Keep the Corporal

June 22, 2015

It is my belief that we should be looking to retain the services of one Corporal Carl Jenkinson at THOF for the immediate future and I will state my case as to why.

What would be the reasons to let him go? Firstly some would argue he is not good enough. Others would say that we are well covered in his position and that there is no place for him when we have Bellerin, Debuchy and Chambers who can all play there.

Out of all our British players the corporal is still playing catch up. He doesn’t yet have the experience of being a regular senior international player and is arguably not yet able to put in performances at the highest level on a consistent basis, as you would expect from the likes of Jack, Ramsey, AOC, Gibbs.

That doesn’t mean though that he will not reach this level and, as with many of our youngsters, it is too early to say whether he will cut it at the top level or not. There have been glimpses that he has that level of performance in him. His recent performances at U21 level have seen him looking like one of the best of the young England players participating. The one game though that above others sticks in my mind was his performance against Bayern Munich in our 2-0 away victory. I believe it was Robben and Muller that were changing flanks to have a go at our young rookie, but he managed to keep both of them quiet for more or less the whole game, which is no easy feat. If that kind of performance is in there and can be replicated consistently then we have a player.

What about the competition?

Bellerin is a fine player and would currently get the nod as first choice but I have 2 things in my mind where this is concerned. Firstly it might be nice to have the option of playing Bellerin as a speedy right winger at times with Jenks behind him. Secondly is the dreaded Barca DNA. I would say there is a good chance that we will lose Bellerin to Spain at some point in the future, and also while he is still in his prime, if not at his peak. If Jenks has developed into that consistent top level player the impact will be lessened, rather than facing the situation scrambling around trying to recruit a new top level player who may need to bed in.

Debuchy? Well he is over 30 so has a limited period that he can provide us with top level cover in this role anyway. Debuchy’s ability to cover at CD and possibly even for Le Coq, (according to RC he played there for Lille which I found an interesting option), means for me that we can keep all 3 with Jenks easing into a more regular role as Debuchy fades / moves on. If Jenks is not as likely to get that playing time right now then I would suggest we get another loan season going while making sure we have him secured on a decent contract term. Chambers can also cover the role but my preference would be to develop him as a CD.

Finally, and perhaps the most important of the lot is the home grown quota rules. This consideration really extends beyond Jenks to all our quality young home grown players. The home grown quota rule may start to bite on some top teams as much as FFP. The team with the greatest amount of high quality home grown players could hold a significant advantage in the next few seasons to come, and we are, in my opinion, in one of the strongest (if not the strongest) positions in this sense relative to our top table rivals. For me it is a hands off to the Chavvies and Northern Oilers with Jenks, Jack, Aaron, Kieron, Calum e.t.c

As always over to you guys for your opinions.

Written by GoonerB

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Is Arsene Wenger building a winning squad for the next 3-4 years‏?

June 17, 2015

Following another season that has been qualified by some as “promising” with a Top 3 finish and another FA Cup win and by others as “disappointing” with less points than last year and an early exit in the CL against Monaco, it seems that there is a sense (at least among the players and some fans) that after many years, Arsenal can be considered as a genuine title contender for next season if we strengthen with 3 players…What I find quite interesting is that our squad is full of talent but that it is also full of talented YOUNG PLAYERS who are entering their best part of their careers so has AW finally laid the foundations for a “winning squad” for the next few years?

List of players under 26:

PiG – 25

Ospina – 26

Bellerin – 20

Chambers – 20

Paulista – 24

Gibbs – 25

Coquelin – 24

Wilshere – 23

Ramsey – 24

Ox – 21

Walcott – 26

Sanchez – 26

Ozil – 26

Wellbeck –   24

You can add also Gnabry and Zelalem –  both under 20 years old…

If we manage to keep this squad and strengthen it with 3/4 quality players this summer (1GK, 1 CB, 1 DM, 1FW) in their prime (between 25 – 33), then I believe that even if the Oligarchs and American billionaires distort the market with crazy bids, we will be competetive and for a while as well…

What do you think?

Written by RC 78

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Posted by Rasp

A Tribute to Arsene Wenger’s Vision, Principles and Commitment

June 15, 2015

This post was written by GN5 in 2013 shortly after Arsene Wenger completed his 1,000th game in charge of Arsenal.

Arsene Charles Ernest Wenger was born on the 22nd of October 1949 in Strasbourg, France and he will leave a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come.

AW strasbourgIn his playing days, he was a defensive sweeper and played for FC Mulhouse where he made 56 league appearances and scored four goals in two years (1973-1975) before making a move to ASPV Strasbourg, 1975 to 1978, where he made a total of 80 appearances scoring 20 goals in the process.

 

He ended his playing days for his hometown club RC Strasbourg before delving into football management in AS Nancy Lorraine in 1984. His spell in ASNL had a very bad twist in his third and final season because they finished the season in 19th place and was relegated to the second tier of French football.

AW monaco

Arsene Wenger’s managerial career turned for the best when he took over at the helm of affairs of AS Monaco in the 1987/88 campaign. The Masters Degree holder in Economics guided the club from the Principality to a Ligue 1 championship and he achieved this feat with a group of incredibly talented players including; – Youri Djourkaeff, Jurgen Kilnsmann, Glenn Hoodle and the 1995 FIFA Golden Ball winner, George Opong Weah. Wenger also guided AS Monaco to the French Cup trophy in 1991.

His success at AS Monaco made him a media favourite for the Bayern Munich job in 1994 but the Board of AS Monaco denied him a move to the German team before sacking him after the post had been taken. Wenger put that disappointment behind him and moved over the Pacific Ocean to manage Nagoya Grampus Eight in the J-League. In his 18-month stint with the Japenese outfit, he won the Emperor’s Cup and was honoured with the J-League Manager of the Year award for 1995 making him the first ever foreigner to receive such an accolade.

AW joins arsenal

In September 1996, Arsene Wenger became manager of Arsenal and is now the longest serving and most successful manager in the clubs history. He marked his Arsenal start with a 2-0 win against Blackburn and he ended his first season in third place. He welcomed Patrick Vieira to the club and the tall holding midfielder spent the best part of nine magical years playing for Arsenal making 279 appearances and scoring 28 league goals. In his time under Wenger, Vieira lifted the Community Shield four times (1998, 1999, 2002 and 2004), the FA Cup four times (1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005) and the Premier League three times (1998, 2002 and 2004).

In Wenger’s second season in charge, he achieved the unthinkable with a League and Cup double despite being 12 points behind Manchester United at the turn of the year. The double winning squad had a water-tight rock solid all-English defence led by Tony Adams along with Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown. Wenger also had the great David Seaman in goal and the midfield was blessed with Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira while Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka did the business up front.

AW double

To date Arsene’s record is:

Managerial statistics

AS Nancy 1 July 1984 to 1 July 1987

G114, W33, D30, L31, Win% 28.95

AS Monaco 1 July 1987 to 17 September 1994

G266, W130, D53, L83, Win% 48.87

Nagoya Grampus 9 December 1994 to 30 September 1996

G56, W38, D0, L18, Win % 67.86

Arsenal 1 October 1996 to Present

G1066, W613, D249, L204, Win% 57.5

 

Managerial honours

Monaco Ligue 1: 1987–88

Coupe de France: 1990–91

Nagoya Grampus Emperor’s Cup: 1995

J-League Super Cup: 1996

Arsenal FA Premier League: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

FA Cup: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014-15

FA Community Shield: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014

Individual French Manager of the Year: 2008

League Manager of the Year: 1995

Officer of the British Empire: 2003

Onze d’Or Coach of The Year: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004

Premier League Manager of the Season: 1998, 2002, 2004

LMA Manager of the Year: 2001–02, 2003–04

IFFHS World Coach of the Decade: 2001–2010

BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award: 2002, 2004

Freedom of Islington: 2004

FWA Tribute Award: 2005

English Football Hall of Fame: 2006

Premier League Manager of the Month: March 1998, April 1998, October 2000, April 2002, September 2002, August 2003, February 2004, August 2004, September 2007, December 2007, February 2011, February 2012, September 2013, March 2015.

Here are a few of the Tribute’s that ArseneWenger has received:

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry says he was relieved to see Arsene Wenger finally sign a new three-year deal at the end of last season. Henry also believes that Wenger’s impact at Arsenal will not be fully appreciated until his former manager finally leaves the Emirates.

Henry told Sky Sports News:

Knowing Arsene I knew he was going to stay – especially after winning the FA Cup final.  “He loves the club so much that I think it is always going to be difficult for him to leave this club, he signed another three years and hopefully they can be successful. “You only miss people when they have gone and then you will probably realise what he has done for the club.

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This is a guy who works 24 hours a day all year around,” former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson told BBC Radio 5 live.  “He hates to lose. He totally revolutionised all sorts of things in the game in this country. People tend to think he has too much power, (but) a guy who dedicates himself to the game in the manner that he does is someone you treasure.”

Stan Kronke, Arsenal’s major shareholder, said:

“Sustained excellence is the hardest thing to achieve in sport. The fact Arsenal has competed at the top of the game in England and Europe throughout the time Arsene has been manager is the ultimate testimony to his consistency of performance, talent and ambition. “We are delighted with the FA Cup success which has added to his already outstanding record. Under his guidance, we look forward to adding more trophies.

Arsene’s response was:

We are all determined to bring more success to this club. The club has always shown faith in me and I’m very grateful for that. We have gone through fantastic periods and also periods where we have had to stick together.

Every time when that togetherness was tested I got the right response. I think I have shown some loyalty as well towards this club and hopefully we can make some more history. I am sure we can.

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Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick – when he presented Arsene with a Golden Cannon to commemorate his 1,000 games at Arsenal.

Obviously this is a wonderful moment for Arsene and for Arsenal Football Club. One thousand games is clearly a rite of passage. “If we were in the jewellery business, we would give Arsene a diamond brooch!  This Cannon was designed 125 years ago by the workers at the factory in Woolwich before we moved, and I hope it will give you as much pleasure as you have given around the world to millions of fans. “You have transformed the beautiful game back into being a beautiful game, and long may it last, and long may you continue to lead us.

Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick on Arsene’s new contract signing:

We are delighted that Arsene has renewed his contract for a further three years. He is a man of principle, who lives and breathes Arsenal. “He has established Arsenal for its exciting playing style around the world continues his commitment to young players and has the ability to bring top-class players to the club. “I have no doubt we have an exciting future ahead of us with him leading the team.

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Nigel Winterburn, who played under Wenger from 1987 to 2000, told Sky Sports News:

It’s good news for me and the club. I’ve always supported Arsene Wenger, particularly through the last few seasons when he was under pressure with the team not winning a trophy. “I believe there have been restrictions with the spending.

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Sir Alex Ferguson

A board member of the LMA, Sir Alex had the following to say;

I congratulate Arsène in reaching this momentous landmark. Having also reached the same milestone at one club, I cannot emphasise enough the level of dedication, resilience as well as sacrifice required and for that I have for the utmost admiration.  Over the years we enjoyed some fantastic battles and you could say we had survived together and respected each other’s efforts to play good football. I always enjoy watching Arsène’s sides – Arsenal play the right way.  Playing against them always presented special challenges that I burned many hours over the years thinking about. He has always been a conscientious member of our trade who makes it his business to help other managers.

Perhaps the biggest compliment I could give Arsène is that I could never be anything other than competitive with my rival for 17 years. Overall this achievement once again shows what stability can bring to a football club and without doubt he has created a permanent legacy during his 1000 matches with the Club.

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Former Arsenal vice chairman David Dein believes Arsene Wenger will be an ‘impossible act’ to follow when he eventually calls time on his Gunners career.

Dein, who helped to bring Wenger to north London in 1996, was speaking exclusively to Sky Sports about the Frenchman who has helped establish Arsenal as one of the most envied clubs in the world.

He has transformed the club, revolutionised the club, Dein said. Whenever he decides to leave he will be leaving behind a phenomenal state-of-the-art training facility, a wonderful stadium, a very good squad which he is trying to improve and a legacy of what he’s won. “Arsene Wenger transformed the club on the pitch and off the pitch. I will go on record as saying he won’t be a difficult act to follow, in my opinion it will be an impossible act.

With the current trend in modern football being for managers to be given very little time to improve a club’s fortunes, Dein does not expect another boss to come close to matching his record. “I would go on record and say I don’t think we will see that again in our lifetime,” he said. “It’s a phenomenal milestone; 1,000 games at one club for 18 years.

In modern football the longevity in the whole of the 92 professional clubs, you know how long a manager stays in his job for? Eleven months, and Arsene has been there for 1,000 games which is absolutely astonishing.”  “Arsene is a football purist. He has a lovely phrase; he calls it “possession with progression”  “He still has the fire in his belly and wants to win every game.

We had a ritual that after a home game we went up the road and we normally had dinner together with his wife and my wife – but only if we haven’t lost. If we’ve lost he’s bad company. It’s a monologue instead of a dialogue. The other day I said to him you’ve probably had 1,000 games with other clubs and 1,000 with Arsenal, you’ve probably had collectively about 2,000 games.I asked him what that meant to him. He looked at me and said: Two thousand sleepless nights’.

That tells you a lot about the man.

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Patrick Vieira

His former captain, first signing (albeit unofficially) and the only overseas player to start Wenger’s first game in charge against Blackburn, this is what the midfielder had to say about his old boss: What was quite really impressive with Arsene is that I would go in his office really upset, really frustrated, wanting to make a point.  I knew that I was right, so my ideas were clear about what I wanted to tell him. I would go into his office but when I came back out, it was always him who was right!

He was really good at trying to change your mind and he did it in a calm, laid-back way.

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David Moyes claims Arsene Wenger’s record at Arsenal is proof of the success stability can bring to a club. Moyes saluted Wenger ahead of his 1,000th game as Arsenal boss and says he is joining an elite club.

“It’s an incredible record,” said the Manchester United boss. “I’m in the LMA and I think it’s only Dario Gradi, Alex and Sir Matt who have managed one club for 1,000 games.”It’s an incredible record for someone to stay at one club for so long.” “Longevity is important. You look at the years Brian Clough stayed at Nottingham Forest, Sir Bobby Robson’s record for Ipswich and he was there for 12 or 13 years. “If there’s a platform, with clubs who keep their manager for years, you can have success and it’s a great credit to Arsene Wenger and Arsenal Football Club.”

Ahead of his 1,000th game, Wenger said:

It makes you feel ‘where did the time go?’. It looks to me like I started yesterday; I can’t believe it is such a long time.  “Why? Because you’re always focused on looking forward to the next game and when you look back you think ‘I made quite a distance there’.  “Despite that, your only interest is the next game, our drug is the next game, the hope for the next game, the desire to win the next one. You go step by step and finally when you look back it’s a long time.  “I would just like to say for me it’s an honour to manage a club of this dimension for such a long time and I would like to thank everybody who is involved in the club for giving me such a confidence for such a long time.

Who Knows?………………….“Arsene Knows”

 (Long may it continue)

 GunnerN5

 

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Posted by Rasp

The parting in the middle – Arsenal Solution at Ian’s

June 10, 2015

Forty minutes ago I had my six quid at the ready and was waiting patiently for a trim at Ian’s Hair.

I grabbed The Daily Mirror, and worked my way in from the back looking for important news. Page 60, and bingo. “Sanchez wants to raise the Bar” the headline bellowed. I pressed on, and could hear nothing but sweet music. “Alexis Sanchez believes Arsenal underachieved…” it began. I was in my element and lapping up every word. Again, I pushed on. “It was an ok season” our Ace proclaimed, following which the piece rambled on a bit before reaching an almighty and deeply satisfying climax, “If I am put in to play centre-forward for Arsenal, I will do it in the best possible way”. Oh Dear Lord, was that as good for you as it was for me?

Early last season, we’d line up with Mesut on the left, Alexis on the right, sandwiching Danny in the middle. At that point Arsene announced that as soon as Theo was back up to speed, Alexis would move central. “Halleluja” I chimed. The Boss did have a clear vision when he lodged the 40M+1 pound bid for Suarez, and it was a fast, fluid and incisive front three.

Then things went wrong. Well, wrong’ish.

When I say “wong’ish”, what I mean is that Sanchez shifting right across to the left flank turned out well’ish because a). like all very good footballers they will be good footballers anywhere, and b). Mesut slithered into the No10 role, where has looked so much happier, while also being far more effective (and will hopefully cost me a fish).

So. Job half done

With the evidence presented at Ian’s Hair, I am convinced the final piece to The Master Plan is a very expensive Left Winger.

Any thoughts on who that could be? I asked Ian, but Ian doesn’t like football.

MickydIDiT89

 

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Posted by Rasp

Our Annual Trip to Wembley!

June 4, 2015

The build-up to Wembley started on the previous Thursday with Ant upsetting Pedro the Mackem on their five-a-side night with his answer to the question, ‘What are your plans for Wembley?’  Ant’s reply was, ‘The usual’ which was deemed  a little presumptuous by someone  who rarely gets to go. Then again, as this was to be our fourth trip in just over a year , was completely understandable.

Our routine involved an overnight stop at Beaconsfield and subsequent train into Wembley Stadium overground. So we set off at our ‘usual’ time of 8.45 in the car from Nottingham, aiming to get to Beaconsfield in time for a swift beer at the Wetherspoons alongside our budget hotel, before trekking off to get the bus into Beaconsfield town centre to catch the train. On the car journey we received a message from one of my godsons who’d drawn an Arsenal badge to get us in the right mood. Beautiful!

1 (3)

So we arrived at the hotel car park, as was tradition, in plenty of time to sneak an aforementioned swift blonde real ale at the ‘Spoons. The first photo of Ant in his Cup Final beret was duly posted on Facebook and proceeded to get over 20 ‘likes’, largely down to Ant’s uncanny resemblance to Benny Hill.

3 (2)

 

Our next photo message received showed the Vines Gooners from South London proudly displaying their yellow colours, including our littlest Gooner, Charlie. We also saw that my attempts at a homemade rosette had been well and truly trumped by older brother Jon with his spectacular red and white creation.

2 (1)

 

Meanwhile Ant and I had disembarked at Wembley and had eventually found Watkin’s Folly, our potential first stop. A fiver on the door which was to include cheeseburger and chips put off the younger Vineses as we knew that a packed lunch of humungous proportions to come negated the need for early sustenance. The Sports Bar across the road had no such door charge and with Ant in desperate need of some bladder relief proved a convenient first stop in the Wembley environs.

The said bar was festooned with shirts from many top teams and also one from Totteringham Hotspurs. Ant’s attention was grabbed by a peculiar signed photo of Tony Adams cut from a newspaper which made our Tone look huge. Judge for yourselves.

4 (2)

 

And so it was on to The Torch, our intended substitute for The Green Man which had been the venue for the Semi and both Semi and Final trips at the end of the 2013/4 season. The South London contingent arrived and we were provided with an FA Cup-themed packed lunch menu. So pleased we refused the cheeseburger!

5 (1)

 

Jon strung his Santi banner up on the pub car park fence much to the consternation of the next door neighbour who’d had his fence pulled over in previous football supporters’ shenanigans. After some reassurance that we would be extra careful not to do any damage, photos were taken and the usual disarray ensued.

6 (1)

 

The back bar of The Torch used for drink replenishment, was ideal with small queues which allowed  several refill runs with virtually no hassle, to be purchased. Double rounds the order of the day. Jon bought a free Captain Morgan hat for a fiver from a happy fellow Arsenal fan who cheekily tried to get us to buy another only a few minutes later.

6a

Having quaffed a gallon we set off toward the stadium, but as we were Eastsiders for the day, the route took us along Wembley Way for a change allowing time for more photos which demonstrated how we’d managed to stay pretty sober!

7 (1)

Taking our seats, the atmosphere was electric. The Villa fans contributing a great amount to the atmosphere, while the Arsenal fans, complete with complimentary yellow and very dark blue scarves, turned Wembley East side to a cacophony of buzzing bees.

The match was a sublimely joyous celebration of Wengerball with almost zero stress, some magnificent goals and a Villa team completely outclassed on the day. What a Final for us Gooners to savour!

Post match saw more photo opportunities at our designated meeting point, the Bobby Moore statue.

8

 

Next on the agenda was beer. We eventually found Las Iguanas restaurant in the Wembley retail complex and jugs of beer and some organic cider for older bro were ordered to be quaffed at a perfect table outside. We spoke to many supporters on their way past. The Villa fans were graciously magnanimous in defeat. In a way they were  just pleased to have avoided relegation thanks to Tim the Gooner and were revelling simply in the chance to be part of the day. All credit to them. Our favourite encounter was with a Villa fan who had teamed up with an Arsenal fan only an hour previously but who’d suddenly become best buddies. The Villa fan reminisced about players from previous generations including ‘Sideways’ Mortimer which involved a crab-like mime which was priceless. The mention of the venerable Jimmy Rimmer of Arsenal and Villa fame stimulated a favourite Arsenal keeper discussion of which Almunia was the clear winner. Superb.

Having turned down an overpriced burger restaurant, we headed back to our usual curry house on Wembley High Road. We were welcomed by the owner as if she recognised us.  It was another excellent decision and raucously enlivened by some Villa fans playing Roman numeral beer games at the adjacent table. Their forfeits involved the belting out of old Villa songs involving  ex players such as Nigel Reo-Coker  and garden sheds. We joined in their rendition of ‘ Where’s your European Cup?’ much to the consternation of a particular Arsenal fan on the table the other side of us.

All that was left for the day were train journeys back to our respective billets, so the four of us made our joyous way to the train station and eventually into the land of nod.

Ant had managed to procure an extra scarf and some discarded flags which I’ve since given to my godsons in Nottingham. Their Mum would like them to be Notts County supporters but she agreed that there’s no harm in them supporting another team ‘that wins things occasionally’. Haha.

9

What an amazing trip, on a par with some of our Cardiff experiences of the early 2000s.

Up The Gunners, roll on next season.

Written by chas 

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Can Sterling play as a number 9 for Arsenal?

May 31, 2015

I mean, has he ever played in that position at all? I find this an interesting debate. Why do we seem to always compare Sterling with Walcott, surely Sterling plays in a position more akin to Sanchez and if this is the case then I certainly do agree with the suggested ratio that Sanchez is worth at least 2 Sterlings but if Sterling can play CF then things change for me. Walcott worth at least two Sterlings; hmmm, not so sure about that………………..

The main problem that stops us from winning the league as I see it is our inability to get past the parked buses and I don’t mean those leaky old things that teams such as Tim’s nice but dim’s Villa rock up in; I mean, proper dour northern buses such as Sunderland. In these situations Theo is not blessed with enough quality in the close control department to offer a solution and neither does Giroud, so the popular suggestion that each should be picked to start depending on the opposition doesn’t work for me.

So my point is, I don’t believe we have enough up top to win the league with both Walcott and Giroud and if that really is the aim of the club next season then this problem needs to be addressed.

We are being propped up by Sanchez, Cazorla and Ozil but they should be playing with someone up top blessed with the same level of close control that each one of those three have. Not sure who it should be mind you, any suggestions?

Written by LB

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Posted by LB

A fine day to be a Gooner

May 31, 2015

The game

There were a few surprises from the manager, in Walcott out Giroud, in Monreal out Gibbs, in Szczesny out Ospina . Reasons for those changes, was it tactical, or was it just to stop the moaning?

Theo who scored a hat trick in the last game, was really a no brainer. He showed form, he scored goals and he also made Aston Villa’s defence back away from a high line.

Theo, was of course, the reason that Villa couldn’t get going, He was caught offside a few times playing off their last man. But with them knowing his pace, he held them back and they dare not give him a yard. Giroud would have allowed them forward. Shrewd move by Arsene.

As for Gibbs and Monreal, Gibbs injured his shoulder in the last game so a natural change there.

The strange one was the goal keepers, everybody picked Ospina to be Wengers choice, He has done very well, but he is short in height. And you know what Wenger feels about a player who is short 🙂 I believe Wenger wanted to combat the threat of Benteki’s dominance in the air, he of course had Mertsacker’s height but Per is usually a bit slow, and for high crosses Szczesny looked the obvious choice.

Where the Manager usually makes changes around the sixty minute mark, he left it later, I felt he wanted a bigger lead so if he made a tactical mistake a cushion would be in place so we would still win,

Arsenal to a man. played exceptionally well, Theo and Alexis were electric, Bellerin and Monreal played their role as wingbacks superbly for the whole game Merts and Kos were solid, often doubling up to stiffle the threat of Benteke, he didn’t get a chance. Szczesny, after a public row with his Father, complemented the defence but did rush out a few times.

Santi Cazorla, who was voted MOTM, played superbly and ran the show. Mesut Ozil has often been accused of not doing enough but not today he was outstanding Coquelin again showed the strength we have needed in front of the back four, his workrate and determination again has shown why he has a great future. Aaron Ramsey worked very hard he pressed when he could and also worked back as well he is improving with every game.

Alexis Sanchez boought from Barcelona for £35 million, what were they thinking, has proved in his goalscoring and his workrate that he was worth every penny, utterly brilliant, in fact they all were.

Goal scorers were Theo Walcott a fine opportunist left foot volley that opened the scoring. Alexis Sanchez scored number two with an exquisite outside the box swerving shot, which will go down as one of the finest goals ever to be scored in an Arsenal cup final. Per Mertesacker’s  shoulder scored the third and to round up the evenings play substitute Oliver Giroud scored with a magnificent side foot flick past a flailing keeper.

Arsene Wenger got the tactics right, he also got the players right, but most importantly he sent the supporters into ecstasy, and sent them home happy.

Arsenal turned up to day, from the start they were superb, by the end of ninety they had been magnificent, The engraver etched the name of Arsenal for the twelfth time on the sought after FA cup, no other team have ever been on more, but now it sits at The Emirates for the second year running.

A fine day to be a Gooner

Written by Steve Palmer

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Alexis to score. Ozil MotM.

May 30, 2015

If I said I was totally confident I would be fibbing.

A year ago we were a goal-line header away from being 3 down after 20 minutes to Hull, and Villa are a better team. Much better.

Under normal circumstances having beaten a team 3-0 away and 5-0 at home I would be planning my trip to the Victory Parade but Sherwood has transformed Villa, more importantly he has transformed Benteke. In my opinion, Villa’s chances rest on the big fellow’s shoulders. Yes, they have other weapons but nothing our heroes cannot cope with if they play as per normal.

How to rate Sherwood? Tim “Nice But Dim” – or is he? I like the cut of the man’s jib; he is a very different manager to Mr Wenger who eschews passion and fire (and gilets) for logic and intelligence. Mr Wenger’s management style fits his team- we are artists who play with the brain first and foremost, whereas a Sherwood team plays from the heart and stomach. I prefer our style, don’t you?

Statistics all point to an Arsenal win – Villa have beaten us just 3 times in out last 34 games, Alexis has scored more goals this season than the AV team added together etc etc but stats don’t win games, players and luck do.

We have the players, we will have to see about the luck but I was up early cycling down to the forest to sacrifice a virgin (I had to import her from the Faroe Islands as there are none in Copenhagen), I have feng shuie’d my living room so the TV is correctly positioned (which meant blocking the doorway with the sofa), I have donned the lucky socks and pants, wearing the lucky shirt, will drink the lucky wine and Mrs Raddy will buy the lucky cake from the lucky cake shop. If we lose it will not be my fault 🍀

As to tactics ….. mwaaah. I know very little and leave that up to the AA tactical wizards.

One thing I have yet to mention is just how excited I am that Arsenal are in their second FAC Final in two years and have the chance to win it two years running for the second time  – the only club to do so, and this is our 19 FA Cup Final – another record.

17.30 kick off. Anyone know why? What is wrong with 15.00? Is it to sell more beer to the fans?

Referee: Jon Moss. This is the lemon who did nothing when Debuchy was pushed over leading to his shoulder injury and to his season being ruined. He also allowed Crouch to repeatedly elbow our CB’s in the face. Let us hope for a better performance this evening.

We have many AA’ers going to the game and I hope we can have some wonderful pre-match commentary from A & D along with some pics from other attendees. For the rest of us it will another afternoon hiding behind LB’s sofa.

I am hoping for an early goal to settle the nerves. I expect Alexis to score. I expect our midfield to weave their intricate magic and set up chances for our forwards. I expect Ozil to be voted MotM.

And in the words of one of England’s greatest heroes “Arsenal expects that every man to do his duty”

Unknown

Rabid Gooner and Sammy’s Dad

I am 56% confident.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Poll: Ospina or Szczesny to play in the Final.

May 28, 2015

Who would you pick?

The case for Ospina:

The current incumbent and clearly Mr. Wenger’s first choice keeper. His record is outstanding –  in 18 matches Ospina has conceded just 11 goals. He has made 48 saves and kept 8 clean sheets. Statistically Ospina is far ahead of the Pole.

A fine shot stopper who came to us following an excellent World Cup for Columbia with a reputation as a future champion, he replaced Hugo Lloris at Nice whose President considered him as good as the excellent keeper who is about to leave the N17 knuckle-draggers.

Ospina is the brother-in-law of James Rodriguez of Barcelona and is married with one child.

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Mr & Mrs Ospina 

Ospina is just 26 and already has over 50 International caps, he chose Arsenal over Athletico Madrid when he signed in summer. Clearly a confident man who believed he would soon take the shirt from Wojciech – he was right..

The case for Szczesny:

Two seasons ago TPIG had the football world at his feet. He was the coming man, the man who would be the AFC keeper for the next 15 years – the next Seaman. Szczesny has the talent, the physique,  the technical and tactical nous to be a great goalkeeper. He has already played 130+ games for Arsenal. Last season he shared the Golden Glove with Petr Cech – Wojciech is no mug.

TPIG’s saves per game ratio is the same as Ospina’s and let us not forget he was the GK at the start of the season when the team was so lethargic.

Mr Wenger has shown his preference to play his second choice GK in the FA Cup and last season played Fabianski, which many believe indicates TPIG will start on Saturday.

But …. Szczesny is on the Naughty Step. After some difficult games in which his concentration wavered his mental state came into question following a “smoking” incident. Yet this is a chap with enormous confidence – some might say too much and perhaps it was his mistakes at Southampton in January which have sealed his Arsenal fate.

Szczensy2

Mr and (the soon to be) Mrs. Szczesny

Raddy’s Opinion:

I have no real reason for saying this but I don’t trust Ospina. His silly errors vs WBA worry me – he just doesn’t seem to have control over his area. His lack of height could be costly against the aerial power of Benteke etc and Ospina will need to be a damned sight better with his punching from corners and crosses, TPIG is better in the air than Ospina as he has shown many times. He seems to be a good shot-stopper and his distribution is certainly better than Szczesny.

The problem is that I don’t trust Szczesny either. He has the potential to be a world class GK but seems to be undone by a flaky head.  If AW was going to play him at Wembley then he would surely have started vs WBA ( Fabianski played the final game of last season pre-Wembley).

The scale just about tips towards the Pole – he is due to play a solid game, he is better in the air than Ospina, he missed out last season and this could be his final appearance in an Arsenal shirt if (please, please, pretty please) Cech comes in summer. And sentiment rules – so my vote goes to Szczesny.

This is not an easy decision. What do you think?

 

written by Big Raddy

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

Diaby Day

May 24, 2015

End of a season. For some players this will be their final day at the finest ground in the universe, for others a glittering future awaits. I always hate the final day of the season, if we have not won the title it means my hopes fade and die – as far as I am concerned it is never over until the fat lady sings.

And the chubby lady’s voice is echoing all around Abou Diaby. I cannot recall a player who has had such a frustrating career. The man could have been the answer to all our midfield woes – tall, strong, pacy, and blessed with fast feet for a big man (I love a cliche´). Injury did for the poor fellow. Imagine how frustrated he must have been as season by season he worked his way back to the first team only to be knacked in the first game of his return. My sympathy for the loss of his Arsenal career is tempered by the many millions he will have earned sitting in the stands and lying on the treatment table. A story is so much better with a what might have been.

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This is not the place for a season review, we can leave that until after the big game next weekend, and it is with that in mind that we come to the selection of the team to play West Bromwich Albion.

Will Mr Wenger rotate the team? He surprised us all mid-week by playing the Crown Jewels (or The Holy Trinity as chas calls them). They have to be rested this afternoon. So should Per, Kos, Hector, Aaron, and OG. We have the squad…. Use them.

And what of WBA? Pulis has done a remarkable job – never liked the cut of his jib but credit where credit is due. Could Berahino be a summer signing at THOF? He has a touch of the IW8’s about him and I think if we can control what appears to be a massively inflated ego (see Raheem Sterling) he could do a job for us, especially if Theo leaves.

WBA are the usual Pulis team – hard working, organised, strong in defence and pacy on the counter – they are a decent team; mid-table decent.

Can we score? For a team with such a varied supply of attacking talent we have been toothless the last 4 games. This has to change and change fast. Not playing Theo mid-week was IMO a huge mistake because we seem to have lost the confidence and ability in front of goal  – Theo adds something different. What is the point of Bellerin crossing repeatedly into the box when all our players are dwarfed by defenders (apart from OG who has lost his mojo)?

There is the possibility we could ship 4 and MU could beat Hull by 3 so 3rd is not 100% guaranteed. Of course it is, that will never happen!

How would we feel if our players downed tools as Chelsea did last weekend? I would be hugely unhappy if any Arsenal player did not give 100% every time he stepped onto the field in the historic red and white; I expect nothing less than a sparkling display this afternoon.

Barca had a Xavi Day yesterday. We should have Diaby Day.

I am 72% confident

COYRRG

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

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