Saints Preserve Us!

May 8, 2012

This weekend or next we have the opportunity to clinch third place, and to celebrate, each in our own way, the annual pleasure of St Totteringham’s Day.

Although of only recent inception, St Totterigham’s has now become a popular and much anticipated event. Oh how we love it! But it is not the only annual Arsenal celebration, and so I propose that we formally instate another shared feast.

St Invictus Day.

This is the day on which none of Arsenal Premiership competitor’s remain unbeaten. It is the day on which we know that the legend of the Invincibles cannot be besmirched by the upstart over-moneyed Johnny-come-latelys. It is the day when there is a reassuring lack of zeroes in the losses column of the premiership table. And it is a day when the whole of English football is reminded just how incredible the achievement of the Arsenal team was in 2003-04.

It is a day we should celebrate every year.

Historically, there have been eight St Invictus’ Days to date:

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as the years have passed, the media has gradually devalued the Invincibles season. The last remaining unbeaten team of each season suddenly becomes a candidate for equalling their achievement. A quick Google search brings up articles in this vein by TalkSport for both this season and last, some of them as early as October!

But as we can see from the above, in eight attempts only one team managed to get anywhere close, and they were unbeaten for less than two-thirds of the season.

So let us continue to celebrate the Invincibles and the Arsenal when the next St Invictus Day comes around!

Written by MJC

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Posted by Rasp

Thomas Vermaelen Needs To Grow Up

May 7, 2012

I’m sure you have all heard of the “Canary Test”.

In 19th century coal mining there were no automated ventilation systems, leaving the pit workers at risk of perishing from toxic gases.

So they used to bring a caged canary down to the coalface with them. Canaries are especially sensitive to carbon monoxide and methane and would keel over dead soon after inhaling them.

If the little yellow bird kept singing, the miners knew that all was well.

I thought of this before Saturday’s game against Norwich: given the haphazard nature of our results this season and, in particular, the untimely run of form we have struck of late, it felt like we were getting our own Canary Test.

Newly promoted Norwich are a decent side who have played some nice football this year and have managed to stay out of relegation danger. But that’s about it.

They certainly should not be too great an obstacle to a side with Champions League aspirations like Arsenal, right?

And yet, and yet.

Losses to QPR and Wigan in recent games had exposed Arsenal’s fragile underbelly (apparently our overbelly is just fine, although currently holidaying in St Petersburg) and raised old questions about our mental strength and tendency to choke when it mattered most.

So the visit of Norwich was a Canary Test, but with the outcome reversed: if the Canaries died, all would be well in Arsenal Land. If they lived… not so good.

We all know what happened. The Arsenal performance can be summed up in four simple stages: dream start; abysmal capitulation; spirited fight back; stupid capitulation.

The first half, after our early goal, was particularly worrying. Our midfield vanished like a coin in a magician’s fingers and Norwich made full use of the empty acres in front of them.

But it was the Canaries’ third goal that really ticked me off and which (I’ll get there eventually) prompted the headline to today’s Post.

We were 3-2 up with five minutes remaining in a game where a win was vital.

Any top team – and I mean ANY top team, including Barcelona – would, at that point, have attempted to close down the game to see out the remaining minutes and secure the points.

And they would look to their senior players to lead by example.

But, right now, Arsenal are not a top team so we did not behave like one. Inexplicably, we behaved as if we were chasing the game and needed another goal to win it.

In the run-up to the Canaries’ third, Song gave the ball away stupidly while trying an over ambitious pass and both Gibbs and Vermaelen were too far up field and out of position when possession was lost.

Think about that for a minute. A goal up with minutes to go, and our defensive midfielder is trying fancy-dan passes while two of our back four think they’re in the US Cavalry. As it turned out, they were in the US Cavalry – unfortunately they were with General Custer. Hadn’t we learned our lessons from Norwich’s second, when TV5 was stranded up field as the away team broke and scored?

Inevitably Norwich again exploited the empty spaces and scored.

Could you imagine Chelsea behaving like that? Or Manchester United? Or Manchester City?

Of course not.

The only highly placed Premier League team I can imagine doing that are the ones who live down the road and pong a bit. So that’s what it has come to: we, the mighty Arsenal, are behaving like your common or garden Spud.

I’m angry with the manager and the entire team for the first half performance and I am angry with Song and Gibbs for the third goal. But most of my anger is reserved for Thomas Vermaelen – a man pretty much universally adored by the fans.

Not for the first time this season, his lack of discipline as a defender has cost us points.

I am all in favour of him going up for set pieces (the break in play involved in set pieces means we can make sure to keep other players back to cover) and I am delighted when he drives forward towards the end of games where we are chasing a goal. His late winner against Newcastle was testament to what he can achieve in those situations.

But to behave that way when we are narrowly winning a vital game is immature and unbefitting of an Arsenal Vice Captain.

I hope all you Gooners who think that Vermaelen and Koscielny comprise our best centre back pairing are learning your lesson.

The great Tommy V, the Muscles from Brussels*, our Lion of Flanders has, to my mind, been getting carried away with his own publicity. For all his strengths, his indiscipline makes him a liability at times.

Before everyone slaughters me, I will mention his strengths: he is powerful, brave, fierce, a battler, great in the air, strong in the tackle, indefatigable, charismatic, intimidating to the opposition.

His combative qualities put him in the top echelons of Premier League defenders. But if he does not start showing more discipline and maturity, he will struggle to be remembered as a true great.

Let’s not forget, he is 26 years old. Unlike Gibbs, we cannot blame youth for his mistakes. In those final minutes when we were beating Norwich he should have been using all his experience and authority to scream his head off at his colleagues about holding their shape and holding the ball.

That job is even more important when you take into account how wasteful Alex Song can be. He is nominally our Defensive Midfielder, but his obsession with trying Hollywood passes when a bit of Ealing Studios is called for, and marauding up field at the very times when he should be shielding the defence, is slowly killing us.

When the experienced Arteta is playing, Song’s rampages are usually covered. But Aaron Ramsey does not appear to have the understanding to do likewise, making it even more vital that the Centre Backs stick to their duties.

On Saturday Vermaelen did not.

For me, the first CB name on the team sheet (assuming all are fit) should be Per Mertesacker, with either of Koscielny or Vermaelen alongside him. Beside the BFG, I feel that either of Kozzer or Verm are excellent options, but both of them need the organizational nous and composure of the German Giraffe to bring the best out of them.

In fairness to Tommy V, our approach to defending as a team and a squad is a bit all over the place (there is an excellent and balanced deconstruction of the issue on Desi Gunner’s blog: http://desigunner.wordpress.com/2012/02/24/a-detailed-look-at-arsenals-defensive-issues-tactics-shape-mistakes/ ).

Whoever takes over Pat Rice’s job next season needs to help Arsène Wenger make us more difficult to score against. It’s about far more than just the personnel, but it is also essential that the senior players focus on their own responsibilities.

I love what Thomas Vermaelen brings to Arsenal, but if he can apply a bit more maturity to his game I will love him unconditionally.

RockyLives

*Actually Tommy comes from Kapellen, which is nowhere near Brussels. It’s on the outskirts of Antwerp, which might make him a Twerper. ‘The Muscles from Brussels’ sounded better.

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Posted by RockyLives

The season unravels again

May 6, 2012

I’m pretty fed up of having to write posts after a miserable game.

Miserable game or miserable result?

Definitely a miserable result. This was a must win game – together with all the other must win games that we haven’t won in the last four since we lost to Wigan. We don’t have long to find out whether the point gained yesterday will be of any value as todays games will either see us stay in the top four or drop out.

We all know that this season, third in the table is far more precious than fourth just in case those west london chavs go on to lift the trophy in Munich and so it would have been so immeasurably wonderful to have just won this game. Instead we scored in the 2nd minute and then failed to play for the next 45 minutes.

Miserable game? Miserable first half. Having started so brightly we then conspired in a pretty typical fashion to let the opposition into the game. What is wrong with us attacking the ball? Is it the New Arsenal way to not think about defending as a team? Not unusually, we conceded a sloppy goal as soon as the 12th minute. How many ridiculous goals have we conceded at the Emirates this season? Far too many and this was followed by another in the 27th minute.

How do we expect to get back into the game when we don’t challenge for the ball, when our mid-field just allows the opposition to waltz through unchallenged?

I really can’t be bothered to write about the nitty gritty of the game and which players did or didn’t perform  as I’m sure you can read better reports elsewhere. I know we’re missing Arteta and he has been the glue this season but there are other players who could put in more effort and concentration to ensure we’re tighter in the middle. Just challenging for the ball and working harder would make a big difference.

Anyway, on the half hour mark Sagna went down apropro of nothing and it turns out his leg was broken – poor Sagna. He was replaced by Coquelin which was a bit of luck because I think Coquelin is rather good. Someone kindly played Coquelin a hospital pass for his first touch and he was awarded a free kick following an unfair challenge by Hoolahan who should have been carded. The first half closes 2-1 down.

The mutterings of supporters around me hoping Arsene gave them a good telling off at half-time seemed to be true as they were out early and started brightly. But no, was it going to be one of those days where for all our creative play we just couldn’t put the ball in the net?

Robin could have had at least three already but we know ‘he scores when he wants’ and so it came to be that he found the net for an equaliser. Funnily enough, I had in the previous passage of play implored someone to ‘just put it in the back of the net’ in a rather unladylike way and the very nice young frenchman sitting next to me was rather shocked. Once Robin had scored I wondered whether I should throw caution to the wind and just swear like a trooper. Clearly it worked because Robin scored another to make the score 3-2.

And here it all goes horribly wrong again. There we were deliriously happy, third place almost secure for another few days, singing ‘by far the greatest team’ at the tops of our voices when another lapse in concentration allows Norwich to score for the third time. Talk about having the wind taken out of your sails, crushed is the only way to describe the feeling.

While all that was going on Ramsey was subbed for The Ox on 60 minutes and Yossi came off for Chamakh on 69 minutes.

We may be extremely lucky and hold on to third place but don’t hold your breath as some of this team just didn’t stand up to the challenge of getting us over the line yesterday and there’s no guarantee that next Sunday will be any different. Too many clever touches, too much intricate play, not enough simple football tactics.

Who takes the blame? The team or the manager. This game wasn’t a one off, I’ve seen too many of these this season to be fooled into thinking this is a transition and patience is required. We needed to win today and we didn’t turn up first half and that is just not good enough. There are many that think that success is just around the corner for this team and I believe we have some very good players but do they have the motivation to be successful? On yesterday’s evidence I’m not sure.

Written by peachesgooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Pat ‘MR ARSENAL’ Rice

May 4, 2012

Whatever the result at tomorrows crucial game against Norwich, no doubt there will be a lap of appreciation from the players to their supporters after the game has ended. One man deserves to have his name sung loud and proud as he walks around the Emirates pitch for the last time. It is expected that Pat Rice, Arsene’s right hand man, will be hanging up his track suit following many years as an excellent servant to the club.

The bare facts of his career do not do justice to a wonderfully loyal and gentle man, who served Arsenal so well both as player and Assistant Coach.

Patrick James “Pat” Rice (born 17 March 1949).
Pat was born in Belfast, which explains his unique London/Irish accent, because he then grew up in London.

He played more than 400 times for Arsenal, including winning the first Double, before moving on to play for Watford.

As an International player he won 49 caps for his home country Northern Ireland. He has been the strong right hand of Arsene Wenger ever since Wenger became the Arsenal coach, and reinforced his reputation by being an intrinsic part of the management of two wonderful Double winning teams.

Born in Belfast, Rice grew up in London.

But what of the man? Pat has become indelibly linked with Arsenal and has clearly become assistant, friend, confidant and advisor to the greatest manager Arsenal has ever had.

If Pat gave a soliloquy about his time at the club, it would be full of self deprecating modesty and good humour. For all Arsenal fans he is far more than that. We all will have our own thoughts and memories, both involving his playing career and his time in administrative management.

Nothing will honour Pat more than for all of us to exchange these wonderful memories of a great man among ourselves today on the penultimate day of his final Arsenal home game.

Written by Red Arse

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Where is The Magic Hat?

May 2, 2012

7 years. We have all heard it, we are all suffering from the jibes and the media make sure it repeated regularly. What has happened?

Many on the site will have sung with gusto:-

“Georgie Graham’s Magic,

He wears a Magic Hat,

And when he saw the F A Cup,

He said  I’m having that”

If you look carefully, BR is just below GG’s shoulder!

Of, course, in later years Arsene Wenger inherited the song.

With the FAC this Saturday and another year of non-Arsenal interest, I question what is going wrong? How can a team as talented as ours, with as many outstanding players as we have, won zip for so long? Quite frankly, it is not good enough.

We have many discussions about evaluating what is success; for example, would we swap Liverpool’s season for ours – they stand on the brink of equalling our Double Cup win, yet lie outside the European places and a huge 34 points behind Manchester? What will the records show? They will show a successful 2012 for the Scousers. Arsenal can point to another season of “development”.

We can all list a litany of excuses; the stadium, the CL involvement, Project Youth, financial restrictions, bad luck, injuries etc but the sad fact is that during our barren run even Spurs have won a trophy!  A Div 1 team have won a trophy (don’t bother looking it up – it was Portsmouth) and so have a Championship side (surely you recall that one 😦 ).

So, why aren’t we winning silverware and how do we remedy this sorry state of affairs?  I will let you into a secret – Mr Wenger has no idea and neither do I. We both need some input as to how to remedy the problem.

Can you help?

Written by BigRaddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsène to be top spender?

May 1, 2012

Season end approaches and once again the phantom shopping trolleys are being pushed around the blog world by deluded supporters expecting their clubs to go to market. Well sorry folks, in most cases it isn’t going to happen the coffers are empty; the players have had it on their toes with the bread and many of them too, are in for a nasty shock.

Football has for years casually spent the huge TV revenue on player’s wages, whilst obtaining those same players on the never/never. Now club owes club, owes club, owes club, for past deals, many for players that no longer play for them. The whole system is a house of cards ready to tumble as soon as a big club goes. A bit like the inside trading that brought down the banking system when Lehman bros went.

But this time there will be no helpful taxman waiving his debt to help bail out the clubs damaged by the shock waves. He will want paying in full and don’t rule out a quick bill being pushed through parliament to make sure the taxman gets first shout as he does elsewhere when companies go broke.

So no mega spending by clubs this window, a few individuals will buy the one or two major players they need. But expect the rest to be cutting back on squad sizes as contracts run out, many players to be out of work this year and the major part of the trading to be in loans.

We at Arsenal are lucky, we are solvent, and I see no way the directors won’t keep it that way. Arsène will IMHO buy maybe a couple of key players and release many of those whose contracts run out or alternatively re-sign them on lesser terms, as will be the norm for all but the elite players throughout the game as their contracts run down. Expect young players to be ruthlessly fought over as clubs bid to stock their academies and just as swiftly dropped if they fall behind the standards required. The gravy train has hit the buffers and the fall out will be enormous.

Conversely those managers, who have proved their ability to run clubs on limited budgets, are likely to find themselves quickly elevated to “bigger clubs”. IE. those PL clubs outside the select Champions league qualifiers and those owned as playthings by the mega rich,who will try to reinvent themselves as participants in the real world, rather than the Mickey Mouse environment that has, since the birth of the premier league, been football.

Consider financial fair play, tougher tax regimes, sound business practice, higher interest on loans if indeed loans can be found by many. These all mean that clubs, players and the fans that support them have to come to grips with the new reality  that is football 2012

Welcome to the real world Gooners.

Written by dandan

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Posted by dandan

Gervinho: The New Thierry Henry

April 30, 2012

One of the commonest complaints levelled at Arsene Wenger by his critics is that he hangs on to sub-standard players for too long.

He is accused of having ‘favourites’ and of continuing to select them long after we supporters have decided that they are not up to it.

‘Fawlty’ Manuel Almunia, ‘Sideways’ Den Denilson and Emmanuel “the Grinning Kamikaze” Eboue all spring to mind.

Now the critics are drawing up new lists. Some are comically long, leaving us with a squad containing just Szczesny, Vermaelen, Wilshere and van Persie, who in addition to their playing duties will also have to wash the kit, mow the grass and make the tea.

Others are more considered. The names most regularly seen on these lists are Diaby (too injury prone), Almunia (too error prone), Chamakh (too goal shy) and Park (too invisible).

But as our season approaches an anxious climax, I have seen Gervinho’s name bandied about as another player who should be packed in a cardboard box and deposited in ‘Goods Out’.

Is this fair?

Certainly he has been a frustrating player in his first year at Arsenal.

Against Stoke at the weekend he actually did a lot of good things – taking on his fullback and often beating him with a combination of skill and pace. But whenever he got free, he seemed incapable of making the right decision.

As for his finishing, well, let’s just say that he appears to have been getting tips from Jon Jenson.

But if you cast your mind back to the start of the season he was a promising addition to the squad. He was exciting on the ball and very, very direct. His first touch was (and still is) excellent and he can dribble past opposition defenders at will.

So far this season he has played 27 games, including nine as a substitute. He has scored four goals and made eight assists. It’s not a startling return, but nor is it awful.

My theory, for what it’s worth, is that Arsene Wenger had a notion that Gervinho could (I stress, could) turn into a new Thierry Henry.

Don’t laugh – I’m serious.

He came to us as a fast and skillful winger/forward with a French background. I’m sure it must have crossed Le Boss’s mind that there was a possibility he could blossom the way Henry did into a devastating attacker. Perhaps Wenger even thought it unlikely that van Persie would stay fit for an entire season and that there would be opportunities for Gervinho to play as a central striker.

Right now that idea seems ludicrous because we have come to think of the Ivorian as a player who lacks composure in front of goal (and, in fairness, his recent efforts have done nothing to counter that view). That puts him at the opposite end of the spectrum to Henry, who is arguably the most composed goal scorer ever to wear an Arsenal shirt.

But what many don’t realize is that Gervinho’s scoring record in France was better than Henry’s before he joined us.

Thierry bagged 20 goals in 105 games for Monaco (less than a goal every five games). In his short spell at Juventus just before Wenger scooped him up he got three in 16 (again, less than one in five).

Gervinho, by contrast, scored 28 in 67 appearances for Lille – the club from whom he joined Arsenal last summer. That’s a goal every 2.4 games – or twice as deadly as TH14 was before arriving at Highbury. Both were playing as wide attackers while in France.

It gives the lie to the suggestion that the dome-headed flyer does not have the ability to score goals. I don’t know why he’s not bagging more for the Gunners. He scored a peach at the ACN (in fact, it was quite an Henry-like finish) but in the red and white it has not really been happening.

I don’t watch French football so I have no idea whether he was played in a different role at Lille or whether it’s just a confidence thing at the moment.

Like most players who go to the ACN, he has suffered a dip in form since returning, but I really think it’s too early to give up on this young man.

Many people had doubts about Laurent Koscielny after his first season with us. Like Gervinho he had been good in parts; but, also like The Gerv, he had frustrated too. The Godawful cock-up that gifted the Carling Cup to the McLeish Relegation Team #1 seemed to be evidence of an underlying problem with the defender.

Fast forward to now and I suspect that, were it not for Robin van Persie’s ability to pop the egg in the basket at moments of personal convenience, young Kozzer would be Arsenal’s player of the season.

I am hopeful that Gervinho’s Arsenal career will follow a similarly upward trajectory and that next season will be a big year for him

Do I think he can become a new Thierry? Probably not, because players like Henry are very rare indeed. But if he can become 50% of what TH was it will still make him one of the best players in the league.

Do I think he can become a vital and effective part of the Arsenal attack? Yes I do.

He has now had a season of adjusting to the EPL. It would be crazy to jettison him at exactly the point where we can expect him to start showing why Arsene Wenger believed in him in the first place.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Brittania Revisited

April 29, 2012

A third trip to the Britannia in three seasons brought with it some mixed emotions. The 2009/10 game was played in February, a month after being beaten by the Stokies in the 4th round of the FA Cup. Ramsey’s leg snapped like a twig but the team responded magnificently to record a fine 3-1 victory.

2010/11 at the Britannia saw Arsenal in end of season free-fall and another defeat ensued. What would 2012 bring? Stoke always raise their game against us, refusing to lie down to superior footballing ability. The touchlines are narrowed, local aircraft given warnings of possible collisions with footballs and Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army gives the pre-match, rabble-rousing speech. Could Arsenal resist the bite of the cold steel? Anxious and expectant, the Arsenal away fans gathered in the Potteries.

(photo courtesy of Stuart MacFarlane)

After an easy drive along the A50 we arrived in plenty of time to find a parking spot at a local bowls club which would enable a smooth getaway at the end of the game. A brief chat with a couple of Stokies in the pub before the game elicited the information that they were pleased not to be in Europe again as it had ruined their season. Mid-table mediocrity seemed to be the height of their ambition…..oh, and beating Wenger’s Arsenal, of course. Arsenal are lacking a player who puts his foot in was their considered opinion whereas none of their players minded being kicked!

We had a fairly good view but were much too close to the inbred hoards and soon realised the aggression between the two sets of supporters was going to colour how we would remember the game.

The first half began and it soon became obvious that only one team had any desire to play any real football. The first booking came in the first couple of minutes as Whitehead fouled Song. The Gunners began the game at a canter and Benayoun should have done better, scuffing a left foot shot after clever interplay with Robin. Then it was the Dutchman himself who drew a fine save from Begovic with a glanced header at the near post.

Stoke scored from their first effort on goal with a pinpoint cross from Etherington which found the head of the Human Pylon. Even with Vermaelen and Koscielny leaping front and back of Crouch, they still stood little chance of stopping the goal. “One Nil to the Rugby team” sang the Stoke crowd. If I was a Rugby player, I would have been offended.

Arsenal quickly responded with another straightforward goal in its simplicity, van Persie slotting home after good work from Rosicky. “He scores when he want” and “By far the greatest team” followed.

The first half petered out from that point onwards. Gervinho had a chance to shoot after a lovely through ball from Sagna but put his effort way over the bar. Another chance nearly came to Gervinho who just failed to get his immense forehead onto a whipped-in cross.

My brother went for a half-time pie and heard the following conversation in the queue in front him. Arsenal supporter, ‘What flavour pies have you got?’ Girl behind the counter, ‘Chicken Balti, Steak and Ale…. Arsenal Supporter, ‘Have you got any Meat and Potato? ‘Yes’ came the reply. Arsenal fan, ‘I had one of those last year and it was farkin horrible’. Cue the laughter from the serving assistants behind the counter. The news that Newcastle were getting thumped certainly improved the atmosphere behind the goal during the half-time break.

The second half began with the boys kicking towards us. Surely things would improve and we would earn the crucial three points. As far as the football is concerned, I thought the second forty five was pretty poor. Arsenal probed and prodded. Shots were blocked. Robin slipped on a couple of occasions when he might have sneaked a shot on goal. There were a few decent looking free-kick opportunities for the good guys but none really troubled the Stoke keeper.

At the other end Szczesny made a fine blocking save from a vicious drive and a long throw header was cleared close to the Arsenal goal line. There was a brief rendition of ‘We can’t spell his name, we can’t spell his name, Wojciech Szczęsny, we can’t spell his name’.

The other dominant impression from standing behind the goal in the second half was how hideous the Stoke fans were. They finally found their voice after Shawcross lunged in on Benayoun. They sang ‘He breaks things when he wants, he breaks things when he wants, Ryan Shawcross, he breaks things when he wants’. (It could have been ‘legs’ rather than ‘things’, it was difficult to understand the accent). Looking across at their fans there were gestures of breaking a stick in two hands which I found quite sickening. Hideous miscreants.

Yossi had a good shout for a penalty ignored by Foy who looked across at his linesman to see a totally blank expression and so he waved play on. The last twenty minutes were a pantomime starring Arsene Wenger. He began waving his arms in the air at the injustice of the penalty decision and other decisions which followed. The Stoke crowd began to imitate him by waving their arms in the air at every opportunity while singing, ‘ Let’s all do the Wenger’ and if an Arsenal player committed a foul singing, ‘He didn’t see a thing, he didn’t see a thing , Arsene Wenger, he didn’t see a thing.’

Arsène needed someone to tell him to sit down as he may as well have been the Stoke cheerleader, such was his influence in stirring the Stoke crowd to generate more noise.

At the final whistle, I felt disappointed that we hadn’t been able to rise above the overall poor quality of the game and produce a few moments of real class to win us the three points. A hard-fought point would have to suffice, a point which looks better in the light of Newcastle’s zero points. Whether it’ll look so good after Sunday’s fixtures, only time will tell.

Ratings

I don’t really do ratings but I’d say that Benayoun and Rosicky seemed to have decent first halves. The defence were resolute throughout, Sagna looking dangerous assisting the attack in the first half, too. Szczesny couldn’t do much about the goal. Sometimes I wish he would catch instead of punch, especially in the second half when the aerial bombardment was in full force. I’d probably give them all a 7, with Tomas, Yossi and Bacary 7.5.

P.S. The Man of the Match was announced over the tannoy as Dean Whitehead. Sums it all up really!

Written by chas

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Posted by Rasp

Choose your favourite Arsenal partnership this season: vote now!

April 26, 2012

Arsenal has benefited from a strong increase of togetherness and collective purposefulness this season, and without any doubt this has been one of the main reasons for our recent super-recovery that led us into the top-three again.

In this blog, I zoom in on a number of partnerships within our team, as they have been big contributing components of Arsenal’s collective togetherness this season. During this transitional season, I have really enjoyed seeing partnerships develop all over the pitch. The most obvious ones are those between the five in defence, the three in midfield (the wall of ARS) and three upfront, but in this blog I would like to zoom in a bit deeper towards the mini-partnerships within AND between the lines: those between two players.

Today’s blog is an interactive one, and it would be great if you could score the partnerships at the end of the blog.

This is my main selection of partnerships, but feel free to comment on other partnerships you feel have also worked well this season.

Partnership 1 Mertesacker and Koz:

It seems a long time since these two players formed our regular CB pairing. It took Mertesacker some time to adjust to the PL, which is quite understandable given the fact he had to hit the ground running, due to his late arrival. What Mertesacker missed in mobility he made more than up in his reading of the game, his positional play and his ability to bring calmness and organisation to our defence. Koz has had a fine season and seemed to thrive next his German counterpart. Koz is good in the air and great on the ground, and his excellent reading of the game, high energy levels and tackling skills made him a fine match for Mertesacker. In a way, it is a shame this partnership was not able to complete the season, as undoubtedly, it would have grown even stronger.

Partnership 2 TV and Koz:

It took this partnership a few games to gel again, but once they did we have seen some very fine performances. TV and Koz are quite similar: very energetic, strong in the air and on the ground, relatively small but with a big jump, and good readers of the game. They are both fast and like to support the midfield with pressing and making forward runs. At times, I feel they lack calmness as their over-exuberance can get the better of them, but over time this could well grow into our regular CB pairing. In recent games against Milan (at home) and Citeh we have been able to see how strong this partnership can be.

Partnership 3 Sagna and Theo:

This partnership became so strong during the season that Arsenal became quite lob-sided towards the right. Arsenal really missed Sagna during his long lay-off, especially when his direct replacement, the very promising young talent of Jenkinson, also got injured. Theo and Sagna have a fine understanding of each other and are prepared to work hard for each other as well. Theo could sometimes provide better defensive cover for Bacary, but opposing teams have often opted to attack Arsenal on our left side, where we have been our weakest at times. Sagna’s support in attack is great, really working the available space well with Theo. His crossing has improved quite a bit too (remember his cross for RvP against Pool?!). Since the return of Sagna, Theo has had a number of fine games resulting both in goals and assists that have coincided with our good run of results.

Partnership 4 Theo and RvP

Theo and Robin have become an assist-making and goal-scoring super machine this season. RvP’s partnership with Theo has been significantly stronger and more effective than the one with our attacking midfielder. In previous years, Robin had a close and effective partnership with Cesc, but since the latter’s departure it has shifted towards the right winger. Theo, like most wingers, has had high and lows this season, but in the last few months he has shown what he is capable of again. Robin has been very appreciative of Theo’s assists and general play, and has mentored him successfully back to form. I hope we can cope with the loss of Theo in the remaining three games: it won’t be easy.

Partnership 5: Ramsey and RvP

Aaron has had a tough learning season. Arsene preferred him in the advanced AM role at the start of the season. Initially, Ramsey played close to Song and Arteta and he moved closer to RvP as the season progressed. I thought he had a good spell during the last two months of 2011, but overall he struggled to make this role work effectively. Although there have been moments of good cooperation between RvP and Ramsey, with the latter making good runs in the box on a regular basis, it is fair to say there has not been much partnership between them. It somehow just did not click enough, and it has become more and more clear that this is not the best role for Ramsey (although one or two AA-ers might disagree with this!).

Partnership 6 Rosicky and RvP

The big question here is: is there a partnership between Rosicky and RvP? It is definitely nowhere near as close as that between RvP and Cesc last season. When Rosicky plays for us, we seem to have a better shape to the team, as he is better equipped to play the advanced AM role. His return to form has coincided with the team’s good run of form, and he deserves a lot of credit for it.

However, he seems to prefer a free role all over the pitch in which he collects/wins balls with the aim to move them on quickly as to create an attacking move. He does not play very close to RvP in front of the ‘D’ a lot, which makes it much harder to form a close partnership. Rosicky scores seldom and also does not have many assists, but his drive and ability to speed things up are important assets, as are his abilities to support the midfield defensively.

Partnership 7 Arteta and Song

I am sure most of us will agree that Arteta has been our best new arrival this season. Wenger did not slot him into the attacking midfielder role, but partnered him with Alex Song for almost the entire season, instead. Slowly but steadily they have formed a very fine understanding of each other and together they posses all the midfield skills you could hope for. Alex is the better defender, but can also produce world-class assists. Mikel reads the game really well, links up defence with attack seamlessly, covers very effectively, and can score with long-distance shots and free-kicks. They have formed the axis, the centre of our team and have carried us through many difficult games with their skills, energy and work ethics.

Partnership 8 Song and RvP

I don’t think many of us would have anticipated at all a possible partnership between Alex and Robin at the start of the season. For a start, they are positioned too far away from each other to form an effective partnership. But then not many of us knew that Song was capable of such an incredible, long-distance lofted pass. RvP and Song have developed a telepathic understanding of each other and it is fair to say that most of our magic moments this season were a result of this very understanding of each other, combined with their phenomenal individual skills. Together they were able to break walls down in front of them and to win games between them for us.

Other Partnerships

There are other partnerships that I could have included, but these were the main ones for me this season. Arsenal had too many changes on the left hand side to include any of them, although I really liked the short one between Santos and Gervinho at the start of the season. I also could have focussed on the partnership (of 3) between Szczesny and the CB’s, but again there have been too many changes this season to do it justice.

So here we are. I am looking forward to find out how the various partnerships will score on a scale from 1 to 5 (one being the lowest and five being the highest) and which one will come out on top. Please elaborate on your scores as much as you like in a separate comment.

Many thanks for taking part.

TotalArsenal.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsène, its time to say goodbye

April 25, 2012

These are words I never thought I would utter, if we qualify against all odds for the Champions League again this year I would like to see Arsène Wenger resign as Arsenal manager.

Those who know me, will think I have gone stark raving mad. This wish has nothing to do with whether I think he can take the team further, if he is too old, that he doesn’t want to spend money or any of the other criticisms aimed at our manager.

Its none of those reasons because I don’t think I am in a position to judge him, or his decisions, the man knows more about football, players, fitness, psychology, economics and probably just about everything else in his little finger than I will learn in a lifetime. In short he is a genius.

After we lost 8-2 at Old Toilet many pundits said it would be Arsène’s greatest achievement to get this side/squad into the Champions League, they were still saying it after the new (hastily rebuilt) squad lost away to Spuds, and Blackburn.

So with Champions League qualification in our hands and assuming we manage it what better time to leave the club? You will have just performed your greatest miracle. You have achieved again what so many say isn’t a trophy, yet use as a stick to beat you harder with when it looked like we were nowhere near getting it, remember some people said we would be lucky not to be relegated let alone qualify for Europe.

So why, why do I think Arsène should leave us at the end of the season? If its not football, if its not transfer dealings, if its not for a better chance of trophies why do I ask him to leave?

Well my mind was made up at the Wigan game, I know its not ideal to decide things in emotional circumstances, but my mind was made up after ten minutes of that game. I hadn’t been to the Emirates for a while, the first chance I had had to get down since Villa in the FA Cup. It wasn’t the performance that made me think he should leave, it wasn’t the fact that we had carelessly given a team fighting for their life a two goal head start. It was the reaction of those around me.

After 9 wins in 10 premier league games, after amazing comebacks against the cretins from N17, against the goal shy dippers, a spirited performance to beat City we found ourselves  2-0 down against a side at the wrong end of the table. Suddenly every fan around me in Clock End lower thought they could do a better job than Arsène again, “Bring on Ox”, “Theo’s useless why do you play him”, “Ramsey’s useless in centre midfield”, “Djourou you’re useless, why didn’t he buy a centre back” etc etc etc. Did I hear encouragement? Very little. And I hate watching football like that.

Some fans I guess just have a sense of entitlement, “We should beat Wigan”. Well yes we should, but sometimes shit happens. You’d think some fans had never been to a football game the way they wet themselves every time the opposition attack.

I fear now that it wouldn’t matter if we went on a 37 game winning streak and lost the 38th and the title to United on goal difference of 1 (it is possible) fans would blame it all on Wenger rather than luck, “if only he’d have bought Cahill/Schwarzer/Alonso/Hazard/Mata we would have won it”. There is discontent bubbling away under the surface waiting to boil over at the slightest hint of weakness. I am afraid it is here to stay, and no matter what has been achieved this season, or what is achieved in future this discontent will remain, and my enjoyment of going to watch my Arsenal play will be ruined by having to sit alongside these entitled few.

So sorry that this is rather a personal request and will not sit easy with regulars here, but Arsène, for the sanity of one of your most loyal supporters, its time to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories.

Written by Gooner in Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

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