The Story So Far

NOTE: This piece was meant to be published 11 days ago. My apologies go to Ryan the writer.


> This is one of the hardest pieces I have had to write,the story so far,it should be easy for any team with huge ambitions and a top four finish the minimum expected,
> It should read something like,"the start to the season was Not as easy as we thought, but its ok we are safely in the top 4 of the table before the end of the year"
> However being fans of the mighty Arsenal,its been different,the season started the way many would have expected with the departure of cesc,and then the departure we few were expecting of nasty,from then on every so called expert questioned more then the ambition of our club!but the very soul of it,the usual fans wanted us to spend big and spent fast,these fans are clearly new to the club and must be the glory years supporters of the Henry era,which is fine,all Arsenal fans are of course welcome,fir us fans that have supported the club longer,we knew the likely hood under AW of us spending huge and fast were tiny
> AW has never done business this way,and never would,he buys clever and when he feels he must,often to the naked eye buying wrongly too,the acquisitions we made weren't good enough for all,so many quick to say that they wouldn't be enough to save our season, a season that after 3 games was in tatters,fans were actually protesting against the club
> Then at what has to be the biggest meeting the last 5 years at the club,its revealed we will stick to our current financial model,
> Basically spend what we can earn,and for a club that is not winning trophies it won't be a lot,yet still with days remaining in the summer transfer window,some fans demanded huge signings of 40 and 50 million,this was never going to happen,not because of our clubs lack of ambition,but our clubs determination to stick to its own guide lines,
> We should maybe be proud of that,AW did buy in the transfer window,and it did the job,after a poor start,Arsenal turned it round,with some massive wins,Udinese being one! Against all the odds we started to turn it round,playing with confidence and looking like the old gunners we once were,and with RVP being the most in form striker on the planet we were looking dangerous,some in the media continued the Arsenal bashing saying we are a one man team,its maybe hard to argue with that one,but those that follow the game of football know the goal is the end product of 11players working hard,its the icing on the cake,so Arsenal as a team were playing some great football,
> Still so many fans weren't happy,pulling names from the sky of players we need,like we are a FIFA12 game,these people I feel need to get real,the  media still hounded our club,even the 5-3 hammering of chelsea wasn't enough,it appears any team we can beat is then in crisis!?! Its been the most obvious year for media hating arsenal I can remember,
> Despite all this AW has remained as classy as ever, and the club have taken criticism well,the players have reacted well,yes we know we are still carrying dead wood in some players,and I'm sure every Gooner reading this ,has at least 5 players they would happily sell,but for us all I'm sure that Arshavin and chamakh are the main 2!
> The club have done us all proud,we were and are never going to spend money like other big clubs in Europe,its not our style,finding young talented footballers,holding onto them nee to become a bigger priority,I have mentioned before how Arsenal need to be careful we don't become a feeder club for big clubs with big money and trophy ambitions!
> That aside, we have gone from looking like relegation fodder (according to telegraph) to being just outside the top four,yet with the wolves result the other day, the haters are all back and we are in crisis again,
> I agree we should have taken 3 point,but we didn't,I believe we are struggling as a squad because we have no winners,we have talent,loads of it,but not winners,had we won the carling cup we would be a different team,
> we all know that the Man u of old specialised in taken advantage of dropped points by other team challenging for the title,but we are a much better team then we started the season with,the second half of the season will see the return of the "winner" the king is back,wilshere will also be back ad AW will buy someone in January,I'm sorry to all the pessimistic Gooners that will say I'm deluded,but I remember the arsenal that couldn't buy a win!so for me the future is always bright,we need to look at what we have, not what we don't,for the second half of the season,if you have been negative so far this season try being positive!and let's see what we can achieve together,going forward!

Ryan

Only One Arsenal Awards 2011

Let’s be honest 2011 hasn’t been the best if years for the Gunners, it’s been riddled with injuries, cock up’s and it could of been so different. However it hasn’t been all doom and gloom. So this the Only One Arsenal 2011 Awards were Ryan, Myles  and myself (Luke)  have voted on our lows and highs of this year.

Player of Year: Robin Van Persie

We couldn’t look beyond Robin for this award with 34 league goals in 42 appearances he is so close to breaking Alan Shearer’s record of 36 goals in a calendar year and he still might depending on his performance vs QPR.  He has also taken over as captain from Cesc Fabregas and proved people that were at first weary of leadership skills that he is more than up to it. Robin also wins Goal of the year for his stunning volley vs Everton.

Let’s hope Robin stays fit in 2012 and signs a new contract. You never know he may even get to lift a trophy as the Arsenal captain in the year ahead.

Here are some videos of Van Persie in 2011

Best Win: Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona (Other nominations include Arsenal 1-0 Man Utd, Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal and Udinese 1-2 Arsenal) 

This match had it all a good atmosphere, good football, world class players, a comeback and an upset but most importantly a Gunners win verves the best team in the world. A goal after 26 minutes by Barcelona could of been followed by more as the Spanish team all but dominated in till 12 minutes before time when Robin Van Persie scored from a acute angle this point in the game changed then just minutes later Arshavin scored a winner in the words of Arsene Wenger it was ‘a special night’

Worst Defeat:  Birmingham 2-1 Arsenal (Other nominations include Man Utd 8-2 Arsenal, Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal and Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool)

However bad is losing to the Spuds or getting trashed 8-2 by Europa League team Man Utd the Carling Cup final defeat to Birmingham started our slump, hangover, crisis or whatever you call it which went a good way into this season it also was a good chance to end out trophy less spell. I still think what if?

Breakthrough Player (not inc new signings): Wojciech Szczesny (Other nominations: Koscielny, Ramsey, Wilshere, Frimpong and Coquelin)

Two years ago Szczesny was on loan at League 1 side Brentford he won applauds from his manager there he then went on to make his Arsenal debut in late 2010. In 2011 he has made a few mistakes (but who hasn’t?) but has also made consistent performance something which Arsenal lacked in goal up in till his rise. For me his best save this year was vs Udinese to stop Di Natale penalty and stopping Udinese getting back into the game.

Flop of the year: Andrei Arshavin (Other nominations: Chamakh, Diaby, Almunia, Squillaci)

For me Arshavin saved himself from this award thanks to a goals vs Barcelona and Swansea. However for £15 million pounds he paid him you could expect him to at least be able to make simples passes and break into a sweat.  How long Arshavin career will go into 2012, we will have to wait and see.

Signing of the Season: Mikel Arteta (Other nominations: Gervinho, Santos, Mertesacker, Jenkinson and Chamberlain)

Arteta has fitted into our midfield like he has been playing with us for year this is no doubt due to his vast experience in the premier league with Everton. He has also not yet played with Wilshere so he looks a steal for the amount we paid.

Cock Up of the year: 2^nd Half vs Newcastle (4-4) (Other nominations: Squillaci and Almunia vs West Brom away, Carling Cup miss kick, Liverpool Home Eboue late Pen 1-1, Liverpool Home Miquel/Ramsey O.G. 0-2 and Olympiacos 2^nd goal away’

Well there have been quite a few Cock ups. However due to a red card, Phil Dowd having a mare of a game (So his usually self) we managed to let a four goal lead slip in the second half. Thanks to that afternoon I still can’t be 100% Arsenal will see a game out no matter how big the lead.

Best Sale: Nasri (Other nominations: Clichy, Eboue, Traore, Fabregas)

I going to be honest I liked Nasri in a Arsenal shirt however after some very average performance during the end of last season to get £24 million for a money grabbing player who we would of lost for nothing a year later is a good deal. Thanks City and Enjoy the bench and the Europa League Na$ri

Most Improved- Koscielny (Walcott, Song, Szczesny, Ramsey)

Also known as Mr Consistent Koscielny has become one of the best centre backs in the league he has handled the likes of Messi, Dzeko, Aguero and Mata sometimes with ease. He has made a couple of mistakes but this is to be expecting especially in his 1^st season at Arsenal and he has now earned a call up for the French national team and he himself has said he is surprised at his rapid rise.  I am sure he will become one of the Premier League best in 2012 and years to come.

Star of 2012- A.O. Chamberlain (Other nominations- Frimpong, Gervinho, Coquelin, Afobe, Ryo and Jenkinson)

When we first signed Chamberlain people were saying he is just yet enough young player when we needed something better however now I am sure these people will be the ones wanted him to be in the 1^st team more often. However much I want Chamberlain to be ripping up the Premier League I feel that he gets thrown in at the right time and I am sure this will come in 2012 when he can conquer the 1^st team and maybe even an England call up.

 So I wish you a very happy 2012 and let’s hope it’s a year to remember for the Gunners.

And I leave you with this.......

MATCH REPORT v Wolves [h]. 27/12/11

Let us start from the beginning: This was the first game I’d been to by myself. I left my dad’s house in south London, got on a train to Highbury & Islington (north London) and didn’t see or hear a single Wolves fan. I walked along the famous, brilliant and long Holloway Road; I still couldn’t see or hear any Wolves fans. I hung around outside for a bit when I got to the Emirates, went inside, found my seat in the lower tier of the Clock End, and there they were, Wolves fans!

The game kicked off. I still couldn’t hear any Wolves fans.

The game started as any home game does when Arsenal kick off, the fans started singing and our players each got a few touches of the ball before moving forward. Standard.  The chants roared on and The Gunners quickly got into their flow.

I still heard nothing from the Wolves fans.

Eight minutes in and Wolves were on the attack, only to be stopped in their tracks, the ball was worked to Yossi Benayoun who spotted Gervinho’s well-timed run and put him clean through. Here is when I panicked; I’ve always seen Gervinho as someone who does TOO MUCH when he has the ball. For instance: run, run, run, run, clean through, run, run, run, pass, attack over. So at this point when the big headed Ivorian was one-on-one with Iker Casillas Wayne Hennessey I thought to myself “shit, he’s going to pass or run backward, or something.” I was wrong; he gave me even more of a reason to panic when he decided to go take the ball away from Buffon Hennessey. That’s when I thought “He’s gonna mess it up.” But no, he scored! One nil to The Arsenal, we were all cheering, jumping around, chanting unnecessarily harsh taunts at the opposition fans such as “we pay your benefits!!!” etc.

Silence from the Wolves fans, still.

And that’s when The Emirates turned into complacency central. We created a few half-chances and Van Persie even proved that he didn’t need to pull his leg back cannon a shot towards goal from the edge of the box – which Peter Schmeichel Wayne Hennessey tipped past the post. Another half-chance came when Van Persie was brought down on the edge of the Wanderer’ box, but Arteta decided it would be a good idea to dink the ball into the arms of Hennessey. The Wolves fans were still silent, and that’s when me and the rest of the fans in my section started chanting “WE FORGOT, WE FORGOT, WE FORGOT THAT YOU WERE HERE! WE FORGOT THAT YOU WERE HEEEEEEERE!!!”

Ten seconds later we concede a corner and eventually, a goal (good header from Fletcher, though). 

Now I can hear the Wolves fans, and for the last six or seven minutes Wolves pushed and pushed, and their fans sang and sang. I wouldn’t say the game was turned on its head as the half drew to a close, but it had changed in Wolves’ favour, until about a minute towards the end we seemed to be hurrying the ball forwards, as if there were seconds of the second half. Half time, Wolves fans fell silent again.

The second half kicked off and we looked the stronger side throughout the half, apparently Tommy V got booked in the midst of all the havoc we were causing their defence – must have missed it. My excuse for missing the booking is as follows: There was a fat ginger Wolves fan looking at me, had to double check he wasn’t cursed or something. We had a couple of penalty shouts, both of which I participated in, neither of which I saw.

Throughout the game I noticed several things:

1)      Van Persie snatched at a lot of his chances, a bad day at the office is bound to occur, even to the best striker in Europe, but can we really allow that with cabbages like Chamakh and Park in reserve? No. Spend some money.

2)      Yossi Benayoun is a fighter, I like that. We need more players like him, just younger and more talented (not saying he lacks talent, but we can afford better). Spend some money, and buy Yossi before his loan runs out.

3)      Arshavin and Chamakh’s introduction had about as much effect on the game as I did singing (and swearing in frustration) from the other end of the stadium. Replace them, to do that, you need to spend some money.

4)      Wolves’ players and fans lack etiquette. Not as bad as Stoke Rugby Club, but still.

5)      Arsenal fans are hilarious but very cruel, singing “WE PAY YOUR BENEFITS” to the Wolves fans. I get EMA, so everyone contributes to my benefits. I’ll bare that in mind next time I chant that at a poor person.

6)      Djourou thinks he can take it past whoever he likes, when he really can’t. He is no adequate replacement for Sagna and to be fair, neither is Jenkinson. Spend some money.

7)      Vermaelen was brilliant at left-back, but he’s sensational at centre-back. We need cover for Santos. Spend some money, and sell injury-prone Gibbs whilst you’re at it, Arsene.

8)      Wayne Hennessey decided to emulate some of the greatest ever goalkeepers.

This is slowly becoming tedious so I’ll cut a long story short. We drew a game we needed to win, we waste more chances than we create, our fans are better than Wolves’ fans. Arshavin is shit. Chamakh is worse. Djourou is cocky and has silly hair. So what next for The Gunners, with Robin in need of a rest, but three goals away from breaking a record, what’s Arsene gonna do? But more importantly, how will the team perform against QPR on Saturday?

Oh and on the journey home I saw a man wearing boots with ski-socks poking out, his trousers were tucked into his ski-socks. He was not wearing an Arsenal shirt, thankfully.

Follow me on Twitter: @MylesBurrell – tweet me your thoughts on this post, or leave a comment below.

Faith

After all the news and worry about players Arsenal football club could sign,it would now appear our lasminute.com players have started too look real quality buys.
I will be the first to say that Mertersacker has made some mistakes but at least he provides strong competition for places in the back four,
Gerviniho is starting too look a great buy he still needs time and appears to be a touch or two away from becoming a great player;his positioning and movement on and off the ball is great,he looks like he understands the "Arsenal Way" to play football.
We look now to have real depth in places all over the pitch,
Arteta, I believe has helped ramsey develop more as a playermand our hero Jack Wilshere looks like he is itching to play with this team,we all know that RVP is loving football with the current squad it would appear that the recent additions to the squad have breathed some life into our dutch super star!
Yet people still seem too think we need more talent the truth is can you really ever have to much talent? I guess the answer is no.
But given the summer, to much talent is a curse at Arsenal,it means your time in the red side of london is nearing its end,and a big money move is around the corner!
I don't think our dutch superstar is considering a move away just yet,instead I would think he is praying every night to stay fit for the Arsenal.
If Arsenal were to recruit more talent then the names we have already been linked with would be great additions to our squad,I don't think we are as desperate as the papers like to make out for a "top signing",are we?
Already this season "top"players have shown very poor form for heavy investments,when the fact is on a shoe string budget Wenger has bought players that are putting in great performances,it feels like we have genuine match winners on the pitch now,and with Diaby coming back to the squad, we suddenly have more depth in midfield.
There are a lot of Diaby haters out there,and I hear you,but if the guy stay's fit,he could turn out to be some player,would you dare doubt Le Boss?? For me if AW rates him he is a talent.
Things are really looking up for the Gunners,yes there is a lot of football to be played,but 5 games into this season where did you see us?the staff have really turned it around,
The only bad news has been talk of Le Boss moving on,I feel this is a topic for another blog,but in this writers opinion.....off where??what huge team would want a guy who doesn't spend big,and isn't used to mega stars in the dressing room?!I think AW and Arsenal are a match made in heaven,the future is looking good,start getting your hopes up Gooners!!!
Ryan (@Ryanvr46 )

Arsenal Player Ratings vs Norwich

Arsenal Player Ratings vs Norwich

Szczesny- 6
Koscielny-7
Mertesacker- 6
Vermaelen- 7.5
Santos- 7
Ramsey-7.5
Arteta- 7.5
Song-6
Walcott-9
v.Persie- 9
Gervinho-6.5

Pessimistic Gooners

Pessimistic Gooners
Why does it seem so hard to write about our great club when things are going well?

We are in a great run of form; RVP has for me made it clear he is a gunner to the soul ,Tommy V is back and LK looks awesome and suddenly all Wengers talk at the beginning of the season about having to many good CB is starting to ring true.
LE BOSS has done it again tricked us all we have suddenly depth in most positions and still our super star JW is out.  (he should start training again Mid-December.)

Yet I sit here and none of these facts stick in my mind no for me all that sticks out is why did silent Stan go to the training ground to see the players? and what did he say?
Being totally honest with you, I miss the days when the only names of people related to the club that fans knew were 11 players, a few subs and the manager.
Since that easy jet flight over Chelsea and the dopey looking russian buying Chelsea from a bird’s eye view, It seems everyone is interested in who runs the club, who pays the bills, who decides on a revenue stream and who makes the tea!

This has become the norm so much that it often dominates the sports headlines more than the results in fact I'm starting to think that the result is the last bit of news behind, the owner, who slept with who and the reaction when he was substituted etc!

For me the best owners for a football club are the ones no one knows, the ones who keep their mouth shut and pay the bills. I know "silent Stan" isn't our owner, but he is as good as ,yet even being silent has landed him in trouble with us,

It’s a funny old world they always say in a way I feel for Stan it can't be easy. I mean sure we make him more money than any other investment he has made in the world of sport and yes we complain about high prices but we haven't given him the right to remain silent.

What worries me most though is still the idea of him turning up to the training ground some have said maybe he was saying hello, some say he was showing he cares, but surely if he cares he would talk to us the fans? Just to give us some idea that he understands what we are going through, I would even settle for some cheesy Hollywood line like "we are all in this together" or anything!
For me none of the above fit, I feel it was all a publicity stunt the timing for me was to "american" it was too "the press are there,you best be"  maybe we have all got it wrong, but for me it feels like a takeover like the final slap in the face for Usamov and Dein.
Stan turning up too mark his territory showing he can go anywhere and that the players are his/
This is the news that all us pessimistic gooners have been waiting for finally something to worry about!

Ryan.

Arsenal Player Ratings vs West Brom

Arsenal Player Ratings vs W.B.A

Szczesny- 6.5
Jenkinson- 7.5
Koscielny-7
Vermaelen- 8
Santos- 6.5
Ramsey-7.5
Arteta- 7.5
Song-7.5
Walcott-6.5
v.Persie- 9
Gervinho-6.5