The Emirates is to blame for moaning ‘Fans’

May 2, 2013

I think the root of the problem with ‘Underminers’ as described in a recent post by Rocky, lies with the stadium. This is a purely personal view but here goes.

When I started going to football I stood, whether on the North Bank or the Kids enclosure or the CE. I became educated into the Arsenal way by fans who had a lifetime of seeing us as a mid-table side. Then came success and with it bigger average attendance but in the later 70′s and the ’80′s it was possible to put out both arms and not touch anyone. Arsenal and football had become unpopular.

But following the Gazza tears at WC ’90 football became once again the peoples game but now the demographic was different; more middle class, more sanitised. Out went the passion and the fervour and in it’s place came the intellectualisation of football. If you don’t believe me just imagine how AW would have fared in the time of managers such as Shankly or Alf Ramsey or Clough – these men were real working class heroes. 5 languages? They could hardly speak one.

So, we started to become successful and fill the ground and with that came better players. Better players cost more but they attract more fans, and in the process Highbury became too small. Prices started to rise and with it expectation.

At first we were able to cope by having tens of thousands on the season ticket waiting list but which economist would not see the opportunities?

Suddenly we had an additional fanbase that was richer than the working class lads who stood on the North Bank, they were quieter but much better behaved and the Highbury Roar became The Highbury Library.

We became all-seater and built the new wonderful but not so homely North Bank. Now the fans could get into the ground far more easily, they didn’t have to queue whilst the anticipation increased the tension. They didn’t arrive 2 hours before the game and get “in the mood”. It was different.

And that different fanbase and atmosphere changed The Arsenal; we became a business. It was a business decision to move to the Emirates. The Directors may well have told us that the future of the club as being competitive internationally was at stake, but the real truth was their concerns were profit. We moved and in my opinion it ripped the heart out of the club. It will take years to make The Emirates our home, it has started and will continue but at what cost?

A shiny new ground needs to be filled and as long as football remains the drug of the masses Arsenal will play to a packed houses but the football experience has changed.

The new fans arrive in their seats 2 minutes before kick-off, they leave 10 minutes before the final whistle – why? It didn’t happen at Highbury, so I cannot see the logic in saying “we have to get a train/ bus/ tube etc etc”. Going to Arsenal should be the highlight of the week, not getting home faster!

It seems to me that those who grew up in the Wenger years expect so much and if those expectations are not realised then they will gripe. I don’t blame them, they haven’t been properly educated because when Arsenal became a Business we ceased to be fans and became customers. And if a customer has paid for something then he has the right to complain if he doesn’t get what he expects.

The Emirates (just the name says all you need to know) has in my opinion irrevocably changed The Arsenal. Sure, different times require different solutions and the new wealthier fan would not put up with the state of Highbury, why should they?

A state of the art stadium attracts state of the art new fans, and those fans will not accept anything but a 5 star performance. Hence they gripe.

As has been said some fans are not supporters.

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Time For The Pod To Shine At Number 9?

May 1, 2013

This is a topic I have had on my mind for some time now and stems from Arsène Wengers apparent reluctance to try Podolski in the number 9 role. I believe he played this role once at the start of the season, (perhaps against Sunderland?), and since then, when he has played, he has been utilised from the attacking left, which often leaves him playing more like an orthodox winger. I personally feel that Podolski is “ok” from this position but I don’t feel he is what I would qualify as world class. He does, however, seem to have some excellent attributes that could see him progress into the world class bracket as a central striker.

The assertion by many that he is our most natural finisher is something that I would find hard to disagree with, and his statistics before coming to us at both club and international level seem to support this. I have questioned, like many, why Arsene has not played him in the number 9 role. One must assume that having tried him in that role earlier on this season, and then looking at him closer in training, that Arsene recognised certain deficiencies that would not allow him, at that point, to perform the number 9 role at the very highest level. I would certainly bow my head in this matter to the man that discovered Anelka, developed Robin Van Persie into a world class striker, and way and above everything else, gave us the great Thierry Henry. That is evidence enough that our esteemed manager knows a world class striker, or potential world class striker, when he sees one.

P2

When the ball lands at Podolski’s left foot in dangerous areas he looks as good a finisher as any other world class forward you could care to name at the moment, so what is stopping him from claiming this role as first choice for the club. Podolski’s shortcomings for this role we can maybe only hypothesise upon. Speculating, I would consider that maybe he is too one footed and needs to develop his finishing ability more with the right foot as we saw with a certain traitorous Dutchman over the last few years. Maybe Arsene doesn’t feel he yet has the instinct in the runs he makes and the positions he takes up in the box, so that rather than create the opportunity with a well timed run, he is still overly reliant on the ball arriving at his feet without having to move too much. It could be that in our system, that would see him lead the line without a recognised central number 10 partner, that Arsene doesn’t feel he yet has the ability to hold the ball up when required and therefore link his team-mates into the attacking play.

The recent reports, allegedly directly from Arsenes own mouth, that he is working hard with Podolski in training to convert him into that prolific number 9 seems to indicate that Arsene both sees and believes that Podolski can fulfil this role in the long run. The big problem in my mind is that I feel we are in a time sensitive situation with regard to our forward department. I don’t believe we can enter next season without a ready made world class forward line, and for me the number 9 position is a key area where we are behind our top club rivals at present.

I think that more than at any other time in our recent history this is the critical summer where we shouldn’t enter the campaign with such an important area of the team still being a work in progress. I personally like Giroud, who I think has had a decent first season and feel he will still improve further, but I don’t see him being able to become a world class number 9. In direct comparison to Cavani, Falcao, Lewandowski and the great TH14 can anyone actually hand on heart say that Giroud will achieve that level? I can’t, and I view Giroud’s long term future with us as a second choice number 9 or impact sub.

We are heavily linked with Jovetic. Now this is a player I like and hope we get. I feel he will bring an extra dimension to our attacking department, but once again I don’t see him as a number 9. He looks to me to be an attacking central or attacking wide player. If anything he is likely to take up the

attacking left sided role that Podolski currently plays, which would leave Lukas somewhat redundant with regard to this position. That leaves the question of whether we have the answer within our own squad for the world class number 9 role in Podolski, or is it an area where we need to dip into the transfer market for this summer.

Worryingly for me, and obviously also for Podolski, is that aside from Giroud AW seems to prefer Gervinho in the role. Despite scoring a couple of goals more recently I don’t see Gervinho as becoming a world class number 9. Podolski conversely, I feel, has the natural attributes that Gervinho doesn’t, that would allow him to be a 25 a season striker. I think Arsene’s deployment of Podolski over the last four games will tell us much. If he continues to use Giroud, and Gervinho in his absence, in that role rather than Podolski I feel the writing could be somewhat on the wall.

If we don’t see Podolski play the role before the end of the season I would surmise that it means Arsene doesn’t feel he is ready. If he is not ready now then I don’t see him being ready for the start of next season because I don’t personally feel that the pre-season period would see a seismic shift in his development. Securing players like Cavani, Falcao, and Lewandowski will neither be cheap nor easy. Many of the other top clubs seem to be circling for these 3. Maybe more realistic alternatives would be one of either Benzema or Higuain from Madrid. If Jovetic does arrive I can only really see it meaning one of two things for Lukas, and that is that he either becomes the clubs first choice number 9 or………

I can see one possible way that we could bring in Jovetic and still keep Podolski even if he is still a season away from being ready to be first choice number 9 on a permanent basis. That would be by bringing in an over 30 ready made world class forward that could still do the job at this level over the next couple of seasons. Only one name springs to mind for me and that is David Villa. If Arsene truly believes that Podolski has what it takes but just not quite yet, then this is an option that I would not turn my nose up at.

Written by GoonerB

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Posted by Rasp

Why I’m Loving Van Persie Now

April 30, 2013

So the melodrama is over.

Brave Sir Robin returned to the club that stood faithfully by his side in sickness and in, er, more sickness.

He walked on to the pitch through a guard of honour. He got booed by most of the home supporters. He took a few kicks and gave a few kicks. He scored.

bsr

That’s it folks… all over, nothing to see here.

I still have mixed feelings about BSR. I completely understand why many fans are angry that he chose to leave (and that the club sold him to Manchester United, of all people).

But I also appreciate the great memories I have from the one proper season he gave us during his Arsenal career: all those “did you see that?” goals; all those volleyed finishes from Alex Song golf chips. It’s just a shame it turned out to be his last season with us.

Anyway, the dust has now settled on his return to The Home Of Football and we can get back to worrying about the important business of winning our final three games.

The problem is, it’s not as simple as that, is it?

We don’t just have to worry about our own games, we also worry about those of the teams competing with us for third and fourth spots in the Premier League.

And this is why I have decided to become a Robin lover again. It won’t be with the passion that I once had for him and I can guarantee it won’t be a long-lasting affair. In fact, it will be all over by 6pm on Sunday.

Because shortly before then the referee will have blown the final whistle to end Manchester United’s home fixture against Chelsea. And I am sincerely hoping that Brave Sir Robin, who has been in superb scoring form for two full seasons, will have done us an immense favour by banging home a hat trick against the Chavs.

If United beat Chelsea, it will give us some additional margin for error in our run in. Hopefully we won’t need that margin and we will spank QPR, Wigan and Newcastle in turn to guarantee a top four finish, but even then, it might make the difference between third and fourth place.

I hope that United will put in a proper amount of commitment and effort against Chelsea.

The Purple Conked Gorbalian has said that they will. He talked of “honouring” Chelsea’s rivals for the Champions League places by competing properly, but I have my doubts.

They have won the league already at a canter and, psychologically, I just can’t see them being as committed as they should be.

In fact, the “Van Persie returns to Arsenal for the first time since joining United” sideshow probably worked against us at the weekend. It fired up the crowd and added spice to the occasion.

Arsene Wenger said that our players started with such energy and bite because of the way they had prepared. That may be part of it, but I have no doubt that the heightened passion of the crowd also played a part.

It encouraged our boys to snap into tackles, win the second balls and harass United all over the pitch.

But if you start bullying people, eventually you’re likely to provoke a response. The United players, being the competitive people they are, could not help but be roused into fighting back eventually.

But when they entertain the Chavs it will be a very different matter. It will be a game played in front of a complacent home crowd who don’t really care what the result is. Many will have consumed a fair few drinks on the way up from Surrey and – if it’s a nice afternoon – will probably doze through the match.

Let’s face it, the place is hardly a hotbed of atmosphere at the best of times. If the Emirates is a library, Old Toilet is a mausoleum. Without the fun.

In other words, I wouldn‘t be at all surprised if Chelsea come away with all three points.

My only hope is that Brave Sir Robin himself, despite the abuse he received from his former worshipers on Sunday, will feel he owes it to us to try and help us get a top four place.

I hope that his friends in the Arsenal dressing room – the ones he was so eager to pop in and see after scoring against them at the weekend – have urged him to do his bit.

How ironic would it be if goals from Robin van Persie played a part in keeping us in the Champions League next year?

RockyLives

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A Hard Fought Draw

April 29, 2013

This was on paper always going to be the most tricky game of our run in and chase for a Champions League spot. Added to the normal nerves of entertaining United was the return of Brave Sir Robin, and the indignity of having to give said Dutchman and his new teammates a guard of honour on to the pitch after winning the title last Monday. As a mark of my disgust I did not enter the living room until that silly business had been completed.

On to the match, Arsene had picked the side most of us would have expected before the game. Podolski in for the suspended Giroud and with a chance to prove that his future in the team rests in a central striking position.

I posted the following comment before kick off yesterday:

What do I want today? 3 points obviously…..but more importantly I want us to take the field showing a belief that we can win. Too often this season we have gone out in games against Top 4 competitors with a look of a team destined to lose and given a performance to match.

From the start the team set about United in a fashion we have not seen for quite some time. We pressed the ball, were quick to the tackle and competing for the second ball, so much so that within 1 and a half minutes we got our reward, Brave Sir Robin gifted possession to us in the centre circle, Cazorla picked out Podolski who moved it on to Rosicky who picked a lovely pass in to the feet of Theo, despite the tight angle he dispatched the ball past a static De Gea.

theo v united

Maybe this would be a good day after all, the best thing about this was that we did not stop or slow down for the next thirty minutes, continuing to press and fight for possession and being quick to block out United attacks.

Cazorla tried a curler to double the advantage but De Gea saved well (although a bit dramatically) and Ramsey breaking fed Podolski who shot from a tight angle when perhaps he should have squared it to where Theo was waiting, perhaps he was trying a little too hard to prove a point. Maybe young Aaron chose the wrong option with Theo looking better placed to shoot.

United started to get in to the game, but in the main were restricted to crosses and deep runners trying to get on the end of them, Szczesny saved well with his face from the Dutchman in the one clear chance they created.

The second goal of the game would be vital and it looked like it was only going to be ours but from half hour onwards we seemed to be paying the price for our frenetic start opportunities to counter attack were being slowed down, a few loose passes appeared when previously we had been precise and quick.

With the half time whistle approaching Bacary Sagna made a poor backpass to BFG, he has played in the same team long enough to know BSR would be looking for it, he picked up the ball and raced towards goal, Sagna worked hard to get back and the angle for any shot was tight but Sagna, red mist fully descended, lunged into a risky tackle, his outstretched studs made contact with the ball but from behind as he was the tackle would be a foul anywhere else on the pitch. In Sagna’s defence he must have been surprised to see BSR as he had been firmly tucked in Koscielny’s pocket up to that point. The Dutchman picked himself up and scored the penalty to level going in at half time.

The goal could not have come at a worse time. With legs starting to tire we needed to go in ahead and to be able to be lifted to push on, unfortunately we went in to the break heads down and regretting yet another individual mistake that have cost us too often this season.

From the restart it was clear United had been given a piece of the managers mind, it also looked like any rebuilding of confidence in the home dressing room in the second half had not worked. United were waiting to kill us on the counter attack, that they didn’t was testament to the defending of Koscielny and BFG and the keeping of Szczesny.

Mertesacker so often taking up positions to deny passes or make a large obstacle to surpass, Koscielny was his normal dynamic self quick into the tackle and clean interceptions, it is a shame that the appointment of Vermaelen as captain robbed Koscielny of so much game time this season. We have sorely missed his pace and power and it has been an important feature of our recent form.

Sagna had some more troublesome moments and most of United’s threat came from that side combined with midfielders struggling to match runs.

Going forward we were toothless, the ball got in the final third but there was no zip around the pitch either passing or running. Podolski appeared to have run out of steam after 55-60 minutes, he was failing to win any high ball or compete meaningfully. We missed Giroud’s workrate and ability to occupy defenders….he is an aerial threat that centre backs have to actively mark, which opens more space for the technicians in the team to use.

By the end it appeared that neither defence wanted to lose it and both attacks wanted to win it, there were large amounts of space from defence to defence and that gave us less chance to create a winner.

Wenger tried to force the issue bringing on Wilshere for Rosicky, Gervinho for Podolski and Ox for Ramsey. This did inject some more pace in to our play but we were restricted to more long shots, one from Cazorla just not carrying enough pace to beat De Gea.

Dowd brought the game to a close with a point acceptable to both. It was a shame that we could not get a winner, but as I have said before you get what you deserve in football and if you make mistakes like Sagna’s you do not deserve to win a game of football.

But the performance especially that in the first half was what I was looking for when I posted my early morning comment, we refused to be bullied, we stood up to the challenge, and we matched them physically man for man.

Only a fool would argue that BSR would not make our team better, but on yesterday’s performance not many of them impressed me enough to think they would make us better in other positions.

Ratings

Szczesny – 8 some good saves and a confident unflashy performance from the under fire young keeper

Sagna – 4 offensively poor, and cost us the equaliser

Mertesacker – 7.5 another solid performance from BFG, his experience and reading of the game makes him a far better defender than people give him credit for.

Koscielny – 8.5 (MotM) tucked BSR in his pocket where many other top strikers have sat before. Quality performance from the best Centre Half at the club

Gibbs – 7 not his attacking best but kept Valencia quiet most of the game

Arteta – 7 because of the way United play his defensive role was different today requiring him to track runs rather than intercept and clean up loose balls. He didn’t do this to the required standard too many late runners hitting the box untracked. With the ball he was his same reliable self.

Ramsey – 7 looked to tire early, some good passes and touches early on, was getting in good offensive positions all game without always being picked out.

Cazorla – 7 a relatively quiet game but forced De Gea into two good saves.

Rosicky – 7.5 good pass for the goal, lively about the pitch and unfortunate not to get a bit more curl on a well imagined shot.

Walcott – 8 great finish for the goal, and a constant threat to slower defenders. Needs to be much better without the ball. Did Evans a favour by keeping him at arms length when Evans appeared to want to come in and rub foreheads.

Podolski – 5.5 very poor in the centre forwards role, hope he improves over next two games, we will need him to help bring the midfielders into the game.

Subs
Wilshere – 6.5 very quiet didn’t really get into the pace of the game

Gervinho – 7 we became much more mobile with him on the pitch but with United defending deep there was little or no space to exploit.

Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7 looked to get hold of the ball and attempt to influence the game.

Written by Gooner in Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Guard of Honour?????

April 27, 2013

A Guard of Honour for the newly crowned Premier League champions?

Arsenal Football club have intimated that the home players will line up as a Guard of Honour to welcome the new Champions onto the pitch prior to Sunday’s match.

The decent thing to do? Or, given the antipathy towards United in general and a certain Dutchman in particular, a provocation to the frustrated Arsenal faithful?

There have been suggestions that the fans should stand with their backs turned and in silence, this could prove to be embarrassingly ineffective unless the vast majority of those present took part. There will no doubt be a number of fans who will boo and in other ways express their contempt for the new Champions, as is their right.

Back in 1991 when Arsenal won the old League title our opponents for the final game of the season lined up to clap the new Champions onto the pitch, that demonstration of respect was organised by the away clubs manager a certain Alex Ferguson.

It is by no means an established tradition to provide a Guard of Honour, although it has been done on a few occasions. United have three more games to play after Sunday, will Chelsea, Swansea and West Bromwich be expected to honour United? If so where does it end? Does it carry on through next season until all the other Premiership sides have had their chance?

Frankly I’ve grown tired of the so called pre-match ceremony, teams marching out together, lining up and shaking each others hands in a totally meaningless ritual, particularly as it is often marred by one player or another refusing to shake the hand of an opponent over some perceived slight or previous disagreement ……

On Sunday afternoon and in all future matches let’s just get on with the game.

Written by Norfolk Gooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsene Wenger: Dictator or Loyal Servant?

April 26, 2013

I think the above question is the one question that if we had a clear answer would help unify the fragmented support. The question of Arsène’s power has raised it’s ugly head again in the last week with United winning the title. Many Arsenal fans are laying the blame solely at Wenger’s feet….”sold them the title” is a popular phrase used by these supporters.

Arsene-Wenger

In truth it’s hard to disagree with the fact that the traitorous Dutchman had a very positive impact for Salford United, and their early season form was boosted by his arrival. Ours on the other hand was affected by his departure and another summer of uncertainty.

The bone of contention however is that Arsène’s supporters don’t believe the decisions to sell players is solelyArsène ‘s and that his statements after another sale are simply those of a man being asked to follow the company line, but also bound by a loyalty the club he loves. Why else would he still be here?

Greed? I think he probably hasn’t got a lot to worry about when he retires.

Egotist? Maybe but if that was the case he would have taken the Madrid job a long time ago and given himself more chance to win a few trophies.

In a recent interview another departed player gave a slightly different version of events.

Wenger told me that if Cesc left, I would stay but Kroenke wanted the money.

The coach told me we’ll only take Gervinho. Cesc was already gone, I had only one year left so I decided to leave.

There is a subtle twist there in that the player himself says he chose to leave but he also says Kroenke wanted the money. There is though one undeniable statement – Arsène did not want him to leave.

So should Arsène come out and say as much? He has said previously that he could write a book about that summer, would it be better for us if like Mancini he would just come out and say “the Board are lying, they forced me to sell to buy, they did the same this summer too, that’s why I had to sell the Dutchman and Song, as I needed to bring in replacements in other positions with different skills and also replace the departed”.

Man City fans should be revolting against the manager given their squad but, despite having spent another *£14m net, by claiming that he was not allowed to spend as he had in the previous two summers (net spend £164m) the City fans have continued to show their support to him.

Arsenal fans disenchanted with the “all powerful” Wenger will point to the fact that Arsène says nothing of the sort as some kind of admission of guilt.

What if it is misplaced loyalty to a club that gave him the chance to manage at this level, what if he thinks it is better to present a united front, what if he can’t think of life without Arsenal.

There is no point saying “but if we’d kept X and Y we would be dominant” because we wouldn’t have A and Z if we hasn’t sold.

Those are the two sides of the story, but we do not know the truth, if we did would it change our opinions of the Board or Arsène? If I found out Arsène had final say on those players departure from the club then maybe I would view him differently, if on the other hand we find out he has nothing to do with contracts, sales, wage levels would it help us focus our questions (and ire) towards the board/owners? Would we believe again that “there’s only one Arsène Wenger”? Could we judge him solely on the teams performances knowing he has been working under internal pressure.

Gooner in Exile

*would have been £31m had Balotelli not exited in January

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Ramsey – The New Denilson?

April 24, 2013

It was the start of the 2011/12 season. Captain Cesc Fabregas, one of our most talented Arsenal midfielders ever, and the man that the team was built around, had left to join Barcelona. Samir Nasri, coming off an excellent previous season, had gone to Manchester City, Jack Wilshere, England’s great hope, was injured (for what we later discovered would last all season), Abou Diaby was injured. Thomas Rosicky was in an out. Andrey Arshavin had grown fat and unmotivated.

It was a midfield crisis to rival the fullback crisis that hit us later in the season. Wenger was basically left to work with Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin, Yossi Benayoun, Alex Song and of course Aaron Ramsey. A midfield triumvirate of creativity and steel from all sides was formed: a creative Song ostensibly as the defensive midfielder, a metronomic Arteta in the middle and poor Aaron Ramsey in the advanced Cesc role. Yes that’s right, less than 10 games back from that horrific, psychologically damaging injury, Ramsey was to replace the great Cesc Fabregas.

ramsey

When I look back in retrospect, I wonder why Arteta and Ramsey’s roles weren’t reversed. Arteta had been a more creative force at Everton and Ramsey spent the 08-09 season playing between Song and Fabregas. It would have taken some pressure off of young Ramsey and onto more experienced shoulders, as well as given Ramsey his preferred role in the team. I guess perhaps, that Wenger was loathe to move Arteta who was preforming his role in the team better than anyone bar RVP. If Arteta had to replace Fabregas, I wonder if he would be receiving the same amount of love and adoration from Arsenal fans that he does today.

And so Ramsey became a source of frustration for many fans. ‘He slows us down’, ‘He’s too often looking for the killer pass rather than keeping it simple’, ‘He just passes backwards and sideways’, ‘He’s simply not good enough for Arsenal’, and of course ‘He’s the new Denilson’. I also wonder whether for some, the painful memory of the collapse during the ‘Do it for Aaron’ title campaign taints their image of the player. I must say at this point that there were some fans who fiercely defended him, and debated for him on the blogosphere, (hands up in the comments if you always believed in Aaron) but they were in the minority. And the more Ramsey was unable to produce the wonders of Cesc, the more criticism he got and the more his confidence and form dropped. A vicious cycle. Ultimately, it was a resurgent Rosicky who saved us in the creative midfield department later in the season.

This season, Ramsey has also frustrated some fans. I think frustrations reached their peak when Wenger was playing him on the wing, in my opinion attempting to achieve the same results as the previous season’s successful experiment with Benayoun on the wing. Some of the abuse of Ramsey that I’ve seen on the internet is staggering. Some have described a seemingly genuine wish that he would again break his leg. This starts to make you lose hope in both Arsenal fans and humanity.

2013 has been much kinder year for Ramsey, and boy is he due a break! He’s hit form, put in some excellent performances and silenced (mostly) his critics. One reason for this, I think, is that Arteta has been made to play defensive midfielder (quite well I think too) freeing up room for Ramsey’s favourite spot especially with Wilshire, who also has a claim to that position (where to play him is another mammoth question entirely), out injured.

This is definitely Ramsey’s most preferred position. But one of the best qualities is his versatility. This season he has played on the left wing, the right wing, as an attacking midfielder, as a defensive midfielder for the injured Arteta (I think playing well here kicked in his excellent form), and even as a full back! He is a very useful player for Wenger to have at his disposal.

Lastly and most importantly, Aaron Ramsey is one of the hardest workers in the Premier League. I am astounded by his running, his Arsenal spirit (beaten only by Jack and Carl and Szszeney) and his determination.

If he is simply a quality squad player who loves to play, can do a job all around the ground and gives everything each time he pulls on the jumper, he is worth his wages. But the great thing about Ramsey is this is his minimum. He is young; there is the potential, with a lot of improvement and hard work, for him to become an exceptional player and a starter. If not, we’ll still have a hard working and high quality squad member, a player every title winning team needs.

Written by Gus

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Should Szczesny be replaced?

April 23, 2013

It’s widely expected that Arsenal will sign a new goalkeeper during the summer transfer window. There is little doubt that we need a reliable, experienced and talented ‘keeper, something that has been sadly lacking since the departure of David Seaman in 2003. I mean no disrespect to Jens Lehman but his erratic behaviour and volatile temperament, which led to him being nicknamed Mad Jens, indicates to me his unreliability.

Of our present crop Szczesny is probably the best but Arsene Wenger seems to have spotted a flaw in his temperament hence his recent relegation to the bench. Fabianski is a reasonable ‘keeper but is not up to the standard required by a club playing near the top of the Premiership and in, hopefully again next season, the Champions League. Neither is Mannone.

We have been “linked” with several ‘keepers over the recent past, although it has to be said that the “linkage” has been mostly speculation on the part of tabloid sports writers desperate for some copy.

Two names have, however, appeared with some regularity, Stokes City’s Bosnian international Asmir Begovic and, rather surprisingly, Barcelona’s Spanish international Victor Valdes. One other high profile ‘keeper recently added to the list is Real Madrid’s Iker Cassillas.

Should any of the three be signed then I would expect at least one of our present ‘keepers to depart.

Without knowing how Wenger really sees his ‘keepers it is difficult to know just what he is looking for in terms of a replacement, if he feels that one of them will “make it” in the near future then a short term option may be considered. If, however, that is not the case then a younger player will be the requirement.

It would seem from newspaper gossip that Begovic is the favourite at the moment, at 25 years old he should be approaching his peak, at Stoke City since 2010, he has played 87 times, so has plenty of Premiership as well as international experience having played 20 times for Bosnia Herzegovina.

In the been there, done that, got the T-shirt category both Cassillas and Valdes would be terrific signings but as both are 31 years old they do not represent long term solutions and Wenger’s well known reluctance to give contracts of more than one year to players in that age group means that either could only be seen as stop gaps.

My personal preference would be for Wenger to take the long term view and sign Begovic, but either of the other two would more than adequately fill the gap up to the end of our manager’s present contract.

Begovic, Cassillas or Valdes? What do you think?

Written by Norfolk Gooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Cazorla Out?

April 22, 2013

Santi Cazorla was below par against the Cottagers on Saturday and also struggled to influence the home game against Everton.

It has raised the worrying question of whether the talented little Spaniard is starting to burn out after a spectacular first season in the English top flight.

There is no doubting his genius – as he has shown on numerous occasions during the campaign. Twelve Premier League goals and nine assists so far is an excellent return.

santi

But just lately he has seemed somewhat diminished.

Some may point to the fact that he has been played on the right recently to accommodate either Wilshere or Rosicky in the central attacking midfield berth. He plays in a right sided position for the Spanish national side, but there is a strong case to be made that his most effective position for Arsenal has been in the middle, pulling the strings.

But even though I agree with that, I don’t necessarily see that as the reason for the slight dip in form he is experiencing.

Prior to joining the world’s greatest club, Santi had spent his career entirely in the Spanish league, at Villareal and Malaga.

The problem with the Spanish league is that it is as non-competitive a league as you’ll find outside of Scotland (or at least, Scotland before Rangers’ fall from grace).

The fact that Real Madrid and Barcelona are allowed to make their own TV rights deals means La Liga is the most financially rigged competition in world football. The other teams are there just to make up the numbers. Consequently many games are not contested as fiercely as they should be. It’s a huge contrast with England, where the TV money is shared more equally and every game has the potential to be a blood-and-thunder battle, regardless of how lowly the opponent.

Santi Cazorla has played 45 games for Arsenal in all competitions this season. Incredibly, 43 of those have been as a starter.

This leads me to believe that he is just running out of steam in this late stage of the league campaign.

There was a telling moment in Saturday’s game where Theo (I think it was Theo) made a great run into the Fulham box and Santi tried to slide the ball into his path for what would have been, surely, another Arsenal goal.

At most points this season that pass would have been completely routine for Santi, but against Fulham he overhit it by a yard and the chance went begging.

It was a pass made by a tired man with tired legs. And it makes me wonder whether he needs to be rested for the remainder of the run in. Not rested completely, of course, but dropped to the bench to be used as a super sub if we are chasing a game late on.

I know this will sound like heresy to many and I expect to be (politely) shouted down in the comments. But I think we should appreciate that Santi has never in his life played football of this intensity for this long and the only surprising thing is that he hasn’t flagged sooner.

Of course, the three games against Norwich, Everton and Fulham all came within the space of a week and there are now full-week breaks between all our remaining games, but I still feel Santi is a man in need of a summer break.

So if we take Santi out of the front line, how do we replace him? Well, we already have his central midfield replacements ready (Wilshere and Rosicky) and it allows us to play a more wing-minded attacker like Theo or Gervinho on the wide right.

Arsene Wenger has shown himself willing to take tough decisions already this year (dropping his captain; dropping Szczesney). Will he be tough enough to rest arguably the best player at the club?

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Raving at The Craven.

April 20, 2013

A Spring day in London town, an away trip to that pleasant part of the metropolis, our team on a run of unbeaten games and against decent opposition, should be a good day out.

3 points would make it a great day out.

Fulham’s loss to Chelsea last week shouldn’t mask the quality of their recent play, they were the better team in the first half yet went in for their quartered orange slices two goals down – it was a travesty. I am sure Martin Jol will assure his team that today will be different.

Early in the season we were having a pub discussion about who would be the last man standing in a pub brawl amongst football managers, I am sure you have done the same…… Needless to say our beloved Mr Wenger wouldn’t last long, probably even less time than Fatboy Benitez. The unanimous winner was Martin Jol, a man who has a face like a dog chewing a wasp, but a good manager and a man players are unlikely to argue with!

images

Want Some?

What I like about Jol is that his team play for each other; Fulham have some fine talent in Berbatov and Ruiz, but essentially their strength comes from unity. How else can you explain Big Phil Senderos getting 20 games this season. I have always like Big Phil and thought he could be a future Arsenal Captain, sadly injury, lack of composure and a slower turning circle than even our BFG, has hindered his career.

Let us be under no illusions, today will be a tough game, Fulham beat Spurs at White Hart Lane  only a couple of weeks ago and in Berbatov have a player who likes to score against The Arsenal, but as always this will be about how we play. The loss of two points to Everton was a result of a lack of quality finishing; we won the game in every department but failed to be clinical.

My Team:

arse v fulham

Of course, the above could turn out to be complete tosh, and AW will go with a 3 man midfield of JW, Santi and Mikel, but should he field my team I think we will win the game.

AW has been in the press saying nice things about The Ox – that he is maturing and will have more games next season. Is this a carrot to an unhappy player or will Alex find his place in a team which seems settled with Alex on the bench? The latter hope because he is an essential element in the Triple winning team of 2016.

Today’s English Explorer:  Many of our explorers have been rich men who travelled to find fame, but of course most of England’s great explorers had one thing in mind when they left behind the Cliffs of Dover – Money. Great Britain became Great on the back of trade and opening up of new markets or finding new items for sale was hugely important. Think how the import of silk, sugar, tobacco, teak, cotton etc affected the country we know and love. Charles William Barkley (1759 – 1832) was one of those traders. Going to sea aged 11 working for the East India Company, he was mainly sailing between the Far East and the West Indies. In the 1790’s he went to British Columbia, Canada – there is a sound named after him (the Barkley Sound near Vancouver). The Pacific was his domain and he started trading fur between China and Canada.

images-1

There are no images of Barkley but I found this old pic of the Young Raddy

Barkley traded all over the Pacific bringing huge wealth to both The East India Company and his English backers. During this time he opened up unknown areas of the Canadian Pacific coast. He died in Mauritius aged 73.

Can we win today? Well, we have been very good on the road, the team is consistent and the sun is shining. What do you think?

p.s. It isn’t really the Young Raddy – he was better looking.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

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