In the long footballing break now ahead of us it might be interesting for AA regulars and visitors to share memorable stories from their Arsenal supporting lives.

This tale dates back to the 2001/02 season. At the time I was a season ticket holder in the Upper East Stand at Highbury.

By dint of hard work, good luck and pulling in favours a group of seven of us had managed over the years to get adjacent seats in the same row (near the back, about half way between the centre circle and the Clock End goal).

From this vantage point we had enjoyed many ups and downs, but the glories of the 1997/98 season – when we clinched our second league and cup double – were still fairly fresh in our memories and the mood was generally positive.

Naturally, as season ticket holders, you get to know the regulars who sit nearby. They were an entertaining cast of characters, most memorable among them probably being the man we called Celeb. He was the living personification of the dissolute ‘Gary Bloke’ from the Celeb strip cartoon by the brilliant illustrator Alex.

Gary Bloke wears dark glasses whatever the time of day or night and always looks like he’s just come from a star-studded all-nighter.

It was always amusing to watch Celeb arrive late for every game, long blonde hair brushed back, impenetrable shades in place, wearing garish suit and shiny winkle-pickers and responding to greetings with a grimace that said “still hung over, hope the singing’s not too loud today.”

The camaraderie was always good in our neck of the Arsenal wood… except for one person.

Every story needs not just heroes, it needs villains as well. And our villain was a supporter in his 50s who sat a few rows in front of us.

Throughout every game he would regale the crowd at length with his opinions about the players, the manager and the direction of the club. That’s fair enough, except for three things: one, his opinions were rubbish: always negative, however well we were doing; two, they were always delivered at the volume of an RAF jet fighter breaking the sound barrier; and three, their tone was always of the “you muppets don’t know what you’re talking about, let me put you right…” variety. We called him Cabbie because he reminded us of those know-all London taxi operators who rant at you from the moment you step in their cab until the moment you get out 10 minutes later and 30 quid worse off. (That’s probably a bit unfair on most cab drivers. Sorry chaps).

Most of us reacted to Cabbie’s constant barrage of ill-informed, arrogant negativity with a roll of the eyes or muttered complaints to one another. But one of our group, Rickie, really began to hate it.

Rickie was not averse to a bit of in-game shouting himself, and as a Head of Year in an all boys school he could bellow with the best: “Winterburn, put that cigarette out. See me after school… Adams, ADAMS! What are you doing with Morrow? Put him down! No not like that…”

But Rickie was a respectable and well-mannered fellow and his shouted offerings were of the encouraging, supportive kind, with only a very rare rocket for a bit of bad play from the boys in red and white.

As the weeks went by in the 2001/2 season, Cabbie developed a particular disliking for Freddie Ljungberg. It was the season when Ljungberg became Red Fred and had a brilliant song all of his own: “We love you Freddie, because you’ve got red hair…” Arsenal fans really did love him… except for Cabbie.

Cabbie would harangue Freddie all game long. Worse, he was incapable of pronouncing Freddie’s surname, so we were treated to lots of “Lungborg, you’re bloody rubbish… Lungborg, go back to Sweden… Lungborg, my 12 year old daughter’s better than you…”

Attentive readers will know that 2001/02 is the year when we went on to win a second league and cup double under Arsene Wenger, with a certain red-headed Swede firing the goals that helped us clinch the title in the league run-in.

It must have been just around the start of that run-in when Rickie finally flipped. Perhaps he’d had a tough time with the lower fifth that week or perhaps he just couldn’t bear to hear the word “Lungborg” blasted at maximum decibels one more time, but when Cabbie began another stream of invective aimed at Freddie, Rickie jumped to his feet.

Directing himself at Cabbie he yelled at full schoolteacher-wrangling-an-unruly-class volume: “WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP. JUST FOR ONCE KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT OR IF YOU HAVE TO OPEN IT, HOW ABOUT SAYING SOMETHING POSITIVE?

“WE’RE ALL ABSOLUTELY SICK OF YOUR ENDLESS COMPLAINING. JUST GIVE IT A REST. AND BY THE WAY, IT’S LJUNGBERG, NOT LUNGBORG, YOU F—–G MORON.”

For a few seconds there was a stunned silence. Then a large slice of the Upper East stand burst into applause for Rickie.

Cabbie’s face went puce, he spluttered and frothed but no words came out. He sat back down and uttered nary a squeak for the rest of the game. Or indeed for any game thereafter.

Looking back many years on, I sometimes feel the tiniest bit sorry for Cabbie.  After all, everyone’s entitled to their opinion and if you can’t shout at a football match then when can you?

But his relentless tide of stupidity and negativity was getting out of hand and needed to be called out. The only surprise was that it was refined Rickie who was the one to do it.

Not a big story. Just an everyday tale of the terraces, but one that for some reason has stuck fondly in my memory.

RockyLives

Well, that didn’t go well did it ……..but there were some positives, we created some clear cut chances and kept a clean sheet.

Here’s a small report from RC78

Just saw the game now (delayed 😦 ) and I think that it’s just down to Laca and Auba appalling misses in the first half that we did not win this game.

I am a big fan of both so I would not drop them even if Laca’s form is becoming a worry. I would, however, not hesitate to drop Ozil to make place for Martinelli and Pepe. I think Ozil is a wonderful player but he has not been able to make things happen for us despite all his talent and good intentions.

Guendouzi had a good game overall but can indeed simplify his game. Mustafi had a decent game too but I thought that Luiz kindda went missing in the second half.

Leno needs to improve both in the air and in his distribution.

As some of you have mentioned, we would have lost this game with Emery in charge but would we have won it if Mourinho or Ancellotti had come instead of Arteta?

Arteta is bringing more shape and intensity to our team but the results are still not there. If Tottenham finishes in the top 4, I don’t know what I will do…but for sure, I will be annoyed for a long time.

So I will look at the glass half-full based on the fact that we did not concede a goal, that we had a good first 20 mins and that we did create some clear cut chances. Also, Torreira played a bit so let us continue to be positive and let us hope that victories will bless our team soon.

COYG!

And some Player Ratings from RockyLives

Leno 6….. Distribution could be better.

Bellerin 6….. Should have passed instead of shooting late on.

Luiz 6 ….. Not as dominant as he has been.

Mustafi 7 ….. Mystifyingly solid.

Xhaka 7 ….. Did well until switched to LB and did OK after.

Guendouzi 5 ….. Dwelt on the ball too long and seemed less focused than his last outing.

Ozil 4 ….. Needs to bring more.

Aubameyang 5 ….. Got into some good goal scoring positions but we need him to finish.

Martinelli 6 ….. Plenty of effort but not able to impact the game as much as we’d have liked.

Lacazette 5 ….. Still struggling.

SUBS

Torreira 7 ….. Did fine.

Willock 6 ….. An improvement on Ozil.

Nketieh N/A ….. Not long enough to make a difference.

Arteta 6 ….. Clean sheet but his team selection can be questioned.

It’s weird to be playing Chelsea in the Premier League again so soon after meeting them at the Emirates in the same competition.

Just over three weeks ago we were beaten 1-2 at home by Frank Lampard’s side. Many of us felt it was an unlucky defeat because we played well enough for long parts of the game to deserve the win.

But in giving up two goals in the last 10 minutes we also showed that old (bad) habits die hard – a fact that was in evidence again on Saturday against Sheffield United.

So how will it go in Round Two at Stamford Bridge tonight?

Chelsea’s form has been patchy to say the least and some of the shine has rubbed off of Frank Lampard’s early lustre.

Immediately before beating us in late December they lost 0-2 at home to Southampton. Since playing us they have drawn at Brighton, beaten Burnley at home and lost at Newcastle.

In other words, right now they look pretty similar to us (in fact, a bit worse as far as results go).

I’m feeling optimistic about us bringing home all three points. I recognise this sounds bonkers given the circumstances: we’re still without the suspended Aubameyang, our defenders are picking up injuries as fast as Spuds fans pick up fleas and we’re finding goals very hard to come by.

But I think our players learnt from the last meeting with the Chavs that we can outplay them if we want to; and that if we had applied ourselves a bit harder for a bit longer we would have got the three points that Auba’s first half strike deserved.

Aside from the long-term sick bed squatters we’re also without Reiss Nelson. Sokratis was suffering from “sickness” for the Sheffield match (it’s rumoured he took a wrong turn and ended up in N17 and caught something nasty from the odious miasma), but there’s a good chance he’ll be fit tonight.

This is the team I would go with and also the team I think Arteta will pick:

Leno

Maitland-Niles – Luiz – Sokratis – Saka

Torreira – Xhaka

Ozil

Pepe – Lacazette – Martinelli   

 If Sok is still sick it will be Mustafi instead, to hopefully continue his decent work from Saturday.

We should win – goals from Pepe and Martinelli would be my guess.

My only doubt about us getting the victory is the possibility of a situation like this: one of our players is clean through on goal and the Chelsea bench responds by setting a pack of wolverines and honey badgers on him, quickly bringing him down and devouring the corpse. VAR will say “no penalty.”

Meanwhile at the other end a brisk breeze will ruffle the shirt of Tammy Abraham and the ref will point to the spot (supported by VAR) and send off the entire Arsenal defence for “looking at me a bit funny.”

Barring that, it will be Chelsea with the blues and the Arsenal feeling chipper.

Come on the Mighty Arse!

RockyLives

Arsenal are looking less like a sinking ship since Mikel Arteta got his hands on the tiller, but recent performances have highlighted a glaring gap in our crew of jolly sailor boys.

While we have all bored each other half to death complaining about the absence of a proper defensive midfielder or pleading for a totemic centre half, it has been little remarked on that we are completely lacking in another area: we don’t have a big, strong striker.

In other words, we need a new Olivier Giroud.

The handsome Frenchman was popular during his time at Arsenal, but it would also be fair to say that he was somewhat underappreciated. Fans expressed their fondness for him (especially the ladies, ooh la la) but at the same time they would generally say the club needed to buy that famous “world class striker” of our fantasies.

There have been times in recent games (I’m thinking most recently of the second half against Palace, for part of which we were down to 10 men) when we could really have benefitted from having a big, strong centre forward.

Lacazette does OK with his back to goal and can sometimes hold up the ball, but it’s not the way he likes to play and it’s not the best part of his game.

Yet apart from him there’s no-one who could even begin to take on a Giroud type role. Aubameyang? Saka? Martinelli? Do me a favour. They’re all good in their different ways, but none is built for trading elbows with Neanderthal defenders and winning towering headers in a thicket of thugs like Shawcross, Cahill and Maguire.

At the time of writing, it looks like Eddie Nketieh is going to stay with us for the second half of the season rather than going out on another loan. Perhaps he could fill that role, but he seems more of a Welbeck type of player than a ‘big powerful centre forward’.

I’m not suggesting we need such a player as a regular starter. But Arsenal has almost always had at least one big striker who could be thrown on to destabilise a stubborn opposition defence or act as a target man when we’re chasing the game with not long to go.

We all know what it’s like: there are 10 minutes on the clock, we’re a goal down, or we’re all square but desperately chasing the winner… it’s time to let go of the stylish pass and run and just start hoofing the ball into the danger area.

But unless we have a big attacker in there it’s like trying to play piggy in the middle with a midget when the “piggy” is a 7ft basketball star.

Before we had Giroud, Bendtner performed that central striker role for us, as did the likes of Adebayor, Kanu, Hartson and Smith in earlier Arsenal squads. Some were starters, others were specialists off the bench.

If you accept my argument, then the next obvious question is: who? Who could that target man be? I would have been up for bringing Giroud home to N5. He’s out of favour at Chelsea but it looks like he’s on his way to Inter Milan for somewhere between £5m and £8m. Could we have afforded that? Would it have been money well spent?

Is there a big striker in the youth set-up (outside of Nketieh) who’s ready to be given a chance? And if not, where else should we be looking: in the Championship? Perhaps some readers who follow the European leagues more closely than I do can suggest options from overseas…

Or am I barking up the wrong tree completely? Is the ‘big centre forward’ a symbol and symptom of an outmoded style of play?

RockyLives

Arsenal 1 Sheffield United 1

Match Report

Same old, same old!

We drop points again to a team with nothing more than Effort, Commitment and Organisation.

That’s it folks. No amount of team or individual player analysis will, in my opinion, move the debate on, or make me feel more content.

So I have a question for AA’ers around the World ( and my attempt at an answer)

Question :- Why can’t we hold on to a 1-0 lead?

In order to give my answer I am going to use the best proponents of this currently around ie Liverpool FC.

My answer will not include an explanation of why we can’t score TWO goals by the way, just why we can’t hold onto one.

Once we are 1-0 up we know, sooner or later we will drop back ( too far) or, be hit on the break. Let’s start with dropping back as an eleven. The reason I believe we can’t defend for long periods like this – compared to Liverpool – is we have no-one, with the exception of Torreira( my MOM today) who can make a high percentage challenge, in midfield, to hold up, to tackle to stop the advance. Liverpool, professionally have three + who can stop these midfield advances.

Then there is the fast break ………… In that circumstance, Liverpool have VVD and Gomez who can take the ball out of the air, control the ball, pass it off safely. And that even applies to the fullbacks although they don’t really need to and can concentrate on attacking!!

How do we fair in this circumstance? Absolutely useless is my assessment. Daviid you say…..well how many times as last man, has he been ridiculously reckless since he came to us? Mustafi and Sokratis….well, no comment!! If you disagree, my question is would you feel confident with either of them in a one on one against even an averagely good centre forward?

Additionally we had two players today who ARE NOT FULLBACKS.

So in conclusion, Mikel, I feel you are on a loser, unless you can get some large, strong, quick midfielders and defenders in ………… or show us how to score two (or preferably three or four goals).

Sorry very down.

LBG

I have to admit to feeling disconsolate after last weeks draw against Crystal Palace. Not because we played badly or gave the game away but because ‘lady luck’ was definitely against us in the way, Torreira went off at half-time,  Palace scored and how Aubameyang went into a tackle that got him sent off. In all honesty Aubameyang was probably just as disconsolate as me and hopefully he still had some Xmas chocolate too.

So, today we begin a run of three games without our captain and main goal scorer. In yesterday’s post, Rocky discussed how others will need to step up to the plate and start putting the ball in the back of the net. Since playing under Arteta, Aubameyang was also working hard defensively and so we’re going to miss that part of his game too.

But, as others have discussed, the opportunities are there for Martinelli, Nelson, Lacazette and Nketiah to make it hard for Arteta to leave them out. I’m looking forward to seeing them at some point. Last week I suggested that Lacazette would have found his scoring boots, but he hadn’t …….. come on Laca, do it in front of the home crowd.

There will be late tests for Kolasinac and Torreira. Torreira will be a huge miss as was evident in the second half against Palace, no-one else can do what he does as effectively. Pepe or Nelson to start? Arteta has been saying great things about Nelson and that Pepe needs to improve in training.

Sheffield United have a great away record sadly, although they have lost in their last two outings and their record against London teams isn’t good. Clutching at straws there because we need a win and having sent The Emirates into delirium against Man U I’m hoping it’s three points for the good guys today.

Arteta had this to say about Sheffield United

“I’ve been very impressed. Everything they do has a real sense, they are really difficult to break down.

“The solidarity in their team is incredible, how hard they work for each other and they have very clear principles – in attack and in defence.

“So it will be a very difficult test. I already warned the players today.”

Lets hope the players heed the warnings this time and come out ready for a fight. Sheffield United have the least number of shots on goal (71) in the league ……….. I’ll just leave that there 😉

I’m suggesting this team for today …………

Leno

AMN   Sokratis   Luiz   Saka

Xhaka   Torreira (fingers crossed)

Ozil

Nelson   Lacazette   Martinelli

The sun is going to shine all day in North London and our mate chas is coming to the game. Great omens.

COYG

peachesgooner

It’s disappointing news that the club’s appeal against Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s red card has failed and he will miss the next three matches.

I know I’m in a minority in thinking the ref’s original decision (yellow card) was correct after Auba’s wild tackle on the Crystal Palace midfielder Max Meyer at the weekend. There was no malice, just a combination of over eagerness and bad timing.

But what’s done is done.

Now, as Mikel Arteta says, we have to see the next three games as an opportunity for the understudies to our funky Gabon to step up and be counted.

Auba is our attacking king, which means there are several princes who would love to take his crown. Which of them do we think will thrive while the monarch is missing?

Lacazette

If Auba is the king, then Laca is the prince-who-once-was-king. His finishing and poaching instincts in and around the box have made him a consistent scorer since he arrived in N5, but his current dry spell makes the Sahara look like a jacuzzi. It’s likely that he will continue to be the central striker, which means his role will not significantly change while Auba’s out. But maybe there’ll be a psychological boost because he’ll know that (a) we’ll be relying on him even more without his strike partner and number one chum and (b) maybe Auba’s clinical record in front of goal has been intimidating Laca and this opportunity to be the main star all on his own might be just what he needs.

Summary: Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The Lion of Lyon will find those long-lost scoring boots at last.

Pepe

I feel we’re still a long way from seeing the best of Pepe. He has shown glimpses of real class and we know he can finish. But his performances are also erratic and he tends to lose the ball more than one would like. Nevertheless, if he gets the game time this could be a chance to show he can make up for Auba’s absence.

Summary: I have a funny feeling Pepe is going to chip in two or three goals in the next few games if – and it’s a big IF – he gets the on-pitch minutes.

Ozil

Obviously Ozil’s role is not directly affected by the lack of Aubameyang, but will he be encouraged to be more aggressive about getting on the scoresheet himself? He is surprisingly patchy in front of goal for a player with such sublime footballing gifts, but we have seen him score some lovely goals over the years.

Summary: Unlikely to be our saviour.

Saka

Aged just 18, Bukayo Saka has been one of the success stories of the season. He has shown energy and ability as a wide attacker, has filled in valiantly at left back when needed and even managed a couple of goals in the Europa League. On the face of it he could come in as a straight replacement for Aubameyang in the left forward role.

Summary: Not a shabby option by any means, but will he get the nod ahead of Martinelli?

Martinelli

For my money the young Brazilian is the most exciting prospect among the emerging talent at Arsenal. Although still raw (he’s also 18) he has shown hints that – if he continues to progress – he could develop into a Ronaldo/Van Persie type of player. He is brave, decisive and can score with both feet and with his head. If he is preferred on the left wing while Auba’s out he could do very well indeed.

Summary: Probably the fans’ favourite to start in place of Auba. If he does, expect him to do well.

Nelson

Reiss Nelson seems further down the conversation surrounding our attacking options when compared with Martinelli, Saka, Pepe or even Nketieh. But there are rumours that Arteta sees something of a Raheem Sterling in him and he has impressed in his recent outings.

Summary: It wouldn’t be a total surprise (to me, anyway) if Nelson got a lot of game time in the coming fixtures.

In conclusion, I expect Lacazette to continue as central striker for the two up-coming league games (Sheffield United and Chelsea). I think Pepe will start on the right for those games with Martinelli on the left.

For the FA Cup tie away at Bournemouth I’m guessing Martinelli as central striker (a rest for Laca), with Nelson on the right and Saka on the left.

But no combination would surprise me as Arteta continues to figure out how to get the most out of his squad.

Who will emerge as our golden booted hero in the next week-and-a-bit? My money is on Lacazette, with a key supporting role from Pepe.

RockyLives