When listening to the TV pundits raving about the wonders of Man City, the genius of Suarez and Liverpoool, the calculating charm (?) of Chelsea and Mourinho and the magnificence of the current champions, one may be surprised to learn that the team who picked up the most points in 2013 was none other than our beloved Arsenal. Has anyone praised the magnificent job done by Mr. Wenger? Through the summer there were daily reports (also from so-called Arsenal fans) about Our Leader losing the plot. Has he hell – he remains the best manager in the PL and probably Europe. As Terry says “the ghosts of the thirties are stirring” 😀

Can we repeat the magical final day win of just 6 months ago? On that wonderful day we defended like lions and had the inspirational Laurent Koscielny to thank for the victory. It also gave me my funniest moment of the year when the feckless Spurs fans mistakenly celebrated what they thought was a Newcastle goal …. click here to relive the moment.

Newcastle have moved forward since then, primarily thanks to two of their glut of Frenchmen, Remy and Cabaye. Would Remy have been an ideal fit as striking partner for Giroud? Would we have signed Ozil had the bids for Cabaye been successful? Either one of them would look good in the red and white but whether either would be starters is open to question.

Looking at the Newcastle side there is every reason for the Geordies to be optimistic about their chances this afternoon. The return of Tiote (the battle with Flamini could be explosive!) will add steel to a decent midfield. Sissoko and the wingman Gouffran (who has scored in his last 5 appearances at home) make up the numbers – it should be an interesting battle for control of the middle of St. James’ Park.

Upfront are Remy and Ameobi, pace and power but nothing that our defence cannot contain if they remain as cohesive as usual. Mr Wenger has talked about his admiration of Remy and it would not be a total surprise to see us make a bid for a man not CL cup-tied in January (not that I expect another expensive signing).

Defensively they have improved but it must be recalled that we are very strong on the road.

Newcastle are on a fine run having won 7, drawn one and lost one of their last 9 games.

Arsenal: I must start by going against the flow – following the WHU game many said we are better without Ramsey because it allows Podolski into the team and Santi to play centrally. No, No, NO. OK, he isn’t scoring as freely as a couple of months ago but Aaron is a top, top player and currently the beating heart of the team. Sure he needs a break but one or two games not the long layoff his injury could cause.

Random thought. Where the hell is Oxlade-Chamberlain?

Vermaelen or Koscielny? Rumour has it that Kos is fit to play. I wouldn’t take the risk, we have many battles ahead and TV has played well in Kos’s absence.

Monreal or Gibbs? Given the pace and trickery of both Gouffran and Ben Arfa I feel we have to start with Gibbs.

Should Giroud start? In my opinion definitely. He looks a bit leggy but Podolski is not a central striker and quite frankly Bendtner, though a starter against Hull is not in the same class.

The next question is whether Podolski should start or whether he needs more recuperation ? I have a feeling Mr Wenger is looking to ease the German back and use him as an impact sub for the next few games.

So, my team:

It pains me to leave out Cazorla after his excellent game at the Boleyn and perhaps Ozil will be rested but I can’t see it. Given that we are away Wilshere or Rosicky give more defensive security.

Go on …… argue your case for including either Cazorla or Podolski.

Today’s referee will be important in a game where midfield dominance is key. Unfortunately the ref is Lee Probert, a man who has a dreadful record with Arsenal. (see Untold Arsenal for details http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/33337? ).

We have suffered at St. James from diabolical decisions in the past as the Geordies put pressure on the ref (4-4 Phil Dowd) and if ever there were a “homer” it is Probert. GN5, after the shabby work of Mike Dean vs Chelsea, said that if we score then we take the opportunity to derail us away from the referee, it is a point well made, but there must come a time when the refs are able to use technology to correct their mistakes because Dean’s (and others) failures could cost us dear.

This will be a tight game as once again we face a side who are at the top of their game – playing away in front of a packed and enthusiastic crowd, with a referee who is known to be poor, without Ramsey & Kos, with a tired Ozil and Giroud – would you take the draw? No, neither would I.

Another nail-biter in prospect.

written by Big Raddy

The festive fun is over, the turkey left-overs have been consigned to the dog, the empties left beside an overflowing bottle bank and Auntie’s hand knitted Aresnal scarf carefully hidden away at the back of the sock drawer. So on with the motley for another dose of the weekly News-Round.

Last Friday:

Arsene Wenger, the last man standing! With the retirement of Old Rednose it is left to our own Professeur to carry on the role of Club Manager. Arsenal are now the only club in the Premiership where the manager manages and the board do, well whatever it is boards do. Fiascos at Cardiff and Tottenham are the latest to demonstrate that football matters should be left to football people and egocentric owners and chairmen should keep their noses out.

Jack Wilshere’s punishment for his obscene gesture was announced, a two match ban ensured his absence from two London Derbies. No doubt that had Arsene spitting blood, just when he needed as many players as possible available so he could rotate the squad one of them gets to sit it out in the stands. At his news conference Wenger said Koscienly was 80/90% out of the game, but Podolski was available for selection.

Arsenal’s attempts to sign Liverpool striker Luis Suarez are finally dashed by the Uruguayan signing a new £200.000 a week contract. Well we didn’t really want him, did we? We only bid £40.000.001 to wind Rogers up.

A surprise guest at the Arsenal Christmas party was non other than Ashley Cole, the former Arsenal left back was promptly benched by Mourinho for the Monday night derby clash.

Last Saturday:

Predictable wins for Liverpool and City saw us temporarily knocked off the top of the table, which must be an added incentive for the team to take the three points on offer against Chelsea.

Despite fatigue being a factor in the slight dip in form of Mesut Ozil, Wenger has no intention of resting him for the Chelsea game but rested he will be in future.

Sunday:

At a manager’s meeting in Geneva, Arsene raised the matter of the away goals rule. He wants UEFA to scrap it altogether as he feels it is both “unfair and outdated”. He went on to say

“Last year we went out on away goals and after that I asked for Uefa to cancel the away goals,” Wenger said. “I think, for example, we lost 3-1 home and won 2-0 at Bayern. It is difficult to win 2-0 to Bayern without conceding a goal. The weight of the away goal is too heavy, too big and is not justifiable anymore.” “There is no big difference anymore. Sometimes I think there is a counter-effect, as teams play at home not to concede goals. At home, the first thing managers say is let’s not concede goals.” Maybe he has a point, do you agree with him?

Monday:

Speaking to

http://www.arsenal.com Arsene said of tonight’s match; “I see this just as a home game after an away defeat, one in which we have a good chance to show our strength. Despite the fact that we conceded goals at Manchester City, I feel that the team has even more belief now. We have regrets yes, but also a belief that we have a big role to play in the Premier League so let’s respond straight away.” You can almost hear Edith Piaf in the background singing Non, je ne regretted ** rien.

“We have shown again at Manchester City that we can score at any moment, so we want to find the right balance again between being defensively sound and going forward with efficiency.”

When asked about the likely absence of Laurent Koscielny

“Mentally, it has been tough for Thomas Vermaelen but he prepares well and is focused in every training session,” said Wenger. “So he is ready to come on every time. He did well [at Manchester City] so it is good to know that he is ready to play.”

The odds home win 11/8, draw 23/10, away win 2/1.

Tuesday:

The sub-heading in The Independent says it all,

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0 match report: Dean’s mistakes deny top spot to Arsenal. There can be no doubt, even in Mourinho’s warped mind, that Mike Dean’s abysmal performance was the reason for us not regaining top spot. His failure to issue a red card to Mikel for his challenge on Arteta on 36 minutes, which met the excessive force criteria. Just seconds later there was a penalty appeal against Willian for a trip on Theo Walcott that looked plum, which was not given.

Let’s not kid ourselves too much, our performance was by no means our best, we created too few chances and got even fewer on target. A nine day break should have seen us playing a much higher tempo pressing game. A clean sheet and no injuries are the positives to be taken from a game spoiled by the referee.

Christmas Day:

Oh! Come on, you didn’t really expect anything today, did you?

Thursday:

Words of wisdom from Arsene prior to the trip to East London to play West Ham:

“In the Premier League, we have learned that this year it is difficult everywhere”. “Now we have to go to West Ham on Boxing Day and on top of everything it’s a derby. We have given a lot against Chelsea so we need to make sure that we are completely focused on this game.”

In view of the likely fatigue factor and players returning to fitness Wenger has the option to rotate the squad a little.

“Podolski has not played at all since the second game of the season and he lacks a bit competitiveness, of course I can only find it if I play him but he’s been in training for just two weeks now. I have to make that decision when I use him or not”.

Ultimately Wenger of course picked a very strong side, which overcame a one nil deficit to run out comfortable 1 – 3 winners. Two goals by Theo Walcott and another by the late substitute Lukas Poldolski saw us move back to the top of the table at least until the end of the City/Liverpool game which finished 2-1. So we are back on top.

That’s it for another week, enjoy the weekend

Norfolk Gooner

In the comments following this match I stated that I thought there was some progress made last night. Whilst the point may not look that great as we could not lift ourselves back to the top of the Premier League, the way we approached the game was different to past meetings with a Mourinho Chelsea.

That’s not to say it was a great performance, the part the conditions played cannot be underestimated, against a strong wind in the first half we struggled to control possession, Chelsea were content to follow the game plan that has worked against us so often in the past ten men behind the ball, let us take possession to the half way line and them press to try and get the ball back and counter at pace with red and white shirts stretched between the half way line an their 18 yard box.

Bearing in mind we were playing against the wind I couldn’t fathom why we were trying to hit so many high balls, surely we have all played in conditions like this at some point in our lives and so must the players and the way we have all been taught to play against the wind is keep it on the deck.

I can’t really discuss the first half without mentioning Mike Dean, he seemed to have decided pre match that due to conditions he would allow a few tackles to go by without punishment, and so it was that Azpuiceleta (I had a go at spelling it right 🙂 ) got away scot free for upending Ramsey about half a second after Ramsey had played the ball, that set the standard for the rest of the half. He also allowed Lampatd to slide through the back of Sagna and take man and ball and have a throw. The two key decisions followed a little later first he allowed Mikel to get away with what looked like a dangerous lunge on Arteta, and immediately after with Arteta still lying on the floor waved away appeals for an Arsenal penalty when Theo was clearly tripped by Willian in the Chelsea penalty area, a big decision and one he got wrong, although he clearly was in a mood not to give anything controversial.

Chelsea had the clearest chance of the half and probably the match when Arteta allowed Lampard to run past him while no one pressured Hazard on the ball, he found Lampard but thankfully the ball cannoned back of the bar to safety.

The second half we promised more pressing further up the pitch and having more of the game in Chelsea’s half. I spent most of the second half urging us forward but worrying about Chelsea countering every time we over committed men forward. This is what Mourinho’s Chelsea teams have done to is over the years, and in years gone by we would get carried away trying to break them down and give away an easy counter attacking goal, and although Chelsea did muster a few attacks in this way we were rarely playing 2 on 3/4 at the back which we have seen in the past, we were not playing for a draw but we were making sure we didn’t lose if we couldn’t win. Is that progress? Well from naivety shown only a few weeks ago when playing Dortmund at home I’d say yes.

We did manage to create two chances for Giroud, the first following a lovely chip pass and great movement from the big man, but he snatched at his shot and sliced it wide, the second chance came from good work from Gibbs on the left but Cech and Terry combined to present Giroud finding the net.

The game petered out to a 0-0 draw with Mourinho replacing attackers with less adventurous players and finally a centre forward with a centre back.

So a point at home, putting us back level on points with Liverpool who face a trip to City on Boxing Day, that game will help us one way or another.

The biggest annoyance to me was not Ramsey’s off day or Giroud’s failed attempts it was seeing the basic errors made by senior pros, gambling when they should play safe, trying passes when Row Z an reorganising is a better option, I want us to play attractive football (and win obviously) but there is a time and a place, and sometimes the boot through the ball is the best option. That is the biggest lesson we need to learn, it’s down to the players on the pitch to do it, no one is going to complain of they do that on occasion, it’s how you win League titles.

Gooner in Exile

My first and last article was ‘The fundamentals of Football’ couple of years ago, the journey has been of mixed fortunes, and I must say the nature of my environment hasn’t encourage my consistent participation in blogging. Although, I often pop in and pop out quietly.

TRANSITION FROM DEFENCE TO ATTACK

It will be surprising to many the fact that the edge of the knife on which the current Arsenal team is balanced is in fact the most overlooked player, not Giroud, not Ramsey, not Ozil, and no not Arteta, it is Per Mertersacker. The Arsenal team’s attack starts with the BFG and a solid proof of this were in the games he had missed this season, most notably the Old Trafford game and the less noticed Capital One cup defeat to Chelsea.

Arsenal’s game has improved so much due to the fact that on careful notice, it seems the team has a principle of setting the ball rolling which is for Szczesny to first, before any other player is considered, attempt a pass to the BFG, unless where impossible should he consider Koscielny and if that’s impossible hoof it to Giroud to hold up play (mostly against high pressing teams a la Dortmund) such that the order of priority of Szczesny’s pass is BFG, Koscielny, Giroud. Having a principle of play makes for harmony particularly where this principle is properly understood both by intelligence and competence

From the BFG, there are two likely outlets in the order of Arteta/Flamini, then Sagna. Supposing the two are marked out, then Koscielny is considered and if he is also marked and Ramsey is not dropping deep (which he mostly does) or he’s also marked, then a longer outlet is picked – this mostly is any of the no 10s further away from the deep lying players (There are at least, of recent, 4 no 10s on display per match, at times 5, rarely 3. The reason for this is discussed further down).

The objective of any of the above is to switch play from defense to attack smoothly. What particularly makes Per the balance of the team is that by technique,

1. He must be so positioned as to on almost all occasions be available for a pass from the Gk or recirculation from the rest of the team when breaking down the opposition seems difficult.

2. Makes certain that transition to attack from the defense is as seamless as much as possible by picking out a pass to Arteta, Flamini, Koscielny, Ramsey or further outfield with priority given to the order in which the names are listed

The successful switch of play from the defense to attack is the foundation of the free flowing game that the ‘Emirate Master Chef’ has been serving the salivating fan of the Arsenal world so far.

THE WHOLE TEAM IN VIEW (Attacking perspective)

It should be noticed from the above that there was mention of ‘from defense to attack’ and not ‘from defense to midfield to attack’ simply because the Arsenal team has more or less reduced the football pitch to two broad vertical segments of defense and attack with five defense minded players and five attacking players respectively on the logical sense (though obvious visually on the division of the football pitch) and three horizontal segments of left flank, middle and right flank also logically. What must be minded however is that to make this work perfectly, certain players of each department must be able to perform the functions of the other department effectively without restraint.

Arteta/Flamini – Ramsey/Wilshere/Ozil/Rosicky/Carzorla*

Technically Arteta is a no 10, but for the purpose of the game Arsenal plays, he is positioned in front of the back four as a member of the defense due to his extremely high positional sense and technicality, he shields the defense and initiates attack, however, he can in the same game find pockets of space in opponent’s defense (it is in this area that Flamini may be lacking). The same can be said of the attacking players who must apart from unlocking the opponent’s defense be able to do the Arteta job when he’s doing theirs.

Gibbs – Carzorla/Ozil/Wilshere/Rosicky/Ramsey/Walcott*

Operating on the left flank, Gibbs shields the defense from marauding wide men, however required to effectively finish the job is the ability to pick a pass to the next player in priority depending on location of dispossess. If in the defense, locate either Koscielny or Arteta or the nearest attacker, if in the half-way line, locate Arteta or the nearest attacker and if in possession of the ball in advance area, he must be able to either get past the opponent’s full back, pick a pass to the nearest or best positioned attacker or wipe in a pin-point cross. While engaged in the latter, the other attackers covering the flank must be able to function in his (Gibbs) position in the order in which he performs. This explanation applies to Sagna – Walcott/Wilshere/Ozil/Carzorla/Rosicky/Ramsey* on the right flank

Basically, the above shows most of the attacking players must be able to function across the horizontal segments without restraints, deputize for the wing backs and some must be able to also function in the space ranging from left to right in front of the defensive four

The revolving/rotational principle is based on the above, and it demands that players be highly intelligent and technical and it explains the fact that a youth player rising into the ranks continues to learn even when he seems obviously talented. In fact, established stars transferred to Arsenal are always want to express their readiness to learn under Arsene simply because there is much to learn to be able to function in this intricate system. It also justifies the World Scouting System developed by Arsene as there are few players that possess the basic requirement and therefore can rise to the pinnacle of this system. Certain players have mastered the system and are now playing on top of their game. Sagna, Gibbs, Monreal, Jenkinson (getting there), Ramsey, Arteta, Flamini (Across the heart of defense) Carzorla, Wilshere (last phase of learning right now at the right flank) are those of the current squared that are excelling in this multitasking scheme. Of the players listed only Ramsey seems to have had a complete education across all departments except the heart of defense, Striker and Goalkeeping, even that of striker can be argued based on current performances. Ozil must develop the remaining part – enduring the stress and maintaining high degree of accuracy which has been exposed by the intensity of the premier league as against that of the la liga.

The result of the above is a distributed goal tally, a proof of this is last season where four (4) Arsenal players scored into double digits each and the trend still continues. The advantage of this is less pressure on Giroud (the striker) to bear the scoring load.

Recently Arsene expressed his displeasure at the Ballon d’or wishing it cancelled simply because football is a team sport. It is principles of play like this that underscores his opinion where the working together of the parts is greater than the summation of the parts (Synergy)

Thank you.

Please note that this article is a partial view of the team when attacking as it does not consider the intricacies of the attack across the face of the opposition’s defense since this is based more on creativity than principle. It also does not consider the team when defending which not surprisingly this time around ironically tilts the knife-edge in favour of Giroud for balance – another article will be needed to cover this extensively.

Timmy (Adeosun Oluwatoba Timothy)

Nigeria

*Names are listed in the priority of consideration for the position

The recent weeks have been an unsettling time for football managers, players, and supporters alike. First the Board of West Bromwich Albion decided that Steve Clark was not taking their club where they would like, and then the joke club in N17 decided that although he had the best win percentage of any previous Premier League manager for Spuds, and sitting 7th in the league and 5 points off the top 4, it was time for AVB to leave. I am no fan of AVB but you have to question the sense of the Board for removing him.

This season for the first in a long time there is an argument to say four of seven teams could make the Champions League spots, of those seven teams two are financially doped and therefore can demand qualification from their managers, if Everton, Liverpool or Spurs say to their managers that the minimum requirement is Champions League qualification they may as well give up before the season starts.

There is also the vicious cycle of players wages, represented here:

This becomes worse when we start talking about Champions League Money, and therefore clubs with ambitions to be in the Champions League need to gamble on wages over and above the normal cycle. This is why Champions League money is so important, UEFA by their promotion of the Champions League have left themselves with a dead duck of a competition called the Europa League which does not generate the TV rights that the Champions League does, they have extended the pool of clubs able to enter the Champions League to strengthen their premier competition but it has been at the expense of their other competitions.

A lot of the criticism of the current situation of a Big 4 of Premier League Clubs is seen by many fans as a result of the Premier League full stop, so with this in mind I went off and did a bit of a review of the Top 4 finishes going back 42 years, 21 post Premier League seasons and 21 pre Premier League seasons. To some extent what I found was a bit of a surprise.

Prior to the Premier League era 19 different teams finished in the top four positions, during the Premier League Era only 13 different teams have finished in the top four. Perhaps not as stark as I was expecting, so i added a final criteria, top four finishes since the Champions League qualification became four teams from the Premier League, only 8 different teams.

As you can see the real evil has been that Champions League qualification. I’m sure a similar study of other European Leagues would provide a similar result.

On top of this we have the ability of players to move around Europe, many moons ago a Munich side would have been 90% German, an English side 70% English (except Liverpool), etc. Now we are lucky if we see 50% of players from the country of the team. This in itself is not necessarily the worst thing about modern football but it means that UEFAs premier competition is only going to be won by the Leagues with the biggest resources to attract players from all across Europe especially those whose teams used to be European greats but cannot afford to compete with the bigger clubs.

So what can be done to change this? To make Managers jobs more secure to allow clubs to really build again without fear of losing out on the pot of gold that is the Champions League and to make the domestic leagues more competitive?

For me I would like to see a total overhaul of European Competition. And in a three step process.

1) Re introduce the European Cup Winners Cup, as a straight knock out competition. Winners or Runners Up of the domestic competition only.

2) Reduce the places in the Champions League to 2 spots for each country.

3) Apply the coefficients for the Europa League for each country so we may have four teams in it.

What would this do? In my opinion it would increase the quality of the Europa League and hence increase the prize money and rights on offer. The Europa League would also feature teams that are traditionally big European clubs. This would probably also reduce the money on offer in the Champions League but that may be no bad thing as it will reduce the need of so many clubs to retain Champions League status.

One thing is for certain the gravy train will not last forever, the money BT have paid to secure Champions League rights indicates that the gap will only widen in the future. This cannot be a good thing for domestic football and the managers that work in it as the task becomes more impossible.

Gooner in Exile