Old wine, or new bottle, or old wine in new bottle?

December 31, 2013

End of the year, and part of the ritual is to take stock, and look forward towards the future with glorious plans and renewed expectations. And what a fantastic year this has been for Arsenal fans! At the midway stage in the Premier League last year, Arsenal was lying 7th, well off the pace for Champions League qualification, and even off Spursday football places. Qualifying second in their group, Arsenal faced a tough round of 16 encounter against Bayern Munich, one of the best teams in Europe at that stage. With significant changes to the Board, a new owner in tow, there were uncertain times for the club management. The fans were up in arms, with substantial ammunition provided by a negative press, dubious pundits and even the Arsenal Supporters Trust. Difficult times indeed!

But Arsenal managed to make a fantastic turnaround. Attaining qualification for CL was nothing short of a miracle! Yes, Arsenal lost out in a two leg epic battle against eventual winners Bayern, but before that showed their mettle in an amazing 2-0 away victory. Despite all the negativity, good progress was made in the summer transfer window. The progress continued in the current season, and Arsenal is sitting at the Top of the Premier League at the halfway stage. Qualification to the Champions League was gained from the aptly termed “Group of Death”. Grudging acknowledgement of Arsenal’s strength and mettle is gently arising from beneath the rubble of disdain and the green fumes of envy. Indeed, if the league was played over the calendar year, Arsenal would have been Champions of 2013. Oh, what a year this has been!!!

 

per and kosser

All in all, a good year in prospect. There are plenty of challenges yet to be met. Plenty of time still before we even begin to celebrate the achievements of this team. But, also plenty of positive vibes and expectation in tow. So AA ers, looking towards the future, what did we learn new about Arsenal this year, and what were we reminded of afresh, that we did not know with so much certainty one year back? Let us discuss. Here are a few of my tentative suggestions. It was not all rosy, though. Injuries continued through the year. The squad seems a bit thin. Progression to the round of 16 in the Champions League was gained, but only in second place. Like last year, we have drawn Bayern Munich. Lovely games in prospect, but significant challenges as well. And if the vitriol from the fans is a bit subdued due to the sustained run of fine results and resilience in the field of play, the negativity from the press and pundits continues unabated. Perhaps most importantly, whether by luck or design, Arsenal continues to be at the receiving end of poor refereeing decisions. Alas, some things never seem to change!

First, same time last year we did not know what a fantastic central defensive partnership, together with a very competent goalkeeper, we were developing. Indeed a large part of our success this year owes itself to the fantastic defensive pairing of Per and Kos. What a duo!!! And what a great leader in our beloved BFG! When Verms got injured, who would have thought we would have such a strong defence where even a fit squad captain cannot find a place?

Per and kossser 2

Second, one of the best revelations of the year was the discovery that Ramsey had developed into such a fantastic player. He was the subject of much of the blame and vitriol during our indifferent showing in 2012. Perhaps somewhat undeservedly. But our beloved Rambo rubbed all these adversities off his shirt, returned in style from his long standing injury, and has grown to the stature of one of the best midfielders in the League, perhaps in Europe as well.

Ramsey

He has shown a very mature head as well, leading for his country at a very young age. In tow, Jack Wilshere is developing into a fine player, if somewhat idiosyncratic on occasions. Together with Theo, the Ox, Gibbs and Jenks, they also form a British core to the team which had been somewhat deficient for a while. Who would have thought a year back that Rambo would develop into such a fantastic and dependable player, and Jack’s game will be coming along so nicely as well?

The English players

Third, one of the most encouraging developments of the year, at least for me, was the maturity with which the owner Kroenke, Gazidis and the Board conducted themselves. Perhaps the best development was that the Board did not interfere in footballing matters, leaving team and signing decisions to the people who know best, led by one Arsene Wenger. If you think that this is not a surprise, look around at other clubs. Several clubs have met with significant disasters as a result of owner power, such as the Spuds, Cardiff and even the Chavs, and in some others the environment is not very nice even if the performance has not been equally devastating.

The principles of the club, that a fantastic team can be developed without wasting money on the wasteful purchase of overpriced bench idols, was not compromised by a new owner and a new look Board. Surely, this was not a given at the start of the year, after the club had gone through a rather aggressive ownership contest and change of hands.

Fourth, amid the mantra of financial fairplay and traditional hesitancy to spend big money, and the recovery from an expensive move to the Emirates, who would have thought that Arsenal would spend their money where it mattered most?

Ozil

In the procurement of one Mesut Ozil, who despite his tentative adjustment to English football and the Arsenal way of playing the game, has given the team something really special, Arsenal showed purpose and ambition, and real ability to deliver trophies. This came together with the free transfer of one Mathieu Flamini – ah, what a fantastic transfer move!

flamini

Fifth, against the backdrop of significant unrest and disquiet among good-weather fans, ably supported by the press and pundits, who would have thought that the positive outlook of a sane fan-base would shine through? The struggle against the doubters and doomday-usherers still continues in earnest, in ArsenalArsenal and elsewhere, but The Home of Football still reverberates with the positive chants and outlook towards the new dawn awaiting in the New Year!!!!

AA ers, what do you think? My final thoughts are:

COYG! Onwards and Upwards!! A fantastic year 2014 awaits!!!!

Written by arnie

Arsenal Record 2013 Calendar Year

P W D L F A GD Pts
38 25 7 6 70 34 36 82

Where would 82 points put us in seasons past?

SEASON Winners P W D L F A GD Pts AFC on 82 points
2008-09 Utd 38 28 6 4 68 24 44 90 4th
2009-10 Chavs 38 27 5 6 103 32 71 86 3rd
2010-11 Utd 38 23 11 4 78 37 41 80 1st
2011-12 Oilers 38 28 5 5 94 29 65 89 3rd
2012-13 Utd 38 28 5 5 86 43 43 89 2nd

Chart by MickyDidIt

2013 Calendar Year League Table

P W D L F A GD Points vs Top 7 Total Home Total Away
Arsenal 38 25 7 6 70 33 37 82 10 19 19
Shitty 38 25 5 8 86 39 47 80 10 19 19
Chavs 38 23 8 7 71 40 31 77 10 20 18
ManUre 38 23 8 7 70 37 33 77 11 19 19
Spuds 38 21 10 7 55 46 9 73 10 19 19
Dippers 38 21 9 8 87 39 48 72 9 18 20
Everton 38 18 13 7 54 35 19 67 11 20 18
Toon 38 16 6 16 51 62 -11 54 13 19 19
Southampton 38 12 15 11 49 43 6 51 13 19 19
Villa 38 11 10 17 50 58 -8 43 11 20 18
Swansea 38 10 12 16 44 54 -10 42 12 18 20
Norwich 38 9 11 18 37 62 -25 38 12 20 18
Fulham 38 11 5 22 39 67 -28 38 12 19 19
West Ham 38 9 11 18 41 57 -16 38 12 19 19
Stokies 38 8 11 19 34 60 -26 35 11 19 19
WBA 38 7 13 18 45 61 -16 34 12 18 20
Sunderland 38 7 10 21 36 62 -26 31 12 19 19

Stat Overkill by GiE

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Nicholas Bendtner and the Second Coming.

December 5, 2013

So we remain top of the league in December and still no one expects us to win it. I kind of like the fact that so many are predicting that we will fall away; it really takes the pressure off. This will change, of course, when we beat City and Chelsea in the next couple of weeks. But I am getting ahead of myself, silly me; I forgot that we will, of course, beat Napoli before hand.

Tell me, did this same Hull team really beat Liverpool 3-1 on the weekend — really? Because they were pants, Championship fodder if ever I have seen some this season.

Steve Bruce may have ordered a bus and tried to park it on our eighteen yard line but only a mini bus arrived. The Good Guys just blew them away with Wengerball of the highest calibre. I think you could probably count on one hand the amount of times that Hull touched the ball in the first twenty minutes such was the control and domination that Arsenal had over their opponents.

It all started so well, Wenger made predictable changes with one exception. As I took to my seat with fifteen minutes to go I could hear the groans from people as they filed in having realised that Bendtner was starting. I have a certain amount of sympathy for his behaviour; he is tall, handsome, obviously a good footballer at school, got a great contract with Arsenal, has Danish Princesses throwing themselves at him, not to mention the women every time he goes into a night club; I mean, are you sure that you could stop yourself thinking that you were God’s Gift to football if that were you? I am a humble person by nature but I do have a soft spot for Danish Princesses.

Anyway, cometh the hour, cometh the man or should I say cometh the end of a contract, cometh the first signs of some determination.

Big Nicky shut every one of his critics up after just two minutes when Jenkinson sent in one of his trade mark quality crosses for our Dopey Dane to head home from six yards out and boy did he celebrate. It was a fine goal, it settled the nerves and it was clear that the game plan was going to be played out in exactly the way that Wenger had anticipated.

Nik scores v Hull

It is easy now to think that as Hull were so weak it was the perfect opportunity to start with Bendtner but I think there is more to it as I still expect him to be sold in January; the reason being, that his contract ends in the summer, we are not going to give him a new one so he will be able to leave for free. That being the case; the club know that it is far better to get something for him while they can in the January transfer window rather than nothing four months later.

The other thing to remember is that he has played for Birmingham on loan under Steve Bruce and I think Sunderland; they have a history. So I also think there was a lot of “trial” about the decision to start with him last night. We will see, but the most interesting thing about this if it does turn out as I suggest is that Arsenal will buy another striker and that is not might, that is, they will have to and as we all know the signing of a new striker is always exciting.

Back to the game, we were totally dominant in the first half and should have had a hat full but we went into the break with only one goal to show for our effort and while there is only one goal difference in any game there is always the possibility that the opposition could score a lucky equaliser. I am trying to add drama to this aren’t I and I am probably failing. This tension I am trying to create lasted all of two minutes from the restart when Ramsey rolled the ball into the path of Özil to slot home from less than five yards out.

Job done; everyone relaxed and spent the next half an hour looking at the scores of the Chelsea and City games on their smart phones. The substitutions were made with the customary twenty minutes to go. So much for resting Özil, a full ninety minutes for him. Wilshere, Walcott and Arteta came on for a kick about as we saw the game out in an orderly fashion. While I am on a team selection roll I will predict this: Walcott will start up front against Napoli, the Italians have to score three so they will come onto us leaving acres of space and when there is space it’s always Theo time.

This was a comfortable win on a cold night;  the first time in a while we could sit back and allow our finger nails to recover and we need to as they are going to be chewed to the stumps in the coming weeks.

Written by LB

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Posted by LB

Now We Can See How Much Damage Van Persie, Cesc and Nasri Did

December 2, 2013

I hope all those who’ve made a career out of knocking the Mighty Arsenal are taking a good look at the Premier League Table.

We’re as high as Nigella and as happy as Wayne Rooney in a bingo hall.

02

Not that I’m gloating… oh no… there’s a long way to go yet, it’s a marathon not a snickers etc etc.

But at the moment I think it’s fair to say that the squad is exceeding what most of us expected for this year.

The optimists among us hoped for a steady build on the defensive tightness and greater togetherness that steered us to fourth place in the second half of last season.

When we signed Mesut Ozil, maybe we dared to hope for a bit more.

But to be comfortably top of the table as we enter December? And to be nine points ahead of ManUre? And 10 ahead of the Tinies? I doubt any of us (apart from Terry Mancini Hair Transplant) would have wagered much on us doing so well.

Which raises the question of WHY?

Why have we shown not just incremental improvement on last season, but a genuine step change in confidence, quality and – most important of all – results?

There are many individual factors we can point to: the emergence of the Welsh Messi as the best player in the Premeirship; the exceptional form of our Pole In Goal; the precision of Ozil’s assist-making; the superb organization of our back four…

But I think Arsene Wenger gave us the real answer last week when he pointed out that this year, unlike the two previous years, we have not taken the Good Ship Arsenal on a new footballing voyage with a big hole below the waterline.

Le Boss said the clear difference this time round was that we did not lose a star player on the eve of the new campaign.

It meant we started out with the same group of players who had done so well from January to May – and threw a genuine superstar into the mix for good measure.

Contrast that with the two previous years.

The summer of 2012 was spent with Brave Sir Robin trying to pretend he was undecided about leaving but finally walking out on the club that paid his wages through so many interminable injury periods. The little boy inside him turned out to be an ungrateful little twunt.

Twelve months earlier we lost Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona (a move, admittedly, that came as a surprise to no-one); but then the unlikeable little Frenchman Samir Na$ri decided he wanted to line his wallet and started touting himself round  clubs with deep pockets, ending up at Petrodollar City.

Both those disrupted summers led directly to disjointed and disappointing starts to the new season. While other teams went off at a sprint, we set off on those season-long races with an open parachute strapped to our back.

We were forced to try and bed in new signings who, in most cases, were completely new to the Premier League; we had to work out new formations to suit the new personnel; we had to turn players from strangers into team mates and heaven only knows what psychological damage was done to the rest of the squad by the fact that our best players had made it clear they wanted out.

Somehow, miraculously, Arsene managed to maintain our membership of the Top Four club by the end of both seasons – but it was certainly no thanks to the Dear Departed.

And looking at how we’re doing now it makes me really angry about those players who left us in the lurch – yes, even Cesc (although BSR and Na$ri were more selfish, disloyal and narcissistic).

Van Persie and Nasri could have made their intentions clear to the club at the end of their last seasons with us. Their leavings would still have been a loss but at least the fans would not have been led a merry dance all summer long and the club and squad could have started rebuilding sooner.

I’m not suggesting we would have had glorious seasons if they had not left but – like Arsene – I feel we would have done a LOT better. We might have fallen short of winning the league, but we might well have been in the mix for longer instead of having to play catch-up with the skinny cock brigade.

The Arsenal revival we’re witnessing this year might have happened 12 months earlier. It’s the very success we’re enjoying now that highlights just what those players who left really cost us.

It’s naïve to expect players to show loyalty and I’m sure many fans take the view that if they want to go somewhere else for more money or a better chance of glory, who can blame them?

I can’t share that laissez faire view. I remain a dinosaur. I expect the adulation and support I give to the players to mean something, even in an age when the youth squad are driving Porsches and earning more in a month than most people do in a year.

And so Van Persie, Nasri, Fabregas: je t’accuse! YOU caused us to have disastrous starts to the past two seasons; YOU gave ammunition to the silly Wenger Out campaigners; YOU stopped us being in a position to fight for the big prizes; YOU hurt us. And WE won’t forget.

Although Cesc can come back if he wants 🙂

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

An Arsenal Performance Worthy of Winning the League

December 1, 2013

How good was that? It is getting more and more difficult to find sufficient superlatives to describe the Arsenal performances these days. As the first half rolled on and the Good Guys were spraying the ball around with consummate ease the term “thoroughly professional performance” came to mind. But we have used this a few times recently and somehow it didn’t seem enough to describe what I was watching, intensifying the search was the first goal and the brilliance in its simplicity: a tidy pass to Özil who sent over an inch perfect cross for Ramsey to head home and put us in the lead. As he walked away avoiding celebration out of respect for his fellow country men I thought to myself I am going to need something far more complimentary to describe this.

Racking my brains, playing cards came to mind and the hierarchy that exists: a pair is beaten by three of a kind which is beaten by a straight, which I believe is beaten by flush and then it came to me: the next up from a “thoroughly professional performance” has got to be “A performance worthy of winning the league” and that is what is was, a full house of a performance, not to be confused with a “Winning the league at White Heart Lane performance” that is obviously a royal flush and although rare it does seem to happen with more regularity than many might imagine.

Wenger foxed us all again with his team selection, it made sense to all who considered it to play Flamini alongside Arteta but no, Le Boss had plans for the Frenchman and opted to start with Wilshere and within one and a half minutes we all understood why: an arrow of a shot released from the edge of the box had all the makings of goal number five for our non attacking midfielder lol but alas at the last moment it swerved away and hit the bar.

As it turned out, as far as Arsenal taking the game to Cardiff was concerned, this was only the start, the Good Guys were brimming with confidence, chances weren’t coming as often as London buses do when you don’t need them but they were coming; the next fell to Giroud who, clean through one on one with the goal keeper, decided to “walk” before the umpire had given him out, it might be the honourable thing to do as Özil clearly touched the ball but in this day and age — really?

We had to suffer five uncomfortable minutes when Mertasacker hit the deck with the force of a felled giant redwood having clashed heads with Sagna; I defy anyone who didn’t worry about the possible down side of this potential calamity but all was well with our Big Friendly Giant.

Still goalless, but in today’s script only one person was going to be first on the score sheet and our humble Welshman rose to the occasion and headed us into the lead that took us into the break.

Ramsey v cardiff

Cardiff started the second half well and created a couple of chances that were a bit closer than I for one would have liked, notably a header from Campbell that brought a brilliant save from Szczesny. TPIG was looking as commanding as ever, we could have and should have made more of the breaks that were frequently arising but our interplay was not quite as good as it should have been, it seemed like Theo time but Jack was tiring and they were coming onto us with a tad more purpose than was good for the blood pressure so Wenger opted to shore things up and bring on Monreal and then Flamini.

As the Frenchman took off his track suit all eyes were on the sleeves – tradition won out and rightly so; someone had clearly whispered into his ear that he had, perhaps without realising, upset a few fundamentalists and today was not the right time to go desecrating sacred objects – best solution: roll your sleeves up and go and score a thumping second goal — and that is exactly what he did, yet another sublime assist from Özil who rolled the ball into the Frenchman’s path to powerfully hit home and put us all at ease.

Flamini scores v cardiff

Was this going to be Flamini’s day, no it wasn’t, this was Aaron Ramsey’s day; a second goal for him and with it he rightly picks up pretty much everyone’s Man of the Match award.

Ramsey applauds

Somebody remind me, where are we in the League?

Enjoy your Sunday.

Written by LB

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Posted by LB

Mesut Özil …… Sprezzatura.

November 16, 2013

Now, I don’t know many long words, and even fewer in Italian. However, a few years ago I stumbled upon this word Sprezzatura. No other language has a word encapsulating the same qualities. It means “Effortless Grace”.

If you want to be able to sound clever, then read the bracketed bit below, otherwise, skip it.

(Castiglione wrote The Book of the Courtier as a portrayal of an idealized courtier. This ideal courtier was supposed to be skilled in arms and in athletic events but be equally skilled in music and dancing. However, the courtier who had sprezzatura managed to make difficult tasks look easy. Concerning sprezzatura, Castiglione said that: “to practice in all things a certain sprezzatura [nonchalance], so as to conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it”. In short, Sprezzatura means Effortless Grace.)

When I first discovered this word, my first thoughts were one Dennis Bergkamp. I decided the word was simply too good to waste, so I thought I’d bide my time and wait.

Enter Mesut Özil.

I believe he may become Arsenal’s Greatest Ever Signing. The Man oozes Sprezzatura.

I have heard that “He’ll take time to settle into the PL”. I say: “Bollocks he will. I have never seen someone so clearly settled”.

Look at his assists so far. On the whole they are fairly simple balls. Pinpoint accurate, yes, but fairly obvious balls. I remember Chas posting some of The Arsenal Gentleman’s genius cards, and Mesut’s “Special Move was: The Mesmertron, a hypnotic through ball”.

How many of these hypnotic balls have we seen? Very few, and the reason is that Mesut knows the players are not quite ready for him to unleash his full dazzling array of ball skills.

So, what’s going on? Quite simply, every player around Mesut is out of their depth, and he knows it, which is why he’s still playing it simple. I reckon that soon, through a combination of pitch time, as well as work on the training ground, the movement from those around him will improve.

Think back to Thierry Henry, and the impact DB10 had on his game. This is the reason I understand why some people are asking for a different type of striker. Someone who speaks the same football language as Mesut. I suspect we may see the Mesmetron deployed if either Theo or Podolski take up the central striker role.

I think we are going to witness Arsenal’s Greatest Ever Signing. He will elevate and educate those around him into superior players. Watch, savour, and enjoy. Exceptional things are about to happen in the Red and White of Arsenal.

Written by MickyDidIt89

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Character, Desire and Strategy: Symphony drowns Heavy Metal!

November 7, 2013

Notwithstanding the fantastic results that Arsenal have been producing most weeks and in midweek games since the beginning of the year, and the consistency with which the team have been turning whinging disbelievers and useless pundits into muppets, if there was ever a moment when the good guys proudly donning their red and whites on the field had to prove a point, this was it.

Playing away from home at the home of the formidable Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e.V. Dortmund, having succumbed to the ignominy of an embarrassing loss to the same club at The Home of Football, and knowing that their dreams of progressing from the Group of Death lay in their own hands (erm, feet and heads), this was the moment of destiny.

Would they remain a bunch of kids led by a handful of immature generals trying to play a game meant for men, or would they show the strength of character, desire and strategy that separates the sublime from the ordinary? On a rain-drenched evening in Dortmund, in front of formidable opposition and a vociferous crowd, they fought valiantly with heart and mind to achieve a memorable victory that dreams are made of.

The stage for the show was set up well. The set was immaculately chosen in advance, and the background music was perfect for the occasion – perhaps the tune of the Pomp and Circumstance Marches. At the disappointing loss at home to Dortmund a fortnight earlier, Arsène Wenger, a man known for his economy of words and measured temperament, rather uncharacteristically chose to criticise the team in public for their alleged ‘naivety’. Adding salt to injury, Jurgen Klopp, the respected Dortmund manager tried to take the art of mind games to the level of Symphony Fantastique.

“[Wenger] likes having the ball, playing football, passes” he said,”It’s like an orchestra, but it’s a silent song, yeah? And I like Heavy Metal more. I always want it loud! I want to have this: ‘BOOM!’ “.

It was time for the true mettle to shine through the din of Heavy Metal, and it did! The good guys of Arsenal fought their heart out, played with their minds sharp, and manufactured a fantastic away win!

It was a very tough test against the skill, aggression and hard work put in by a truly fantastic team, Borussia Dortmund, and in front of their home crowd as well. On the night, the entire team was fantastic. In the first half, both teams played a measured game, Arsenal sitting deep in defiant defence, and Dortmund piling on attacks without creating that many chances. Mkhitaryan squandered the best chance curling his shot wide of the post, but that apart, the central defence of Mertesacker and Koscielny nullified every chance that Dortmund created, with the able support of Sagna and Gibbs.

Arteta and Rosicky worked tirelessly to organise the midfield, and together with Ramsey, Santi and Özil maintained the threat of counter attacks. Giroud was left a bit isolated up front, but it was really that kind of a game. For me, our attacking threat in the first half was captured in the one occasion when Özil beautifully controlled a pass at the top of the Dortmund box, made the turn towards goal, but the moment the ball was pushed less than a foot forward, along came two defenders to snatch it away. Such was the tireless industry of the Dortmund defence, it was a treat to watch and admire! Anyway, the half ended a relatively event-less all-square.

There was all to play for in the second 45. But along came Dortmund with renewed vigour, and piled on attack upon attack. Most of these were repelled by the resolute Arsenal defence led by the fantastic Mert-Kos duo. For a nervous few minutes, the relentless pressure appeared to work. The nightmares of the Emirates appeared close. Once, Reus got through unmarked, and just a few minutes later Blaszczykowski had a low shot on goal. On both occasions, Szczęsny brought off fantastic saves. And that was it. No more serious attempts on the Arsenal goal followed.

Aaron Ramsey

Instead, it was a moment of magic at the other end. Rosicky, an ex-Dortmund player, latched on to a ball at the left flank and tried to move towards the centre, lost the ball, won it back and spread it wide to the right. Özil held on to it and sent a cross into the box, Giroud towered above his marker and used all his strength to nod the ball back towards the centre, and Ramsey lurked in with a great heart and headed the ball home almost right from the Subotic’s raised boot.

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The goal opened the floodgates somewhat, no not from Dortmund attacks, but Arsenal’s threats on goal. From a Giroud cross, Ramsey forced Weidenfeller into a smart save. From a Santi corner, Giroud saw a shot somehow cleared off the line. Per came along into attack with great vigour and came close to scoring twice, the second time sending a loopy header to the top of the net.

The mighty Dortmund, worthy finalists of last year’s Champions League, undefeated in the Bundesliga so far this season, did not know what hit them. Perhaps they were not used to losing. They were completely rattled and disheveled. Apart from a muffled attempt from Reus, they offered hardly any threat. The 11 brave men of Arsenal defended resolutely and saw the game through.

In the middle of all this, one man stood tall in midfield, led from the front, and for me captured like no other player the spirit that Arsenal stood for. It was Mikel Arteta. He manned the centre of the field like a fighter, defending and winning balls throughout the 90 minutes, earned a yellow card for his troubles, somewhat unfairly, for tugging Blaszczykowski’s shirt, and came disastrously close to a second as well. But he kept fighting. At the other end, Reus tugged back Rosicky but was not booked, and neither was there a penalty for bundling valiant Kos over. Injustices galore. But the brave and good guys stood tall amongst the ruins, and came out valiant winners. What a night of Champions League football! Lucky Micky and Raddy who represented AA in the ground!

How did we manage to win this game against all odds? Hard work, perhaps even more than skill, but what was most important was strategy. The strategy of sitting back and defending resolutely, the strategy of going all out in counter attack, but only when the opposition had got somewhat tired and demoralised, and most importantly the strategy of knowing how to get the best efforts out of the players. Going even to the extreme of publicly criticising the team for naivety. In a game characterised by character, desire and strategy, STRATEGY came out tops for me. In a game between symphony and Heavy Metal, the mettle displayed by the team was beautiful SYMPHONY. In a game of strategy between two great managers, Arsene Wenger came out on top! Arsène Wenger is my Man of the Match!
Arsene
Every player did his bit on the night. Here are some tentative scores.

Szczesny: 8 Had little to do on the night, except to make two fantastic saves. And they were crucial.

Sagna: 7 Measured performance in defence and attack. 

Mertesacker: 9 Excelled at the heart of defence, went out in counter attack, almost scored as well. What a performance! 

Koscielny: 8 Fantastic in defence, great combination with Mert, played with a big heart.

 Gibbs 7 Measured performance focusing on defence, cricial interventions when Mert and Kos had moved up and Dortmund attacked on the counter.

Arteta: 9 A true leader on the day, leading from the front. Valiently marshalled the midfield all evening. Outstanding.

Ramsey: 9 What can you say! The “Welsh Messi” Aaron Ramsey did what he does best – deliver the sucker punch.

Cazorla: 7 Good, solid, if somewhat underwhelming performance on the night.

Ozil: 8 Good performance, great cross that led to the goal.

Rosicky: 8 Fantastic performance. Together with Arteta, maintained the midfield, fighting for every ball, moving forward on every occasion possible.

Giroud: 7Assist for the goal, tireless performance as the lone striker, holding up, running tirelessly after the ball. Almost scored as well.

Arsene Wenger: 10 Le Manager, what fantastic strategy, what a man, what a team. This performance was surely for him.

Monreal: 7 Came on 75 mins for Santi, reliable as ever.

Vermaelen: No time to make an impact.

Bendtner: No time to make an impact, but ran after the ball continuously for the 5 mins he was on.

Written by arnie

Our on the spot photographers have provided these pics of a view from the away end:

D1

D2

D3

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Were we wrong about Chamakh?

October 26, 2013

We had a brief conversation mid-week about whether it was good or bad to face a manager-less team. I don’t like it. Even when playing what is surely relegation fodder.

Our recent loss appears not to have damaged the confidence both on and off the pitch which considering the state of the club in January is a remarkable turn around. We fans and thankfully the media seem to be less knee-jerk in our reactions and open to a more rational approach, however, and this should be written in bold, lose today and the knives will re-appear quicker than our troll changes monicker.

What of Crystal Palace.? Well, the wouldn’t pay for Big Nick but very handily took Chamakh off our hands. This tells all we needed to know about Holloway’s strategy to taking CP into the Premiership – Scattergun signings and a huge dollop of hope. It could have worked out, Chamakh could have struck the form we saw in his first games at the Em’s. Sadly, the reality is that all the hope has gone west and Palace are struggling, having beaten just bottom placed Sunderland  and languishing firmly in the bottom 3. The 1-4 defeat to a poor Fulham side on Monday signalled the end for the likeable Holloway and whoever takes up the reins inherits a poisoned chalice.

I liked Chamakh and understood why Mr Wenger signed him but the man had the same problem as Gervinho – an inability to cope with the pressures of playing in front of 60+k expectant fans. Let us wish him well and trust that he gets his career back on track, starting tomorrow.

images

Can they win today and beat the team sitting comfortably at the top of the table 😀 ?

Let’s look at the stats: Arsenal haven’t lost at Selhurst Park since 1979! We have won 12 of our last 13 away fixtures. We have only lost twice to Palace  – ever. But as we all know, there is many a slip twixt cup and lip, over-confidence would be costly.

Arsenal:  One of the question marks from Tuesday night was what happened to Özil? It was good to read that he was ill before the game and this reflected upon his play. Should he play today or be rested ahead of our testing games ahead? Given Wilshere’s troublesome ankle and the return of Flamini, I expect to see Mesut start particularly as the partnership with Santi needs pick-time. This axis alongside Ramsey will be the future of Arsenal and propel us to glory – it just needs time.

We miss Theo. Young Didit proclaimed that Walcott getting injured would be disastrous for Arsenal, it hasn’t been as painful as he thought but we miss the speedster. I am a big admirer of Walcott and think we will hit even loftier heights of play when he returns. His speed of foot and Özil’s speed of thought are made for each other. But he remains on the injury list.

In a way the injuries make Mr Wenger’s choices easier, the main question mark is whether Rosicky or Cazorla starts on the left? And whether Sagna needs a break. Given the CC game midweek I would continue with the first choice 11.

My Team:

pal v arse

The bench gets stronger and I expect all will get a run out on Tuesday.

If Arsenal are going to be serious contenders for the title then this is a must win game.  I like Palace, without their scouting network one of my footballing heroes would never have had the opportunity to excel, I speak of course of Ian Wright Wright Wright who whenever I think of his time at HIghbury lights my day.  On the flip side let us not forget Palace also sold us Eddie Mcgoldrick ….. need I say more?

Unknown

Early kick-off and I expect us to be 5 points ahead of the pack at the final whistle, but am not taking anything for granted.

COYRRG

written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

A Look at Lewandowski

October 22, 2013

“When I get older, losing my hair, many years from now”

M. Wenger is 64 years old today and as a gift UEFA have given him a mouth watering challenge at THOF; our Professor must be hopping with anticipation at the prospect of pitting his wits against a team and manager who represent the finest in football.

Our season has started (apart from a ref-affected first game) brilliantly. Reflected not only in the points tally but also the possibilities of the team’s future – we are already very good and we are going to be the “couilles de chien”.

Dortmund: Not much to tell you that you don’t know already. They are very good, they are in form, they have a superb defence, a better midfield and a lethal attack ! Klopp will be in the stands following an ill-advised impression of the Ferguson rant  – how was it SAF was never sent off for abusing a 4th official?

I am looking forward to watching Mkhitaryan, the man signed to replace the treacherous, Goetze. And of course the performance of Lewandowski will be under the spotlight, what with the media speculation of a transfer to The Emirates. Cannot see it myself but he is a top striker and we could squeeze him in somewhere!

Last time BD came to THOF we won 2-1 with goals from some fellow whose name I forget. BD beat us in 2002 with a goal from Rosicky, it would only be right for the Little Mozart to score for the righteous tonight (70th mins sub?)

I wrote recently of my admiration for both Subotic and Hummels and how they cope with the wingless Arsenal attack will be one of the keys to the game.

Then there is their fans. It must be wonderful to have such support – our away boys are brilliant but these loonies are on another level completely!

Arsenal: Once again the absence of Walcott’s pace could be costly. I love our tiki-taka but some unadulterated searing speed undoes defences, if nothing else it forces the defenders to sit further of the player.

However, the addition of Özil has brought an added dimension. His headed goal on Saturday came as a result of a lung-busting late run  –  a part of his game which has surprised me. Not only is Mesut brilliant with the ball at his feet and a master of space, he is also an extremely hard worker.

The recent run of success allied to the two CL wins must give the entire squad huge confidence. It is this rather than the personnel which will inspire the team tonight. The return of Cazorla and Arteta brings wizardry, calm and authority to an already fine side.

The development of the understanding between Santi and Mesut will be one of the highlights of the coming seasons. Both hugely intelligent, both two footed (as are we all – no disrespect to uni-peds) and both team players.

I have been wracking my brain to find fault in out attacking play and have decided that we do not score enough goals from outside the area. Can someone remind me of the last time?

The defence remains a concern. We have to start getting some clean sheets or the season may unravel. It is all well and good relying upon the attack to score more than we concede but eventually we will get caught out. Thankfully, it seems that the problem lies in lapses of concentration rather than a deeper lying malaise.

My Team:

a v bd

An attacking team. The bench is getting stronger and amazingly Bendtner is looking threatening. If we are winning on 75 mins expect to see Monreal

Tonight is one of the highlights of this (or any) season. Two teams who are committed to attacking football on a warm autumn evening in a packed, noisy stadium. Given a decent referee it will be a great game. I wish I could categorically state that we will take the points, what I can state without fear of contradiction is that every Arsenal fan watching on television would love to be there.

Win this and we are almost through to the next round.

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

We are top of the league…….

October 20, 2013

So I got collared by our A.A matriarch for the match report, so unlucky for you lot, I hope you all have a few hours to spare on Sunday. Any complaints should be directed to Mrs Peaches of the Arsenal Tavern, Blackstock Road, London, N4.

Throughout the match I kept changing my mind as to how the general tone of this report would be presented. The end scoreline somewhat belies that it was a bit nervy at times and that Norwich were firmly in this match for large periods. I had visions of having to talk about being too casual and allowing them back into a game we should have comfortably won much earlier, but fortunately I now don’t need to because, 4 goals to 1 later, and a quick glimpse at the EPL table should bring a smile to any of the faithful this Sunday morning. To be fair Ruddy did have a bit of a blinder so was largely responsible for allowing them to have a foothold in the game for longer than I would have liked.

There were times when things, in an attacking sense, weren’t quite coming off for us in this game, but when they did come off boy was it a thing of beauty. The opening goal was straight out of the Wengerball archives of total football, and I can just picture Arsene at home on the sofa hitting rewind and play continuously with a big smile on his face.

On 18 minutes Jack received the ball deep and skipped past a challenge before laying it off and heading up-field. The ball was worked down the left eventually finding its way to Santi who angled infield and played a lovely 1-2 with Jack before sliding it into Giroud who played an even better 1-2 with Jack, complete with brilliant flicks off the outside of the boot from both players. Ollies last flick split the defence and found Jack who had continued his run bursting in behind their defence to basically just pass it into the net. Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, GOOAAL. I may have even short-changed us by one ping there, but for lovers of the beautiful game it was somewhat utopian. I don’t know why we don’t just try and pass it into the net more often….All this shooting business that some people go on about is rather distasteful.

Jack and Olly v norwich

Shortly after this our Franco-Italian midfield warrior suffered a nasty head clash, and despite trying to soldier on was soon after replaced by the Welsh Wizard. I am sure that Matty will be fine and will stop seeing double after a good days rest and some of Mama Flamini’s homemade Spag Bol. Ruddy then pulled off the first of a few fine saves denying Giroud, before we somewhat started to sit back a bit too much for my liking, and Norwich showed they still had a bit about them by finishing the first half in the ascendency. Szczesny had to make one fine save in particular low down to his right.

This should have been the warning and catalyst for a renewed siege on their goal at the start of the second half, but it started a bit like the first finished, and I was left with a craving for a second goal to settle my slight feelings of nervousness. On 58 minutes I was duly obliged and an interception from deep led to a swift counter-attack with Santi carrying the ball down the centre, before finding Giroud out to the right, who lifted the ball into the box where £42.4m of Vorsprung Durch Technique had continued a surging run to nod Giroud’s cross home. I thought it was the other way around initially, and had to be corrected by my match buddies for the day. All this total football and interchanging positions between the players is making writing up match reports a nightmare…. sort it out Arsene.

Ozil header v norwich

So now we could relax and control the game and watch the flood-gates open…. Well not quite. On 70 minutes a bit of sloppy defending, more being too casual really by not clearing our lines or closing down, saw their lad Howson run from midfield and pick up a half cleared ball before slamming it past Szczesny low down to his left. Back to nervousness it was then. I still had a little bit of nail left to chew on the corner of my left little pinky. Fortunately just as I had finished that last bit, and was eyeing up the nails of the chap to my right, we finally got our act together properly.

Firstly on 79 minutes the Welsh Wizard forced Ruddy into a fine save with a powerful shot from distance. At 83 minutes Bendtner played in Wilshere, who had switched to the left, and his ball into the box resulted in a strong shout for handball. Denied it was, but not to worry because we retained possession high up the pitch and Wilshere received the ball on the left again and pulled back a short pass to the Welsh Wizard who was inside the left half of the Norwich penalty area, still some 10 metres out, and with plenty of defenders in his way. Never fear though because Lionel Ramsey, or Aaron Messi, or whatever his name is did the old snake hips thing and shimmied this way and that, bamboozling all those in yellow shirts, leaving many on their backsides, before calmly lifting the ball over and to the side of Ruddy. Ricky Villa eat your heart out. Maybe that lot down the road can stop going on about that one now because this was even better.

Rambo scores v norwich

It was all capped off on 88 minutes when Rosicky got the ball on the left and lifted it over to the back post, where Ramsey played a lovely first time pull back, that left Ozil with the simple task of, again, passing the ball into the net.

A couple of thoughts for the day. Firstly what would Ramsey be worth on the open market now? Surely the consistency in his form is pointing towards a permanent shift in his level and ability, rather than just putting it down to a good run of form. Dare we start whispering the phrase “world class”?

The second is about Jack. Many will still point towards him losing possession at times but I would point towards the fact that he always tries to get us on the front foot driving forwards which inevitably comes with some loss of possession at times. He never hides and takes the safe sideways or backwards pass option. In many ways he mirrors how the team seems to be evolving which seems to be more loss of possession at times, but with far more regular attacking penetration during the game. I would take that all day long over greater possession stats but just moving the ball sideways and backwards around the pitch.

One final thing, a big thank-you to 26May who kindly allowed me to be at the game. Without that I would not have been able to compile this match report. So actually, on reflection, 26May is as equally complicit as Peaches if you are looking to apportion blame for losing half your Sunday reading this report. On to the ratings :

Szczesny 8

Not much chance with the goal but was safe and sure throughout and pulled out a couple of good stops. I really don’t feel the need to bring in another keeper with his current form.

Sagna 6

I thought he was a bit under par today. He was reasonably assured from a defensive aspect but his crossing was poor and he passed up the opportunity of the over-lap at times.

Mertesacker 8

One poor clearance aside he personified concentration allied with calmness all game. One lovely moment after the game when he was heading towards the tunnel and the West stand started to sing we’ve got a big f—–g German which you could visibly see him chuckling away to. He seems to be happy at THOF.

Koscielny 8

No dramas or rash challenges today just the normal speedy cover in our defence cutting out danger before it develops.

Gibbs 7

Without being outstanding today he was sound defensively and offered himself up in attack as well.

Flamini 7

His game was cut short so difficult to fully assess his impact but he gets a 7 just for being prepared to put his body where it hurts.

Arteta 8

Mr dependable. He is almost becoming the unseen contributor but if you watch carefully you will see how important he is to our control of the game.

Cazorla 8

Great to see our little Spaniard back. He definitely was a key contributor today before, as expected, he ran out of steam. Much more to come from him this season I am sure.

Ozil 9

He has such great balance and vision and seems to glide around the pitch like he is not actually making direct contact with the ground. The new Dennis? Quite possibly because as well as the sublime vision and passing he is increasingly scoring, as 2 goals today will testify to.

Wilshere 9

Yes he lost possession a couple of times, but as I said above he always tries to get us on the front foot and I feel he is one of the key players that dictates our tempo and forward penetration when we have possession.

Giroud 8

No goals today for Ollie but a big hand in 2 of them attests to the fact that he is far more than just a big typical battering ram number 9.

Ramsey (for Flamini 38mins) 9

One great solo goal and a great assist for the 4th. You now always feel that something will happen when he gets on the ball.

Rosicky (for Cazorla 59mins) 7

A bit like Arteta he is a very dependable player. I think he will be a key contributor to any success we may have this year.

Bendtner (for Giroud 78mins)

He actually looked much sharper and pretty decent. Am I allowed to say that? His touch and hold up play looked decent, he played a couple of good passes and tested their keeper with a good stinging shot. He looked like a good squad alternative today rather than the liability many may think he is. The system we seem to currently employ actually seems to play to his strengths.

My MOTM, I can’t choose. It would be one from Jack, Ozil or Ramsey. I will let you decide. Maybe I will give it to Arsene Wenger today for assembling and developing this fine group of players that entertains us all on Saturday afternoons.

Written by GoonerB

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal…..Today: “You’re The Boss”.

October 15, 2013

Three Parter today, and it’s a case of “you show me yours, and I’ll show you mine”.

Picture this, we’re about to play Utd at home, it’s a must win game for both teams and everybody is fit as a fiddle and on top form, with one exception, Olivier Giroud is injured.

We are a few games into the season now, and have witnessed a few seismic changes. The form of Ramsey, the central Arteta/Flamini axis, and the inclusion of Mesut Ozil. How does your First XI line up now, and we can limit this to the midfield and attack, as I wouldn’t mind betting we’d all select the same back five.

This idea comes on the back of talk about False No 9’s, as well as chat about various striker back-up options. Also, to date, Arsene has not had the luxury/problem of selecting from a full squad. You do, well almost!

I am going to complicate things, and that is why this is a Three Parter. I am going to give you two further selection headaches. First, it’s 0-0 until the 70th minute, when The Arsenal score, and second, it’s 0-0 until the 70th when the unbelieveable happens, and Utd score. On 71 mins, you can make one substitution for each scenario.

So, I’m asking for:

Your starting front six, and how they line up.

Then, your Arsenal 1-0 up plus substitution.

Finally, your Arsenal 0-1 down plus substitution.

Remember, it is a Must Win game for both sides. I said “I’d show you mine”, but I’m going to have to think this through, so hopefully, see you in the comments with your suggestions.

Written by MickyDidIt

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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