Le Boss... Le Joke

Le Boss

Le Joke

Nowadays, all you hear from Arsenal is "bouncing back". Why we always have to bounce back I never fully understand. In fact I don't understand why we bounce away in the first place. No wait, I think I do know why.

Every time we go through a bad result (which is nearly every week of late), we hear the same sound bites. It used to be Djourou mostly, then everybody else would chime in but with the same results following. Now they have resorted to putting the "new" man Wilshere out there to do the sound bites... shame on them all.

There was a time when Arsene Wenger was Sir Alex Ferguson's only rival in the Premier League. The Frenchman had a swagger about him. He was cocky, he had a perma-smirk on his face, making him look like he always had a trick up his sleeve. And he did.

Year after year, Arsene would tap into the French Market and sign up or produce gem after gem in players. Arsenal's scouting network was touted as the best, possibly in the whole of Europe. We had all the wiz kids on our radar and we would snap them up and turn them into world class players in no time. Those were the glory days of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger's reign at Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson, gum-chewing , irritating Manc that he is has managed to produce winning team after winning team, regardless of the obvious drop in technical ability of his players. I mean, take a look at the current Manchester United midfield... does any name really stand out as being technically gifted? I don't think so. Now compare to Arsenal's Cazorla, Arteta, Wilshere, Diaby and Rosicky. Clearly Arsenal have the more technically gifted players in this department.

Yet we see season after seson the manager tell us how this team is good enough to win the league, even the Champions league. We are mesmerised by a few decent results and we begin to believe and hope. But just when we really think we are on to something, reality kicks in. First our perma-crocked players get crocked, despite being told that this season they will last the distance. Then we start to lose games and produce abject performances for which there is no proper explanation. We are told the players are "jaded", yet they play the same amount of games as their rivals.

The cycle goes on and on and we eventually get back to the usual sound bites about bouncing back, standing up to be counted, being serious, lacking a little bit the sharpness... But the truth is that we are lacking a lot the   quality, application and brains.

It is not fair to blame the manager when an International striker misses an empty goal from 3 yards out. Nor is it fair to blame the manager when 11 Internationals fail to beat a fourth division team in 120 minutes of football, worse still, when the same internationals miss penalties; I mean not hitting the target at all. It's not the manager's fault.

However, it's the manager's fault when he puts out 11 internationals who are not consistent, who can be technically brilliant but also poor when they so-choose. It is the manager's fault when the tactics he employs do not get the best out of the players he has. It is the manager's fault when the players he buys turn out to be a waste of money and time for the club. It is the manager's fault when he simply can't acknowledge that the squad he has is not good enough to compete for the league title. It is the manager's fault when he continues not to strengthen his squad because he thinks he has enough players, who are permanently crocked at that.

It is the manager's fault when he sells his best players but doesn't replace them in the transfer market. It is the manager's fault when he doesn't SPEND SOME FUCKING MONEY! despite being told there is money to spend.

Sometimes I wonder, does Arsene Wenger know where to spend some fucking money in order to improve his squad? I honestly fear that he doesn't. He pride and stubbornness make  blind to the obvious deficiencies in his squad. Does the coaching set up at Arsenal allow those under the boss to air any different opinion on how to change things? I don't think so. Much as I like us promoting from within, I also realise that this is the safest way for the manager to ensure that he get's (for lack of a more respectable term) "yes men" to work under him. This is what autocratic leaders do.

I do not think that any of our coaching staff can talk sense into the boss' head to change the way he does things. I also fear that the boss himself has had his eyes peering down his nose too long that he has failed to adapt to the times. Other teams have studied our methods and caught up, some are improving on them. As Arsenal, we are too proud to realise that perhaps the captain of our ship has lost the way and perhaps we need a new captain to turn change the course of the ship.

Arsene Wenger was the right man for Arsenal in the past 2 decades. He was the right man, just as the great Herbert Chapman was in his time, to transform Arsenal from an over-achieving medium club and put it on par with the biggest clubs in Europe. There is no doubt at all in my mind that Arsene Wenger has managed to achieve this.

But can you, dear reader, honestly see Arsene Wenger successfully managing Barcelona? Real Madrid? Manchester United? PSG? Borussia Dortmund? Bayern Munich? Inter Milan? AC  Milan? Juventus? Manchester City? I wish I could honestly answer yes to at least one of those teams, but in my heart of hearts, I believe that Arsene Wenger is over the hill as an elite Manger.

I do not see Arsene Wenger leading Arsenal back to glory, nor leading any other top European team to glory. Where once there was a swagger and an air of knowledge to the man, there is now a weakness, a desperation, a hopelessness, a lack of ideas on how to move forward. Where once there was fresh thinking and cunning, there is now staleness and idiocy.

Whenever Arsene Wenger speaks after a defeat, I do no feel sorry for the players, but I feel sorry for him. He is a man hitting his head against a brick wall time and time again yet hoping for a different outcome. There is a word for that type of behaviour... but I just cant remember it...

The club has got new sponsorship money coming in from the Emirates deal; the transfer window is fast approaching. What Arsene Wenger does will prove once and for all if he still has it in him to battle at the very top.

COYG!

Bring Back Our Arsenal, Please.

Now, I know writing a blog after a disappointing result is not always the best nor most objective thing to do, but hey, I'm an Arsenal fan and not a reporter. I am not bound by any professional ethics and the like. I say it  like it is.

Last night I forfeited my beauty sleep to watch what should have been a difficult but winnable match end up in penalties. From the moment Cazorla missed the first penalty, I just knew we were out of the cup.

Now, I could go on to say a lot of stuff that I think is wrong with Arsenal and what needs to change. I wont bother, I will be regurgitating what I and several other people have been saying about what is wrong with and at Arsenal.

I invite you to read my previous posts on this blog.

COYG!!

Groove Missing From The Grove

It is very rare that Arsenal teams, at least in recent years are found wanting in their attacking play. It is also equally worrying that Arsenal seem to have lost their ability to dominate ball possession like they used to. Yes we still tend to average 54-55 percent possession, but I want the days when we had 60- 70 percent ball possession at the end of 90 monutes of football.

I suspect that the two things (reduction in ball possession and striking potency) are linked. It follows that the more of the ball you have, the more questions you can ask of the opposition. Equally, the less questions you allow them to ask you....

The recent loss to Swansea was a case in point. I noticed how for significant periods, Swansea out-passed us on our home turf. We could not (and generally we do not these days) get the ball quickly by pushing up as a team and putting pressure on the man with the ball. When we do have the ball, we don't seem to know how to wreck havoc, or as some would say, we lack ideas in attack.

Tomas Rosicky, one of many players whom I love seems to be the solution to our current woes. He is a brilliant mover of the ball and seems to speed things up in the side. I was glad when he scored the in the Champions League match against Olympiacos in midweek. It was really a meaningless game to me, win or lose, but it will do him the world of good... until he has another injury....

Why do I think it was meaningless? Finishing top in your group does not guarantee you an easy fixture in the next round of the Champions League. If you are in this competition and still hoping for the so-called easy draws, then you probably don't deserve to be in this class of clubs. And besides, Arsenal are no push-overs themselves. Other teams will want to avoid Arsenal too. It's all about psychology really. I don't fear anybody. No. Not even Barcelona. Why? Well, because I know we'll get knocked out anyway so why fear what you know?

But Rosicky cannot be the only solution to our current woes. I always maintain that we have as good a squad as Manchester City in this league, in as far as player for player ability is concerned. I mean, take a look at this: Szecsny, Sagna, Koscielny, Metersacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Santos, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Diaby, Ramsey, Walcott, Gervinho, Podolski, Giroud, Djourou, Oxlade-Chamberlain... This is not a squad to laugh about.

Where we differ with Manchester City and others is in application and organisation. Currently our form has been so poor that we are afraid to even do the basics- which is to keep the ball. Worse still, our lack of tactical organisations means that teams know how we are going to line up and how we are going to play.

Our build up from the back is so poor because teams put two strikers up against our central defenders, forcing errors and hurried clearances up field. Equally, our attack is suffering because, apart from Theo, we lack genuine pace and directness in our attack. Think back to the days of Pires, Henry and Lyungberg and compare Podolski, Giroud and Theo/Chamberlain.

Be that as it may, I still believe we have enough talent in this squad to turn our fortunes around. But most importantly, the boss needs to buy some attacking players in January. Until then, he must use what he has to fix this situation.

Let us see what happens in the coming weeks.

COYG!!

Arsenal Back On Track: Quick Review of Events Past

Arsenal qualified for the Champions League round of 16 for the 12th year running after a 2-0 victory over Montpellier, the French League 1 Champions.

Following the convincing victory (as usual) at the weekend over our so-called rivals ( but not in our class) Tottenham at the weekend, qualification from the group stage of the Champions League was a very welcome thing indeed. I must admit that I have become so used to qualifying from the group stages that I never really think of us failing to qualify. A lot is made of finishing first in the group because you get the team which finished second in another group. Well, all these teams are very good and you can't go into a competition hoping not to play certain teams. If you are afraid of a team, then you probably don't deserve to win the competition anyway.

I know a lot of you Arsenal fans worry about facing Barcelona, and we just might get them in the next round. But honestly, much as we fear one or the other team, they too are afraid of Arsenal. We are not exactly a pushover. Let's give ourselves some credit.

The positives were the goal by Jack Wilshere after nearly 2 years from the game through injury. He is looking increasingly sharper and fitter game after game. Just wait until he plays for England and... arggh! Olivier Giroud was responsible for nodding the ball into his path and Wilshere just clipped it over the on-rushing keeper. That goal will do him the world of good and his celebration showed. I hope he can now start to score regularly from midfeld, cause we need goals from that area of our team

Lucas Podolski did what his left foot is very good at and that is to fire fierce shots into the net. In this case he fired in an amazing volley after a chip from Giroud. Podolski for me is a very good finisher, perhaps even better than (ouch!) Robin Van Pussie. No doubt Van Pussie is a good striker, but I think Podolski is better than him all round. Time will prove me wrong I guess.

African Brother Gervinho has returned from injury, just in time to start preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations I guess... But I hope he continues the good form he was showing before his injury because he does bring something to the squad.

So, two very convincing wins in spite of our dodgy defending... I know, I know.

In other "events" Thierry Henry could return to Arsenal in January for a loan spell- again. I say no! Please go and buy a striker once and for all, I like Thierry but we need some more fire power up front. It's not like we are broke so please Arsene: spend some fucking money this January!

And that's yer lot for now, i'll be back soon with more rumblings on all things Arsenal.

COYG!

Manchester United 2 - 1 Arsenal: Thoughts- Arsenal Get The Last Laugh

Arsenal had last laugh at United

Arsenal once again came away from Old Trafford with their tails coiled firmly between their legs but with the last laugh. Yes, scoring with the last kick of the game was nothing but a kick in the teeth to United from a dying horse. The 2-1 scoreline is very flattering really. It was a one-sided match and very embarrassing to be an Arsenal fan. It was a gutless performance from Arsenal.

I am surprised and honestly embarrassed by Arsenal fans blaming the referee for our loss. Come on people, for the first time, in years, I actaully think the referee did well for us at Old Trafford. We cannot blame him for our loss. This is one that falls flat at the feet of Arsene Wenger and his coaching staff.

We did not have any attempt on target during the 90 minutes of normal play and the 2-1 scoreline really flatters us. Of the team that got hammered 8-2 last year, only Aaron Ramsey remained for this fixture yet the result is probably worse. We had no injuries to use as an excuse. The players just were not up for this match.

Arsene wenger said that the defeat last season was due to "exceptional" circumstances. This defeat was due to one circumstance: the sum of the differences between Manchester United and Arsenal. Put simply; the difference between the two teams.

Thomas Vermaelen must be dropped. His confidence is so low right now that he can't do anything right. The weight of the Captain's armband is making it worse for him and the team as a whole. In big games such as these, you need strong characters and I'm sorry to say he appears to be a very weak character at the moment. He is making the kind of errors you get from a player who knows he is playing out of his depth. He lacks the fire, drive and anger required of a Captain or a senior player in short. He looks like Pascal Cygan reincarnated.

He was responsible for undermining the team spirit early in both halves, thus encouraging United. His first mistake lead to the Robin Van Pussie goal. Then in the second half, when you thought the team would have regrouped and come out fighting, he made a similar mistake which lead Van Pussie to cross for Valencia, who missed the ball completely and fell on his ass, when the net was empty. That sort of performance from the Captain undermines the whole team and must be punished. How can the team ever pick themselves up when the Captain is making a mockery of the importance of the occassion?

Football is about psychology. When a team is psychologically weak, the opponents pick up on that vibe and you are fucked. Thankfully United don't know how to fuck or they would have really fucked us. Right in the Arsenal. Yup.

Andre Santos for me, is an embarrassment. Running for Robin Van Pussie's shirt at half time? What the fuck was that all about? He was not only shaming himself but also the Arsenal fans and Arsenal Football Club! where is your pride for fucks sake? If I was in that dressing room, I would have punched him in the face and made sure he can't come out for the second half. What sort of fight can you honestly expect from players who have that sort of mentality? No pride to wear the shirt, no sense of shame! Or was he doing it to wind up the Arsenal fans? I honestly hated Santos in that very moment. He didn't play any worse than others on the day, but FFS! Santos! There was a moment in the second half where Arsenal were on the attack, the ball was passed to him by Cazorla and instead of delivering a cross into the box, he opted to shoot into the stands. That summed up the fight in this Arsenal team for me.

Aaron Ramsey was played out of position on the right-again. I twitted at half time that Wilshere should come off, Ramsey play centre midfield and Theo on the right. This was also because of his early yellow card and the fact he is off the pace and generally prone to do a Paul Scholes kind of tackle in any game. Instead Arsene Wenger left him on the pitch and as we all know, he got a red card. Ferguson on the other hand took off some cunt in his team to avoid a red card. Arsene Wenger says he left Wilshere on so that we could be more offensive! I'm sorry Arsene, but currently Wilshere is far behind Ramsey in terms of match fitness. Ramsey could have done a better job with his energy and ball retention in there, perhaps allowing Arteta to move further up the pitch. Again, these are all tactics that a manager must be able to try throughout the course of a game, instead of being rigid in your tactics when clearly they are not working.

This for me is the key difference between Ferguson and Wenger. Ferguson will let Rooney play as a midfielder  whenever they play Arsenal because of his energy and general ability to cause us problems all over the pitch. Arsene Wenger will never set up a team to negate the threat of the other team, even though clearly this never works. Even Barcelona change their team formation to counter the strengths of the opposition and thus make themselves superior in a match.

Furthermore, the team should have been more fired up for this game than what we saw. I mean first Van Pussie insulted them and the club in the manner he left. Then there is the whole wanting to be the better team in a big game clash. I'm sorry, but I can only blame the manager here. The team lacked belief/fight/spirit/confidence/purpose/ideas/conviction/edge- name it all- they lacked it. It's like they went there hoping not to be embarassed by the scoreline at the end of 90 minutes. That was not a team which genuinely believed it can compete with Manchester United.

The whole situation adds credibility to Van Pussie and Nasri's allegation that we lack ambition. We can insult them all we like but at the end of the day, I think it is becoming clear that we just are not competitive enough to win the league.

Without being too negative, I have said in the past that we keep changing players/teams every year. I mean from the same fixture last season, only Aaron Ramsey was in the starting line up! It means we have a completely new team yet the gap is not closing. we always have the best players (technically) in the league yet we never deliver when it matters.

I have also said in the past that we have changed everything in the about the club except the coaching staff. Much as I love Arsene Wenger, I cannot shake this ever-brighter realisation that his time at the top of elite coaches might be up.

Perhaps he would be better off moving into a director's position or better still being the youth team coach because honestly, the man just never seems able to get the best out his senior players, brilliant footballers they always are. And worse still the players never seem to play for him. They join the club because of him (especially the young ones) because they are guaranteed first team football and a rise to stardom under Wenger.

After they outgrow him, they piss on him and buzz off. And the pain on his face and his body language when we are losing so harplessly like a team of little girls playing against grown men is just too much for me to bear. I feel so embarassed for Arsene wenger. Surely a gentleman as dignified as he is out to realise that he mustn't be subjecting himself to such humiliation?

WE LOVE YOU ARSENAL!! WE WANT OUR ARSENAL BACK!!

The Arsenal supporters were class on the day (except when they started calling Van Pussie a rapist! WTF!). come on Arsenal fans, we are better than that. there must be a difference between an Arsenal fan and a fan of any other team in the league! get a hold of yourselves and stop letting us all down. Remember that it takes one imbecile to paint all Arsenal fans imbeciles.

But chanting went on long after the game. If I was an Arsenal player, I would ask myself "what have I done for the fans today"? and most importantly, WHAT I'M  I DOING FOR THE PRIDE OF THE SHIRT I'M WEARING? Santos clearly has no pride. Running after Van Pussie to collect a sweat- soaked table cloth from a bitter rival and take into our dressing room is a mockery of your team, your club, the fans and yourself! Shame on you Santos! I don't condone him being abused with his wife, but surely he must be shamed. I would, at the very least, tar him, feather him and send him out at half time in our next home game to apologise to the fans and the team at half time.

The usual defeat sound bites can be found on the official Arsenal website. I will not bother.

We have a tough away Champions League fixture against Schalke tomorrow. We really have only one thing to do and that is to go and win that game. But looking at our current form and attacking threat, I wont torture myself hoping for 3 points.

I will support the Arsenal, not because I believe we can win the League, Champions League or any cup/bucket or dish placed before us, but because I LOVE ARSENAL.

COYG!!

Manchester United vs Arsenal Preview: Here we go

A quick COYG before kick off. A lot has been said but I only want one thing: 3 points. We never win much at Old Trafford, thanks to poor refereeing and poor performance on our part.

This is one game that has an extra edge to it, thanks to Robin Van Pussie. But we shouldn't want to win just because of him, we should want to win because of the bigger picture; the league title.

We need all our players to be at their best today, we must be ruthless in front of goal and above all else we must say ; Fuck You! To Manchester United.

Catch me on twitter: @the_afrogunner

And for those of you going to Old Trafford please send this message to Manchester United fans from Afrogunner; We are the Arsenal!

COYG!!!

Reading 5- 7 Arsenal: The Greatest Comeback Ever?

Capital One Cup: Reading 5 - 7 Arsenal

Match report

20 minutes gone and 3-0 down! And 2 of those goals were own goals really. First Koscielny put one past Martinez, then Martinez himself chucked one into the net in spectacularly fashion. I was bemused. Seriously, I was having a laugh. When it went to 4-0, I was looking forward to hear what Arsene Wenger would say at the end of the match after such a hammering. You see, I need new material; this "lacking a little bit the sharpness" thing is getting long in the tooth...

I was not even sure that this game would be televised. Around 8:45pm local time, I decided to flick through the channels. Lo and behold, Supersport 7 claimed they would televise the game. I didn't believe them but I waited around an hour to be sure.

When the game started, I thought the wait was worth it. I sat at the foot of my bed, close to the TV so as not to disturb Mrs. Afrogunner who was by now quietly snoring and snorting.

We started the game with the same usual Arsenal style of passing but the ball yet going nowhere. After about 5 minutes, Reading penned us into our half for the next 20 minutes or so. In the 12th minute, Jenkinson went AWOL on our right and  Djourou did not close down the cross early. Roberts found space to smash into our net. 1-0. I thought that would wake us up. I was wrong.

In the 18th minute, Reading found space, this time on our left flank. A cross was fired into our box and Koscielny turned it into his own net at the near post. 2-0. I thought, this is getting bad.

In the 20th minute, A reading player was allowed enough time and space to run and shoot from the edge of our box. The shot itself was nothing to write home about but what Martinez did was spectacular. He launced himself in the air like a shark attacking a walrus and did a one-handed thing like they do in volleyball. He tossed the ball into his own net. 3-0. By this time, I was laughing and finding the whole thing utterly ridiculous. Suddenly the decision to stay up so late to watch the game did not seem so good.

Reading started to sit back and we started finding room to passing the ball around, yet still going nowhere. The Arsenal midfield was nowhere to by found. The only player who was trying to make things happen was Arshavin but he too was being his usual lazy self. Chamakh was Chamakh. Theo looked a player who doesn't care cause he's leaving the club anyway.

37 minutes gone and reading scored from another cross down our left flank. 4-0. Reading fans were singing "Robin Van Persie is laughing at you" and "You are being thumped on the telly". By now, my Mancies United friends crawled out of every crevice and started making fun of me on Facebook. The Arsenal fans were singing "We want our money back" and "Bring back our Arsenal". Even some Chelsea cunt (Frank Lampard) twitted that Arsene Wenger would not be throwing any cups at the Arsenal players as Arsenal do not have any.

Just before half time, Theo finally found space and he ran like a fart, did a Carlos Vela to make it 4-1. When half time came, many Arsenal fans were leaving the stadium. The real fans remained, singing, chanting sarcastically. That was good to see, the Arsenal fans did not care that they  were being humiliated on the telly. Some were even dancing and smiling as the television camera panned on them.

The second half began much like the first half. Arsenal continued to be shit and Reading wasted chances to add further humiliation and insult upon Arsenal. Cometh the hour and cue time for Arsene Wenger to make his chances. Frimpong and Gnabry were withdrawn for Giroud and Eisfeld.

I wonder why Thomas Eisfeld did not start the game because as soon as he came on, there was a marked improvement in our midfield. Olivier Giroud too showed the difference between him and Chamakh.

In the 64 minute, Arsenal had a corner which Theo delivered and Giroud headed into the Reading net. 4-2.  By now, I was quietly confident we would equalise. Arshavin was now playing on the left wing, Eisfeld in the Centre with Giroud, Chamakh and Walcott jostling for centre forward position. We were looking stronger and crucially fitter than the Reading players. We started to ask questions of their goal but were lacking quality when it mattered.

In the 89th Koscielny made ammends for his own goal by scoring in the right goal. 4-3. only 4 minutes of stoppage time left. Reading tried to wind down the clock by keeping the ball near the corner flags, making substitutions and taking long to restart play when the ball went out. Arsenal had other ideas.

In the 5th minute of stoppage time and with the last kick of the game, Arsenal kicked the ball into the Reading box, Giroud controlled on his chest, it fell to Theo who scored but it was not seen by the line's man. Jenkinson was on hand to make sure it was trully in the net. And into extra time we went.

Jason Roberts was fuming on the touchline that the ref had increased to the time by an extra minute. Huh!

Arsenal were looking stronger now mentally and crucially, the momentum was with us. In first half of extra time, Chamakh scored a low shot after some good work by Arshavin and Giroud down our left flank. 4-5 the score. But it was over.

In the second half of injury time, with only about 6 minutes left to play, Reading equalised again after some sloppy Arsenal defending... yawn... 5-5. Now it was truly anybody's game, but Arsenal still looked the fitter team and most likely to score the winner.

And so it was. Arshavin drove down the left flank, into the Reading box and shot with his left peg. the ball was saved only to land in the path of Walcott who had been screaming for it from Arshavin in that move. He thumped into the net before him with aplomb. 5-6.

Reading tried to get another equaliser but they were too tired. corner was cleared by Arsenal, the ball bounced over a Reading defender in the centre circle. the poor guy was too tired to run. Chamakh ran past him, controlled and lobbed the keeper who was way off his line. 5-7 the score. Arsene Wenger just shook his head.

I went back to Facebook to look for my Mancies United friends who had been making fun of Arsenal during the 1st half. They had all crawled back to wherever they had come from and were nowhere to be found.

The greatest ever come back? possibly. But please let's never go through that again.

COYG!!

Arsenal Use Hand Gun: Cannon Still Missing

Arsenal 1-0 QPR

Match Report

Winning is never a bad thing, especially when you are as desperate as we have been in the last two weeks to turn things around. On Saturday, we literally stole 3 points from QPR. Did we deserve the win? Maybe, Was it a clear goal? Not really, it was actually offside. I'm I complaining? Hell no!

At the time, there was such a scramble for the ball that it was not clear whether is was offside or not, infact it only became an issue after the television replays.

This was a game we just had to get 3 points. After Arsene Wenger's comments (again!) that Champions League qualification is more important.... I got the feeling many an Arsenal fan had sharpened their pitch forks and machetes to do Wenger if we didn't win.

As it is, the pitch forks and machetes have been temporarily withdrawn, until Old Trafford at least.

I missed most of the first half, by the time I arrived and sat down to watch the match, the game had gone 42 minutes. I was surprised to see Jack Wilshere playing, I thought that maybe an injury had happened during the first half, only to learn that he had indeed started the game. Huh!

I don't know whether Jack is so good or the rest of our midfield is out of form so much so that he looked our best creative player in the first half (from the highlights I saw). He had a shot on target, was driving forward a lot, was exchanging passes and generally looking to make something happen.

There was a point at the start of the second half where QPR seemed to have decided that they could take the game to us and actually win. They started to attack us down our left flank. It is worrying the ease with which we seem to get hit on the counter... There was a free kick given after just outside the QPR box that was taken by Arteta so poorly it resulted in a quick counter attack from which we nearly conceded.

Olivier Giroud didn't get any supply, until Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin came on. Arshavin, the forgotten man, came on after a bad looking ankle injury to African Brother Gervinho (ABG). Arshavin provided the cross which lead to the goal, after a goal-mouth scramble.

I must say Theo too brought something different to our attack, he seemed to be trying to ping in early crosses from the right, something which we don't do often enough.

I was happy to see Bacary Sagna back. He was solid as ever, he too needs a few games to get back to his best. Carl Jenkinson is hard done by Sagna's return, but we need our best players at the moment. His turn will come.

The one player I feel is off the boil is Podolski. He seems to have lost his mojo in Germany. I noted how Giroud took a free kick, which would normally be taken by Podolski's left foot. Needless to say it was off-target.

On the whole, the team played better than in the last two defeats, but questions still remain about our attacking prowess and defending. QPR could have scored in injury time after some cunt run through challenges from Arteta and Vermaelen only to be denied by Mannone. Had he scored there, it would have felt like a loss and those pronged forks and machetes would have been out on Wenger.

Credit to the team for winning ugly. QPR were hard-done by the goal in fairness, but that other cunt who scythed Vermaelen and got red-carded allowed us more space on the wings with which to hurt them.

I don't like to see any team hard-done by a decision, case in point - Chelsea vs Mancies United. But considering where Mark Hughes used to play... nuh, I'll take 3 controversial points off him any day.

COYG!

Arsenal Cannon Goes Missing; No Gunpowder In The Amoury

Arsenal 0 - 2 Schalke

Match report

I have never had the privilege of watching a live Arsenal game. I hope that Arsenal travel to Southern Africa soon, as that represents my best chance of travelling to watch them live. I know, it would be a pre-season tour but hey... I get what you can.

I often wonder what the atmosphere inside the Emirates stadium is like. I watch live Barclays English Premier League games every weekend from the comfort (and loneliness) of my house. I have noted how Liverpool fans sing "you'll never walk alone" before every kick-off at Anfield. They will sing it at the start of the second half and at various times during a Liverpool match- win or lose.

Then there are stadia such as Carrow Road, St. James Park, Britannia .. to name but a few. I listen to the noise the fans make in these places, often for 90 minutes. They cheer their team on, they jeer/taunt/insult/harangue/ harass/ the opposition the opposition. This tactic does not always work for them in that their teams do not always win, but boy to come away with a result from such places you really need to work your socks off and be strong mentally. Bear in mind I observe all these things from my TV screen and my sound system.

I have observed how at the Emirates stadium, you can barely hear the Arsenal fans except when the team is winning. When the team is not playing great, Arsenal fans are often quiet in the stadium and the away fans (who are the minority) can be heard singing their lungs out as if they are the home team. Now, It could be the  acoustics in the stadium, or it could be the television director playing tricks with the stadium sound, favouring the away fans, but I think you get where I am going with this rant.

I could be wrong, but from where I sit (which is several thousand miles away from the stadium) I don't hear the Arsenal fans willing the team on when the players need it most. Instead I hear groans, moans, whistles and aahs when the team are not playing well. The Arsenal players need us now to lift them up. To hail insults at them or the coaching staff will not bring as back to winning ways. The team has lost confidence and appears to be jaded. Not even Steve Bould knows how this happened. But it has happened. The team looks  tired, slow, blind-folded, clueless and one legged.

At home, you would expect Arsenal to have troubled Schalke. I think most fans, myself especially, can live with defeat if I feel the team really played to their best, created chances but were just unlucky on the day. What I cannot live with is the lukewarm performances I am seeing in the past two defeats. This is the most worrying thing for me.

We can point at our lack of creating chances, our poor defending, our jadedness etc but the truth lies here; our midfield is not strong enough nor balanced. Arteta, Cazorla, Coquelin and Ramsey is not a very strong midfield, nor is it balanced. It is made worse by the fact that our best striker, Podolski is not getting a run through the centre when it matters. African Brother Gervinho (ABG) is something of an Emmanuel Eboue at the moment. He has great potential but will he ever really realise it? At his age, I tend to worry. I thought playing him through the centre will make a Thierry Henry of him. why? because he has the same type of awkward dribbling skills, speed and ability to turn in tight spaces. He has been playing as a winger throughout his career and now Wenger decides to use him as a striker. I can see why. And he has shown glimpses of that potential so far with the goals he has scored.

Santi Cazorla looks tired. Period. He needs a rest. A few substitute appearances might do him good. Thomas Vermaelen, for a team captain, does not cover himself in glory when it matters during a game. Aaron  Ramsey cannot play in a wide position. Francis Coquelin is a bad omen. Everytime he plays, we seem to lose.

Andre Santos is not playing very well from an attacking point of view at the moment. We spoke too early about the Steve Bould effect on this team. we are still too easy to break down and we do not close down quickly when we lose the ball.

The worst thing for me is this: we are not playing to the best of our ability. I cannot live with that.

Arseblog does a good job conveying my feelings about the game and the team at the moment.

I will continue to support The Arsenal though. Hopefully the cannon, together with the gunpowder and cannon balls will be found soon and we shall start to fire once again.

COYG!!

Gunners Leave Gun Powder At Home: Cannon Fails To Fire At Canaries

I have been away for the better part of a month. I that period, I hit a 12 year old boy with my car on my way to work, at a curve and while avoiding a head-on-collision with an on-coming truck. Don’t worry, the little boy is fine, he was discharged from hospital last week Tuesday. He didn’t break any bones (miracle!) just some cuts and bruises. There is a God somewhere I swear!

Also during that time, the real football went on break, giving way to international games and just to show you how much I care for internal football compared to Arsenal FC, I had this to say about internal football:!
The real football returned with Arsenal once again.

We travelled with our cannon to shoot some canaries. I know, I know, it’s an over-kill to hunt a canary with a cannon. Much to my frustration/bemusement/anger/hopelessness, we failed to fire our cannon even once! It turns out we forgot the gun powder back home.

We had to improvise by throwing pebbles at the canaries from under the Carrow Road tree, while they chirped, danced from branch to branch and defecated on our collective heads.

We could not start our moves from the back. Every time Don Mannone played a short pass to his defenders, Norwich closed us down, forcing the ball back to the keeper and he would hoof it up-field. You would think a team with our technical ability would pass their way from the back regardless of the opposition pressure. This tactic proved very effective for Norwich on the day; expect more and more teams to do the same for the rest of the season.

Arsenal not only lacked confidence but they lacked ideas. I thought that the Norwich goal would wake us up and bring down the wrath of  the Arsenal cannon upon the Canaries. Instead we remained under the tree, throwing pebbles at the Canaries as they chirped and shitted on our foreheads again and again and again….

Arsene Wenger looked like a man bereft of ideas. The entire team lacked a spark. Nobody could rise above the collective mediocrity that I was seeing. I wished a certain Abou Diaby had been fit for this game. Irritating and frustrating he may be on occasion, but he is a maverick, capable of doing something absolutely strange/ridiculous/outrageous/fantastic/magical/you name it.

Questions really have to be asked why Arsenal keep being this toothless time and time again when it matters. I endured the Mancies United game earlier that afternoon with my brother-in-law (yep! He is a Manc-ie!). I noted how they looked sharp and full of energy. Manchester Shitty too had a tough game but they kept at it, eventually winning with 10 men and coming from a goal behind.

Arsenal on the other hand looked tired, did not trouble the Norwich goal or keeper the entire afternoon. Yes, let us give credit to Norwich for defending very well, but let us look at ourselves and admit we were poo on the day. I will not bother to dissect individual poo, suffice to say everybody was poo. The tactics were poo. In fact there were no tactics. We were just playing and hoping to somehow score.

Onto matters more positive, Tonight we face Schalke in the Champions League. This is an opportunity to “put things right”. I hope for the sake of the team that we win tonight. Failure to win will knock our confidence even further down. We cannot be feeling sorry for ourselves; we need to get right back up and continue fighting.

The latest injury news is not too bad, we should be able to cope without the Ox; we have Serge Gnabry. Bacary Sagna, Emmanuel Frimpong and Jack Wilshere played 90 minutes each in the under-21s on Monday, meaning they should all be playing in the first team very soon. I am really looking forward to having especially Sagna and Wilshere back playing, but surprisingly, or rather strangely, the 1 player I really want back is Abou Diaby.

I know Jack is a special player and Bacary Sagna is the best right-back in the league, but for me, the player we really need is a fit Abou Diaby. I just have this funny feeling he is the key to our success. I can’t quite put it into words, but it’s just a gut feeling I have. There is something about Diaby that will bring success to this team- if he can be fit long enough.

So, let’s keep going, don’t let disappointment keep you from supporting The Arsenal. Remember that we never do things the easy way, and the season still has a long way to go so perhaps it’s a good thing that we are faltering now because there is plenty of time to rectify these weaknesses.

Enjoy the Schalke game wherever you are.

COYG!!

Arsenal v Olympiacos: John Terry is Cunt.

My cousin is a Chelsea fan. He was aggrieved when the FA decided to charge John Terry over his racist remarks towards Anton Ferdinand. I said to him, "John Terry is a cunt. The FA will crucify him from time to time whenever they need someone to crucify. Get used to it."

Now, what does John Terry being a cunt have anything to do with Arsenal? Nothing. What has Arsenal's defeat got to do with Chelsea? Nothing. We shot ourselves in the foot on the day and just weren't good enough. I thought all hell would break lose in the second half after we equalised with a few minutes before the half time break, but it wasn't to be.

Instead we came back and shot ourselves in the other foot immediately after half time, meaning we were fucked for the rest of the match.

Abou Diaby did his thigh (surprise!) and had to come off. The whole game hit home a now familiar refrain: We are still conceding cheap goals and are not as solid defensively as we have been over-hyped so far. But that said, we need to pick ourselves up and move on. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. Just ask Mancies United who were beaten by Spurs.

Tonight we have an opportunity to put things right. The players especially will be keen to get back to winning ways as we face Olympiacos. There needs to be a rule against facing the same teams in the group stages of the champions League, just saying... ahem.. we have faced them 2 times in the last three years I think.

Mikel Arteta has a knock and I wouldn't risk him, considering that Diaby is out for 3 weeks. Starting him tonight could see us lose 2 of our starting 3 midfielders and that could prove too costly. Aaron Ramsey will be eager to play in place of Diaby while Coquelin needs to start getting games. The Manager says that Diaby's injury is an opportunity. Sad but true.

Szeczesny is also injured, but hey, for the first time in donkey years, I am not worried about our goal keeping situation, not with Don Mannone in goal. That guys looks so scary that a striker could miss a penalty just looking at him.

Upfront, It's time Cazorla, Podolski, African Brother Gervinho (ABG) and Olivier Giroud started banging in the goals. No more shitting around in front of goal. We really must be ruthless in front of goal. To his credit, African Brother Gervinho (ABG) scored a belter against Chelski at the weekend. Long may that continue.

I'm really hoping for 3 points tonight. Anything less will be a big disapointment.

COYG!!

Arsenal 6 - 1 Coventry: Arsenal Love Six!

Arsenal 6 - 1 Coventry Match Report & Pictures

Is it just me or do Arsenal love six? I really really love six. When you have six, it means you are shagging somebody and we really shagged Coventry last night. Before that, we shagged Southampton six as well. I definitely am enjoying having six every week. If we can shag Chelsea six times this weekend, that will really feel good. Oh yeah.

There was no coverage of the game on TV last night, Supersport electing to show Mancies United and Liverpool instead of the Arsenal game. I don't understand how this entire TV broadcasting thing works, but I fail to see why and how Mancies United games are covered all the time ahead of Arsenal games.

There are times when electricity supply is interrupted (by local power authority) for scheduled maintenance but it miraculously returns just before Mancies United kick-off. When Arsenal plays and there is such a scheduled power cut, you can bet there will be no power until the power guys damn well finish whatever it is they are working on- long after the Arsenal game has finished... Now, make of that what you will.

So, back to Arsenal. I have not watched the game, just seen highlights of the goals this morning on Sky Sports News. The first goal was an Olivier Giroud chip over the keeper 5 minutes before half time.

The second goal was a swerving shot by Ox-Chamberlain. It had something of a Christiano Ronaldo thingy about it. I wish he takes those shots from outside the box more often. He is definitely capable of scoring a few over the course of the season, So too Cazorla and Podolski, Except for ... ahem... African Brother Gervinho (ABG), who is more likely to hit the Directors' Box than the goal... ahem...

Andrey Arshavin scored a brilliant goal after being put through by Olivier Giroud, who had earlier missed a penalty after a delay by some attention seeking pitch-invader. The security guy who tried to slide-tackle him made an arse of himself I thought because he missed! How do you slide tackle a target that is running way ahead and away from you? Huh!

But you know what would really be embarrassing for a pitch invader? Ignoring him completely. Like you let him run onto the pitch, and instead of the crowd cheering him on, they keep absolutely quiet and the security don't chase him. They just calmly walk towards him and handcuff him  before calmly walking off the pitch again. That would embarrass any streaker I think.

Walcott scored two goals, his first (in the 74th minute) a trade mark low shot from the right past the keeper. His second in the 90th minute a slalom run from the left and cutting inside before firing at the far post. It was reminiscent of Henry/Pires back in the days... aah the merry old gone days. And Theo apparently won't sign a new deal because he want's to play as an out and out striker for Arsenal. Huh! He may score a good goal now and then but I don't think he is ready to play there yet. He can definitely do a job there in a 4-4-2 formation, which Arsenal don't play often anyway. But his best position is coming from wide and running infield. I wonder why he doesn't know that? If he genuinely doesn't know that, then he simply want's to play as a striker as a glory hunter. We all know the strikers get all the nice girls. Just ask Rooney and Balotelli...

Coventry scored via a cross from our left wing but they had hardly finished celebrating their consolation goal when they had to pick the ball from their own net after a headed goal by Ignasi Miquel.

I understand in the first half Arsenal were a bit poo, but hey, we had great six in the end and I can't complain. We face Reading in round 4 of the Capital One Cup. If we are serious, as we were last night, then we should pass that Challenge.

Until then, COYG!

Manchester City 1 - 1 Arsenal: 2 Points Gained

                                                       

Match Report - Pictures

Whenever you come close to winning a match and the other team equalises with a few minutes to go before the end of the match, it feels like a loss. Equally for a team coming from behind, gaining a point feels like a victory. For Arsenal, yesterday's draw felt like 2 points gained from Manchester City.

Arsenal went with a 5-man midfield of Arteta, Diaby, Ramsey, Cazorla and African Brother Gervinho (ABG), with Podolski as the striker, although for most times, African Brother Gervinho (ABG) was playing as the striker with Podolski dropping deep as usual. I thought this was a good starting line-up; we needed to be solid defensively by doing what we do best and that meant dominating possession of the ball.

In defence, Koscielny came in for the flu-ridden Captain Vermaelen. But such is the strength of our central defence that any of the 3 can play together in the two slots with the same high quality.

I got a little bit the jitters, in the second half when fatigue started to creep into our team and Manchester City started to dominate the game. Gaps started appearing in our midfield, Diaby started dribbling and getting caught in possession... a repeat of the Montpellier game almost.

Arsenal started the game the better side. Our passing and movement was crisp and honestly sublime at times.  we were running triangles around Manchester City and they were failing to get anywhere near the ball. Aaron Ramsey particularly impressed me with his energy. He was all over the place, particularly when Diaby and Cazorla started to tire. He seemed to be carrying the midfield at some point in the second half. A real workhorse that boy is.

In the 16th minute, Ramsey played a great forward ball between the City defenders to African Brother Gervinho (ABG). All African Brother Gervinho (ABG) had to do was slow the ball down, pick a spot and place it there. That should have been 1-0 in favour of Arsenal. But his touch was too heavy and he instead passed it to Joe Hart in the City goal. Somebody needs to pull African Brother Gervinho (ABG) aside and say to him, "African Brother Gervinho (ABG), at this level of the game and in these big games, you must take your chances or your team will be punished! There can be no margin for waste!"

We continued to probe and threaten the City Goal, until and against the run of play, we conceded a needless corner through Kieran Gibbs just before half time. Our Zonal marking system failed us on this occassion, but I thought it was one of those lucky ones for City. The ball on this occassion  landed between Podolski and Koscielny's heads and hit the head of Kompany, ending up high in the corner of our goal, at the juction of bar and post, such that Mikel Arteta who was covering that post could not defend it. Just one of those really.

After the break, the fatigue that I raised concern about during the midweek champions league game at Montpellier started creeping in. City moved Yaya Toure and Silva into the centre of the park and they started to dominate possession of the ball, closed us down quicker and forced our play even narrower.

Abou Diaby started to do his thing and thankfully, the boss replaced him with Theo Walcott in the 70th Minute. Olivier Giroud also came on for Lucas Podolski who was having a quiet game, as far as attacking play goes. Arsenal continued to huff and puff without real vernom. Walcott did nothing to support his alleged demand of £100K+ wage a week. Giroud did not do much but his presence up-field allowed us to slowly start gaining territorial advantage and push City back.

In the 82nd minute, the game came to life. Santi Cazorla found some space outside the City box and let fly. A few inches wider and that would have been a goal. Joe Hart saved but from the resulting corner, Manchester City's organisation let them down. the ball was not cleared and fell to the feet of Koscielny. He poked it into the net empatically.

A couple of minutes later, Manchester City had a corner at our end of the pitch. The ball was not cleared, instead Koscielny passed it to Aguero who missed the target from about 4 yards out.

A few minutes later, Gervinho had another chance to become a hero and win the match. He received a pass from the left, danced infield and then, instead of keeping calm and picking a spot (again!), he swung wildly at the ball, missing the goal by several kilometres! I thought African Brother Gervinho (ABG) is an embarassment to Africa at that particular moment...

I wish the two chances that fell to African Brother Gervinho (ABG) had fallen to Podolski. There would have been two similar outcomes in both circumstances: 2 goals. But hey...

Afterwards, you could see which of the two managers was happier. Arsene Wenger said;

"I am pleased because [a point] was the minimum we deserved today. I am pleased also with the quality of our performance and our spirit. Also a bit frustrated because I feel there was room to do more. We had early chances and very late chances, especially African Brother Gervinho (ABG) at the edge of the box where he missed the target. But overall I hope this will reinforce our belief and confidence and reassure us about our potential in this league.

Don Mannone also did himself no harm. I thought he had a very decent performance. He has been blamed for the goal, but I don't think there was any way of him reaching it. Had he stayed on the line, there was no way of him saving it either. It is just one of those corners you have to accept was perfect for Manchester City, unlucky for Arsenal.

I cannot decide between Per Metersacker and Aaron Ramsey who my Man of The Match is. Metersacker was making crucial blocks and interceptions with a swing of his hip and a flick of his leg. His reading of the game is good.

Aaron Ramsey on the other hand is the type of midfielder you want and need for this kind of game. Faced with powerful midfielders in the mould of Yaya Toure, Ramsey is no lightweight when it comes to burning energy. My word, but this boy has got quite an engine in him. He was full of running, passing, marking intercepting and making things happen when the likes of Diaby were getting tired.

Overall, I'll take a point. That was a very solid performance by Arsenal. The team is looking solid defensively but equally potent in attack. Let's just see if we shall last the course of the season.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Montpellier 1-2 Arsenal: Phew!

                                                     Montpellier 1-2 Arsenal Report - Pictures

Apologies for going AWOL the past week, Afrogunner was away from the blogosphere due to technical reasons.

Last night Arsenal won against the current French League 1 Champions, Montpellier in France. There had been rumours to the effect that players would be rotated for this game. I had my doubts about those rumours and they turned out to be false. Football is all about momentum and to go into the first game of the Champions League, away from home, with a much changed Arsenal side would have been madness.

We saw from the weekend how changing goal keepers for the sake of maintaining the pecking order can sometimes backfire. Szeczesny, our number 1 keeper gifted a goal to Southampton. On current form, I think perhaps Don Vito Mannone should remain in goal. Apart from the penalty, Don Mannone has not conceded any goals so far this season, looks sharp and confident and it begs the question; what does a keeper have to do to get more game time? I think it's high time we started rotating goal keepers just like we do with infield players, especially when you have very good keepers (on current form) like we have at Arsenal... yeah dream on Afrogunner...

Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Szeczesny were replaced by Diaby, Giroud and Mannone respectively from last weekend's starting Lineup. Arsenal, I must say looked very tired by the beginning of the second half. Cazorla had a stinker of a game, by his high standards. He gave the ball away several times, got caught in possession on a few occassions and general was frustrated with his own performance. Diaby, confirmed what I said about his lack of defensive discipline early in the second half. There he was dribbling in our penalty box, slipped and fell under pressure and it was thanks to Montpellier's way-ward finishing that they did not equalise.

The game started fairly well for Arsenal. Montpellier looked sharp and lively in the opening 10 minutes. Diaby received a yellow card just 30 seconds after kick-off for a clumsy challenge. Arsenal were just starting to find their rhythm in the 9th minute when against the run of play, Montpellier were awarded a soft penalty after a challenge by Vermaelen on the edge of our box. Belhanda stepped up and did a Pirlo. 1-0 to Montpellier. The penalty was so slow that I thought I was watching in slow motion. I thought Don Mannone should have reacted quicker and got up to save it. But there you go.

Montpellier's lead lasted only about 6 minutes. Arsenal stepped up a gear and their combination play leading up to the equaliser was just sumptous. Giroud played the through ball to Podolski and from 11 yards? on Podolski's left foot?  with only the keeper to beat? there could only be one outcome! He slid the ball neatly past the on-rushing keeper to make it 1-1. I was still celebrating the first goal when Gervinho ran onto a through ball 2 minutes later. he bundled into a Montpellier defender, but the ball bounced into the path of Jenkinson who fizzed in a low, hard cross accross the face of the Montpellier goal. Gervinho wouldn't miss from 2 yards out. 1-2 in favour of Arsenal.

At this point I thought we would go on to to shag Montpellier for 6, but Arsenal seemed content to just play it safe. Half time arrived with Arsenal in the lead and I thught we would go on to score more so I opened my bottle of wine and laid back to enjoy what was to come. It never did.

Arsenal came back looking as if they had tied lead bars to their boots. They looked completely exhausted. The passing was nowhere, the organisation was a joke and individuals started making the kind of errors that have seen Arsenal fail to win anything in the past few years. Diaby was the chief culprit. First, he decided to go on a dribbling spree in our box, facing our keeper. we were nearly punished after he slipped and lost the ball. A few minutes later he did the same thing just outside our box and was caught in possession. I started to get annoyed.

But then the same Diaby picked up the ball from just outside our box, ran through the entire Montpellier team and laid it off for Cazorla on the left flank to shoot at goal. Had Cazorla kept the ball low, he would have scored. But he was having an off night. Montpellier then started to pile wave after wave of attack while Arsenal just held on. Oliver Giroud had no joy on the night. There was simply no service to him all night.

Montpellier struck the bar, had a point-blank shot saved by Don Mannone, a penalty appeal ignored and several other shots saved. I was crapping myself throughout the second half.

In the 75th minute, Ramsey was brought on for the French International striker who left the pitch to a round of applause from his the Montpellier fans. I liked that. Respect. Arsenal seemd a little bit more stable and kept the ball slightly better. But we were really looking like crap and worryingly very tired. In the 90th minute, Podolski and Cazorla were replaced by Walcott and Coquelin respectively to see out the game.

Thamkfully, Montpellier sold their most prolific striker to us. A better team would have punished us last night. Just ask Manchester City.

But, onwards march the Arsenal. 3 points in the bag and now we look forward to Manchester City. I hope we are fresh for that game because they will punish us if we are not.

Onwards march the Arsenal!!

Arsenal vs Southampton: A Quickie

Boss, do we lack a little bit the sharpness?

The real football returns tomorrow with Arsenal facing Southampton at the Emirates.

Southampton are the team we bought Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from. They were promoted back into the Barclays English Premier League, 7 years after they fell from the top league of English football. Beyond that, I have not bothered to do my homework on them, but they are a team which actually plays football.

We all know what Hull City did to us at the Emirates a couple of years ago, and if lessons have not been learned, we shall lose 2 or even three points.

The players are back from playing for their countries and it would seem that from the team that played at Liverpool, only Diaby is doubtful for tomorrow. I say let him rest. There is no point risking him for a game which, on paper, we should win. This is the chance to tap into the depth in the squad to help us win the match.

I am interested in seeing our tactical approach for this game, particularly our attacking play. I have said before what or where I think we are struggling. Let us see if there is work being done in training.

Enjoy the game wherever you watch it and join me on twitter: @the_afrogunner.

Till tomorrow folks.

COYG!

Serenity After The Storm: Thoughts On Liverpool

I could not bring myself to update this blog after the victory at Anfield against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. I decided to read what other bloggers had to say; I have also spent a considerable amount of time reading comments on other blogs. I must  say that it is quite interesting to read fan's reactions. You learn quite a lot about your team but more importantly about how fans blow like feathers in the wind. I am guilty of the same crime.

I will not waste time talking about what we didn't do in the transfer window, but I'll mention it for the thousandth time: This squad is a couple of players away from winning the League.

I sincerely hope that I am proved wrong. But please indulge me.

The New Arsenal Midfield

Arsenal favour a 1-2 midfield (4-1-2-2-1 team formation) We went to Liverpool and in the opening exchanges, Liverpool looked the better side. At least in as far as team cohesion goes. We slowly began to find our way into the game and our midfield began to assert themselves on the game. Diaby, was rightly voted man of the match afterwards. There is no doubt that a fit Diaby is a very good midfielder. Who still remembers the Carling Cup Semi-Final at Wembley against Chelsea when Diaby got injured after kicking the lights out of John Terry? There is no doubting Diaby's talent, only his fitness.

Mikel Arteta is a very good midfielder. I see a lot of similarities between Arteta and that brilliant little Catalan cunt called Xavi of Barcelona. I have questioned Arteta's ability in the past when the team was not playing well. He doesn't score many goals but his greatest strength is his ability to keep the ball. Arteta very rarely gives the ball away to opponents or gets caught in possession. It is this ability that has lead Arsene Wenger to deploy him in a deeper midfield role. He is our "continuity" player.

Arsenal rarely comes out of a match with less than 50% of ball possession. Our ball-retention as a team is bettered only by Barcelona. For this reason, a player like Arteta can thrive in a deep midfield role because for the most part, his defensive duty is to keep the ball for the team. The trouble only starts when the team loses the ball and Arteta has to tackle. On two occasions against Liverpool, Arteta was beaten for pace and had to foul a Liverpool player to stop their attacks. To his credit, he did put in some decent tackles to win the ball as well.

Santi Cazorla is probably the best attacking midfielder we have had since Cesc Fabregas. I suspect he is better than Fabregas because he is quicker, a good dribbler and is two-footed. Only time will prove me wrong. His movement and distribution so far has been brilliant and he scored a well deserved goal which will boost his confidence even further.

However, I can't help feeling that once again, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have wasted an opportunity to truly make this midfield the best in the League. Something just doesn't feel complete about it. I feel we lack a traditional DM workhorse in there who will allow Arteta and Cazorla to really thrive and float all over the pitch. Make no mistake, Arteta is a better off playing higher up the pitch closer to Cazorla. His ball retention,  passing and shooting ability would complement Cazorla's movement, passing and eye for a shot at goal.

Now, if Arteta were to move further up, Diaby would not fit into the deeper roll. He is defensively naive and tends to make risky dribbling decisions that get him caught. According to some bloggers, Diaby is a "Driver", like Wilshere. He is good running with the ball and beating opponents. But he cannot do a strictly disciplined role of a DM. In a deeper position, Diaby is a liability.

Equally, against better attacking and faster teams, Arteta will be exposed in that holding role. In such games Arsenal would need to switch their midfield to 2-1 (4-2-1-3 team formation). I am not sure that Diaby would be suited to that formation for long spells during a game. In such games, we would need to bring in a more defensively-minded player like Coquelin or Frimpong, two youngsters who might prove too inexperienced for the big occassion.

The other player we have are Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky. Of these, Perhaps Ramsey could do that job but honestly, all of them are attacking players and 66% of these three are injury prone.

I liked Song, but I thought Arsenal's decision to let him go to Barcelona would lead to a more disciplined holding player coming in. I am disappointed we didn't make a signing in there and I suspect we shall get exposed in that area as the season goes. Perhaps better defensive coaching will prove me wrong. I hope so.

The Arsenal Attack

I am very pleased for Lucas Podolski. He scored that all-important first goal that gets a player's confidence up and running. His performances on the left of our attack have been outstanding, sticking it to Gervinho and Arshavin. He works his socks off and when we do not have the ball, you are sure to find him in the left-back position. His movement for the first goal demonstrates his value to the team. He had dropped deep into left midfield when Steven Gerard gave the ball away to Thomas Vermaelen. Vermaelen passed to Podolski, who  passed to Cazorla further up the pitch, ran all the way into the Liverpool box to score. Brilliant.

Olivier Giroud has not scored so far but I am pleased with the movement off the ball. It is only a matter of time before he starts scoring. He is definitely an intelligent striker. You could see his runs and movement were causing problems for the Liverpool defence.

Where I am concerned is our failure to break down defensively-minded teams in the mould of Stoke City and Sunderland. Many more teams will play a "Park-the -train" game against us, especially at the Emirates. Arsenal are stubborn and perhaps naive in their attacking philosophy. We only play "one" way. I opined before that we need a traditional winger who can just ping in a cross or a shot across the face of the opposition goal. This is one area I feel we have not improved. It is why we have failed to get the best out of a player like Marouane Chamakh or even Bendtner.

Unless Olivier Giroud can run at people with the ball, I suspect he may not have a very happy time playing at the top of our attack all the time, especially in tight games. The lack of directness in attack will see us drop more points against the (for lack of a better word) lower teams who sit back and park the train.

The Arsenal Defence

Much has been said about the influence of Steve Bould but nothing has been said about Neil Banfield. Surely he too must take some credit the defensive record thus far? Surely Arsene Wenger too must take credit for the defensive work thus far?

I think that our defensive woes have always been a problem of application and not personnel. There was a time when Djourou was our best Defender.... Aah Djourou... Anyway, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Gibbs, Santos, Sagna and Jenkinson is not an average defence. You would expect them to match any attack thrown at them in this League.

Therefore, for us to celebrate our 3 clean sheets so far this season might be a bit premature. Looking at the opponents we have faced thus far, I think we are on par. We should wait until we go 6 games without conceding before we start lauding the praises of Steve Bould Neil Banfield.

My frustration with this team is failure to deliver at the business end of the season. But maybe this season will be different. I also hope that we shall buy a couple of players in January because we need them. Theo is leaving.

Until then, I shall continue to enjoy the performance at Liverpool and cheer the team on.

COYG!!!

Arsenal: Lacking a little bit the oil

Just when I thought Arsene Wenger could not out-do himself, he goes on and comes up with "... lacking a little bit the oil..." Heh! So not only are Arsenal lacking a little bit the sharpness, but now they lack a little bit the oil. Fantastic! I like Arsene Wenger.

Much of the focus has been on our failure to score a single goal so far this season. We are focussing on it so much so that it shall soon become a problem for the team. I think most of the pressure is coming because Robin Van Pussie scored for the Mancies and so far Arsenal have not scored.

We are making such a crisis of it and yet it is only 2 games into the new season. Yes, ideally, we should be getting 3 points against Stoke and Sunderland, but even the bigger teams struggle against these teams. And would you prefer to get a score draw or a goalless draw? I would prefer a goalless draw because it suggests our defence is doing something right- so far. Chelsea have started very well, but somehow I get the feeling they will crumble when it matters. This Arsenal team, like a fine wine, will get better with time.

Of course the real test of our defensive organisation starts against Liverpool. Liverpool harbour wet dreams of winning the league in my lifetime (I know, I don't see it happening too) so they are going to attack us. Unlike the lesser teams who go into games not to lose, the bigger teams go into games to win. Invariably this tends to open the games up a bit more, not the train-parking drills we have had so far.

Much has been said about the Stoke City game. My thoughts? Stoke City fans are cretins. Booing Aaron Ramsey, after one of their players nearly ended his career, is just sick. I don't even know how they justify that behaviour. But I don't blame them. Their manager, Tony Pubis Pulis is a imbecile, together with the entire Stoke City management.

I never once felt the jitters that I get whenever we play those savages. In fairness, a few of the Stoke City players are decent footballers who simply do the bidding of their imbecile boss. They could actually play football given a different manager... but I digress. We contained them throughout the whole game. You could see they were very pleased to come away with a point from this game. I can't wait for us to give them a real pasting at the hands of Aaron Ramsey in the return fixture.

I am glad Abou Diaby has played 2 game sthus far and seems ok. He is way, way off the pace. I still remember that game a couple of seasons away at Aston Villa when he turned in midfield and drove up the pitch to score. I sure would like that player back.

Where I think we are lacking is in our wide attacking berths. Walcott for me will never be any better on the wing than he is right now. His best bet for improvement is to move into a central striker's position and use his pace to run the channels. Gervinho is a decent dribbler but he doesn't seem to know what he is trying to achieve and runs the ball out a lot. He is not the player u expect to just run and cross the ball, he wants to drive all the way to the goal post before he tries to square the ball.

Wide attacking areas are where we need more direct, typical wingers. Perhaps we need Jesus. No, not Christ but Navas. The spanish winger is quick, gifted technically and most importantly- he is a typical winger. He runs and crosses the ball, something which none of our wingers does. Antonio Valencia of Mancies United is a basic winger who just skips past his marker, runs like a fart down the line and sends an early cross for the attackers running into the box. These type of balls are very effective because they put opposition defenders under pressure- trying to clear a ball that is running past your goal mouth whilst you are running at speed towards your goal keeper tends to result in own goals, corners or straight goals for the attacking team.

So if I had to buy two players before the transfer window closes, I would buy a winger and a striker or a winger cum striker and a winger. I don't see Walcott staying and equally, I think we can do better in his position. If he stays, then that's OK, but if he goes now, I will wish him all the best of luck. I like Walcott, but I don't think he will get any better than he is at the moment as long as he plays on the wing. His only asset is his pace and when denied pace, he is as good as... ahem... Andrey Shevchenko was at Chelsea.... ahem.

I would also like to see many players leave to create space in the squad. Arshavin, Park, Chamakh, Bendtner, Squilaci, Fabianski- they can leave and I will have no problems with their departure.

Lets see what happens.

COYG!!!

Patience Gunners, Patience

Go bring us some trophies son!

I decided not to write this article immediately after the home goalless draw against Sunderland on Saturday. Yes, I was filled with disappointment like every Arsenal fan, but then again I was filled with hope for the season ahead. Put it another way, I think I can spot a good player when I see one or two... or even three...

The departure of Robin Van Pussie is seen by most as a catastrophe in the attacking areas for Arsenal. Yes he is a quality player and all that but the truth lies here: All strikers are only as good as the supply they receive from their team-mates. There are only two strikers in this world who are genuinely capable of (occassionaly) creating chances for themselves and these are messers Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. But even they cannot thrive without the support and supply of teammates.

Santi Carzola

This is where I think the loss of Robin Van Pussie will not be such a huge loss for Arsenal. Already we have signed Santi Cazorla who is clearly a very good creative player. Cazorla is mobile, quick, intelligent and packs a shot in both legs. Sunderland set Cattermole to mark him throughout the whole game but like all good players, he still managed to find space and cause problems all afternoon. He was still orchestrating our attacks throughout the entire afternoon. Cazorla has been given a free role and I think this will suit him perfectly.

Lucas Podolski

When we lost the ball, Podolski was dropping deep into midfield to support the team but was suddenly popping up in the Sunderland box when we attacked. Once the team finds its rhythm , I expect Podolski to start banging them in weekly.

Olivier Giroud

I know a good-looking Frenchman when I see one. Olivier Giroud, in the short time that he was on the pitch convinced me that he is a good striker. The highlight has been his miss when put through on goal by Cazorla, but how many great strikers don't miss chances that are even easier than that one? What encouraged me was his movement and ability to evade the off-side trap. Adebayor anybody...?

Theo Walcott

We all know about a certain Gervinho and he had a wonderful game on Saturday. Gervinho too needs to push on from last season. One man who I think we can improve on is Theo Walcott. Walcott is a good player to have in an open game because his sheer speed will get him past defenders. However, we know that most teams come to the Emirates to pack their train in front of goal. In such games, Walcott is useless because he possesses no tricks to get through tight spaces. I am not suggesting that we sell Walcott, but I would not lose much sleep if we did sell him and would go on to suggest that we get another winger/striker who possesses a bag of tricks to use in tight games. We do have Oxlade-Chamberlain who can play there but I think we need a more experienced player to help take the pressure off Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Football is about tactics and one of the greatest failures of recent Arsenal teams has been lack of variety in attack. When teams come and pack the train, we fail to break them down with our tippy-tappy. In such games, a traditional winger is required, who can just run to the line and ping in cross after cross for the strikers. The lack of such wingers and wing play is the reason why Marouane Chamakh has not made an impact at Arsenal.

Nuri Sahin

I do not know much about Sahin, but those ITK say he is a deep-laying creative midfielder. I can understand why Arsene would want to sign him. Our game is based on possession and even when we play the top teams in the league, we tend to dominate possession. With Arteta, Sahin, Carzola, Rosicky and Diaby (I know) Arsenal would have a very impressive creative midfield.

Francis Coquelin

The need for a defensive Midfielder is overstated in my opinion. Although every team needs one, I wouldn't lose much sleep if we didn't sign one now. Yann M'vila has been mentioned yet Coquelin can do a job in there. Alex Song was a decent midfield but very often he lacked the discipline of a defensive midfielder and his passing and general decision making left a lot to be desired. Better team organisation and defending when we lose the ball should address the problem of a defensive midfielder as it should not be the sole responsibility of a single player.

Set plays

When last did Arsenal score directly from a free kick? I would like to see the stats of our free kicks. In the days of TH14, we were almost guaranteed a goal every time he took a free-kick. With our style of play, we tend to win quite a few free kicks around the box and we need to start capitalising on such. This is one area this team can improve in. Cazorla, Podolski and Arteta are all good set-piece specialists.

Arsene Wenger is rebuilding this team. The criticism that we are a young and inexperienced team is not an excuse any more. Just look at how many full-internationals we have in the team now.

Equally, it takes the departure of some for the team to move forward. We didn't win with Fabregas, Nasri, Clichy, Van Pussie and Song in the side. Time to try something new. This Arsenal team is stronger than the one last year.

Our transfer business is not yet done but you can bet we are genuine title contenders this season already.

COYG!!!

Of Traitors And Cunts

Robin Van Persie is signing for Manchester United Today or in the very near future, after constructively dismissing himself from the employment of Arsenal FC.

Arsenal fans have received this news with mixed emotions; some think that Arsenal are crazy and lack ambition by allowing the best player in the Premier League 2011-2012 to leave Arsenal while most think of him simply as a traitor and a cunt. I think he is a Traitor and a Cunt.

There have been suggestions that he was willing to stay, after the signings of Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud. I do not buy this. After sending his infamous update for the fans and calling us "you guys" amid below-the-belt shots at Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis, there would only be one outcome and this was it.

Van Persie and his advisors must have thought that after such a wonderful season last year, he would be swamped with suitors once he lifted up his skirts. But as fate would have it, the admirers peered down Van Persie's skirts and were not impressed with what they saw. Only the Ferg liked what he saw when he peered down the skirts of Van Persie. The bowed, hairy legs had Fergie's knickers in a twist and so he has laid £24 cool Million pounds on the table for Van Persie.

To refuse £24M for a 29 year old striker would be crazy. Van Persie is clearly a very good striker, but I don't think he will replicate the form he had last season. Be that as it may, players come and go but Arsenal still stands. There are very few players who leave Arsenal and don't regret it. Let's see what will happen to Van Persie.

The most important thing for Arsenal is to strengthen the team further with the funds received. Our midfield is currently technically the best in the league. Santi Cazorla, Mikel Arteta, Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby, Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin.That's a decent midfield.

Our Central defence too is very good and just needs more work on the training ground:- Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou are a very strong group of defenders.

Left wing sees us field Andre Santos, Kieran Gibbs and Ignasi Miquel.

Where we could strengthen is our right-back position. With Bacary Sagna injured, Nico Yennaris and Carl Jenkinson don't really inspire much confidence in me at this moment in their Arsenal careers. I think we need a signing here.

On the left wing we have Podolski, Gervinho and Arshavin while on the right we have Walcott (?) and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Our main strikers therefore are Olivier Giroud and Marouane Chamakh. Podolski can also play as an top striker while Cazorla can do a job on either wing. But clearly, we need another Striker cum winger, a Theo Walcott type but better, to cover in the wide and central attacking areas.

In goal we have Szczesny, Fabianski and Mannone. Not so sure about the latter two, but if Szczesny is fit, we are ok in goal.

So, the squad is looking stronger than it has been in the last few seasons. And with Van Persie being a traitor, this group of players must be fired up for the new campaign. If this incident with Van Persie can't get them pumped up and eager to prove a point, then woe betide Arsenal.


I really fancy our chances at the League Title this season.

Come on you Gooners!!!