May 9, 2013

New kit deal with Puma means big money, and 2-2 sees things back in our hands.

Puma even sponsor Champagne these days…

Afternoon folks.

The big financial news of yesterday popped up in the Daily Mirror; Arsenal have secured the most lucrative sponsorship deal in England with sports giants Puma, and will receive a whopping £30m-per-year.

The new deal is alleged to begin in 2014, with Arsenal’s long association with Nike not ending until then. I’m actually quite pleased with this. Obviously, from a monetary point of view, it’s a huge boost of funds that we’d expect will go in some way to strengthening the team. Secondly, I’m a big fan of Puma’s gear. I’ve never been the type to adorn myself in replica kits for leisure wear, but it’s good to know that we are working with a company known for making quality product.

There have already been a few speculative mock-ups of our potential new shirts:

Arsenal and Puma in 2014?

On to football matters. Last night’s game ended relatively favourably for us. In an ideal world, Chelsea would have taken all the points, but a 2-2 draw at least affords us the advantage of knowing our destiny is in our own hands. Maximum points from our remaining fixtures against Wigan and Newcastle will see us qualify for one of the Champions League spots. The automatic qualification that comes from 3rd place may be out of our reach, but at this stage I’d quite happily settle for 4th.

The game itself I found impossible to watch. Having to be pleased when Chelsea scored a goal was akin to feeling delighted the moment a stranger sets one of your legs on fire. After Adebayor’s dubiously dubbed “wonder goal” went in, I felt compelled to switch off the game and wait until full time for the result.

Spurs have remaining games away at Stoke and home to Sunderland. As I’ve previously stated on many an occasion, I still expect there to be plenty of twists and turns until the final resolution, and for matters to only be finalised on the last day of the season.

It is all in our hands now, but Arsenal aren’t blessed with a vice-like grip, and are prone to slippery moments when the pressure is on. The team can ill-afford any bouts of complacency, and as supporters we can’t allow ourselves to view it as a formality. In some quarters, I read folks who already just assume we’ll despatch Wigan with ease on our own patch. If recent history has taught us anything, it’s that this Arsenal team are capable of floundering and doing things the hard way during the least opportune of moments.

Nothing is secured yet. We all need to focus and make sure we get over line free from blunders and mishaps. Only when we sit in 4th, mathematically out of Tottenham’s reach, can we begin to look forward to what the summer entails. It’s been a topsey-turvey season, and not a memorable one. Let’s hope it ends well.

The odds on Arsenal securing at least 4th are stacked in our favour, with Ladbrokes offering 2/7 in favour of Arsenal finishing in the top 4.

That’s all for today, folks. There is a handy comments section below that eagerly awaits your opinions. Are you happy with the Puma deal and the revenue it will bring in? Are you pleased with the outcome of last night’s satanic match-up? Drop me a line with a few of your thoughts.

As always; thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

 

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May 8, 2013

What we can do if our rivals finish above Arsenal and goodbye, Sir Alex…

Arsene couldn’t get enough of Three 6 Mafia…

Afternoon boys and girls.

Tonight represents a D-Day of sorts. Arsenal don’t travel or entertain this evening, but our future certainly hangs in the balance. Chelsea vs Spurs at Stamford Bridge is a crucial fixture for us.

Like you guys, I’m hardly pleased with having to hope for a Chelsea victory. It’s not exactly ideal, is it? For some time, I’ve considered myself the type of supporter unconcerned with the fortunes of others, and feel uncomfortable waiting on favourable outcomes elsewhere.

But that’s the situation we find ourselves in, and hoping for Chelsea to win, regardless of how abhorrent such a thing may be, is precisely what I’ll be doing. Should Spurs come away with a victory, our prospects for the Champions League begin to look very bleak indeed. They will certainly be in the driving seat should that occur.

Our remaining home game against Wigan is one I’d expect us to win, but the final fixture away at Newcastle is a tricky one – even more so if they’re still battling relegation. There is much to play for despite such little time remaining, and I thought I’d use today’s post to prepare us for the worst-case scenario: Spurs finishing above Arsenal. Here are a few things we could/should do:

  • Start declaring the Europa League to be a decent competition we could actually win. The Champions League isn’t all it’s cracked-up to be…
  • Remember that 15 years of dominance won’t be changed by a few points here and there.
  • Repeatedly say the numbers ’5′ and ’2′ in the face of any Spurs fan until blue in the face.
  • Rest assured Gareth Bale is not the second coming of Jesus, and he’ll be enjoying the sunnier climes of Spain next season.
  • Use phrases like “team rebuilding” or “transitional period”
  • Hope to all things holy the board don’t see fit to sell any of our best players to balance the books and recoup money we’ll have lost not appearing in the Champions League
  • As a last resort, build and inhabit an impenetrable bunker away from civilisation and don’t leave until the start of the 2013/2014 season.

So, I’m just going to say it, good luck tonight, Chelsea…

*shudders*

Dear Lord, I feel filthy to the core having written that. I’m not sure I can even look at it. As I’m working tonight, I shall be glued to the latest scores hoping for things to end swiftly and with the outcome we desire. Then I’m going to bathe myself in bleach until I feel clean – which may take a great deal of time, and result in me resembling the appearance of the fellow at the end of Danny Boyle’s Sunshine.

Lastly today, I feel I couldn’t go with out mentioning the pickled Scotsman we all love to hate, Sir Alex Ferguson. Today, he announced his intention to retire from football during the summer. I can’t say I’ve ever been the man’s biggest fan, but I think it’s impossible for any supporter to not respect his accomplishments. Our rivalry with United was, at one point, truly fierce and I miss those times when the battles meant something.

English football won’t be the same once it’s missing that saggy-faced, cantankerous old sod furiously chewing gum and demanding the officials add on a further 7 minutes of injury time. I just hope Robin van Persie doesn’t miss him too much…

That’s all for today, folks. The comments await a few of your thoughts. How do you feel about tonight’s big derby game? Are you happy to see Ferguson step down? Let me know.

As always; thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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May 8, 2013

Szczsney and AVB exchange heated words ahead of tonight’s London Derby

Szczsney points the way.

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny questioned the quality of the Spurs team and their ability to finish in the Top 4 ahead of their vital showdown against Chelsea on Wednesday night.

AVB’s Tottenham currently sit 2 points behind Arsenal, however a win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night could see them leapfrog Arsenal into 4th place with just 2 games remaining. Polish international Szczęsny believes that Arsenal will end the season above both Tottenham AND Chelsea. He said: “Tottenham do not have enough quality, so there you go. If you look at Chelsea’s fixtures, they have Tottenham and Everton left and they won’t be easy “.

Bookmakers are currently offering around 4/1 for Arsenal to be the top London Club. A lot will depend on the extremely important game between Tottenham and Chelsea tonight. Freebets.com is one site which can help you compare football odds and help you get the best value for your bet.

Andre Villas-Boas has bitten back at Szczęsny’s taunt saying he would “appreciate the comments if it had come from a true Arsenal fan”.

“I wouldn’t say an Arsenal fan that has just arrived in that club in the last couple of years is entitled to have so much hatred toward Tottenham, like he seems to have”.

Last weekend’s victory against QPR gave the Gunners a much needed 3 points to keep them ahead of their London rivals leading into the final stage of the season. After the game Szczęsny couldn’t help but criticise Tottenham’s performance against Southampton, stating that he thought Tottenham DREW the game.

“I was convinced that Tottenham had drawn 0-0 against Southampton. I only found out after the game that they had won 1-0 but I don’t think it really matters”.

Spurs will make their way to Stamford Bridge knowing that a win would move them one step closer to securing the final Champions League place. Speaking on the topic, AVB said “We’re not far from our objective but we have to be extremely good at Stamford Bridge. The pressure is on everybody, and all the clubs will regret letting Man City escape.”

On his return to the club that dismissed him only 14 months ago, AVB is relishing the challenge; however he doesn’t deem the return ‘special’.

“I have no point to prove. I’ve good and bad memories like everyone else. It’s a period that didn’t finish the way I would’ve liked” AVB said.

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May 6, 2013

The race for 4th and Arsene’s pleasure with a challenge.

No trophies, no prestige; still plenty to play for…

Greetings blog perusers.

Wednesday’s Chelsea-Spurs fixture has taken on a horrible connotation. Ordinarily, I’d view that fixture as something that requires avoiding, but I’m going to be glued to the screen come kick-off time. Worst of all, a Chelsea victory is what I’m hoping for. Make no mistake, folks; if Spurs come out with 3 points, our chances of securing Champions League football take a dramatic nose dive.

In fact, if Spurs win I might just take up blogging about the NHL and offer you available 2013 hockey betting odds instead of the football equivalent. As it happens I did follow Hockey at one point in my life – thanks primarily to the EA games on the Megadrive. Jeremy Roenick, Sergei Federov… Those were the glory days of computer gaming.

I feel dirty all over. Any self respecting football fan whose allegiances lie away from Stamford Bridge shouldn’t ever have to say the words, ‘hope’, ‘Chelsea’ and ‘win’ in the same sentence. Wanting Chelsea to have any sort of good fortune is like hoping your mother makes a smooth transition into working as a prostitute. It’s unthinkable, appalling and just plain old wrong.

But that’s the position we find ourselves in. One or two blunders in the previous 36 games have led up to this point, and we find ourselves temporarily with our future in the hands of the most feculent. You could look back over plenty of games and state, “If only we’d done that” or “We should have won that” but such things are pointless. We are where we are.

The tension is becoming almost unbearable. I consider myself a calm, serene type of fellow, yet in recent weeks Arsenal have caused me to regularly pepper the air with obscenities, feel certain my heart was going to explode, and find my first grey hairs coming through. Only someone totally perverse would enjoy the constant drama and stress, right? Well, I do. It’s far better to be competing for something than nothing at all.

Arsene Wenger himself agrees:

“It’s very tight and it’s down to the team who makes no mistake,” he said. “But I love it because it’s a lot of tension and very exciting. It’s demanding as well, because it’s not easy.

“We definitely have momentum, if you look at the points we have made compared to two months ago. We are going for it.

“Away from home recently, we’ve won everywhere – at Fulham, at Sunderland, at Swansea and at QPR. It was a derby which was difficult to win.”

We have momentum, and we have a good run or results. What we lack is form. At this stage of the season, it would be foolish to expect cavalier football and scintillating displays amidst great pressure, and if we carve out 2 more sloppy 1-0 victories to finish the season, I’ll be very happy.

That said, it would be nice to be able to feel comfortable with the outcome of a match. But that, my friends, is the caveat of being a Gooner: nothing is ever certain. Even at 4-0 up or 4-0 down, you can never know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot that’s going to occur in the next two weeks we can’t predict. I expect everything to come down to the fortunes of all involved on the final day of the season.

Until everything is over, we can only cross our fingers and buckle-in for the ride. It’s sure to be a bumpy one, but there’s every chance we’ll arrive at our preferred destination smiling.

That’s all for today, folks. Leave me a comment below; how do you see the results panning out? Are you confident of securing at least 4th? Let me know what you think.

As always; thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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May 5, 2013

QPR 0-1 Arsenal: It’s better to win ugly than lose pretty.

We are QPR – Quietly Pondering Relegation…

Good day to you all.

At this stage of the season, I think our sole focus should be on winning. Whether or not the team performs as a cohesive unit, whether they show what the are truly capable of, is undeinably important, but , as far as I’m concerned, those things are secondary at present.

With that in mind, I’m going to refrain from pulling apart yesterday’s display too much, because however you may feel about the collective and individual efforts of the team, what we needed to accomplished was done. We got the 3 points.

It all started so well. Scoring the quickest goal of he 2012/2013 season after only 20 seconds is a pretty good way to start any game. Once Theo bundled his shot underneath the ‘keeper – a ‘keeper I don’t especially rate, it should be said – I rather foolishly assumed we’d actually be in for a comfortable afternoon in which we bossed the game and put a few more past our opponents.

QPR are one of those teams with plenty of good individuals, but an appalling team mentality. On paper, players like Taarabt, Remy and Park look reasonably threatening, and, should the mood take them, they can cause problems for most teams. In patches, I thought our hosts looked better than a side doomed to fall from England’s top league, and they caused Szczsney a few problems. Our Polish stopper had one of his better games this season – his full-length save from a Remy shot in the final 10 minutes was quite brilliant.

Perhaps they were freed from pressure, or perhaps the mercenaries assembled decided they’d better do something to ensure their grossly inflated contracts are picked up by someone else. Either way, they caused us problems. And more problems than I expected.

But at the end of the day, the scoreline tells us all we need to know; Arsenal won, Arsenal took 3 points. With the season drawing to a close, that is all that matters. It’s not going to be pretty in the next couple of weeks. Chelsea and Spurs have tough run-ins, and still have to play each other, so they will be dropping points one way or the other. Winning yesterday means we sit a a strong position, and if we continue to win 1-0 regardless of performance we should make the top 4.

After the game, Arsene Wenger said:

“Ideally, mathematically you would like to be there without anyone catching you, but it’s interesting for everyone in the Premier League.

“For a long time I said that it would be the team with the most consistency. We had a difficult away game today which we won. Now, let’s win at home.

“The three points were vital for us today and it was a very difficult game,

“I must say, for me, QPR is a good side. If they keep the players together they can come up straight away again.”

He’s absolutely correct. We may not be playing at the highest level, but we are consistently putting points on the board. There’s a period of 10 days until we face Wigan at home and we finish the season with a trip to St James’ Park. Both games are winnable, it’s likely we’ll need to win both games. At this stage I’m confident of our chances, but as all us Arsenal fans know only too well; a great deal can change, and you can nevver truly know what to expect.

I’ll happily take 2 more below-par performances if they are attached to 2 more 1-0 victories.

That’s all for today, folks. The comments below await your thoughts on the game. Who stood out for you? Are you happy to see the team perform poorly if the wins are still coming? Let me know your thoughts.

I shall return with more tomorrow. Thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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May 4, 2013

QPR (h) team news, thoughts and predicted starting XI

Stern faces all round.

Afternoon folks.

I don’t like QPR. My hatred isn’t based on any particular happening or reason, I just don’t like them. Look at the facts; it’s a club that can boast Mark Hughes, Neil Warnock and Harry Redknapp have all managed at some point. What’s to like?

Redknapp especially  I can do without. It’s with some pleasure and some fear I look forward to today’s game. The pleasure comes from knowing Redknapp will get dog’s abuse from the home fans fresh on the back of another rousing failure – all that despite his persona as a miricle worker. Fear? Well, that comes from knowing QPR have nothing to play for today, and that might just free them up a little.

Arsenal, on the other hand, still have plenty to play for. Anything other that 3 points today is unthinkable, and failure to aquire them could put an enormous dent in our hopes of Champions League football.

With little in the way of new teams news to report – Giroud is still suspended, Diaby is still suffering every know condition in medical science – I would guess Aresne will send out roughly the same team that faced United. The only changes he might make are replacing a below-par Sagna with Jenkinson, and Wilshere starting in place of Rosicky – a shame as Tomas was one of the better players on the field against United.

There’s no doubt the pressure is on Arsenal today, and that can often have an adverse effect  on both the team and the supporters. Expectation brings a viscous circle; the team feel the pressure and under-perform, the fans grow frustrated and vocally protest, the team feel more pressure becuase of the fans. And so on…

What we need today is a start similar to last Sunday; come blazing out of the blocks and get an early goal to settle some nerves. We should win today, but if the scores are still tied heading into the final 20 minutes, I can see things becoming very uncomfortable indeed.

I’ll go for a win – hopefully by a comfortable margin. Anything less is taking our destiny from our hands, and placing it into those that would gleefully see us fail. No mistakes today, please. Let’s get the win, and I do’t care how.

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Arsenal vs QPR odds.

aThanks for reading, today, you beautiful bastards. The comments below await a few of your thoughts. Are you confident about the game? Are you mildly concerned? How would you line-up the team? Let me know.

I shall return tomorrow.

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May 1, 2013

German keeper linked, The Ox requires patience and Arsene stays.

The glorious days of a German between the sticks.

Morning, readers.

Taking into account the significance of the weeks ahead of us, there’s not much out there in the way of concrete, factual news. Sure, there’s wild-eyed speculative stories aplenty, but I find myself getting overly tired reporting on them. Searching through news feeds for Arsenal related tales is like cleaning up after my cat; the shit is relentless.

The main talking point of the last couple of days has been Arsene Wenger’s contact, and wether or not he’ll be held to the final year, or honour it himself. I don’t think even Arsene’s most vehement of detractors could dispute his loyalty. However, with his tenure suffering a gloomy and dissatisfied patch, rumours rumble on regarding PSG tempting him back to his homeland with their financial might.

Unless the board see fit to change things up drastically – they won’t – I can’t see anything other than the same man patrolling the technical area next season, bemoaning decisions with a customary exasperated flap of the arms.

Elsewhere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has spoken of his sophomore season and asked for a little patience.

“There is always pressure, but maybe people forget that I am only 19 and will still be 19 at the start of next season.

“When you have a good first season, especially at 18, people hype you up and really want to see you kick on. They expect you to play lots of games and do really well.

“I have tried to carry on from last season, but sometimes you have to realise that you are a young lad and have a lot to learn.

“The experience of being in a club and league like this is a great education at this age.”

Having sparkled in the previous campaign, The Ox hasn’t yet reached those heights in the current one. On occasion, he’s shown moments of his undoubted ability, but he’s been hampered mainly by opportunities. He’s still a young guy. Time is unquestionably on his side, and there’s no worries here about us enjoying the best of his form. It’ll come, and when it does it will be a joy to behold.

Lastly, there’s talk of us being on the look out for a new goalkeeper – Hamburg’s Rene Adler. We haven’t had what I’d consider to be a world-class shot stopper since the days of ‘Mad’ Jens Lehmann. We’ve endured the age of Almunia, torn lumps out of our hair during Fabianski’s early days, and had high hopes for Szczsney. Yet, none  have filled me with the sense of security I got from knowing we had someone like Jens or David  Seaman behind the back four.

I don’t know too much about Rene Adler. Wether he is the  ’keeper we need is entirely down to fortune. He could very well be. It’s certainly a position where I believe some form of change needs to be made. At the very least, a greater level of competition for the No1 shirt is needed. If we set out to buy an established and excellent ‘keeper in the summer, you won’t hear any complaints from me about “killing” the career of any of those already at the club.

That’s it for today, folks. Things are gradually beginning to tense up as we prepare for Saturday’s must-win visit of QPR and their dubious wheeling-dealing manger who I’d glean immense pleasure from blasting into space. We can ill-afford to drop points against a side already relegated, and their current plight worries me slightly. The pressure will be all on us. Their fate is already sealed. We’ll need to prapre for this one that little bit more thoroughly just to be sure.
The comments await your thoughts. Do we need a new goalkeeper? Do you want Arsene to finish his contract? Do you think it’s time for a change? Let me know.
As always; thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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April 29, 2013

Arsenal 1-1 Man Unied; a draw will do, plus the prospect of a return of a former player? … Maybe…

How I miss the good ol’ days…

Morning folks.

A draw.  1-1. All things tied. Stalemate.

Whatever you might want to call it, it’ll have to do. It’s not perfect. It’s hardly the awe-inspiring demolition we’d all secretly hoped for – the one during which Robin van Persie is stretchered off having missed an open goal and collided testicles-first with the goal post. Yet, it’s hardly the biblical disaster some of the more grouchy and pessimistic Arsenal fans seem to prefer. You know the ones I mean; miserly souls whose only form of expression is moronic bleats of dissatisfaction.

Yes, Piers Morgan, I do mean you

What a c**k.

The game itself – for the first 45 minutes at least – saw Arsenal play arguably their best football of the season; passionate, controlled and with verve and swagger. The boys seemed spurred on from the indignity of United’s guard of honour, and set about bossing the champions, taking a deserved, albeit offside, lead after mere minutes.

From then, until Bacary Sagna’s awful challenge in first half stoppage time, the game could, and most probably should, have been put to bed. Alas, it wasn’t to be. United showed glimpses of growing into the game, and the inevitable eventually happened; the Dutch so-and-so buried a penalty as ruthlessly as only he can, and then proceeded to pour a little false humility on proceedings with a lack of celebration.

Meh.

The second half saw the occasional half chance spurned, and neither team could find the winning goal. At the end of the day, domination and possession counts for little when compared to goals scored, and few could truthfully dispute a draw was a fair result. We gave it our best shot, and whilst the outcome wasn’t what we’d hoped, the team deserve credit for the performance – especially Koscielny, Mertesacker and the ever-improving, Aaron Ramsey. Perhaps only Sagna’s display could have been better.

3 points could have really put some daylight between us and Spurs, but a solitary point gained means we’ve plenty more anxious moments to look forward to until there is a resolution. Saturday’s game with the now relegated QPR will be another must-win outing. I’m not expecting anything less than this all going down to the last game of the season, and then things are going to get really tense.

Elsewhere today, a particular news story regarding Cesc Fabregas caught my attention. Featured in the Daily Star….

Okay. Let me stop there a minute.

Ordinarily, any story that features the words ‘Daily’ and ‘Star’ above its content would have me clicking away from the page furiously. It’s hardly a secret that the sports stories in that rag are essentially the result of darts being throw at a board featuring random names and scenarios, and then passed off as real thanks to spurious “sources” and “insider information”.

I’m not discussing it for any alleged truth – let’s face it; we all know is pure, unadulterated bollocks. I’m mentioning it because I shan’t lie to you; I quite like the idea of Cesc coming back to Arsenal. Granted, there are those amongst us who feel his departure wasn’t the best, and those folks certainly have a point. However, purely on footballing reasons alone, I’d take him back in a heartbeat.

And, it doesn’t hurt that I still unabashedly carry a torch for the little fella. He may not have had the success to rightly have his name mentioned with the true greats of days gone by, but few could dispute the many, many wonderful moments he left us with. Add to that he’s unquestionably a midfielder of world-class ability, and you’ve got a struggle to come up with many reasons to be against it.

It’s on that note I’m going to leave you for the day, folks. The comments below are where I hope to hear a few of your thoughts – both on the 1-1 with United, and the dubious story of Cesc’s return to Arsenal. Do you think we’re still on for 3rd/4th? Would you take Fabregas back with open arms? Let me know.

As always, thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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April 28, 2013

Manchester United (h): team news, thoughts and predicted starting XI

Ouch. Poor Robin…

Greetings, Earthlings (and those of you who may be reading from another dimension).

Manchester United at the Emirates is undoubtedly a huge fixture, and today there’s plenty for the Arsenal to play for. However, I can’t help feeling a little nostalgic for the days when it really meant something. 

Vieira vs Keane, Henry vs Van Nistlerooy;  during days when both teams were at their peak proceedings had bite, bad tempered exchanges, and their was a true challenge presented to one by the other. These days, that all remains a distant memory. United are still the side to beat in English football, and where they have continued to dominate, we have fallen off the pace and languish a few steps behind.

Today, we will present them with a guard of honour, and welcome back one of our ex-players – a man you could argue quite comfortably is the main contributing factor to their championship success. Like many of you, the thought of Robin van Persie in a United shirt celebrating a league title makes me nauseous.

But those are the facts, folks. None of us like them, but none of us can do a damn thing to change them. Doubtless to say, vitriol and hatred will be issued freely from the stands for our traitorous Dutch friend, but I do sincerely hope that’s kept to a minimum, as the result of today’s match does have great significance – if not as great as it once was. With Spurs slipping up against Wigan yesterday, a victory today will do us the world of good.

The team news is the usual mixed bag of notable absentees and decisions the manager has to make. Olivier Giroud’s bumbling antics at Fulham mean he’s suspended for the game, so Arsene’s biggest choice is who he starts down the middle. Personally, I can’t see past Podolski. Walcott and Gervinho posses neither the imposing stature or the form to be deployed alone, and either player I feel would be very easily marshalled by United’s defence. Podolski at least has some physicality, and a thunderous shot from distance. Perhaps his fitness level is the only problem area. That said, I think Arsene will go with Theo. Definitely out are Fabianksi with the same rib trouble, and Diaby with an entire structural meltdown.

I guess the starting XI will look like:

United’s league win could work in our favour. They have only Chelsea’s record points total to play for now, and whilst I doubt they’ll take their foot of the gas too much, I also can’t see them as being focused and strong as they would have been had they required a result today. Alex Ferguson could conceivably rest some key personnel – I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see that Dutch prat start on the bench – and give starts to some other squad players.

That said, our destiny still depends on only us. This is a big game, and a big performance is required. Some of the prestige may have fallen away in recent years, but the history and passion still remains. We’ll need nothing less that a superb all round display to get 3 points today, and hopefully the occasion will bring the best out of the players.

Our support will be vital. Whilst I wouldn’t dream of telling those fortunate enough to have season tickets/tickets how to behave – a trait of some bloggers I find silly – I do hope the fans put their energies toward cheering on the team, and not calling Robin van Persie all the names under the sun for 90 minutes – even if he does deserve it.

As ballsy predictions are my forte, I’ll go with a cheeky 1-0 to the Arsenal, and a winning goal from the much improved boots of Aaron Ramsey. A draw wouldn’t be the end of the footbaling universe, but a defeat would put things back into the hands of our rivals – something we can ill-afford to allow with such little time remaining to secure a Champions League spot.

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Arsenal vs Man United odds

That’s all for today folks. I’ve got my game face on, and I’m prepared for the game. Fingers, and all other crossable parts of my anatomy are crossed. I shall return tomorrow with a review. In the meantine, use the comments to tell me some of your thoughts; how would you welcome RvP? Who would you start up front?

As always, thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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April 24, 2013

10 games for nibbling, United’s title and another huge transfer bites the dust.

The FA disciplinary panel were always pleased to see Luis Suarez

Good evening, beautiful creations.

If you’re hoping to unearth some original gems of Arsenal news, today may be something of a disappointment for you. There’s plenty of goings on and news out there, but given what’s occurred already this week, much of it only truly relates to Arsenal in a roundabout way.

Firstly, I’m sure you’ll have witnessed the explosion of apoplexy amongst the Internet community once Robin van Whateverhisnameis scored a thunderous offside hat-trick to bring home the title for his inner child’s club.

Can’t say I didn’t see it coming. Can you?

I understand the rage that’s being spewed. I really do. If there is a worse bit of transfer business conducted by our club, I’m hard pressed to tell you what it is. Yet, I can’t see the point in getting annoyed with Robin. He’s left, he’s no longer a part of Arsenal Football Club, and he’ll never be thought of with the reverence we have for others. As far as I’m concerned, he no longer matters.

I would congratulate United for winning the title, but to be frank; I’d rather set my feet on fire and watch them burn whilst a complete stranger punches me in the testicles repeatedly. They undoubtedly deserved to win it, but that’s for them to cheer and us to ignore. It’s not as if we were in it at any point.

One thing I do agree with completely are the folks stating Arsenal’s policy in the market for players needs drastic change. For too long we’ve hidden behind phrases like “sustainable model” and “financial fair play”. What should be of paramount importance is adhering to both, but without losing the ability to compete. Let’s be honest here; Arsenal have failed to compete for years, and selling your captain to a team that does only serves as a spectacularly effective way of highlighting that point.

Like you, I couldn’t care less about finances. Fans on the terraces don’t sign, “And we are Ar-sen-al, but far the most financially stable and business orientated team, the world has ever seen”. They won’t ever do that. They want bragging rights and glory, and a team that won’t flounder and fumble early on when there’s enough resources at the club the ensure we do compete.

What fans want is the team to lay down a marker – to go out a replace someone of Robin’s calibre with the best possible alternative. We can’t settle for hit-and-hope punts from the French league who come at a discount. Giroud is a decent sqaud player, but he isn’t the type of striker to fire a team toward silverware.

One player we’ve missed out on is the uber-talented, Mario Gotze, who is, according to reports in Germany, heading to Bayern Munich as they’ve activated his release clause. Whilst it’s a shame we didn’t match that offer and try to secure his services, the timing of the transfer is so bizarre and unexpected that perhaps our representatives were caught as much off guard as the rest of us.

Wether we’d have gotten him is irrelevant; the point is we ought be chasing after players like him. If there’s £70m surplus to requirements in the bank, then use it on some quality.

Lastly today; poor old Luis Suarez. He’s been hit with a whopping 10-game ban for having a chomp at Chelsea’s Ivanovic – a punishment Jermaine Defoe avoided completely for a very similar incident. Do I think it’s fair? Absolutely not. If you’re only going to ban someone as loathsome as John Terry for clearly racially abusing another player for only 4 games, then doubling that +2 for biting is complete madness. But that’s our beloved FA for you…

But Suarez is no saint, so I shan’t be feeling sorry for him or the Liverpool followers. Oh well. Dry your eyes, guys…

That’s all for today, folks. Leave your thoughts on United’s triumph, player recruitment and Luis Suarez in the comments section below. I look forward to reading a few.

As always; thanks for reading, you beautiful bastards.

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