How composed we were in the second half at 1-0 up. We didn’t do the usually cavalry charge trying to find more goals. Instead we were content to sit back, not over-commit and to control the game. The FBs in particular were careful not to get too carried away. The well deserved second came as Hull tired themselves out.
The BFG: he loves the Cup!
Coquelin: our best player against Saints (though that’s not saying much), he had another fine game today. To me he looks a better option at DM than Flamini.
Campbell: yes, a bit wasteful, but he worked really hard and some of his link-up play was very good. Given how little first team minutes he has had he proved that he’s a good bench option.
Santi/Rosicky: two very good playmakers who worked really well in tandem.
The First Half: the movement of our front three (supported by TR7 and Santi) was excellent at times and we were unlucky not to be 2 or 3 up at HT.
Ospina: not a lot to do, but he did it well.
Arsene Wenger: top marks for listening to my suggested formation, given our injuries! (Against Saints I found it mystifying that he would give a first-ever start in a DM position to young Chambers when he could just have gone with Coquelin, with two more forward-minded MFs in front of him. That’s what he did today and we looked much better, albeit against weaker opposition).
Overall: the thing that pleased me most yesterday was that throughout the entire game we actually looked organized: the players looked like they knew their jobs and what was expected of them, which is not something you can always say about Arsenal.
Life as a Gooner exiled in the cold, wild and windy lands oop north has its advantages and disadvantages. The possibility of making occasional memorable trips down south to watch the good guys play is just a fantastic previlege that life in Sconny Botland offers. Well, that was the plan the moment the Arsenal defeated Wigan in dramatic fashion and got to the finals of the FA Cup 2014. Such a fantastic opportunity to support the good guys get their first silverware in 9 years may be a long time coming.
Alas, the ticket allocation for the finals at Wembley were paltry, and there was not one in a million chance to lay your hands on a ticket. Well, except if you were a regular, likes the Vines family, or by clandestine means, as Micky and 26May would testify to. 😛 But the AA faithful were not to be daunted. In a fantastic gesture towards fans, the club offered to make the event family friendly and erected large screens in the Emirates to telecast the game live. Peaches and Gooner in Exile suggested a trip to the Emirates on the day. Fantastic. Such an opportunity for a substantial AA presence at the Emirates could just not go to waste.
Mrs and myself planned to join in. But to make this an even grander experience, we planned to make the 1000 mile trip (well not quite a thousand, but fifty short) by car. So far so good. Food, clothing, sleeping bags and drinks loaded on to the car the day before in eager anticipation.
However, there was a small problem. I had been to Glasgow for work, and instead of making my way back to our lovely city Dundee in the evening, had to make a late trip to Edinburgh to help a colleague whose wife was taken ill. Mrs was in Edinburgh as well and stopped in her tracks wile making her way back to Dundee. We decided to cut some journey time next morning and spend the night in Edinburgh. All nice and fine, except that it got so late that we could not book a hotel. Hence it had to be an emergency arrangement: use the sleeping bags and catch some sleep on the floor of my office in Edinburgh.
In the event, there was nervous anticipation and little sleep, but also a somewhat delayed start. But off we went. Cross country to the west coast and then down south.
First fuel stop in the Lake District. A quick look into the AA space, still nice and quiet, Raddy blissfully asleep but the motning crew up and about. Micky planning his moves for cosying up to the enemy, Chas on a surf hunt for “Kauli Vaast, 12 years old, Teahupoo”.
Second stop just north of Birmingham, already pretty congested on the roads. Raddy’s prematch up nice and early, eager anticipation all round, but WordPress would not allow me to make comments. Anyway, a quick change into my red and white tartan shirt, and hit the road again.
The moment we hit the M1 south of Birmingham, the smell of gunpowder hit the air. Alarm bells started ringing. It started with brief flashes of yellow on the mirrors.
But quickly the environment turned oppressive. It appeared as if the whole city of Hull had descended on the road to Wembley. Literally every three in four cars were painted in the tiger stripes. And the din of their horrible heart-sinking honks continued all the way up to London. Occasionally we would come across a Gooner car and try to grab their attention. To no avail, they were fixated on the road.
And proceeding thus, at some point in the early afternoon, we reached Peaches’ house. If we were nervous, Peaches seemed to be even more so. She offered us some nice lunch and hot drinks, showed us the damage on her shoulder, and the damage from her shoulder to the very foundations of her house. 🙂 And finally, we left the car at her nearby station and off we went to the Emirates. The Gooner fandom had already gathered next to Finsbury Park and the show was on. All in good humour and nervous anticipation. Peaches, Mrs and myself enjoyed the show for a bit and then tried to hit The Tavern. Bad idea, there was no chance in a million of entry. So we got ourselves a can/bottle of beer each and chatted on.
Suddenly the sky grew dark and the towering frame of the Gooner Goalkeeper in Exile swept in. This was the first time I was meeting Exile, but I had seen his photo on AA earlier, so I knew who he was. And he knew as well. Such a great pleasure. So, we decided to hit the side streets to try and dodge the police. We had open bottles of alcohol on us, but on the day, it did not seem to matter too much to them.
We had time on our hands, so we decided to pass by Highbury redevelopment. With childlike exuberance, we sneaked into the housing complex, and took photographs inside and at the gate.
Sneaking into Highbury. Wither tension!
Intruders!!! Taking a tour of Highbury redevelopment.
Highbury redevelopment. A view from the outside!
And then, we walked past Arsenal tube station and on towards the Emirates. I do not remember what we spoke of but we chatted away such a lot. Perhaps to hide our excitement, or was it tension? In between, Micky gave a call from Wembley kindly asking whether I would like a copy of the matchday programme, an offer that I immediately accepted. 🙂
Get yer hats and scarves
Happy happy, nervous? COYG
On to Emirates then. The march was on, and so were the songs. Exile’s voice was getting hoarse by the minute. Eddie joined us in a bit.
The March is On! “Red Army”
“She wore a yellow ribbon”!
And then, on to the stands. There was free seating. It was a bit of a challenge to find 5 seats together where we had a good view of the screens. We found good seats and settled down. The game was about to start and the tension was mounting. Liquid refreshments were required to ease us on our way.
Drink and sing along
The game is now a bit of a dream-like daze. We played well and completely shattered Hull out of the pitch. Most importantly, Rambo scored and we won!
Disaster, Mark 1
Mixed feelings!
Deficit removed. On with the show!!!!
Rambo scores!
Happy gooners!!!!
At the final whistle, there was madness. Such overwhelming sense of elation was truly exceptional.
Final whistle!!!!!
FA Cup Final Whistle As Seen At The Emirates
And then we happy AA Gooners emerged into the outside world, happy and merrily singing. On the way to the tube station, we grabbed a quick photo op outside the Marble Halls
Post match outside Marble Halls
On the train, Exile had some fun with Hull city supporters and so did we (Peaches, Mrs and myself). Finally, we met up with Rasp as well, had a meal and chatted into the night. Happy happy happy!
Oh what would we do in life if we were not Gooners? How can one have a life without The Arsenal?
Postscript 1.
Next day, I had a work meeting at the house of a friend. In Kew. The moment we reached, the air felt heavy. The house was draped on the outside in tiger stripes. And inside, the yellow and black baloons had not yet been set down. Oh dear! I had completely forgotten that my friend’s wife was from Hull.
She avoided any eye contact and hardly spoke a word. I could hardly suppress my grin. Ah, what sadistic pleasure!
Postscript 2.
Back to Botland, and a week later, the postman rang the bell. It was the matchday programme kindly sent by Micky. Micky, a couple of drinks are still due! Soon. 🙂
All in all, a perfectly satisfactory thousand mile trip. Perhaps this is stuff that dreams are made of!
“Ooh to! Ooh to be! Ooh to be a Gooner!”
“Ooh to! Ooh to be! Ooh to be a Gooner!”
What a pity we have to meet Hull again in the FA Cup so soon.
Arnie.
Photo and video credits: Gooner in Exile and Mrs Arnie.
This is not a match report. If you want to re-live yesterday’s slop bucket of a performance you’ll have to look elsewhere. You masochistic saddo.
In the aftermath of the game I contributed a comment with some “Reasons To Be Doomy.” Perhaps the kind organisers of this Blog will republish it in the comments below when this offering appears.
But today is another day and I am putting doom and gloom aside.
Let’s face it, we weren’t the only “big” team to get slapped in the face with a kipper on New Years Day (take a bow, Jose).
But as we look ahead to the second half of the season there really are reasons for all Arsenal fans to feel optimistic:
The Spuds Are Ahead Of Us
This may sound counter-intuitive, but it’s actually a good thing that they have climbed past us in the table. During their lean spell it has gone far too quiet in N17 – no gloating boasts about a “shift in the balance of power”; no cries echoing across the burnt-out wastelands that “this is our year.” Well, now that will all change. Indeed the “One Point Above Arsenal” celebration video is probably already in production. The reason it makes me happy is that we all know how this story ends: God, being a Gooner, has already scripted it out and He loves nothing more than to give the Spuds a hatful of hope before ensuring that their dreams turn to ashes in their mouth.
Returning Stars
Theo is back. He got a decent run out against his old club yesterday and, even better, didn’t expend any energy because he didn’t do anything. And by the time we entertain those nice young men from Stoke a week on Sunday hopefully we will also have Ozil, Welbeck, Giroud, Flamini and possibly even Arteta.
Transfer Window
It’s January and the shop window is open. Of course it doesn’t mean we’re going to buy anyone, but there is always the possibility that we might – which means we can dream. And there are precedents for interesting arrivals coming in the January window – Reyes, Arshavin, TH14 (Mk 2). Be hopeful fellow fans, be hopeful…
Topsy-Turvy Season
Up until recently people were saying that Chelsea were nailed on champs and all the other teams were struggling to find consistent form. Well, now even the supposedly unstoppable Chavs with their supposedly infallible manager have found that the course of true footy does not run smoothly. With the form of teams like ManUre, ‘Pool and the Spuds proving as reliable as a Network Southwest train timetable over the festive holidays, our own inconsistency has not been punished as harshly as it might have been. And with some of the players we have coming back in the near future we have a better chance than most of putting a good run together.
Arsene Wenger
He’s an infuriating, stubborn, bewildering, frustrating, enigmatic, surprising, dignified, intelligent, workaholic genius of a man. We underestimate him at our peril. I’m backing him to get an excellent second half of the season out of our squad.
The Champions League
There’s something in my water (well, something in addition to the residue of festive alcohol over-consumption) that tells me we’re going to do well in this competition this year. Many of our best players will be coning back having had their own mid-season break (thanks to injury) and if we get our groove going we could surprise a lot of people. Can we go all the way? The Chavs did it with the worst team to ever grace a European Cup Final pitch, so the answer is yes, of course we can.
We Support Arsenal
Even if the wheels fall and off and we slip down the table and out of the cups, always cling to this one thought: you support the best club in the world. Just imagine how soiled you would feel to have to pull on a Spud shirt to watch football? Or to be obliged to steal car radios on your way to home games at Anfield? Or to sit in silent, entitled smugness at Old Toilet. Or, Dennis forbid, to have your brain removed and replaced with sewage so you can join the Morlocks* at Stamford Bridge. Thankfully you don’t have to do any of those things because you, my friend, won the lottery of life.
RockyLives
*Morlocks: from H. G. Wells’ “The Time Machine” – a race of troglodoid, subhuman beings who represent human evolution gone wrong.
At one end of the scale you have a Manager like ‘Arry. He likes to change eleven players from one game to the next, and at the other end, you have Maureen, who will pretty much pick the same eleven, and play them in the same order.
At Arsenal, we really don’t know as Arsene has not had the luxury of choice this season due to injuries, but many of us armchair experts like nothing more than playing Manager, and I am the leader of this particular gang. I do “Best XI’s” all the time, and with our injury list seemingly easing, this is becoming increasingly difficult, and nowhere more challenging than the No10 role.
Now before all the real experts leap up and down saying we don’t play with one, and that we have stealth this and false that, it’s my post and my rules, so let’s not get bogged down with facts and details, ok.
So, for the sake of today’s little chit chat, I’m making some assumptions. Staggeringly, I’m opting for a Goalkeeper as well as four defenders. Also, in front of that lot, two defensivey types, and if you want to refer to one of them as a box-to-boxer, then rock on if that’s your bag.
Finally, we will play with at least one of Ollie and Danny, so that leaves, at best, three vacancies.
So, we need someone to orchestrate. Another thing I’ve factored into my thinking, is that we simply aren’t creating enough chances when we dominate possession, so we need the eye-of-the-needle-threading-passers very badly. Best of these are Mesut, Santi and Sanchez.
A pulsating London Derby resulted in Arsenal taking the spoils in the East End.
Entrance to the Boleyn Ground
An hour long journey for me from North West London to East London was very eventful to say the least. Throughout the train journey there were lots of Hammers fancying their chances in this game given Arsenal’s recent defensive frailties and the return of the ‘woman beating'(allegedly) Andy Carroll who can of course throw his weight around.
As the team sheets filtered through there were many raised eyebrows at the inclusion of young French midfielder Francis Coquelin having recently returned from a loan spell at Charlton Athletic. However, Coquelin would have the last laugh as many Arsenal fans were left pleasantly surprised come the final whistle at Upton Park.
View from the away end
As the Arsenal fans roared into the ground the game got underway and from the start, West Ham applied pressure and hearts were in the mouths as Alex Song’s strike was ruled out for offside much to the relief of the travelling Arsenal faithful. It was evident that being a London derby this was going to be a feisty affair and it lived up to that expectation as there were many tackles all across the pitch. West Ham by this time were trying to exert pressure but the Arsenal defence stood firm.
Then the turning point. The magician Santi Cazorla’s quick feet bamboozled the West Ham centre backs resulting in reported Arsenal target Winston Reid clipping him to the floor and conceding the penalty. The Spaniard dusted himself down to tuck away the penalty himself sending his compatriot Adrian the wrong way.
The opening goal seemed to give Arsenal a morale boost and it was soon followed up by a burst from the Ox who supplied a low cross for Danny Welbeck to score a second and put the Gunners in a commanding position at half time.
Arsenal could hardly believe their luck but there were still concerns in the stands given the aerial threat which the West Ham posed. Per Mertesacker saved a certain goal and then that threat came to fruition as nine minutes into the second half Arsenal failed to clear their lines and Kouyate gave the Hammers a glimmer of hope. Arsenal lived dangerously throughout the second half despite having the chance to kill the game off with Adrian making two great saves from Cazorla and then Chamberlain’s diving header.
There were lots of disgruntled fans however as Arsene Wenger did not bring substitutions on until the closing stages, a time when Chamberlain was tiring. As the closing moments approached the Arsenal’s goal was under siege; the game became scrappy and another headed effort deep into injury time fortunately landed on the roof of the net.
The final whistle blew and a vital three points were going back to North London which Arsenal can build on heading into the New Year’s Day fixture.
Arsenal now climb above their London rivals and with the transfer window only round the corner, there is a fresh wave of optimism and this result can provide an injection of life into Arsenal’s season.
This is going to be short as Mrs Raddy has plans 😦
West Ham. The Boleyn ground. Unhappy memories of this place. Bananas thrown at Kevin Campbell. The Chicken Run and the Inner City Firm (look them up). Returning to the car and finding it keyed. Liam Brady playing against us. Can you believe that in the late ’90’s the men’s toilets had nowhere to wash hands? Hateful place.
Of course it wasn’t always thus; there were the days post-’66 with Peters, Moore and Hurst. The Football Academy developing the skills of Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire etc etc.
Sadly, new ownership and poor management ruined the club. Until now….
I hate to say this but Allardyce is doing a great job. He may be a gum-chewing walrus but his team are punching way above their weight and this is due to his management. Teamwork, pace, strong defence and midfield, and hard work have pushed WHU to the top 4. Add to this the attacking power of Carroll, Sakho and Valencia and we can see West Ham have the potential to surprise
Yet, we have a fine record against the happy Hammers and should not be cowed by their physicality. Admittedly we are down to the bare bones in certain areas of the pitch (defence and midfield) but we have enough to compete.
Then there is Alex Song. A majority of Gooners seem to think we should have taken him back – especially as it is a loan deal. Why didn’t we? My guess is that AW feels we have enough midfielders and that Song was simply not improvement upon what we have. I think he was wrong – just as I think he was wrong not to re-sign Fabregas. Rumour has it that Song became Jimmy Big Bollocks in the dressing room and the players were happy to see him leave. Could be true.
Given the 3 game ban for OG there is a possibility of playing an extraordinarily fast forward line of Welbz, Theo and Alexis. Could be very exciting.
My concerns are the set pieces. We have a nasty habit of giving away free-kicks around our area and WHU have the personnel to take advantage. Allardyce knows this, so does every Tom, D & H, and if we all know it why can’t it be fixed?? Buy. Buy. Buy.
A tough fixture against a team bang in form. A win at the Boleyn would be an unexpected Xmas Sale gift.
Well, well, well, that was a walk in the park that almost resulted in a mugging.
Good start, even got a penalty awarded after seven minutes when Alexis is brought down by Traore, what a mug he’s learnt nothing since he left Arsenal. I thought there was an unwritten rule that the player fouled doesn’t take the penalty, but Alexis refused to give the nominated player, Cazorla, the ball and took it himself. Note to coaching staff: Alexis needs some pointers on how to take a penalty. Easy save for Rob Green.
The game meandered along much the same as before, Arsenal playing with a ball and QPR watching. Then a nice move between Welbeck and Cazorla saw the ball played out wide to Gibbs who crossed beautifully for Alexis to nod the ball in completely unopposed after thirty-seven minutes.
Half-time and half the job done.
Second half was much the same, although QPR did get hold of the ball a bit more but seemed at a loss as to what to do with it so gave it quickly back to Arsenal.
Fifty two minutes, enter stage left The Village Idiot! For no perceivable reason Giroud decides to take umbrage for a slight push in the back by Onuoha, so he head butted the QPR defender who, naturally, went down like a sack of s**t. Martin Atkinson, who was no more than three yards away from the incident, had no option but to dismiss the Arsenal striker. Nice one Ollie! A three match ban at the busiest time of the season.
Then on sixty-five minutes Alexis mesmerised the QPR defence, weaved his way into the box and laid one on a plate for Rosicky to put away with aplomb.
Only now do QPR finally wake up and start to play football, The pressure builds and QPR win a penalty on seventy-nine minutes, which Austin puts away, 2 – 1. Increasing pressure convinces Wenger to make changes, so off goes Rosicky to be replaced by Chambers, Arsenal are now being pinned in their own half, Welbeck replaced by Coquelin, With no Arsenal player up-field QPR are free to besiege the penalty area with impunity but the headless chicken defence holds out to take all three points.
Firstly. I hope all our readers had a wonderful Xmas and received all that was on the list you wrote to Santa Claus – unfortunately I must have got Santa’s address wrong because I got a bunch of stuff which will be taken to the charity shops next week 😡
Thankfully we have a game to relieve the tension of entertaining family members and it should be an enjoyable one.
Most London fans have a soft spot for QPR. From the old days of Marsh and Stan Bowles they have been my alternative London club (alongside Barnet). Why? Because we usually beat them. Unfortunately some dunderhead decided to appoint the objectionable ‘Arry as manager which has reduced my enjoyment – as many know I find the cheeky chappy/wheeler dealer, East London cabbie act seriously annoying.
But if I had to pick a game for a chilly Boxing Day evening, QPR would be the one. They are unlikely to park the bus, will be very competitive, have dangerous strikers but are beatable, and we need a win ahead of a difficult to trip to WHU. Statistics and history mean little but QPR have yet to win away this season and it is some time since they won at our place.
Joey Barton. Let’s leave it there.
Charlie Austin? Is he as good as the mug pundits insist? If he is the under-fire BFG will have to shape up.
Talking of which, BFG made a mistake at Anfield but it was his only one in the game – admittedly a very costly one. Why is Alexis in the red zone and not BFG? The man clearly needs a break but Mr Wenger’s CB transfer omission has resulted in our creaking German looking out of sorts.
Who starts today? I say the best players available. Until Arteta regains fitness Flamini is an automatic choice – we cannot rely upon Coquelin and other than him the cupboard is bare.
We welcome back the Invisible Wall that is Ospina – invisible because he has been AWOL; good to see TPIG get some competition. Also back are Theo, Yaya and Tomas. I would love to see Rosicky get some pitch time.
OK ….. Mrs Raddy is getting antsy for us to enjoy the winter sunshine.
Santa make my Xmas, bring us 3 points and an OG hat-trick. Pretty Please.
We are where we are. Not much use ruminating. However, there is a job to be done. Gaining 3rd or 4th in the EPL. And this will require all feet and heads on board. But also strategy?
Which brings us to the question. Does Arsene do strategy? Or are we one-dimensional, playing the same way all of the time. If we do strategy, what strategy would work best for us?
Following the admission recently by Arteta that we prepare for a game based on who our next opposition is, there has been some discussion on AA in the past few weeks. But the bubble burst spectacularly against Pool at Anfield.
One of our keenest observers of the game, Norfolk Gooner, wrote (December 22, 2014 at 3:56 pm):
“I think there was a plan……. of sorts,
1) Keep it tight at the back for the first twenty minutes. DO NOT concede an early goal.
2) If successful, try to hit them on the break before half-time. DO NOT concede a goal.
44 minutes gone and the plan is working.
Oh no it’s not!
We give the ball away and there’s no Corporal Jones to shout “Don’t Panic! Don’t Panic”.
We panic and go one down.
Plan goes out of the window, everyone bombs forward and, wonder of wonders, we score with our first attempt on target.
Half-time team talk,
1) Repeat item 1 above.
2) If successful try to hit them on the break before full-time.
19 minutes gone and the plan is working, we hit them on the break and score.
DO NOT concede a goal.
Deep into injury time and the plan is working.
Oh no it’s not!
We give the ball away and there’s no Corporal Jones to shout “Don’t Panic! Don’t Panic”.
We panic and it’s two all.
Deja-vu all over again.”
Which brings us to the question. Against the Hammers and Soton away, what strategy, if any, should we adopt?
I like Per. He’s a great guy. He always leads the players around the pitch to applaud the supporters after games.
I never bought into the ‘he’s too slow’ argument because his reading of the game and his very effective partnership with Koscielny where they complimented one another’s play was really good for the first couple of seasons.
But lately (and without Koscielny by his side) he has worried me. He has been outshone by rookie stand-in CB’s in the shape of Monreal and Debuchy. He has not shown the on-pitch leadership I would expect from a player of his experience. A player of his stature should have been captain, but Arsene chose Arteta over an International footballer and world cup winner – why?
Chambers has come on the scene and everyone is tipping him as a future CB. But he’s only 19 and we have seen errors and too many cards creep into his game recently. That’s only to be expected from a young player. I know he is a star of the future but I don’t think he is ready to be a first choice CB at a club like Arsenal yet.
So what do you think. Can Mertesacker carry on as a first choice CB? Should Chambers replace him? … or should we be looking to recruit a top class CB in the summer?
For me it’s thanks but TTFN BFG.
A plea to Arsene … if you do buy another CB, please can he not be so nice ….. a mean b%$&^£d is what we need 😕
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