Just Own Up to the Obvious

I haven't written or posted a piece on Our Arsenal for a while since our humiliating defeat to Manchester United (I don't need to remind you of the score) and also our deadline day excitement of several players joining the club.


Since that day we have endured an International break, which we though would help the dust settle and hopefully bring us back with a fighting spirit to try and get our performances raised and a chance to have at least a false hope of any challenge (which I don't believe we have any capability in the slightest).


The match against Swansea didn't fill us fans with any confidence. Arteta was somewhat of a presence in central midfield with some decent passing, but he's no Cesc Fabregas and we won't ever find a player with his ability to find a pass, although Arteta does have some ability to find a killer pass. The scoreline was a lucky one with a gifted goal, which was still a decent finish from Arshavin.


We've missed Gervinho's directness and this showed against Dortmund in the Champions league, but even though we could have won the game, a sublime finish made us draw the game 1-1. It was a hard scrappy draw. Germany is not an easy place to go, especially against the champions of Germany.


The defeat to Blackburn showed some of the old Arsenal back, but most in terms of bad defending. Why can we never sort this position out? Santos looked decent, Mertesacker looks slow. Gervinho and Arteta both got their debut goals for the Gunners. That was the only real spark. The two own goals from Song and Koscielny summed up our lack of defending.


You have to face it Arsenal fans, we're not the team we once were, I'm not even going as far as the 1998, 2002 and 2004 invincible teams. I only have to go as far as last year, because this team has changed and it'll take a few years to form any type of challenge. The teams dynamic has changed, it doesn't have the ability to play quick touch passing. We have to adopt a more direct play, which in this league you need to have. Wenger must not try to make a team made for the Champions League.


But van Persie is the only world class player we have left, so the fans have to wake up and notice we're just not a top 4 team anymore with the players at our disposal. In this case maybe it'll force our hand to play more as a team. It's still early days of the team gelling together. But keep your expectations realistic because we're no longer a force in English football.

The Day Enough Became More Than Enough

Yes that is right! I'm talking about yesterday's humiliating defeat to Manchester United. Yes, the scoreline in itself was humiliating, but it was an embarressment of who we had on the pitch. We only had like 8 players out and for a team as big as us we should have equally as good replacements to come in.


Just face it Arsene & Co. We're just a mid table team at best now. No spending on big players year in year out in vital positions has cost us. Our fans yesterday were brilliant but no response from the team because they're so poor.


2 days left in the transfer market and we'll sign Park Chu-Young (don't know what he'll offer!), and I doubt anyone else because it's taken so long already!


Wenger and the board may have built up Arsenal but you've destroyed it too, just like you did at Monaco!


I'm glad you were defeated in this manner, but Arsene, you still won't change your stubborn ways!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

PREVIEW: Manchester United v Arsenal

Match Preview

Manchester United v Arsenal

Old Trafford

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Kick-off: 16:00

So early on in the season and we have the biggest away game of the season. To be honest we always go to Old Trafford and expect us to get some kind of result as we dominate play. Yet we always come away with a loss. 2006/2007 was the last time we won with away to Manchester United with Fabregas running the show that day and an Adebayor finish in the dying minutes.

In the last 23 away meetings we have only managed to win 5. That stat doesn't bode well for today as we have a young and inexperienced squad by the looks of it. With Song, Wilshere, Frimpong out, we'll have to have a sturdy player, who can handle their own in the middle of the park, to just sit in front of the back four. That man (kid) looks set to be Francis Coquelin. He has bundles of energy and a loan away from Arsenal last season in France would have benefitted the youngster.

You'd like to think with Arsenal having a poor run in the league, a match of this size could spark something to kick start our season and leave that terrible run of our last win being against our opponents today last season. But with the likes of Jack Wilshere, Alex Song, Gervinho, Emmanuel Frimpong, Sebastien Squillaci, Kieran Gibbs and Niklas Bendter all out we've had to rely on youth, and this is really inexperienced youth with Francis Cquelin, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Gilles Sunu, Ignasi Miguel and Henri Lansbury.

Who can we call to come off the bench and make an impact? I'm guessing Oxlade-Chamberlain will make his debut at some point today. He gave Man Utd a torrid time when at Southampton, when they were 2-0 up against the Red Devils in the FA Cup, only to lose in typical United fashion, coming back to win 3-2.

The Gunners are going to give it all they've got today and make sure possession is is wavered side to side, but a more direct approach will harm Utd with no Ferdinand and Vidic at the back. It'll be close, but it also can be an onslaught from Man Utd and we'll just want to hurry up and sign several players urgently.

Talking about signing someone, South Korea captain, striker and set piece specialist, Park Chu-Young is set to join us today after nicking him underneath Lille's nose. He should unveiled in our 'unlucky' number 9 shirt.

REPORT: Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool

ARSENAL 0 - 2 LIVERPOOL

Match Report

Barclays Premier League

Emirates Stadium

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Kick-off: 17:30

Arsenal:

Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Frimpong, Ramsey, Nasri, Walcott, van Persie, Arshavin

Subs: Fabianski, Miguel, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lansbury, Miyachi, Chamakh, Bendtner 

Liverpool:

Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Agger, Enrique, Downing, Adam, Henderson, Lucas, Kuyt, Carroll

Subs: Doni, Skrtel, Flanagan, Meireles, Maxi, Spearing, Suarez

So that didn't go to plan did it, or was it a case of the cracks growing even bigger? Yet another display of hanging on as Liverpool dominated us for a large section of the first half. It was a more even affair in the second half.

From the moment Koscielny went off injured, we had to rely on the young U-21 Spaniard, Ignasi Miguel, which I think he gave a good account of himself. I was at Underhill on Monday for Arsenal vs Manchester United reserves, which we won 2-1, and he looked like he could take the step up. 

The last twenty minutes of the match was the most decisive in our downfall. Emmanuel Frimpong was one of our better player on the day and he was energetic, but his lack of experience on his debut proved to be his downfall after picking up two yellow cards, to get sent off at a critical part of the game (too many players suspended and injured now). This now showed our lack of squads strength in depth as Henri Lansbury came on for Arshavin, who looked quite disinterested as usual and was poor all game.

The goal came about by our own lack of luck as Miguel managed to hit the ball against an oncoming Ramsey and the ball looped over Szczesny. From that point I couldn't see Arsenal getting back in the game as there was no cohesion between the midfield and defense to create any chances. The second goal from Liverpool didn't take long as substitutes Meireles and Suarez combined to make it 2-0 and finish the game off.

The positives we can take from the game are the performances of Vermaelen who should have been given the 'Man of the Match' by Sky Sports, instead they give it to Jose Enrique, which we were linked with. But Vermaelen showed what we missed last season and we forget how much a  great defender he is. If we had a proper first team out rather than Arsenal youth we could've nicked a win maybe, but a draw seemed most fair, however we got neither.

Another positives were that the fans saying "Arsenal, Arsenal " over those minority of fans chanting "spend some f****** money". We still back Wenger, I certainly do, but only to the extent he actually does spend some money, but it wouldn't be wise for us to sack him , or for him to walk out on the club.

This has been a tough week, and the matches away to Udinese on Wednesday in the Champions League and Manchester United on Sunday prove to be another very tough week. Wednesday will make or break our season in terms of signing players.

Ryo MiyachI Granted Work Permit

I don't know who's excited at the prospect of seeing Ryo Miyachi play for Arsenal in the league. To hopefully see him do what Cristiano Ronaldo did when he first arrived to the English game (albeit getting kicked to ground on every opportunity, but that was for making defenders look silly). But now we will get to see the Japanese born player this season as Ryo has been granted a work permit to play this season.


This is great news as the player brings pace, skill, and crossing ability as a natural winger. He's only eighteen but I believe he can be a force this season. But I think it's best he gets minutes on the pitch when we're two/three nil up with twenty-thirty minutes left just like Ronaldo used to for Manchester United in his early playing days. Wenger should unleash him to not be frightened to use his skill and pace for defenders to fear him, as any defender hates an attacker, especially with pace, running at them.


From complaining having no wingers in the past, we now have Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho and now Miyachi. It's something we were missing for a while as we had no natural width. We may see an improvement.


Ryo has to await for the formalities of the paperwork to be complete for him to play his first official match for Arsenal.

A Divorce Between the Fans and the Club

It seems ever since our move from Highbury to the Emirates, us loyal fans have had a slow divide between the board and manager. It seems the move to the Emirates just came before the economic crisis, which effectively made it more difficult for the fans to afford renewing their season tickets or memberships. The club however never decided to reduce the prices of their tickets for the economic downturn, only until VAT tax went down to 15% that they followed suit.


So the club kept on raking in large amounts of profit whilst loyal fans may not have afforded the price of a day out at their beloved team. In the 2008/09 season, people who had paid to see the likes of Denilson, Song (different player back then), Diaby, Bendtner, Eboue week in week out due to injuries and lack of investment, struggling for a win in every game in the winter period, fans started to raise their voices ever so slightly.


The cracks opened, and with cracks they'll always be more likely to get bigger and more noticeable. Back then we were in our 3rd season at the Emirates and we were expected to be settled by then after the year before we came close to winning the title before collapsing at the end (see a pattern?). The team needed investment for the new season and only Arshavin was brought in as a fix it, and that has been the only marquee signing in a while and he managed to help us secure a champions league spot.


The season after promised more yet again but we failed and the same last season. Every year passing by the team has been known to falter at the last hurdle and the opportunity of buying players with experience has arisen many times, yet Wenger is always after super quality.


What is super quality? The likes of Messi and Ronaldo are super quality. What Arsenal need is a just quality experienced players who know how to play their position and get stuck in. In other words a team player who will give their all. The fans know this and can see where we are going wrong with the players we have and ones we need.


This is why the fans moan and groan along with the ever increasing booing and demonstration/protests. It's not because they hate the club, it's because they care and the fans have become distanced with the disillusioned board and manager who aren't acting quick enough on transfers to secure the players we need. Peter Hill Wood isn't exactly helping matters between the relationship of the fans with the board by saying:




"As Arsene said, we are looking to buy some players but we are not going to do our business in public. They are going to have to be bloody patient – as we are."

“It is frustrating for both the fans and Arsene and the board."




Bloody patient? Manchester United have pretty much bought big signings this summer and they won the league last year with a not so great team and now they'll win it with the likes of De Gea and Ashley Young added.


The booing on Sunday just shows nothing has changed since last season apart from Gervinho giving us something to look forward to until he disappears to the African Cup of Nations. The chanting at Fulham away at the final game of last season, "Spend some f****** money!", shows what we haven't done this summer. All with below bar performances in all our pre-season matches this year, it shows no confidence for the season ahead.


Fans will start and most likely have started (like me) to wisely use their money for more useful purposes rather than on a club interested in making money and bringing in through kids. That project youth is now over and proven unsuccessful apart from Wilshere coming through and we should just go out and buy what we need.


Arsenal is just a frustrating club to support at the moment, and I believe we won't even make top 4 this season if we remain like this. Especially if Fabregas is sold, the last of our world class players would have left. The new Stadium has fed into greed from the board and left us fans separated, with us losing our club we used to love so dearly. Now I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a club we love to hate.

August is a Tough One

Every football fan can't wait for the opening day of the Premier League to get rid of the boredom of a vacated summer of football without a European Championship or World Cup to entertain us. Tiresome pre-season friendlies fill the void slightly, how ever it's competitive football us fans await for. Oh what a wait us Arsenal fans have in hand for our opening month to the league campaign!

Arsenal have one of the toughest fixture lists out of any team in England and six points out of nine would be a great start. The curtain raiser for Arsenal is at St. James's Park against Newcastle United. After the first 45 minutes last season, we would be going in to this match very confident, having been 4-0 by the time the referee blew for half-time. The second-half proved one to forget. But with every fresh new season comes new optimism and this match has no title/relegation odds baring on it, with no real form from either team. It could easily go either way.

With Arsenal finishing fourth last season it has given the Gunners an extra two games in qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stages. These matches are just before the tough home match against Liverpool and then sandwiched between Liverpool at the Emirates and to then face the champions Manchester United at 'The Theatre of Dreams'.

We haven't won at Old Trafford in the league since Adebayor scored to win 1-0. That was back in the 2006-2007 season. That seems like an eternity now. Liverpool at home last season was a difficult affair, making hard work of it, to then earn a penalty in injury time and go 1-0 up. What came next was unbelievable but honestly typical to then go and give a stupid penalty away moments later. To give the game up so cheaply when a win seemed more than likely, that just ended Arsenal's season completely mentally.

This season we could come out of August looking in a dire position, but on the other hand Arsenal could be facing a much easier task by the title run in. But didn't we think last last season? Let's just hope it'll be a cracking start to the season!