Ever since the game between Ingerland and Slovenia mid-week when the 3 Lions scraped through to the knock out stages by the skin of their teeth, I’ve been a bit hesitant to follow the media coverage through the English media.

I suppose one reason is that I’ve reached saturation point with the sycophancy and vanity that impales the coverage of the fortunes of the England team by the media here in the UK.

By the very nature of the beast that is the World cup (emphasis being on the ’World’), I and many other football lovers around the world want to follow the fortunes of the many teams still in the competition, and would highly appreciate a balanced, objective and impartial media to tell us about the other great teams and the other great players also in the world cup.

But Hey!, I also want my council tax bill reduced but that ain’t gonna happen soon.

There was only one way out from the fever pitch madness and media coverage that led to, let’s face it, the mother of all bitch slaps and humiliations that England has ever faced on the international stage. The only way out for England to justify the hyperbole and narcissism that the media and establishment fuelled before yesterday’s game against the Germans was that England win and that they win comprehensively.

Not even the clutching of the Frank-Lampard’s-goal-was-disallowed-shame-on-FIFA-for-not-introducing-goal-line-technology straw can hide away from the fact that England has had a woeful World cup campaign and the players, management and the FA should hang their heads in shame.

A Dejected And Beaten England Team Leave The Field Following a German Master Class in International Football

I’ve covered most of my reasons why I suggest that England will never win the World cup until they come out of the Stone Age, so I’m not going to go over that ground and suggest that if you haven’t yet, you should read that article to get a sense of where I’m coming from.

It’s not about the disappointment and anti-climax of the so called Golden Generation. It’s not that Fabio Capello is a dictator who has added no value to the fortunes of the national team at a major competition. It’s not that the solution is to get an English manager like Roy Hodgson or Harry Redknapp who can understand the ‘English’ game in a way that a foreign manager cannot.

It’s not that (this one was a funny excuse by Graham Taylor) international competitions take place in the summer after a long hard season and it’s during a period when England players don’t normally play their games and in hot climates – shame on you Mr. Taylor for even uttering those words. It’s not that the team failed to show ’pluck and spirit’ and that good old fashioned English graft, grit and steel that is the cornerstone of the brand of English football that we’re told drives the best league in the world.

The issue here and something that I’ve preached on several times is that the underlying culture and philosophy of English football is rotten and stuck in the Neolithic age. When even Stand Collymore on his radio call in is asking Arsenal fans how England can learn from Arséne Wenger and the way he nurtures talent who are technically gifted and can cope with the way the rest of the world plays, then you know there’s a problem.

I submit to you that until England starts from the grassroots by changing the culture and moving away from the ’kick and rush’ brand of football that Franz Beckenbauer rightfully mentioned and was harangued by the English media for – Team ‘Ingerland’ have the mother of all mountains to climb.

It’s not enough to be a celebrity footballer, or believe the hyperbole about what ability you actually have. There’s a very big difference between being talented on paper as is suggested by all and sundry, and actually producing on grass.

And can we now draw a line under this nonsense of calling certain players world class. Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Terry and Ashley Cole are good and above average players, but let’s not push the envelope. I even agree with Robbie Savage’s (when was it I last agreed with Savage) that a player should only be considered as ’world class’ when they can sit on the same table as Pele, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Johan Cruyff, George Best and players of that ilk. Leo Messi is the only player currently warranting that badge of world class.

I was having a discussion with some friends yesterday evening as we explored what it is that ails English football (well, aside from the vanity of the media about the perceived capability of the team).

One of the analogies used to describe England in comparison to say Spain, Brazil, Argentina or Germany was that these 4 teams were like a gourmet restaurant that serves the best food and wine you’ll ever get anywhere on this planet, while England were proving yet again that despite the hype, they were just a kebab shop down the high street.

So many times, Arséne Wenger has been vilified by the English media for not having a team that was ‘English’ enough. This naturally came with the accusation that the Arsenal manager is one of the protagonists responsible for harming English football – as if Wenger is responsible for the cultural and philosophical deficiency of an entire footballing establishment.

Wenger famously stated that he won’t pay over the odds for English players whose price tags are inflated for no justifiable reason, yet they can’t deliver. His alternative was to set on a path that would allow Arsenal to develop their own crop of English players who played the Arsenal way.

The problem for Wenger is that visionaries are rarely lauded, let alone acknowledged and appreciated for many people don’t see the virtues of the said vision until long after the seeds are planted and the rewards are being enjoyed.

Take a look at the results of Wenger and Arsenal’s vision within the youth and reserve team setup at London Colney. Arsenal has the best crop of young talented players who are mostly English coming through the ranks. The youth team that won the double of the youth FA cup and the youth league in 2008-2009 had 9 English players in that squad of 15.

They‘re not just young and English, they’ve been brought together in a way of life since the young age of 11 and they have grown up in a culture that promotes the virtues of total football.

These young players are technically gifted and they can work with the ball with both skill and gusto. It’s also plain obvious to see that the issue is not whether all these players eventually make it to the Arsenal’s first team.

Not all of them will, but Arsenal get’s to decide whether they keep the best of the crop. For the rest, they are sprinkled around the football leagues and they get an opportunity to make their careers elsewhere while still reaping the benefits of the Arsenal way.

Those who graduate to the ranks of the first team are already showing the signs that they will be staking their claim to the England shirt come the 2014 world Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Euros in France and beyond.

The Arsenal Young Guns Celebrate In Style

It’s players like Little Jack Willy who has lit up Bolton on his loan spell to the Trotters from Arsenal. It’s players like Jay Emmanuel Thomas who are so versatile and prolific while being technically gifted, you can see him becoming the England midfield general for the next 10 years.

It’s players like Craig Eastmond, a young prospect from Wandsworth in South West London who feels nothing at the prospect of being thrown into a high pressure game for Arsenal and holding his own as a defensive midfielder. It’s prospects like young Kieran Gibbs from Lambeth who is already on his way to becoming one of the world’s best left backs.

Have I mentioned Kyle Bartley and Sanchez Watt? Or Henry Lansbury, Mark Randall or Tom Cruise?

The talent at London Colney is ridiculous and only a fool can’t see that the future is bright in the sleepy village of Shenley that hosts the Arsenal Academy in the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside.

It’s been a hectic week trying to catch up with everything inside and outside work after a long break. Naturally, I wanted to organize myself so that I don’t miss any minute of the race for the Coupe du Monde as the world descended on South Africa.

My strategy of focussing on catch-up until last Friday was not helped by the sheer suffocation I endured from the media as a collective, as everywhere you turned, a story of the World Cup was being shoved down the proverbial throat.

The coverage ranged from the necessary and quality reporting that covered team profiles and objectively looked at the chances of the 32 nations; to the shockingly incompetent, ignorant and lazy-assed views of BBC commentators who kept insisting that the ’Calabash’ (the inspiration in the design of Soccer City) is an African cooking utensil.

In between the two extremes was the customary sycophancy of the English media about the fortunes of Team ’Ingerland’. I suppose a degree of reporting is necessary so that we get to know how the team are doing, but I tell you, these guys are just stopping short of installing cameras in the hotel toilets as they seek to follow and anticipate every move that the England camp make.

It’s this obsessive self indulgence, naval gazing and mutual back slapping in equal measure that makes it harder to deal with the fall out when expectations are not met. I guess it’s easier to get bemused by the post-mortem that unleashes it’s wrath on a single player like Robert Green (bless him) for the mother of all howlers.

However, there is less of an objective questioning of how lacklustre the rest of the England team was. It’s fine making Mr. Green the ’Anti-Christ’, but I’d suggest that the entire team needed to look themselves in the mirror and heave a collective ”shame on me”.

Dare I even say they needed a bit of Theo Walcott in there; but then again, when an out of his depth James Milner and an out of position Sean Wright-Phillips are chosen ahead of a competent and talented Joe Cole, you do wonder what’s happening in the Rustenburg funny farm. Even Aaron Lennon was committing crimes against association football that our Walcott is normally accused of.

I was also bemused by the ITV commentator (can’t remember who it was), who raised the temperature of his commentary every time Rooney touched the ball. If I was in the next room, it was possible to think that Rooney was about to hit the back of the net, and this is the sort of sycophancy and self indulgence that clouds an objective view that most fans around the world would like to hear.

The truth is England were dire, even without Robert Green’s howler. Lampard, Rooney, Lennon, Milner, Wright-Phillips, King, Carragher et al were all passengers. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that Emile Heskey and Glenn Johnson were England’s best players on the day, followed closely perhaps by Gerrard.

Considering that Heskey might have been dying of embarrassment from his fiancées performance on Channel 4’s ’Come Dine With Me’ wags special a few days earlier, the boy done good with an assist and shot on target to add to his name.

I think some of these stars should get some PR advice before unleashing their wives and girlfriends to the public. To tell you the truth, I felt like hiding behind the sofa when Heskey’s fiancé é said she didn’t know who Martin Luther King was, yet she had a portrait of him in her living room….but I digress.

My prediction is that the semi-finals will be contested between Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina. There’s nothing I’ve seen so far to suggest that I’m way off base on this one. While Brazil, Spain and Italy are still to play, the 8 games so far have been mostly a guarded affair with teams preferring not to lose as opposed to trying to win the first match.

I enjoyed the Argentina vs Nigeria game, and was interested to listen to the comments of one of the Nigerian defenders who avers that Lionel Messi is getting too much protection from the referee. His view was that you can’t even touch the boy and he’s either on his way down or the referee is heavily breathing down your neck while rustling for his yellow card in his pocket.

I suppose you can understand the clamour to ’protect’ the world’s best player, but you can also understand the fear defenders have, especially since one yellow card could spell the end of your world cup with any simple subsequent mistake – there’s very little room for error.

The Germans were very exciting last night against the Socceroos. I was very interested in the fact that the average age of the German team was 26, and it made me reflect on where Arsenal will be when our team that has been growing together for this long hit their heights in their mid 20s.

Nevertheless, the Germans gave Australia a footballing master class (and where the hell did they get that Brazilian…LOL), immigration is a funny thing I tell you.

Rumour has it that Mark Schwarzer is on his way to Arsenal, and I’ve got to tell you I was a bit worried by him picking the ball 4 times from the back of his net. It was heartening that he at least tried to stop 2 of the goals but the shots were too powerful and went past his attempts, but all the same, it’s not the sort of resume you want to take to a new employer.

Group D with Germany, the Aussies, Serbia and Ghana is a very interesting one since the winners or runners up will meet England. I personally think it will be Germany topping the group and Ghana second, but I’m worried that either of these teams will give England a nightmare.

England and the Yanks should make it through safely, though Slovenia will want to say something about that, and they should be taken seriously for the simple reason that they top the group and have the bragging rights. If England can’t get out of this group, then the players only have themselves to blame.

I think it will be helpful though, if Capello stopped that Gestapo approach of secrecy and named the team early enough so that each player can prepare mentally. It would certainly give the chosen goal keeper time to kill the nerves and minimize any Keystone Cops moments.

It feels like I’ve been away for ages and trying to get back into the groove at the Stone Cold Arsenal Towers is going to be a project in itself. Nevertheless, it was a good break and glad to be back.

I tried a time tested strategy of “staying away from the news” while tending to matters at the reservation; but I fell foul of those little USB things you plug into the side of your laptop and connect to the ether that is cyber space.

In between the hogwash that was Xavi Hernandez’s crusade to get his knees capped because of his bullshit about Cesc, Rapha Benitez getting a cool £6m while on holiday before taking the reins of power at Internazionale, and the English football establishment getting paranoid about England playing some South African Platinum team in a friendly; I did manage to get into the groove of the 2010 World cup.

To tell you the truth, I’m really excited and will be stuck to the telly, radio, web and anything that will give me up to date material on all aspects of the World cup. However, one aspect does sadden me, and that is the role played by the media in the systematic and negative portrayal of Africa as a cess pit.

I read an interesting report last week from Tom Cargill, the head of the Africa Programme at Chattam House, UK’s premier think-tank on International Affairs. IN this report, Cargill points out that the ‘West’ must change its approach to Africa and stop seeing it as a basket case that needs aid and development.

He urges the west to emulate the model taken by the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) who are engaging with Africa as trade partners and stimulating growth and the local economy. Africa has vast resources which the BRIC countries want to tap into, and many more like South Korea are also joining the party.

My belief is that the ‘Aid And Development’ industry (for that’s what it is) is a self serving, patronizing, neo-colonial sector that is run by the self interests of folks who have mortgages to pay, kids to take to school, debts to service – and you know, a livelihood to maintain. Suggesting that they’re in it to ‘alleviate poverty’ is like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas. Without poverty, the industry dies – it’s a self fulfilling prophecy.

The notion that a sector structured on a top down Neolithic approach to interacting with hundreds of millions of people from the continent that they say is “troubled” is a disturbing one.

I don’t know what is more dangerous; the misguided self righteousness of those in the sector who operate with the view that it’s their destiny to “save Africans from themselves”, or that there are people who think that the hopes and dreams of an entire continent lay firmly at the hands of two ageing rock stars in Bono and Bob Geldof.

I digress…but the point I’m trying to make is that I so agree with Tom Cargill in the view that we should move away from patronizing neo-colonialism and treat people like human beings. I mentioned his report because of the parallel I can draw between western governments and aid agencies, and the western media’s portrayal of Africa in general, and more recently, the build up to the first World cup being hosted in Africa.

It can’t be a conspiracy because a conspiracy suggests that there are people with a sinister view who have an agenda that they want to see through and they want to hide it from the rest of us.

The way the media has operated is far from conspiratorial, it’s criminal in itself. Fuelled by a substantive dose of ignorance of the highest order, an engrained culture of always looking for the ‘negative’ in anything to do with Africa, and an almost relentless determination to promote scare mongering and sensationalism.

I was listening to Jacob Zuma yesterday during his press conference, and I tried to recall a previous world cup where a sitting president has taken the pro-active view of “spinning” the country. It was masked as a lot more, but the bottom line is that President Zuma had to “spin” South Africa.

You don’t need to ask yourself why, just pick up any paper or tune into any report about the build up to the games and the usual suspects crop up – security concerns, terrorism threats, ‘African’s are too poor to afford tickets so the world cup is already a failure’, threats to the ‘western’ teams and their fans. You name it, you’ll find it in the most sickening and twisted reporting that should have some authors quartered for the crime of prejudice and ignorance.

I should know better really, but it still get’s to me. It’s not like South East London during the day is any safer than down town Johannesburg. We even have folks in sleepy towns now going ’postal’ because of whatever reason.

Imagine the reporting we’d be subject to if someone in South Africa went ’postal’ a week before the tournament.

The truth is that South Africa is more than capable of hosting a global event – as they’ve shown with their hosting of the Rugby Union and Cricket world cups in previous years. It’s just unfair to suggest that England fans are on their way to a cess pit (for that is the impression they give).

South Africa like many others in Africa is a beautiful country with breath-taking views, a rich culture, and a vibrant and growing economy. Perhaps more focus on the celebration of the football game and the continent will be more productive.

Mainstream media is bad enough in its negative reporting of Africa, and I shudder to think of sports journalists indulging in something they know little of.

I would hope that the reporting and journalism is focussed on what happens on the pitch. I can’t wait for Friday when Carlos Vela and his boys kick off against Bafana Bafana.

There’s absolutely no way out of the need to acknowledge and bow down to Leo Messi for what you can only describe as genius and magic.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele) and Diego Armando Maradona must be wondering if their legacy as the 2 best players of the last century is going to be surpassed by this 22 year old magician.

While the world ponders that thought, I must say it was a privilege last night to watch a play station footballer come to life. I have no complaints whatsoever about Arsenal’s defeat to Barcelona, for doing so will diminish the rightful acknowledgment of the diminutive magician.

I so look forward to the World Cup for this boy’s magic deserves recognition with the Coupe du Monde

As for Arsenal, we shall discuss where to go from tomorrow. The Champions League was not to be for this year, and the boys need to hold their heads up high for they have served the faithful well this far.

For now, here’s an ode to my beloved Arsenal.

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out of the world we find,
Success begins with a team’s will,
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Football’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man,
But sooner or later the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can!

I shall never forsake my beloved Arsenal!

Stone Cold Arsenal is looking for new writers. If you have the passion and fire for Arsenal, and you feel you want to share your thoughts, your passion and your emotions with the thousands who read this blog daily, visit our Write For Us page to find out more.

That’s right, you can’t go forth and multiply without the necessary cojones in the same way that you can’t go and wrestle the right to play in the Champions League semi-final without the balls to stand up and be counted.

I think it’s an attribute that someone called ’testicular fortitude’ when describing the audacity of the last minute goal against Wolves over the weekend.

It’s going to be a strange night tonight, a cup final if you will. It’s a night where form goes right out of the window and audacity and courage takes over.

In truth, Barcelona will be cursing themselves for not killing off Arsenal when they had the chance.

Years ago, I was introduced to a fairly unsavoury character who made Tony Soprano look like a pussycat. My associates and I were organizing an event in South East London, and had to shop around for ’security’ because we had a tight budget.

It wasn’t the sort of event that you’d go down the market and haggle for a £8 an hour bouncer to satisfy the minimum requirements of your entertainment licence. This was one of them events that you actually needed the security and had to stretch your budget.

So in interviewing the new prospect, he decided to share some anecdotes about some of the ’challenges’ his boys had to deal with. I suppose he wanted to impress me so as to nail down the lucrative contract.

What sticks to my mind was his assertion that in his type of business, if you have a chance to deck the opposition an finish them, the worst thing you can do is let them get up and come back at you.

For the sake of expediency, I’m sure you’ll excuse me for not going into detail.

His take on the issue resonates with the current situation Barca and Arsenal are in. It’s fine pontificating about the galactic football that Barcelona unleashed in the first 45 minutes of last Wednesday’s opening tie, but the object of the exercise was to win.

The fact of the matter is that Barca succumbed to what Arsenal has been accused of for years on end – Pretty football with no end result.

It was clear that Barca were the more worried team in the last quarter of the match, and for that reason, I believe Arsenal have a psychological advantage.

It’s not going to be an easy game by any means, but Arsenal were past their stage fright by the time Fabregas buried the equalizing penalty. Arsenal had the momentum and Barcelona knew it and it rattled them.

Everyone outside the Emirates has taken the view that there’s no chance in hell for Arsenal to come out of the Camp Nou with a victory. I tend to feel being written off especially in Europe does work to Arsenal’s advantage if you think of previous results against both Inter and AC Milan at the Sansiro, Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, and the Old Lady in Turin.

Both teams are affected by the walking wounded with Arsenal missing 5 preferred first choice players. I doubt if those on the pitch will be taking the view that they are not worthy and that has to be a good sign.

The expectation is that the boys have been forced to watch the DVD of Wednesday’s game so many times that they’ve had to live and breathe it enough to know what is tactically needed for the game.

We have the personnel to address the changes needed and my sense is that the victory has to be driven by our mental strength. Arsenal gave Barca too much respect when they rolled into town, we have to redeem ourselves and yank that confidence away from them.

The boys have nothing to lose. Go out there and play your game.

Show that you all have the balls to fit the mental fortitude and character that you’ve shown us this season.

For tonight’s game, we will be sharing our thoughts and emotions on twitter. Follow us on twitter and join in the conversation during half time and after the game.

Stone Cold Arsenal is looking for new writers. If you have the passion and fire for Arsenal, and you feel you want to share your thoughts, your passion and your emotions with the thousands who read this blog daily, visit our Write For Us page to find out more.

Enjoy the game wherever you are.

Self preservation is a strange bastard. It makes people do or say strange things, and they actually make themselves believe the faecal matter they spew out.

It’s a common known factor that the biggest resistance to change is fear of the unknown. You see it in any aspect of life where the thought of doing things in a different way scares the living shit out of any group of people.

The easier option is to pull out the sandbags, draw down the hatches, and take defensive positions ready to repel any suggestion of progressive thinking that reflects any form of evolution.

Take English football as a prime example. There’s a sad narrative of the English brand of the game that is engrained in the psyche. For too long, the establishment has promoted and supported a certain style or culture of play that leaves a lot to be desired.

We have so often seen physicality, brute force and insalubrious tactics being employed on the football pitch and being encouraged by the establishment.

We are told that this brand of football should be admired as one that espouses the virtues of valour, commitment and what J, one of SCA readers eloquently puts as ’pluck and spirit’.

There’s nothing wrong with aspiring to those values in any aspect of life, but I draw the line when they are used as substitutes for the inability to play football. For too long, it’s been culturally entrenched that the way to deal with the fact that you’re technically lacking is to apply ’pluck and spirit’ – and to be encouraged to accept that it’s good enough.

This past weekend, we’ve seen yet another example of this cultural deficiency that is so engrained in a huge swathe of the English footballing populous. It defies belief that anyone can defend the dangerous tackle by the Wolves captain Carl Henry on Tomas Rosicky.

To add insult to injury, the usual suspects are closing ranks around the issue and suggesting that firstly, Arsenal players are just plain soft yet again and can’t hack the physicality of a contact sport; and secondly, that it was never a red card and that Arsenal players rounded on the referee to pressurize him to produce the red card.

This is just but one of the symptoms of the Neolithic culture that I’m talking about that ails the English game. There’s a very big difference between a contact sport and a violent sport. The fact that violence is embraced as a virtue in lieu of football is even more sad.

We are told that this is what makes English football ‘English’, and if we don’t like it, we can sod off to the softer continental and South American leagues. We are told this physicality and pluck is what makes the English Premier league what it is.

For one, we’ve argued as to how ‘English’ the English Premier League really is. I submit to you that there’s very little English about it, and if it wasn’t for the foreign influence across all levels of the game and it’s administration, the Premier League wouldn’t be what it was right now.

Furthermore, the longer the establishment continues to press this self preservation button and insist that ’we are who we are so deal with it’, the further into the wilderness the English game will stay.

It’s not a coincidence why England haven’t won anything in the global arena since 1966.

I wasn’t born at the time, but I’m reliably informed that the summer of 1966 was quite a big deal on the British Isles. A World Cup final going into extra time is blood pressure inducing in the first place, but a 4-2 score line sent the Germans packing back home without the Coupe du Monde.

1966 was undoubtedly the greatest single achievement of the English footballing establishment.

What I don’t get though is this. Since 1966, having not won another major trophy, the English establishment also seem to be stuck with that old school vinyl record when football came home, if you will. “

We won it in 66” seems to be a tired old mantra for those clutching onto the straws of success with the members of that squad still living and breathing that success till this day. I guess that until another English team win the World Cup again, the old timers, most of whom are Knights of the Realm can milk that 1966 victory for what it was.

Only, this constant reference back to 1966 is actually mind numbing and well, tiresome and suffocating. Take Germany for example, they lost 4-2 (though they always thought one goal was dodgy – video replays anyone?), they went back home, sorted themselves out and have since won the World cup twice.

England won’t win the 2010 World Cup because they simply aren’t good enough. You see, all the media hyperbole about the so called Golden Age of English players with poster boys like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerard, Frank Lampard, John “we’re well ‘ard” Terry and Rio Ferdinand has clouded one fundamental issue.

As a collective, the individuals in the team haven’t the technical nous and ability to show creativity and magic with the ball.

If I really think hard, the last England player that really had the technical ability that I’m talking about was Paul Gascoigne. Gazza was magic and it was a joy to watch him. It was a joy to see how he seduced the ball, how it stuck to him like glue as he ghosted around the midfield, how he used the ball and how he linked up with other players.

When Gazza had the ball, there was this feeling in your water that something was going to happen. Glenn Hoddle also had that effect, but in recent times, you’d struggle to find such technically gifted individuals in the England ranks.

The way the media has operated in waxing lyrical about the prospects of the England team, coupled with the bullish declarations of many a faithful England fan simply hides from the fact that the team has issues – issues that are seriously compounded by the prima donna lifestyles of many of its stars.

Celebrity is perhaps a more appropriate discipline for some of the England players, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the first thing they ask for when leaving the training ground is where their bodyguard and chauffeurs are.

There are players around the world who would draw blood for the honour of wearing their national team shirt. Playing for their national team is a duty that they don’t take lightly, and the notion that celebrity and prima donna nonsense would take over is just laughable.

That to me, is the key difference. Other viable teams have talented, technically gifted players who want to play and make football beautiful to watch. England has a bunch of prima donnas who are more interested in celebrity than playing football.

The football certainly isn’t pretty and is reminiscent of the ‘kick, push, shove and sprint to get the ball at all costs’ mentality that is described as good old fashioned English grit and steel that wins the English Premiership.

If that fails, lump it forward to a tall lanky fella and hope that he can hold the ball long enough to bring out the other players.

My fear is that when the time comes at the World cup finals and England meet a ‘proper’ footballing nation, they will be seriously spanked.

The time between now and next summer can be better used to do something about the issues England has in defence and midfield and not to wax lyrical about how the messiah Wayne Rooney is going to lead them to glory.

More importantly, the establishment should start by acknowledging the rot in the game right from the FA board room to the grassroots. Kids aren’t taught how to play football anymore; they’re taught how to ’kick and rush’.

Kids aren’t taught how to tackle any more, they’re taught the virtues of ’pluck and spirit’.

Instead of addressing the core issues that ail the game, and instead of acknowledging where the English game falls short; the establishment is busy in self preservation mode.

The establishment are busy justifying why their brand of English football needs to stay in the stone age, while all over the world, the game has and continues to evolve.

Coming back to the incident over the weekend that inspired me to write this post, I take the view that it’s not just about Arsenal being hypersensitive about their players’ legs being broken by technically inferior players who resort to violence because they can’t get the ball.

My sense is that the incident is a symptom of the morass in English football, and it needs addressing now. Enough is enough.

What do you all think?

If there’s two things this Arsenal team are guilty of, it’s the fact that this season, they don’t know how to lie down and die; and secondly, they have perfected the art of inducing heart attacks amongst the supporters.

I don’t think there’s a script at London Colney that encourages the team to do anything the easy way, and it has to be said, it ain’t good for the heart. I wouldn’t have it any other way though – it’s beautiful.

Last night was one of the most entertaining matches I’ve ever watched. Don’t get me wrong, as an Arsenal fan, it was bloody uncomfortable at least in the first half, but Barcelona came to play, and play they did.

The Catalans produced a master class in possession football that totally starved the Arsenal, a situation that I honestly don’t remember us ever being in.

I guess we were all feeling the same way other teams feel when we run riot all over the Premiership with our possession football. Nothing wrong with occasionally getting a dose of your own medicine.

Once Arsenal had jolted themselves out of the self inflicted stage fright, I was reminded about why I love this team so much. This season, we’ve risen from the dead more times than Lazarus or any phoenix, and the fighting spirit, courage, tenacity and character of the team makes me so proud.

Even so, the match last night was filled with irony from every corner.

The irony that Almunia is the only reason Arsenal are still in with a chance to upset the apple cart, yet a few days ago, he was the Anti-Christ if you believed what you read on the internet.

The irony that Barcelona were guilty of everything Arsenal have been accused of for years – playing pretty and majestic football yet failing to kill off teams that are screaming to be executed and buried. How many times have we been told that the only statistic that counts is the one on the scoreboard?

The irony that despite being kept under unimaginable pressure, Arsenal knuckled down, fought like mad and took their chances. How many times have we been hit hard by teams who are ruthlessly efficient despite our dominance in possession?

The irony that Arsenal’s ’scapegoats du jour’ – Denilson, Walcott and Bendtner – played out of their skins and were the players who totally changed the game for Arsenal. How many times have these characters been bashed beyond recognition and charged with the crime of being unfit to wear the Arsenal shirt?

The irony that despite risking Fabregas, the Arsenal captain has already done enough to leave his mark by opening the door for his team-mates to finish a job at the Camp Nou. How many inspirational leaders on the pitch give you an equalizer, and takes out two key players (Pique and Puyol) from the next tie?

I can just picture Cesc cursing “If I ain’t playing next week then these 2 bastards ain’t playing either”. Getting two players suspended and burying a penalty for good measure is a job well done for the captain.

The irony that Leonel Messi (was he really playing last night?) was sacrificed when they went down to 10 men to give him a breather after spending most of the game in Denilson’s pocket.

The irony that Barcelona are shit scared of Theo Walcott (who totally made Maxwell his bitch), yet they refused to give Arsenal the ball and bullied us all over the park in the first half.

In truth, we started the game really badly and froze, but the spirited return and strong finish will do our confidence the world of good. It was evident that the key to Barca’s game is working harder without the ball than they do with the ball.

They showed they can’t sustain that tempo for the whole game, and Arsenal’s propensity to be anal with fitness and our ’never say die’ spirit became their worst nightmare.

The match wouldn’t be the match without the roller coaster reactions all over the web and all over news columns and air waves. Reading some of the comments on the Arsenal boards during the game, I must say that I thought I was in a psychiatric ward with schizophrenics running the show.

There is the mother of all ironies there when you see Arsenal fans spew so much garbage and show their total lack of belief in this Arsenal team, and their total lack of fighting spirit as Arsenal fans.

How is it that Arsenal supporters expect their team to fight to the death (and believe me – this team has fought admirably to the death all season), yet at the small experience of adversity, these same so called fans whimper away and hide behind the sofa.

Get a frigging spine I say to all those who still have the audacity to question the resolve and determination of this team. Yes, you may question tactics and individual or collective team performances, but it’s unacceptable to question this teams resolve.

If you want to understand what type of fans I’m talking about, check out our definitive anatomy of an Arsenal doom and gloom merchant.

Also, if you think Arsenal fans were pissed off, try checking out how Barca fans feel for throwing the game away.

And of course, the equation wouldn’t be complete without the hypocrisy of the media. I found it painful to listen to the ITV commentary, even when we had the comeback on and were giving Barca grief in the last half an hour.

I switched over to Radio 5 live only to find Alan Green reading out Arsenal’s obituary.

If Manchester United had fought back the way we did and clawed back an impossible 2 nil deficit – they would be waxing lyrical about Man United. Nobody remembered that United were totally bitch-slapped by Bayern Munich for 88 minutes in May 1999 before they smuggled the European cup from the Camp Nou to the horror of the Bavarians.

If Liverpool had fought back the way we did and got the 2 goals back, the media will be waxing lyrical about the invincibility of Gerrard and Torez. Nobody remembered that Liverpool were totally bitch-slapped by AC Milan in Istanbul in May 2005 before they too smuggled the European cup from under the jaws of the Italians.

When is it that this Arsenal team will get the respect its due – instead of the snide and contemptuous remarks about Arsenal getting away with murder?

The media didn’t give us a chance in hell to even make it to the 4th place champions league spot, let alone challenge for both the EPL and Champions League titles. What hypocrisy the show for applying selective amnesia to the mental strength of the teams they favour, yet the evidence is all there that Arsenal have time and time shown that despite adversity, they have formidable mental strength.

They point out that we can’t do it in 5 days time because – wait for this, we have key players out with injury.

So what’s new? Arsenal is still here and we refuse to go away.

Last night, I hadn’t even finished pouring a glass of wine and settling down before I heard the excitement of Sky’s commentator Martin Tyler’s voice barely 2 milliseconds after the kick-off.

“Oh shit!”, was the first thought on my mind when I rushed into the living room to consider the inevitable. I wasn’t so much worried that Manchester United had scored, I was more worried that Rooney had scored.

My reason for this fear has nothing to do with the fear of Rooney. He’s a striker and it’s his job to score so I would suggest that he’s the most likely Man United player to score. My issue is with the sycophancy that follows any goal he scores from the media and the entire football establishment.

I was thinking to myself whether I can deal with the “Rooney is the best player in the world” back slapping that I find really suffocating.

But the thing is this – yesterday’s game showed that he who dares wins. Let’s face it, Man United were very pedestrian yesterday and they paid for it.

Arsenal can quickly learn a lot from last night’s game on two fronts. Firstly, the form of the day rules. Despite the universal predictions of a Manchester United hammering of the Bavarians, the form of the day is what counts.

You see, football pundits and book makers remind me of credit rating agencies who need to be taken out back, made to kneel down facing the wall, and given a good hiding.

These rating agencies provided assessments of financial institutions that were so far off the mark, they brought the world economy to its knees, yet few bothered to question the credibility of the nonsense they spewed.

I mean, how the hell did they not see the world-wide economic crash coming. It’s like NASA missing a comet heading for earth and yet they tell us all is well and they’re focussing on a trip to Mars instead.

I never believed that a Manchester United win was a full gone conclusion for the simple reason that Bayern Munich are not mugs. The English media seem to think they are, but the German team didn’t just walk out of the cotton fields into the quarter finals of the elite European club competition.

Secondly, Arsenal can learn that focussing on our strengths is more important than being fascinated by the spectacle of Barcelona.

In yesterday’s press conference, Stevie Stammers from the Sunday Mirror tried desperately to push Thomas Vermaelen to provide a response as to whether he or Arsenal would be intimidated by Leonel Messi.

Vermaelen’s answer was as cold and as witty as they come: “We have no time to be intimidated, we have a job to do”.

Simply put, he who dares wins.

There are few nights that would rival the sense of satisfaction and enjoyment that Arsenal supporters around the world experienced last night. Yet it wasn’t for the fact that the Gunners secured a quarter final spot in the Champions League.

In a lot of ways, the display of total football last night, and the panache and arrogance it was delivered with clouds the significance of moving to the next stage of the competition.

It’s because of matches like last night’s that we all stand up and applaud the work of art that is Wengerball. It’s because of last night that we are reminded why we so love this game of football and why we swear by it.

It’s because of last night that we recognize how privileged we are to be able to witness before our very own eyes, the development of a group of players who together, are destined to become the best generation of Arsenal players that this club has ever seen.

Yet all around the Oscar winning performance that was the Samir Nasri show, the wretched voices of hackery and punditry defecated the air waves with pathetic attempts to belittle what was a master class in football.

They spewed their verbal diarrhoea and negativity in the commentary as they shamelessly looked for excuses to find fault with Arsenal’s game. They suffocated the pre and post match commentary with tired clichés and diatribe about Arsenal’s perceived weaknesses.

They jostled and positioned themselves – buttocks firmly planted on the fence hoping to pounce if Arsenal failed, and pretending to laud the Gunners when we went through.

The disappointment in their faces and voices were louder than a thousand words. Through gritted teeth, they tried to garner the courage to set aside their prejudice and contempt of Arsenal and do the right thing of clapping their hands and stamping their feet in recognition of what was without a doubt, one of the best football matches we have ever witnessed.

Yes I’m talking to you Mr. Graham Souness, Mr. Ruud Gullit, most definitely Mr. Tony Adams (legend you are, but you need to get your snout out of the pigs trough and get some fresh air away from the bile that is tabloid punditry; being an Arsenal legend doesn’t give you the licence to unleash your negative diatribe to get a pay cheque from these cretins).

Yes I’m talking to you Mr. Stan Collymore, Mr. Alan Brazil – and you know what – every miserable piece of anti-Arsenal &^&! Who works for Talk Shite radio. Yes I’m talking to you Mr. Alan Green and Mr. Mike Ingam and Mr. Graham Taylor as you try to lace your supposed love for Arsenal football with constant perceived negativity as if as insurance just in case Arsenal fall apart.

Last night was a night to stand up and bow to the privilege of being witnesses to a work of art. It wasn’t a night to pull out the ’Arsenal don’t have it in ‘em, especially without Cesc Fabregas’ nonsense of a script.

And all this without 3 of the best Arsenal players in William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie. Clearly someone didn’t give Samir Nasri the memo that dictated that Arsenal would struggle without our talismanic Captain Fabulous. If you believed everything you read in the papers, you’d think Arsenal were doomed to struggle following Fabregas’s injury over the weekend.

Take nothing away from a collective team performance that oozed class and professionalism. Take nothing away from the individual brilliance and magic from Samir Nasri that suggested Arsene Wenger might have just invested in Bobby Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and Alex Hleb all rolled in one.

The last time I saw a goal like that was when a certain Diego Armando Maradona waltz through the entire England team and scored what in my view is the best individual goal I have ever witnessed – well, maybe until Nasri’s goal last night. Are you watching Maradona? Or was it ’Are you watching Stan Collymore?’

What about our very own B52 bomber. It was only yesterday that I said I was quite content and happy to live with Bendtner’s transgressions for the simple reason that he shamelessly put himself about and got into scoring positions despite his nightmare at the weekend.

For that effort and courage alone, you have to admire the kid. Last night’s hat-trick couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke. If it’s any compliment, the Sun newspaper rarely issues a full hearted apology to anybody, let alone a 21 year old kid from Denmark.

What a way to stick two fingers up to all the critics of the weekend past and ram their criticism down their throats. This is not the first time Bendtner has produced match winning performances for Arsenal, and you really have to be a hater to think Bendy won’t be up there with the best.

And I haven’t even mentioned Arsenal’s ’Goal machine’ – Stand up and be counted Mr. Emmanuel Eboue. I would argue that Eboue is one of the most valuable players in the Premier league. Not in monetary terms per se – for player prices are just stupidly inflated.

Emmanuel Eboue is the most dependable versatile player there is in town. He can play left back, right back, left midfield, right midfield, central midfield and even as a relief striker if he needed to. Hell – if you gave Eboue the gloves, he’d stand between the sticks and do a job.

He’s not flashy and is not a ’champagne’ player – but he is dependable when doing the job asked of him and a manager can never ask for more than that from a player.

It’s a trip to Hull on Saturday evening, but for now, we must and we should get drunk in the enjoyment of the pure entertainment and total football that has reminded us all why we love and support the best football club in the world.

On a week that much has been made about Nicklas Bendtner’s inability to hit a cow’s arse with a banjo, the usual suspects are trying their level best to create a crisis. The suggestion is of course that Arsenal’s profligacy over the weekend will surface again.

This coupled with the over-sensational focus of the absence of Captain Fabulous and his predecessor William Gallas through injury surely makes for a ’crisis’ headline.

My sense is that a lot of talk before tonight’s game fails to give respect to the remaining members of the squad – who on any given day, are formidable opponents for anyone who would dare cross the white line.

In truth, it was two moments of madness that cost Arsenal the first tie at the Estadio do Dragão 3 weeks ago. I would suggest that such a freak occurrence is a once in a blue moon freak show and it’s not likely to happen again.

Arsenal need to give one of them ”over my dead body” performances and put this game even beyond the reach of any referee or match official, let alone the Porto team.

Porto don’t travel well, especially to the British Isles where they’ve suffered 12 out of 14 defeats, with the remaining 2 being draws. A brace each from Van Persie and Adebayor ensured that their last visit to the Emirates was very uncomfortable.

Hopefully, our boys will remind them that this level of discomfort is a common occurrence for any footballing side that cares to venture into North London. The task is straight forward – keep a clean sheet and score, and Plan B if our defences are breached is to score more than Porto – at least 2 goals more.

Tactically, Porto will try the much bandied about blueprint for beating Arsenal. They will hope that we slip up in possession high up the pitch and they can then use their pace to counter attack.

Any chance of them getting a goal at the Emirates will increase the ’squeaky-bum-o-meter’, and they would hope to use this to destabilize the Gunners.

With Song and Campbell back in the team, the options Wenger has are kinder than they would have otherwise been. My first instinct was to hope that if Campbell wasn’t available, then Wenger should move Song back into central defence and play Denilson in the defensive midfield role.

My take is that Wenger might go with a starting line-up of:

Almunia
Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy
Song, Diaby, Nasri
Rosicky, Bendtner, Arshavin

At some point in the game, you would expect to see Eduardo, Walcott, Eboue or Denilson

Despite the loss in the first leg, the Arsenal team showed enough industry and creativity to suggest that they were the better team then and are likely to be the better team tonight.

Interestingly, the much maligned Denilson was statistically the best player in that first game at the Estadio do Dragão. If you take into account factors like pass completion, tackles and interceptions, fouls committed (or not) etc – the young Brazilian had a game of his life, this despite scaring the living daylights out of Sol Campbell in the first few minutes.

With Alex Song now back as the midfield general, and Abou Diaby also available for selection, it is hard to know who Wenger will go for, though Nasri’s man of the match performance on Saturday gives Wenger a very big headache.

I’m quietly confident that Arsenal will see the tie through but if ever there was a case of a need to show zero complacency, then this is one of them. As much as Porto don’t travel well, they’re not mugs and they won’t just turn up to make up the numbers.

Nicklas Bendtner for sure has some redemption to seek at the Emirates for his transgressions over the weekend – but in the same vein, the young Dane has squeezed Arsenal out of some very tight spots and has shown his value.

His goals against CSKA Moscow and Standard Liege in the last two years in the Champions league suggests that Bendtner is a key part of tonight’s equation.

However, Sol Campbell, Andrey Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky will have to stand up and be counted as the senior and most experienced members of this squad. They’re also the three likely to be on the field who are capable of grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck if need be.