By Josh Powell | Tottenham v Arsenal

Tottenham fans have plenty to celebrate. They’re up in to third, flying towards Champions League qualification. They haven’t lost a game at home since the start of November. They have scored 27 goals on the road, second only to Manchester United, and they are four points clear of their North London rivals Arsenal.

The one man to thank for all this? Gareth Frank Bale.

The Welsh wizard is the most entertaining man to come out of Wales since Tom Jones released ‘It’s Not Unusual’ in 1965. Bale lights up Premier League grounds across the country and his lightning pace and eye for goal have attracted the interests of Real Madrid, PSG and Manchester United.

Not bad for a player who almost ended up at Nottingham Forest.

This season Bale has scored 15 goals in 23 league appearances for Spurs, finding the onion bag on average every 135 minutes. Not too shabby. It’s even more impressive when you look at his performances since the end of January when he has scored six league goals and netted almost every hour on average.

If you’d put €10 on Bale to score first every week this season with Paddy Power you would be eating caviar and drinking champagne most Saturdays, with a total profit of €190 since August.

There’s no shortage of champagne at Bale’s gaff either. The winger has picked up nine bottles of bubbly for his Man of the Match performances, more than any other Premier League player. His 15 strikes for Spurs have earned them 15 points and without Bale Tottenham would be in 10^th and AVB would probably be out of a job.

Can Arsenal do anything to stop him? When you consider Mikel Arteta’s tackling ability only goes from ‘flimsy’ to ‘half-hearted’ and Per Mertesacker turns slower than a cruise ship, probably not. Bale is 5/1 to open the scoring on Sunday and Paddy Power is doubling the odds if the first goalscorer in the game scores again.

That has the traders crying and the shareholders running for cover. In three of the last four games Bale has scored first and then gone on to bag another.

Admittedly this has become a bit of a Bale-love in, but let’s be honest he deserves his moment. And for those of you reading this and saying ‘Well he doesn’t track back’ or ‘He can’t head the ball’ you are wrong. This season Bale has won more aerial duals than Fabricio Coloccini (37 to 29) and he averages 2.3 clearances every game which is the same as Leighton Baines.

• Betting: Tottenham v Arsenal
• Myth-busting! Are Tottenham end of season chokers?

Interest has been registered in the Arsenal Midfielder Mikel Arteta, bidding starts at £5.7m.

Bidding for this player will close at 20:00 GMT on Friday.

To table a bid for this player you must go to the bidding page, select the player from the drop down list and make your bid. You can bid as many times as you want as only the last bid you cast for the player will be counted.

Bids must be in blocks of 100k and the player will have a minimum reserve that will be his transfer list value.

The familiar sight of a worried-looking Arsène Wenger

Source: guardian.co.uk

Seven major trophies were amassed in Arsène Wenger’s first nine seasons at Arsenal, a fact the ‘in Arsène we trust’ brigade is keen to remind us of. They talk of being ‘double double’ winners, the first team to win the league undefeated since Preston North End in the 1880s and tell us to never forget what the Frenchman ‘has done for the club’. However, no trophies in his last eight seasons, by the looks of it after Wednesday night’s Champions’ League defeat to Bayern Munich, surely points out that living on former glories is not the key to future success.

While sitting in the top five of the Premier League and competing in the knockout stages of the Champions League is a position that most clubs can only dream of, the concern for the Gunners is that, having been accustomed to picking up silverware during the early Wenger years, they, with the exception of the 2007/08 campaign, have not come remotely close to mounting a title challenge in recent years and this season look set to prolong a worrying trend – 11 points behind the champions in 2009/10, 12 points in 2010/11 and 19 points in 2011/12. The figure this year is 21 and counting.

Where has it all gone wrong? While a new stadium to pay for and the changing dynamics of the transfer market have undoubtedly hampered the Arsenal boss with increased competition for top players brought about by the nouveau riche forcing Wenger to place more emphasis on youth than at the beginning of his tenure, it is not as if he has been rummaging around in his own pockets for loose change in an attempt to raise funds to improve his team. He has outspent Sir Alex Ferguson in the last two seasons and yet there has never been a bigger gap between the Gunners and Manchester United points-wise. Podolski, Giroud, Cazorla, Gervihno, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arteta, Nasri and Arshavin have all been brought in for eight-figure sums with countless others proving only slightly less expensive. When money is tight, as it has been in comparison with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City in the current climate, then it should be spent it wisely. Very often it hasn’t been.

Player sales as well as recruitment have been heavily criticised too, characterised, particularly in recent times, by the club’s willingness to offload their top performers. Van Persie, Fabregas, Song, Nasri and Clichy have all departed in the last two summers alone but, for all their combined ability, it is worth remembering that they won a total of four major trophies between them in their time in North London (with Clichy not even a regular in the side which won the league in 2004 and the FA Cup in 2005) which suggests that there may be other, more prevalent factors.

The Invincibles – leaders and match-winners

Source: tumblr.com

Let’s think back to the all-conquering ‘Invincibles’ of 2003/04, full of leaders (Lehmann, Campbell, Vieira, Cole, Keown, Gilberto) and game-changers at their peak (Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ljungberg). By the beginning of the 2007/08 season, a year or so after the beginning of the ‘slump’, only Lehmann and Gilberto remained in North London and since then there have been few, with the likes of Fabregas and Wilshire possible exceptions, wearing the red shirt who have appeared willing to stand up and be counted when the going has got tough. We all remember then-skipper William Gallas flouncing off to the half-way line after conceding a last-minute penalty against Birmingham in February 2008, the defender’s complete overreaction giving eventual champions Manchester United, according to many, a psychological advantage in a title race they were behind in. Not exactly setting a captain’s example.

In that respect, Wenger has not been able to identify the correct personnel to continue his initial success but Gunners fans have also become increasingly frustrated by the Frenchman’s failure to remedy problem areas in the team which have held the club back from adding to their trophy collection. While only Van Persie and Adebayor once each hit the kind of goal tally which was guaranteed every year by Henry, problems in attacking areas have paled in comparison to those further back.

When Wenger arrived at Highbury in 1996, the back five picked itself.  Seaman, Dixon, Adams and Winterburn with Bould and Keown both having spells at centre-back in the ex-Monaco boss’ first two seasons in charge. Four of those six played on until 2002 by which time they had secured the ‘double double’ and established themselves as Champions’ League regulars. It was a defensive unit which had proved itself as one of the best in the land and, with Vieira providing midfield steel as added protection, Wenger could focus on developing the attacking side of his system without worrying about what was going on at the back. Initial defensive reinforcements were successful, with the arrivals of Campbell in 2001 and Lehmann two years later safe bets with Kolo Toure a revelation as a somewhat ‘accidental’ centre-half having been converted from a wide midfielder.

But the departures of Vieira and Campbell marked a crucial point in Arsenal’s defensive evolution with the partnership of Toure and the temperamental William Gallas neither as solid nor offered as much protection while none of Laurent Koscielny, Sebastian Squillaci, Johan Djourou or Phillippe Senderos have subsequently shown themselves to be good enough to be regular starters. Current captain Thomas Vermaelen’s Arsenal career started promisingly but injury problems and a lack of a regular partner have somewhat hampered the Belgian in his four years seasons at the club. Wenger’s latest attempt to find a reliable centre-back has unsurprisingly faltered too with the decision to move for Per Mertesacker truly baffling given the Premier League’s reliance on pace and the German’s complete lack of it. Add to that the occasional brilliance, occasional madness of Wojciech Szczesny and the permanent madness of anyone else, including Lehmann at times, of anyone else who has kept goal for Arsenal of late.

Vieira’s departure coincided with a downturn in fortunes

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Throughout Vieira’s time in North London, he provided a shield for the Arsenal backline and, more often than not, was accompanied by another defensively-aware central midfielder (Petit, Gilberto, Flamini) who gave him licence to bomb forward when he so wished. Since the Frenchman left for Juventus in 2005, Wenger has strayed from his tried and trusted midfield blend, with flair present in abundance (Fabregas, Wilshire, Arteta, Cazorla) to pass the ball around at ease and supply what has always been a more than capable frontline but the search for Vieira’s ‘replacement’ seemingly abandoned with neither Song nor Denilson in the same class, Abou Diaby on the treatment table more often than the pitch and Lassana Diarra not trusted by the staff who signed him.

Of course, players of Vieira’s quality come along only every so often and it is not unusual for a manager to alter the make-up of his side (United have never directly replaced the equally-influential Roy Keane but have continued to pick up silverware) but Wenger’s Arsenal continue to play the same swashbuckling, total football as before, only now there is no one to make sure the back door is locked.

Flamini was allowed to leave for AC Milan having been disappointed with the new contract on offer following an impressive 2007/08 season while Yaya Toure, perhaps the current player who most closely resembles Vieira, was unable to join the Gunners as a teenager because of red tape issues but would have reportedly been rejected after a trial in any case.

A weaker defensive line-up with poorer protection inevitably leads to deteriorating results. Wenger has had eight seasons to solve this conundrum and appears to be no closer to doing so if Wednesday night’s evidence is anything to go by, with the midfield three of Arteta, Wilshire and Cazorla always likely to cause Bayern problems going forward but leave a central defensive partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny horribly exposed against one of the best attacks in Europe.

The words ‘I didn’t see it’ have left Wenger’s lips many times over the years but with a reported £70 million transfer kitty on the way for the summer, Arsenal fans had better hope that Wenger begins to ‘see it’ in terms of finally moulding together a balanced team after all these years. However, withan increasing number wondering whether he is the best man to invest it, is it a case of ‘In Arsène we trust’ no more? For some, yes. And who can blame them?

Who will be captain come August? Any one of these 3 can be at the moment.

Anyone that closely follows Arsenal knows that the club is under harsh criticism from the media and most of its own supporters on a daily basis. Whether it is on the field issues (such as recent failures in the FA Cup and Champions League and why it seems we are a different side in the 1st and 2nd halves of matches), managerial issues (Is Wenger the right man for the job? Does Steve Bould have any influence on the way the defence plays?), or issues dealing with the board (Kroenke-Usmanov situation, cries for David Dein to return, etc.), Arsenal are buried deep with problems. The last thing I’d want to do is add to their problems. But, unfortunately I feel this problem is to big to avoid talking about.

If you are reading this blog, you probably have already read the title and know which “problem” I will be talking about, but I’ll say it anyway. One big problem that may arise at the club when summer arrives could be the question on who will be wearing the armband come August.

Now, I know some of you might be saying, “Vermaelen is our captain. There is no problem with our current captain situation.” Fact of the matter is most will probably agree that there is an issue with our captaincy or there will be come next season.

Let’s begin.

Thomas Vermaelen won’t be captain next season

A bit harsh on our current captain, but had to say it.

I’ve narrowed down to two possible reasons why Thomas Vermaelen will not be Arsenal’s captain come next season:

1. He will be sold in the summer
2. He’s no longer good enough to warrant a spot in the Arsenal starting XI.

Reports and rumors have indicated that Arsenal are looking to sell Vermaelen in the summer transfer window with clubs like Barcelona rumored to be interested. While it might be only rumors, I still think there is something somewhat concrete in these alleged rumors. I believe due to recent showings, Arsene Wenger has been fed up with Vermaelen’s play of late and will be looking to add a new CB in the summer to replace the Belgian defender. Sure, you could make a case that it could be Per or Koscielny that could be replaced, but I highly doubt that Wenger would sell one of those two in the summer. And if Vermaelen is sold, that would make it the third summer in a row where the club would have sold their captain.

Now, the second reason why Vermaelen won’t wear the armband next season is that he’s quite frankly not good enough to be in the starting XI. His form this season has been appalling, which has cost us dearly. At the moment, he is the third best CB at the club behind Koscielny and Mertesacker. And in that case, it should be Koscielny (our best defender in my opinion) that should be starting along side Mertesacker. Problem is, Vermaelen being captain is still the reason why he keeps get selected into the lineup over Koscielny. I don’t think that will last much longer, and if so, Vermaelen is on the bench and the role of captaincy is vacant.

To be honest, I really don’t have a clear answer to why Vermaelen has been so poor. Some may point at the pressures of being captain, but he’s been captain previously at Ajax and for the Belgian National Team. Maybe the pressure of being captain at Arsenal is a lot more? You could even go as crazy to say the departure of his best friend, Robin van Persie, from the club could be a factor. It sounds crazy, but I have heard crazier assumptions.

Now to narrow down the player that should fill that vacant captaincy role if Vermaelen is relieved of his position.

Obvious Choice is Mikel Arteta…Right?

The easy and unanimous choice would be Mikel Arteta. If Vermaelen were dropped today, there would be no doubt Arteta would be captain till the end of the season. But, as for next season, making Arteta captain isn’t that simple.

It’s hard for me to see Arteta being named captain next season because I don’t think he’ll be an everyday starter for Arsenal in the 2013-14 season. Yes, Arteta has been one of our most consistent players in these past two seasons, but I think Wenger will be looking to bring someone in the summer transfer window that suits more to playing the holding midfield role than Arteta has. Don’t get me wrong, Arteta has been good in that role this season, but its obvious that it’s not his natural position.

A counterargument would then be just have Arteta play alongside the new defensive midfielder, but it’s not that simple in my opinion. There’s just not enough space to put Arteta’s name into the starting XI for practically every game. For me, Wilshere and Cazorla have sealed the other midfield spots, and I’m not a big fan of the Arteta-Wilshere-Cazorla midfield trio like some are.

Another counterpoint would then be to move Santi on the wing. There again is a problem. In my eyes, neither Lukas Podolski nor Theo Walcott have done anything wrong to lose their spots on the wings in our starting XI.

Then another counterpoint can be made stating Santi can start on the wing by moving Theo forward and dropping Giroud. Once again, I don’t see it happening.

As much as I appreciate what Mikel Arteta has done in the past two seasons and what he has sacrificed to help us out, I see him more as a valuable squad player or part of a midfield rotation in Arsene Wenger’s side than a permanent starter. And with that, he too is not an option for captain next season.

Let me just quickly rule out some other candidates now before we get to our final candidate.

Per Mertesacker: An ideal choice for captain. Cool, calm, poised. A leader. But, I’m not 100% sure he’ll be a starter either next season depending on what Wenger does in the transfer market.

Bacary Sagna: Another ideal choice for captain. Mr Consistency. Many were disappointed he was not appointed vice-captain at the beginning of the season. Problem is we don’t know whether Sagna will still be at the club after the summer.

Theo Walcott: Our longest tenured player. Plenty of experience and has shown a lot of heart. However, he’s just not captain material for me.

Rosicky: Doesn’t play enough

Santi/Poldi/Giroud/Monreal: Haven’t been here that long. None of them really scream out captain material in my eyes, except for maybe Nacho. Still don’t see Wenger committing the same mistake he did by giving it to Gallas.

Gibbs: I still don’t know whether he’ll be first choice or not when he returns from injury.

Szczesny: He would actually make a fine captain. However, I don’t see him getting the armband over a couple others mentioned.

Ramsey: Can you imagine how angry and furious a number of supporters would be if Aaron Ramsey would be named captain? If he was named captain, certain supporters would be calling for Wenger’s head. Don’t worry, it won’t happen. Plus, he’s not a guaranteed first XI player. However, he does have the qualities ideal for a captain in my eyes. Poise, calm, hard work ethic, maturity, and determination. Might be young but already has experience of being captain at the international level. (Just a quick question for you to think about: If Aaron never suffered that traumatic injury and continued to progress like he was pre-injury, would he have been a top candidate for captaincy today?)

And the rest that I have failed to mention are either too young or don’t play enough to be considered to be Arsenal’s new captain.

Well, now that we have gotten that out of the way, we can move on to our last candidate.

The Man The People Want…Might Not Be Ready For It Now…But Could Get It Anyway

Last but not least in our search for Arsenal’s next captain is the man who people consider to be the heart and the drive of Arsenal FC. That man is Jack Wilshere. For many, there is no obvious choice other than Jack Wilshere. Even for a kid at his age, Jack is already considered to be one of the top players at our club and probably our most important. For a man we see as the next Mr. Arsenal, Jack would be the obvious choice for captain. But would giving to him this soon be the right choice?

Don’t get me wrong, I think Wilshere has all the qualities that a captain needs. He’s a fighter and he pushes himself to extreme limits to get his team a result. But, I think giving the captaincy for a player at his age, could be a bit too much pressure for him. Remember, he’s only 21. An argument can be made that Cesc Fabregas was that age when he received the armband, but Cesc at the time already had around 5 years of experience of top-flight football under his belt.

In 2-3 years, I think Jack would be ready for captaincy. In the mean time, I would like to see him mature and develop as a player before we give him the responsibility of being captain.

However, I do not make the decisions at Arsenal. I have an opinion. That’s it. And while I don’t think Jack Wilshere should be named captain next year, I have a feeling, if everything I believe goes according to plan, that Arsenal’s captain entering the 2013-14 season will be Jack Wilshere.

Written by Khalid Khan. Follow on twitter @KHALIDKhan91

Position

Attacking midfielder
The diagram shows the position Kroos (39) held for most of his time on the pitch. He was the closest support to Mandžukić (9). He drifted mainly to the left, but also dropped deeper to support the holding midfielders.

In simple terms, Bayern Munich were set up in a 4-2-3-1, but it would be lazy to define their system in that way. The only players who regularly held their position were the two centre-backs and holding midfielder, Javi Martinez. The other seven outfield players were very much interchangeable – Kroos in particular. He took up three different roles throughout his 73 minutes on the pitch. The most common position he occupied was in the centre of the three attacking midfielders, that supported Mario Mandzukic. At times, he dropped into a deeper midfield role and had spells in both the left and right attacking midfield positions. This will be described in more detail further down (changing positions).

Positive start

Bayern Munich started on the front foot, with Kroos prominent in much of their play in the opening exchanges. His use of the ball was often simple, but progressive and at a quick tempo. Out of possession, he pressed high, sometimes even more so than lone forward Mandžukić. Up until he scored the opening goal (seven minutes), he held his position as the central support to Mandžukić and stayed high up the pitch, even when Mikel Arteta – usually the deepest Arsenal midfielder, pushed beyond him.

Scored one, created another

With 21 minutes gone, Bayern Munich had a 2 – 0 lead and Kroos played a key role in both goals. The first, which he scored, was an excellent demonstration of a controlled finish.

Arsenal were caught out by a quick break that highlighted the fluidity of Bayern’s system and showed how quickly they can counter. As the Germans pushed forward down the right, the retreating Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey were drawn towards the crosser – Thomas Müller. This allowed Bastien Schweinsteiger, who had started the Bayern move, to break into the area, but also, more crucially, left Kroos completely unmarked in the D. From when the move starts, Kroos’ run is not tracked. Ramsey has to run past him to get to his eventual position inside the area, but fails to pick him up. When the cross comes in from Müller, the defence drops deep anticipating a ball into the area, but it is instead screwed deeper for Kroos to run on to. His finish, a drilled shot in to the ground, was wonderfully executed, but he was left in too much space.

Untracked
Kroos (39) is allowed to arrive at the edge of the Arsenal area unmarked. Santi Cazorla (19) is the nearest to him, with Aaron Ramsey (16) and Mikel Arteta (8) drawn to the ball.

Kroos’ involvement in Bayern’s second goal was less spectacular, with his corner eventually getting turned in from close range by Müller.

Play-maker

In the first half, Kroos’ use of the ball was excellent. Never over-complicating, he kept it moving and ensured Bayern remained fluid and difficult to dispossess. His vision and smart combinations with Franck Ribéry (see below) made him hard to track, but also Bayern’s main creative influence. Arsenal struggled to cope with his movement and he was able to pull Arteta out of position and force Wilshere back. During his 73 minutes on the pitch he made four key passes, more than any other player, and had a 86% pass accuracy. His passing was often quick and short, but he also occasionally looked for a longer ball – usually a switch of play from left to right, across to Müller. His long ball accuracy was 100%. His influence on the game was subtle and not necessarily blatantly obvious, but undeniably important.

Interplay with Ribéry

A key aspect of Kroos’ performance was his interplay with Ribéry. They almost played as a pair. They shared pressing duties, with one pushing high alongside Mandžukić, while the other sat deeper, on the left. They also constantly interchanged positions, between the central attacking midfield role and the left. Particularly in the first half, their first pass when in possession was often to each other. They were able to keep the ball on the left and attack through the centre with clever interchanges. One of the reasons Arsenal were able to (briefly) come back into the tie at the start of the second half was that the Kroos and Ribéry were less effective, as the former rotated positions and they saw less of the ball. Certainly, in the first half, however, they were Bayern’s most effective combination.

Changing positions

Kroos’ contribution out of possession was important to Bayern, not only to make them unpredictable, but also to keep them solid on the occasions that Arsenal had spells of dominance. His starting position was as a traditional ‘number ten’, but he rarely held it for too long. As mentioned above, he swapped from the centre to the left with Ribéry, but often dropped even deeper to support the holding midfielders – Schweinsteiger and Javi Martínez. This change was first made after the opening goal, as Bayern looked to consolidate their lead and was often used when Arsenal had longer periods of possession. His value in that deeper position was highlighted with an excellent block to deny Per Mertesacker from close range.

For the first five minutes of the second half, he moved to the right attacking midfield position and pressed high on Thomas Vermaelen, before moving back to the centre.

Kroos’ versatility and ability to easily switch between different roles allowed Bayern to be fluid in possession and well organised without the ball.

Lessening impact and replaced

While Kroos was influential in the first half, he was less so in the second, as Arsenal came more into the contest. He had a good effort tipped over, but as the half developed, Bayern became less adventurous and dropped deeper, with Kroos a victim of this change. On a couple of occasions, he was ponderous in possession and wasted a great chance to put Arjen Robben through on goal by delaying a fairly simple pass. I don’t think it was a coincidence that Kroos’ involvement lessened after Ribéry was replaced on 63 minutes. Kroos himself was substituted ten minutes later, with holding midfielder Luiz Gustavo coming on to give the defence greater protection.

]]> http://rcdgoonertees.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/its-gone-ott-afc/ Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:45:15 +0000 rcdgoonertees http://rcdgoonertees.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/its-gone-ott-afc/ http://footynotes.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/arsenal-no-match-for-bayern/ Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:29:57 +0000 footynotes http://footynotes.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/arsenal-no-match-for-bayern/

Arteta fighting for ball with Kroos

Bayern defeated Arsenal in the first leg of champions league tie of round 16 yesterday in their home stadium by 3-1. Hardcore arsenal fans won’t be surprised at this result after Arsenal’s exit to championship side Blackburn in FA cup on saturday continued with Arsene wenger completely lost his cool in the press conference ahead of the clash. On the other side, Bayern entered into match with a lead of 15 points from second placed Borussia Dortmund after 22 matches in league with a bonus of team conceded least in the top European leagues this season with just 7 goals conceded.

Team Line up:

                               Arsenal Line Up

Bayern Line Up

Arsenal Failed in Midfield:

Control of a match is won in midfield. They control the game, orchestrate moves, act as link between forwards and defenders. Arsenal played with Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla all are agile, good ball players with good sense of passing. But if take a more close analysis on characteristics of these players, none of them are well known for defending. Arteta played as defensive midfielder who also has the responsibility to bring ball from back in absence of a defender capable of bringing ball from defense.

Arteta failed as a defensive midfielder.

Arteta and other midfielders failed to keep the line between defense and midfield intact.  First goal from Bayern exposed players of Arsenal’s understanding in their duties. For that goal, Arsenal had six players in the defensive line to play against three, leaving huge space between defense and midfield for Kroos to open account for Bayern at 7th minute of game and chasing Bayern for the entire game.

Kroos with acres of space.

When Arsenal succeeded in crossing the water tight midfield line formed by Bayern, forward line were isolated with no option other than trying all by player himself. There were couple of instances where Sagna had to do his best by himself after Bayern neatly blocked all his path for option to pass.

Sagna without options

Wenger’s reaction

Arsene Wenger admitted of hope reaching into next round with second leg pending, saying Arsenal should concentrate on top four finish in English Premier league after their loss.

That is certainly the mantra that I would be saying to each and every one of the players that are elected to play tonight. Each player has to know that they must put all of their previous transgressions to one side and focus purely on the opponents for tonight: Bayern Munich.

Arsenal rarely make it easy for themselves and tonight is testimony to that. Instead of finishing top of the group we slipped up to Schalke which meant a more difficult tie earlier on in the competition. Aside from Barcelona, I don’t think you could get more difficult than last year’s finalists, Bayern Munich. They have a plethora of attacking players that can carve open defences at will and probably should be the reigning  Champions of Europe, but for Roberto Di Matteo and his selling of soul to the Devil to win the FA Cup and Champions League last year. Unfortunately for the Italian he paid the price of being at Chelski, but the way that Bayern played in that final against the Chavs should serve as both a stark reminder of their quality, but also of their weaknesses. Look, I’m not suggesting that because Chelski won on penalties, it will be an opportunity for us to do over the Germans. But I think that despite the media savaging that seems to be happening at the moment, we can win tonight and then get a result away from home. I have to believe that. Hope is the last bastion of the desperate man, and after our desperate performances in the cup competitions this year I have to hold on to hope that this Arsenal team will come out swinging tonight.

There’s no doubt that we have the ability to put on a show and prove the doubters wrong. There is no doubt that some of these players have something to prove to, well, just about everybody. but there is a doubt in their own confidence and their own belief right now. I haven’t met too many non-gooners that are giving us much chance over two legs. But we’ve seen the side grind out a result against Sunderland. We’ve seen them come back from the abyss against Liverpool after a shocking first half. So we have to believe that we can see them negate the attacking threat of Gomez, Ribery, Robben, Muller and Schweinsteiger.

I was told yesterday that Bayern have conceded just one goal away from home this year. well, I suspect we’ll have to double that tally if we want to take anything substantial to the Allianz Arena. That is a frightening statistic in its own right, but if it alleviates a little bit more pressure and provides an impetus for the players to play up to the ‘underdogs’ tag even more, then I won’t mind. We will need to see Podolski (rested on Saturday so you never know, he might actually make 90 minutes for us tonight!), Walcott and if playing, Giroud, to be on form tonight. We can ill afford profligacy in front of goal. We will need Jack to be his marauding self and Santi will need his vision and passing range to be at it’s best. I suspect we’ll see a back four of Sagna, Koscienly, Mertescaker and Vermaelen take to the field in defence, and it is my hope that the BFG can show his German international teammates a thing or two at the heart of our defence.

We will need to see an Arsenal that is quick off the blocks and up for this tonight. There are no opportunities in Champions League football for ‘second half Arsenal’ and if the same intensity is shown to Bayern as was shown to Blackburn, it will be a massacre. But here’s the thing; I don’t doubt for a second that the players won’t be infinitely better than the weekend. I think we’ll see a totally different Arsenal team that is pressing, chasing every ball and is giving the home fans something to scream about. Right now, that’s all I care about. Yes, we can assess why they can’t do that in every game should what I am predicting happen tonight, but that is a debate for another day. All we need to care about tonight is making the atmosphere amazing, the players are up for it, and we show the Germans what we’re made of.

A quick word on Arsene before I sign off for the day. I have to say I was a little embarrassed by his outburst in the presser yesterday. I’ve always admired Arsene for the dignity he has shown even in the face of some quite manipulative and spineless journalists. But yesterday had all of the hallmarks of a manager that is feeling the pressure and can potentially see the end in sight. It is a sad state of affairs. But I don’t really want to dwell on that too much right now, I want to make sure everyone with a stake in Arsenal Football Club, is behind the team and roaring them on to success tonight. I’ll leave my thoughts on Arsene for another day.

I’ll be there in all my Arsenal fineries cheering on the lads. If you are, or if you’re watching on TV, just make sure you’re screaming as much as me! Come on Arsenal!

We’re now at the business end of the season and we sit four points adrift of the spuds with twelve games to go. It’s hardly the easiest run left by us to get to our end goal of fourth spot, but if you look at the excellent piece written by 7amkickoff it shows that the current favourites have a slightly harder run up than we do. So it’s delicately poised. However, what I wanted to debate is less the upcoming games, and more the assumption that we are worse off than last year. It’s something that I’ve heard on the terraces a few times this year and I’ve even thought it myself at times. After all, we have lost a guy that smashed in over 35 goals, so how can we not be, right?

Now, the way I look at it, this blog title question has two clear inferences that you could take from it. The first is that I am implying that I think we have a better team than last year overall. My honest opinion to that is that right now, at this moment in time, we actually do.

Last year we relied on one grey-haired goalscorer. Granted, he was one of the top three or four best players in the globe, but the entire team looked to him to the extent that other players clearly didn’t need to step up to the plate when called upon. Theo Walcott is a classic example. Happy to make assist after assist for the ‘one man band’ up top, Theo settled for high assists instead of the glory of self praise by hitting the onion bag himself. This year he is on course to smash his own scoring tally for the season. He has stepped up and we have profited from the extra responsibility that has sat on his shoulders. And he’s improving every week as his confidence rises. It’s good to see for most of us gooners that have watched him grow or six years and seen the potential that is now starting to be realised, much to the disappointment of Stewart Robson and Chris Waddle. And you could see how he has grown in stature against Sunderland. Yes, he didn’t score, but he was a menace to the Sunderland team throughout.

Both Giroud and Podolski were bought in to spread the TEAM burden of scoring goals, and both have done so. Both have had off days, and both have taken time to settle, but both are now established and are starting to look the part.

The role of the ‘talisman’ has also shifted. Our talisman is now no longer the goalscorer and captain combined. The role of Captain has shifted to Vermaelen, or latterly Arteta, with the role of talisman having been assimilated by the ever-marauding and always awesome Jack Wilshire.

In my mind, we’ve taken the role that the Dutch player who used to play for us (but could never be as good as Dennis) had, and we’ve hung, drawn and quartered it. We’ve allowed the rest of the team to tear at the role like a pack of savage coyotes and pull off their own bloodied strips of it to devour for their own. And as a result we must be better off for it. How can we not? An injury to any of Walcott, Giroud, Podolski, Wilshire, Arteta or Vermaelen and we’re all sad to see it, but we’ve spent time this season without all of those players for one reason or another and we still find ourselves four points from the top four spots.

The second connotation that you could infer from my question at the top of the blog is that i feel that because we are closer to the chasing pack than last year, we are better off. This is a ‘yes and no’ from me in this instance. Factually we are better off. We have less of a mountain to climb than last year to reach the top four peaks, but we still have quite a way to go in my opinion. The Spuds team that fell apart last year did so because of the Redknapp effect. AVB may be a lot of things, but I think he’ll be focused enough to ensure that a fall apart like that doesn’t happen to them this season. So in effect, we have to rely on ourselves in order to secure top four, and not the whim of a twitchy old man who has his eyes on a different prize. So I see this years mountain as just as steep as last years.

If we’re going to look at facts, you also can’t discount that we are worse off points wise than we were last season. It’s been rammed down our throats by the British media since Spetember/October time. Arsene doth protest that we’ve played harder games away from home to date, but the fact remains that we haven’t done it at home when we really should have. It is when you look at some of the results against lower league opponents that you start to raise your eyebrows at any assumption that we are better off than last year. How can we be when we’re losing at home to Swansea and drawing against the likes of Fulham and Sunderland at The Emirates? It becomes very difficult to justify progress when you look at the gradual decline of points gained at this stage of the season over a five or six year period.

I’m not one for throwing facts after facts at you – regular readers will know that by now – I just like to go by my gut. I know that our dwindling points tally of this season hardly fills fans with excitement that the club are executing its mantra of ‘forward’ to great success, but I do feel that there has been some baby steps made to the overall TEAM in comparison to last year. Don’t get me wrong, there is a LOT of work that is needed to turn the squad into the competitive outfit that we need it to be in order to sit at the top of the tree again, but I am clinging on to hope that we’ve seen the worst and the club will now start to build on some of the momentum we’ve had recently to propel us into the top four, then further build on the squad through player acquisition in the summer.

Feel free to share your thoughts.

Catch you laters.

Oh hello, Sergio! Welcome home.

Mmmm, Pony is back and looking extra Sex beard-y today.  The internationals have returned to work. Oddly, Pipa has not flung himself back into the waiting arms of Albiol – he’s been hanging with Sese. Meanwhile, Kaka & Essien seem to be hanging around a lot and Essien has dragged Silvino Louro into the mix, possibly to Kaka’s chagrin.

Jose Rodriguez, Mariano and Llorente joined the team while Angel Di Maria stayed inside working in the gym.

After training, Sergio tweeted a picture with Albiol. So first, he hung out with Pipa, then Raul? I need a score card to keep up with these guys.

Our fine gentlemen have returned from international duties. Not all their teams won, but I’d say that our men made quite a good showing.

Here are the results:

Spain 3 – Uruguay 1
Croatia 4 – South Korea 0 (Lady Edith made an assist)
Germany 2 – France 1 (Sami goal, Mesut assist)
Portugal 2 – Ecuador 3 (Cris goal, Fabio assist)
Argentina 3 – Sweden 2 (Pipa goal, Angel assist)

The mothership and the boys themselves posted a bunch of pix from international duty. Can’t resist posting this one of my boo first. Under Armor. Bane of our existence.

Sergio & former Blanco Michel Salgado

Back in Madrid, Essien, Adan, Calleti & Morata took part in Bwin’s second annual “Train for Real” clinic in which 20 fans from different countries joined the team for the day. The close up shots of the 4 produced one of the best shots I have ever seen of Adan, a rather dire one of Calleti (he looks like he has mono or is going to burst into tears), a lovely smile from Essien and Morata is looking more like a man every day.

Watishista bluebeta sent a link to a Brazilian video about the Antiguoko beach football club, where Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta played as kids. Xabi’s dad is interviewed. If anyone wants to translate, have at it!

Leo Messi posed in a rather awkwardly tailored suit on the cover of Esquire. He’s too short for that sort of cut in a jacket. What was the stylist thinking?!

Sadly, the pictures inside are even worse. However, Dirty Tackle led us through the terrifying visuals and gave us what Leo might have been thinking. Hilarious as always.

El Pirata chose to share his new Adidas kicks with us and a shot that was cryptically entitled “ Mi principito.”

Marcelo was feeling fiesty again today and posted a shot while arguing with the ref captioned “Like a boss ! Hahah #funny“

Clarice posted a picture of her chilling with her Grandpa. That makes him Enzo’s great grandpa! We need more Enzo shots!

Alicia posted a beautiful shot with Azahara- is that not the sweetest thing? She said simply “Love“
It was an emotion also on Calleti’s mind. He posted a triple shot of him and Marta saying “Pure Love!”
Marta posted one of the pictures again. I love how googly eyed these two are over each other. It’s lovely.
Marta also put up a bunch of pictures of their family trip to London. Looks like they had a great time visiting the London Eye and, of course, getting some ice cream.

And now it’s time for me to get out of here. I’ve got to hit the store. We’re expecting a blizzard starting tomorrow. Of course, I have a frigging dentist appointment tomorrow. I’ve been nursing a nasty toothache all week and if my appointment gets canceled, I’m going to be seriously miserable while snowed in tomorrow. Ugh. Wish me luck! Stay warm, kids.

- Lozil

Owen: “You better watch your back, Arteta!”

Unlike Real Madrid’s Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso, Stoke City’s Michael Owen doesn’t slap. He punches. Check out what went down this weekend during Stoke City’s visit to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Arsenal:

Apparently, Mikel Arteta challenged Owen pretty bad, and Owen reacted by punching Arteta softly on his upper back. When Arteta attempted to get back at Owen, his Arsenal buddy Jack Wilshere came and pushed Owen himself.  Teamwork at its best, eh?

Wilshere takes matters into his own hands.

What surprised us is that ref Chris Foy saw Owen’s lash, but took no action.  This completely acquitted Owen. Why? Because these are the rules of the game:

According to the FA Handbook 2012-2013, when the referee actually sees the incident but doesn’t call it, the Football Association cannot take disciplinary action retrospectively. (See, we actually learn something in the midst of these brawls.)

This means that Owen has officially gone unpunished.  In his defense, Arteta’s tackle was kinda hard, wasn’t it?

Save your fist pumping for the club, Owen!

Coincidentally, I hurt my back at the gym this morning.  I can say that I “feel” Arteta’s pain.

Giving people the headaches

A better start than recent weeks
We didn’t concede an early goal. Yes, the opposition is not as strong as Chelsea or Manchester City but let’s not forget that West Ham also scored early against us. We can only take it a step at a time and against the team the fixture decides. We gained the upper control early on in the game and never let up.

Though, it wasn’t that hard
Because Tony Pulis had one plan the entire match and that was – not to concede. They set up with 10 men behind the ball. Even when they have possession, they weren’t pushing forward in numbers. High balls were directed to Peter Crouch but was well marshalled by the duo of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny. Crouch and Matthew Etherington were the only Stoke players with any intention of attacking and our numbers easily overcome that.

A defence which includes a new boy
Ignacio Monreal got his first start for the club and had a reasonable debut. Nothing to shout about and nothing to get super excited about. He didn’t exactly set the trail blazing with his first 90 minutes in English football. However, what he showed was that he is a player confident in his touch and control. An understanding of his position on the defensive side of things. He did venture forward but was more mindful in his first game. That in a clash of heads with Jon Walters, he is the only one who came out without shedding blood, is worth a mention on it’s own.

Arteta returns but even Wilshere was outshone by Diaby
Abou Diaby may have got a few passes wrong but defended well and kept the ball in tight spaces. We knew he had skills in him and he showed it last night when he wriggles away from 2 or 3 players marking him. That part of his game where he drives forward with pace and power is still missing but hopefully that will come with increased number of minutes on the pitch.

But Wilshere displayed another captain’s response
In the closing minutes of the game, Michael Owen took exception to Mikel Arteta’s challenge and punched our midfielder. Who else came to the rescue but Wilshere. His response was immediate and to see him going up against fellow Englishman in Owen warms the heart.

Giroud’s wasteful, Walcott’s improvisation
Olivier Giroud had a few chances but didn’t take them with great aplomb. That one header which he headed back into a crowded penalty box instead of straight towards goal was baffling. His movement remains good, as is his passing but his shielding and shooting has much work to do. Theo Walcott was pressed and harried by Andy Wilkinson the entire game. Kicked and elbowed, it was good to see that he responded by his performance and not by violence. Threatening on the right and mixed it up well between driving down the line and cutting inside.

Begovic denied us
The Bosnian kept on stopping shots after shots, producing another one of those keeper’s performance against us at the Grove. The one that denied Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the pick of the saves. It was another one of those days which one starts to wonder if we will ever get one.

But it did come, via a deflection
Lukas Podolski came on and scored from a free kick. It took a massive deflection and that was the only reason why Begovic didn’t manage to stop it from rolling into the net. I didn’t understand Stoke’s fury with the assistant referee for allowing that goal. It hit their own player and no Arsenal player within that section of the penalty box was in an offside position. We only scored one but with the lack of ambition that Stoke showed, one was enough.

A good day all around
When results of the other fixtures came through. Everton and Chelsea both dropped points which allowed us to eat into the gap between us. For once, we took advantage when other teams suffered. Now, if West Brom can do us a favour, with or without Odemwingie.

I’m very pleased with this hard earned three points. Even though we had a little bit of luck on the free kick. We showed a lot of passion and character, and deserved the win. We couldn’t afford to drop any more points today. A slightly scrappy, not pretty, but well fought, dogged victory.  And some of the other results went our way too with Everton dropping a couple of points at home and Chelsea going down to Newcastle. Now only 4 points behind the scum in 4th. Hopefully West Brom can do us a favour tomorrow so it stays that way, they don’t need that plonker Odemwingie.

Arteta got a big cheer when the line up was called out. It was good to have him back today. Captain in place of the absent Vermaelen, he added some discipline and maturity to the midfield. The new boy Monreal also got a big cheer. We were all waiting to give him a massive cheer on his first touch. But ironically he wasn’t really involved in the play in the first 30 or so minutes and his first touch was actually a throw in. Quite surprising really, I would have thought Pullis’ tactics would have been to put him under pressure on his debut to see how well he coped.

The stats clearly show we’re slow starters. In the match day programme you can see league tables based on first half and second half performances. I think Arsenal are about 12th in the first half league and second in the second half league. Today wasn’t a massive exception, it was a fairly quiet first half. But we did play well in the first 20 minutes. Kept the ball and created some decent chances. The Ox, in for Podolski, who it seemed was being rested because he’d played 90 minutes mid-week, was put through after some lovely little interchanges. He did everything right with the finish, tried to curl it in the far corner. However Begovic saved with his finger tips. The Ox also had a great chance in the 6 yard box and perhaps should have done better, but the keeper again got across well to block with his legs.

Overall though the first half was quite slow and uneventful. Stoke were time wasting. The keeper seemingly spending an age to take goal kicks. And Shotton, apparently their new Delap, taking what seemed like 5 minutes to take every throw. This was quite frustrating, but I’m so used to seeing it this season, I wasn’t surprised really. Just looking forward to a storming second half, of which we’e had quite a few this season.

We didn’t really get it though. Stoke were pretty tough to break down. And we weren’t really creating any clear cut chances. Podolski and Cazorla came on for the Ox and Diaby. This was a good change. They had an immediate impact. Cazorla encouraged his old teammate Monreal to get more involved in the game and with Podolski there as well, we started creating some decent chances down the left flank. Walcott also came to life and was linking up well with Sagna.

Stoke were getting more and more physical. You can see from the stats below what their game plan was. To kick us all over the park. No surprise though. We know this is what Pullis’ teams are like. Hence the rugby club label. The ref, Foy, was pretty useless, we should have been awarded even more fouls, but half the time he didn’t seem to be able to even keep up with play.

One of their fouls was on Walcott as he cut inside. And it resulted in a free kick just outside the area to the right hand side of the D. The wall didn’t want to get back and Sagna had to go in there to show them where ten yards was. Podolski stepped up and it went in off a Stoke defender. The celebrations were cut short when we noticed that the linesman had his flag up. This is where we showed a good dose of passion. About 6 Arsenal players stormed over the linesman to protest and it was perhaps the intenseness of this protest that helped persuade the referee to eventually give the goal. It was the correct decision.

Stoke made a couple of subs to try to turn things around. I was just about to go “Who?” when Michael Owen came on and instead I was in a silent shock. Can’t remember the last time I saw him play. And had completely forgotten he played for Stoke. The funny thing is, the once placid and clean Owen is a dirty fouling little fucker now. He apparently thumped Arteta on the back. Pullis must instil this method into his players.

Anyway, their incessant fouling and brawling made no difference and we won the game to very appropriate and apt chants of one nil to the football team!

And boy do we want them to do their stuff against today’s opponents. Stoke City have been often cited as a form of ‘anti-Arsenal’, playing a strong physical game coupled with big lumpy balls up to strong, tall and powerful front men. They’ve relied on our inability to solidly defend from set pieces and have certainly seen their fair share of joy against us since they entered the Premier League.

As for us as fans, we’ve made no secret of our dislike for their track suit-wearing oaf of a manager, prowling the touch line and screaming like a banishee every time a decision doesn’t go his sides way. With that baseball cap to top it all off, Tony Pulis looks like a ‘special’ type of manager, as in the type of half-wit that sits in the corner of the annual LMA dinner and no other manager dares to go near him in case they catch something.

As for the Stoke team, we know what we’ll get. Walters will be a willing runner and one of Crouch or Jones will be there to generally cause mischief and provide the knock downs. I was looking on the Sky Sports website last night and it looks as though Stoke have been playing a 3-5-2 formation of late, which I think will be really interesting if they adopt it today, because it will mean they flood the midfield and try to win that battle, but if they try to be too ambitious going forward they could be left vulnerable on the counter attack.

Despite our general hatred for Stoke’s manager and fans, you have to say that they do have a few technically better players than when they first entered the league. N’Zonzi was once linked with us and is a good player with the ball at his feet, whilst Charlie Adam – despite his horrid time at Liverpool – can still pick a pass and definitely has a bit of creativity in him. So whilst I suspect we might see a bit more of a defensive look to the 3-5-2, I think Stoke will shape up to win the midfield battle and profit from careless corners and silly free kicks.

From our side it’s all about possession and conversion. To win the midfield battle the trio of Wilshire, Cazorla and Arteta (who I think will come in, despite Ramsey’s impressive three games in that role so far – a bit unlucky for him really) we will need to be at our best in terms of passing accuracy. To win the war of conversion, we’ll need the front three to be on fire. To be fair to all three of Poldi, Theo and Giroud, they’ve all been scoring of late, so I hope that this rich vein of form that they are all in sees us profit from it this afternoon.

And so we come to the back four. Will we see the new boy Nacho in at left back? Despite the clear lack of faith everyone seems to have with Santos, I do wonder if Arsene will still start him. It would not be on merit I don’t think, but it would be on the fact that he has had one single training session with Monreal, so I think the Brazilian might be give his one and last chance. The thing is as well, we can’t really afford to cut him out completely, because he’ll have to play against Bayern. Monreal is cup tied and Gibbs will be injured, so unless the boss brings back Vermaelen at left back (missing today through injury), Santos is our only real option.

We know that if the players in red and white today play to their full potential then we should have enough to put Stoke to the sword. However, there is a big ‘if’ in there, and far too often this season we have seen this Arsenal team fall short. I am hoping that today is not the same. We have dropped enough points through sloppy starts, so the team has to be down the throats of the Stoke defence from kick off.

Lets have two halves like the second halves we’ve put on all through January.

Come on you reds!

Being an Arsenal fan hasn’t been easy off late.  Most of us are frustrated with the inconsistent results and nervy performances. The problems in the squad are for everyone to see. The one that jumps out  is the lack of depth on the bench specially in the striking department. Chamakh on loan to West Ham means we only have Giroud as an out-n-out striker while Walcott’s self confessed desire to play CF remains to be backed by his performances there.

Not going to get drawn into discussion about our striking options. We need one more world class striker, just going to leave it at that.

What I really want to talk about is the midfield. Going by the general reaction of the fans and the shouts of wanting a DM in the squad you’d think we really lack options, in midfield,  on the bench. With the January window coming to a close we are seemingly unlikely to see an addition until the summer, so I look towards the options we already have. A similar unsung hero like Aaron Ramsey, one who divides the opinions of the Arsenal faithful, could Francis Coquelin be that player to balance our midfield?

Coquelin arrived at Arsenal in 2009 from  Stade Lavallois as a young technically adept player, just the way the Arsene Wenger likes to buy them, spotted by Gilles Grimandi while on International Duty with France at the U-17 EURO Football Championship. He made his debut for Arsenal in a 6-0 thrashing of Shefield United in the League Cup. Games after that were few and far between for him for the first couple of seasons, mainly due to injuries, after which he was loaned out to FC Lorient for the 2010/11 season.

Francis Coquelin was predominantly deployed at RB at Arsenal in his early career as an effort to build his defensive capabilities in tight areas, touches and passing.  A very similar situation to how Aaron Ramsey was used as a RW this season to better his development as CM. There is no doubt Arsene Wenger sees him as a DM but will he have a part to play in the squad for future matches remains to be seen. Unlike the pure Defensive Midfielders who like to screen the defense, Coquelin is a versatile player who can double up as a box-to-box midfielder also when need be. He is a ball winner in the middle of the park, and possesses the vision to play a defense splitting pass too, something Arsenal have lacked off late.

“What Coquelin is doing is quite good, His qualities help the team to defend better. He has that ability to fly into people and win the ball back, and that’s something important.” – Arsene Wenger

With the likes of Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby he might have to wait a little linger to break into the first team but the potential is definitely there. With Coquelin included that makes 6 players in the Central Midfield area which are available for Arsene Wenger to choose from.

Having a further look at his performances as a DM, Arsenal have lost only one game in the Premier League this season in which Coquelin was used (start+substiute), the 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the recent game being the only one.

Arsenal’s record in the EPL with Coquelin featuring. (2012/13)

When rotation is needed his availability has provided an outlet for us. With Diaby’s consistency being a perpetual ‘IF’ for us it seems Francis could make that DM slot his own in the coming years. I personally see him as a potential starter and the Boss’ reluctance to dip into the market for another midfielder reiterates that point.  So, if AW decides to stick with Le Coq how could Arsenal lineup?

Possible Formations:

While not differing from the already in place 4-2-3-1 system a few possibilities as to how and where Coquelin can be deployed.

This is just a prototype system where we can drop Diaby for Coquelin.  Also either of Santi Cazorla or Jack Wilshere can play in the #10 role. Very unlikely to happen, but for arguments sake here Coquelin sits just in front of the defense, not pushing too forward, which gives Arteta the freedom to roam forward as the CM. This formation can also double up as a make shift 4-1-4-1. Coquelin acts as the ball winner and sits back to break up counter attacks.

   2.

This is perhaps the most balanced system Arsenal can deploy in terms of personnel available. Mind you it doesn’t mean it’s the most effective as we saw against the loss to Chelsea a few days back where the team didn’t turn up at all. It has it all, a box-to-box midfielder in Diaby, a Defensive Mid in Coquelin and a false winger in Cazorla. As we saw in the second half against Chelsea this team turned up to play some of the most brilliant football reminiscent of the old Arsenal.  Also the exclusion of Arteta from the lineup while he’s available  doesn’t seem to be possible.

Options:

The recent slump in form and consistency in midfield can be chalked up as a direct result of the injury to Mikel Arteta. He has been the anchor in our midfield, directing the play  and his loss has been felt as seen in our performances. While we could argue the need for a strong defensive midfielder with a physical presence one can not rule out the importance of  a ball winner in midfield. Look towards what a splendid job Sergio Busquets does for Barcelona, what Alex Song did for Arsenal. They are different players to Coquelin but they are ball winners. My point here is that with a little game time and molding, Francis Coquelin could be the answer to the midfield problem. Someone who is disciplined and does his job by the book.

While having said that I can’t see him getting any proper game time ahead of Arteta, Diaby or even Aaron Ramsey. Options in midfield are a plenty but I won’t argue another addition to death, keeping in mind it would hamper Coquelin’s game time even more. He definitely has the ability to succeed for this team and I can see the Boss putting his trust again in youth rather than bringing someone in. When the team needs a different approach to a match or when rotation is needed during a tough period of the season he should be played.  Also I can’t see why he can’t  be a starter for the FA and Capitol One Cup games.

With a little effort from both player and manager I can see Le Coq being that strong Defensive Midfielder this team lacks.

Close runner up in the adorable stakes is Stu Holden. When I read these two tweets, I could totally picture the scenario. Oh Stu!

How I love that boy! My adored Ox is fashionably posing in Esquire looking kinda (but not really) grown up.

Sweetie, does your mama know you’re drinking coffee and out past dark eating chips? Bless!

Prepare to be terrified. @IsraQM linked to this horrifying visual which she found on realdramadrid. It was created by a tumblr appropriately called Stars Without Their Eyebrows. There are so many ways that I have never wanted to see Xavi, but I had no clue this was one of them. It is. It SO is.

IsraQM and I got hysterical looking through the blog and imagining other players browless: Pique, Hamit Altintop, Nando bitchfacing browless…

And if there can be too little hair, there can also be too much. @CalvinoCupini (via@Goonerette_7) shared this shot of a young Mikel Arteta looking less suave than he does today.

Dear god! But hey, at least he has eyebrows (vaguely manicured, no less) and a headband which is more than I can say for some players. Hmph! (He looks alot like a young Ronaldo there, doesn’t he?)

DidierNOTDrogba on Twitter shared this pretty awesome clip of Mata totally owning Chori during a La Roja training. I mean, not cool to see one of our defenders being owned, but sweet skills from tiny Juanin!

Speaking of Chelsea, here’s OldHair!Nando in the most recent installment of Dream the Blues.

Hey Valdez, this is what Xabi thinks of your penis size!

Mazel tov to Fernando Llorente and Serie A fans – he’s heading to Juventus on July 1 after spending an unhappy year mostly warming the bench for Athletic.

Pique posted a picture of baby Milan’s feetsies today in customized booties. I’m praying like hell that those are seriously about 50 sizes too big for his wee bebe feet because otherwise, POOR SHAKIRA! You knew it was going to be tough as she’s 4’11″ and Pique is 6’4″ and has a head the size of a pumpkin, but OUCH.

And finally (for now) here’s a little Cristiano Nike Mercurial action. Zoooooooooom!

- Lozil

I think there’s something wrong with the tracking and it doesn’t take corner too well either

Hello again Gooners, long time no see. Unfortunately due to computer issues and a lack of time (and a bit of laziness if I’m being honest) I have not been able to get my blog on for the last couple of months, but I am back now, hopefully without further absence, so keep tuned in.

Anyway, I didn’t want to start my return with a run of the mill match report, a preview or some idle transfer nonsense. I thought I would maybe just give you a view of how I am seeing our beloved club right now. Not in terms of what needs to be done on the pitch or in training, or who we need to buy, because I don’t think it is that simple. You can cry from the rooftops about signing Villa or Cavani or whoever else takes your fancy and argue  how we would be challenging for the title if the badger had stayed, but really that is not it. If we still had Van Pursestrings, or a world class replacement for that matter, yes we  might have scored more goals but it would not have stopped the defence switching off to the ball over the top, it would not have made the midfield close down any quicker and I am pretty certain it would not have made Bacary Sagna beat the first defender with his crossing. These are all problems we have had for a long time and a few extra goals here and there would just be papering over the cracks.

The way I see the situation is we are a bit like that car, you know the one, everybody has had or will have one at some point in their lifetime. That one you really wanted to get and it was perfect, ran like a dream, looked slick and stylish and you was over the moon, all your friends were envious, then after a while it just breaks down. Initially this is not a concern, cars breakdown, this happens, it’s life, you get it fixed. But this car is the one that gets fixed and then breaks down again shortly after with similar problems. So you get it fixed again but again it breaks down, so you fix it again, then it breaks down and so on and so on…..you get the picture…..continual repairs but the underlying problem doesn’t ever seem to be resolved. Now this then creates another problem, with all these parts changes and tinkering, some of which wasn’t actually needed, it has gradually taken it further and further away from its original manufactured perfection so it will never quite run the same as when it was all shiny and new, even if the problem does get found and rectified. This is how I see The Arsenal has gone in this current era.

Now what do you do in this situation? Well some people have very little patience and they will just ditch it at the first sign of trouble, others are more forgiving and will continue to fork out money because they love the damn thing and deep down hope it can get back to its former glory. Unfortunately, this rarely ever happens and ultimately there comes a point when you just have to say “You know what, let’s just scrap this piece of sh*t and be done with it”. I think this is where the majority of Arsenal fans are at right now. I think we have been patient, very patient in fact, and whilst there have always been a small minority who have been screaming for the new beginning, the majority have been prepared to keep plugging away hoping for it all to suddenly click back together again. But it hasn’t, and the number of those prepared to continue being patient is dwindling at each and every set back.

The problem is, and this is a big one, that whilst it may be ours we don’t actually own it, so we can’t make the decision for change ourselves. We are just the little housewives who are there day to day putting up with this terminally damaged vehicle, getting frustrated and angry. The old man indoors doesn’t see it as we do and simply won’t put his hand in his pocket to get us a new one. No matter how much we nag and complain he know we are just too loyal and in love that we are not going to leave him over this, so he is perfectly happy to keep his bank balance nice and plump and occasionally chuck some change out for a quick fix.

There is of course one person who can stop all this once and for all. The man with the technical know how, the man holding the wrench, the man employed to do the fixing, yes Monsieur Wenger. Because you know the owner will listen to him over us, he’s another alpha, an expert, if he said “You know what guv’nor, this thing has had it and I ain’t got the foggiest what the problem is, the best thing you can do is just get rid of it” and then just walked away we would be looking at brochures and shopping round showrooms right now. But why would he do that? he’s the mechanic, he’s happy to carry on getting paid to fix, if he said that he would not only lose face in admitting he didn’t know what to do but he would also be out of work. And the owner? Well he’s not going to sack the mechanic, after all he’s been in business with him, they’re long time friends, they go way back. So here we find ourselves in a downward spiral of break, repair, break, repair, break……..

There is really only one way that an end can come to this frustrating cycle, one way the owner will be left with no choice but to take the action that is required, that way is for a crash to happen. That crash my friends is coming, it is just around the corner revving its engine ready to smash its lilly white bullbars straight through our fragile bumper. The question is, will failing to get into the Champions League cause a big enough crash to finally write this f*cking thing off or will the damage be just insufficient so that economics dictate putting it back on the ramp for another patch up job. That we shall just have to wait and see.

Tonight Arsenal fans get to relive Boxing day, as the our match against West Ham was postponed. Its a must win game for us given how far back we are of the top 4. I hope the team can get a couple of early goals to settle the nerves but if the opposite happens and we concede 1, nervousness will start to creep in and you will be in for an uncomfortable evening.

In terms of team news, Francis Coquelin is out injured from the Chelsea game. He joins Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky on the treatment table. His injury means we are left very short in centre midfield, that means a chance for Arsene ‘s favourite lovechild Ramsey to shine. This is a game perfectly set up for Ramsey. He has been at the club for more than four years now and these are games he has got to take by the scruff of the neck and dominate. Lets hope we see some of that today and a nice three points.