Happy days are here again

Sunday’s match against Manchester City was a great relief to Arsenal fans, who have of late become accustomed to seeing the Gunners lose all too frequently to top flight sides. The 2 -0 winning margin was even sweeter.

Manager Arsene Wenger maintains that his faith in the side paid off. I so despise that word, faith. They just put in a great performance, and they have demonstrated that they are capable of beating the best. Sunday’s feat gives me confidence that they will once again capture their familiar place in the top four; perhaps even do better than the fourth place finish of last season.

Go Gunners!

In Wenger we trust… no more

I know it’s a cheap shot blaming just Arsene Wenger for Arsenal’s woes. There’s probably more to their decline than just him.

However, as the coach he is responsible for their on-field competence. The board and other sinister behind-the-scenes goings-on can’t be held responsible for their shoddy defence and inability to put the ball in the back of the net.

Calling their defence shoddy is actually a kindness. It is in reality non-existent. The 2-1 defeat to Tottenham is a glaring example. Their situational awareness in front of their own goal is unbelievably pathetic. But that’s not all – their situational awareness in the opposition goal area is just as bad.

I’m sick to death of hearing about how the team has heart, and mental fortitude… when they manage to scrape the odd win. If they had real heart, they would be winning more games, not by the skin of their teeth, but by impressive margins. Sadly the impressive margins come far too seldom; the shattering losses far too often.

This team is on its way to becoming just another mid-team side. The fans, so used to the high quality and standards will not tolerate this slide for long. It’s time for Wenger to acquire players with real heart, with real mental and physical toughness. These nancy boys who are just interested in picking up a paycheck will simply not do.

The alternative off course is for the Arsenal Football Club to withdraw from the EPL and concentrate on being a training academy. Because that’s what they do best at present. The fans want to see winners, not profitable stars-in-the-making.

Let’s face it Wenger, you have put together a team of losers

As much as it pains me to say this, the Arsenal I love are a bunch of pansies Nancy-boys.

They have no guts, no determination to give more than required, no pluck to lay their bodies on the line to get that goal. They even look like the least intimidating team in the whole Premier League. Pansies, all of them!

All they’re good for is passing the ball around, making pretty patterns on the football field, in their  well-coiffured hairdo’s and fancy socks and shirts. As pansies are want to do. They seem to only get penalised for being stupid, rather than for making hard tackles.

When someone gets injured, they usually wind up spending most of the season recovering on the sidelines, probably while getting pampered the whole time. Like pansies.

Is it any wonder those players with some sort of ambition, up and leave for clubs that want to be winners. Sure, they go for the money too. But I’ll bet you lot could get more pay, if you actually started winning something. Seven years, we’ve been watching you preening yourselves…

Grow some balls, you bunch of pansy losers.

How Arsenal Got Their Groove Back

What have we here? Five straight wins in a row in the EPL, four consecutive wins coming from behind. They’re calling that a new record.

So what’s happened to make Arsenal get their familiar groove back? Here’s six reasons why I think they’re dancing up a storm:

1. Robin van Persie – 26 goals scored already in the EPL, some of the most stunning I’ve seen. Need I say more.
2. Tomas Rosicky – His resurgence of form has changed the dynamics of the midfield which was starting to look rather lacklustre without the two who left and who shall remain nameless. And off course, Alex Song remains a steady force to guide things along; his brilliant passes are beginning to tell.
3. Theo Walcott – Seems to be maintaining consistency, getting better at making quick decisions,  and is starting to pick out killer passes.
4. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – a breath of fresh air. His inclusion in the starting line-up has infused a new energy in the team. What a pleasure to watch a youngster making his mark on the game.
5. Thomas Vermaelen – his return has bolstered the defence, which was practically non-existent in his absence. I should also give a shout out here to Laurent Koscielny who is improving remarkably, Bacary Sagna whose return gives us that extra dimension on the right wing, and Wojciech Szcezesny whose goalkeeping skills keep on improving.
6. Arsene Wenger – the manager’s pig-headedness in the face of massive pressure from the fans is a measure of his principles, and perhaps a blessing in disguise.

So what’s going to keep this momentum going? More of the same. The new-found energy and confidence must convert to relentless pressure for the whole 90 minutes. And it wouldn’t hurt to see the backs of Marouane Chamakh, Johan Djourou and Andre Arshavin for good, and a certain German striker joining the ranks instead.

In defence of Arsenal

There is none! It’s that simple.

The defensive is a shambles. It’s like watching a bunch of headless chickens running around, stumbling into each other and falling over. And oh, how painful it is to hold one’s head in horror, watching the comedy of errors at the back, week after week.

The regular injuries to the players at the back point to a clear lack of training and focus in that area. Either that, or Wenger has spent a lot of money on clearly incompetent players.

Even Vermaelen, who everyone hailed as the saviour for Arsenal in defense, makes far too many mistakes. Perhaps that’s in large part due to the hopeless team-mates he has at the back. And even though Szczesny is constantly improving in goal, he is still far from the sort of confident take-charge person that is required in this position.

And let’s not even waste time discussing Johan Djourou. He does not belong in any position in any football team, let alone in the Arsenal defense.

Arsenal’s defense does not strike fear into any advancing opposition. In fact, every team in the league must surely be licking their lips in glee, knowing that scoring against the current Arsenal team, is liking taking candy from kids.

And it was never like that.

What’s changed? Has the pursuit of profits taken precedence over the brilliant football that Arsenal are were legendary for?

And will the fans stick around in the future to find out?

Young Guns On A Learning Curve

Arsenal’s young guns played exceptionally well last night in the Carling Cup quarter-final against a  Manchester City packed with international stars.

And yet they didn’t win. All it took was one break-away goal by City in the closing minutes, to seal victory.

Image via Wikipedia

The young gunners were full of spirit and played with real passion, out-classing their more illustrious, mega-expensive opponents for most of the game. But the lesson they need to still learn is that fine, even exceptional performance does not win games – goals win games.

And taking your chances when opportunity presents itself is something this talented bunch of youngsters needs to get to grips with. That little bit of extra effort that does not materialize at the end of a superb passing movement, kills the sequence and frustrates the fans. Also, to be honed is the skill of making that split-second decision when to lay the ball off, or go for the shot.

But these skills and the extra effort will come; let’s hope sooner rather than later.

For now, it just gives me great pleasure to watch the making of greatness. Go Gunners!

RvP, Arsenal’s MVP

Arsenal are on the up!

Image by Ronnie Macdonald via Flickr

Five wins in a row in the Premier League; it didn’t appear that such a run of form was possible after the disastrous start to the season, just three months ago.

However Wenger and the new captain Robin van Persie, turned things around. And boy do I feel like an ass for doubting Wenger’s ability to lead Arsenal into the future, with the departures of Fabregas and Nasri.

Fabregas in particular was thought to be Arsenal’s most valuable player. But with his mind set on a move to Barcelona, he had become a liability to the team, and was in fact a negative influence which probably contributed to some of the embarrassing losses they suffered.

Perhaps van Persie’s true talent was never really appreciated while Fabregas was around, but his true value has finally come to the fore. Not only is he scoring freely [currently the Premiership’s leading scorer], he has probably been instrumental in inspiring Arsenal’s turnaround.

But will he renew his contract and elect to stay at Arsenal? If anybody can convince him to stay, it has to be Wenger…

Gunners love scoring goals…

Image via Wikipedia

Even if it’s for the other team…

I mean WTF is going on! I tried to be critically nasty towards Arsenal and when that seemed to be, well…too nasty, I tried to be accommodating. That seemed to do the trick as Wenger actually bought some new players – players who could potentially arrest Arsenal’s decline over the last few seasons.

I tried to be positive when they leaked 8 goals against United. I sucked up the derisory taunts from the ManUre faithful after that debacle. And then I was overjoyed when Arsenal got their first win in the Premiership and drew in the Champions League.

I really thought they were going to score some good goals against Blackburn yesterday – give them hell-for, show the world what the Gunners are really capable off….I really wasn’t expecting us to score for the opposition, almost as many goals as we scored for ourselves.

Wenger’s synopsis that the team are “just not defensively solid enough,” is an incredible understatement. The reality is that Arsenal are defensively clueless. That’s harsh, I know; but it’s unfortunately the truth.

The other harsh reality is that Arsenal are lazy in the in-goal area, on both sides of the field. The players are just too lazy to give that extra 10% to reach for a pass in order to score; the players have become inured to receiving the ball at their feet. It’s perhaps the one drawback of that precise passing game that is so pleasing to the eye.

As much as I hate to say it, perhaps we need a new coach who is more attuned to the demands of the modern game. Wenger has without doubt been an excellent manager/coach, but maybe it’s time to admit that his talents may be better served in the area of the club’s finances or in the boardroom.

Unless he makes a radical change to his approach off course…

8 and 2 for the Arsenal…or maybe not

Image via Wikipedia

I set out to write another scathing attack on Arsenal after their dismal performance on Sunday against Manchester United, but I think there will be many of those already.

Instead I decided to look at the positive side by finding 8 things that suggest there is still a prospect of good things to come [I do despise the word hope]:

1. Arsene Wenger is among the best two Managers in the Premier League, if not the best
2. Arsenal have consistently been one of the top four sides in the Premiership, with a sound financial situation and a marvellous stadium
3. Die-hard Gunners fans…around the world
4. Jack Wilshere and maybe Aaron Ramsey to boot
5. The makings of a world-class goalkeeper in Wojciech Szczesny
6. Some good experience in Robin van Persie, Alex Song, Bacary Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen
7. Good future prospects in Emmanuel Frimpong, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ryo Miyaichi, Theo Walcott and Chu Young Park
8. Per Mertesacker, if Wenger manages to sign him on

And 2 things that still leave me exasperated:

1. The laziness of players such as Bendtner, Arshavin and Chamakh
2. The lack of passion displayed on the field

So there you have it: 8 for the Arsenal and 2 against…

Arsenal………Aaarrrrrrgggghhh

Opening day of the English Premiership…and Arsenal kicked off the new season against Newcastle, much like they finished the last season – with a whimper.

The pleasure I once used to feel watching the Gunners on the field, has turned into anguish and even disgust, over the last few months. What has happened to the team, the Manager?

Wenger looks increasingly bewildered at the poor performances; temper tantrums in the technical area have replaced the euphoria we got used to seeing on his face. The team doesn’t look happy to be playing football – the lacklustre performance, the dejected looks, dropped shoulders, shouts out that they would rather be elsewhere.

In the weeks leading up to the opening game, the fans were promised the arrival of someone of “real quality.” Against Newcastle yesterday, the someone of “real quality” was left to warm the bench. What is going on?

Why haven’t the transfers of Fabregas and Nasri been finalised yet? It’s obvious these ungrateful shites don’t want to be part of the team; there continued presence can only be disruptive to those players who actually still have the club in their hearts.

The income could have been used already to attract real quality and experience to the club; instead Wenger continues to plunder kindergartens. Why not just convert the entire club into a training academy? Seems that’s all they’ve been good at for the last few years.

The fans have been rather patient and the trust in Wenger is still largely intact. However growing discontent begins to swell. How much longer will the fans put up with what appears to be the club’s slide into another mid-table wannabe.