4.03pm, on Wednesday 4th July 2012. The moment
Robin van Persie announced on his website that he would not be renewing his contract at Arsenal, currently set to expire in the summer of 2013.
There’s no point going into detail about what he’s
written. We’ve all read it. We’ve all been bemused by it. But it’s a clear stab in the back to both Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger, and you can infer what you
want from his pathetically titled “update for the fans”, but to me it reads as
a whole load of PR jargon covering up for the fact that he’s after a lot more
money elsewhere. Good going, for Arsenal’s self professed ‘number one fan’.
It seems Arsenal were unprepared, with this statement
recently being published on the club’s website. Even earlier today, articles were still being published
centred around Wenger’s desire to keep van Persie at the club. So for this to clearly come so out of the blue maybe
speaks volumes for the kind of character the Dutchman actually is. This is our club
captain who we’re on about, and he currently has our pants down as he takes a
final parting shot, leaving our reputation in serious distress, and all but
ruins any chances he had of running his contract out at the club that’s given
him so much over the past eight years, despite what the club have said.
It’s a sucker blow for Arsenal, especially our manager
Arsene Wenger, who has stuck by him for all those troubled years and shown
nothing but complete faith in a striker who for so long looked as if he was
never going to truly make it at the top level given his unfortunate injury
history.
But sadly, that’s the modern day footballer. One good
season gives him a Launchpad to go on and achieve “bigger and better things”.
And you know what? Good riddance to him.
This is nothing new for us. It’s the same old shit we’ve
put up with for summer after summer, and it’s tiring. Vieira, Henry, Nasri, and Fabregas previously, and now van Persie is soon to be added to the list of players, mostly
captains, who have been pursued and eventually buggered off to pastures new.
But hey, we’ve survived the departure of every
single one of them. There’s always been a player to step up in their absence.
It’s bloody hard to regularly compete for major honours when your best players
are leaving. And our recent history backs this claim up. But we’ve been consistently
excellent at finishing near the top in the Premier League, and making the
latter stages of the Champions League. And that’s a testament to Arsenal
Football Club, and Arsene Wenger.
Annoyingly, I was 85% of my way through writing a new blog
only a few days ago (which I should have posted last weekend, if it wasn’t for
my abundant laziness). In there, I was suggesting how Arsenal has done their
bit to show ambition this summer, by signing Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.
And how it was now up to van Persie to keep his end of the “deal”, and lead us
into this new age of hopeful prosperity.
The thought of Podolski, Giroud, Theo Walcott, Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, and RVP all competing to start in the front three
was mind blowing. It was, on paper, set to be our strongest attacking unit for
possibly a decade. But now, that list will probably be one short.
Quite simply, we now have to sell Robin van Persie. To the
highest bidder, even if that is Manchester City. What would be the point of
keeping a player, the current club captain, for another year when he’s stated
that he doesn’t share the Manager and the CEO’s ambition in such a blunt and
inexcusable manner? Why waste wages on him, when all he will do is disrupt the
fantastic squad harmony that he was leading so well? He won’t play again for
Arsenal. We need to accept that, get over it, and move on.
And lucky for us, we have time to do that before the new
season begins. Which is in stark contrast to the situation we were in last
summer with Fabregas and Nasri. It’s clear, given the previously mentioned
Arsenal viewpoints, that this is unexpected. Which leads me to believe that
neither Podolski nor Giroud are direct replacements for van Persie. Whether
they turn out to be is a different matter, but there’s a chance for Wenger to
go out and add more quality to the squad well in advanced of our first Premier
League match against Sunderland on August 18th.
And whoever those player(s) are, with Podolski and Giroud
included, they’ll be our new van Persie’s. They’ll be the ones we admire, look
up to, depend on, and love. Because they’ll be the ones wearing the Arsenal
shirt. It doesn’t matter where RVP goes. All that matters is that he now goes.
I will loosely thank van Persie for his service, and
appreciate the eight years service he’s given us, which in this day and age is
normally unheard of. But then he becomes one of the many, many names who have
come and gone in the time that I’ve been an Arsenal fan.
We have some fantastic young players coming through the
ranks, and several other leaders who are more than capable of stepping up as
captain (Sagna and Vermaelen my early favourites for that post). This isn’t a
doom and gloom moment, it’s a moment in which we realise where our true
loyalties lie. To the club, and to the badge. And although this is a topic that
separates a fair chunk of Arsenal fans, in my eyes also to the Manager.
This will hurt Wenger a lot. I’m sure it hurts him more
and more every summer. But I trust him to do the right business, and prepare
the squad in the right manner. He has the time to do so, and we must be patient
whilst pre-season goes on. All he ever wants is the best for Arsenal Football Club.
That much is obvious. And as a fan who shares that same ambition, I’m going to
stick with him and see where he can take us.
No player is bigger than any club. And no one is
irreplaceable. Players come and go, but The Arsenal will always be constant.
It’s been over three weeks now since the Premier League
season finished, and I think that almost all football fans up and down the land
can finally put rivalries aside and agree to the sharing of one rather common
emotional state of mind – boredom.
That’s how I feel anyway. OK, there’s been some
International football. But at large we’ve been starved of the game we all love
for three whole weeks, and will be for three days more until the beginning of
the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine on Friday.
From an Arsenal point of view, the slow start to the
summer has been expected, yet anxiety levels remain, as there is a rather
extensive ‘to-do’ list for Arsene Wenger, Ivan Gazidis and co to get stuck
into. However from the outside, it appears the list is still going through the
lamination process before being put into action. Official news has been limited,
and we supporters are suffering in the never-ending labyrinth of rumours,
speculation and “ITKs” (in the knows), whose inside sources have claimed that
Arsenal have signed Jan Vertonghen (now Sp*rs bound), Eden Hazard (signed for
Chelsea) and given us varying statements (or as I like to call them, guesses)
on how close we are, or are not, to signing long term target Yann M’Vila from
Rennes amongst other made up rumours.
It’s all very boring, very repetitive, and for some
reason, often believed. But as we all know by now, Arsenal keep our transfer
dealings very close to the chest. The general consensus is that until it’s on
the website, it shouldn’t be believed. That’s how I see it anyway.
I appreciate that the above kind of gives the impression
that I think nothing is being done, but that isn’t true. I said from the
‘outside’, nothing appears to be happening, but as I then said, we keep our
activity very close to the chest until it is confirmed.
Touching upon the final point of the above list, the
Gooner twitter society again went up in arms over the reasons, need, and
priority of sorting out Arteta with a new contract. Only judging from what I’ve
read today, it seems the finely haired Spaniard joined us last summer from
Everton taking a £10,000 a week pay cut, played brilliantly for us this season,
and triggered a clause in his contract that enabled his representatives to talk
to the club about an improved contract.
Arteta's contract demands caused a stir this morning.
On face value I think that’s fair enough. But one of the
arguments most prominent was how important really is it for us to open up
contract talks with a still new player who has three years left on his existing
one? I think this is kind of besides the point, seeing as it’s Arteta’s camp
that are enforcing the negotiations, but is this really an issue? I’m sure
we’re more than capable of progressing with our other priorities for the
summer, which are mainly continuing the search for new players, staying on top of
the other contract negotiations we’re resolving (to the best of our ability),
plus looking at offloading the “deadwood” that is taking up valuable squad and
wage space. I’d like to think so anyway.
And which of the above take the lead when it comes to our
priorities this summer?
Obviously the van Persie contract is what is at the top of
everyone’s mind. Rightly so, too, seeing as he’s the club captain, Player of
the Year for club, PFA, and FWA respectfully. Not to mention the 36 goals he
scored in all competitions in the season just passed that make him a rather
important asset. One that is heavily admired elsewhere, and worshipped from
within too. If we’re to be considered ambitious, we really need to be keeping
the van Persie’s of the club, and not enduring a similar scenario to what went
down last summer.
Often overlooked is the need to secure Theo Walcott to a
new contract too, who is also entering the final year of his current deal at
Arsenal. After RVP, Theo was our greatest attacking threat last season,
notching up nine goals and nine assists in all competition. Yes, he struggled
for patches (notably when Bacary Sagna was out injured), but at large he was
very promising. And despite having plenty of critics, RVP personally mentioned
him on more than one occasion as playing a big part in his goal scoring form.
Not to forget this assessment from Lionel Messi prior to the Arsenal v
Barcelona tie in the Champions League in February 2011. People are quick to
write off Theo, but we’ve seen how good he can be. He’s still young, and as
I’ve just highlighted he’s very well thought of amongst his peers. Peers who
know a thing or two about football.
Both van Persie and Walcott have contracts expiring in 2013.
Allowing Theo to leave now would be a huge mistake. One
that would surely come back to hurt us, should he depart to a rival English
club. However, by all accounts this appears to be the easier of the two deals to
organise, and hopefully that's the case. Maybe sorting it sooner rather than
later will aid the RVP negotiations too; such is the Dutchman’s fondness of the
young winger.
Then there’s the matter of strengthening our squad, and as
already mentioned we’re heavily linked to M’Vila, and also Olivier Giroud of Montpellier. There are several other names floating around too, but these seem
to be the two with the most substance right now, to be new recruits alongside
Podolski.
Any newcomers need to be satisfied by out goers though,
and I think we all expect several departures in the coming months. Squillaci,
Chamakh, Bendtner, Denilson, Park and Arshavin are all names that I think we’ve
seen in Arsenal’s red for the last time, and will all free up valuable space
for both wages and squad availability.
The one factor that affects everything to do with
Arsenal’s summer priorities is the European Championships. Somewhat ironically,
as that’s what we’re all so looking forward to, to salvage our craving for
decent football. Yet that’s what is hindering our, and the rest of Europe’s
elite clubs, ability to proceed in the transfer market.
Generally, clubs won’t sell before it as their player’s
values could go up with a decent performance. And players won’t sign new deals
until after, as their stock too could rise with a good tournament, giving
themselves greater ability to negotiate better contracts. Plus, it gives
players looking for a move the chance to place them at the top of the shop
window, which the likes of Arshavin and Bendtner will no doubt be looking to
impress upon to get the best possible move, and for Arsenal the best possible
value for their transfers.
Two Arsenal players heading towards the exit door this summer?
In my humble opinion, it’s the contract negotiations that
must take priority over anything else this summer. The loss of our two best
players last summer were the catalyst to the horrific start to the season we
endured, and currently we have three of our best players in a situation that
could lead to their departures should things backfire on us (Alex Song being
the third). Not impossible to image, given our luck.
I won’t go into whether or not I think RVP signing on is
likely (I’d be writing forever), but should he, Walcott and Song all sign new
deals then that puts us in a fantastic position to attract the quality required
to take us up a level in terms of what we can expect from Arsenal next season.
And quite simply, we’ll never improve if we continue to sell our best players
every summer.
The clock is ticking, and the fans are waiting expectantly.
One thing’s for sure, there’ll be twist and turns along the way that no one
will predict. It wouldn’t be the Arsenal way if it were easy.
Well we got there in the end. All things considered, third
place was a very good outcome for us this season, given the dreadful summer we
endured, the shocking start, injuries and bursts of poor form that all
threatened to ensure our lowest finish under Arsene Wenger, and the possibility
of missing out on Champions League football for the first time under his
stewardship too.
But we limped our way over the finish line with a nervy
3-2 win at West Brom on the final day of the campaign, and it was very much a
sense of relief and good riddance to the least enjoyable season that we’ve had
for some time.
Instead of doing a text heavy month-by-month boring
analysis of the season, I’ve decided to do as I did to celebrate the calendar
year of 2011 and go for an Arsenal Awards themed blog to look back at the
season just finished. Hope you enjoy!
Match Of The Season
ARSENAL 5 – SP*RS 2 – Premier League, 26th
February 2012
I think there are a few decent nominations for Match Of
The Season. The 5-3 win at Chelsea, the late 1-0 win against Man City, and the
2-1 away win at Liverpool were all games of high intensity that we had to work
incredibly hard to win. But none of them quite had the added meaning that our
victory over Sp*rs in February had.
I don’t need to remind you of the scenes leading up to the
game. But they were 10 points ahead of us in the League. Their best side in 50
years, our worst in the Wenger era. They went 2-0 up inside 35 minutes, and
seemingly on their way to a 13-point lead over us that probably would have been
too much to hunt down. But then something happened. Bacary Sagna had had
enough, and rose highest to meet a Mikel Arteta cross to bring us back into the
game. Moments later, and it was Robin van Persie whose sweeping left footed
shot curled into the top corner. 2-2 at half time, then in the second half
there was only going to be one winner.
It only took us five minutes in the second half before we
were ahead through Tomas Rosicky, and Theo Walcott added two goals to the tally
to complete a fantastic turnaround that ultimately was the beginning of the end
of the supposed power shift in North London.
We won our next four games in the League to complete a
seven game winning streak. Whilst at the same time, the wheels were well and
truly falling off up the Seven Sisters Road, and Sp*rs couldn’t win a game to
save their lives.
The hype around T*ttenham slowly began to fade after this,
and they are now back in their rightful place which remains in our shadow. This
match was a reminder once and for all, that North London is red.
Young Player Of The Season
WOJCIECH SZCZESNY
Maybe not the toughest category for competition, largely
due to the absence of Jack Wilshere, the drop in form of Aaron Ramsey, the
injuries of Kieran Gibbs, and the lack of game time for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
and Carl Jenkinson. But even had the above not happened, I think Wojciech
Szczesny would have been in a good position to win this award anyway.
All right, we conceded 49 goals in the League this season.
But we’ve had Szczesny to thank on more than one occasion, most notably for
his penalty save in the Champions League qualifier against Udinese that helped
us progress to the group stages.
The young Polish international has very much established
himself as our number one, and has made great improvements to his game since he
first arrived on the scene in the back end of the 2010/11 season.
Not the complete package yet by any means, and is still
prone to mistakes with his distribution and can be rather eccentric when coming
off his line. But I think he’s had a decent season, and mistakes made in the
final few games can be associated to the fact he played through a shoulder
injury, such is Wenger’s faith in him. He will only improve, and he's highly regarded by Arsenal goalkeeping legend Bob Wilson. That should be enough to convince any
doubters that this lad has what it takes…
Most Improved Player Of The
Season
LAURENT KOSCIELNY
What a season this man’s had. Especially after a difficult
first season in English football, but now Laurent Koscielny is rightfully
regarded as our first choice centre back, and in my view was exceptionally
unlucky not to make the Premier League team of the year.
His positional awareness, reading and understanding of the
game have been invaluable, as has his never say die attitude on the pitch. He’s
outplayed several world-class forwards, including the likes of Fernando Torres
and Sergio Aguero, and his consistency and bravery are admirable and vital in
what’s been an otherwise struggling back four.
Definitely the man to base our back four around next
season, and thoroughly deserving of his first French international cap, and
place in their preliminary Euro 2012 squad for the summer. Would’ve had a
serious sniff at Player Of The Year, had a certain Dutchman not existed.
Low Point Of The Year
MANCHESTER UNITED 8 – ARSENAL 2 – Premier League, 28th
August 2011
I hate this award, but it’s got to be done. Unfortunately,
there are a few possible winners of this one. Defeats at Swansea, Blackburn and
Fulham were all horrendous, as was the manner in which we ballsed up our superb
recovery at home to Norwich only to concede a late shocker to draw. There’s
even a good argument for the summer transfer window as a whole, and how that
destabilised our squad, and resulted in the loss of our two best players from
last season and a series of “panic buys” to make up for it.
But I can’t look past the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford
against Manchester United. It wasn’t only the result that was painful; and we
all know, that was bloody hard to take. But the fallouts from it were horrific.
We Arsenal fans suddenly became split, there were arguments, talks of protests,
and generally awful behaviour from various members of our fine community. It
became a miserable community to be a part of, and the shit stirring from most
sides of the media didn’t aid it.
Luckily we did get past it though, and came out stronger
at the other end. It’s only a bad memory now, but at the time it was an
absolute nightmare.
Rising Star
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN
I was tempted in a way to make this a ‘Who To Look Out For
in 2012/13’ award and give it to Jack Wilshere, but decided against it as I’m just
more hopeful than anything that he’ll be fit for the start of the season. When
he is back, he’ll need to be eased into the side, and we can’t put too
much expectation on him too early. That’s what happened with Aaron Ramsey after
his injury, and we all know how that worked out for him this season.
Anyway, I’m digressing. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was one of
our main signings over the summer, but has been used
sparingly by Arsene Wenger this season. He has bags of potential as we’ve seen
on more than one occasion, and I’ve no doubt he has a huge future ahead of himself.
There were many calls from Gooners to use him more than he
was through the tougher times in the back end of the season, but when Wenger
did call on him The Ox didn’t quite have the impact many were hoping for,
proving the decision to ease him in was the right one. He excelled against
Milan, and was excellent in the home defeat against Man United, just to mention
two of his many good moments in his first year in the Premier League.
He scored in each competition, and has explosive pace,
strength and determination. We all hope to see more of him next season, and I’m
sure we will. It’ll also be interesting to see if/how he’s used by Roy Hodgson
at Euro 2012. Hopefully he returns with some international experience, no
injuries and the chance to shine next season.
Goal Of The Season
ROBIN VAN PERSIE V EVERTON – Premier League, 10th
December 2011
It was the Arsenal 125th anniversary game
against Everton at the Emirates Stadium. The club had put on a fantastic show
and there were plenty of legends in attendance. All that was missing was an
Arsenal goal. And when it came, it was something more stunning than could ever
have been imagined.
Alex Song made the goal with a delightful chip through the
middle, and Robin van Persie let the ball drop over his shoulder and volleyed
it into the far corner of the Everton goal. It was technically one of the best
goals I’ve seen. Certainly this season, and it confuses me how two hit and hope
shots (Cisse and Crouch) were deemed the best goals in the Premier League. But
oh well, guess I’m biased.
RVP’s strike was controlled, calculated and he made it
look easy when it was anything but. A fantastic goal, to mark a memorable day
for the club.
Flop Of The Season
JU YOUNG PARK
A couple of worthy runners up in this award, first one
being Andrei Arshavin who was nothing more than a passenger for the part he
played this season. He arrived with so much potential, but has failed to really
utilise it despite being excellent in bursts. Yeah he got a few assists this
season, but was mostly useless, lazy and ineffective. I’d be surprised if we
see him in our colours again.
Another one is Marouane Chamakh, who I do have some
sympathy for. Because he was playing pretty well for us whilst van Persie was
injured last season. But RVP got fit again, started scoring for fun, and
Chamakh was left unable to get any kind of game time. He actually played OK
when he came on against Norwich, but ultimately didn’t get the game time
required to be of any use to us this season.
But I’m going to give it to Ju Young Park, a player we
signed last summer from Monaco for just under £3m. Upon his arrival, Wenger said,
“he will add true quality to our attacking forces and will be a valuable
addition to the squad”. Sadly, he wasn’t.
Just one substitute appearance in the League, two
appearances in Europe, and three starts and his only Arsenal goal in the League
Cup, and I fear that’ll be all we see of Park in an Arsenal shirt. Can only
assume he was purchased to be a backup striker and to aid our marketing potential
in the Korean market, but Wenger realised quite quickly that he isn’t good
enough for Arsenal, and for that reason he’s my Flop Of The Season and he has
to be sold this summer.
Signing Of The Season
MIKEL ARTETA
Another who would probably feature on the podium for
Player Of The Season, but Mikel Arteta has established himself as our midfield
metronome, and by a long way was our Signing Of The Season in my view. Probably
a player we should have signed a couple of years ago, but that’s irrelevant to this
piece.
I’ll double this up and make his Mr Consistent as well, as
he has been exceptionally consistent all season long, and until we beat West
Brom on the final day of the season, we hadn’t won in the League when Arteta
was absent. He controls the midfield, provides fantastic link up play from
defence to attack, and generally made the team better with his presence. He also popped up to score some great goals,
including the winner against Man City, and a screamer against Aston Villa.
A fantastic signing, despite apparently being a “panic buy”,
and he’ll be fundamental to our progress next season. Hopefully playing
alongside a young lad called Jack. But let’s not get carried away just yet.
Emergence Of The Season
TOMAS ROSICKY
I felt like Tomas Rosicky deserved an award of some sort
for the part he’s played in the recovery of our season, and I think Emergence
Of The Season is a fitting tribute to his efforts. It was tempting to give him
a ‘Breakthrough’ related award, but that seems more relevant to younger players,
so emergence it is and what an arrival Rosicky had in the second half of the
season.
It all appeared as if his Arsenal career was heading
towards its end, and that he was nothing more than a squad player as we entered
2012. He was linked to a move away to German side Wolsburg, with several fans
appearing to agree that it was time he moved on.
Luckily, he didn’t. And with Aaron Ramsey struggling
especially in the difficult month of January, Rosicky stepped up and really
took the attacking lead by the scruff of the neck in our midfield trio. From
nowhere, he suddenly burst onto the scene and was at the forefront of our seven
game winning streak. And having not previously scored in the League for two
years, he bagged three goals in our run in including the all important third
goal in the 5-2 win against Sp*rs.
A hard worker, Rosicky was the epitome of our effective pressing
system, and never shied away from getting back to support the defence. He
emerged with a bang, and I can only hope it wasn’t a one off, and that the
Little Mozart carries it on into next season.
Champagne Moment Of The
Season
THIERRY HENRY V LEEDS – FA Cup 3rd Round, 9th
January 2012
It only took him ten minutes to mark his return. And it
was a classic Henry finish, too. Picked up an Alex Song through ball, collected
it in his stride perfectly, and rolled it into the far corner of the net with
an almost gentle side footer past the Leeds keeper. He’s the coolest character
around, but the celebration that followed was nothing short of pure emotion. He
loves the club, and it was a fairy-tale that he scored on his return to win us
the game.
Sure, there are good shouts for the John Terry slip at
Stamford Bridge, the fight back against Sp*rs and the consequent minding of the
gap they so often told us about. And even the full time whistle at The
Hawthorns, and the relief that ensued knowing that we’d finally done it and
finished third to reach the Champions League for yet another season.
But for me, none of them come close to triumphant Return
Of The King. It was a special moment, and one that only we Arsenal fans will
ever truly understand the value of. Champagne doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s
a moment that’ll be etched in Arsenal folklore for decades to come.
Player Of The Season
ROBIN VAN PERSIE
I’ve decided to save the best till last, and quite simply
there has been nothing better than Robin van Persie this season for Arsenal. 36
goals in total, top goal scorer in the League, PFA and FWA Player of the
Season, and the man who we relied on to get us out of the abyss we were facing,
and lead us to the third place finish.
Yeah, we’re not a one-man team, and Robin will be the
first to admit that. As he did in his acceptance speech for the PFA award,
where he specifically praised Theo Walcott for his contribution to the
Dutchman’s goals. But it’s a pretty scary thought to consider where would we
have ended up had we not had van Persie in our side. One that I won’t explore
now, tomorrow, or ever.
He’s been our hero this season. His leadership has been
exemplary, and in my eyes he is an Arsenal legend. We can all only hope that
he’s with us again not only next season, but the seasons after that one too.
It’ll be a nervy wait until we know what he wants to do,
but in the mean time let’s just enjoy the class act that has been Robin van
Persie in the 2011/12 season.
If only that was the case, and Arsenal strolled to a 4-0
win over West Brom today, maybe I’d have a few less hypothetical grey hairs
this evening. As it happens it didn’t, but we still managed to pick up the
three points necessary to guarantee Champions League football next season, with
a hard fought and exceptionally nervy 3-2 victory away at West Brom (or West
Brow, if you solely follow Andre Santos).
Once again though, we had to do it the hard way. 20
minutes into the game, it seemed a carbon copy of the Norwich match last
weekend, after Yossi Benayoun’s gift of an opener was quickly cancelled out by
two very avoidable goals from the home side. The first was as a result of an
awful decision by the linesman to not call Shane Long offside, who ran through
to finish home after a through ball from James Morrison. It wasn’t even
debatable. He was miles offside, but for whatever reason (I blame his extreme incompetence)
the linesman didn’t give it.
In truth, it wasn’t a great game to look back on
defensively. Both goals we conceded were pretty poor, and Martin Fulop in the
West Brom goal had an absolute mare. Quite the contrary to what I was thinking
would happen pre-match, given he’s an ex-Sp*rs player, and shit goalkeepers
like him are usually at their best against Arsenal. Luckily not this time, and
all three goals we scored were a present, starting with Benayoun’s in the
fourth minute after Fulop completely ballsed up collecting the ball inside the
box allowing Yossi to nick it off him and roll it into an empty net.
The second was equally as impressive from the flapping
goalkeeper. West Brom were dispossessed inside their own half, and the ball
fell to Santos, who’s shot fizzed its way towards Fulop, who palmed it into the
net.
2-2 at half time, and nerves were paramount, because as
we’ve seen all too many times before this Arsenal side has a fantastic ability
at fucking things up at the most inconvenient of times.
Theo Walcott came on for the second half instead of Tomas
Rosicky, and it didn’t take long for us to go in front again. Nine minutes
actually, and again it was Fulop we had to thank. The goalkeeper almost
impossibly palmed a Robin van Persie corner towards his own goal, and Laurent
Koscielny nudged it over the line to give Arsenal a lead that was never again
surrendered.
OOOOO I wanna dance with Koscielny!
West Brom pushed in the final minutes, and substitute
Kieran Gibbs denied Billy Jones inside the area with a block that was worth
approximately £30m. And despite it being nervy, frantic and extremely panicked
at times, Arsenal held on to secure the win and that coveted third place that
guarantees access to the Champions League group stages next season.
There’s probably not a whole lot of point going into
detail with regards to the analysis of today’s match. Especially the negatives,
seeing as the season is now over so there’s hardly any point as it’s not
exactly something we’ll be looking to correct next weekend.
But there was a fundamental feeling of relief at the full
time whistle, because Sp*rs beat Fulham 2-0, as we all expected, so anything
other than a win and we would currently be sitting fourth, with our fate in the
hands of Chelsea. Who in their right mind would want that?
It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t the assured performance
that many were hoping for, but it was enough. And at the end of the day, that’s
all that counts.
A St Totteringham’s Day celebration to mark the end of an
era for Pat Rice, who shared some emotional moments with Arsene Wenger in the
dying minutes, and bowed out in style with a win that he totally deserved to
mark 44 years of immense service to Arsenal Football Club.
From here we enter the season debrief, and the players and
fans alike should feel relieved that we’ve managed to stumble over the finish
line, to take the third place that seemed impossible at the end of January.
Hopefully not the last time we see RVP wear the famous red and white (and blue next season).
A huge amount of credit needs to be given to the players,
the coaches and other backroom staff for the turn around, and despite the
incredibly nervy finale to the season, nothing but praise should be given because
for so long it seemed such an unlikely outcome.
Yes, we are still well short of where we want to be. And
yes, there are still plenty of on field and backroom issues associated with the
club that will hopefully be fixed over the summer months. There will be time
for critique, and some critique there will be I’m sure.
But for now we must surely just rejoice that we’re
officially the best club in London again, and that the gap has well and truly
been minded between Sp*rs and us (thanks for the warning, by the way).
We are also able to watch the Champions League final
without literally bricking it over the possibility, however unlikely, of
Chelsea winning the competition as it’s Sp*rs at risk of being dumped into
the Europa League. No matter how hilarious that might sound, it’s no excuse AT
ALL to want those chav-ridden bellends from Fulham Broadway to win the most
elite club competition in European football. Do you really want those lot
parading their smug like faces around town, having been the first London based
club to win the competition? No, of course you don’t. So make sure you don your
Bayern Munich scarf come next Saturday. No exceptions.
Let’s enjoy ourselves until then, and reflect on a well
and truly barking final day of the Premier League season, as well as all the
other twists and turns that have come before it. And let the preparations for
season 2012/13 begin.
Happy St Totteringham's Day 2012. 16 years and counting.
Does anyone actually want to finish third this season?
It would appear not, as all the chasers for the coveted final spot in next season’s Champions League group stages dropped points in the
penultimate weekend of Premier League action for season 2011/12. As both Sp*rs
and Newcastle failed to take advantage of our dropped points on Saturday, and
incredibly we still find ourselves in third spot, with it all still in our
hands. The mathematics is simple – three points against West Brom next Sunday,
and it’s ours.
But that’s a lot easier said than done right now, as we’ve
only taken three points from an available 12, and it appears we seem to be
capping off the season in the same manner in which we started it. Bloody
awfully.
I won’t go into details about what went wrong against
Norwich, as others have done it and I don’t want to repeat what you’ve already
read. If I could recommend one blog that analyses it expertly, then check out this from @arsenalvision. Fantastic insight into what went wrong in midfield,
and how we struggled as a result of it.
It looked so good at this moment, but in the end it wasn't enough to beat a sharp Norwich side.
If I could mention one thing about Saturday, it’s that
Norwich were very good value for their point. And in all honesty, they are the
ones who should feel hard done by, not us. It wasn’t our day, and it is
flabbergasting how at this stage of the season the players didn’t look right,
given how much there is to play for. But we’ve been very lucky, and have one
final chance to do it ourselves. So let’s hope the players pull their fingers out, they
get a bit of a drilling, and they produce the goods next Sunday at The
Hawthorns.
Following on from the midfield horror show against
Norwich, I wonder if it’s worth mixing it up a little for West Brom. It’s clear
to me that the midfield trio of Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, and Tomas Rosicky just
isn’t working. Mainly because our success this season has come with two
holding/anchor type midfielders, and one sole attack minded one (when Mikel
Arteta was fit this was). However now, with Arteta absent and Ramsey starting,
there are two attack minded players instead, and our shape is struggling as a
result. And given that Song enjoys a good mosey up the park at the best of
times, the protection that has been so strong in front of the defence is
getting exploited far too easily.
Given this, I’d be tempted to start young Francis Coquelin
instead of Ramsey in midfield, alongside Song and Rosicky on Sunday. He is a
natural defensive midfielder, and would provide that assurance that has been
missing since Arteta’s injury. Song can bomb forward, and Le Coq can hold the
fort in front of the defence. His pass rate is decent (84% in the League), has
unquestionable talent, and deserves a run in his natural position given the
amount of times he’s had to fill in at full back.
Should Coquelin get the nod in midfield against West Brom?
That’s the position he came on against Norwich in. Bacary
Sagna’s unfortunate and tragic leg break means that maybe Coquelin is likely to be
favoured to start at right back on Sunday instead. But how about Carl
Jenkinson? Anyone?
He is, after all, a natural right back. Plus, he’s fit.
And before the injury he picked up mid season, he was enjoying a decent spell
in the side in which he improved admirably after a difficult start to his
Arsenal career. Le Coq is more than capable to play at right back, but due to
the current failings in the midfield I think he’d be better off shoring that
area up.
Of course this is just my mindless speculation. I’m no
expert, and certainly wouldn’t fancy my chances in a tactical debate against
Arsene Wenger. And if I’m being brutally honest I don’t think he’ll change the
midfield for West Brom. He rarely takes team selection risks, or ventures into
the unexpected, especially when the stakes are so high. Because if it went
wrong, it would be all too easy to lay the blame on the fact he went with a
young inexperienced 20-year-old instead of the Welsh international captain. But
how I’d love him to take the gamble. Surely it couldn’t be worse than what we
saw on Saturday.
Either way, team selection aside, it’s the mental
preparation and application on the training field that are more important for
this week. Because against Norwich that’s what was wrong. West Brom are in a
similar situation to the Canaries of not having much to play for, although I’m
sure they’d all love to give Roy Hodgson a winning send off before he takes the
England reigns.
But for Arsenal there are potentially severe consequences
in not winning the match, as we can’t rely on another Sp*rs screw up, although
we will of course be hoping that in form Fulham can aid us as much as possible.
Hopefully the result at White Hart Lane won’t matter, and we get the job done
ourselves.
Finally, there have been a couple of off field
developments that have come to light today. Firstly, @LeGrove reported that
Steve Bould is the new Arsenal assistant manager, with Pat Rice retiring this
summer. This has been doing the rounds for weeks, so not exactly new news but
certainly good news if it’s true. Bould is an Arsenal legend, a defensive
expert, and has a fantastic record with our Under 18 side. All of which are
ingredients to suggest he’d be an excellent number two to Arsene Wenger.
And secondly, @YouAreMyArsenal has suggested in this blog that Arsenal
have agreed a fee to sign Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila on a four-year deal.
Again, the speculation about our interest in the talented Frenchman hasn’t been
secret, but this is absolutely brilliant news if true. Especially if the
reported fee (£16-18m) is correct. They are quick to emphasise that this is
still not 100% confirmed, and as always I am hesitant to believe it fully until
it appears on the club website. But it is certainly a very positive rumour from
a reliable source, and one that I’m sure we all desperately hope comes to
fruition.
Is M'Vila Arsenal bound over the summer?
The signs are good off the field but the focus now must go
back to what happens on it. We have just 90 minutes left of the Premier League
season, and we’re going to need to dig deep and really apply ourselves to
ensure we make it over the line. We’re stumbling towards it right now. Let’s
get over it in any way possible and say good riddance to this horrible season.
So the finish line is well and truly in sight for the
2011/2012 Premier League season. After last night’s matches, the League table
evened itself out in terms of games played with all 20 clubs now having endured
36 of the 38 games.
The results yesterday didn’t go in our favour at all, with
Sp*rs cruising to a 4-1 win away at struggling Bolton, and Newcastle coming out
on top with a hard fought victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge thanks to
two goals of the highest quality from Papiss Cisse.
This now means that there is only one point separating us
in third place and Newcastle in fifth, with Sp*rs currently occupying the final
Champions League spot on goal difference ahead of the Toon Army. And realistically, it’ll now be two
out of the three of us that provisionally make it into the competition next
year, as Chelsea are probably too far back being four points behind Newcastle
in sixth.
It doesn’t really change much from the Arsenal point of
view though. Even if Sp*rs and Newcastle dropped points last night, the
objective for us will have remained the same: win our last two games, and
there’s nothing anyone can do to stop us from finishing third.
Sure, we can hope that others do us a favour. And it’s
very easy to look at the fixture list and think that there’s a chance Sp*rs
might come up stuck away at an admittedly poor yet fighting for their lives
Aston Villa on Sunday. At the same time, you’d be forgiven for placing a small
amount of faith in title chasing Manchester City taking some points away from
their trip to the Sports Direct Arena/St James’ Park/whoever Ashley has now
sold stadium rights to. But we can’t expect it. Nor base our preparation around
the idea.
Both sides play 24 hours after our final home match of the
season, in which I’m extremely hopeful we will take three points against a
dipping Norwich side who have little left to play for this season. Yet no doubt
they’ll be up for their first ever trip to the Emirates Stadium, however there
is absolutely no reason to believe that we shouldn’t be better prepared or more
focused for their arrival.
Anything less than three points against Norwich, and then
surely the tails of Sp*rs and Newcastle will be wagging, and they’ll have
something extra to fight for in their games on Sunday. Plus it would leave us
with the daunting task of needing a win at all costs against West Brom on the
final day of the season – Roy Hodgson’s last hurrah before he leaves the
Midlands for the gloomy skies of the English football HQ.
I’m confident about Norwich, but I’m bricking it about
West Brom. The neutrals/romantics/Baggies will all believe that the game is
meant to be for West Brom. That Hodgson will cap off his tenure in style with a
victory over one of the big guns, and that the players will be giving it their
all to make sure this happens.
However, with nine defeats at The Hawthorns this term
already, they are definitely beatable. Hell, we’re Arsenal. Everyone is
beatable. And again I go back to my previous point, that if our players can’t
get themselves mentally ready and apply themselves fully for these final two
games, then quite simply we probably don’t deserve to play Champions League
football next season.
And maybe, just maybe, the romantic football tale doesn’t
always have to follow the script. It can’t always come to fruition. Last night
Fabrice Muamba returned to the Reebok Stadium to watch his team mates play for
the first time since the cardiac arrest he suffered at White Hart Lane as we
all know about. Something extra for the players to fight for. Something else
for the fans to get excited about. But Sp*rs ensured there was no happy return
for Muamba, and no celebration for Bolton. I hate them, but they were
professional and clinical, and very good value for their big win at the
business end of the season. That’s the attitude and application we need to take
in to our remaining games.
I will not be happy if those fuckers finish above us….
Momentum is the key to the final stages of the season, and
currently it’s Newcastle who top the entire League form charts right now with 15
points from their last 18 available. Sp*rs have 10 from 18, and we have only
eight points from our last six matches. I don’t think this is detrimental to
our chances, but it’s significant as it shows that Newcastle are the team with
the momentum, and after beating Chelsea last night their confidence will be sky
high. But all we need is two wins, and all their current momentum will count
for nothing.
Whilst I remain confident about our chances of taking the
maximum six points necessary to finish third, it’s worth being realistic and
balanced and mentioning the consequences of what would happen IF we were to
finish fourth. Because that nasty little bunch that play in Fulham and wear
blue currently hold a pretty important Joker card that has the potential to
absolutely ruin whoever takes the final "provisional" Champions League spot.
Should Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League
final on 19th May, the place in next years competition would be theirs. The thought of them
winning the competition is sickening enough, but add that fact into it and it
becomes so utterly repulsive it adds a whole new level of support directed
towards Bayern Munich. The last time I supported them in a European final, they
screwed us all over by allowing Man United to win it in 1999. If they do it again
this year, and I’ll be tempted to personally fly over there and slap every
single person who has anything to do with their club. England always lose to
the Germans. No doubt it’ll happen in Euro 2012, so get the bloody job done Munich
or else… yeah….
But that scenario is totally avoidable. As I’ve said all
piece, and everyone is saying all the time now, all we need to do is focus on
ourselves, firstly ensure we’re 110% prepared for Norwich on Saturday, and take six
points from the remaining six.
If you ask any of the other clubs whose position they’d
rather be in, they’d 100% say Arsenal’s as we have the extra point on the board.
Let’s get the job done and make sure that the same thing is being said at 5pm
on the 13th May.
