Dear Arsène,

DidIt here again. Couple of things.

Now I realize that you and I are not natural Bedfellows, what with my rather gung-ho and somewhat cavalier attitude to life, but nevertheless, I still feel that you may enjoy more of my footballing analysis and insight.

Thing is this, and my first topic for today, your positional awareness with regards to the left side attacking slot leaves quite a lot to be desired. It is, Arsène, this habit of yours in sticking the wrong players out there. Having discussed this issue with you before, I was going to let things lie. That was, Arsène , until you dropped your most recent bomb.

You crack open the kitty, and splash out 40 Million pounds on Mesut Ozil. Great so far. Then the bomb. You stick the poor fellow out wide. Not 4 million, Arsene, 40 million, and you play him out of position! 40 Mill may be sloshing about your petty cash tin, but to us normal folk, that’s a lot of milk. Let’s get some perspective on that, shall we? It’s the equivalent of about 1,000 pints of milk for every day of an eighty year life! “Respect Value”, I say, or have you completely lost the plot, Arsène ?

You see, it’s not the first time you’ve done this, is it, Arsène? No, it isn’t. Bendy, Chamakh, Podolski, Ramsey, and now Ozil. Are you mad? What’s going on?

You know what, I’ve had a thought and there’s sod all you can do about it. Very soon, both Santi and Mesut are going to be up for selection at the same time, and you know damn well that they both start.

Here’s the really funny bit, Arsène, you can’t stick both out wide. Ha ha ha. So what’s the plan then?

Even that Lunatic LB had a brilliant idea yesterday, and that was sticking Mesut centre top. Lateral thinking. Lateral thinking. This idea of his ties in nicely with the second point I wanted us to discuss with you, Arsène.

Nicholas Bendtner. Name ring a bell?

We really do need to consider our options in terms of protecting Big ‘Ol, and I cannot help thinking that our Nic is the most similar kind of player that would bring as little disruption to our style as possible. Never really gave him much time through the middle, did we? Just as I kept saying last term regarding Big ‘Ol: “Along the ground. Ball to feet”. He may be better than we think.

Thing is ,Arsène , what are we going to do about his fitness and more importantly, his attitude?

Bribery springs to mind. He’s one of those poofy sorts of blokes that like jewellery, so there’s an option right there. Perhaps a more ruthless approach, like the use of electricity, I don’t know, but I’d certainly like to hear your thoughts.

My biggest single problem with you, Arsène , is that while I feel perfectly qualified to share advice on tactics and whatnot with you, I do have to take into account your recent bloody results:

WWWWWDWDWWWLWWWWW and bloody W again!

Let’s be clear about one thing, the sooner you start listening to Bedfellows like me and actually take on board our advice, the better, and then together we can eliminate these draws and losses forever.

Sagely words I’m sure you’d agree. Perhaps send that Gazidis bloke down to Smiths and buy a new folder. You could then put a sticky label on it and ink words like “DidIt Do’s and DidIt Do Not’s” or something.

So, in the meantime, I say, “Sod it, over to you, Arsène ”.

I remain, you obedient servant.

DidIt, M.

After a tough start to his time as Manchester United manager question marks are being raised about whether Moyes is the right man for the job.

I have seen fellow Gooners take great delight in his early predicament, mutterings to the press, and the speed in which he appears to be losing the dressing room. Following Fergie was always going to be difficult, and right now Moyes looks like a fish out of water.

But here’s the thing, we Arsenal fans need to support Moyes, as should the rest of the fans in the country who don’t support Manchester United.

We have seen in this transfer window what a difference the coach makes. Given a choice of teams to go to none of the best players wanted to go and play for Moyes. Rewind twelve months and imagine Fergie had announced his retirement a season earlier, does anyone seriously think Brave Sir Robin would have chosen to play for Moyes?

When they played Chelsea I laughed as Moyes who had been standing on the touch line for most of the game went up to his seat to talk to his coaches, he quite simply didn’t understand how to get the win, this is not what he is used to, a point against Chelsea or the big boys would be a good result for him in the past.

And this is why we should want Moyes to keep his job as long as possible, at least for two more transfer windows, so that all the old men have retired or asked to leave and he is left struggling to attract the best of the best.

There is another reason we need him to stay, and his name is Pep Guardiola, Pep was recently quoted as saying he wants to manage in England, he has a contract in Munich for three years. Assuming he stays in the job he will be available in summer of 2016. If Moyes gets sacked early United have the chance to get another coach on a three year deal and fight for Pep, if he stays for a season and a half the manager who replaces him will not take a one and a half year deal.

And what does this mean for us? Well as we all know Arsene’s deal ends in the summer, give the man two more years, and then we can have Pep, Arsene’s natural successor.

So here’s the message we need to repeat in public, “Moyes is good for United”, we can laugh about it quietly as they fall apart, but keeping his job is in all of our interest.

Gooner in Exile

Much has been said this week about the infamous proclamation by one Alan Hansen in 1995: “You can’t win anything with kids”. The context was a 1-3 loss by Manchester United to Aston Villa. Mr Pompous Pundit Pool-dweller Hansen was subsequently proved wrong. ManUre went on to win a famous double that year. But, BBC says, “those “kids” were an exceptional bunch like David Beckham, Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs”.

However, Hansen continued to maintain his position, most persistently about an young Arsenal side, arguing why Arsene Wenger’s strategy was a recipe for disaster. Apparently the justification came from the failure to win silverware over a period of time. At the same time, Arsene continued to show his faith in his “kids”. In the process, Arsenal became a preferred destination for young players, who consistently received the opportunity to play with, and against, the big boys. And learn the game at the highest level under the tutelege of Arsene and his gang. Concurrently, the doomsday brigade continued to spread vitriol and negativity all round, spelling doom on Arsenal and satisfying their own petty egos.

As a result, Arsenal developed an impressive string of players, most of whom have stayed on at the club, and a few stars departed for greener pastures. The astute transfer architect that Arsene is, he managed to manufacture a win-win situation in (almost) every case – for Arsenal and for the matured “kid”. The player was happy to find a new challenge, and in most cases (except perhaps the case of a certain Dutchman) had outlived his utility for Arsenal, and in the process Arsenal made a healthy bit of profit in the transfer market. This, in turn, contributed towards maintaining a competititive position in the Premiership, qualifying for Champions League consistently, and progressing well in all competitions, against the backdrop of considerable financial challenges for the club. Extremely creditably it has to be said, even if we did not earn silverware, to the immense frustration of all fans. All of this came together with maintaining immense faith in the academy and developing a fine set of young players in the process.

The immense success in developing young talent has come dramatically home to us in a different way last week. The laments of new FA Chairman, Greg Dyke, as to the lack of English (and Welsh) talent in the EPL, raises once again the important question as to how national football can stay competitive against the backdrop of financial power and alleged excesses of the major clubs. How else would one do this, other than offering the opportunity for “kids” to play in the big league.

Perhaps most importantly, this promotes the fantastic brand of football that Arsenal produces on the field, including a unique mix of youth and experience, and lively football produced by an extremely talented pool of young and fast players. At 25 years of average age, Arsenal had one of the youngest teams in the first few games of the current season in EPL. Surely, with the arrival of one 24 year old Mesut Özil, a complete package of youth and experience, the average age is going to decrease even further. So, what now? Surely, for us fans, the stage is set for a fantastic experience where we are ready to win all, trophies, admirers and envy, while at the same time upholding the highest traditions of playing an attractive attacking game, and promoting young talent.

The question really is not when Arsenal is going to start flying again, but how beautiful the flight will be! A historical coincidence is that, the “can’t win anything with kids” comment came against ManUre’s 1-3 loss to Aston Villa in 1995. For Arsenal, having started the season with a 1-3 loss to Villa, surely now is the time! Surely, our young brigade is comparable, if not better, than the young kids of ManUre back in 1995. Equally young, and more experienced at this level. What a wonderful prospect! Thanks a lot, Arsene and Arsenal!

Go on The Arsenal!!!!

Written by Arnie

Disharmony is not a good thing.

In music, it produces sounds that are dissonant and unpleasant to the ear (yes One Direction, I’m looking at you!).

At Arsenal Football Club it has produced a period of fractiousness, has raised tempers and temperatures and pitted supporter against supporter.

All a bit ironic really, when you consider the club motto: Victoria Concordia Crescit: Victory Through Harmony.

So one of the most pleasing by-products of the Ozil to Arsenal story is that it might heal some of the psychological wounds that have afflicted the club and fans in the last few years.

Here’s why.

The “spend some f**king money” argument has been thoroughly defused and rendered harmless (although there are bound to be a few hold-outs who think that £42m on a single player is still not enough).

Likewise the “no ambition” accusation against Arsene Wenger and the club can be removed from the charge sheet (before we got Ozil it is a matter of record that we bid over £40m for the bitey Uruguayan, so we were damn well going to spend big on someone).

And – even though it is often overlooked in the razzmatazz of the Ozil signing – the shifting out of the so-called “dead wood” can also play its part in improving the sense of well-being around the club: most supporters now accept that the current crop of players are fully committed and will sweat blood for the team. There are few, if any, left in the squad who can be accused of being lazy or of shirking their duties.

So, is it too much to hope that the fans, who have been so disunited, can come back together again and support the team with one voice?

I think not.

A comment on Arsenal Arsenal a couple of days ago gave me a lot of hope. It came from someone – Alfygun – who is not a “regular” in the comment columns. This is an edited version of what he said:

“I have been one of Mr Wenger’s biggest critics over the last few seasons, but the last few weeks I have had to admire his strength and his unwavering belief in his methods and principles. I think a lot of the criticism and anger that has been directed at him by myself and thousands of others is because we find it hard to understand someone who will not be swayed by public opinion and is willing to put his reputation on the line to protect his players as well as his ideas.


“There are still a lot of Mr Wenger’s ideas and ways of dealing with things I do not agree with – as a fan of 30 odd years I get very passionate about Arsenal’s results and dealings – but maybe I’ll take a leaf from Mr Wenger’s book and conduct myself in a more graceful manner.”

I thought it was brilliantly put by Alfygun: he reserves his right to criticise Wenger and the way he operates, but acknowledges that our manager has performed with strength and dignity during a very difficult period. He, in turn, feels he should display similar restraint and dignity when taking issue with the direction of the club in future.

Although my own support of Wenger has remained strong I have also felt the frustration and, occasionally, anger that has prompted many supporters to turn on him. In my case usually, once I have stepped back and considered the bigger picture, my belief in Le Boss is restored, but I understand why others have lost faith.

Now I sincerely hope that Alfygun’s sentiment is echoed by others who have become disillusioned with the current set-up.

We have an exciting team to get behind and a genuinely world class star to build around.

We have money to spend, we have sent a clarion call to the football world that we are ready to seek out and buy the very best and the future is most definitely one filled with hope.

So for the fans – so recently at each others throats – this can be a time for olive branches and healing.

If you have sat/stood at the Emirates singing at Arsene Wenger “spend some f**king money” or “you don’t know what you’re doing”, it doesn’t matter.

If you have been moved to go onto Arsenal blogs to demand that Arsene resign or be fired, it doesn’t matter.

If you have said things like “we’ll never win anything again with him in charge,” it doesn’t matter.

If you have bought into the media-fuelled negativity surrounding the club, it doesn’t matter.

If you have found yourself even partly convinced by some of the palpable lies spewed by the more hateful blogs (“Wenger gets a bonus for not spending money on transfer fees”) it doesn’t matter.

If you have begged for Alisher Usmanov to come and save us because “that funny American bloke with the moustache never spends any money” it doesn’t matter.

It is time to come home to the Arsenal you have always loved – the one you could support without caveat or equivocation. The one where you knew that everyone around you in the stadium felt the same way as you did.

It is time for us all to sing with one voice.

Victoria Concordia Crescit.

RockyLives

Sometimes you’ve got to just love the sheer class that oozes from every pore of Arsene Wenger.

The summer transfer window had its ups and downs (culminating for us, of course, with the sort of enormous ‘up’ many of us haven’t seen since our teenage years).

But for me the most distinctive aspect of this particular window was the sheer quantity of utter S H one T that spewed from the mouths of managers who ought to have known better.

By 11pm on Monday there was so much liquid poo on the window that it could pass for the toilet bowl of a Nile cruise boat with an outbreak of Pharaoh’s Revenge.

What don’t these idiots get about negotiation?

You know: simple concepts like confidentiality, respecting your negotiating partners, professionalism rather than emotional hissy fit-ism.

Throughout the summer Arsene Wenger behaved with impeccable manners and decorum.

No word of any Arsenal transfer negotiations was ever put about by him.

Contrast that with the slack-mouthed jabbering of managers and even owners from some of the other Premier League outfits.

There was Brendan ‘Brent’ Rodgers bleating about our “disrespectful” bid for Luis Suarez, followed by his owner John Henry making snide comments about the Arsenal hierarchy. And for what? Because we made a bid for a player.

THAT’S WHAT THE TRANSFER WINDOW IS FOR, YOU MORONS.

And an opening bid is an opening bid. The idea is that you either reject it out of hand or reply with your own valuation. Then there’s some haggling. Then you either make a deal or you don’t. Oh – and you do it all privately.

What you don’t do is go running round all offended like a maiden aunt who’s had her embonpoint fondled by a moustachioed man on the train.

Rodgers and Henry displayed all the integrity of street corner pimps and the business savvy of Gerald Ratner. You may say their tactics worked because they got to keep their man. The truth is they only got to keep him because Rodgers went back on his word that Suarez could leave if ‘Pool failed to make the Champions League spots. That’s going to make for a happy camper in the Scouse dressing room, isn’t it? The bitey Uruguayan clearly wanted to make a step up by joining Arsenal and he won’t be happy with Liverpool’s usual battle for the top six or seven (don’t be fooled by their smart start to the season).

No sooner had Henry and Rodgers piped down than, not to be outdone, Alan ‘Not Very Good’ Pardew muscled in on the act.

The Newcastle manager was outraged that we made an opening bid for his midfielder Yohan Cabaye. How very dare we?

He could have kept his trap shut and negotiated properly with us – in which case we might well have made the deal at a much higher price than our initial offer and in time for him to spend the money on a replacement.

Instead he, too, is left with a player who spotted the chance of moving to a better team then got let down by the crass behavior of his manager and club.

Across the Pennines the new man at Old Toilet showed his naivety by speaking openly about his desire to sign our erstwhile hero Cesc Fabregas. A clearly frustrated Fab ended up having to appear before the press to say: “Look, I really have no intention of moving to that crappy part of England to play in a declining team led by that scary bloke from Lord of the Rings.” Well, they weren’t his exact words but that’s what he meant.

And through it all, like the Queen Mary sailing through a flotilla of dinghies, Arsene Wenger maintained the true and proper course of a man and a manager.

Thankyou Arsene.

The whole thing makes me wonder whether there shouldn’t be a code of conduct for doing business in the transfer windows. Even if there is nothing legally enforceable about it, maybe it will at least serve to embarrass the worst offenders.

What do you think?

RockyLives