Sat 11th September 2010; 15:00, Emirates Stadium
Archive for Premier League
Realignment Of The English Footballing Order
Posted by: | CommentsWatching last night’s game between Middle Eastlands and Liverpool, I had this conversation in my head about what was going on. Part of me was kind of pissed off that Liverpool rolled over and let the Mancunian Chavs tickle their bellies, pat them on the head before sending them back home with a reality check.
Another part of me was pissed off that Arsenal didn’t bury a 10 man Liverpool last weekend. Like many, I’m rationalizing that a point at Anfield is a precious point during any part of the season; or I’m rationalizing that it was the first game of the season, Li’l Jack Willy showed a bit of understandable and acceptable inexperience in the lead up to Liverpool’s goal, Arshavin was just about getting out of the dressing room, we didn’t have our first choice squad on the pitch – yada yada yada.
Maybe it’s just easier to get pissed off with Liverpool for rolling over last night and letting Moneybags City bitch slap them all over the park.
But it’s worth observing that even this early in the season, the new order in English football is realigning itself and its going to cement itself very quickly. They say the table doesn’t lie, and I’m making an early prediction that the current top 4 will finish in the Champions League places at the end of the season.
If you asked me, I’ll unashamedly proclaim that the final order in the top 4 will be alphabetical; but then again I’ll ask – what the hell did you expect me to say?
Clearly, a few people have been drinking that cool-ade stuff down the Tottenham Lodge in preparation for their tussle with the Young Boys of Bern. The 28 minutes of the first half of last Tuesday’s match between the Spuds and the Young Boys was the best 28 minutes of football that I’ve watched in a very long time.
Even then, ‘Appy ‘Arry and Big Bad Billy G seemed to have drank too much of that stuff to propel them to delusions of grandeur that leads them to suggest that the Spuds can win the title .
There’s a vicious rumour going around Seven Sisters road that revenge of the 1913 revolution of North London is nigh. Or maybe it was Henry Norris’s wheeling, dealing and politicking that relegated Spuds to the 2nd division in favour of Arsenal staying in the 1st division that pisses them more than a move from South East London. I forget why the Spuds have such an inferiority complex.
Manchester United on the other hand are going through a very interesting period. I suppose those with a more sunny disposition might call it a rebuilding time for them. If I was cynical, I’d suggest that they’re following the Arsenal development model to the tee – only they’re what, 5 or 6 years late?
To be honest, I don’t think the powers that be at United would have noticed the Berlin wall falling if it hit them on the way down. We get reminded that their predicament is justified because of their successful haul of trophies in the last 18 years. We get told that if it wasn’t for the Glazer family, they would be well run and debt free. Yeah – blame the Glazers alright, but the end result is that Manure is a financial basket case.
The bottom line is that Manure bought the title when they had the chance and it’s kind of ironic that their so called youth development policy is now being lauded as a virtue. I suppose that’s why they’re now paying main street prices for relatively unknown players just like an old sage of ours does.
Either way, United is not the club that they used to be and it will show this season. I get bemused when it’s suggested that Arsenal don’t have strength and depth in defence, yet Manure and even Chelsea are threadbare beyond their first choices. But I suppose they have youth.
If you haven’t been around for a while, you’ll notice that Chelsea are already being coronated as the 2010-2011 Premier league Champions. If you believe some media houses, they’re on track to scoring 228 goals this season while only conceding a few goals here and there for good measure.
Chelsea’s defence is suspect – they’ve only got away with it this far because they haven’t been properly tested by the teams they’ve played.
“But they can only beat the teams in front of them”, I hear the murmurs in the shadows.
Well, as long as selective amnesia is not applied as Arsenal is accused of being flat track bullies. The Gunners too, can only beat the teams that they play – it just doesn’t apply to the Chavs.
Nevertheless, Chelsea’s dominance as the Moneybag specialists is being overhauled by Middle Eastlands; in the same way as Manure’s dominance as the model club is being overhauled by Arsenal’s organic development. It’s the new order of the footballing establishment.
The question is whether the virtuous cycle of building wonderful things from the ground up like Arsenal is doing will overcome the vicious cycle of buying things like they’re running out of fashion the way Middle Eastlands are doing it.
Arséne Wenger, You Stand Accused – Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsAs another season concludes, the clouds gather over N5, less hope than before previous seasons seems to be prevalent this time though. It is hard to gauge the overall feel amongst fans, so extreme are interpretations of the status, potential and future of our club.
A full range of predictions are available, from Arsenal being well placed to be a super power for the next decade, through being a work in progress right down to the thoroughly disgusted and exasperated fans who feel that a substantial change is required in both the squad, but most significantly the manager’s position.
There are several charges laid at the door of Le Boss at the moment by those dissatisfied with his performance over the last few years.
I shall deal with them in a semblance of chronological order. I don’t imagine that there were too many dissenters around 2004, I think the rumblings seem to start at the end of the Invincibles side.
In the most iconic image of the season, Arséne Wenger remonstrates after being unreasonably sent to the stands at Old Trafford
Wenger – The Dismantler
I have read time and time again in the sports pages and on blogs the phrase “Wenger dismantled the Invincibles”. A hugely successful team, a team that made history of course, full to the brim of winners, of athletes, of strapping six footers. Of players that understood what it was to play for the Arsenal. And certainly they were.
However, Mr Wenger saw fit to take this team of men at the peak of their powers and scatter them to the four winds, to Spain, and Greece, and the west and east ends of London, the south coast, even put them out to pasture.
Is this really a fair charge? Even a sensible one?
In order to really analyse this criticism, let us take the main figures in that ’Invincibles’ side, case by case;
Jens Lehman
His time was up early in the 2007/08 season after a couple of costly errors saw Almunia given the goalkeepers position. Firstly, this was now three seasons after the unbeaten run, and Jens was now 38 years old, I think it’s fair to say that his time at this level of competition was drawing to a conclusion.
Given that in that season we put up a considerable title charge, I think we can say that (at the time) Almunia was worth his starting place.
Bisan Lauren
Sadly, Lauren’s time at Arsenal came to a close after a huge amount of time out with a knee injury, and left in January 2007 for Portsmouth. At the time Eboue had featured prominently in the run to Paris in 2006, and in my opinion looked a phenomenal prospect at right back.
Since then of course we have also had Bacary Sagna join the team, and he certainly has been solid, if not always hitting the heights of his first season.
Ashley Cole
There really isn’t much to be said here. I certainly don’t think Arsene can be held culpable for this departure in 2006.
Sol Campbell
Well, perhaps now he’s back and been a real injection of fighting spirit as well as putting in some outstanding performances (his goal celebration at Stoke will stay with me as an iconic Gooner moment, where the players and fans are in total empathetic harmony), this could be perceived to have been a massive loss.
However, at the time, I feel that the club treated him well. I’m still not entirely sure what was at the root of his loss of form, I believe he was having personnel problems. Gallas was brought in that summer, and at the time this seemed more than adequate replacement for a player who seemed to be on the wane.
Kolo Toure
A substantial profit has been made on a player who it is looking very much like we got the best years out of. A real Wenger find, a right midfielder transformed into a calm centre half, who never really asserted himself, but was a superb player to have alongside a more naturally gifted defender.
His timing & commitment could be outstanding at times, and he is a player I thought would finish his career at Arsenal. The big money came knocking, and the chance of a final payday as well as the disharmony with Big Bad Billy G saw Kolo skipping up the M1 with a certain Mr. Adebayor.
This of course has seen Thomas Vermaelen take over at the back, and he certainly looks like a significant improvement.
Freddie Ljungberg
Freddie is another player in this list, who was into his twilight time at Arsenal when he left. He participated in the first season at the Emirates, but had been injured consistently for some time, and had certainly lost some of his “mojo”.
Alex Hleb, was starting to produce some fine performances, and gave the side a capacity to beat a man in a fashion we have not had consistently for some time. A fabulous dribbler of the ball, although infuriating at times, between him, Eboue & Theo we had cover on the right side when he left in 2007.
The Arsenal 'Invincibles' Team - Premier League Champions 2003 - 2004
Robert Pires
In my opinion, Bobby Pires is the only member of the ’Invincibles’ who left too early, directly as a result of club policy. So many times the season after leaving Highbury I saw the ball roll diagonally, and fruitlessly past the far post, exactly where super Bob would normally be gliding towards to steer it home.
His reception when we played Villareal last year was incredible and deserved and I feel warmer than those extended to Vieira and Henry for this reason. Both Henry and Vieira had courted moves, and this took a little sheen from their return. Tomás Rosicky’s addition to the squad tempered the loss, but Pires’s quality and value to the squad was a big gap to fill.
Patrick Vieira
I don’t think there’s much doubt that Patrick left at a good time, the previous summer’s wrangling over his transfer didn’t sit well, and although he has seen some success since he left, most people will agree his impact on games was diminished.
Who can forget the game against Juventus when he was disposed by Pires of all people? A sublime tackle that was the origin of a passage of play that led to Juventus chasing shadows before Cesc Fabregas slotted in a peach of a goal from just outside the box.
Gilberto Silva
After Pires, I think Gilberto Silva was the only other player who maybe would have been of benefit to keep within the squad. With the clumsy manner of the captaincy being given to Gallas coupled with the energetic rise of Flamini, I think his days were numbered at the club.
Dennis Bergkamp
Well, there was a wonderfully symmetrical sense of destiny with Dennis choosing to hang up his boots to coincide with the retirement of Highbury. Certainly his playing time was largely reduced, especially with Reyes still looking to be an excellent attacking player, and also Adebayor arriving and having a minor impact.
Thierry Henry
As with Vieira, Titi’s courting episode with Barcelona the previous summer had meant this wasn’t as crushing as it might have been. It even seemed the season afterwards that his presence had been a hindrance.
I remember on several occasions in his final year with us, he looked disinterested, although he was still producing the goods in bursts; his demeanour can’t have been a positive influence in the dressing room or on the pitch.
So overall after Vieira left having lifted the FA Cup, another 4 players left/retired in 2006, 2 in 2007, and by the start of the 2008/09 season only Kolo was left. Most of these players were the wrong side of thirty at the time of departure, and although valuable experience was undoubtedly lost, it is worth noting that after Henry left a substantial title challenge was registered.
I would say that the departures after the 2007-2008 season were more damaging in a way, losing Matthieu Flamini, Lassana Diarra, Gilberto Silva & Alex Hleb meant that only Cesc Fabregas remained of that midfield after Rosicky succumbed to the early stages of his injury problems.
I would never wish to seem that I am rewriting history, or bad mouthing former players who gave us all so much success, and played for the Arsenal with outstanding distinction. I am merely using these points to illustrate what I consider to be an injustice towards the manager.
Saying that he dismantled the Invincibles almost implies Arséne Wenger is some sort of saboteur.
The ’Invincibles’ team had peaked together for all our benefits, but sadly it faded together too, and the gradual disappearance was rather more organic than sometimes reported.
In the next instalment, we’ll examine the next charge laid at the feet of the Arsenal manaager, Mr. Arséne Wenger the Gambler.
Arsenal Just Love Doing Things The Hard Way
Posted by: | CommentsSo a few weeks ago, we’re waxing lyrical about the prospects of scraping through and snatching the title from them lot up north. Since losing to Barcelona a month ago, we’ve only clocked 1 out of 12 possible points and that’s just not good enough to win anything, and there’s no way around that.
If we’re to be honest with ourselves, the team has really struggled to recover from the mauling the Catalans unleashed on us – or should I just say the mauling that Lionel Messi unleashed on our unsuspecting makeshift defence.
The impact caused by the injuries that have decimated the squad will only be an excuse for so long before it becomes the rod that literally snaps our back. We’ve had to depend on understudies in crucial positions in the squad, but the least you can expect is that those called upon to provide cover will apply themselves professionally and effectively to do the job they’re called on to do.
I get the sense though, that Arsenal have developed a propensity, habit even, of being comfortable with doing things the hard way. I don’t know about you, but many a game this season have left me crouching in a foetal position on the carpet in front of the TV chanting all manner of obscenities and ritualistic hogg wash in a clear attempt to ’suck’ the ball into the opponents net in the final minutes of the game.
On the days that I’ve attended matches at the Emirates, I’ve found my heart racing like a nonsense and wishing I had a stiff brandy to gulp down and calm the nerves. I don’t know if you’ve noticed that at the Emirates, the stadium announcer never says what the added on time is on the public address system. It happens at all other stadiums the minute the 4th official indicates how much extra time is being played, but never at the Emirates.
I’m sure it’s by design to stop our players from panicking and just playing on until they can’t do any more legally, but it really doesn’t help if the time stamp on the score board is screaming with how long you still have to endure the torturous excitement.
This season, we’ve really pushed the envelope when it comes to doing things the hard way. It’s not just the late, last gasp goals that leave you shaking your head in bewilderment. It’s also the way we’ve dropped or given away leads, the way we’ve sometimes laboured when there’s no need to, or even the way we’ve approached games.
Believe it or not, there’s only 4 games this season – Burnley, Hull and Blackburn (all away), and West Ham at home – that we’ve scored a goal in the first 15 minutes in any game. I may be wrong on that stat, so please feel free to correct me; but those are the 3 games that I remember us taking an early lead.
That alone is an indicator of how hard we prefer to work, and if it’s any consolation, if we were ever to be the beneficiaries of the first ’helicopter Sunday’ of the Premier league, then it would have been a long arduous and painful journey. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure which is more nauseating; Chelsea winning the double or United winning a 4th successive title.
I’m clear of the fact that what is most definitely nauseating is the fact that we could finish on the same points as that lot up Seven Sisters way. Even when we had clear daylight between us and the Spuds, we just had to go put ourselves in a situation where we needed a point in the last game.
I personally think my manager of the season – Roy Hodgson, will field a reserve team as he rests his players for the biggest game in the history of Fulham.
They have given an excellent account of themselves this season and I’m fully behind them and cheering them on as they face Atlético Madrid for the right to take the inaugural Europa league home.
Regardless of which Fulham team takes the field, it will be criminally negligent for Arsenal to let 3rd place slip away. I can understand if the fight was tight and we scraped through – but I have a problem that firstly, we could have wrapped this one up a long time ago, and more painfully, the fact that it’s Tottenham bum rushing us like a panty sniffing stalker.
Either way, it looks like I’ll be stuck with Arsenal TV for this one. At least Dan Roebuck and Nigel Winterburn are enthusiastic commentators with an Arsenal bias.
Is The EPL ‘Home Grown’ 25 Squad Rule Even Legal? Protectionism Anyone?
Posted by: | CommentsMuch has been said about the new 25 man squad rule with all of its veiled attempts at protectionism. Pick any newspaper or read any football blog, and the big story over the last few days has been the squeezing of chuffers at the Premier league table to force a new squad system with the ’home grown’ bias.
So the Premier League chairmen had a gentleman’s agreement and shook hands on it. That’s what they say, but is it even legal?
British Airways executives and Virgin Atlantic bosses famously had dodgy telephone conversations to try and fix ticket prices that begun with ”This conversation didn’t take place….”, and it’s not surprising that they’re in the dock staring down the barrel of a long stretch as a guest of the state.
An extreme example, but a valid one nonetheless illustrating that all the best will of the industry at protectionism, may not be necessarily legal.
Richard Scudamore, the Premier league CEO is quick to point out that the benefit of such a system will help promote youth and increase the chances of ’home grown’ players (whatever that actually means) making it through the ranks. If ever there was a veiled attempt at protectionism…well
There’s a small matter of a European Law though, that prohibits restriction of trade and for all intents and purposes, is open to interpretation. All it takes is for a good lawyer to prove that this rule actually restricts the movement of players in some shape or form within the EU.
It’ll only take one player to get a raw deal when they’re shipped off to another club they don’t want to go to in order to accommodate over 21 year old players.
The truth is that if I tried in my company to implement employment restrictions on the number of men or women, the number of over and under 25s, the number of gay or straight people, the number of disabled people, the number of black or white people, the number of ugly or beautiful people, the number of fat or thin people, or the number of parents and non-parents; I’d actually be in remand waiting for a jail sentence for crimes against employment law.
My sense is that there’s too much money at stake in football for such a rule to go unchecked, and I suppose I have a bigger problem in the overarching message about protectionism that this rule breeds.
I don’t subscribe to the notion that such a policy acts to ’save’ indigenous football as it provides the message that the foreign influence in the EPL thus far has inherently impeded local prospects. I said this as much in our ’How English Is the English Premier League’ series.
Local prospects have a bigger problem than the global nature of the EPL. It’s a much deeper rooted problem that is a nightmare for the English FA to deal with and is the reason why I submitted that England will never win the world cup until the establishment comes out of the stone age and change their paradigm and mindset about the game from top to bottom.
However you look at this though, Arsenal is more equipped than any other EPL club to cope with this protectionism rule. The work that the club has done over the last few years has ensured that we have the best crop of talented and experienced under 21s in the top flight who can readily supplement the 25 man squad.
My sense is that it will only be a matter of time before the ruling is challenged by someone who is pissed off by it, and it won’t just necessarily be a player who’s nose is left out of joint. I wouldn’t put it past a club decimated by injury and having few options to cope turning to the courts for recourse.
Either way, the situation makes the job of hacks that much more difficult. It’s amazing how every year, the silly season starts earlier as the media shit stirring goes into full effect. I have a theory that editors systematically bust the balls of sports writers (well, at least those with balls) to come up with any sensationalist nonsense about player transfers.
I get bemused when I hear the term ’linked to’ as in a player has been linked to Arsenal, or any other club for that matter. Who the hell links these players if it isn’t the same bunch of hacks who sit in Fleet street pubs all day concocting transfer rumours to fill news columns. Their fantasy transfer stories are usually based on video game experiences and have little to no bearing on the reality.
I particularly like the articles published as fact that don’t even have an author’s name and is tagged as ’by Football Correspondent’ or ’by Staff Team’. And they also quote an inside source as the origin of their hackery attempt at a story.
This 25 man ’home grown’ player rule will really rack their brains this time as speculating on transfers won’t be as straight forward as it’s always been. It’ll take a bit more thought and creativity.
I know for sure that in my line of work, if I constantly published the amount of faecal matter that we see in the tabloids promoted as fact, I’d be out of a job every time round. I do wonder whether these guys have a modicum of respectability when they look in the mirror after a day of concocting news they’ve peddled to the world as fact.
What most people don’t realise is that other journalists around the world take these stories as fact and rehash and republish them cementing the rumour and innuendo as credible news.
Did I mention that Stone Cold Arsenal is looking for new writers? Just in case I didn’t, we are looking.
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.
Have Arsenal Supporters Lost The Plot?
Posted by: | CommentsSo the run is over. We have finally lost to them lot down the road and I must say, it did hurt quite a bit. Take a step back though, and you realise how frustrating, infuriating and anger inducing it must have been for them to endure 10 years without a league victory.
Let them have their day in the sun; we still have bigger fish to fry. We will always have bigger fish to fry.
However, I am going to say something that may bring me down in the eyes of other Arsenal supporters. Here it goes.
I am jealous of the Spuds. I am jealous of how united their support is behind the team and the manager. We are in a position that they would kill to be in, yet our supporters seem to take defeat as an excuse to turn on the team, to turn on the manager.
Now it would seem the trend is to turn on the medical staff. Suddenly, a team that is in the title hunt and consistently in the Champions League needs a major overhaul. How is this the case?
As I said in my first post on this website, I normally don’t travel into the Arsenal Blogosphere until a couple of days after a defeat. I’d rather not douse the flames of disappointment with the oils of reactionary comment from Football Manager Specialists.
The day supporting your team becomes drawing up shopping lists of players who you believe are better than what your team currently has is the day I want to stop supporting Arsenal Football Club.
Why is there no pride in the project that we are currently undertaking? Our academy is the envy of many, and most if not all Premier League Clubs are playing catch up with us.
Our decision to live within our financial means has resulted in us budgeting towards a future free of debt, whilst nurturing young footballing talents. Why is it so hard for people to believe that once the debt has been serviced, every penny we make can be reinvested back into our playing squad if needed?
I am proud that Arsene won’t be bullied into paying over the odds for players who aren’t worth it. We were after Felipe Melo until Juventus decided to gazump us with an offer of 25million Euros, and Arsene would not go into a western style saloon shoot-out for a player that he did not believe was worth that.
In the January transfer window, the calls for a striker were deafening. I ask these so called supporters who have a shopping list to hand, who could we have bought who would be able to settle in straight away and have a better goal ratio than Nicklas Bendtner has had since returning? That’s 9 goals in 11 games by the way. Not just consolations. Invaluable goals. Match changing goals. Match winning goals.
Wenger refuses to spend unless it is completely necessary and I stand by that. I stand by financial prudence. Manchester United could not afford to keep Carlos Tevez, and bought in Michael Owen on a free. United’s financial instability is starting to impact on their ability to reinvest in the squad, at a time when we are starting to be able to just the opposite.
We were close this season, and next season we will be even closer. We may not even win anything again, but we will be nowhere near closer to bankruptcy. We will not be relying on a trio of bankers to save our club from the clutches of debt with… more debt?
I don’t know too much about the Red Knights, but I don’t know too many people with £1billion to throw at a football club in this financial climate. But that is another blog post altogether.
My point is this. Don’t use the excuse of the manager being tight on the purse strings as a whip to beat him with. Praise him. Calls for Usmanov to hoover up Lady Nina’s shares so that he can be our Eastern European sugar daddy are born out of frustration at our lack of silverware, and not rational thinking as to the future well being of our club.
As fans we should rally behind the team after a defeat, not carry out a post-mortem into the deficiencies of this team and the manager. Defeat should be the cue to come together even tighter, to get behind this team and show them that they have our unwavering support.
It is not a time to jump on your favourite scapegoat. It is not a time to ridicule a manager who has brought so much to our club, and will continue to do so years after he has gone.
Title or not, I am proud of what this team has achieved through the adversity from not only outside but, more cruelly, from within.
Supporters. Let’s Support.
Speaking of supporters, you might have missed us talking about Arsenal ‘customers’ masquerading as supporters. We’ve even broken down the anatomy of your typical Arsenal doom and gloom merchant so that you’re able to pick them a mile off.
And don’t forget that you can find Nyasha at Nashis Arsenal when he’s not writing for Stone Cold Arsenal every Friday.
We thought Darius was anal when he worked on Holloway Road right next to the Emirates and had a fantastic view of the stadium from his office window and took lunch time walks to see the construction and enjoy the magnificence of the finished stadium.
Nyasha and his mates used to steal footballs and cones from the training ground at London Colney before Wenger tightened the security. They have to get their footballs from JJB nowadays (or is it the DW).
Also, if you haven’t yet, we’d like you to subscribe to Stone Cold Arsenal to receive automatic updates of our content.
Tottenham Historical Society Have Released The DVD Already
Posted by: | CommentsI had an early meeting this morning and didn’t switch on my phone until I was through. When I did, I found 8 messages waiting for me. I don’t have any Spud loving friends who would call me, let alone leave a message, but I guessed it would be Dean, my Liverpool supporting friend.
You see, the past few weeks have been depressing for him and I haven’t made it easier at all. It’s not just the fact that I keep asking Dean if I could help organize flights for him for next season as they visit second rate European outposts for the Europa league.
I keep reminding him how perilous Liverpool’s financial situation is and that soon, he might be thinking about changing allegiance to the red part of London.
His messages were damn funny I have to say, as some of my colleagues who watched me listening to the messages think I’ve lost the plot. Apparently, the reason he’s calling me is because he happened to be passing around the N17 post code area early this morning.
He bumped into a few touts selling some DVDs and he couldn’t resist buying me a birthday present, even though my birthday was a couple of months ago. Yup! He insists it’s the DVD of last night’s game already on sale by the Tottenham historical society.
I’ll believe it when I see him over the weekend.
As for last night’s game, I had a really bad feeling when Vermaelen was stretchered off. In some way, I’ve become more anxious about our propensity to collect injuries as opposed to the risk we have of losing games.
I’m still trying to process whether I’m disappointed that we lost yesterday’s game, or whether I’m disappointed because it was the Tiny Tots we lost to. The reality of the matter is that the loss last night made it very difficult for us to come back from the dead again.
There’s not enough games left in the calendar for another Lazarus type resurrection. I still continue to hold high hopes because there’s still a mathematical possibility that Arsenal can win the title.
Of course, Chelsea will have to lose 2 games, or draw 3 of them and on top of that, we either catch up with their goal difference or hope that they mess up even more.
But the reality is that it would take an enormous miracle for the Chavs to commit suicide in that fashion. I wouldn’t put it past them though so I’ll still continue to keep the faith.
I still fully expect the team to play well and fight for the remainder of the season for the simple reason that I don’t like the feeling of losing any game. Soon, our focus will move to consolidating the position that we’re in and building on what we’ve managed to achieve this season.
I must say though, Robin Van Persie was great last night. It’s a shame we couldn’t bring him on earlier as that would have probably been a Gallas-esque risk.
Despite being out for so long, the Dutch ace made the hairs at the back of my neck stand up. You really can’t legislate for the heroics of Heurelho Gomes and if it wasn’t for the Spurs keeper, Van Persie would have had a mesmerizing comeback.
I’m just pissed off it’s the Dutch national team who will get to enjoy his form and we have to wait until the start of the new season. My sense is that if it’ll make Robin happy to play well in the world cup, then he’ll be a better player for Arsenal next season; it’s just revolting that the Dutch FA threw him to the Italian wolves only to have him back just in time.
Meanwhile, we need to tighten our seat belts, hold on to our hats and jump into the bumpy ride of the doom and gloom variety. The forked tongues are being sharpened and we have to prepare to fight the good fight for the sake of the Arsenal.
I’ll be looking forward to my DVD this weekend. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to try and figure out which hurts me more; the fact that we lost to that lot up the road or the fact that we’re about to dust ourselves off and start again.
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.
Avoid That Damn Lasagna & Arsenal Don’t do ‘Hatchet Men’
Posted by: | CommentsI never really figured out whether there was any truth to the accusations levelled against the chefs at Marriott who prepared the infamous lasagne dinner in May 2006.
Dean, My Liverpool supporting friend worked at the Four Seasons at the time and the whisper doing the grapevine within the hotel industry was that the chefs involved were Arsenal season ticket holders.
You will of course understand if I add a big fat ’allegedly’ to that accusation, but you have to admit that it’s damn funny if that were the case.
Encounters with the Spuds usually throw up some sort of drama and tonight’s match is no exception. It’s almost like it’s ’Calamity Spuds’ time and you wonder where the twist will come from.
I would suspect that Harry Redknapp has more on his mind today than he would have wanted to deal with. Getting one over Arsenal in the league is probably hard enough, but I’d hazard a guess that ‘Arry’ will be wondering how events will unfold when he stands in the defendant’s dock at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.
I’m told employers can be quite accommodating when it comes to exploring different ways their employees could work. It’ll be interesting to see how Tottenham could accommodate ‘Arry managing the club if the Gaffa at the Southwark Court decides to give the Spuds manager an invitation to be a guest of the state enjoying Her Majesty’s pleasure.
Not that I’d want to second guess the laws of natural justice that dictate that ‘Arry is innocent unless proven guilty; it’s just funny to think of him running Tottenham from behind bars….but I digress.
There’s a small matter of 3 points to be collected at White Hart Lane and Arsenal have no option but to collect these 3 points if we’re to maintain the title challenge.
The Gunners will be buoyed by the return of our talismanic striker Van Persie, but he is likely to start on the bench. I think it will be premature to expect anything significant from the Dutch ace, and perhaps he would provide more value when we meet Manchester city in 10 days time.
My sense is that Wenger will go for a starting line-up of:
- Almunia
- Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy
- Diaby, Denilson, Nasri
- Walcott, Bendtner, Rosicky
I’d hazard another guess that Van Persie, Eboue, and Eduardo will feature at some point in the game.
Tottenham have their own personnel issues with their hatchet man Wilson Palacios taking a deserved customary break for his propensity to feature in the referee’s little book. Aaron Lennon is also struggling to regain fitness and won’t make the squad.
I was bemused earlier this week when former Arsenal player Perry Groves became Palacios’s agent and started rallying Wenger to purchase the Honduran to run riot in the Arsenal midfield.
To tell you the truth, if some of these guys were good enough at what they proclaim to be in punditry, they’d actually be managers rather than prostituting themselves to every media house for the Queen’s shilling in exchange for an opinion.
Wenger let Palacios go for a reason and I’m still of the view that he’s not of the quality Arsenal need. I’ll go as far as saying that of the so called defensive midfielders in the market today, only Michael Essien and Alex Song fit the bill as ball playing defensive midfielders.
The rest like Palacios, Mascherano, Obi Mikel, Loric Cana and a host of others may be good at doing their ‘hatchet man’ impressions, but that’s all they do; break up play and sometimes with a tint of a violent streak for that is what the urban myth about defensive midfielders suggests.
You know it’s that one man action hero of the Chuck Norris ’I’ll-stop-anything-that-comes-towards-me-at-all-cost’ legend. You don’t really need to play football, you just have to scare the living shit out of the opposing team with a blood thumping, rib cracking menacing demeanour that would make Tony Soprano’s henchmen look like saints.
In case these guys hadn’t noticed, Alex Song, Denilson and even Craig Eastmond have performed really well and they actually play some football while at it. Arsenal’s game isn’t just about ’breaking up play’ – we’re more into ball playing midfielders who contribute to the overall game rather than just stop play and yet have questionable attacking instincts.
Tottenham’s tactical options will probably revolve around using Peter Crouch, but Arsenal were comfortable when dealing with the lanky fella in the reverse fixture at the Emirates. Besides, when Tottenham play Crouch, they naturally gravitate towards lumping the ball forward in hope that Crouch might do something with it.
The Spuds will be reeling from the disappointment of being dumped out of what looked like a shoe-in into the FA cup final, and in truth, they only have themselves to blame. The elusive coveted 4th spot for a champions league place also seems like slipping away and they will be desperate to make amends.
We’ll know tonight whether a desperate Tottenham will suit Arsenal fine. From the Gunners point of view, there is zero margin for error and a win is paramount; if only for the reason that it’s against Tottenham.
Wouldn’t it be funny though if they had lasagna last night?
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