Archive for Premier League
The Curious Case Of Laurent Koscielny
Posted by: | CommentsMore often than not, the sleepless nights are about the heartbreak, the disappointment, the anguish and the despair. They’re about the anger and disgust for the punditocracy and the hacks who consider it open season on Arsenal.
You can almost taste the bile from the disdain and contempt in which Arsenal is held in the footballing media circles from Sly Sports to the BBC, from Talk Spite radio to the tabloids. There’s a macabre-esque enjoyment of Arsenal’s agony in every sense – and when we say it’s a conspiracy, we’re called paranoid.
Today though, there’s so much to say and write about such an amazing day for the spirit of Arsenal football club. For that however, I’d like to encourage you to visit ACLF where my friend Yogi has written a wonderful piece that captures the emotion and captures the moment. As George our resident pedant puts it, for all the days of anguish that Yogi has kept our sanity, it’s days like these that he deserves the stage to express the magic of the moment.
I have chosen today instead to focus on Arsenal’s most influential unsung hero, Mr Laurent Koscielny. There’s more than enough analysis all over the internet and the media of the now legendary shafting of the heathen horde at Stamford Bridge.
You see, the problem with the English football establishment is that there’s a collective determination to exercise cultural incompetence of breath-taking magnitude. Take the lack of understanding of the fundamentals of football business and finance. English football is the only place on this planet where people still think it’s OK to spend the GDP of most developing countries just to chase trophies.
It’s either a brazen and reckless disregard of the laws of economics as they pertain to football, or spectacular incompetence from a collective that has the IQ of a fence post. It’s the sort of culture that equates high spending to quality, notwithstanding the fact that the rationale for the market pricing is fundamentally flawed. How can it be justifiable for example for Andy Carroll to cost more in transfer fees than Thomas Vermaelen and David Silva combined.
So when the Arsenal scouting system pluck Laurent Koscielny from the wilderness of the French league, he is considered a pariah since he doesn’t conform to the text book definition of a Premiership defender. It’s almost like it’s a crime that they don’t know him so he can’t be that good. Koscielny’s not only fighting the PR battle against the football media and pundits, he’s had to contend with undeserved criticism from Anti-Arsenal Arsenal supporters.
Yet this brilliant young man has something that a lot of defenders don’t have. He is tenacious, dependable, perceptive and applies himself with finesse. He is a dogged defender with absolute class when it comes to the art of intercepting, one on one defending and recovery defending. He is exceptional in the air and excellent in working with the ball on the ground.
Koscielny is also silky in offence and has an uncanny ability to convert defence into attack with one touch football. A very confident player with the ball, he links up very well with the midfield and is perhaps one of the best ball playing defenders around.
The fact that people still talk about Arsenal needing quality defenders without paying Koscielny any respect for what he is currently doing is an insult of the highest order in my humble opinion. If Koscielny isn’t one of the best defenders in the league, I don’t know who is.
In yesterday’s post match punditry by Sly Sports, the punk Jamie Redknapp had the audacity to suggest that Laurent Koscielny had now arrived after that performance against Chelsea. As I was reminded, Jamie was probably the only person in the country who didn’t notice Lionel Messi in Koscielny’s pocket when Arsenal beat Barcelona with panache in perhaps the greatest match of football ever played in an Arsenal stadium.
From the first game that Koscielny played at Anfield, it was so obvious that the boy oozed class. And I gather it’s not just the class. I know a few female Gooners who are willing and ready to copulate with the guy and bear his children.
Granted, he has made some mistakes – but point out to me a defender in the league who walks on water. The media even hail Sideshow Bob at Chelsea as the second coming of defensive messiahs. That’s David Luiz in case you’re wondering who Sideshow Bob is.
If Luiz was that good – why the hell didn’t he play to stop the horror show at Stamford Bridge yesterday. Even after they wax lyrical and go sycophantic about Luiz because he cost £24m while Koscielny cost a few bob according to them, you can’t hide from the fact that Laurent Koscielny stands head and shoulders above the Brazilian defender. Everything they say about Luiz, you can say that about Koscielny with compound interest.
Let’s not forget, Fernando Torres might as well have been sitting on the bench yesterday, that’s how effective Koscielny was. He’s done it to Messi, he’s done it to Rooney and he’s done it to Drogba – and folks still think of this guy like a step child from the wrong side of the rail tracks.
And yet, Gooners around the world are debating who will lose their place in central defence to accommodate the equally magnificent Thomas Vermaelen.
I think people are missing the point. The question is not who will partner Thomas Vermaelen in central defence. The more substantive question is out of Vermaelen, Mertesacker and Djourou, who will be Laurent Koscielny’s preferred partner.
My sense is that Vermaelen and Koscielny will be Arsenal’s first choice central defensive pairing, but if you take it that there will be suspensions and injury as well as the need for tactical changes to counter different opposition – there’s enough games to go around for everyone.
The most exciting thing for me is that Koscielny, Vermaelen, Mertesacker and Djourou are either 25 or 26 years of age. The central defensive solutions at Arsenal for the next 8 to 10 years are on solid ground, notwithstanding the fact that young shining lights like Ignasi Miquel and Kyle Bartley are on hand to complement the squad depth.
Dont forget, if you haven’t yet, follow Stone Cold Arsenal on Twitter and join the growing community. We’re trying to find out where Bruce “We’ll beat the crap out of Arsenal” is hiding.
The Arsenal Requiem, Armageddon in the Gooniverse
Posted by: | CommentsHere I was thinking it couldn’t get any worse, but believe it or not, the Philistines are in town. They say bedlam is taking over. They’re taking no prisoners as the battle to control the asylum thickens.
“Bring me the head of Arséne Wenger” is the deafening refrain that can be equally heard from the shadowy alleyways around the Holloway road and the ether that is the Arsenal blogosphere.
Sir Harry Pearce and his Spooks have gawked in amazement at the sheer noise and traffic that is overwhelming their listening stations only to find that bitching about Arsenal is spiking internet traffic like a nonsense. Off he sends Dimitri and Malcolm (no wait, Malcolm left the service, right?) – it’s minimum wage Tariq – Yeah, off he sends Tariq to redirect the Arsenal chatter on the web to the Samaritans website and TheSuicideBunker.com.
“If those Arsenal bastards want to commit suicide, then get them off my frigging grid before I blow a gasket”, Sir Harry demands. We’ve got the Russians to deal with.
Meanwhile, at the Islington Cathedral, the masses file into the church awaiting the arrival of the doomed casket carrying the remains of ArsenalHasNotWonATrophyFor7YearsAndHaveOnlyGot16PointsFromTheLast16Games FC. The casket slowly navigates the streets of Islington towards the cathedral in a cortege flanked on either side by twin cannons mounted on top of carriages drawn by the 4 horses of the apocalypse.
Sly Sports News lead the procession with Mr Transfer Deadline Day himself – Jim White marching as he blows the trumpet to the tune of “Judgment Day”, as Jeff Stelling, Paul Merson and Phil Thompson sing along with gusto that would put the town crier to shame.
The front pews of the cathedral are filled by a smug Red nosed Ferguson and his lackeys Alex McLeash, Tony Pulis, Sam Allardyce and Phil Brown. Happy Harry sits in the row behind though he’s constantly occupied on his Blackberry trying to confirm whether his case file with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs was hidden in the imminently arriving ArsenalHasNotWonATrophyFor7YearsAndHaveOnlyGot16PointsFromTheLast16Games FC casket.
As the Right Reverend Alan Brazil of the Talk Spite parish rises to meet the casket, the multitude stand and join in a solemn chorus of “Kumbayah my Lord Kumbayah – Arsenal’s dying Lord Kumbayah”.
“But where’s Arséne?” a voice murmurs from the shadows of the media box at the balcony.
“You didn’t hear?”, John Cross responds. “They beheaded him like William Wallace, quartered him and had his head mounted on a stick outside the Waitrose on Holloway Road. Looks like he’s a bit short for this funeral”.
“What about the Arsenal fans? Don’t’ they attend their own funeral?”
“Well, I hear those whose bodies were recovered from the mass suicide on Saturday evening are still awaiting identification and can only be processed after that”.
As Reverend Brazil takes the pulpit, the congregation sits and awaits the final sermon as the Arsenal Armageddon is complete.
“Dear friends. We gather here today to witness the demise of an institution that dared challenge the establishment, an institution that despite our warnings and cautionary advice, thought that they could get away with doing things differently from anyone in the game”.
“Let this be a lesson to any other club that tries living within its means and refusing to sign the English backbone that we told them to sign. How dare they”
“We will hunt you down and kill you. At Old Trafford, At Ewood Park, even abroad at the Nou Camp. We will hunt you down and crush you with the wrath of a mighty iron fist that will ensure we make an example of you”.
“When we tell you to spend money, you must. When we tell you to buy Gary Cahill and Scott Parker, you must listen to us. When we tell you that Man City are taking over the world by spending the equivalent of the GDP of most developing countries around the world, then you must respect that. This is the way football will run, otherwise you will end up in this casket in front of me”.
As the camera pans around the enclosure usually reserved for family, the spokesman for the Arsenal Supporters Trust can be seen weeping silently next to an equally silent gentleman and former owner who watches sombrely. Happy Harry receives a text that his fixer at Southwark Crown Court was arrested by his namesake Sir Harry Pearce, defender of the realm. He too starts weeping but it’s not in solidarity with the Arsenal folks, its more to do with his case file still being active.
As the pallbearers led by Wright and Merson picked for selling their souls to the highest bidder are joined by Stelling and his crew to lead the procession out – the Camera spans to a quiet corner of the cathedral where Cesc sits with his minders Xavi Hernandes and Carles Puyol, who constantly whisper in Spanish “you could have been in that coffin my friend”.
The casket for ArsenalHasNotWonATrophyFor7YearsAndHaveOnlyGot16PointsFromTheLast16Games FC is led out to its final resting place at the Royal Arsenal Museum in Woolwich. The deafening silence for this final procession is only disturbed by the sound of Rednose Ferguson loudly masticating his chewing gum.
Damn wait! Was this a dream?
5 games in and judgement day has been written. If you didn’t know better, you’d think United has already won the title. What do we know anyway, Arsenal is in a relegation dog fight, we better start acclimatizing to football grounds we’ve never been used to – some of which hold 67 people with room for a few dogs.
Mind you, a game against Shrewsbury Town is just the game we need to get us used to playing in the lower leagues.
If you want to find out what happened in the rest of my dream, follow me on Twitter and I might just reveal all.
Football, Racism, 40 Acres And The Regulation Mule
Posted by: | CommentsLast evening, there was a captivating debate on ACLF about the extent of racism in football. Yogi’s joint has this eclectic mix of fascinating characters who occasionally take a spin outside football and indulge in profound discussions about politics, police states, the economy and many other colourful topics.
What struck me about the discussion yesterday was the level of understanding and ignorance in equal measure when it came to the reality of racism in football. It was a discussion triggered by the suggestion by former West Bromwich defender Brendan Batson that affirmative action was needed in English football to open up opportunities in management for blacks and other ethnic minorities.
So, in the sporting world’s rendition of General William Sherman’s 1865 special field order No. 15, is it time for English football to start handing out the “40 acres and the regulation mule” to managers of colour?
The redistribution of arable land to freed slaves was an effort to give them a chance to make a living in recognition of the clear disadvantage they already faced. Even as far back , that representation of affirmative action was deemed necessary to try and redress inequalities stemming from generations of slavery, despite its revocation after Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
And here we are nearly 145 years later, and the “Rooney Rule” (nothing to do with that other one from Manchester) is seen as the only viable mechanism to break the establishment’s stronghold on the status quo when it comes to the lack of black managers in football.
Racism, like with most other “isms” is an emotive subject on any given day, and one commonly misunderstood characteristic is how racism manifests itself. It doesn’t have to be overt or explicit for it to exist. And in most cases, it is subconscious, subtle and hidden under the surface.
We’ve seen the numerous high profile initiatives and campaigns in football like “kick It Out” that in my opinion, are feeble and toothless PR exercises for the establishment to show that it is doing something. Only this week, the England football team were training with the “Kick it Out” bracelets to show the media and the world that they were sensitive to the racism experienced in Bulgaria during the fixture last week.
I know it’s feeble and spineless because it’s not nearly enough and not gutsy and deep enough to effect any changes. Footballing authorities are more interested in spending time witch-hunting banned managers for misdemeanours like sending signals to the bench from the stands via mobile phone, instead of tackling clear cases of racism.
It was only recently that Sergio Busquets of Barcelona blatantly abused an opponent with explicit racist slurs and FIFA and UEFA concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence. Gil Grisham from CSI would have built a case against Busquets from the TV footage even without leaving his sofa.
But it isn’t just the racism in the stands and terraces, and the racism on the field of play. When it comes to management, officiating, and the board room, the trend continues. It’s shocking that out of the 92 registered association football members, only Chris Hughton at Birmingham and Chris Powell at Charlton are black.
At the highest level of football, we’ve seen the likes of Paul Ince, Ruud Gullit and Jean Tigana take charge of top football clubs, but is that nearly enough?
I don’t buy the argument that there aren’t enough black or minority professionals capable of doing the job at the highest levels. The fact that not many are even pursuing the opportunities in management is symptomatic of the fact that they are not likely to get the chance to manage at a high level, even if they were extremely competent and capable.
Nobody’s advocating for not giving the best man or woman the job. In an ideal world, the best candidate triumphs. But idealism and reality are two parallel universes. The reality is that the footballing establishment still live in the stone age and represent values and principles that are out of step with the modern world.
There’s a lot of noises about change, and a lot of noises about inclusion and diversity. They say “but, can’t you see how colourful the Premier league and the football leagues are? We have black, Asian and Hispanic players happily plying their trade alongside white folks”.
The blunt truth is that despite the player diversity numbers, racism is still alive. It’s taken a long time to get to where we are, but there are still tangible cases of racism towards players. My sense is that it got to a tipping point where it was impossible to ignore the talents of exceptional black players and that’s the reason barriers started breaking.
Sweden in the summer of 1958 was probably not prepared for a black 17 year old Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pele), but history will suggest that the world will never forget him. Pele spectacularly announced himself on the world stage despite the “hostile” conditions towards black players.
Much more work has to be done in other areas of football, whether in management and coaching, or in the board room. As much as the establishment might want to rationalize or justify what is happening or what initiatives have been put in place, not nearly enough is being done.
If we need to hand over footballing’s equivalent of 40 acres and a mule, then it needs to happen. It’s criminal that opportunities for minority professionals in a game of such a high percentage of minority players is almost non-existent.
This isn’t about handing over jobs to disadvantaged folks for the sake of political correctness. It’s about recognizing that we’re not even starting from a level playing field and we have to do something drastic about it. It’s about getting them to the table. Those who are good enough can take care of themselves from there.
Don’t forget, we’re getting into this tweeting thing now. Join me on Twitter.
Arsenal’s Season Starts Here
Posted by: | CommentsAs the troops roll in from the wilderness of international football, Arsenal fans look forward to a mouth-watering prospect of seeing the long awaited new faces grace the hallowed turf at the Emirates. Ordinarily, playing Swansea wouldn’t be such a big deal, but it’s safe to say that Arsenal probably didn’t get the memo about the Premier league starting on 13th of August.
Well, considering our freakish start to the season, a game against Swansea at home, with shiny brand new signings and a rejuvenated spirit is the only way to go. Everyone from the tea lady at Stoke City FC to my 82 year old neighbour has had something to say about Arsenal’s alleged crisis.
Perhaps the most rewarding thing in all this dooms day nonsense is that despite the worst start to a season Arsenal has ever made in my memory, Tottenham are still below us on the table. There are indeed still small mercies in life. Even when you consider the witch hunt against the Arsenal medical staff for allegedly engineering constant injuries to our players, the only other team with a worse injury record than us are Tottenham.
My sense is that it’s a good thing that we’ve got the demons out of our system early this season. It’s hard to see how things can get any worse than they have been, and thankfully, the ghastly transfer window is closed for another 114 days. It’s been a summer of torturous nonsense, speculation, conjecture and outright bullshit peddled by all and sundry in the name of “exclusives”, “transfer talk”, and everyone thinking they know what is happening yet they know bugger all.
The negativity around Arsenal has been nothing short of suffocating and some sanity should be restored when the football comes back. There’s no hiding from the fact that since we lost the Carling cup final, we’ve only won 2 Premier league games against Blackpool and Man United. Clearly, that isn’t good enough, and steps have been taken to improve this. We need to let the changes take shape and back the team to the hilt when they step across that white line.
It’s a long season and Li’l Jack and Vermaelen in particular should not be rushed back under any circumstances. Abou Diaby is also due back in training by the end of this month, with Song and Gervinho being let out of jail after this weekend. With the 9 new additions, the squad looks healthy and we can focus on the football.
There are many who still have a hangover about the prodigal son’s return to Broke Back Barca, and the assertion that he should have been replaced therefore we are a weaker squad. Assuming you can find a replacement for “he who sold out to Broke Back Barca” – you have to ask whether elevating an individual to superstar status is the answer.
Surely, Thierry Henry and the prodigal son should have taught us the downside of building a team around an individual. My sense is that we need more players in the team to take responsibility and not to have the expectation that the team will be carried by an individual with superhuman ability when times get tough.
We now have experience with the introduction of players like Santos, Mertesacker, Arteta, Benayoun, Gervinho and Park to complement our resident generals like Van Persie, Vermaelen, Sagna, Arshavin and Rosicky.
My sense is that Wenger is tweaking our style of play to a more direct “in your face” counter attacking style to deal with the teams that come to the Emirates to park an aircraft carrier in front of goal. Possession football has its flaws and hopefully the pace of Theo, Gervinho, The Ox and Ryo will help with getting behind the defence lines.
The season starts Saturday and we’ve got everything to play for.
Who’s Payroll Is Phil Daud On?
Posted by: | CommentsClaiming that “We was robbed” has to be the under-statement of the decade.
And so we learn the true cost of challenging the establishment. It was naive to think that it’s impossible for any referee to have a worse performance than Lee Mason did in the home game against Everton.
When David Moyes cowardly unleashed the media on Cesc Fabregas, you would have thought that the Arsenal captain had actually called the referees mother a 2 dollar STD infected hoe.
But Cesc actually raised a legitimate question that needs to be asked time and time again. Who the hell is paying these referees?
The only way to explain the breath-taking miscarriages of justice on the field is either by recognizing that the referees are incompetent; or they’re corrupt. If they are incompetent, why does Mike Riley keep them in a job.
But then again, why are we expecting anything from Mike Riley, probably the most incompetent referee to be promoted to lead the pack of wolves.
The blunt truth is that what happened on Tuesday and the media circus that followed it have cost Arsenal big time. We have literally rattled the snake and the serpent is biting back.
How dare we question the integrity of referees? You should have heard the seething pundits and hacks breathing fire and brimstone on the Arsenal. Apparently, we are bringing the game into disrepute by questioning the integrity of the officials.
What a load of nonsense. These bastards have no integrity. They have no moral leg to stand on. They are low life cretins who shamelessly implement the corrupt agenda of a Neolithic establishment.
Anyone who thinks that there’s no anti-Arsenal agenda needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Forget the establishment ganging up on all fronts, the sheer bias and mismanagement of games is unacceptable.
This is not a theory, this is fact. To which I refer you to Walter’s running referee performance record on Untold Arsenal. Walter is an active referee himself and has laid out in black and white, the referees performances this season – and the results are shocking.
So I ask again. Who the hell is paying Phil Daud on the side? Who is Phil Daud sleeping with?
Daud has personally been in charge of 4 games involving Arsenal that have had contentious and unbelievable decisions against us. Once is a mistake; twice a coincidence; three times – and it’s a conspiracy. Four times or more – it’s just bang out of order.
Our players can’t ask for justice on the field without being reprimanded; our manager can’t say anything that will unleash the pack of wolves on us – so we’re going to ask and we’re going to continue asking until the corruption in English football is addressed in the same way the Police got involved in Serie A.
The evidence is there – and this is not a theory.
The only two disappointments I have from yesterday’s game are the injury to Djourou and the fact that Diaby didn’t get his money’s worth for that red card.
Diaby should have punched the living shit out of Barton and knocked his teeth out. He should have put him on a stretcher and made sure in no uncertain terms that he will not hesitate to defend himself from a 3rd career threatening injury in as many years. Barton is a certified thug who has only one intention and that is to injure Arsenal players.
The referee was clearly not going to protect him; and to be honest, I’d rather Diaby is out for 3 games than out for the rest of the calendar year with yet another broken leg.
The irony of course is that even after all this – we’re better off only 4 points adrift of the Manure. So – are they in a crisis and all now?
And just in case we forget – it was this weekend a year ago that Aaron Ramsey got assaulted by Ryan Shawcross.
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.
Tue 13th September 2011; 19:45, Dortmund