Szczesny sorry for ‘rapist’ quip – a Twit or a Tweet?
Jan 25th
This is a nearly funny little story that appeared on the BBC’s Sports website and we are sharing with you verbatim below. It was all good-natured and no blows were exchanged or writs issued. It, of course, reached the Press since there are certain things we just don’t say in public, particularly if we are celebrities:
| Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has apologised for saying in a Twitter message that team-mate Aaron Ramsey looked “like a rapist”.The 21-year-old Polish goalkeeper has been reminded by the club of his responsibilities, and apologised for any offence his remarks had caused.
The statements mocking Wales captain Ramsey have since been deleted from Szczesny’s Twitter timeline. “I’m sorry if anyone was offended by my tweets,” Szczesny wrote on Twitter. Poland international Szczesny joined the Gunners in 2006 from Polish side Legia Warsaw and has since made 35 appearances for the club – including their 1-0 FA Cup victory over Leeds United on Tuesday. Ramsey, also 21, had posted a picture of himself attending a golf event, to which Szczesny responded: “I don’t wanna be rude mate but you look like a rapist on that picture.” The Wales international had treated the comments as light-hearted, replying: “I try my best mate we’re not all blessed with a good fashion sense like you”. |
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Blogger wakes from off-season coma; Doctor – “Miracle”, Wife – “Bl**dy Typical”
Aug 13th
The author of the Arsenally Yours blog has woken from a coma, writes Andy Hack of News of the World Blogs. Rumour has it that as last season drew to its painful and boring conclusion, he slipped into unconsciousness. His agent/wife said that he briefly woke up for the internationals, but when the transfer rumour mill began to grind out its predictable, unresearched and completely baseless assumptions, he fell asleep and simply would not wake up.
“I thought the signing of Carl Jenkinson from Charlton would have woken him up a bit, we used to live there, and he saw Jenkinson last season at the Valley and was quite impressed at the time, but no. I’m sure I heard a groan, as if he was happy with the signing but thought that a better, older, and more experienced defender should have been added to the squad as soon as possible, as opposed to just another promising youngster,” said Mrs Arsenally, the blogger’s agent and wife.
“As for all that rubbish about Cesc and Nasri, well, I tried reading some of the stories to him, but the doctors had to get me to stop. It was as if his brain was quite literally strangling itself, as they explained it to me. You would have thought he’d have got up off his arse to rant about both those two, but as the doctors said, any more ‘news’ about Cesc going to Barça or Nasri being unhappy would be a serious risk to his mental stability, even in the depths of unconsciousness.
“Then we signed Gervinho, and I thought, hello, here’s some good news for him, he’ll surely rise up out this slumber if I read him that. It did the trick for a minute, he sat bolt upright, and pumped the air, but then he asked me the question I’d been dreading – ‘Have we signed a f**king centre half yet?’ I promised him we would sign one, to try to restore him to full psychological fitness, but he saw the doubt in my eyes and sank straight back down, into a deeper coma than before. His disturbed and fragile psyche just couldn’t handle the fact that our defence will be as leaky as my spaghetti colander.
“When we finally got Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s name on the books I toyed with the idea of whispering that bit of news in his ear. But the doctors warned me that any mention of ‘youth’ or ‘young team’ could be fatal. so I still haven’t told him yet. I reckon Alex OC’s got a brighter future than Theo, the obvious point of comparison, and the reports from the training ground seem to suggest that he’s impressed already.
“But then a miracle. The doctors had warned me that the coma could well carry on until we signed a decent, strong, ball-playing, and experienced centre-half, but then he just woke up last week. ‘The excitement of the new season’, one of the nurses said. Just bl**dy typical, I say.
“It was like this a few seasons back with Vieira. And both times it coincides with a visit from my mum and a pressing need for some DIY. Highly convenient.”
I don’t know what medical facts surround this strange case, but in all my years tapping Pippa Middleton’s phone for the News of the World, I never came across an instance of a coma being so welcome. When he came round, all he said was “Thank buggery I didn’t have to sit through all that! Now let’s get on with some football.”
Arsenal 1 Villa 2 Review
May 16th
I’ve just watched the Villa highlights again, and it’s hard to know exactly where to start. Vermaelen’s studs. That’s a place to start. Our players and staff are paid a fortune to be the best, and when you’re a player coming back from a long term injury, you shouldn’t be slipping and sliding around, risking another year out with a nasty injury. Unbelievable. Apart from that, it was fantastic to see him back after such a long time, and it was interesting to see that he set his partner in defence in deep contrast.
Speaking of which. Squillaci. I’ve rarely seen a worse performance. He looked like a fish out of water on a bicycle. For the Sun, that bastion of reliable comment, to give him 0/10 really is quite an indictment on what was a very poor performance. I expect to put in a much better shift next time around, should he feature against Fulham.
Actually, I have seen a worse performance than Squillaci vs Villa. Firstly the entire Arsenal team (except v Persie) against Stoke. And secondly, Mike Oliver, the FA’s new ref, who managed to miss Ramsey’s blatant, obvious penalty from about one-and-a-half yards away, and contrived to give penalise Chamakh for scoring a goal. Unbelievable. If that’s the FA showing us a young ref with a promising future, gawd help us all.
It’s all quite preposterous and one thing is clear to me. Major surgery is needed on the rotten, gangrenous, pustule-filled wound that is the current Arsenal squad. There will be no Fabregas next year. We must replace him with a proper centre half, and a decent striker.
It’s far, far too early to be talking names, but watching the ‘Ammers go down, one can’t help but think that we could do with a certain Matthew Upson, once the promised Tony Adams reborn of Arsenal of yore. I wouldn’t mind Scott Parker either. Demba Ba would be better than Bendtmakh, or whatever useless combination of frontmen those two have transformed into.
As you can tell, dear readers, I’ve had a weeny little bit too much to drink, and proper comment should not be made at such emotional moments. Suffice it to say that I will always love the Arsenal, even if we finish fourth. Against Fulham it’s time for those who wish to have an Arsenal future show that they can play not just for medals, not just for fame, not just for money, but for pride and love of club as well.
Yours emotionarsenally,
Will
Some Interesting Stats about Koscielny
Apr 28th
Some stats, based on all games this season:
Arsenal have won every single game in which Koscielny has not played. When he has played, we’ve won only 41% of games. Compare this to Fabregas – when he’s played we’ve won 61% of games.
When Fabianski has played, we’ve lost 28% of our games. when Szczesny has played, we’ve lost just 18%. The only player with a worse percentage of games lost when played is Diaby, at 19%.
The player with the highest percentage of games won when they’ve played is… Eboue (!?!) with a massive 75%. We’ve won only 45% of our games this season when Sagna has started. Furthermore, we’ve won 80% of the games in which Sagna didn’t feature [but I don't think he would have given THAT penalty away... ]
Our average points per game is 1.82 this season. With Djourou playing, we’ve got an average of 2.31 points per game; Squillaci playing – 1.79 points per game; Koscielny playing – just 1.59 points per game.
With Djourou NOT playing, we’ve come away with 1.59 points on average; with Squillaci out, 2.00 average points per game; and Koscielny out, 3.00 average points per game.
Looking at the average number of goals per game for and against does not make for better reading for Koscielny – quite the opposite, it’s even worse. Taking the team as a whole, we’ve scored on average 1.82 goals and conceded 1.04 in each game this season. With the Frolish centre-half, we’ve scored marginally fewer at an average of 1.81, but conceded more with an average of 1.22. That might not sound like a lot, but we’re conceding 18% more goals with him on the pitch. It’s without him that the real difference is shown: we’ve scored a whopping 2.57 and conceded just 0.43. That’s a massive difference. It’s almost like the stats breathe a sigh of relief when he’s off the pitch.
That’s what you might call damning.
Bolton 2 Arsenal 1 Review and some soul-searching
Apr 25th
It’s hard to know exactly where to begin; how to summarise a game that cruelly ended our title hopes. From 4 possible trophies a month or so ago to zero is a massive disappointment.
And it’s not the first time. For the third season in a row we have been fighting on all possible fronts, in with a shout of all possible trophies, only to slip away at the end of the season. AW mentions mental strength and mental fragility more than any other manager I know of; why is it then that we seem to lack the fight, the resilience, the edge – the mental strength, if you will, Arsene – to see the season through to the end?
I can’t be bothered, frankly, to go through all the games we’ve come close to winning but failed. Some just stick in the memory. That ridiculous game at St James’s Park, the recent game against Spurs. We just cannot seem to get through the last few minutes of a game without conceding a goal. And just taking the Bolton game as an example, can a side that concedes two goals from two corners compete for the title?
I’m a big AW fan (as you may be aware!) but reading this on the official site really p*ssed me off:
The facts are the facts. I feel the players [have] had an outstanding attitude [during] the whole season and they are not to blame. If there is someone to blame, it is me. I pick the team and I choose the players. For me, the players [have] had an outstanding attitude all season.
Yes, it is very unsatisfactory because that is one of the easiest run-ins we have had for a long time. We didn’t take our chances many times during the season and that is frustrating because you feel that the potential is there. But we live in a job where you have to take your chances and be realistic. We still lack something that is called maturity, experience or calmness in important situations.
Firstly, I’m not so sure that the attitude has been right. Attitude and the inability to keep a clean sheet for the last ten minutes are closely linked. The right attitude should mean that we do not, ever, concede such goals. And all too often some players – Arshavin, Bendtner, Clichy, I’m looking at you – have been respectively completely anonymous, unbelievably useless, and on a different planet.
Secondly, in terms of “something that is called maturity, experience or calmness in important situations”, that just can’t be used as an excuse any more. Let’s not forget it was Eboue who gave away the penalty to Sp*rs. An experienced international, not someone who can be marked down as young and inexperienced. The rest of the Arsenal ‘youngsters’ – Jack Wilshere excluded – all have years of Premiership experience and international tournaments behind them. It’s about time that youth stopped being an excuse. It never was a good excuse anyway, and for one thing, they’re just not that young any more.
So what is the future for this Arsenal team. I’m not going to join the ranks of those who campaign for an end to AW’s tenure, but I am going to suggest that this team requires some major surgery to turn it from a group of promising also-rans to a team of winners.
The problem is, will AW and our new owner countenance such changes? Do we need to change the philosophy of the club and buy experienced players? Do we need to change the way we play? These are difficult questions, and the answers requires more thought than a simple knee-jerk reaction to an awful performance, even it is a performance that relegates us to third, and puts an end to any hopes of silverware this season.
–
In my opinion, it’s certainly a good thing to be able to laugh at oneself, and a necessary ability in any gooner. Have a look at this from the Daily Mash.
Arsenally and unhappily yours,
Will
Spurs v Arsenal Preview and Odds
Apr 19th
A bit of a review of the Liverpool game first, as I was out of blog-ception and unable to post. Which is a good thing too. It would have been messy. A massive rant would have ensued.
I have to confess to some double standards. With work colleagues I put a brave face on, saying we were denied by a crazy bit of refereeing, where did he think we were? Old Trafford? You know the things you say when confronted with room-fulls of ManUre, Chelski and Sp*rs fans. What’s a gooner to do?
But deep inside, I knew that we threw it away. Or rather Eboue threw it away. Was it over-excitement that led to him giving away the penalty? Well if it was, then shame on the Ivorian. He’s meant to be one of the most experienced players out there. All we needed to do was play out a couple of minutes of extra time. All he needed to do was usher Lucas out towards the corner flag. I could have done that. My granny could have done that, and she’s had a heart attack and two hip replacements. Really poor, Manu.
And it could well have put to bed any chance we still had of winning the title. Yes, in theory, if we win all our games, it is just poosible if Chelsea also do us a favour, but can we do that? Can we go to Sh*te Hart Lane and get a result?
The heart says yes, but the head says, well, let’s bl**dy hope so. The consequences of another poor end to the season could be felt for quite some time.
All the players have got to step up to the plate, and that includes Fabregas and Nasri, who have been conspicuous by their comparative lack of form recently. Szczesny seems to have realised the importance of the ficture tomorrow night:
It is a very good game for us to come back from a big disappointment. We owe it to the fans as well because they are obviously very disappointed about what happened. We owe the fans a result at White Hart Lane.
Let’s hope the rest of the new lads, as well as more experienced players, can produce on Wednesday, and bring us back into contention not just in the league, but as a team itself. Lose, and it’s a serious indictment of the current crop of players, and by extension, of Wenger and his philosophy.
Odds to follow.
Bring on the rabble from up the road.
Arsenally Yours,
Will
RIP Danny Fiszman, Arsenal v Liverpool Preview & Odds
Apr 17th
The timing of Stan Kroenke’s takeover of Arsenal was explained by the sad news of Danny Fiszman’s death on Wednesday.
Danny Fiszman RIP
By all accounts, he was largely responsible for pushing throught the move to the Grove. He was certainly held in high estimation by AW:
I will remember Danny as a forward-thinker, a man who was very brave and who did fight until the last minute and was always a very influential person at every board meeting. He was one of the very intelligent men behind this Club and the development of this Club. He was very instrumental in all of [the stadium move] and in all the practical work, all the negotiation work, the relocation of all the businesses, the planning permission. There was a team, Ken Friar and Danny Fiszman, who did all of that. It is very fair to say the Club wouldn’t be where it is today without Danny Fiszman.
What AW couldn’t say was that Fiszman’s last act as an Arsenal director and fan was to sell his shares to Kroenke. He clearly felt that he had to ensure his share of the club went to a good home. I was glad to hear that two of the bridges outside the Grove have been named in honour of Fiszman and Friar, Arsenal fans first and board members second. Lock up your valuables, the Scousers are coming to town It’s truly a rare thing for a gooner to say, and so I take great pleasure in reporting that there is good news coming from the physio’s room at the Grove. Not only are Song, Szczesny, and Djourou likely to return tomorrow, but according to the BBC Sports website, Vermaelen is to play a friendly behind closed doors. If Szczesny, Djourou, and Song return then some steel will be added to the side. Szczesny has shown himself to be a more than capable keeper, and almost more important than his shot-stopping has been the confidence which he exudes. to those in front of him. The defence look, well, like a defence when he plays. If he does start, it will be interesting to see which of Lehman and Almunia warms the bench. I’d prefer the German, if only for his positive presence in the dressing room. And also for the sheer insanity that he brings to the club. Do read this hilarious piece on the bonkers 41-year-old. Djourou has fulfilled the promise he has shown as a youngster deputising for Touré, Campbell, Gallas in previous seasons. His play seemed to follow a pattern of being thrown into the first team thanks to injury or suspension, playing well, and succumbing to a crippling injury. This season, in Vermaelen’s absence he has shown not only that his knees are made of normal-knee-stuff and not Angel Delight, but that he can defend, and defend well. It will be interesting to see what the result will be of the selection dilemma that AW will have when Vermaelen returns – who will partner the Belgian – Koscielny or Djourou? Song’s improvement over the last couple of seasons has been dramatic and most welcome. He allows the rest of the midfield to be creative, and provides solid cover in front of the back four. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Wilshere and Fabregas will combine with him to back them up. The news about Vermaelen is encouraging, but I have had my spirits lifted too many times by too many come-backs that have never materialised to allow myself to be over-excited by this one. Oh, bugger it, I am excited. Even though AW has proclaimed that his season is over, a fit and ready Vermaelen would give us a real boost at the back, and I can’t believe that if he is able to play, AW will leave him out. In Liverpool we face a very different animal to the team that we played in the season opener. Kenny Dalglish has brought them from the foot of the table to the possibility of European football. Suarez and their new boy Carroll will be hard to contain, and that will be the key task tomorrow. I still see his winner for Newcastle in my all-too-frequent nightmares about Arsenal’s defensive failings. The line-up is hard to predict, as whether Djourou, Song, and Szczesny will all start is a question that no-one but AW has an answer for, and even le Boss will only know for sure tomorrow morning. Also potentially returning from injury is Bacary Sagna. That said, here’s what I expect, with alternatives: Szczesny (Lehman); Eboue (Sagna) – Koscielny – Djourou (Squillaci) – Clichy; Song (Diaby) – Wilshere – Fabregas; Arshavin – v Persie – Nasri Stats & Odds Here’s some good stats for you: • Liverpool have won only one of their last 10 Premier League games against Arsenal and none of the past seven, though five of those have ended in draws • Robin van Persie has scored 20 goals in his past 21 Premier League starts • Liverpool have lost five of their last six league fixtures in London • There have been more hat-tricks in this fixture than any other in Premier League history One stat that is worrying is that we have taken just eight points from games against the current top six. In seasons past it’s been the case that we’ve done well against the big teams, but shot ourselves in the foot against poorer opposition. We have to reverse that trend tomorrow. Nothing less than a win will do. Nothing less than a win will do. Nothing… sorry, the record got stuck. I’ve got a few Arsenally pennies on a final score of 4-3, at 150/1 with Victor Chandler, but my more sensible prediction is a repeat of my winning bet of last week – 3-1 – this time at 14/1 with William Hill. I also quite liked the look of the Half-Time/.Full-Time result being Liverpool/Arsenal at 25/1 with BlueSq. As for goalscorers, I’ve plumped for v Persie to hit the net first at 19/4 with Victor Chandler. Koscielny is good in the air and regularly gets on the end of corners, so I thought there was some value in his scoring first at 33/1 with Coral. Only 3 points will keep us in touch with ManUre. We have to take them from a resurgent Liverpool, who beat City 3-0. with Carroll getting a brace. Containing him is key tomorrow. COME ON YOU GOONERS! Arsenally Yours, Will
Stan Kroenke Takeover & Blackpool 1 Arsenal 3 Review
Apr 11th
Yesterday’s game against Blackpool has paled into insignificance against the news that Stan Kroenke has taken over control of Arsenal, bringing his stakeholding to 62.9%. Much to write about that news – but first, the game at Bloomfield Road.
I was happy to visit my local bookies and walk out with my Arsenally wallet bulging with my takings. It’s been a while since I’ve got one over the bookmakers.
It was a bit of a scrappy affair, and we certainly had some nervous moments. Blackpool should have had a penalty when we were only 2-1 up; Ian Holloway’s claims that v Persie was offside for our third were way off the mark. He admitted that according to the rules, he wasn’t offside. Well that’s that, isn’t it?
Having laid into our ‘reserve’ players in my rant of a preview, I was indeed happy to see Diaby prove me wrong with a fine goal, and delighted to see Eboue notch one up as well. I maintain that we rarely see consistent good performances from the Frenchman. I truly hope he proves me wrong against Liverpool this Sunday.
Onto the bigger news as Kroenke’s investment vehicle Kroenke Sports Enterprises announced this morning that it was paying £11,750 a share to increase its stake in Arsenal FC to 62.9% from 29.9%, by buying out Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith and Danny Fiszman. The offer values the club at £731 million, which is about $1.2 billion. To put that in perspective, in 2009 ManUre were valued at $1.9 billion.
We knew that Lady Nina had been trying to sell her shares for a while, and I can’t help but feel that Fiszman’s decision to sell has something to do with the fact that he is seriously ill, and if rumours are to be believed, not long of this earth.
I’m thoroughly relieved that Fiszman and Lady Nina didn’t sell to Usmanov’s Red and White Holdings. If you believe even some of what has been written about the man, the less he has to do with Arsenal the better.
The notion that any owner or shareholder must be someone who grew up within spitting distance of Herbert Chapman’s bust and a season ticket holder from birth is antiquated. In the modern, 21st Century Premiership we must recognise that billlionaires will buy clubs for financial reasons, as well as for the traditional “true love of sport”. And from what I can tell, compared with Hicks and Gillett at Liverpool and the Glazers at ManUre, we’ve got the best deal by a country mile.
Stock market rules necessitate that Kroenke makes an offer for the remaining shares. This may result in him upping his holding, but it is extremely unlikely to result in full control of the club passing to “Silent Stan”. Usmanov may sell – seeing as he now has no chance of a takeover himself, has no seat on the board, and in short no future as any kind of influence on the future of the club.
The Arsenal Supporters Trust will more than likely hang onto its shares to a man, and the other shareholders are current members of the board and thus unlikely to sell themselves.
The absolutely crucial point about this takeover, is that unlike the American purchases of Liverpool and ManUre, the buy-out has not been leveraged against club assets. Kroenke is not saddling the club with debt. That is something for which we have to be overwhelmingly, exultantly, jubilantly thankful.
So, what do we know about the man? And what will he bring to the club?
I approve - all but the moustache
He originally made his money in property, and his wife is a scion of the Wal-mart owning Walton family. Nicknamed ‘Silent Stan’ because of his low profile, he collects sports clubs, already owning Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (Ice Hockey), St Louis Rams (American Football) and Colorado Rapids (MLS).
The 63-year-old claims his love of sport stems from listening to baseball on the radio with his grandfather. His father clearly was sports-mad, as his full name Enos Stanley Kroenke was given in tribute to baseball players Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial – part of the St Louis Cardinals team that won the World Series three times in the 1940s.
Born in Missouri, Kroenke also owns a regional sports TV network, a sports arena and soccer park and a real estate portfolio that includes shopping centres, office and apartment buildings, vineyards and ranches throughout North America.
Forbes magazine listed him last year as worth $2.9 billion, while his wife Ann Walton Kroenke of the Walmart Walton family has a net worth of a similar amount.
According to Paul Andrews, VP of KSE:
He is just a brilliant man, a legendary businessman, who has done things in his life that 99.9 per cent of the world didn’t have the amount of drive and success to do. He has built something from when he was a kid until now and he is just a very genuine individual that likes to play basketball, loves to talk sports, loves to watch sports. If he was sitting with you and me now, he would be just a normal guy.
I’m not going to be fooled by such a sycophantic quote from an employee clearly after a bonus, but it does hint at a quiet, family man who has a genuine love of sport.
An American journalist tried to track him down for an interview concerning his Amercan sports interests:
Kroenke descends into town like a whisper and vanishes like an apparition…Kroenke tends to deliver long, elaborate and detailed answers to questions, seemingly completing one thought but then immediately adding a follow-on statement just when you think it’s safe to blurt out a new question…He dodges few subjects, or at least he is skilled enough to avoid the appearance of dodging them, but at the same time delivers little pith. He is hardly the sort of mogul who can fill a writer’s notebook with colorful quotations, although he does seem to become genuinely excited when talking about NBA players and athletics in general.
I found Stan Kroenke’s public mien to be understated, mannered, polite and thoughtful. He was, as it turned out, quite normal. Or at least as normal as a billionaire can seem.
So, why Arsenal? To quote the superb Swiss Ramble:
It’s the biggest football club in London with a brand-new world-class stadium that generates over £3m revenue a game. While other clubs struggle financially, Arsenal are making good profits and paying down their debt.
Another reason is that there is an appreciable amount of under-performing in the commercial aspect of the club. Expect to see more of Arsenal abroad, in the States and the East. I’m not sure that we’ll be spending our usual pre-season in a quiet Alpine resort this summer; I imagine we’ll spend it across the pond. In the commercial side of things, we already have Ivan Gazidis’s experience of MLS, and another Arsenal employee is a Stan Kroenke-influenced hire who came from the NBA – Tom Fox, our Chief Commercial Officer. Expect some changes in the way our TV and internet content is owned, marketed, and priced. To quote Ivan Gazidis on Kroenke a while ago:
Look at Stan Kroenke in the Denver market. He not only owns sports teams, he owns stadiums and the TV station that distributes the sport on local TV. He aggregates content and he distributes it. He even owns the in-house ticketing system (TicketHorse).
As for the all-important question of whether he’ll provide more money for transfers, all the statements that have come from the official site stress that he wishes to continue the self-sustaining business model that Ivan Gazidis already has in place.
It’s worth bearing in mind that in past transfer windows, it has been Wenger himself who has taken the decision not to spend a fortune on an established name, and it’s not the case that the board denied him a player that he really wanted in the squad.
Silent Stan has pledged to take Arsenal “to new success”, and we can only hope that we enjoy the same success as Colorado Avalanche. They won the 2001 Stanley Cup in their first season under Kroenke’s ownership.
Will the American usher in a new period of prolonged success at the club? To quote the official site:
This information on the Web Page, including information included or incorporated by reference in this announcement, may contain “forward looking statements” concerning the KSE Entity Group and the Arsenal Group. Generally, the words “will”, “may”, “should”, “continue”, “believes”, “expects”, “intends”, “anticipates” or similar expressions identify forward looking statements. The forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by them.
Arsenally Yours,
Will
Blackpool v Arsenal Preview & Odds
Apr 9th
I wanted to wait until today’s results were in befoe writing my preview. As expected, ManUre beat Fulham at home, or rather the referee and Fulham beat Fulham, and the Mancs lead at the top of the league has stretched into double figures.
Can we stay in the title race? We have 2 games in hand on United, and we face them at home. Chelski also face the Mancs. In theory, we should still be positive about the run-in. If we beat them and Chelski do us a favour, we win the title for the first time in 7 years.
The press thinks we are struggling, even the official website stating it very plainly:
Wenger refuses to accept the result nailed down the coffin lid on their campaign…when asked .. how he assessed this season, he retorted immediately: “The season is not over.”
His point was simple. Eight games represents 24 points and, in this title race especially, that is a massive margin…Yes, having gone five games without a win, Arsenal are at a low ebb right now but this is a season when presumption and prediction have often led to embarrassment. So Wenger is not going to give up now.
I’m not entirely sure what the logic is at the end there. It’s not about embarrassment, it’s about pride.
Elsewhere in the press it’s been reported that four Arsenal players will be on their way out. And that bastion of reliable football news, the Sun has reported that AW “is happy to be second rate”. This is their quote:
As long as you are second in the league, I am ready to sign for the next 20 years. I believe we have done well. We have been hit very hard with big disappointments but we have not lost in the FA Cup or the Champions League against anybody, we have lost against good teams. Personally, I am very proud of the attitude, the behaviour and the quality of our season.
I don’t really believe that he said that for one minute. I bl&%#y hope not.
Seeing trash like this does make you wonder who among the players might be on their way out ion the summer. You’d have thought that for the sake of their careers players like Almunia, Rosicky, Clichy, Denilson, Bendtner, maybe Diaby and Arshavin too might be looking at their futures.
The little Russian just doesn’t seem to fit in at times, in a footballing and psychological sense. He’s seems completely on his own on the pitch, hardly even acknowledging his teammates between play. He does hook up well on the left flank of times, and has popped up with some important strikes, but I wonder if he’s happy at the club.
Nicklas Bendtner certainly not lived up to his own publicity this term and needs to find his shooting boots. Half-chances have not gone his way, his strikes have too often whistled wide.
Rosicky and Denilson have both been injured, and given their places to Wilshere and Nasri. Clichy hasn’t progressed further in the last two seasons, with a fit Kieron Gibbs the natural progression. We need a quick return to form from the young Adam Ramsey.
We need Almunia to show some of his considerable maturity and put aside contracts and concentrate on his responsibility to the club that’s paid his wages for such a long time. And stop flapping.
We do need squad players, but I think unless the current crop can take this title race by the balls, I think they should think about their futures, and I expect AW and the board to bring in some fresh talent.
Players who challenge the likes of Nasri, Wilshere, Walcott, and not be content to be second string. I’m getting sick of hearing about ‘second’ – second place in the table, Wenger settles for second…
The question I’m asking myself about the state of play at the top at Arsenal is whether repeated statements like this find their source in the manager’s stubbornness or intellect:
We’ve had a change in policy to sign younger players. It’s important for football that there’s another way than to just come in, put money on the table and buy a star. The way we are doing things is right. Whether they play here or somewhere else you’ll realise they’re big players.
I think that’s true but we haven’t signed even a slightly big name in a while. We need to bring in another Vieira or Adams. Their is a serious lack of a fit, regular starter who has a big enough vocal presence on the pitch to bring the game to the opposition. I’m a big Vermaelen fan, but he’s missed the whole season.
Buy another player like the Belgian and have two strong physical and vocal players. It would be worth £15-20 million. Don’t we have that kind of money?
I hope that they prove me wrong and dispel the gathering media gloom around the Grove. I want them to succeed and put us right back in the title race at Bloomfield Road tomorrow. I expect:
Almunia; Sagna – Koscielny – Djourou – Clichy; Fabregas – Wilshere – Ramsey; Nasri – v Persie – Arshavin
Odds
No team have kept a Premier League clean sheet at Bloomfield Road but Blackpool have scored in every home game. Blackpool are also the only promoted side we’ve beaten this season, the 6-0 romp at the start of the season. A few Arsenally pennies left my account on 3-1 to the Arsenal, widely available at 10/1. The optimist in me like the idea of a giving the Tangerines a 4-0 drubbing at 19-1 with Unibet. The highest odds on a Blackpool win are 15/2, with us the clear favourites to get the three points at 4/9. As for first goalscorer, v Persie is a clear favourite at 10/3 with William Hill and others. That got a few Arsenally quids, which are in drastic short supply. If Koscielny scores first, I’ll be up at 33/1, but such trying times called for a small punt.
I’m well up for the game tomorrow, and can’t wait to cheer the boys on. A turn-around in form is more than possible against a Blackpool side that have shipped 63 goals this season.
Let’s hope that just like his horse, Fergie’s side fail to finish this season. But we need maximum points tomorrow to kick off this critical league run-in. We can’t finish as poorly as we did last time around.
COME ON YOU GOOONERS!!!
Arsenally Yours,
Will