We'll All Follow The Arsenal...

Last season brought with it many twists and turns none more so than that dramatic comeback in the North London Derby. That day brought about a belief in the team and it was helped by a very supportive stadium, a stadium full of fans that went through a purple patch of positivity against the likes of Milan and Newcastle. It was quite clear it had an impact on the side and yet we choose to ignore the fact we could make it a hostile envioirnment for opposition sides but sadly we choose to not be a factor.

Home or Away

Crazy scenes at Anfield

Over the last few seasons our away fans have really become a force to be reckoned with and we are easily up there with the most vocal sets of supporters in the country. Then we play at The Emirates and suddenly support turns into a poisonous envoirnment in which it hinders our players belief in their own ability. Why is there a difference? Is it the price? I don't think it is, we have sold out against Norwich at the price of £50 per person. I think the truth is there shouldn't be a difference because those that don't travel away will marvel at the support our away fans bring and should be encouraged to support their side in the same fashion when they are next at home. However, this is rarely the case. The Emirates has become more of a pantomime/circus enviornment. The rumbles of discontent have been around for too long. We've booed players off and on the field, we have sung more songs about referee's than the ones we sing to encourage and inspire a side in need of support.When a player is need of a boost we compound their misery. I sit in the North Bank Lower and on Saturday some fans were that annoyed with the lack of support, they even launched into a Chelsea song to spring a reaction. They were quickly shot down but they had a point. Supporters were too busy booing John Terry & Ashley Cole than focusing on our own. Even the goal celebration was more applause than a moment of madness in the stands. Yet you look at the comparison with the scenes of an equaliser at Eastlands, it was mental yet it still meant we were level.

Our Responsibility

Whilst I know The Emirates is a friendly enviorment for all fans, it doesn't mean we can't go and help our side on their way to victory. I know exactly what sort of crowd atmosphere there will be tomorrow and it's the one that wants to be entertained and see an easy victory. A crowd that will get on the sides back if it's 0-0 and we miss a couple of chances. Do some fans realise that outside of the game itself, you have the rest of the week to dissect the performance? Also, it's worth noting that the transfer window is shut (observant I know) so why not just support those in front of us? The negativity towards some players affects our chances to win. Many have suffered and not many have recovered.

Mentality

The fact is those that go away from home are prepared and ready to give everything they have in order to help their side achieve a win, sometimes they don't get the result their efforts deserve but yet they continue to give their all, you need look no further than the humiliation we suffered at Old Trafford. The away fans always make themselves heard for the right reasons and the home support tends to undo all of the good work. As a supporter who wants to be vocal I find it difficult to comprehend why their is a difference and maybe that's why I can't get my head around it but The Emirates can be an embarrassing place at times and we are there as supporters of a side that we all love and sitting there and saying nothing can be just as bad as being negative.

I'd love to know your thoughts on the matter, so feel free to leave a comment of tweet me @mj_afc

 

The Bould Effect

We went in to Sunday's clash with the fear of the unknown in terms of what sort of performance could we expect. In truth, not outcome from the game would have surprised me. This was a Liverpool side that looked lively against City and they probably deserved to win the game and they welcomed back Daniel Agger from suspension for our match up, so we thought we were in for a game.

Starting with our defensive approach, Wenger was quick to play down Bould's role in the three consecutive clean sheets but the the difference in this side defensively is unbelievable and I noticed a couple of things that have changed tactically from last season. The main factor was the defensive work of wingers Podolski and Chamberlain. The desire to defend reminded me of the days of Vieira & Petit. It's always been a weakness of our style of 4-3-3 as it was illustrated in the memorable 4-4 game at Anfield, great going forward but no support for the full backs, which invariably in big games away from home you'll often see us getting punished.



Then there's the play of our wingers, they defend wide as shown in the illustrations but we seem to bottle neck our attacks. Neither Podolski nor Chamberlain tried to hit the byline, something Gervinho tries at every opportunity and Theo tries more often than not. This offers much more support for the front man and this poses questions for the defenders. Look at Cazorla's goal, Liverpool players don't know whether to stick or twist. Do they close him down or stay with their man, either way there's a good chance it ends up in the back of the net.





For the first time this season our play also had much more of a purpose to it. We haven't really attacked with any real conviction in our opening two games but the sharpness was there with the players on Sunday, notably in the form of Abou Diaby. He slowed attacks down at Stoke, he sucked  the momentum out our play in order to keep possession. On Sunday he was like a dog with a bone and didn't we benefit from it. The pressure's on Diaby to deliver these performances on a regular basis as I believe he's far too inconsistent and his games to performances ratio is around the 1/7 mark, harsh you may think but he should dominate games and all to often he's a passenger but hopefully this is the start of things to come.

Then there's Mikel Arteta's role in all of this, our new converted defensive midfielder. Here's a caption of all of his work on Sunday.

 

Now the thing that stands out like a sore thumb is he doesn't contribute anything in the final third. I'm not sure why that pleases me but it's nice to see such disciplined play in our team. He is sacrificing his attacking ability in order to help the side and this for me is the biggest plus of our new demeanour. Hear that Mr Song? Arteta has protected the defence and it has allowed Vermaelen the odd foray forward but in truth the new captain has also calmed down his style of play somewhat. It's all very much positive coming from a game where we couldn't really predict what was going to happen.

I like this new style of play a lot, for too long we've be vulnerable and I've always expected us to concede and teams that win trophies don't have that in their makeup. Whether this is a flash in the pan remains to be seen but the start to our defensive improvement is well under way. It just remains to be seen when we'll score a trademark corner because it's coming sooner rather than later. 

Hey Giroud, Don't Be Afraid

So he's played 117 minutes of Premier League football or 162 minutes in an Arsenal shirt and questions are already being asked "Is Giroud good enough and/or can he fill RVP's boots?". Frankly I find it ridiculous that he's felt the need to come out and explain himself two weeks in a row and ultimately I don't see why some fans and especially the media feel the need to criticise his performance/s.

So why the need for the negativity? Simple, we should be scoring and that is purely down to our centre forward and him alone. The amount of people that reckon he should have squared it to Ramsey is unreal. That option was still a difficult ball and passing it to Aaron didn't guarantee a goal. What I saw was a player who has an eye for goal, he spotted Begovic of his line and came within inches of scoring one of the goals of season. Now the cynics out there will say he didn't score and it doesn't matter if it missed by inches or metres(which is nonsense) but the fact is the vision, awareness and let's not forget confidence to take that shot on shows that we have a player on our hands. I'm no expert when it comes to Giroud but what I have seen of him is he isn't scared to have a pop at goal and that for me is a positive. Look at what the crisis of confidence did to Chamakh, he would have rather run a mile than have a pop at goal. We need players who are prepared to have a dig and we can't be selective when it suits.

The comparison to van Persie which unfortunately will linger until our strikers begin to fire is pointless. He's gone and they are far from similar but that doesn't mean Giroud isn't any good, who's to say he can't be better than him after Wenger has taught him a thing or two. In Giroud we have a great, yes great, target man. He makes it stick, brings others into play and helps us advance/catch up with ball. I think both Huth & Shawcross were taken by surprise by him yesterday as he fought hard with them. He contested every header and proved solid when called upon to defend. In April van Persie didn't contest one ball in the air Giroud contested twelve (and winning five), that shows a shift in our tactics and mentality going forward. These things though take time and I refer back to our lack of friendlies but we are growing with each game, admittedly it's quite easy to improve on the performance v Sunderland but there were respectable chances for Diaby, Podolski, Giroud (corner) & Arteta and that sharpness will come and it will more than likely need to be there against Liverpool on Sunday if they play as they did against City yesterday. Look at Arteta's reaction after the game, it was one born of of frustration because they know they are nearly there, they just need to relax a bit more in front of goal. Lots of opportunities are getting snatched at in our attempts to get off the mark.

 

I know I am in a minority when I say we don't need another striker just yet. We have options with Giroud and Podolski and if it doesn't work (which is a possibility) then there's always January to put it right but for now I'm quite happy for both to find their feet in this side and I'd pretty certain we'll be seeing lots of goal sometime soon. So Giroud, don't make it bad, just take a good team and make it better.

Fail to Prepare

So a week has proven to be a long time once again The Arsenal. We've gone from the pre-match over excitement to realistation in the space of ninety minutes last Saturday. We've had an exciting new striker feel the need to explain himself and ask for patience because he dared to miss a vey respectable opportunity, then there was the sale of Alex Song and the saga that was Nuri Sahin.

Cazorla pulling the strings

Having allowed some time to digest what was a frustrating afternoon last Saturda against a side that would have made George Graham proud. Was it actually that much of a surprise when you look at the sides preperation in pre-seasont? There was quality in abundance but this side lack sharpness and a purpose. We saw the introduction of two new signings, Arteta playing the deeper role, Diaby returning, Walcott lacking fitness & Jenkinson at full back. Whilst we expected to win it hardly comes as a shock but I think the club could have averted this. Due to postponing of The Emiates Cup we played one fixture between 29th July to 18th August. That really is pathetic, everyone knows sharpness comes from playing games not training camps. That meant Cazorla & Giroud managed a half each and Podolski managed seventy minutes and that's all they have to show for their pre-seasons with us and I know some went off to play for their countries but that doesn't really benefit us does it? Then you look back at our opening fixtures of recent times and in the last three season we've drawn our opener on each occasion, admittedly trips to Newcastle and Liverpool are difficult but we were poor by our own standards in each fixture. We can't be naive and think we can just turn up, flick the switch and go into overdrive. Our game is built on relationships and understanding, so were we going to achieve a satisfactory level of performance without serious match practice. Arteta & Diaby have never started a Premier League game together but thanks to Cazorla's guile we looked easier on the eye than we actually were.











Olivier meet Robert and Ryan

Now we embark on another adventure to Stoke, where I fully expect their wind turnbines to be pumping out a force ten gale but I think it's an ideal time to play them. Whilst they may point to our lack of fluency (which is a valid point) they have to deal with a lack of competitive action.That of course is their main strength (exc throw ins), they like to pressurise us, force mistakes and feed off the scraps (a bit like their fans). If we can retain possession our football should do the talking but we will still have to contend with the numerous physcial elements. Can Cazorla get a look in? He did get pushed off the ball quite easily at times last weekend and you can only begin to imagine the sort of plans Stoke have for him. Will Wenger go for a front three of Podolski, Giroud & Walcott? I'd like to see this at some point and Stoke's defence is vulnerable but I feel Shawcross & Huth realish the opoortunity of playing against a lone man. Moving Podolski to left wing means back up isn't far behind as he works within the width of the box, something Gervinho doesn't offer as much of. A point wouldn't be the end of the world but it would be nice to get a win under our belt and provide a much needed shot in the arm ahead of our trip to Anfield. However, if you thought this week was long just wait for next week. Stoke on Sunday, transfer deadline day on Friday & Liverpool next Sunday. It could shape our season.

No More Doom & Gloom

So the new season is fast approaching and for once I feel rather positive about the situation at the club. Despite the best efforts of the media to insist that our club is dead or in crisis that certainly isn't transmitting through the most important people - the players. Despite having to deal with a want away captain the players have knuckled down to the task at hand and they seem to be enjoying themselves but does this mean anything in terms of how they'll perform on the pitch?

Well last August was very much doom and gloom due to the uncertainty and the inevitably surrounding the imminent sales of Fabregas & Nasri, without any adequate replacements linedup. We started with a bore draw at Newcastle and there was an edge to the support, Wenger and the team. This supplied countless amounts of ammunition to those with agendas and our club wasn't a very nice place to be. Thankfully Wenger manged to restore the belief piece by piece with some frantic panic buying.

This year one of those panic buys Mikel Arteta will go into this season as our Vice-Captain. That leads nicely onto Vermaelen, who has been officially appointed Arsenal skipper. Now I'll admit I'd have had Arteta and maybe Sagna ahead of him but that said Vermaelen has shown commitment to the club and he has learnt the ropes, so I am very encouraged by the choice and he has said he will "lead the team through the way I play", that's a pretty gungho philosophy we will be adopting, although I am hoping he is a touch more responsible. I think that is what I'm looking forward to this season, our ability to blow the opposition away.

There's no reason why we can't do that now that we have a play maker in the form of Cazorla. Last season we had to make do with Rosicky or Ramsey in that position and whilst both are still crucial to our squad this is a significant upgrade. Whilst Cazorla becomes the much needed link between midfield and attack, it is the latter that excites me the most. Yes, we've lost our best player but I don't think anyone is in a position to dwell on the matter but we have two international strikers joining the club, one of which is of the highest calibre. Lukasz Podolski will soon become a crowd favourite, as will deputy Olivier Giroud. Stewart Robson said on 5Live today that there's no way these two could fill the void left by RVP. I think that is incredibly harsh as we are a side that creates a lot of chances and now we have Cazorla too. Where's the logic? Of course, it's Robson speaking, there isn't any.

The big question is can we win a trophy? The title is probably still too much of a task for this side unless we strengthen defensively but we can surely have a good punt at the FA Cup and Champions League. Wenger appears ruthless this year and he seems to have grown tired of our failures and the departures of the likes of constant figures such as Alex Song can only demonstrate that the lack of success means he's taking a closer look of personnel and so he should.

The fact is this year we are probably going to attack like we haven't done for a couple of seasons. I even expect the likes of Gervinho to step up to the plate. That does bring with it the obvious pitfalls of being unable to defend but for now I'm just going to allow the excitement carry me through the beginning of the season and if we win comprehensibly tomorrow I will believe we can win the league, until Sunday that is.

Enjoy tomorrow/today and if you are going, get behind the team likes we did in crucial games last season. There's enough nonsense written about our club but when we are at home it's our opportunity to let outside influences disappear for at least 90 minutes.

Say we are top the league, say we are top the league...

A Really Vacillating Player

It's an issue I really hate discussing but one that I just can't avoid because it just eats away at you every day. I am of course talking about Robin Van Persie, so excuse me whilst I go on a bit of a rant.

When it comes to leaving a club I'm a big believer it doing it the right way. That goes for how players have left their clubs to join Arsenal and vice-versa, there is a way of orchestrating a move with minimal damange and that was one of the many reasons I never really liked Sylvain Wiltord, he had previously gone of strike to force moves away from Deportivo and Bordeaux in order to sign for us. Mathieu Flamini left Marseille at the first opportunity and turned his back on the fact they had introduced him to football. I'm not sure if I'm right on this matter but has he ever signed a new deal whilst at a club? Even Thierry Henry isn't blameless in this, after the 2006 Champions League Final he signed a knee jerk mega deal, including a huge signing on fee and at the same time we saw his value depreciate over the coming twelve months when it was quite apparent he'd sign for Barcelona whether it was 2006 or 2007. Now, it's the turn of Robin Van Persie to take the floor and it seems like last summer opened his eyes somewhat.

Last year he went to New York with his good mate Cesc Fabregas, now it would be naive to think they didn't discuss what Cesc's intentions were for the coming season. It would also be naive to think that Barcelona didn't advise Cesc on what stance he needed to take in order to force a move. Now Cesc was slightly different in that he didn't have twelve months to go on his deal but that is where Samir Nasri comes in. Nasri as we all know wanted parity with Fabregas' salary because he thought he was as good as our Spanish talisman. He genuinely believed that a three month purple patch would see him take home a six figure salary but the club didn't budge and he wanted the pay day he craved, sound familiar? Now the only difference been Cesc & Nasri and Van Persie is that neither went public about their intentions, unlike Robin's "update for the fans", which should have been entitled a "here's a knife for your back" but nevertheless Robin knows exactly what he needs to do in order to push through a move.

Give us a sign Robin...

When it comes to RVP, I've never believed that he owes us for his checkered injury record. He is eighth in terms of our all time goalscorers, which more than repays our patience. What I do begrudge is times that we've stood buy him when it would have been easier for us to cut our losses. I can cite a game against Southampton in 2005. The Saints had David Prutton sent off on the stroke of half time and we went in 1-0 up courtesy of a Freddie Ljungberg goal. Seven minutes into the second half and our hot headed Dutchman was sent off, Wenger was furious. This allowed Southampton back into the game, they snatched an equaliser and Cole had a goal ruled out late on.

After the game Wenger said "I told Van Persie at half-time the referee would be under pressure having sent off a home player to square up matters and he was an obvious target.
"I cannot support Van Persie in this but I feel we had the minimum reward for a good performance today."

Stern words for a manager that usually protects his players in front of the watching millions.

Sealing a 2-0 win against Newcastle

Then there was the summer of 2005 when he was arrested on allegations of raping a women and he spent fourteen nights in jail before being cleared. During what most have been one of the most horrific periods of his life, we stood by our player and he even went on to score in the season's opener at home to Newcastle.

In 2007, it appeared that Van Persie's big chance had arrived. Following the departures of Bergkamp, Reyes & Henry he had moved up the pecking order but again he kept picking up injuries and Adebayor took centre stage and scored thirty goals to Robin's nine. Then Adebayor transpired to turn a lot of his well received support against him within the space of one day in 2008. At an event for Adidas he confirmed he was committed to Arsenal but within the space of two hours he was talking up a move to Milan, then he signed a new deal but for 80k a week certain sections of The Emirates crowd took exceptionand he was booed for missing a chance against WBA.
Then we fast forward to 2009 , when Van Persie signed his last Arsenal contract. He claimed “I’m so happy to have signed a new long term contract. I’ve been at the Club for five years now and there really is a great feeling here at Arsenal. We have a top class manager, a squad full of superb young players, a world class stadium and brilliant supporters. Arsenal Football Club has a very bright future and I want to be part of it.

My heart is with Arsenal and I just can’t picture myself in a different shirt. I just can’t see it now because I love this Club so much

What he meant to say was he signed a new contract as an insurance deal because of his injury record and he couldn't believe Arsenal offered him an improved contract and that there wasn't really any competition for places as Adebayor had left for City. I would also like to hear why his beliefs have changed since that day, we still have a world class stadium, brilliant supporters and despite the amount of financial doping going on we are still finishing towards the top of the table. It is notable that when Van Persie signed that deal Liverpool finished second, so it shows there is so sort of achievement in being able to finish so high on a consistent basis.

Fine margins

Then there's the ambition term, which is code for "I want as much money as possible". Isn't it amazing that despite the fact we hadn't won anything in four years Van Persie was more than happy to sign a new deal in 2009 but when it comes to 2012 he cites "my goal has been to win trophies with the team and to bring the club back to its glory days." Well Robin since 2009 you have been responsible for our failure to collect silverware, others are also accountable but I'm sick of the "my goal is to win trophies" line but they exonerate themselves from any blame when the team fails to win. Look at Milan last season, we would have been level had he not have missed a sitter. Where was he at Sunderland in the Cup? Cup competitions are our most likely route to silverware but the players quickly forget about it.

That's not even going into the disrespect he's shown the club as he stated on his website "but unfortunately in this meeting it has again become clear to me that we in many aspects disagree on the way Arsenal FC should move forward".

Sorry Robin when did you become manager? Maybe Wenger disagreed with the way you handled yourself when you cost the team points but he stuck by you and made you the player you are today.
The killer line though has to be "I love the club and the fans, no matter what happens." No Robin, you don't love the club otherwise you'd be going on tour with the rest of the squad tomorrow but instead you are staying behind to work on your fitness because you are committed to the side.. We love the club, the fans, not you. We are the ones that hurt when we lose but we remain.  I'm glad that you are "very proud of being part of this fantastic club for the last 8 years" but for me your time at the club now means nothing. You will be held in the same regard as the likes of Adebayor not the status of our true legends.

Van Persie has been brilliant for 18 months and the side responded well to his leadership and he was loved by the supporters but he's chosen the most common way to leave Arsenal and for that he erases any good memory any gooner ever had for him. As Wenger has said today in Kuala Lumpur "He (RVP) is world class, and I have supported him for his whole career." And he should acknowledge that.

The Illustrious Armband

So another summer and another captain. The question is who is it going to be and what are they going to bring to the table. Whoever it is will have a tough job on their hands, as the previous skipper did create a very positive atmosphere and their was a real togetherness amongst the side. Unfortunately our former captain threw himself under a bus and wishes to have his entire Arsenal career count for nothing. So who are the candidates, well you can probably work them out for yourselves but I've shortlisted four potential suitors.

Tomáš Rosický

Why not start with the captain of the Czech national side? Tomáš set a new seasons best 38 appearances last season and he certainly has experience on his side. He also has the trust of his manage and whenever Arsène speaks about him it's always positive and it looks like a coaching position beckons after he retires. Although it's highly unlikely Tomáš will be given the armband, he can't be overlooked. He's played in huge tournaments and many a big game, so he's knows more than most.

Bacary Sagna
Bac is probably the second most popular candidate for the role. He's our most consistent and best defender and he'd fully warrant any new found responsibilities. He is however returning from an injury hit season and he could probably do with overcoming his rather fragile leg and just getting another season behind him. I also feel that our current formation also isolates his ability to communicate with the rest of the side. His protection is 60 yards ahead of him on the field of play and that will have an impact.  

Mikel Arteta

Well I never thought after our desperado deadline day signings that Arteta would be in the running but he is because he was given the armband versus Leeds in the FA Cup last season. Arteta proved an integral part of the Arsenal machine last season and he was sorely missed in January and at the end of the season when we won only one game in his absence. Giving him the authority of being skipper could just be what Alex Song needs too. Then there's the disciplined approach he adopts in every game, always sacrificing himself for the good of the team, which is a very favourable attribute to have. Seems like he has a lot in his favour...

Thomas Vermaelen


Give me the bloody armband, now!

Then there's the front runner, our current vice-captain. I think we all know he's pretty much nailed on to get the role but I can't help but feel he's the wrong selection. He's everything that Arteta isn't, he's reckless with his style of play taking far too many gambles and then there's his ill-disciplined side, much like Song when he's in the zone he's quality but there's a massive tendency to play his own game. His forays forward leave us exposed and we lose our shape and I just don't think those are the sort of attributes that befit a Captain these days but that aside he did sign a new contract so he is committed unlike some so I can't be too critical.

So there you have it, the likely skipper is Vermaelen but I'd love Wenger to spring a surprise and keep the players on their toes by announcing Arteta as El Capitan. If truth be told Jack should get the captains armband in the next few years just so long as he conquers his fear of grass. If we can get him on the pitch and Arteta can pass on his wealth of experience we might just be onto a winner there.

Let me know your views? Are their any more dark horses for role? Who do you want and why?