbing, attention seeking junkies of little talent or worth. No wonder on occasions the façade slips and reveals a little more than we are used to seeing. Of course should this happen he is immediately accused by these same nonentities of being stressed or wilting under the pressure.
It is no accident that when a manager moves he often takes these backroom boys with him, for they are as important a part of his management style as the personal skills he has honed over the years. Without them and the technical support they provide the modern manager could not operate.
So when we see players being rotated it may have nothing to do with last week’s performance or the team we are meeting. But more with the scientific information supplied by the backroom boys pointing out the necessity of such a move and the benefits to club and player.
We at Arsenal have the added benefit of having a man to control all this who is a genius at team building with a talent for picking the right staff. If you doubt this, look how often you read how national and international teams love to poach our staff, from the grounds man to the Physiotherapist
So next time you see the Emirates on TV or are lucky enough to visit, spare a moment to look around and marvel at the ambition, bloody mindedness, determination and superb management skills of Arsène Wenger the man who has made it all possible.
And maybe, just maybe you pot hunters who have no interest in the complex technicalities of running so great a club and see everything in simplistic red and white terms, will also have a new one to gloat over this year as well.
74 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, Emirates Stadium, English Premier League | Permalink
Posted by dandan
Written by MickyDidIt89
Boxing Day and the visit of Chelsea marks the beginning of the second half of term, and I have some thoughts on the way that half may pan out. Should Utd win their game in hand, then in points speak, we would be as close to 1st as we are to 5th.
Every team is always open to criticism in some quarter or other. Knowledgeable supporters often agree on their teams’ weaker areas, however, with the 2010-11 Arsenal Vintage, this is far from the case. I think before a ball was kicked this season, most Gooners would have said the goalkeeper was the obvious area of weakness, that we had made good defensive signings and that surely one of them would be good enough to forge a strong CB partnership with TV. Song looked like he was developing into a real star last season, and along with Frimpong’s pre season displays, we had Denilson who I certainly believed was about to do a “Flamini”. After a solid World Cup, just maybe, RvP’s injury problems may have been behind him, on top of the fact that we had made a great looking signing in MC.
It is my belief that any team hoping to win top honours should be armed with three World class players. I would say that we do have three, in RvP, Cesc and Nasri. However two of them are very injury prone. Therein lies the first of two problems that I believe we have.
At the same stage of last season, we were gazing longingly into the transfer window in the belief that by adding a striker we could go the whole way in the league. This time one of my wishes would be for an injury free second half – term from Cesc and RvP.
It is very probable that the winners of the league will be the ones that keep their most influential players on the pitch. You only have to see how Chelsea have wobbled in the absence of Terry and Lampard, and the points dropped by Utd whilst Rooney was resting at The Nike Home For The Wayward, to see the importance of these players. The other factor will be how the managers operate in the transfer window.
Would I enter the transfer market? Yes, I would, but only for an established World Class Leader, if such a person was available. This is to resolve the second of my problems. Leadership. For which position? Here’s the odd bit. I don’t really mind. Perhaps an Adams, maybe a PV4, but whoever it may be, this man will be at the top of his career. That’s it, no resale value. This would be short termist. Or would it? The way I see it, is that no harm would be done to the development of JW, Ramsey, Frimpong, Gibbs, Theo, JD et al, to spend one or two seasons in a Trophy winning team developing the sweet taste of success. It does not appear that there will be much between 1st and 5th, so with one big heave ho, we can be at the happy end!
Some of you may be evacuating to a bloggless land for Christmas ( whilst I cannot make it to the village shop), but let me take this opportunity of thanking Rasp and Peaches for this wonderful platform, thanking fellow bloggers for their wit, charm and great company, and wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas.
89 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas, Leaders on the pitch, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner
Being Arsene’s number one apologist there is a question that has been floating around out there that has been bothering me for a while: why did Wenger play a weakened side against Shakhtar and Braga away? His critics accuse him of arrogance and obstinacy; the fall out of these decisions being that we came runners up and now, unnecessarily, have to face Barcelona.
The excuse I offer will, I suspect, be easier to run with if you have man managed a group of people at some point in your life, I think this is one of the reasons I always agree with Dandan and more often than not with Big Raddy both of whom have had the responsibility for a number of people to a greater or a lesser extent.
Wenger has twenty five players to keep happy which is more people than I have had to man manage so I accept that a lot of what is about to follow is pure guess work; but hey, what is a blog for?
Twenty five professional footballers to keep happy — all at the same time — no easy task in my opinion; some of the more lowest common denominator Arsenal blogs dismiss this by pointing to his six million annual salary but it does not change the fact that the man still has to do the job of keeping twenty five very large egos under control.
Right, having established that, cast your mind back to just before the Shakhtar away game and you will remember that we had maximum points from the three games in our CL group; we had beaten Birmingham 2-1 at home, City 3-0 away and then West Ham 1-0 at home in the EPL – we were, by anyone’s standards, on a roll. Wenger had got the Red Machine humming but the problem he faced, as I saw it, was how to keep everyone content.
Bendtner had made his return against City; successfully getting on the score sheet and doing exactly the same in his following appearance against Newcastle in the Carling Cup. Walcott, being the best player at the club for the first three games of the season, had returned scoring impressively as well against Newcastle and when Wenger was asked if Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was knocking at the door he replied that he wasn’t just knocking he was banging on it with both hands; all this without mentioning Szczesny who, when it comes to demanding first team football, makes the others, including Bendtner, look shy and retiring.
My point is that it was perfectly reasonable to field the side Wenger did against Shakhtar – even more so when you consider we had trounced them only a couple of weeks before at home. Wenger said that he selected a team he thought capable of winning; all perfectly reasonable, but in my opinion it had just as much to do with trying to keep twenty five players happy.
So, all neatly tied up then, the problem I have is that on the other shoulder sits a little devil who whispers in my ear: do you really believe that? Wenger could not lose by playing a so called weakened team: if we beat Shakhtar we were as good as through to the next round but if we lost Wenger would have a more humble, a less demanding, a more malleable Bendtner and Walcott and so he did and still does. A similar story applies to the Braga away game. The other reason Wenger couldn’t lose by making those decisions was because he knew that if we came second in the group no one would blame him if we go out to someone as powerful as Barcelona.
A little something to think about on this long break without football.
Written by London but hey, you already knew that. lol
88 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, English Premier League, Football, Nik Bendtner, Theo Walcott, Wojciech Szczesny | Permalink
Posted by LB
Arsenal’s frozen assets are in the form of key players returning to fitness and form – if everything goes our way, we may see the loss of yesterday’s game as a bonus in that it gives us a little more time to get closer to full strength. The return of Cesc, Vermaelen, Ramsey and Diaby would make us a force to be reckoned with capable of fighting on many fronts and yes, beating Barcelona – why not?
Top of the League for Xmas had such a nice ring to it but the snow put an end to that possibility with the postponement of our game yesterday. Unfortunately it paves the way for the Manchavs to possibly be top of the pile unless their game is called off tomorrow night against Everton. Come next Monday night, we’ll still be in the top three when we kick off against the chavs so that’s something to be optimistic about.
Aaron Ramsey has only played 45 minutes of football on loan at Notts Forest and is due to return to Arsenal on the 3rd of January. Should we get him back so that he can be of some use to us towards the end of the season or leave him at Forest to slowly rehabilitate? I wasn’t sure about him going there on loan in the first place so I’d like him back in training with us. We haven’t seen much of Denilson and Diaby is too often a one game wonder, so Ramsey alternating with, a by then exhausted Jack, would be a good option.
Barcelona now have so much money they’re going to pay £100m for Cesc. Whatever they want to pay for him he needs to be playing for us at the moment and its very sad for him that he’s not. His heart must have fallen to his boots when the Champions League draw was made but as he missed the tie in Spain last time round I hope he’s going to help us show the world that we can play like that too.
The red card that Sagna received in our game against Belgrade means that he’ll be missing both the legs against Barca which will be a great shame as I feel he’s back to his first season best. Will we have a fit first eleven by then? – will we heck, but it’ll be interesting to see how the team sets up over the next few weeks. Can Robin and Cesc get match fit? Who will be our no 1? Which of our centre-backs will gel as the first choice pairing? Will we all love Song again? Much to ponder.
Yesterday the club announced the signing of 18-year-old Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi a player who impressed AW while on loan earlier in the year. He is reported to have a mix of Thierry Henry and Christiano Ronaldo in his locker – I’m looking forward to seeing that.
We have inches of snow here in North London which while looking beautiful is a right pain. If you have snowy conditions stay safe and keep warm.
Written by peachesgooner
26 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal, Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner
Firstly, I would like to thank all those who wrote such kind words regarding my piece in the Arsenal in the Community book. Secondly, I would like to thank Peaches and Rasp for establishing such a hotbed of creative activity.
Which has nothing whatsoever to do with Stoke, particularly the “hotbed of creative activity!!” We know what to expect from this Stoke team under the tutelage of Mr Pulis, it will be park the bus, long throw ins and long, long balls to test the aerial expertise of our defence. The midfield will be tigerish putting our skill players under intense physical pressure and yet trying to remain within the rules. Pulis will not be distraught if another Stoke player gets a red card because his defence for any loss will be that Arsenal are a team of foreign pouffs and divers…… “Same old Arsenal, Always cheating.” Mr Wenger doesn’t speak to Pulis which tells me all I need to know about the Stoke manager.
Lest we forget, Ryan Shawcross is a stalwart in the Stoke defence, an innocent according to his manager, a nice guy who doesn’t deserve the criticisms from fans according to the pandering British press, and an out and out thug according to Aaron Ramsey. This is what the super-intelligent contributors to Arsenal Arsenal think:
Gunnern 5 “I hope that Shawcross gets the worst, and most sustained, barracking that any player has ever received from an Arsenal crowd.”
Rocky Lives “I hope our home support is loud and sustained and drowns out any noise from those Stoke tw*ts who sang abusive songs at Aaron Ramsey as he lay on the deck with half his leg hanging off”.
As you can see, there is not much love lost between Stoke and the Arsenal fans. Unlike WBA, Stoke will not come and try beat us playing stylish attacking football – Stoke will come to be efficient with the hope they can create an upset and return to the Potteries with a point. We must stop them.
At last we are getting back to a full squad. There are rumours of Diaby’s return to fitness, though he will need some pitch time to regain his sharpness. I know he is not to everyone’s taste but I believe he has all the qualities to be a valuable squad member. Theo, Nik, and RvP are vying for a start. For me the experiment of playing RvP as a deep lying forward in the DB10 mode is not working and needs to be abandoned. I want to see Robin leading the line and as such would give Chamakh a 70 minute rest.
My team:
Bench. Chesney, Nik, Kos, Cesc, Chamakh, Arshavin, Gibbs
I believe the height of Djourou will be important as will the strength of Squillaci and Song. If Diaby really is fit, I would give him the first hour, but am expecting Wilshere to start. I really hope Fabregas will be given more time to recover, my personal choice would be that he takes a week off in the Maldives and comes back full of vim and vigour, but as Club Captain I guess he will be desperate to start.
CL draw. Barcelona. I would have preferred to meet them in the Semi’s but we are going to have to beat them to win the thing, so let’s get them out the way in 8 weeks. If TV and Cesc are fit, we will win and win comfortably. 3-0 at home and a draw away.
Today we can bounce back from Monday’s disappointment and return to the top. 4 goals would be nice…..
COYRRG
41 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Aaron Ramsey, Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, Premiership, Ryan Shawcross, Stoke City, Tony Pulis | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red
Written by Rasp
It’s easy to forget that Arsenal is more than just a football club, particularly when we have recently suffered disappointment on the pitch. Arsenal is part of the community and affects people’s lives worldwide. Peaches and I were reminded of this last night when attending the book launch of Arsenal ‘Til I Die at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal Arsenal had submitted a selection of some of the many great posts on the site over the last year for inclusion in the book and we are proud that articles by Big Raddy and Irishgunner made it to the final print – luckily for us, neither author could make the occassion so we reluctantly had to deputise for them…. The book is a complilation of personal stories relating to Arsenal written by diehard supporters. It has been produced in collaboration with Arsenal in the Community and the National Literary Trust and proceeds from the book sales will go to charities supported by Arsenal.
Back to the football…….
Ok, so Lady Luck was not on our side against the mancs, but considering we’ve lost 5 games before Christmas and we’ve still got as much of a chance of winning the title as anyone else, I’d say she’s been pretty to kind to us so far.
There are three reasons why I can be cheerful (maybe even optimistic) when I look ahead to the second half of the season. For the first time in several years, we may have the makings of a strong spine to the team – and hopefully a team who play with some backbone. The emergence of Djourou as a top class defender and Chamakh’s role as a target man who brings out attackng midfielders into play are huge plusses, but I believe that our success could rest on these key factors.
Other reasons to be cheerful …….
The boost of winning the CC. The final will be played on Sunday 27th February. Barring a spectacular lapse into over-confidence we should be able to get past Ipswich over two legs and secure our place in the final. If/when we reach the final, the desire to silence the critics and bring our much publicised trophyless run to an end will surely see us climb the Wembley steps to collect the silverware.
The fixture list. We’ve already played most of the difficult away fixtures except totnum and that is a score we will need no motivation to settle. The second half of the season just looks as though it’s opening up for us to go on an unbeaten run. We have consecutive home games against pool and the mancs on the 16th and 30th of April and if we can be top after that, we have only Stoke, Villa and Fulham to complete the season.
Nasri’s on fire – but we’ve made it to 2nd in the table with the majority of our players not on top form (although Sagna is back to his best) and we can only expect them to improve – we will not fall at the final hurdle this time.
Ken Friar spoke from the heart last night as he explained that the Board were as fervent supporters as any of us in that room. They care passionately about the club and take nothing out. The tour of the Emirates is awe insiring. The lay-out, styling, facilities, attention to detail …. everything about our stadium is incredible. Sometimes we need reminding that we have achieved a miraculous transformation under Arsène Wenger of which we should all be proud.
110 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, Arsenal in the community, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, The Emirates Stadium, Thomas Vermaelen, Wojciech Szczesny | Permalink
Posted by Rasp
Thursday morning and the inquest into Arsenal’s latest big match disappointment rumbles on. Arsenal fans the world over are rightly disappointed that we have now gone 11 games without victory against either United or Chelsea. Whilst I find it difficult to say that you can take positives from any defeat, I do think it’s worth noting that we didn’t lose in the same manner as we have in many of those 11 games. This was a game, bad pitch or otherwise, that saw an alarmingly low technical level from both sides. United came away victorious but they did not outclass or outplay as. There is a big difference between disappointment and humiliation.
The reasons given for this defeat have been many although none seem to hit the nail on the head. There have been many criticisms of Clichy, criticisms which I believe are largely valid. There is no doubt that he could have closed Nani down quicker for the goal however, it should also be remembered that he did a lot of good work, on his own, against one of the Premierships best performers. Certain voices have criticised the whole defence, argued that player for player they are not good enough. Even Sagna has come in for stick in some quarters. This seems to be a knee jerk reaction. Whilst I would have preferred Djourou to Koscielny, he and Squillaci actually did well against Rooney. None of the chances we gave away, only 2 good ones to my memory, were the fault of the back four.
Alex Song has come in for his usual criticism. It seems to be received wisdom these days that he, in keeping with our ethos, goes forward too much. This clearly was not the case for him or the rest of the side on Monday. Song joined in when possible but basically stayed at home and, as a result, limited United’s opportunities. In post match anger and disappointment I expressed the view that we should be more circumspect in these games. It seems that tactically, we had tried to be just this. Take Samir Nasri’s comments post match:
“In the first half, we sat back and waited for them a bit. We didn’t want to push too high up, because they always find each other in space, whether it’s Park or Wayne Rooney playing on his own up front.
“We wanted to sit back and wait for them and we held out well until we conceded the goal four minutes from half-time.
So, on reflection then, we were actually set up ok tactically. We didn’t try to blow them away and then get caught on the break which has led to our undoing in so many games in recent years. Effectively we were beaten by a fortunate goal. Without the deflection it would not have found Park’s head and we would most likely have gone in 0-0 at half time. A 0-0 draw would have seen a different response from the media and fans a like. As it stands, we are rueing defeat by a very slim margin.
Whilst I don’t think we should all just smile and get on with it we should also try to look forward rather than back. This defeat was not symptomatic of our usual perceived short comings. At worst, we lacked the invention and creative spark to create an opening but, on balance, it’s not like United carved us open too often either. Defeats are always painful but we must keep our heads, as a set of fans and a club in general. This defeat was not men against boys, it was the sort of result that happens in big games. This may sound strange but had we not been burdened by this awful record we would not be picking over the bones of this defeat with quite so much fervour. Unfortunately, we do have this awful recent record and people are understandably disappointed.
I would argue that we can now put to bed the idea that we don’t have anyone physical enough to stand up to opponents or that we aren’t committed enough. We were just as physical as them and that is not where the game was lost. As I’ve already written, this defeat also wasn’t the direct result of a bad goalkeeper or a fragile defence. I can’t argue that the result could have just as easily been 1-0 to us as we offered very little going forward but, we do have gifted forwards so it’s not unreasonable to claim that on another day we might have done better. The main factor we lack as a team is self belief. The players appear nervous and, in this pivotal season, so do the fans. We need a good result in one of these games soon, to prove that we can do it and the harbingers of doom are not correct. In truth, we were far closer to a positive result here than we have been for some time. What better Christmas present than a home win against Chelsea? In that game we must forget what’s gone before and show togetherness, players and fans alike.
Smith14
27 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: Alex Song, Arsène Wenger, Arsenal, English Premier League, Football, Gael Clichy | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner
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