Is This The Time To Sell Walcott?

June 28, 2012

Let me start by saying, Stewart Robson is a man of courage. I’m not just saying that because I agree mostly with his recent comments deriding Theo Walcott. I sometimes disagree with his opinions during matches and on talksport and Arsenal World. I say it because he is employed by Arsenal, and I’m sure they were not pleased with his outspoken opinion against a current player. There are some franchises that would sack a commentator for something like that, but I’m a big believer in free speech, especially if it’s unpopular, or politically incorrect. I’m proud that Arsenal are confident enough to handle criticism, even from within.

As you can see from the title where I’m headed, let me first admit that I do recognize some positives about Theo. I am not one of the many Walcott haters out there. I really appreciate everyone on our club, and Theo is not a bad player by any stretch. I see that he has improved his game in some areas. He’s a better finisher than before, he doesn’t overshoot the goal as much as he used to, and he has improved on his chips also. He’s also developed a nice little relationship with RVP. That part can’t be underestimated.

I don’t know if we’re going to sign another forward or winger, so i will only consider the squad as it is at the moment, but if we do add up front, it may make this even more relevant. When I look at our team, i just don’t see that much potential for improvement in Theo’s overall game. I think he has a definite ceiling on how much better he can get. Despite his improvement, I don’t see him as a future striker, as has been discussed, and he wishes. I don’t know if he can score from a header, or that he will develop great touch. I’m the kind of person who is very afraid to give up on any raw talent that might come back to haunt us, especially in the EPL. What I am fairly confident of with Theo is, that he is not going to turn out to be a GREAT player. That we won’t be lamenting for years that we let him get away.The skills that he lacks are really not the type that are developed at this point in a players career, even though I admit he may still improve in some areas.

He seems from reports, to be seeking a fairly big raise in salary, and I’m not one who always comments on peoples wages, as you know, I think that’s more the club’s business in general. I just think that his salary as is, seems to be in line with his value to us. I also believe he MIGHT never be worth more in a transfer fee than now. I wouldn’t mind if Chelsea’s interest is real. I don’t feel that would make them stronger, or us weaker. I would take Sturridge over Theo on talent and upside in a minute, except that he seems unhappy on the wing, and is not shy to complain about it. ( Another good thing about Theo is the way he conducts himself as a person, I must say. ) I wish Manchester City were interested, more money, and I’d love to have Adam Johnson instead.

I’m not going by Hodgson or Capello’s opinions either. I just feel that playing the amount of minutes that he did for Arsenal, in our setup, we should be getting more production – plain and simple. I agree with alot of what Robson said, he needs to show more effort tracking back, although he’s not alone in that,  and obviously we all know he lacks some ball skills, which are very hard to learn at this point. So many matches, when defended deep, he can’t create an attack, and just disappears.

Now, one big reason for my position, is that I’m betting big that Gervinho is going to really break out for us next season. He has great skills, pace, moves,  scares defenders, and although he needs to work on his finishing, I believe his biggest problem with that is confidence. Podolski will play on the left side probably most of the time. I also would like to see the Ox get a little more playing time in league matches next season, and if our midfielders are healthy, that position will be crowded, so, it would have to be on the wing. Ryo will probably go out on loan again, but his potential is exciting, and again, a much higher upside. None of this includes possible new signings, and honestly, all the names rumoured around interest me more than Walcott for us. I think we could improve ourselves, and make a profit at the same time. Of course, I wouldn’t mind selling him, and using the proceeds to add on to a big fee for a superstar, but I am realistic.

So I write, with no animosity, that it may be time to sell Theo, shake things up a bit this summer. I would wish him all the best, except against us. Because he’s not a bad kid.

I want him to do well, and mostly, I want us to be better.

Written by jnyc

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Robin van Persie – one of the best No. 10’s

June 27, 2012

“Because he[RvP] is one of the best no10’s in the world” – Van Marwijk.

The Dutch national manager Bert van Marwijk opted to play RvP behind the striker, in the no10 position, against Portugal last Sunday. He was desperate to turn things round and for once he gave in to the strong calls in Holland to play Huntelaar, the Bundeslega top scorer, and RvP, the PL top scorer, together up front.

It was a daring decision to put RvP in the no10 position. Holland has a few players who believe it is their god-given right to play there, and can become very disruptive if they are being played elsewhere, or even worse, being placed on the bench. During the last World Cup, the likes of Sneijder and van de Vaart have competed aggressively and publicly over who should play in the position that is simply the Holy Grail for any aspiring Dutch attacking footballer.

When Van Marwijk was challenged during a press conference over the debacle against Portugal – the third game they lost in succession, meaning they had to leave the tournament with nil points, after setting themselves the highest possible target – the journalists were keen to find out why the manager had opted for Robin van Persie in the hole position, at such a crucial game. Van Marwijk’s answer was typically short and to the point: “Because he is one of the best no10’s in the world”.

Robin van Persie might have been chosen for the no10 position by the manager, but that does not mean anything; so it appeared. He got no service whatsoever, despite making himself available continuously. Van Marwijk also played Sneijder (left midfield) and vd Vaart (central midfield) and it was simply asking for trouble. The Dutch team had no shape, except for the first twenty minutes or so, and there was hardly any cooperation, desire to make the runs, to close down, or to simply work for each other.

An utter disgrace and I feel truly sorry for the likes of Van Bommel and Matthijsen who now lost out on their last chance to win a major tournament with their national team. Van Bommel has been the physical and mental glue for the Dutch national team in the last few years, but he simply could not drive the team forward anymore; with very dire consequences.

I am sure we will hear more on this in the next few weeks, but I wonder what our Boy Wonder is thinking about it all at the moment. I reckon he will be gutted as this was a golden opportunity for the Dutch team, and him, to win a major trophy. The Dutch will have to rebuild now and it could take another twenty years before they reach a final of a major tournament again.

What is an exciting thought, though, is whether Robin van Persie is indeed one of the best no10’s in the world.

Dennis Bergkamp has said on a few occasions that the ‘Shadow Striker’ position would be ideal for RvP. It looks like Giroud has been bought by Arsenal, and he would be a welcome addition to the earlier purchase of Podolski. And if so, two new strikers of good quality will have been added to the squad. They are the sort of players who should fit in straightaway and can make a real difference.

Apparently, Arsène believes Podolksi, Giroud and RvP can play together up front, and as per LB’s post a few days ago, this would leave us with an embarrassment of riches in our attacking positions. How is Arsene going to fit in the likes of RvP, Podolski, Giroud, Theo, Arshavin, Gervinho, Chamakh, Park, Vela, Ryo, Campbell, and the Ox?

So, there can be no doubt that a number of the above players will be sold or loaned out before the end of the transfer window.

For a long time, I was convinced that RvP was going to stay at Arsenal. But the lack of clarity after his ‘informal’ meeting with Arsene and Gazidis before the Euros, has made me doubt again my earlier optimism.

Clearly, the meeting between them is, and might always be, a black box for us. But if we take the premise that RvP indeed loves Arsenal, and would like to stay if he feels the club has done enough in the transfer window this summer to be a serious competitor for the title and Champions League, would the offer to Robin to play in the Nr10 position not be a major selling point – the icing on the cake? I think it would.

And with him moving into the hole position, Arsenal need two proven strikers for the 50+ games we will play, in order to cover adequately for suspensions and injuries. The likes of Park and Chamakh have not convinced since they joined us and Theo, Vela and Campbell are probably not (yet) of the quality required to really make the top striker position a great success next season.

It seems conceivable that RvP will have asked for proven quality additions, and in Podolski and Giroud Arsenal have just done that.

Of course, there is still a good chance that Arsenal have simply been more pro-active this summer and that Giroud and the Pod are direct replacements for RvP and Chamakh, but I don’t want to think like that, yet.

The thing is, RvP did not just become our top goal scorer last season, but as a captain he has also injected a new spirit; a new culture into the team. This would be very hard to replace and I just cannot imagine Arsene taking it lightly. If RvP leaves we would be in another transitional year again, and we would run the serious risk of becoming a club in perpetual transition. I believe Wenger is a very ambitious man and is fully aware he needs to start holding on to his top players, if he ever is going to win something again. I also feel the club has entered a new (financial) era now.

That’s why I believe RvP will not (be allowed to) go this summer, even if he does not sign a new contract. Even the BoD will realise that cashing in on RvP will not be a wise decision this time round.

It seems to me very likely that RvP will be played in the shadow striker position next season. It will be interesting to see whether Arsenal will play 4-2-1-3 again or whether we go for 4-4-2 next season.

The latter formation might suit RvP more as I don’t think he is a natural playmaker, with great overview and in possession of an array of deadly through-ball skills. He is neither a Dennis Bergkamp type of player, nor a Cesc Fabregas type, and I think he will be a nr10 player ala Rooney at Manchester United (in terms of type of player), but only better of course LOL!

He would be absolutely deadly in that position and we would significantly improve our tally of goals from outside the box next season. He would also be closer to the midfield and therefore better able to captain his team.

I would love to see RvP in the nr10 position and I believe Van Marwijk is a top quality manager, who has a close relationship with our captain. If he thinks RvP is one of the best no10’s in the world, then I am not going to disagree with him.

And I think it is all part of a master plan by Wenger to keep our Boy Wonder happy and hungry at our beloved Arsenal next season.

TotalArsenal.

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Roy Has Shown Arsene The Way

June 25, 2012

Watching England’s performances in Euro 2012, and against Italy in particular, got me thinking about the best way of using Theo Walcott.

Seeing the inept James Milner huff and puff to zero effect and lose the ball every time he got it; and watching the useless Ashley Young fail to beat his marker once in the entire game, I started from a position of outright fury.

How could either of those cloggers be selected ahead of the man whose contribution was vital to getting England into the Quarter Finals – our very own Theo Walcott?

I know Theo has his critics, but next time any Arsenal supporter wants to bitch about our flying winger they should bring out the video of England v Italy, June 24th 2012, and watch the performances of Milner and Young.

Any player can have a bad game, but that pair have been clueless throughout the tournament.

Admittedly, they weren’t helped in the last two games by having to play alongside Wayne Rooney, who was as poor as I have ever seen him. In fact, England were worse once Rooney came back from suspension. He played with the energy and touch of a shagged out granny.

Maybe gaining a new head of hair has produced a kind-of reverse Samson effect (the Biblical Samson lost his great strength when his flowing locks were cut off while he slept. I believe GoonerMichael has an alibi).

I started wishing I could speak to Roy Hodgson to say: “Roy, what are you doing? You can see how p*ss poor your wingers are, why haven’t you dropped one and replaced him with Theo?”

But then I imagined what Roy would say in response (once he’d got past “who the bleep are you and what are you doing in my dug-out?”).

I fancied his reply would go like this:

“Look, I’m not stupid. I know that Theo is faster than those clowns, I know he’s more skillful and I know he’s a better finisher. I know he can leave his defender for dead if he gets the right run and I know his ability to provide assists has grown exponentially.

“But here’s the thing.  I want Dumb and Dumber to wear down the opposition first and then, when the defenders’ legs are getting weary and their concentration is beginning to waver, I want Theo to come on and tear them a new one.”

That’s exactly how it panned out against Sweden, with Walcott scoring with an outstanding shot and setting up a goal for Welbeck with a great run to the line and pull back.

And despite my frustration on Theo’s behalf, I can see that there is a point to Hodgson’s approach – and one that Arsene Wenger maybe could learn from.

Many observers have argued that Theo is least effective when facing a defensively set-up team aiming to “not lose” rather than to win. When the bus is parked, there’s very little room for Theo to get round it.

But as space opens up in the later stages of a game, he gets more opportunities.

Next season (assuming he stays – and I sincerely hope he does) I could see Theo featuring primarily as an impact sub. We would start with Podolski and one of Gervinho or Oxlade-Chamberlain in the wide positions, and bring Walcott on with 30 minutes to go.

It shouldn’t be seen as a demotion for Theo – rather a way of maximising his contribution in a very specialist way.

I think he’s as good a wide player as we have in the EPL, and people’s frustration with him reflects the fact that he does a job where he is constantly have to push the envelope – to make goal chances or provide great crosses. Against most EPL opposition you’re never going to be given the freedom to do that at will – you will be thwarted a lot of the time.

But Theo has shown that he can break the shackles on a consistent basis. Using him when the opposition defence is more ragged and disorganised may well be the right way to go.

Mind you, I can’t imagine that being part of Arsène’s pitch to Theo when he tries to get him to extend his contract…

RockyLives

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I hate the French but like sizzling hot redheads

June 24, 2012

I need to open with a couple of points of clarification. I hate the French for not beating Spain, and the bit about redheads was only lobbed in to garner hits.

Now I have to admit that due to other commitments, I only watched ten minutes of the France-Spain encounter, however, I was bored rigid. If the Spanish pass, pass, pass, pass, pass game is any way the apex or ultimate variant of the Barca Style, then I want “out” now.

When we at The Arsenal play our intricate little passing triangles with 70% possession, while camped in the final third and the opposition with the bus firmly parked, quite often the most exciting moments of the game are when said oppo. break free and counter.

Back in the day, when DB and TH graced the hallowed green meadow at Highbury, we would power away up field from defending a corner with such electric pace and fluidity that the opposition would be transfixed like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

By all means let’s hog possession, but can’t we do it lower down and save the high line for taking the mick once we are two up after ten minutes.

Look at the times we were undone at home last season, by whom, and playing what system?

What I will now call the “Sparca Style” lacks pace, expansiveness and above all excitement. It has become, to my bright eyes at least, a bus parky variation. Simply, they are parking further up the road.

The only times we get to Ooo and Ahhh during Barca play is when we witness moments of magic from a Messi or an Iniesta. What I’m saying is, would those moments simply be magnified if played at high speed and in wide open spaces.

“This is rubbish” I said to myself while watching my whole ten minutes. It’s like a game of pass the bloomin’ parcel where the host Mum has left the cd playing and buggered off outside for a fag or two.

What I am saying is let’s mix it up. Not long ball, but just remember it’s a long pitch so let’s use it.

Oh, and who I am I kidding, I really do hate the French (I had a wee bet on the soap dodgers to win), and I also do like sizzling hot redheads (although “did like” would be slightly more accurate).

Written by MickyDidIt89

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Poll: Arsenal’s Best Player of the Euros So Far

June 22, 2012

So Euro 2012 has reached the Quarter Finals stage, with England’s thrilling displays of attacking football the talk of the tournament.

Not.

My brief summary:

Spain – brilliant but increasingly annoying

Portugal – diving bar stewards

Holland – that’s what you get when you won’t pass to van Persie

France – meh

Italy – with Pirlo they might just do it

Germany – best in show.

Along the way, many Arsenal players have featured (including some of our loanees).

So, for no other reason than that this site has been overdosing on psychology and philosophy lately, it seems like a good time to discuss how our boys have done.

It was either that or metaphysics. I thought most people would prefer “that”.

The Poll below will allow you to vote for the Arsenal player you feel has been the most impressive (from a footballing perspective) during the Group Stage. You can then justify your selection in the comments, where you will be exposed to much verbal cut and thrust but, hopefully, no actual cutting or thrusting. Or name calling.

I have allocated three words to each of the players, based on the scientifically accurate approach of “they’re the first three words that popped into my head.” Indeed, you might also want to offer your own three words for some of the players (based on how they have done in Poland and Ukraine). Please keep expletives to a minimum.

Andrey Arshavin: Gifted, Short, Knackered.

Nicklas Bendtner: Goals, Miscontrol, Pants.

Tomas Rosicky: Injured, Unlucky, Injured.

Wojciech Szczesny: Impetuous, Flakey, Gutted.

Robin van Persie: Unsupported, Misfiring, Staying.

Theo Walcott: Milner? Really? Milner?

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Exciting, Young, Unready

Lukas Podolski: Shoots, Heads, Runs

Over to you…

Right, must be off now. I need to work on my upcoming Post: “Is ‘Arsenal’ the Signified or the Signifier? A Linguistic Deconstruction of the 2011-12 Season.”

RockyLives

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What is Arsenal?

June 20, 2012

I spent too long on Monday explaining how little as fans we really know our team. Instead I tried to emphasize the anomaly that the club is, in a league of slightly predictable anomalies.

We know what Man United is. We know that when we look at the parts of the machine, there are few players in that team we would like over ours. We could say the same about Chelsea and City, Spurs and Newcastle and so on. Actually, I bet out of all of the above teams, the most players we would want from any one team would probably be Newcastle – which is strange no?

We know how City, United, Chelsea and ourselves will get on. We know how Stoke, Everton, Liverpool and Villa will do. We know because like Malcolm Gladwell writes in Blink, “The key to good decision making is not knowledge. It is understanding. We are swimming in the former. We are desperately lacking in the latter.” Or, “We have, as human beings, a storytelling problem. We’re a bit too quick to come up with explanations for things we don’t really have an explanation for.” Or even, “being able to act intelligently and instinctively in the moment is possible only after a long and rigorous of education and experience”

If you haven’t read it, it is worth a go as it makes sense a lot of the time. As does his book Outliers and The Tipping Point. All lend themselves brilliantly to analyzing, or at least appearing to analyze sport. In Outliers, Gladwell’s premise is that to be extremely good at anything, to be regarded as a genius in your field, you have to spend 10,000 hours practicing that activity as some kind of apprenticeship. The funny thing is, if we start supporting from an age of 8 or so, and we think about football on and off for 4 hours a day, we will have completed our 10,000 hours by the age of 15! And what the hell do we know at 15? Certainly what do we know about football? Have you ever heard teenagers argue about football? It is like listening to chimpanzees fighting. So therein lies the rub. We have hundreds of thousands of over-qualified experts, unheard in the melee of genius-turd, spouted off like some Sony Bravia advert in which we are both the paint and the sprinting clown. Football is the boring block of flats.

You see the thing is, we have no idea what we are talking about. None. Even football managers and players talk a bad game. They might tell a good story, or be able to explain some interesting insight into why circumstances transpired in a favourable or unfavourable manner based on a decision they made or didn’t make. But the one thing they don’t get any better than us, is the meaning and qualification of what it is to be a football fan. So they need to do their job without acknowledging us or they end up sinking to our level. We all have strange and lucid gut feelings based on the hours accumulating meaningless and trivial facts and bias that bring no reward to our lives. Most people do things/work on areas of themselves to make them seem more attractive. The generating of football knowledge is not one of them.

We give ourselves over to something weaker and more secretive than religion. There is a flexible and odd moral code that can bridge the disgusting (I’m thinking of the songs about Adebayor and Hitler being a Gooner because he killed Jews), to the amazing (Muamba, the pre-match laying of flowers by the Arsenal players at Anfield ’89).

The amount of time we spend trying to think things through is directly at odds with our real feelings. Feelings about a Wenger who mirrors the worst in all of us. His inability to budge from his self-belief/opinion, his myopia to suit his needs, his devotion to that which he truly cares about (parity within pay and stability/family life within the group). All of these things are things we see or believe we see in ourselves. Much of that which we love or hate is mirrored in our own beliefs and failings. Why should football be any different?

Anyway, I digress. What I am trying to explain, is that the game itself and the ritual around it are two very different things. One is steeped in tribalism, camaraderie and emotional abandonment. The other is the achieving of immediate objectives based on the qualities of one team to try to beat or hold another team. I am going out on a limb and assuming few teams go out to lose (in any sport).

So then we have the challenge of what makes a fan, set against what makes a professional footballer. From here on in, the links and comparisons could decend into the hilarious. I apologise if I let go of the reins. If I do, this will be both in surrealism as well as experimental sentence structure.

An English fan is an amalgam of branded clothes and sportswear, beer, regular (if unreliable) sources of opinion and conjecture, spurious recollections of the past and projections for the future. A studied and dissonant rabble of solipsists resembling the French Foreign Legion and in the main, suffering some type of physical and psychological atrophy. (Woooah horsey!)

The fan reacts on the hoof and thinks in detail at a later stage. The fan loses all sense of discipline because the abandonment is the drug that invigorates a meaningless and often one-way faith. The real fan doesn’t care about their self-image, because they have long-since recognized that they come a very distant second to the physical demands in the overwhelming emotion that is blind faith.

The quality player is (mainly) fit, disciplined, single-minded, aware of their duty and the impact it has on a team, a good decision maker and able to do so in an instant under stress/pressure.

Why have I spent so long trying to establish this? Because Arsenal is a crazy anomaly that occasionally tries to play like the crappiest fans (8-2 L), but let themselves down by reluctantly and more frequently resorting to skill (5-2 J).

So much as I would like to talk about the merits of Arteta, Wilshire’s absence, defensive indiscipline, us being a selling club and so on, I find myself having to justify why I want to talk about it in the first place. For all the tactical inefficiencies and genius displayed by the various factions of the team, I find myself worryingly overcome by my own fits of rage at the inane, docile, simian and discombobulated expressions too often worn in recent times by the likes of Eboue, Vela, Almunia (who always looked like a homeless person caught defecating in a backstreet), Djourou, Song, Arsharvin, Clichy, Chamakh and so on and bloody so forth.

With that in mind, caring about whether van Persie stays, or if Podolski will be a hit almost seems meaningless. The amount of time we have invested in our madness has already elapsed and taken its true form. The delusion that success on the field, will bring the fan some kind of moment of clarity is as nonsensical as manufacturing and using a home-made catheter when your junk and bladder are in perfect working order.

Man United fans are miserable. Man City fans have been and are already miserable. All fans are bloody miserable because it is that state of being which we enjoy. We just tend to confuse it with thinking. The temporary elation in success brings us worryingly close to a realization that the meaning of football is to chew us up and spit us out. Results and achievements are ephemeral and the solipsism of the fan is what it is really all about. Wenger and his strange habits show he is human and suffering his own madness. Good. Serves him right.

Written by fergalburger

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Posted by Rasp

Something Has Got To Give.

June 19, 2012

Am I the only one who chuckled when we signed Podolski? I mean the signing at that time and of that grade of player didn’t just pull the carpet from those who love to criticise Arsenal’s transfer policy, it yanked it so hard that they were thrown in the air and silenced upon landing.

Wenger only signs kids………

…..can’t accuse him of that this summer.

Wenger hates spending money……

..…Looks a bit silly as Podolski was no bargain basement signing.

Wenger in last minute supermarket transfer dash…

……Not this time, Podolski: signed before the season ended.

Wenger never signs proven internationals…………lol.

I am sure you can think of quite a few more, but you can see the point I am making; this signing has crushed so many anti-Wengerites it still makes me chuckle.

But the signing of Podolski does bulge the lateral options available to Wenger to breaking point and in my opinion something or someone is going to have to give.

Podolski has not been signed to sit on the bench; he is going to have to play and by that I mean start.

Furthermore, Wenger can no longer expect Oxlade-Chamberlin to sit on the bench; he also has to start.

So that is two of the three offensive positions taken up, the other obviously being taken by van Persie and even if he leaves it does not change the fact that those two players above are going to expect to play.

That leaves Gervinho, Arshavin, Vela, and of course a certain Theo Walcott. Now, most of us expect that Arshavin and Vela will go but that still leaves Gervinho and Walcott, maybe Gervinho might accept some bench time but Theo?

Don’t think that the Ox will wait on the bench for his turn if and when Theo is not available as that could be the whole of the season, unlikely I know but it could be and if I was 18 and my name was Oxlade-Chamberlain I would be worried that the latter possibility might happen.

And besides the history tells us that Wenger will not leave out a young player who is ready for the first team: A Cole, Fàbregas, Walcott, Wilshere, Szczesny, you can probably think of others but the pattern is clear and the Ox will be playing.

So what are we going to do with Theo coming to the last year of his contract and looking as good as his is in these Euros?

Written by LB

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The Childlike Delusions of the Arsène Haters

June 18, 2012

There is a strong current of opinion among some Arsenal supporters that our seven year winless streak is a disgrace.

The argument goes like this: “Arsenal are a big club. Big clubs win things. We haven’t won anything for seven years. Therefore… our manager isn’t good enough; our Board of Directors lack ambition; they’re only interested in money. Let’s change everything.”

The flaws in the reasoning are obvious and you really don’t need me to reiterate them.

But what is not often mentioned is that this type of thinking is recognisable to psychologists and is described as “Childlike Behaviour in Adults”.

The symptoms of childlike behaviour in adults are reflective of emotional immaturity and can be grouped under five headings:

  • Egocentrism
  • Uncontrolled Emotion
  • Gratification
  • Attitude
  • Magical Thinking

If you go on some of the more negative Arsenal blogs you will find these symptoms displayed in abundance by both the authors and the commenters. The most important symptom, in the context of Arsenal’s recent history, is gratification, but the others play their part too.

Egocentricism:

“Emotionally immature individuals are self centred and selfish. They have little regard for others and are preoccupied with their own ideas and feelings. They deeply believe that they are somehow special therefore demand constant attention, respect and sympathy.”

Well, that certainly describes some Arsenal blog authors. People who are so preoccupied with their own “ideas and feelings” that they are unable to take on board the views and feelings of others. And they acquire an unfounded estimation of their own importance (believing they are “somehow special”). There is no doubt that some Arsenal sites, because they have attracted a modest following of like-minded delusionals, believe they speak for the greater Arsenal community. Further, they believe they are fighting a good fight (against the Triple Threat of Wenger, Kroenke and Gazidis) on behalf of that larger Arsenal community. Let me tell you chaps: you don’t speak for the rest of us and the fight you have embarked on is no more than Don Quixote tilting at windmills.

Uncontrolled Emotion:

“Immaturity expresses itself in temper tantrums, prolonged pouts and rapidly changing moods. Emotionally immature individuals get frustrated easily and over-react to perceived criticism. They are unwilling to forgive and are prone to jealousy pangs.”

Ring any bells? Over-reacting to perceived criticism? Like banning perfectly reasonable and well-mannered contributors who post comments at odds with the prevailing orthodoxy? As for the temper tantrums and pouts… well, you can visit any Arsenal blog after a bad result and see evidence of them in their droves.

Gratification:

“Children and childish adults often want everything now, and avoid enduring any thing they do not like. Their behaviour is superficial, thoughtless and impulsive.”

This hits straight at the heart of the “no trophies for seven years” issue. People who take that fact as a personal affront (and conveniently ignore the compelling reasons why Arsenal have been unable to win silverware in that period) are behaving like children: “I want twophies now and if I don’t get them I’ll scweam and scweam and scweam.” No matter how many times old stagers pop up to describe periods in our history when we went way more than seven years as Potless Percies, the childlike adults among our fan base just scream louder that they want it, and they want it NOW. If you have had children and remember the toddler phase, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The idea of “deferred gratification” (seeing the big picture and accepting short term pain for long term gain) is anathema to the childlike adult.

Attitude:

“Immature individuals have a hard time with integrity. They avoid and deny money and relationship problems which demand integrity and seek to pass the blame. They avoid reality and attack people when frustrated.”

Attacking people when frustrated – like making up silly names and acronyms for those who have a different viewpoint to your own. Lacking integrity – like never feeling ashamed or embarrassed when your dire predictions and made-up stories turn out to be nonsense.  There are Arsenal commentators and bloggers out there who (apparently) joyfully predicted that we would be in a relegation fight in the season that’s just finished. You won’t see them referring to that now. Instead, as childlike adults, they have simply shifted the goal posts and now predict doom and gloom for next season instead.

Magical Thinking:

“The interpreting of two closely occurring events as though one caused the other, without any concern for the causal link. For example, if you believe that crossing your fingers brought you good fortune, you have associated the act of finger-crossing with the subsequent welcome event and imputed a causal link between the two. Magical thinking invests special powers and forces in many things that are seen as symbols.”

Among the staunchest opponents of Arsene Wenger, magical thinking, indeed, takes the form of “interpreting two closely occurring events as though one caused the other.” For example, believing that because Arsene looks to achieve the best value when buying players, he must be on a “bonus” to spend less on transfers. There is, of course, not one shred of evidence for this ridiculous notion, but it has not stopped certain authors from repeating it endlessly as fact. Another example of spurious causal connection is the fact that we didn’t sign Xabi Alonso from Liverpool. The childlike adults, with their simple but deeply held world view of all things Arsenal, can only conceive of the idea that Alonso did not come because we were too cheap to pay the asking price. They, and we, have no evidence that that was truly the case.

“Magical thinking invests special powers and forces in many things that are seen as symbols,” which, in the case of Arsenal, takes the form of an irrational belief that some flavour-of-the-month player from some other team is the answer to all our problems. Be it Cahill, Samba, Hazard, Mata, M’Vila (even, ludicrously, Joe Cole once upon a time). It doesn’t occur to the childlike adults who champion these causes that it might be the slightest bit inappropriate for them – with their day-jobs as IT workers, local government officials, Post Office sorters, or Sainsburys shelf stackers – to think they know better than a man like Arsene Wenger about which players are needed for Arsenal.

One important caveat: of course I am not suggesting that all criticism of Arsene Wenger and the current running of the club is a manifestation of psychological delusionality.

If you think Arsène should be removed as manager and can present cogent reasons for your opinion – fine, let’s have a debate. We may not change each other’s minds but we can at least respect each other and, through going back and forth, offer each other new perspectives on the issues.

Furthermore we can do so without playground abuse.

If you believe Ivan Gazidis is nothing more than a spin merchant who has overseen repeated failure in our transfer dealings – again, let’s go at it.

It’s not the argument itself that matters, but the way in which it is conducted. This is what separates the emotionally mature adult from the childlike adult and the emotionally mature Arsenal blog site from the childlike sites, of which, sadly, there are several.

That doesn’t mean that the emotionally mature adult is immune from occasional lapses of temper or good manners.

Many regular blog contributors go over the top at times (whether through frustration, a perception that they are being personally attacked or, as in my case, too much Scotch whisky) but if you examine the totality of their contributions you can soon judge their prevailing psychological state.

So what am I saying?

That some Arsenal blog sites and some of the people who contribute to them are psychologically not fully developed? They are, in effect, a bit mad?

Absolutely.

And thank goodness for the organisers of this site for keeping its standards high and emotionally mature and allowing wafflers like me to have our thoughts aired in an environment that (most of the time) is 100% sane.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Still cooking on Fabregas?

June 17, 2012

Watching Italy against Croatia on Thursday, I could only admire the silky skills of Pirlo, the Italian Playmaker. Especially in the first half, Pirlo gave a demonstration of what the Conductor role is all about. He always makes himself available by cleverly, and constantly, finding space. As soon as he gets the ball, he already knows what he wants to do next. He possesses a great first touch and can move forward, and if necessary past a player, quickly and with great close control.

On top of this, and it’s his most valuable skill and so rare in a footballer; he has a great overview of what is exactly in front of him, and what needs to happen next – and he can pick the pass that pulls a defence apart in one move. Of course, not every ball by Pirlo is a killer-pass, but he always seems to know how to move the play on with real intent and effectiveness. He gives shape and purpose to a team and Pirlo has been brilliant this season for both Italy and Juventus, with whom he just won the Italian league.

His is not the youngest, and once Croatia had levelled he did not have the energy anymore to drive his team forwards in order to get the all important winner. At an age of 33, I think he can be forgiven for this.

I love this kind of player though. They lift football to a higher echelon; they make football into poetry in motion, and they make me want to watch games of teams I do not support, or even like.

Whilst watching Pirlo, I could not help but think back about our former Spanish Maestro, our ex El Capitan: the one who left us because his home town was calling him.

Some of you might recall, I wrote an ‘open-letter post’ to Cesc last year:

https://arsenalarsenal.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/letter-to-el-capitan-cesc-fabregas/

I still love watching Cesc even though he plays no longer for us. I guess I still feel a bit of man love for him, a purely platonic one mind you! I am not bitter though, unlike some Arsenal supporters. He was young and felt a strong urge to return home, where they finally seemed to want him, and where they are playing the best football in the world: I probably would have done exactly the same.

When Fabregas scored his goal though, after he came on late on Thursday, I could not help but think he is not fully happy at the moment. There seemed to be some frustration there – maybe as a result of having to come on as a late substitute, or maybe because he is not being played in the position that suits his talents best.

Having watched him play at Barca in a new role this season, for which he needed to adjust considerably, I feel he has been underused by Guardiola. The now departed manager played him far too high up the pitch, where he did relatively well, but could not play his best football.

The Conductor has been asked to play the double bass, or the first violin, and to a certain extent this is fully understandable. Cesc decided to join Barcelona when they already had two of the finest conductors, and they also do not play the sort of football where there is a pivotal role for a classical playmaker. And this is where he might have made an error of judgement.

If he had stayed at Arsenal for at least another year, he could have continued in the hole – in the ‘1’ of our 4-2-1-3 formation. That is where Cesc belongs. If a player is blessed with the same skill-set as described above for Pirlo, and Cesc has these in abundance, and he finds himself in a position where he is not required to use his strongest assets, then football is being done an injustice, and a player is effectively denying himself – is not fulfilling himself. Good Playmakers are rare and they need to make the play.

And that is a great shame. Cesc is no longer cooking on gas and I wonder whether he has any regrets about his early move to Barcelona now.

Despite Cesc’s two excellent goals at the Euros and all his impressive goals and assists for Barcelona this season, he still left at least one season too early in my opinion. And I think he realises this as well at the moment.

Just imagine him last season: in front of Arteta and Song – what a season it could have been for us, and certainly also for him.

Fabregas is such a good footballer that he can be played almost everywhere and do well. But that is not the point. Barcelona and the Spanish National Team are confronted with an embarrassment of riches, and in the process a great talent is being wasted, whilst the clock is ticking.

TotalArsenal.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Has Arsène Finally Found The All-Conquering Formula?

June 13, 2012

Youth + Wenger-Gems + Established Quality Players =

The All-Conquering Formula! (But we need to hold on to our players….).

We at the Academy, feel that Arsene could have given some of the kids a chance and maybe put them on the bench and given them a run-out, especially in games where you’re winning 3-0, but I also understand he has to get results and he’s super-cautious.

Liam Brady – Head of Youth Development at Arsenal (at some time back in 2003, maybe earlier).

Recently, I have been reading ‘The Glorious Game: Extra Time’, by Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher in order to relive the early years of Arsene Wenger once more. The above quote by Brady made me realise again how different Arsene’s approach had been regarding creating, building and choosing his squad as well as his first team, back in the first half of his managerial time at Arsenal.

Nowadays, Arsene gets regularly criticised for putting his faith far too much in young players, for not dumping underperforming youngsters (quickly enough), and for not buying enough experienced, top-quality players. But back then it was quite the opposite, as young talents where given very few opportunities to break through into the core squad:

“The immediate future was shaped not by the produce of the Academy, but the manager’s activity in the transfer market. On one level, this predilection for experience was perverse as Arsene Wenger had been instrumental in the development of the Academy.” Fynn, Whitcher.

There is a strong belief among fellow Gooners that Arsene’s decision to start building his teams for a large part with the outputs of the Youth Academy from the mid-Noughties, was born out of necessity. The build of the new stadium meant there was very little money available for Arsene to buy the calibre of players he was able to afford before, and so he was left with no other option than to reap the harvest of Liam Brady and co’s hard labour at the Youth Academy, in order to somehow compete with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and a few others, whilst the financial impact of building the new stadium was being smoothed out.

Although I believe there is a considerable amount of truth in that view, I am also convinced that Wenger always wanted to build his team bottom upwards: manned by the best outputs from the Youth Academy and build around a philosophy/style of football that is quintessentially Arsenal – a variant of total football, based on a Wengeresque interpretation.

Wenger wants to build something at the club with longevity, with strong roots: a system based around a philosophy that will remain the foundation for future successful teams, for decades or more to come – perhaps comparable with other former great Frenchmen like Louis XIV and Francois Mitterand who had a similar desire to leave something behind for perpetuity – in their cases, through great building schemes: ‘Les Grands Projets’ as Mitterand liked to call them.

The Youth Academy has produced some very fine outputs in the last decade or so. For good order, I must state that I consider any player who joined Arsenal before the age of 21 as a product of our Youth Academy/Policy, whether it is Wilshere who was at Arsenal from a very young age, or Walcott, Ramsey, the Ox, or even Van Persie, who all joined Arsenal at a later age. The key principle is that Arsenal is always looking for players who can (still) be moulded into players who will fit very well within the Arsenal system/philosophy of football and subsequently become top class players.

Whether Arsene had no other option than to build his recent teams around our best talents, or whether he would have done it anyway, what we can say is that Arsenal is now starting to see the benefits of investing in the Youth Academy/Policy.

Despite Arsenal having had to sell/let go, for various reasons, the likes of Adebayor, Flamini, Nasri, Clichy, Fabregas, etc recently – an unprecedented loss of talent by a English top club in such a short period of time – the current core team still shows a strong representation of Youth Academy/Policy outputs: Szczesny, Song, Theo, Van Persie, Wilshere are all first team players now, whilst the likes of Gibbs, Ramsey, Coquelin, Jenkinson, Miquel and the Ox played a considerable number of games in the first team already, and are likely to become regular first-team starters in due course.

And there is more talent in the pipeline!

On top of the successes of our Youth Academy/Policy comes Wenger’s ability to buy a rare, and yet very affordable, gem. The so-called Wenger-gems are one of the main reasons Arsenal has been so successful since the arrival of le Professeur. Even in recent times, Arsene has been able to add a number of gems: Koscielny, Sagna, Vermaelen, and Santos come to mind, and he will always be able to find them. That is not to say he never gets it wrong, but that goes for every manager.

For me, the combination of a qualitatively strong output of our Youth Acadamy/Policy and Arsene’s ability to find very good players that nobody else seems to detect, is already a strong formula for success in the near future.

It is absolutely paramount though that Arsenal hold on to their best players as much as possible, and recent comments by Gazidis to review the pay-structure/policy in order to accommodate a number of players on high/competitive salaries, would make a big difference imho.

On top of the two above mentioned pillars for sustained success, Arsene seems now able to buy a number of experienced, quality players who might not provide the club with a substantial future sales value, but do add real and immediate value to the team. There has been a change in policy since last summer as, with the exception of Arshavin, Arsene has not been buying established, fully matured (26+ years old), quality players, for years now. You could argue that he seldom or never bought such players in the first place.

But, we have all seen the difference Arteta, and to slightly lesser extent, Mertesacker have made to our team this season, and it seems Wenger will continue down this line, as per the purchase of Podolski a few months ago. It looks like Arsenal continue to be in the market for one or two more established-quality players this summer, and there is a good chance that we will be able to continue this policy for years to come.

So here you have it:

Youth + Wenger-Gems + Established Quality Players = The All-Conquering Formula.

It is also the only acceptable panacea against the deadly poison of petro-dollars being pumped limitlessly into the game by you know who.

It is very hard, and it takes a long time, to replicate what Arsenal have set up with our Youth Academy, and it is also very difficult for our competitors to find a manager who can find affordable, yet very talented gems, like Arsene does. This sets us apart and very soon we will be able to reap the rewards we all have been longing for.

Once this formula starts working properly, it will be very hard for our competitors to catch up with Arsenal again in a fair and proper way.

Manchester United will probably be there with us for the foreseeable future, although it remains to be seen how AF will be able to cope with a reduced budget and stiff competition. The likes of Chelsea and Man City will do everything to stay ahead of us through shameless and limitless financial doping, but Arsenal will be a force to reckon with as a result of its All-Conquering Formula coming to full fruition.

The biggest challenge Arsene and Gazidis face now is convincing the likes of Theo, Song and RvP that the future is blindingly bright at Arsenal, and to get them to sign new contracts.

Let’s see what will happen during this summer and beyond, but there is every reason to be very positive about both our immediate and long-term futures.

TotalArsenal.

(With a big thanks to TMHT who, with his well-reasoned and never flailing belief in a bright future for Arsenal, has inspired me to write this post!).

And the truly great thing is that most, if not all, of the above players are likely to get better every year, and that so for the foreseeable future.

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Posted by Rasp

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