The Armchair Gooner

An Arsenal blog bringing you news, opinion and humour on a daily basis. Well, I'll try at the very least…

Tag Archives: Arsenal

Per Mertesacker; Colossus or Hapless Giraffe Skating On Ice.

We love some BFG

Morning, folks.

I’ve decided that I’m going to blog here and there, every now and then. Keeping things going on a daily basis when it’s just you is pretty tricky and I’ve a personal life as well as a hectic work schedule to contend with.

Excuses, excuses…

Truth is, I can be pretty fu*king bone-idle at times. Often the allure of shooting strangers in the face with a bazooka on GTA5 is too much to ignore and precious time allotted for blogging is quickly eaten into. Other times I simply can’t muster the inclination to waltz my digits across the keyboard.

Today I thought I’d discuss Per Mertesacker.

As an Arsenal player, it’s very easy to go from hero to zero with one poor performance. Olivier Giroud especially seem to spend most of his time veering wildly from one extreme to the other in the eyes of our supporters. One moment, a genuinely world-class striker, the next a meandering carthorse capable of offering nothing more than frustration. Continue reading →

Ozil, Giroud, Cazorla, Gabriel, Akpom And Comfortable Progression.

Giroud’s classy finish

Morning, folks.

Sometimes, I don’t get the chance to watch games in their entirety. The perils and unsociable nature of my gainful employment are such that I’m at my busiest when Arsenal kick-off. Yesterday was an extremely good example of this; I missed the majority of the first have and caught fleeting glimpses of the second.

Writing a match review under such circumstances can be troublesome, so I find myself lurking around the internet hoping to find lengthy highlights. Then I’ve got to find the time to watch them, then get the time to write…

I’m rambling.

Point is, I even though it’s a chore, I make the effort.

*Cue rapturous applause, ticker-tape descending from the skies, shrieks of female adulation and appreciative nods from my peers at the unfathomable, glorious sacrifice I make to bring this drivel to you every day*

So….. The Arsenal. Continue reading →

Middlesborough: Team News, Predicted Starting XI And Thoughts.

Hopefully, high-fives all round at the final whistle.

Morning, folks.

The FA Cup. Perhaps the most likely avenue in which to get our grubby paws all over some delicious silverware. All that stands between us and progression to the quarter finals is Middlesborough; riding high in the Championship and a team to be taken seriously. After all, they did defeat Manchester City in the previous round and did so with a very good display.

I love this competition. Unabashedly so. Primarily for the shocks. Whilst it is undeniably gratingly bloody awful when Arsenal succumb to lower league opponents, it’s equally as hilarious when others fall at that particular hurdle. Anything can happen in the one-off nature of a cup tie and we need only look at Chelsea’s howlingly funny defeat to Bradford to see just how unpredictable the FA Cup can be. Anyone can slip up, and it’s usually the ones who don’t think it can happen to them.

Today we go into the game as favourites with fans and pundits alike. Even the most ardent of Middlesborough fan assume a heavy defeat is in order, and most of them see their season’s priority a return to the Premiership. So, I say it again; we are huge favourites today.  Continue reading →

Top 4 The Priority And Relentless Transfer Gossip.

“Yay…4th…”

Morning, folks.

Yesterday I failed to produce a blog post as promised. You might think there was a good reason for this; a family emergency or perhaps a complete meltdown of Internet capabilities. You’d be mistaken. The single biggest contributing factor was a bout of indolence on my part, coupled with the desire to play GTA5 – I get addicted very easily when it comes to shooting/blowing up other members of the online community.

So, I guess apologies are in order. There wasn’t exactly a plethora of interesting stories to write about, but, hey – I intend to jot daily and didn’t do so. I throw myself at your collective mercy (both of you).

Today is mostly scattered news without anything significant or immediately jarring – no story has leapt from the screen causing my fingers to flutter across the keyboard. Instead, we’ve the emergence of what I like to refer to as “customary dross”.  Continue reading →

Ramsey Out Until March And A Scolding Coq.

Injured again. Poor old Aaron.

Morning, folks.

Today’s entry will be the briefest of posts as I’ve a few spare moments until I’m forced to subject myself to a booked appointment at the Apple Store. Being unabashedly a luddite, I fully expect whatever troubles I’ve been encountering with my phone to be ridiculously simple to solve and I’ll have a spotty, 17-year-old ‘genius’ looking at me with the kind of pity you’d reserve for a quadruple amputee.

And then I’ll probably be ripped off as well.

So, Arsenal…

The main topic to address is another hamstring injury for Aaron Ramsey. Reports have emerged from many outlets – some reputable, others not so much – that a return to action for the Welshman is looking likely to be 4-6 weeks away. Continue reading →

Is David Ospina A Long-Term No.1 For Arsenal?

Your No1?

Afternoon, folks.

Here’s something about our goalkeeping situation written by ‘wonker’.

In the build-up to the derby defeat by Spurs, Arsene Wenger stated that Wojciech Szczesny is still our No.1 goalkeeper. Szczesny has made over 170 appearances for the club, so you can understand why Wenger is still pledging his support for the Pole.

Yet, at the same time, he has made over 170 appearances and has he convinced that he can be consistently relied upon to help us achieve long-term and sustained success?

He’s not started in the Premier League since the 2-0 defeat at Southampton on New Year’s Day. After that game, he was fined having been caught smoking. Continue reading →

Ozil, Ospina, Ramsey, Coquelin And A Terrible 3 Points.

“A yellow card for that? Really?!”

Morning, folks.

Yesterday when reviewing the game I said I’d be happy with 3 points no matter how we obtained them. Perhaps that was a touch exaggerated. Winning the match against Leicester was, obviously, of paramount importance. Dropping points at home to the side bottom of the table would have been abject. Yet we didn’t look anything remotely like a solid, cohesive unit last night and allowed our opponents to not only make a game of it, but probably warrant having taken something home with them.

In short, we were sh*t.

Whether the reasons for that stem directly from losing to Spurs is debatable. Some jitters and nerves are expected during a fixture in which winning is vital and that’s often compounded on the back of a defeat. However, more worryingly so, we looked complacent and sloppy far more than jittery.  Continue reading →