Aaron Ramsey : A Lesson in Patience

August 23, 2013

This week saw Aaron Ramsey put in the kind of performance that many of us have hoped for since his return from that injury. This wasn’t a one off this has been a slow gradual process, towards the end of last season we started to see signs of his importance to the team and how valuable his stamina and work rate were. Now we are seeing his range of passing and his shooting come back to the fore.

It hasn’t always looked like he would make it back, he suffered dogs abuse from the fans, on blogs, on twitter and in the ground.

But what he never did was hide, it’s what convinced me he we would be ok. He constantly showed for the ball and tried to do the right things with the ball, it didn’t always work, let’s be honest in some games he gave the ball away more often than finding a teammates boot.

But that refusal to shrink in to the background is now paying off, eventually things started to go for him, and now we are seeing the benefit of that game time.

This raises an interesting question, whilst Jack’s injury was nowhere near as severe as Aaron’s the lay off was as long. How long will it take Jack to rediscover the magic, and where should he do it?

The interesting question for me is the second one. Jack like Aaron is too good to be loaned out, but the team will potentially suffer as he regains his match sharpness. But he can’t regain the sharpness sitting on the bench or playing in the reserves.

We the fans will need to be patient, and learn the lesson that Aaron Ramsey has taught us.

Written by Gooner in Exile

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Posted by Gööner In Exile

Champions League, here we come.

August 22, 2013

Firstly, I think the important issue needs to be addressed: dark blue shorts? Daark — Bluuuuue — Shorrrrts……..in all my days, I don’t know?

Ok, onto the game, so it seems that news of Arsenal’s demise was a little premature, a three nil thrashing of Fenerbahce in Istanbul will certainly force the media to do an about face over their suggestions that our season was over before it was even a week old.

There will be many who point to the fact that the Turks were poor and indeed they were but it equally needs to be said that you can only beat who is in front of you and that is exactly what the boys in red, white and, umm, dark blue did and as it turned out they did so quite comfortably.

I say as it turned out because although for the first 20 minutes we looked the better side there was still more than a hint of caution in Arsenal’s play, the hang over from the Villa game lingered on; we had plenty of possession but a goal seemed a way off.

Probably the most significant incident of the first half was Koscielny getting kicked in the head, according to the telly the cut is one of the worst the doctor had seen suffered during a football match. Mah, he’s of Polish stock, they make em tough in that part of the world, I am sure he will be fine for the spud game.

Anyway, the loss of Koscielny had a useful side affect, it forced Sagna into the middle and Jenkinson onto the right. Let’s be honest, Jenkinson is far better at going forward and Sagna is a better defender, the result is that Jenkinson was able to add to the attack that had about as much cutting edge as a knife blade that had been dragged along a concrete floor.

Unsurprisingly, we went in at half time, not having scored; we were not playing badly but a little bit of magic was missing.

Queue the second half and queue the bit of magic the game was crying out for; I thought Theo’s passing had been pants for the whole of the first half but he does seem to have a knack of more and more often doing something very special in a game and that pass to Gibbs for the first goal was special, very special, not as good as the pass that Ramsey made to Theo in the first place, that was brilliant but a very good goal all round I thought and a great relief.

gibbs scores

One nil up and Fenerbahce had to come out a bit more which in turn created more space for Theo and from that point onwards he just got better and better.

Enter the scorer of the second goal and enter the man of the match: Aaron Ramsey’s low pile driver into the corner is the thing that heroes are made of. Wenger said at the beginning of the game: look at our first eleven and show me the players that are available who would improve that. He does seem to have a point, doesn’t he? Never mind all those new spuds, as far as the midfield is concerned Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla are all better.

rambo scores

On the subject of the midfield they grew in confidence as the game went on and as the goals went in, Rosicky ran, seemingly tirelessly, showing as much energy if not more than Wilshere, ten years his junior. But that is not to knock Jack; he played well but he is still not fully match fit although this should improve week on week.

Penalty? Yes, Theo brought down in the box allowing Giroud to have his confidence massaged for another game, good pen actually. Three nil, job done.

giroud pen kick

All that is left for me to say is that I thought Szczesny was excellent, the back line were fine, midfield very good, the attack?

Ahhhhhhh, spend some money lol.

Written with a huge smile on his face by LB

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Falling out of love with Football

August 20, 2013

There was a time, not too long ago when football wasn’t about money, it was about a manager, assembling a squad of players to challenge for titles, promotions and avoiding relegation.

In those times many teams could win the League or FA Cup given the right manager and the right players. The manager would choose the playing style and would build a team to compete, in those times everyone started the season with a glimmer of hope star players were spread throughout the top league, some even stayed with their teams when they were relegated or not doing as well.

Fans who went to games and watched their teams discussed the players on the pitch the decisions of the manager on the day, the news during the week was not much to do with football, it might have had the odd reference to an injury or the occasional transfer (as this was pre transfer window).

Players contracts were irrelevant as the club held the registration even if the contract had expired, that was up until Bosman.

But mainly post game we discussed who had the best players, which team had employed those players best, and what an idiot the referee was or otherwise.

Normally we were biased towards our own team, and rightly so like anything we love we forgave their flaws and focus on the good. I mean I used to defend George Graham’s long ball tactics because it won us trophies? No because my team were using them. Just like Stoke fans did under Pulis.

Maybe I’m wearing rose tinted glasses, maybe I am just fed up with being out manoeuvred by Oligarch clubs, afterall most football clubs were owned by a few wealthy individuals, who normally had to reach into their pockets to find the money to fulfil the managers ambitions.

Maybe part of me wishes Arsene Wenger had never come to the club and given us the greatest football I may ever witness as an Arsenal fan. Because even if it hasn’t happened I would still be going to the Arsenal when I could, I’d still be watching every game we played on TV, but what I wouldn’t have to deal with is defending the club from those from outside and in who think we are somehow entitled to expect more than we currently achieve.

When I first started going to Highbury challenging for titles was not on my mind, all I cared about was going to football to watch my club play football. I certainly wasn’t thinking about the business side of the club, now admittedly I was a kid, why would I, but the thing is I still want to be a kid when I go to football, I don’t want to think about the things I can’t control. If we had the fortune to put a good season together of course I was excited to try and win stuff, who wouldn’t be.

I love talking football, the various tactical nuances the pros and cons of defenders and goalkeepers, but I can’t remember the last time that’s all I spoke about, now it has to be about transfers, spending, ticket prices, profits, owners etc. Things I understand admittedly, but not really what I want to be discussing. I try and explain the situation we are in to alleviate the frustrations felt by others, because seriously I couldn’t give a shit if we never win another trophy in my lifetime, I’ll always be an Arsenal supporter and they will always be By Far The Greatest Team, and I know I’ll now be labelled as the problem the unambitious type that allows the club to say 4th is a trophy, but here is the thing it wouldn’t bother me if we finished 10th I’d still go, as many of you would. In fact I think we’d all enjoy it a little bit more.

I want to discuss the one thing we can see on the pitch, the performance, the team selection and the tactics.

Take Saturday’s defeat to Villa, we missed Arteta, we were done by the ref, Wilshere and Ramsey need to find a way to work together, Sagna had an off day (even before he was moved to left back), Theo disappeared. They should have been the discussion points, but it turns into an argument about what the club have or haven’t spent who is or isn’t responsible. Is this why anyone started following football? Is this why anyone loves football, is this what got you hooked on the beautiful game?

I’ve signed my son up for Junior Gunners, I’m starting to think I made a mistake, living in Norwich I see the majority of lads wearing Norwich City shirts, the fans enjoy the ride, yes I hear them moan and complain about performances, but they are happy to go to games together as a community, if I’m near the ground on matchday I hear On The Ball City ring out across the City. I’m jealous, jealous that they still go to football for the right reasons, a sold out ground with little chance of success, but they enjoy it. I hear the moans after defeats, they are not talking about how they should’ve signed x y and z, they are talking about which players did well, what the manager should have done. That’s not to say they haven’t had issues, Season Tickets being thrown at Bryan Gunn, but this was a team that two seasons earlier were in the PL and were having their asses handed to them by Colchester in League 1, just a bit of a comedown (still a sold out ground though).

I think I need a break from blogging, I need to enjoy football again. I’m not doing that on blogs, I’ve had more rational conversations with Liverpool and Spurs fans over this weekend than I’ve had on the web.

Gooner in Exile

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We Still Have 111 Points to Play For

August 19, 2013

The fall-out from our weekend defeat to Aston Villa has been an unedifying spectacle to say the least.

Fans turning on fans, seasoned bloggers sulking off, the Underminers* out in force.

I understand the frustration. We lost our opening game of the season for the first time in 13 years; we lost our opening game of the season at home for the first time in 20 years; our squad resembles something from The Walking Dead; we don’t have any shiny new players to get excited about…

But come on! Let’s keep some perspective.

We have lost one game – and we lost it because of an (at best) incompetent referee.

We were better than Villa for most of the match and had the chances to at least equalise even after we were down to 10 men and a goal behind. I have no doubt that if Koscielny had not been sent off we would have gone on to share the points or win.

Referee Taylor’s eagerness to give Koscielny a second yellow (for not touching an opponent, let’s remember) stinks like a week-old kipper and deserves further investigation. Not that it will happen.

But read the press and wander through the Arsenal blogosphere and you discover that actually, no: the result had nothing to do with the extraordinarily bad officiating. It was all to do with Arsenal not having brought in enough players so far this summer.

I happen to think we should have signed some reinforcements by now, but I don’t think that had much or anything to do with losing to Villa.

And at the very least I am prepared to write it off as a bad day – the sort of bad day that will also happen to Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and those darlings of the media, Toddling Potty-Smears at times during the season.

We play 38 league games in an EPL campaign, for a maximum of 114 points. Three of those points have now been flushed down the lavvy, but there are still 111 left to play for.

Talk of our season being over before it has begun is (while understandable) really a bit knee-jerk and emotional and supporters need to calm down and regain their sense of perspective. One headline on Newsnow (from a supposedly Arsenal supporting blog) scweamed: “Thanks Arsene, out of title race before it even started.” Seriously? After the first game of the season we’re out of the title race? Come on! Like no team has ever won the title after losing on the opening day.

Likewise, the idea that potential new signings will be deterred from joining us because we lost a single game while some of our rivals won their single games is far fetched.

The club itself certainly bears some of the blame for this atmosphere of irrational hysteria, as does the media, but we fans are not obliged to fall into line with such a discordant tune.

The players that managed an amazing run in the last 10 games of last season are still there. Referees won’t always be so biased against us (although they do line up in our oppositions’ colours more often than seems to happen to other clubs). Injuries will pass and we will win games.

We certainly need to strengthen the squad before the end of the transfer window if we are to have any chance of competing for trophies this season, but I am also confident that good players will be brought in (if they are not, I will be singing a different tune).

So, we can’t be happy about the Villa result, but we can keep our feet on the ground, take a chill pill, let the toys stay in the pram (insert metaphor-of-choice here) and, most of all, not despair. Better days are coming.

  • “Underminers:” opposite of “Supporters.” See Post in archives from April 15th 2013 for a full description.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

An End to the AW era?

August 16, 2013

So much angst has been expended and so many blogging hours have been spent fretting about the capability of AW to do some business on the Transfer Market, and yet what are we talking about?

After 8 fruitless years or so, Gazidis has told us the club are now in the happy position of being able to afford new, quality players. Yippee!

We have all become impatient watching the big spenders go out and buy all the goodies in the shop with a plethora of top quality players ending up with Real, Barca, Citeh, Chelsea etc, and all of them winning trophies while we end up holding the wooden spoon after buying Denilson, Santos, Arshavi, gervinho et al.

But, so far in this window what has changed? We have only one token freebie player in Sanogo to show for it. Although to be fair we have made promising noises about Suarez, Rooney and various others rumoured to be ‘eyed’ or ‘trialled’ by our illustrious manager.

This state of affairs has made even some of the longtime Wenger supporters, including me, get itchy under the collar, and others to become genuinely depressed.

There has been much understandable grumbling from fans about the cost of season tickets in an economically difficult climate, as well as the increased travel costs etc, whereas Arsenal we are told are coining it with TV deals, gimormous sponsorship deals and money flowing in from our Asian fanbase, blah, blah. We have dosh coming out of every orifice it would seem.

But where is the pay back? Why have we come to within one day of the start of the season and sod all has happened with regard to transfers?
As someone who might be called a Wenger loyalist, I have to agree that many of my fellow Gooners are on edge, and if the window closes without significant additions, there is likely to be an Arsenal fans summer revolution with boos sounding out around the ground at the first sign of a poor performance and goodness knows what will happen when we lose, heralding protest groups who will arrange marches at every turn.

The tom tom beats of disgruntled fans on the blogs should send out a wake-up call to AW and the Board that they must buy and buy now, but not just any old player, there must be at least one marquee signing!

Arsene has enjoyed considerable support from the fans over the years, but many of us will feel the urge to call for his head if this season peters out to being yet another massive disappointment as regards trophies or even at least fighting for the top 3 in the EPL.

Frankly it cannot be denied that the Board have given Arsene a huge amount of leeway in which to run the football part of the club, and if he does not deliver this season, sadly it might be time to call for an end to his era.”

written rapidly by Red Arse

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Posted by Erik the Red

If Arsenal Were A Car…

August 15, 2013

The Silly Season calls for some silly pieces and this is unquestionably one of them.

In among the unending tedium of transfer-related babble my mind began a-wandering.

I was thinking about Arsenal… and cars… and Arsenal… and cars… then… BOOM!

The two thought strands came together and made sweet honey in my mind.

“If Arsenal were a car,” I thought, “what kind of car would they be?” (I told you it was a boring day).

A few years ago (during the early Wenger period) the answer to that question would have been easy: something racy, sporty and French but with a sense of history, like a Citroen DS.

But today?

It’s tempting to lean towards a stately British icon like the Rolls Royce (under Herbert Chapman that probably would have worked) – but these days we don’t spend enough to be considered a ‘Rolls Royce’ type of club. A Land Rover maybe? But that makes you think of the wide open countryside, whereas Arsenal are very much an urban club.

We’re too grand to be a nippy little sports convertible; too stylish to be a ‘work horse’ like a Ford Escort van; too successful to be anything that comes cheap.

1994_Jaguar_XJ12

On balance I would settle for us being a Jaguar XJ12, a “full size luxury car” that embodies grace, speed, history and power. Yep, that’ll do.

But what about our rivals?

Manchester United: they probably have a claim to being the UK’s ‘Rolls Royce club’ but there’s not much nasty about a Roller, whereas there’s plenty nasty about our friends in Manchester – from their bullying arrogance to the paranoid purple-conked Gorbalian who was behind the wheel for so long only to stand down and be replaced by Gollum. So what works?

BMW 7 series

Well, it has to be a BMW 7 Series. A car that looks good, runs better and seldom breaks down – but is loathed by every other road user because of the self-satisfied front bottoms who drive it.

Tottenham Hotspur: this one’s easy. The Spuds are a Lada Sport. Lots of show, lots of brashness, always in your face, but

lada sport

however you dress it up, always still a sh*tty old Lada.

Manchester City: unsubtle, no taste, lacking in history or finesse,

hummer

driving straight through obstacles rather than round them and fuelled by never-ending amounts of petrol… yep, Man City are a Hummer.

Liverpool: a tricky one this, because it’s hard to tell what make the car actually is. All I can tell you is that it used to be red (I think) and that it’s sitting on piles of bricks where the wheels should be; the stereo’s been ripped out and the windows are broken. Oh, and someone’s done a poo in the back seat (police are looking for a Uruguayan man seen running away at speed).

Stoke City: one of those old fashion coaches that used to take work parties to the seaside on public holidays. Parked, of course.

Any Club Managed By Harry Redknapp: Del Boy and Rodney’s Reliant Robin. He could stand beside it shouting “I’m not a fackin wheeler dealer.”

Chelsea: an armoured limo, of the kind favoured by international diplomats and drug dealers. It’s dark on the outside, dark on the inside, heavy, ponderous and slow. It expects to get its way and you wouldn’t mess with it in a hurry. But there’s not a single hint of joy about it. It represents power, money and greed. And it was built in 2005.

West Ham United: a Bubble Car, of course.

Okay… over to you for some alternatives to the above or for suggestions for other teams I haven’t mentioned.

RockyLives

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What can Arsenal Realisticaly Hope to Win This Season?

August 14, 2013

We are about to enter the new footballing season. For a soccer supporter it is almost like a New Year of the Gregorian calendar, but better. All the hopes, dreams and the impossible will happen THIS season. Our team, whatever it might be except for Spurs, will reach the highest honours and we will scoop all the trophies. We can already picture ourselves attending celebrations, bus parades, the CL final in Lisbon. We must plan our holidays carefully so we don’t end up missing any of the important games! We have all heard about the idiot that handed over planning of his wedding to his fiancee and ended up missing the final in Paris!! What a div!!

So what are you hoping for this coming season? It would be nice to win a quadruple, obviously, but it is not going to happen, So let us be grown up about it and see what we can realistically hope for.

EPL – can we be the League winners again? I cannot see why not. We will be competing against Manchesters, Chavs, Pool and Spurs. All of these teams are good, with some excellent squad members, but none of them without problems. Both Mancunian teams have new managers, who are likely to introduce changes that will require time to take effect. Same with the Chavs – can Maurinho pull it off again, or has he finally calmed down after the scorching attack from Real Madrid’s representatives. Pool and Rogers are going to struggle without or with demoralized Suarez. Spurs I am not even going to entertain, they will never win the league.

CL – your guess is as good as mine. We have seen the greatest teams in Europe winning the trophy and the likes of Chelsea keeping it for at least 1 season too long. This competition is all about luck, which teams and at what stage of the season we are going to draw. Of course we can win it,but we could also be knocked out by Fenerbache this very month. Would this be a tragedy? I think not. It could be a good thing for the team – less competitions, more time to concentrate on the domestic league. We would suffer abuse for a few weeks from those supporting lesser teams, but hey,we are big enough to handle it. Please don’t get me wrong – it is the last thing I want to happen and I sincerely hope that we will go to Lisbon in May and come back triumphant.Yes, for me it would be the biggest achievement for the Club ever and the one I personally want most.

There are 2 more trophies to be won, ie the FA cup and the Capital One cup. Both of these competitions are the ‘easiest’ in my opinion because of the fewer fixtures, including playing lesser teams that we should beat. Yes, I do remember Bradford City and Birmingham, but that’s in the past and we are concentrating on the future here. Luck and referees play big parts in these competition, but a strong resilient Arsenal squad should/could win both. Frankly, if it was just the Capital One cup for takings, I’d rather we didn’t win it. It would give scope to those who love to belittle our club, so why encourage them. Let’s give the ‘Carling cup’ a miss.

I would like to invite you to vote in 2 polls

1. What is a minimum achievement this season that you are hoping for? – you can vote for up to 3 options

2. What do you realistically think we are going to win?  – you can vote for up to 3 options

And before you ask – yes, 4th spot is an achievement and if you are in doubt ask Tottenham how they feel about it.

This is not a secret ballot and you are encouraged to make your views known

And finally I would like to wish you all a Happy New Season!!

Written by evonne

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

A Big Name Signing – More Important to the Fans or Players?

August 13, 2013

After watching highlights of our recent performance in Finland and having seen the displays put in during our fundraising/goodwill tour of Asia I was left perplexed at the team that took the pitch during the Emirates Cup at home.

GunnerN5 has recently opined that the players are fearful of playing at home and that it translates into performances on the pitch. Ramsey’s display in Finland compared to his slightly misfiring performance at the Emirates, Walcott’s ease of finish, compared to lifting a very similar chance wide. Precise and purposeful forward play in Finland against turgid pass pass pass at the Emirates Cup.

Admittedly the squad is looking thin, so some signings are absolutely necessary before the season commences. And having seen the capability of our first choice players in Finland there is an argument to say that the team doesn’t need one big name, it just needs some padding to replace those recently departed, and maybe some different options in certain positions.

However it seems the signing of a “Superstar” is more important to the fans than the squad itself, the media and fans have made such an issue of the need for Arsenal to spend big that five squad players will not sate their appetite. They want a star, and if they don’t get one I think the mood in the Emirates will not change dramatically despite Saturday’s performance.

What do you think?

Gooner in Exile

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Arteta: player of the season? No.

August 12, 2013

As things stand we don’t have a “Defensive Midfielder” that’s to say someone who by nature actually likes defending.

To help my point I regarded Gilberto as a natural defender.

Neither, Arteta, Ramsey nor Wilshere and certainly not Diaby fall into this category.

In 80% of the games we play, this lack of a defensive midfielder doesn’t matter, because the majority of teams defend against us (park the bus) and so the challenge is always to find a way of breaking them down — we need Suarez so badly it is not true.

In the other 20%, or even less, we are attacked, or the teams seriously knew how to counter attack.

We got caught out time and time again last season by the 20% and this is one of the reasons we had such a poor record against the three teams who finished above us.

It is also why I could not have voted for Arteta as player of the season, a fine player when we are playing against a Bus but his lack of pace and lack of natural defensive know how lets us down against fast attacking teams. The first game against Bayern Munich demonstrates this best for me. This also makes a player like Gustavo a must; there is no reason why he can’t play along side Arteta or give him a rest which he will inevitably need as the season progresses.

I think since Saturday most people have acknowledged that we have a good core squad, capable of beating anyone at this point in the season but injuries being what they are, I am doubtful that we can hold together for longer than — what — Tuesday week!

Written  by LB

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Posted by LB

Blimey — We look really good.

August 11, 2013

When you think about it, playing City one week before the start of the season was a very smart move, some very clever scheduling must have gone on behind the scenes, clearly designed to give us a stern test before the real football starts next week against Villa.

If this was indeed the intention and indeed meant as a test then Arsene Wenger’s men passed it with flying colours.

But I must admit I didn’t expect it. City started as positively as you would expect. A collection of players brought for around five hundred million seemed to be effortlessly moving the ball around us. I feared the worst and started wondering how I would write a report, if required, and found myself thinking that if we lose I might have to trot out the chestnut that you can’t hide the difference in quality that five hundred million buys you.

But I was wrong, there was no need, this was one of those precious moments when the hearts of Wengerites, of which I am one, soar.

We stuffed City.

Arsene’s team, put together with a fraction of the opposition’s budget, showed a far greater level of skill and clinical finishing. In short, we were treated to some pre-season Wengerball of the highest calibre.

Ramsey was for me our Man of the Match a cross between S Gerrard’s ability to move powerfully throughout the midfield, R Keane’s determination and C Fabregas’s finesse.

Because — that pass — to set up Walcott for the first goal was class; with slide rule precision it carved the City defence open, finished off with some aplomb by the man who had a hand in every goal today. Well, done Theo, you really have been giving doubters like me a good kicking recently.

I was a bit surprised to see Podolski starting at number 9; the first thought that ran through my head was this is in response to John Henry’s blunder bus of a statement that Liverpool would not be selling Suarez; it seemed like Arsene Wenger’s more subtle way of saying, we have options and our negotiating position is better than you think.

Excluding Podolski, I got the impression that both teams started with their strongest possible line up, but, where City were struggling to find a new format, Arsenal simply picked up from where they effectively left off last season.

There weren’t too many other chances for the good guys in the first half that I can recall but I do want you to share the pleasure in remembering Bacary Sagna’s left foot pile driver that hit the post – damn, did that man play well.

Second half started, changes were made and I thought here we go; we are all well aware how Arsenal are capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory but once again – none of it.

We got stronger and stronger, scoring a second goal and then a third. The second was a deftly weighted pass from Theo who I think Cazorla stepped over allowing the ball to roll to Ramsey who, in turn, rounded the goal keeper before slotting home. The ease with which Ramsey rounded England’s number one was Messiesque and made all the better by the look of embarrassment on Joe Hart’s face.

When there is goal scoring going on Oliie does not seem to be the kind of striker who likes to be left out. A pass from Walcott some thirty yards made fools of the City defence allowing Giroud to control and lob over the oncoming and even more foolish looking Joe Hart.

The game as a competition was over, Arsene had the luxury of bringing on more young hopefuls and Carl Jenkinson’s family and army of friends had a chance to shout his name.

City, of course, did score; Koscielny got bundled off the ball a bit too easily but I am not convinced that would have happened in any circumstance other than being three up.

So, a great warm up, a great result, a great boost for the collective confidence and all is looking well for next week.

Have a great Sunday.

Written by LB

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