“Thanks, Joe – now I don’t have dandruff, just silky and manageable hair”

Greetings, Earthlings. I’ve been away for such a long time. Seems almost an eternity since digits danced with keys and blathery goodness was the result. Why such a elongated dalliance with obscurity and the realms of the unheard, I hear you collectively ponder? Well, scrumptious creatures, a combination of intense workloads in my personal life, excessive heat and a lack of inclination has conspired and caused such a glaring lack of posts.

In my absence, I’ve been keenly watching the World Cup. Having initially sworn I, “wasn’t that bothered”, such has been the quality of the football on show I’ve now got right into it all. Aside from England, that is. If you’re familiar with me and the stuff I write, you’ll already know I’m not really that patriotic – Club football takes precedence over its international counterpart everyday of the week. England’s unceremonious dumping from the tournament  at the hands of a decent Italy side and a toothy racist hardly registered with me at all. Continue reading →

Arsenal’s season has, so far, been the inverse of what we’ve come to expect from the club in recent years. Having endured difficult starts in their last couple of campaigns, only to fight their way into the top four towards the end of the season, few would have expected them to be at the top of the Premiership table with twelve games gone. The question now becomes whether or not the young team can maintain their position and eventually lift the Premiership trophy.

Arsène Wenger has been one of the most consistent managers in world football, qualifying for the Champions League in fifteen successive seasons, but for a team of Arsenal’s pedigree, people have demanded more. For years, fans were reassured that the club’s refusal to spend, even as they were overtaken by the financial might of Chelsea and Manchester City, was merely a temporary measure as they repaid the debts accrued building their new stadium. This did little to comfort them, however, as they saw the likes of Cesc Fàbregas and Robin van Persie leave the club in their hunts for silverware. Continue reading →