2-0; Work Smart, Not Hard!

The old saying: Work smart, not hard, summarises Arsenal’s performance against Southampton at the weekend.

It was crucial to not lose the game after the somewhat, undeserved defeat to Manchester United before the international break. Southampton have had a very impressive defensive record this season but the loss of Lovren was a huge blow.

Arsenal were boosted by the return of Theo who, though fit, started the game on the bench. Wenger went with the combination of Wilshere, Ozil, Arteta, Ramsey and Cazorla in midfield which suggested he wanted to play a very tactical and narrow game against Pochettino’s side.

The Saints defended well in the first half though they seemed to lack a plan whenever they found themselves with possession in Arsenal’s half. The Gunners couldn’t get a momentum going in the first half while conceding a worryingly large number of corners and set pieces. There was a sense that if Southampton were going to score, it would come from a set piece.

Southampton also forced a couple of good saves from Szczesny though the signs for Arsenal were positive as they limited to opposition to long range shots.

The key moment in the game was Giroud’s goal. I will save describing the rather comical incident as the goal has been repeatedly played on several places and added to the collections of goalkeeping mishaps.

It was the key moment as firstly, until that point, the away side were content with keeping the score at 0-0. They had confidence in their defending ability yet, that moment changed everything and Southampton found themselves in a situation where they would have to play more expansively.

Another reason it was a key moment is because the incident highlighted Southampton’s weakness of crumbling under pressure. Wenger certainly took notes throughout the first half and his side came out with in the second half with a very clear plan on how to secure the 3 points.

Southampton struggled to get themselves into the game in the second half. Every occasion the Saints ventured into the Arsenal half, the player on the ball came under immense pressure, especially from the likes of Ramsey and Wilshere. This was not helped by Boruc’s consistently poor distribution throughout the game.

In the end, it was a deserved victory and the Gunners are continuing to prove the doubters wrong. Arsenal have received a lot of unfair criticism after the defeat at Old Trafford where I felt we were unlucky to not come away with a draw.

And Giroud was quite comfortably the man of the match. Aside from his 2 goals, he worked tirelessly up front, always creating space and being a thorn for the opposition defence. The dashboard below shows Giroud won possession in the Arsenal box 4 times which is very good defensive work for a striker and the Frenchman is also repaying Wenger’s faith with goals and assists.

A final word on referee Mark Clattenburg who had a very poor game: There was a moment in the first half when he stopped the play for offside while Arsenal had an advantage to attack on the break. The frustration from the crowd was heard all around and Clattenburg looked to the skies with a constipated face in despair at his own call. Not only did that sum up his performance, it has been quite consistent with the level of refereeing in the Premier League this season. We have suffered the Anthony Taylor treatment against Villa at the start of the season and Clattenburg’s performance yesterday is a reminder of that we have to be on top form to not let the officials define the results. 

Are Arsenal Splashing the Cash at Last?

As we await the imminent announcement of Santiago Cazorla from Malaga, there has been a lot of discussion on whether we are now looking at a change in transfer policy from Arsene Wenger.

On July 4^th, the media smelled blood with van Persie’s statement that he will not be signing a new contract at Arsenal. Yet, many were forced to stop short of making widespread accusation towards Wenger as by this point (4 days into the transfer window) he had already secured the signings of Ligue 1 top scorer Olivier Giroud and one of Bundesliga’s top goal-scorers Lukas Podolski.

During the course of the past 7 years, there has been lots of accusation at the over-reliance of youth and shopping in the bargain basement. So what is different this year? Has Wenger’s philosophy changed from investing in youth? Or perhaps there is more cash available at the club?

Back in early June in a supporters trust meeting, Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal Chief Executive, repeatedly stressed the importance of the self-sustainable model of the club. Alarm bells were ringing as fans have been concerned in the manner in which the club are heavily relying on UEFA to enforce financial fair play. It is no secret that the club are not likely to have substantial funds to compete financially with Europe’s big teams until atleast 2014 when the current sponsorship with Emirates expires.

So the question begs that with the handicap of having not as much resources as our rivals, why is the club on this current spending spree? There needs to be perspective when casting eye on Arsenal’s recent transfer dealings. Can the acquisition of Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla be classed as “splashing the cash”?

Arsenal have acted very early in the transfer market, conducting business in a lot of secrecy from the prying eyes of the North East. The most effective of all weapons that the club possess is the Champions League football next year. Players want the opportunity to compete among the best and the club can offer that next season.

The backroom staff have been hard at work over the course of the year. Gazidis and his team look to have stepped up their operations significantly to make sure Arsenal can sign some top quality players without being outdone by the rich boys. Credit not only has to be given to the scouting network, but also those that conducted research and identified available opportunities for the club to exploit.

German Efficiency

First there was the signing of Lukas Podolski from German club FC Koln. The 26 year old striker had a torrid time when he played for German outfit Bayern Munchen a few years ago. The idea that he doesn’t have the mentality to play in a big club has stuck among many around Europe. However, by his own admission, the move for to Munchen came too early in his career. Some players hit the ground running when they are young while others take time to mature and Podolski has found himself in the latter category. He doesn’t shy away from admitting his attitude was not acceptable during his time at the Allianz Arena but he has worked to put things right and became one of Bundesliga’s most prolific strikers.

The fee paid for Podolski was in the region of £10m and his wages are believed to be in the region of £90k a week. In comparison to the going rate of a player with over 100 appearances for the German national team, it is a good piece of business by Arsenal.

Same old Arsenal

Then there was the capture of Olivier Giroud from last season’s surprise package Montpellier. Giroud’s signing was shrewd business by the Gunners who capitalised on the €12m (~£9.6m) release clause of the Ligue 1 Golden boot winner. It is widely known that club’s around Europe have nightmares about Arsenal calling in for their players. It is a due to the club bidding bare minimum prices leaving the selling club being in a situation whereby they are forced to sell as the player in question has their head turned.

Montpellier’s president Louis Nicollin openly admitted his frustration at the low release clause on the player’s contract. Despite interest from clubs across Europe, Giroud favoured a move to the red half of North London and Montpellier were forced to sell at the release clause rate at what became Wenger’s second signing before the transfer window opened.

Struck Oil!

Finally came the long awaited signing of Santiago Cazorla from debt stricken Spanish outfit Malaga. The deal has been equally if not even more ruthless business by the club. Countless media and clubs across Europe have been left surprised at the manner in which Arsenal not only capitalised on Malaga’s dismal financial situation but also at the speed in which the club closed the deal out.

The Cazorla signing is one that that very few could have predicted. On the surface of it, this is a Spanish European cup winner with over 40 appearances for a national side that boast players in the calibre of Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas. Furthermore, Cazorla only moved to Malaga a year ago. As difficult it is to prise away a player in those circumstances, Malaga were looking in excellent shape, securing a Champions League Qualification spot in next year’s competition.  With that in mind, many clubs would consider it a waste of time and resources to make any enquiry on the player let alone submit a formal bid.

As I mentioned earlier, Arsenal look to have done a lot of research over the course of the year so Malaga’s financial reality would not have been new information. The club secured negotiations and a deal for Cazorla before Malaga’s financial state became apparent, while holding off late attempts from Chelsea to hijack the deal.

Despite several figures being thrown around, the fee is believed to be in the region of £11m plus £4m add ons. It’s a great price for a player like Cazorla and a low fee due to Malaga’s request to pay the money up front immediately so they can relieve some debt. It is not the norm to pay up whole transfer fees straight away and usually requires a series of instalments. Arsenal had the advantage of being able to pay money up front and in turn driving the transfer value down.

Splashing the Cash?

So with Podolski at ~£10m, Giroud at ~£9.6m, and Cazorla at ~£15m, Wenger has taken his summer spending to around £35m. Now if you consider that Chelsea paid out £36m for Eden Hazard is this what we can call “splashing the cash” or efficiency in the market?

Whereas Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea can spend £35m on one player, Arsenal must get by spending that amount over 3 or 4 players in total. Wenger’s budget every year has been known to be around the £40m although there has been massive debate in how much of that money has been made available to the manager due poor commercial income.

Yet, the whole situation is not so simplistic. The club must still sell before closing all transfer dealings for the summer and adhere to a 1-in-1-out policy. Whether van Persie, Bendtner, Squillaci or all of them are shown the exit door, it’s a continuous battle to balance the books in North London. One of the most high profile casualty of such a policy was Juan Mata last year. While the fee and terms were agreed with the player, the club could not close out the deal until Fabregas’ move to Barcelona was finalised and wages were freed. This allowed Chelsea to capitalise on the delay and Arsenal lost out on an excellent player.

Arsenal look to have made no such mistakes this time. While Wenger confirmed last week that Bendtner, Park and Squilacci will be leaving, the club have taken no chances in securing the signing of Cazorla.

Though attention must now turn towards improving the defence, Arsenal look like a club heading in the right direction. Now an exciting Premier League season beckons for the Gunners.

Has He or Hasn't He Got the Money - Arsenal Supporters Trust Meeting

A lot of anticipation was surrounding the Arsenal Supporters Trust meeting, especially from the media. Undoubtedly, many were expecting a tirade of “Wenger Out” cries and therefore it may be worth noting that perhaps not many of the back-pages will carry the story in a double page spread that Charlie Wyett from The Sun loves to compile.

There is a view that the Arsenal Supporters Trust are just a bunch of scarf waving Gooners that like to feel important but are insignificant in the running of Arsenal Football Club. A reminder therefore that the Supporters Trust board are due to meet Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and the Commercial Management team this week to discuss the views of the members from the meeting. In the past the pressure from the Arsenal Supporters Trust has also pushed the manager to take domestic cup competitions more seriously, resulting in our Cup final visit to Wembley last year.

So first up on the agenda was the issue of empty seats and ticket prices. There was a huge outcry from me and fellow Gooners on the sudden hike (approximately 6.5% increase) on the price of season tickets.
Essentially there were 2 choices for the board regarding the matter:

a) Increase ticket prices in small increments every year incurring the wrath of disgruntled fans year in year out who will remind them of the lack of trophies every summer.

b) Increase the price in one big hit after a few years. The advantage of this for the board is that they will take on all the abuse in one instalment and can amuse themselves over our anger at being mislead into thinking ticket prices were actually frozen for 5 years.

Unsurprisingly the board opted for the latter of the two options and the Supporters Trust unanimously agree they don’t want to see any more increases in the future.



The topic however, brought about some interesting points:

• 400 Club Level Season ticket holders attended one or less games last season. To put some perspective on that, I am a Club Level Season ticket holder. My seat is in the North Bank behind the goal and currently, I pay £3000 while Club Level seats at the half-way line are around £5000. The phrase “More money than sense” comes to mind.

• Opinion on the ticket exchange feature whereby season ticket holders cannot attend games and post their tickets on the website is that improvement is needed as it’s not always useful. For example, if a fan realise he/she cannot attend the game the night before the match, there is no way of posting the ticket so late on the site.

• Debate started on what happens if the club enters the Europa League. This is where a major shock comes in. While many supporters wanted the cup credits on season tickets to be separated, a fan plainly refused to attend any Europa League matches. His excuse was “I am used to dining at the top table, not at Joe’s tavern”. A truly amazing statement summing up the state of the modern football fan. Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion and therefore my opinion has always been that you support the team start to finish. Most fans usually wish the players on the pitch reflected the same passion as the fans. I personally would not want a player not bother simply because it’s the Europa League.

• A suggestion was made to drop ticket prices for all cup games. While most agreed, an AST member pointed out that it sends the wrong message and de-values the competition in the players’ eyes.

• Ticket prices would remain the same had Arsenal dropped down to the Europa League following defeat in Udinese (had it not been for an excellent penalty save by Szczesny).

• If the number of empty seats continue, Arsenal are likely to lose a lot of Television rights. TV companies like Sky Sports do not like to show matches with empty seats as it fails to attract the viewer’s interest at first sight. This is understandable as the noise generated by full crowds at stadiums gain bring attention to the match.

• Arsenal’s current season ticket waiting list is around 30,000 and is one of the most expensive in Europe (surprise surprise). The drop in the list over the last couple of years must have been a lot by my understanding. I am currently in the waiting list for a Gold Season ticket and in one season my position has gone from 44,000 to 26,000.

• A fan suggested there should be some loyalty scheme available to Arsenal fans that have held season tickets for years and the Arsenal Supporters Trust board will look into discussing this with the club. An example is Barcelona FC giving loyal season ticket holders around 5% discount off merchandise in the club shop. Of course, to Mr. Hill-Wood this would be the equivalent of giving away his kidney!

HAS HE OR HASN’T HE? IS MONEY AVAILABLE TO ARSENE WENGER TO SPEND ON TRANSFERS?




Now, I’m no financial expert and even a “Dummies Guide” book on finances would put me to sleep. An Engineer by profession, I have little know how on finances and therefore I will just state the obvious figures that even Harry Redknapp can understand without a twitch!
The Arsenal Supporters Trust know there is money available at the club. What we don’t know is whether the money is available for Arsene Wenger to spend on transfers. Anyone that says Wenger isn’t spending due to his stubbornness is as wrong as the one that says the board is hiding the cash. Ultimately, only the higher powers at Arsenal know the real story!
Once again, some very worrying points were brought up!

• The current Arsenal wage bill is £130m – which is the 4th highest in the league. In layman’s terms, 4th highest wages is what gets you 4th place and with the current wage bill, Arsenal have been finishing in 4th.
  
  Of course, it doesn’t exactly work that way! The problem, as famously known for a while now is that too many average players are sitting on high salaries that are limiting the top players earning higher wages. This in turn allows clubs that have more cash to take our players by offering them better contracts. Whatever way you look at it, a truly shambolic structure. In a nutshell, no one is willing to buy the likes of Squillacci, Denilson and Almunia with the wages they are earning (unless any of them decide to take a pay-cut) and this in turn is affecting the club’s wage structure. Players like van Persie can only earn a capped amount which makes us vulnerable to rival clubs.

• Of the £130m that is used for wages, Arsene Wenger is in charge of approximately £90m. Make of that what you will but it’s incredible that the manager of the football team is being given cash to distribute among the players. You have to ask if this is really the way a club should be run! Imagine ‘Arry being asked to do the payroll at Spurs! He would be chasing down Rosie for help faster than John Terry forgets about his wife!

• Stadium debt is in the region of £220m - £230m depending on how well you heard the speaker at the meeting.

• Approximately £30m cash reserve is kept in the bank for what’s essentially “darker days”. This is to cover the club for around 2 years should Arsenal fail to reach the Champions League. The money for this has been arranged through the property sale.

• £40m was available at the club on 1st June 2011. Regardless of whether this was for transfers or not, a further £55m was added with the sale of Fabregas and Nasri. Deducting taxes (as Rosie47 does) and loyalty payments (!) Arsenal Supporters Trust believe there is approximately £60m available although the club argued an additional £10m was paid out in agent fees on transfers and renewals of players like vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen.

• At present, the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) is Arsenal’s glimmer of hope. Off the field, the club can more than balance the books. However, if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League, then the Gunners may themselves become a victim of breaking FFP rules! Champions League football can be worth anything up to £45m a season for the club which is crucial for the long term sustainability.

• The commercial side of Arsenal is beyond a laughing matter. Manchester United make approximately £100m in revenue while Arsenal are and will be around the £30m until atleast 2014 when the deal with Emirates expires. This is hampering Arsenal’s chances of competing with the big boys financially. There has been talk a while back that the club are looking into the possibility of ending the deal with Emirates early and incurring any penalties in order to secure better future deals.

• Nike currently play Arsenal around £14m on shirts while Liverpool, who have not been in the Champions League for a couple of years now have landed £40m kit deal.

• Every club in Europe live in fear of Arsenal making a phone call for their player. This is due to the paltry figure Arsenal offer in as transfer fee and though clubs have the power to reject the offer, they cannot stop the player’s head being turned.

• In 2009, Alisher Usmanov and his team made their calculations and suggested a figure of around £100m to be injected to strengthen the team. Further, Red & White Holdings (Usmanov’s company) offered to put the larger part of the amount. The Arsenal board refused Usmanov’s offer as some of the wealthy shareholders were not ready to part with their own cash and give their share of the money.

• Usmanov’s lawyers will be working away as he passes the 30% mark to be classed as an “owner” of the club by the Premier League. The Arsenal board can technically accept any cash injection provided by Usmanov but that would require a VERY big change in philosophy. However at this stage, the board and Kroenke would rather die than accept any charity from Red and White holdings that will essentially be a gesture of acceptance that they were wrong all along!

• Kroenke is behaving in a way that makes it seem as though Arsenal and London is just a Tourist attraction for him. A novelty factor of owning something British. Some Americans take pride in knowing a posh British man from across the Atlantic and for Kroenke, Arsenal is like his very own show off piece. Ultimately, the club means very little to him.

• Arsenal’s opportunity in Nigeria (where the team will head to over the summer) is massive as the country can boast more Arsenal fans than in the UK.

Another very interesting point was brought up last night. We all may remember the Arsenal board once famously claimed that if they offered Arsene Wenger £100m, he would just give it back to them. While it may seem like an amusing story there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

The board had apparently offered Wenger £100m through the possibility of certain rights deal. Wenger refused the money and the rights deal was called off.

Now this clearly is the cue for a section of fans to take out their axes and pitch forks. However, we cannot see at this as the end of the story. Looking at a wider picture, we have to take into account that Arsenal must make approximately £20m profit every season. If we say for arguments sake that the £100m was given to spend over a period of 3 seasons and yet continuing to return profit of £20m a season, this means giving a return of around £160m by the end of 3 seasons (£100m initial injection + [£20m profit per year x 3 seasons = £60m] = £160m). That is an astronomical amount and while I accept that things don’t necessarily work that way, the money ultimately is not coming from any sugar daddy and some return on the £100m will be required or the club will start to go plunge downhill. The largest part of the income would have to come through Television and Season ticket renewals as competition prize like £2m for winning FA Cup is very little.

Of course it may be that the board don’t ask to see a high return on profits but then would this satisfy Financial Fair Play rules?

Arsene Wenger

For several seasons the debate regarding the suitability of Arsene Wenger to do the job at Arsenal has been under the microscope by the fans and media alike. The split among the fans opinion of the Frenchman has been divided and in broad context the majority of fans fall into 3 different camps:
1. The first group of fans believe Wenger has had all the money to do how he pleases and his stubbornness and blind faith towards his players has cost Arsenal silverware over the years.

2. The second group of fans believe the board and Wenger have been lying and there is no money to spend on transfers with stadium debts being top of the agenda.

3. The third group of fans fall into the camp that believe money is available but very little or almost no money has been made available for Wenger to spend in the transfer market.


Regardless of where your views lie on the matter there is one factor that unites the three camps: The impact of former Vice president David Dein’s departure from Arsenal.

A lot of the club’s infrastructure and scouting system has gone downhill since Dein left the club in the most unceremonious ways imaginable. The Supporters Trust has questioned in particular why it is that Arsenal have produced only two talents from the academy (Gibbs and Wilshere) in the last 10 years.

It is widely know that Dein and Wenger had a very close working relationship throughout their years at Arsenal. After all, it was Dein who appointed Wenger as the Arsenal manager back in 1996.



The day-to-day running of Arsenal was rather straight forward. Dein would bring forward the availability of players across the world whether its convincing a Sol Campbell to move to the red half of North London or signing a World Cup winner Gilberto Silva from Atletico Mineiro. Wenger would pick the ones he wanted and then Dein would see to it that the player is taking pictures with the Frenchman and a red shirt as soon as possible.

There was always a healthy rivalry between Managing Director Keith Edelman and David Dein. Edelman was the business minded figure at Arsenal and would often argue with Dein on money spent on players. Dein in the mean time would fight tooth and nail for Wenger’s corner and often won, landing a host of talent from across the world that eventually created title winning sides.

Then, after that miserable in April when it was announced that Dein left the club due to “irreconcilable differences”, large changes within the club’s hierarchy had to be made.

The departure of Dein was triggered due to his support for Usmanov and Red & White Holdings to take over Arsenal in order to allow the club to compete financially. The remaining members of the board did not support the idea and it therefore ended in the two sides parting their ways. Such was the fury towards David Dein from the board that they eventually sided with Stan Kroenke’s take over as Usmanov was from David Dein’s camp. The effects of this even affected one of the major shareholders that was Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith who was ousted from board after being seen having a coffee with a member from Red and White Holdings.

This is the key point which determined Arsenal’s future for the next few years. Wenger was handed what was essentially “full control”. To go into detail as to what kind of control he has would be speculating but it is clear that a large part of this control involved taking over the duties Dein carried out on a day-to-day basis. It was said that since Dein’s departure, Wenger became somewhat of a “nervous shopper”.

Furthermore, Wenger was audaciously involved on the panel of judges that chose what is essentially meant to be “the next David Dein”. Although I agree that Arsene should NOT have been allowed to choose his boss, I can only assume that the club was trying to re-create the same relation Dein had with Wenger. That is a very big task as Wenger and Dein were close friends and still are. Despite his departure, Dein and Wenger spend more time with each other Gazidis does day-to-day with the Arsenal manager. Wenger once described David Dein’s commitment to Arsenal as, “Red and White are the colours of his heart”. And that is quite clear when you see Dein walk through the turnstiles every match day like every other Arsenal fan.

As mentioned earlier, it is believed that of the current £130m of wages being paid out at the club, almost £90m is in Wenger’s control. This essentially makes one wonder what exactly Ivan Gazidis does on a day to day basis. The commercials have failed rather spectacularly and completing transfers has been a task more difficult than finding out Robbie Keane’s real boyhood club.
Conclusion

In conclusion, Wenger has had quite a task on his hands doing some of the former vice-presidents job and managing the team. Though he is far from being innocent at not doing the tasks properly and making some basic elementary tactical mistakes, the bigger issues at the club have to be addressed at this moment in time.

Lets put this a situation to you: You’re excelling at your current job till one day your boss tells you expand your workspace to accommodate for another person leaving. Considering you love the job and the company you’re working for, would you say no? Probably not.

Now consider this. Your new role (unsurprisingly) has had an impact on the job you previously carried out and you’re not doing as well as you used to. To add to the stress, the company you work for has had limitations put in place on resources. Despite all these measures, you can still perform among the best in your profession but your customers are ultimately unhappy. Your customers want you to provide the same level service as before despite your employer’s limitation and your expanded role which no other person of your profession has to carry out. What would you do? You’re paid well, love the job and love the company. Do you walk out?

Alternatively, would your employer have any ground to sack you considering the limitations and the strategy they took up since expanding your work scope? Probably not, unless they are willing to justify themselves at an employment tribunal.

My point being is that regardless of your opinion on the Wenger, the departure of Dein and abnormal position within the club that’s been handed to him has affected our performances. The board would not sack Wenger because ultimately, he’s bringing the money in and to many extents hiding the true story of what is going on behind the doors.

We have seen two types of Arsene Wenger over the last 15 years
Wenger Type 1: Excellent at Football management, worked in ideal situation with support and competent personnel around him.
Wenger Type 2: Above average at football management, worked with incompetent people while managing the team trying to keep them competitive enough to see out the financial darkness.

Question has to be asked, is it his fault that he has been given full control? Is it his fault that he seems to be working on players payslips when in fact he should only be concerned with how the players play? Is it his fault that he has no previous experience of doing duties as a board member and yet is doing the job?

Now you have to look at the possibility of the situation improving by sacking Wenger. Lets consider for a moment we all want him sacked, the board listens and Arsene is shown the door with an Au revoir. Now we assume Guus Hiddink didn’t sign for Anzhi Makhachkala and instead signed for Arsenal FC. What will this exactly improve? Will Hiddink be a better manager with an extended role of doing duties of the former Vice chairman? Or will the board sack Ivan Gazidis and decide a change is needed and bring in more competent personnel that can justify a £500k bonus and not go on holiday during a crucial point of the transfer window? Or will the board shift more of the responsibilities on to Gazidis and tell him to pull his weight a bit? I think either of those scenarios are unlikely.

Whatever his faults have been, Wenger has done the job thrown at him to the best of his ability. Whether that’s been good enough or not, the point is, circumstances have not been ideal. Does Ferguson/Redknapp/Dalglish/AVB have to go through the players wage packs and distribute the cash? Of course not, it’s not a manager’s job to do that and God help us all if Harry Redknapp is doing accounting work for a club. Wenger ultimately has to be managed by someone but it’s hardly his fault that the board hasn’t put someone in place already to do that. The average age of the people in the board is at the 70 mark and they have run themselves to the ground over building a new stadium but did not do enough to support the manager and build a team. Until stability at board level is not improved, changes in manager will do little to solve the problems. The board lock down agreement ends in April, it will be interesting to see if Kroenke has the right ideas to move forward!

Song's Departure Can be a Positive Move by Wenger

Reports have suggested that Alex Song has turned down the opportunity to sign an extension to his contract, giving rise to speculation of a move away from North London. While the speculation will anger many fans, the situation can be a positive move by manager Arsene Wenger.

Song started his career off as a centre back but his early performances for the Gunners were a cause for concern. In comparison to defenders in his age group, the Cameroon international struggled to read the game and his decision making was often speculative. This prompted the club to loan the player to Charlton for a season as Arsenal looked to boost his development.

In the mean time, the Gunners suffered defensive frailties following former midfielder Mathieu Flamini’s exit to AC Milan. Flamini’s final season at the Emirates was very impressive. The young midfielder operated well with Fabregas during the 2007-2008 season as Arsenal lost out on the league title by only 2 points.

Flamini’s stamina, speed and combative nature were key to Arsenal’s impressive season and the Frenchman would consistently cover approximately 13 to 14 km per game - almost 3km higher than the average for footballers during a 90 minute game.

Losing Flamini along with Diarra and Gilberto was a big blow for Arsenal. Denilson and Diaby’s poor performances eventually prompted Wenger to transform Alex Song into a defensive midfielder.

So how much responsibility was the young Song about to take on? It is widely believed that the benchmark for any defensive midfielder is former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makalele. The Frenchman excelled so well in the holding midfield role that many experts have since referred to the position as “The Makalele Role”.

Makalele was disciplined in his positional play and provided excellent cover for the back four as Mourinho deployed the former Real Madrid in his favoured 4-3-3 formation.

There is however a significant difference in the way Makalele and Song operate in that role. The analysis below from, Guardian Football Chalkboards, show the passes played by the two players during their respective games and provide an indication as to how the players carry out their duties.

While many of Makalele’s passes appear inside the Chelsea half, Song has a more adventurous role. Statistically, in the midfield along with Ramsey and Arteta, Alex Song was the most advanced of the trio against Bolton earlier this season.

When Flamini left for AC Milan, Wenger changed his formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 with Song and Wilshere taking up a deep role. The Arsenal manager claimed the new formation would allow Cesc Fabregas a more advanced attacking role while the midfield was marshalled by Wilshere and Song.

The two deep players however are not limited to a rigid formation. Wenger likes to allow his players freedom of movement but there have been several occasions in recent seasons when the management from the touchline had to instruct Song to maintain discipline and limit his attacking runs to avoid forcing the more creative players like Arteta and Wilshere to cover.

Maintaining discipline and efficiency is key in the holding role and an excellent example of this is Darren Fletcher. While the Scottish midfielder is not the most gifted on the ball he is efficient in shielding the back four and in breaking the opposition attacks. With Fletcher’s hard working nature in the Manchester United ranks, Ferguson has the luxury of varying the system between playing Rooney and Hernandez or Berbatov up front or switching to playing one striker and three in midfield with Anderson, Carrick and Fletcher.

Song does not posses the consistent hard working nature of Fletcher and over time, Wenger perhaps identified the former Bastia player’s lack of agility and speed as one of the reasons to play with two deeper midfielders. However, with Fabregas now plying his trade in Barcelona, perhaps Wenger may consider reverting back to playing with two strikers.

If Arsenal can replace the Cameroonian with a more agile defensive midfielder, there may be an opportunity for Wenger to get the best out of many of his attackers.

The Gunners have gifted finishers in van Persie, Park and Walcott while Chamakh alongside a strike partner. If Wenger invests in buying a midfielder in the stature of Yann M’Vila or Gokhan Inler, the Gunners boss can certainly have the luxury of variation in the way the team plays.

Van Persie with Chamakh or Park, as central strikers combined with Gervinho and Walcott on the wings would provide plenty of attacking power for the North London side, while Wilshere or Ramsey can operate as a Centre Midfielder alongside a holding player in the middle. Wenger may also have the option to vary his frontline by playing Walcott up front in his natural position along with van Persie and simultaneously utilise the pace of Oxlade-Chamberlain in the wide role.

Naturally, against more tough opposition, there is a greater need for greater numbers in midfield and a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation will be welcome options for the manager.
The key is to have a side that can play in a variation of systems to beat the particular opponent. Until there is a more versatile defensive midfielder who can operate in multiple formations, Arsenal must persist with the current system of playing with an additional midfielder alongside Alex Song.

Are England missing a trick with Theo Walcott?

If ever there has been a player to divide opinion among fans, journalists and legends, then look no further than beyond the borders of North London.

He sets an example of leading a quiet personal life in comparison to some of his England colleagues, but Theo Walcott has never quite evaded the media spotlight. After-all, he will always be known as the 17 year old who went to the World Cup without playing a single game in domestic top flight football.
More recently, his omission from the international team has certainly helped his career take a turn for the better. Lionel Messi even went on record and said "I thought it was a bad decision to leave Theo Walcott at home. I can only speak from experience but he was one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against. Barcelona players are not scared easily but I can tell you that when we played Arsenal he truly worried us"
Walcott came on as a second half sub to earn Arsenal a draw in the Champions League two seasons ago and manager Pep Guardiola was in awe of the Englishman’s talent pace by admitting, “You would need a pistol to stop him”.

Despite the high praises, England fans however are uninspired by the former Southampton player. His 3 goals in 19 starts is a far cry from Arsenal league record where he has 20 goals from 72 starts. And having playing some 16 hours less football than PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale, Walcott recorded more goals and assists than the Welshman last season.

His development has been closely observed by various figures in the game and the young Englishman has certainly received some very harsh and unfair criticism over the years. Yet, if there is ever a way to set an example of proving your doubters wrong, Walcott would be the ideal candidate having made improvements to his game with quality performances, most notably at Stamford Bridge this season.

There aren’t many left backs in the world better than former Gunner Ashley Cole. Yet, the Chelsea defender has struggled on many occasions when faced with the pace of Walcott. And his goal at the Shed End in the bridge would’ve even had Chris Waddle jump off his seat. The winger battled through 4 Chelsea players to unleash a blistering shot past Petr Cech as Arsenal took the points at the Bridge.

While the England manager Fabio Capello watched from the director’s stand, he may have been wondered why his playing style consistently fails to take advantage of Walcott’s ability. Why is it that a player producing excellent performances against the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea cannot do the same when faced with likes of Montenegro or Switzerland? Why is Arsene Wenger the only manager who benefits from the young Englishman’s pace and accurate finishing? Are England missing a trick in the way Capello deploys Walcott?

The answers may lie in the way Arsenal adopt their attacking style by utilising the wide men in the opposition half. There is always movement from the Arsenal’s midfielders off the ball. Gervinho, Van Persie and Walcott are constantly swapping roles in an attempt to confuse the defenders and create space.

Wenger allows his attackers to play with freedom in their movement and expression on the ball. His instruction to his creative players is to look for Walcott’s run after regaining possession inside their own half. Fabregas, Ramsey and Wilshere have on many occasions played the ball deep into the opposition half for the former Saints player to create opportunities.

Capello demands a style that is more a rigid in formation and strictly disciplined in attack with very few risks in passing. The result of this is a lack of creativity and monotonously predictable attacks by England. The team rely heavily on opposition making mistakes while the players are more vulnerable to being man marked and have little room for variation.

The England manager’s idea of Walcott running down the flank and crossing the ball for the centre forward is old fashioned. The full backs do not attack as much as they are used to for their clubs and only Rooney has the license to drift.

If Capello feels that playing a more free-form attacking role with his forwards would make his team vulnerable defensively, then perhaps he has neglected the improvements in Walcott’s defensive routine. Various teams, including the likes of Chelsea, Marseille and Sunderland have targeted Arsenal’s right side identifying former Charlton player Jenkinson as the weak link.

Analysing Walcott’s play on Guardian Chalkboards, the diagram on the left shows the wingers passing against Sunderland this season in comparison to his passes against Wolves two seasons ago. Walcott has attempted to track back more often this season to help the full back recently and has taken on more defensive responsibilities this season. His passes appear to be more direct and organised rather than short-horizontal in comparison to his performance two years go.







England should certainly adopt aspects of Arsenal’s attacking tactics when suitable, especially against teams likes Spain where they are likely to have reduced possession. Capello will be hoping midfielder Jack Wilshere will recover in time for the Euros. Wilshere’s understanding with Walcott at club level may well prove to be a catalyst for England’s success in the future.

A Night when they Stood to be Counted

There comes a point in a game when players and fans alike know if this will be their day or not. The majority of the Arsenal fans and staff went into the BvB Stadium knowing that on paper, this will be the most testing of the away fixtures in the group stages.

It is difficult to not envy the atmosphere the 80,000 Dortmund fans created on Tuesday night. This is a crowd that can equal intimidating match atmospheres witnessed in Turkey and even released a video to welcome the Arsenal to Westfalenstadion. Any team travelling into Dotmund’s arena could almost liken the surrounding to walking into a dragon’s lair.

When Neven Subotic found the ball at his feet 6 yards from goal and shaped up to shoot, it was as if time almost stood still for a moment as everyone watched in anticipation. It was like witnessing a ‘Matrix’ movie when the evil Agent Smith fires his weapons while you witness the ripple effect of every bullet in slow motion fly towards Mr. Anderson who in turn dodges the attacks and appears unscathed, much to the shock and dismay of the villain.

The hero in Dortmund was the young Polish Keeper Wojiech Szczesny who rather than dodge the shot threw himself on the way and emerged from the crowd of players with the ball safely in his grasp. It was a moment that hinted Arsenal will not leave north-west Germany empty handed, least not without a fight!

Jurgen Klopp, the man in charge of ‘The Borussians’ has been tipped to become one of the best managers of his generation. Wenger’s pre-match praise for Klopp had hints of jealousy towards a man who at the age of 44 has put together a fantastic team that ran away with the Bundesliga title last season. This is a team that was playing with utmost confidence and flair.

If there is a manager in Europe that does not envy some of the players at Klopp’s disposal, they would be lying. The centre back pairing of Subotic and Hummels is solid and Mario Gotze showed why Arsenal were ready to spend €40m for his services at the age of 19. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Gotze’s parents had decided he was too young to leave Dortmund.

Both sides missed key players in the tie. Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios and Arsenal’s midfielder Jack Wilshere and defender Vermaelenwere both nursing injuries. And despite the missing players, the quality of the game did not fall. Chances were created by both sides but it was a case of being clinical and when Kehl was dispossessed in his own half by van Persie, the Dutchman finished off the move with a sublime shot past the Dortmund keeper Weidenfeller to give Arsenal the lead.

It took a wonder goal on the 88th minute for Dortmund to salvage a point at home but at the final whistle, the air punch celebration from Wenger in the stands told its own story. Arsenal know at home they can play a more attacking game in the return fixture at home and it was crucial to avoid going home empty handed against such a tough opposition.

The Gunners performed well despite the sickening ban posed on the manager. Wenger, who had to stay behind after final whistle in case he ran to the touchline to give game-changing tactics to his team, was marshalled away by 2 UEFA prison guards. You can almost the match the scene to a serial killer on death row being taken to meet his family for the last time as Wenger was finally allowed to meet his players. No action has yet been taken against Bulgaria for the racist chants towards England’s players but UEFA seem to have got their priorities right by imposing Wenger’s touchline ban.

Manager for the day Pat Rice said there was a “buzz” in the dressing room after the uncertainty in recent times. There is now a sense of unity within the squad. Van Persie is proving to be a real leader on and off the pitch, while Koscielny and Song looked very assured alongside Sagna who has become an ever present in the current squad.

Despite losing the creativity of Fabregas and Nasri, the performance in Dortmund was a message that this team Arsenal was ready to fight tooth and nail to be counted. They are keen to silence the doubters, but more importantly they are working together as a unit for a common purpose rather than the individual glory some players were seeking last season.

Undoubtedly, the Gunners still need a very creative player in January, perhaps in the stature of Hazard or Gotze. For the moment however, Arsenal look to have hit the ground running.

New Twist Reveals Real story on Nasri's Contract Agony

Reports surfacing today suggest that over the course of the past year, there has been a lot of drama surrounding Samir Nasri’s future at Arsenal.

Last summer, Arsene Wenger suggested he was unconcerned regarding Samir Nasri’s contract situation at Arsenal. At that point, both Nasri and Wenger had reached a verbal agreement that Nasri will sign a contract extension by October 2010.

The Arsenal board however, failed to follow up on the verbal agreement between Wenger and Nasri and as the season progressed, no written contract was presented to Nasri nor his agent to tie the midfielder to the club.

The actions of Peter Hill-Wood and the board is likely to have angered Samir Nasri, who is again linked with a move to the Eastlands after Wenger suggested yesterday that he is unsure of the Frenchman’s future.

“It is not completely sorted that Samir will stay, but I want him to stay. He knows that. Hopefully we can sort that out in the coming weeks.” said the Arsenal manager.

Whether the Arsenal board had made the mistake of trusting a player with words or not, it is undoubtedly gross incompetence by the staff at Arsenal and not for the first time as comparisons are drawn with the Flamini situation that saw him seal a move to Italian giants AC Milan.

And there is sure to have been some manner of heated exchange at some point between the board members and Wenger over the future of his midfielder. Wenger rates Nasri among the top midfielders in the world and looks upon him as a key to Arsenal’s success as Barcelona continue to pursue interest in Fabregas.

It may seem elementary business conduct to produce written contract once there has been a verbal agreement, but chairman Peter Hill-Wood and Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis are likely to brush off the blame onto Nasri’s loyalty issues.

The coming weeks will be crucial in shaping Arsenal’s coming season. Arsene Wenger remains confident that he can hold on to the talented midfielder although Samir Nasri may have already made up his mind.

Gael Forces Wenger Dilemma

By Walid Hai

Reports surfacing yesterday are suggesting that Gael Clichy may be ready to enter contract negotiations with Arsenal.

At the end of the season in May, sources close to the club had confirmed that Wenger was ready to let the full back leave, with Roma looking the likeliest destination for the French international. However, Sky Sports have now claimed the Arsenal manager is keen to hold on to the 25 year old defender, the last remaining member of the Invincibles team.

Wenger reportedly said, “We have started talks with Gael and want him to stay".

Given that the story is true, it is a rather interesting turnaround in Wenger’s decision as Clichy’s inconsistency has come under scrutiny several times since he conceded the last minute penalty at the game against Birmingham City at St. Andrews in 2008.

The Frenchman has often been able to recover catastrophic errors due to his pace and high fitness levels. His lung bursting dribbles into opposition territories and interceptions during key moments has provided some difficult attacks for opposition teams to deal with.

The problem however has always been his ability to win 1-on-1 duels. The likes of Lennon and Young have tried and failed to outpace Clichy in a bid to get behind the Arsenal defence. However, there are the likes of Nani who also previously attempted to beat the full back with and later adopted a more effective solution to use an over-lapping full back and double up on that flank leaving the left back to make some poor decisions.

Wenger may have identified Clichy’s weakness, but with few options available, perhaps keeping hold of the full back may be the best solution. Gibbs is still a long way from gaining consistency and proving his fitness, while Armand Traore is likely to look for a permanent move away from North London in search of regular football.

In terms of the transfer market, there is few options available. Everton’s Leighton Baines has been mentioned several times. While Baines has had a good season, it is unlikely Wenger will want to pay the premium for the English international with the centre backs being top priority this summer.

And Clichy has several times expressed his desire to remain with the club. He has often mentioned feeling “home-sick” every time he has had to stay away from London for more than 2 weeks.
The news will no doubt leave Liverpool fans slightly upset as the Merseyside club desperately seeking a left back. Aurelio’s injury concerns coupled together with Paul Konchesky’s torrid performances meant Liverpool may have been in with a chance of securing Clichy’s signature with the Frenchman’s current contract expiring next summer.

With few doors open to Wenger in terms of a replacement, the Arsenal manager may just opt to stick with his current left back for the coming season.

Arsenal Look to Argentina

Arsenal look set to complete the signing of Ricardo Alvarez from Velez Sarsfield. As the clocks tick down to the start of the season, fans in North London grow more and more frustrated. While Manchester United are spending the cash with the signing of Ashley Young, the only signing that looks set for Arsenal is the fairly unknown Argentinian Midfielder Alvarez.

With a host of clubs chasing the 23 year old highly rated Velez Sarsfield player, Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini has lifted the lid on the situation by claiming Alvarez has already signed for the North London outfit. "We did have a concrete bid for Alvarez and had him in our grasp back in January," he told Radio Kiss Kiss.

"Unfortunately, we didn't complete the move in time, so we lost him to Arsenal. At this moment he has already signed for the Gunners".

It is already known that among the host of players that have been shown the exit door at the Emirates is Denilson. The Brazilian, who is widely recognised as the hate figure for Arsenal fans has been below par for a while and with Rosicky's regular poor performances becoming somewhat of a trademark, Wenger is looking to refresh the midfield ranks.

So what do we know about Alvarez? His 3 goals in 14 games is unlikely to fill the Arsenal fans with optimism for what is going to be a critical season in the club's future. Many fans have already labelled him the, "Rosicky treatment table replacement", due to his injury record. However, he is known as "Ricky the Wonderful" by the Velez fans and has produced some outstanding performances this season. The midfielder has an eye for goal and has deceptively quick feet. His movement both on and off the ball reflects his ability to think two- three steps ahead of play and is a player clearly suited to a bigger league than Argentine Primera Divsion.

Alvarez will face stern competition from Ramsey and Wilshere for a starting place in midfield. Undoubtedly a player with huge potential, he can either turn out to be the next Iniesta, or the next Diaby. Denilson's exit may bring joy for Gooners across the country, but only the coming season will tell whether Wenger is replacing like for like.


See Alvarez video compilation here

The Arsenal Post-Mortem Begins - Where it Went Wrong

The end of the season had brought about mixed feelings among Arsenal fans. While there is relief at a painful season coming to an end, a long summer of no football and transfer rumours is now underway.

Craven Cottage was ringing with chants from the Arsenal fans urging Wenger to spend money while at the same time there was a continuous 10 minutes of, “We love you Arsenal”, that left the Fulham fans bemused.

When Arsene Wenger emerged from the Fulham tunnel and jogged across to the dugout, chants of, “One Arsene Wenger”, was voiced by the Gooners. Althought faith in Wenger’s ability remains within the core support at Arsenal, there is a demand for a change in the club’s philosophy!




So what really has gone wrong in North London? The move to the Emirates Stadium has proved a financial master class considering the state of many clubs around the country. Yet, the trophies have come almost as rare as yellow cards for Barcelona players for simulation.

Despite 6 trophyless seasons, the real problems started in 2007 when David Dein departed the club. The Champions League Final and Carling Cup Final in 2006 and 2007 respectively were settled largely due to tactical flaws and at the time, Wenger was still accountable to Dein regarding the teams progress. However, since his departure, the Arsenal fans have only been “treated” to one final appearance.

Dein’s departure, on the back of some serious disagreements with the rest of the board members, was a pivotal moment in Arsenal’s history and the start of a series of board room mis-management by Chairman Peter Hill-Wood.

It is no secret that David Dein ran the show in North London for a while and had major influence on Wenger’s transfer targets. At one point, it even seemed no transfer was beyond Arsenal’s reach as Sol Campbell was convinced to move across North London to sign for Arsenal while rejecting big money offers from Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Such was Dein’s visionary characteristics, he consistently identified opportunities for Arsenal to move forward and compete along with Europe’s Elite Clubs.

Dein’s replacement was former MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis. At a crucial time when everyone at the club from boardroom members to stewards were working hard to complete a smooth transition to the new stadium, the higher powers at Arsenal decided to appoint a man with no relevant experience in the Premier League and has worked on the side of the Atlantic where rugby is played with padded protection and is called football.

Since his arrival, Gazidis seems to have largely concentrated his efforts on the ‘Arsenalisation’ of the stadium that has no doubt kept a small section at the Emirates happy while this season’s tour of China has been added to a long list of mistakes made by the club.

More worrying for Arsenal fans is that key transfer targets Wenger has identified returned no results. Xabi Alonso was not signed due to the Arsenal board refusing to meet the initial £14m demanded by Liverpool before Real Madrid swooped in the following season for the Spanish International’s signature.

Further errors have included the failure recruit Pepe Reina, Gary Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Gokhan Inler, all of whom did not sign due to breakdown in transfer fee negotiations.

The fans are reassured every summer that cash is available to Wenger. Yet, despite cash in the region of £30m-£40m, the club refused to pay £3m asking price for Schwarzer.

Hill-Wood was rather outspoken on the issue with Mark Schwarzer and I wonder whether or not Wenger has been in complete control of how cash is spent. For a manager that spent £10.5 million for Thierry Henry, and £2m for Jens Lehmann, would an extra £1m to address a goalkeeping issue he has identified be regarded as paying over the odds? Or are we to believe that Wenger has become a very bad manager in a short space of time?

If Wenger is masking the problems at boardroom level as his own shortcomings, he will have to face the criticism levelled by those branded by Hill-Wood as “Silly”. Wenger must address the tactical mistakes he has made this season, especially the constant need to play Nasri out wide – a decision that backfired in the final following Rosicky’s below-par performance.

A very long summer awaits and over the next few weeks, I will look at every position in depth and the players that will help this Arsenal side move forward.

A Tale of 3 Enemies

On a sun drenched afternoon in North London, 3 highly unpopular figures among the 60,000 crowd at Ashburton Grove marched off the field. They were wearing neither the red of Arsenal nor the black of Manchester United.

Referee Chris Foy and his assistants were jeered off the pitch as the 3D Cameras captures some very poor refereeing. A clear handball by Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic was waved away leaving the faithful at the Clock End stunned along with the Manchester United fans who breathed a sigh of relief.

My seat at the Emirates was directly in line with the position assistant referee Andy Garratt at the moment the incident occurred. Strangely, other than Mr. Garratt, everyone around me including the Manchester United fans, managed to spot Vidic’s hand flying out to deny van Persie a goal scoring opportunity from Walcott’s cross.

It was far from the only mistake within the first 45 minutes that Foy and his assistants were responsible. Challenges from Vidic and Fabio went unpunished while Foy managed to also get himself in the way of 3 Arsenal passes within the first half.

Manchester United also had grounds for complaint in second half for a penalty denied to Michael Owen. It was a big call at that stage of the game as Ferguson pointed out rather cynically in his post-match interview. To suggest his side do not get the big decisions is insane. United have got lucky many a times this season and if Fergie really believes his side are hard done by then perhaps he would join me in the away travels when Dowd done fantastically in Newcastle, or mysterious 4 minutes of added time post Liverpool game. Maybe Ferguson would like to replay the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in the winter when Ferdinand got away with a kung-fu kick on Sagna and Howard Webb pointing to the spot for an alleged "deliberate handball".



Decisions have not been kind to us for a long time now. Atleast not as kind as the blue side of London had yesterday as Chelsea watched Sunday's game eagerly. Arsenal played the better football and the result reflected the quality of football played by two giants of the English League.

The likes of van Persie, Walcott, Nasri, Wilshere, Ramsey, Arshavin and Fabregas pose a better attacking unit than Manchester United have. However, along with a solid defence, Manchester United has something that Wenger cannot teach his talented squad; a winning mentality and a battling quality that only champions possess.

Since February, results have not gone Arsenal’s way and the Carling Cup Final was arguably the most important game in the clubs recent history. Sections of the footballing world write off the importance of the League cup but forget that it is this competition that can push players to an extra level with a positive mental preparation for a final sprint to the finish.

Great players of the past, the likes of Adams, Roy Keane, Vieira and Hansen have all said that to do it the first time is the most difficult. Had we won that game against Birmingham, Sunday’s game would’ve been far from a meaningless game for Arsenal.

Wenger said before the game “90% Manchester United will win the title. They have been efficient offensively and defensively”.

And despite criticism and shortcomings in certain areas, United have used the efficiency and mental strength from past seasons to place themselves in the driving seat this season.

Samir Nasri said in the Arsenal match day programme “For me the difference between the sides is that we always try to play good football, while Manchester [United] are not scared to drop back, wait for their opponent and play on the counter. They are used to playing like that and we are not - that’s the big difference. We are used to playing our football and always try to score one more goal than the opponent. It’s difficult to change that approach just game by game, maybe that’s what we need to add next year”

It’s a valid point made by Nasri who produced an impressive first half performance before being substituted due to a hamstring scare.

The afternoon however belonged to the young Welshman Aaron Ramsey, who ironically snubbed a move to Old Trafford for red and white of Arsenal. He described his performance as, “the happiest day since I broke my leg”.

A year after the horrific tackle at Stoke City, Ramsey produced a magnificent display to cap his comeback from the double leg fracture with a goal. His work rate from kick off made it very difficult for the United midfielders and Ji-Sung Park was the culprit for failing to track Ramsey’s run as the Welshman latched on to van Persie’s cut back to score what proved to be the winner as Park was left watching
The win was justified as Manchester United looked far from champions and out of ideas while the Gunners were out to enjoy their football for the remainder of the season. A strange season continues to unfold and the only thing that is certain is that the title race is still on!

Ref is to Blame for Arsenal Win

It was music to the ears to hear the doubters’ fall of their armchairs when the final whistle blew at an exuberant and deafening Emirates stadium on Wednesday night.
As the Arsenal fans and players celebrated away, certain sections of those that whole heartedly knew about this, “battering” that Arsenal were due, worked well into the night to compile the excuses for Barcelona.

All of a sudden, it seemed as though everyone in the world was either a Barcelona or an Arsenal fan. There were many that completely refused to give Arsenal and any of the players credit for the win, instead focusing on how the referee “helped” us. None of them even managed to spell referee after Dowd’s performance at St. James’ Park or Howard Webb at the Theatre of Scums. All of a sudden, it was the “referee that won Arsenal the game” because the Arsenal are never allowed to be credited with a hard fought victory. It’s difficult to understand what allegiance these people suddenly have towards Barcelona.

I don’t doubt that Messi’s goal was wrongly deemed offside. Nor do I deny that they kept the ball for the majority of the 90 minutes. Isn’t that a tune we have heard before? An accusation levelled at us several times when we played Chavski or Manure? Last season, we completely played the Chavs and Manure off the park both home and away but lost both games. This season, the game at the Bridge was one of the most one sided football matches Arsenal played in and yet our team was accused of the “tippy tappy football with no end product”.

So where have those critics gone now? Why are they now changing tact to claim that the team that kept possession the most should have won? The claims of “handball” against Djorou and Arshavin were sickening. I have watched the whole game twice now and looked at the claims countless times and at no point can you ever even claim them as handballs.

Our performance was solid to say the very least. Spuds manager Twitchy claimed we were playing “suicide football” in the first half and surprising as it is, he was right to an extent. It was a bit of suicide football but Barca are not used to teams playing a high defensive line against them. They are used to the opposition defending deep and being able to pass around the box to eventually one-two their way through. Wenger however, gave them a different challenge to deal with on Wednesday night.

As I mentioned, we played a very high line against them. This meant that for Barcelona to find an opening, they would have to pick out an eye of the needle pass or a chip that would allow Villa or Messi to beat the offside trap and latch on to the ball. Any time Messi, Alves or Villa attempted any dribbles, they would get over crowded and shut down – lesson learnt from last season.

There was another problem Wenger threw at them to deal with. Unlike the tactical advice which pundits were suggesting (best way to beat them is letting Barcelona have the ball and defend deep, Arsenal pressed every Barcelona player at every opportunity, forcing them to play their passes quickly. Every pass that was played in our half was hunted down by an Arsenal player. To be able to play a defence unlocking pass, space and timing are key factors, neither of which was in Barca’s favour.

They did twice, manage to find the killer pass in that first half when Villa scored and Messi (for every man and his dog thinking he scored) missed the one on one. It’s fair to say they were wasteful and Arsenal are more than aware of the whole “not taking your chances” situation.

I was surprised to see the way Barca set out for the second half. They looked leggy and tired; Messi seemed uninterested at times, Xavi looked as though he is more interested in proving to the world that Barca players can pass the ball to each other rather than posing a threat and the rest all looked like they ran a marathon. Whether this is due to the pressing in the first half they are not used to, or a lack of squad rotation from Guardiola or even a combination of both, it was certainly a factor that played a part in our victory. We started to see more of the ball and created some openings.

While Guardiola surprisingly went for the “hold on to the lead” approach with his substitutions that Barca are not used to, Wenger made a change that left many rather baffled. Song was taken off to avoid the team being reduced to 10. I expected Denilson to replace him and instead, Arshavin came on which proved to be a masterstroke. Alves now had some pace to deal with that would test his non-existent defensive skills. Nasri was moved more central with Bendtner coming on for Walcott on the right.

Van Persie’s goal was fantastic to say the least. Most critics decided to point to Valdes’ inability to do simple goalkeeping, from which it is clear that they haven’t seen much of Barcelona in the past. Clichy’s pass over the top was immaculate and Van Persie looked up to find the angle and unleashed a shot that beat Valdes at the near post.

The celebration was rather like a Mexican wave at the ground. I was sitting at the clock end corner and all those sitting near me were wondering why the North Bank are continuing to celebrate Van Persie ruffle the side netting. After a while it registered that he scored and the celebration was immense from the fans while Van Persie even got a rare bear hug from Wenger.

When Bendtner was substituted on for Theo at 1-0, I made a sarcastic comment that this substitution would win the game. I was half made to eat my words as Bendtner played an important part in the second goal which he did not get credit for. After Koscielny won the ball, he distributed it wide to Bendtner, deep inside the Arsenal half. The Dane drew 2 players towards him before passing it out to Wilshere who had some space to pick out his next pass. Wilshere found Fabregas who found Nasri in acres of space at the other end. In came Arshavin to latch on to Nasri’s pass and curl it into the goal. Oh how the Gooners celebrated that goal!




Arsenal kept solid, defended strongly and saw the game out. The Emirates was buzzing from start to finish and given the history of the teams in recent times, the celebrations were extra jubilant.

Special praises should go to Jack Wilshere and Laurent Koscielny. While the former is inexperienced at only 19, Wilshere didn’t look out of placed, nor overawed by playing up against Xavi and Iniesta. As for Koscielny, he was playing in lower French leagues only 2 years ago. He’s not the perfect defender, but he kept a check on Messi which is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination.

The return leg will be MASSIVELY difficult. Barca have scored 19 goals in 6 knockout stage games in the past 2 seasons at Camp Nou conceding only 3 (1 to Arsenal and 2 to Lyon). Out of the 6 teams in those knock out stage games, only Chavski managed to come out with a 0-0 draw.

Despite that, as we may already know, Arsenal love these challenges. We were the first team to win at the Santiago Bernebeu, and came out with a victory against AC Milan and Inter Milan at the San Siro, while let’s not forget the hostile atmospheres of Celtic Park and the Şükrü Saracoğlu in Istanbul when we faced Celtic and Fenerbahce respectively.

Arsenal must look for the away goal and use Walcott’s pace at every opportunity while keeping it tight at the back. Barca will play with an obsessive attacking mindset and Arsenal must exploit this to hit them on the counter. To say it will be tough is an understatement, but I, like the other Gooners, will be there at the Camp Nou to lend the full support. They may have a strong attacking force, but we’ve got Cesc Fabregas!

COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arsenal's Cesc Appeal

1 month and 29 days since the Champions League draw and the noises from “that lot” in Spain has continued to fall in dribs and drabs. The ex-president of Barca, Joan Laporta (girl’s name) claims it would be “Justice” for our captain to return there. I’m wondering how much of a “justice” it was when they thought he wasn’t worth the effort when Arsenal “stole” him. The manner in which the media portray the situation, you would think Wenger carries around the guns from Armoury Square to different areas of Europe forcing clubs to give up their young talent.



Clearly Joan is bitter that he couldn’t sign Fabregas with the sickening bid that put in for him in the summer. To believe they bid £30m, the same amount for Cesc as Loserpool did for Carroll (girl’s name) is a complete farce. Wenger and the board done well to throw that back in their faces. If Cesc was SO valuable to Barcelona, perhaps they should have done more to keep him.

Why is it that only Fabregas and Pique were snatched while the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and co – all of whom were bright talents managed to stay put? It is not easy for a 15 year old to leave his home town, his family, his friends and move to England – a country that not many from Spain/South America fancy (take a bow Mascherano, Reyes and Robinho). Clearly, Cesc felt he had to move for his career to take off.

The bloggers over at Le Grove have produced the below picture, the words of which will be sung to the tune of “We’ve got Cesc Fabregas” tomorrow.

On to the game itself, the usual talk from all corners is that we will get a hammering based on the 2nd leg of last season where we played without…
Djorou
Gallas
Song
Fabregas
Arshavin
van Persie

EVERY article/show I read/listen to ignore the fact that all the above, who are the spine of the team, DID NOT play the 2nd Leg and in fact most of the first leg when Gallas and Arshavin went off injured while van Persie did not play. We are then expected to believe that the media has no bias against Arsenal.
Barcelona will not find it easy as Arsenal will not show them the respect we did in the first leg. Van Persie is on form along with the captain and it looks likely that Nasri will be fit although I expect him to come on later in the game.

As far as Barcelona are concerned, in my view, David Villa is the biggest threat. He is a player that can turn just about any touch from anywhere into a goal and you would have to go back some time to find a player with that kind of a golden touch. The plaudits are always for Messi wherever you look. He is one of the best players in the world with magical skills deadly enough to kill off any team. He is a fantastic footballer and it is astonishing that with his style of play he is almost never injured. Whether that is a reflection on the physical nature of the English Premier League or the Hormone doses he had is a different matter. Surely it is not performance enhancing…is it?

Regardless, it promises to be a fantastic game at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow. Admittedly, with the quality Barca have at their disposal it will be massively difficult for us. Nevertheless, I will be singing my heart out for the Gunners at the Grove tomorrow and when I’m stood up in the skies at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack's "Mediocrity"

Jack Wilshere’s full England debut has drawn mixed reactions from the media. While there are those that acknowledge he was played out of position, in a formation he is not used to and still managed to complete a 93% passing success, others that are more critical of him expecting a shower of goals and perhaps some Ronaldo style show-boating

Admittedly, when I watched Wilshere at the start of the season against Liverpool, I was slightly concerned. I’m not of those that would say he looked out of place in the team. He seemed to be lost at times being unable to read the game and while the media were glorifying him, I was starting to get concerned how he would handle the pressure coupled with some average performances.

Then dawned the game against the Spuds in the Carling Cup. Albeit both teams went for weaker line-ups, the game was a real show of Wilshere’s ability. He was constantly hacked down by the Spuds midfielders who just could not handle his bursts of pace, quick one-twos and the way he would breeze past them with complete control of the ball reminiscent of Alexander Hleb. He kept his temper in check throughout the game, not reacting to fouls and attempts to displace his positioning.

In many ways, Jack needed this type of a game where he could be given complete control of the midfield. The game no doubt built his confidence and he hasn’t looked back since. The Champions League game in Belgrade a few days later helped him to build on the confidence and bring belief in his own ability. This was especially highlighted by the quick one-twos he played with Arshavin and his ability to command play in the centre.

This is where many of us truly grasped what he is capable of. We saw flashes of it in the Emirates Cup where he toyed with Rangers midfield and defence, making them look amateur. Wenger kept faith with Jack from the very first game in Anfield at the start of the season and it has paid off.

Arsene has always emphasised that the top players in the world are the ones that know how to do the basics well. Christiano Ronaldo is a prime example of that. When he started off in the Premier League his only dimension of playing was to do 10 step overs and leave the ball 20 yards behind – a trick that defenders learnt to deal with. Over time, Fergie drove home the idea of keeping things simple and using his pace as a weapon and it changed the player.

That brings me to last night’s game. Wilshere’s passing and positioning was immaculate and a real testament to the way Arsenal play the game. Every pass he made was followed by taking up a position to receive again. He constantly formed the triangles to make sure there is always an option to pass to and receive. Possession is 9/10th’s of the law and as long as you keep possession, the opponent cannot score. It’s basics but key foundations to a great player and the rules Jack abides to in his game.

Wilshere has a while to go before he is mentioned in the same breath as other world class players, but the signs are looking good as long as he remains focused and with a team that concentrates on building technical players.

On to the Wolves game, I believe bar Djorou, we should stick to playing our first team and forget about the Champions league until 6pm on Saturday. We have a fantastic opportunity this season with our rivals having the more tricky fixtures to play and looking fragile away from home.

Arshavin looks like he’s getting back on form and Fabregas, Van Persie and Song were all spared from playing internationals midweek. This will no doubt give us a small boost before some very important games. Wolves will be tricky after their weekend result and let’s not forget that they have taken big points off the top teams this season. We were fortunate to some extraordinary saves by Lukasz Fabianski in the reverse fixture at the Molineux earlier in the season. Last season, we needed a late late goal from Bendtner to rescue us in this fixture. Let’s hope we don’t leave it so late again this year.

COYG!!!!

Final Note: I could not let this go without having a dig. People never really realise how truly amazing 03/04 season was. So this is to the Manure fans…INVINCIBLES? YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH!!!

Arsenal's Crime Against Referees

Joey Barton seems to have revolutionised his methods. While it must be noted that he has gained small intelligence in understanding that he cannot punch anyone directly on the pitch (see videos of his clash with Gamst-Pedersen), he has now decided that the only way he can release his hate for the rest of the world that has wronged him all his life is to take it out on “tackles”.

Needless to say, it is clear to see which of the journalists reporting on the game was actually at St. James’ Park and the ones that watched the 15 minute highlights and wrote in depth criticism of Arsenal to focus away from their lack of professionalism.

It was a long trip up to St. James’ Park for us travelling fans and fantastic to witness such a game (note: the word ‘fantastic’ was inserted after we got confirmation of Man Utd’s result against Wolves on the train).

Throughout the game, there were several incidents that took place off the ball, which the Match of the day crew would cut out. Joey Barton had spent most of the first half chasing Arshavin’s shadow and trying to work out if Clichy was a left back or a left winger. His frustration was evident on several occasions where tried to either stick a leg or kick out to bring down Arshavin and we’ve all seen ‘that’ challenge towards the end of the first half when he eventually got him.

Referee Phil Dowd however has had a selective vision for a while now. Or perhaps his eyes can only calculate what happens in a red shirt. It may be worth for Vic Akers to note that the Gunners may have some luck wearing the yellow kit next time Mr. Dowd is refereeing. There wasn’t a booking of any sorts and Barton felt like it must be Christmas already, getting away un-cautioned time after time.

So at 4-0 down, for everyone it seemed the game was over. Atleast it was for those great Newcastle fans that left after 10 minutes.

Let’s now get on to the sending off incident. Firstly, there is never any excuse for Diaby to react that way. Yes, we know he has gotten injured before but the least he should have done is learnt from the incident with Paul Robinson in the Bolton game earlier in the season. It was a very bad challenge on Diaby and Robinson escaped without warning that day. Luckily at the time, there were players close to Abou to stop him from getting to Robinson. HE SHOULD HAVE LEARNT FROM THAT EXPERIENCE! Unfortunately he didn’t and it seems no one had a word in his ear about it either.

There is an illness/mental disorder among certain sections of the media that it is ok to break a leg and call it unfortunate just as long as you get the ball…eventually. Yes, Barton got the ball but he followed through on Diaby. Those sections of the media standing up for Barton’s action - saying what a fair tackler he is have clearly been watching Match of the Day and therefore did not see the evidence from the first half Barton has been looking to start some trouble.

I need not mention that Kevin Nolan got away with the same offence as Diaby. You all know everything that happened after and there is no need for me to go into detail on that.

Let’s look at this seasons refereeing situation. For a long time now many Gooners have accepted a certain degree of bias against Arsenal. Those of you now a face towards the screen like you smelt something nasty might as well close this window now and start looking at something else. I go to just about every home and away game and I have witnessed the amongst fellow Gooners the “let’s get on with it” attitude. I applaud the fact that for a while now, we have focused on backing the team rather than curse and abuse the referee...atleast up until the Everton game.

However, it seems the referee’s are taking advantage of the “get on with it” attitude from fans and players recently. It has resulted in our captain eventually hitting out at the refs – “Oh such sickening crime; dirty Cesc Fabregas must be banned from playing football forever for his disgustingly vile assault on Lee Mason” – give me a break! In recent days the decision making has become nothing short of being abysmal and something has to be done about it.

Lee Mason was an absolute joke and those who think he is beyond any conspiracy, take some time to look at this excellent analysis WRITTEN BEFORE THE EVERTON match.

Just off the top of my head I can think of several decisions JUST THIS SEASON that have been nothing short of a joke.

Sunderland v Arsenal – Mysterious length of injury time together with EXTRA injury time till Sunderland scored an equaliser.

Fabregas’ handball against Spuds that gave them a penalty from…wait for it…Mr. Phil Dowd.
SAME incident happens in the match between Wigan and Arsenal at the DW Stadium, this time by a Wigan player and nothing is given to Arsenal. Justice?

Spuds managed to take a free kick 10 yards from where the incident occurred gaining a “fair” bit of advantage from which they scored the winner. Take a bow again Mr. Dowd.

Paul Robinson’s “tackle” on Diaby went unpunished.

Joke of a penalty given to Manchester United from Howard Webb when Gael Clichy used his arm as support to get up from the ground and Nani kicked the ball against his hand.

Rio Ferdinand’s karate kick on Bacary Sagna completely ignored by Howard Webb.

Clattenberg booking Fabregas against Huddersfield in the FA Cup after Cesc was wrestled to the floor by a Huddersfield player when he tried to return the ball to them for a throw in.

Wilshere booked within 4 minutes of Everton match by Lee Mason and yet most Everton fouls which were FAR worse went unpunished.

Lee Mason’s insistence on not playing advantage or booking the constant cynical fouls on Walcott every time Arsenal were on the counter attack.

Louis Saha’s offside goal that every man and his dog could’ve spotted bar Lee Mason and his assistant.

Mikel Arteta’s challenge on Fabregas which the media ignored and decided to look at Cesc’s retaliated challenge.

Phil Dowd – Joey Barton “challenges”.

Phil Dowd – Kevin Nolan on Szczesny

Phil Dowd – Newcastle Penalty

Phil Dowd – Newcastle Free kick before the equaliser.

NOTE: THE ABOVE LIST COVERS HALF A SEASON!

Can you honestly say that the referees have been fair to us when I can draw up a list like the above off the top of my head covering only half a season?

Despite all that, we are in the Carling Cup, the FA Cup, 2nd in the League and in knock out stages of Champions League.

Tuesday night, the atmosphere at the Emirates was one to remember. The disgusting low level of refereeing brought the Gooners together and gave the side a lift. They can try all they want but we can remain confident of some success this season.

COYG!!!!