Yearly Archives: 2015

Spurs getting a bit excited – Again

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That lot down the road love doing it to themselves don’t they.

Rather than understand their standing in football, as a small side who sit 15th on the list of League titles won, alongside the likes of Burnley and Portsmouth, they just keep getting excited.

“This is our year”

“We are title contenders”

“Arsenal mind the gap”

They have not won the league in nearly 55 years. Not won the FA Cup in nearly 25 years. And not finished above The Arsenal in over 20 years.

And this year we have it again. There fans are getting all gooey and excited as they are they are on the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League. 10 games.

So great is the run that they are on, they are only 1 game behind matching their all time Premier League record. Although they are some way behind the Premier League record of 49 set by The Arsenal.

So they are getting excited. 10 Games unbeaten. Do they get a trophy for that?

On the Premier League website, however, they are not even top of the form guide table. Guess who that go’s too? Yep. You guessed it. The Arsenal.Untitled

Even during one of the greatest periods of Spurs Premier League history, they are still below The Arsenal.

And in the league proper, despite them being in such great form, they sit 5th. 5 points off top. 5 points off The Arsenal.

It does not matter which way you look at it. Spurs are still in Arsenal’s shadow.

And in this great run, who have they actually played? There two most recent victories were against Bournemouth & Aston Villa. 2 of the worst teams in the league. In fact, 4 of their 5 wins this season (great form they are in, won 5 in 11) have been against Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Sunderland & Crystal Palace. My Thursday night 5 a side team at Chingford Goals could beat them.

Spurs are frankly not a very good team.

The press crow over them (or mainly ex Spurs manager Harry Redknapp in the Evening Standard & Spurs season ticket Mihir Bose in the Evening Standard). The way they go on about Spurs young Englishmen is embarrassing.

I saw an article the other weeks saying that the England squad for next years Euro’s could contain 7 Spurs ‘stars’. Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Andros Townsend, Ryan Mason & Harry Kane.

If that is the best that England have to offer, I might as well cancel my annual leave for June 2016 now. There really is no point going.

I always find it laughable the way any half decent Spurs player is the future of English football. Andros Townsend scores 1 cracking goal, against Montenegro, 2 years ago, and it still considered as one of England’s brightest young talents. He is 24.

Tom Carroll is another. Been bigged up in a massive way by the press. Spurs fans saying he has the potential to be better than Jack Wilshere. He is only 4 months younger than Wilshere!

And Alex Pritchard. Spurs fans have been talking about him for a while now. He spent last year on loan at Brentford. Has 2 Premier League appearances to his name. And is older than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

It is a bit of a joke really!

Spurs really are the joke of English football. The gift that keeps on giving. They brighten up most of our Saturday evenings. And who doesn’t love seeing a kid cry knowing that due to his father’s decision’s, it will not be the only time he cries over football. And his kids too. And there kids as well.

A generation of Spurs fans not knowing what it is like to finish above The Arsenal. Generations of Spurs fans not knowing what is like to win they league.

For a small club on the Middlesex/London borders, they do get a little too excited.

Spurs, the Newcastle of London.

Keenos

Munich defeat – Embarrassing or Acceptable?

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So it was what we all predicted. We went to Munich. And we got spanked.

Many would claim it was an embarrassment. And to an extent it was. It reminded me of Arsenal’s early days in the Champions League where we lost to the likes of Lens & Dynamo Kyiv. A 4-2 home defeat to Barcelona at Wembley sticks out in the memory as an awful European night.

Over recent years, we have got used be systematically taken apart by top teams in Europe. Barcelona (a few times), Munich (a few times), AC Milan. We have had some embarrassing nights. It makes you wonder why people spend the cost of a 7 night stay in Sharm el-Sheikh on a 24 hour stay in Europe with no hotel room.

So 5-1. For me, it does not change much. I expected us to lose. I knew we would be relying on Munich getting a result against Olympiakos in the next round of games. And then us having to beat them by 2 clear goals in Greece. That scenario has not changed.

Whilst it is a result that will send shock waves throughout Europe, it is one that Arsenal should not feel too downhearted about.

This season already Bayern have spanked:

Dortmund 5-1
Wolfsburg 5-1
Hamburg 5-0

Dinamo Zagreb 5-0

Taking into account that Dortmund currently sit 2nd in the league, Wolfsburg 3rd, you could probably make the case that Bayern Munich are the best team in Europe (speak to Owen Hargreaves, I am sure he would confirm this).

In last years Champions League, they put 7 past Roma in a group stage match. Another 7 past Shakhtar Donetsk in the 1 knock out. And 6 past Porto in the Quarter Final. They scored 4 or more in 10 league games. Including one 8-0 victory and 2 6-0 victories.

And it was only a couple of years ago that they stuck 7 past Barcelona over 2 legs.

Munich have the capability to do to teams what they did to Arsenal last night. I am sure that no matter who they were playing yesterday, they would have have scored a hat full. It is nothing to be ashamed of.

Sometimes you just have to take your hat off and say well done.

This Munich team is so well drilled, with goals able to come from all over the pitch. The goal from their left back Alaba yesterday, appearing at inside right forward, to bend one in the corner. Why was he there?

Arsenal need to dust themselves down, put this defeat down as a nothing defeat that does not change anything, and focus on the important game that is coming up on Sunday.

Losing to Munich will be forgotten about when we thrash Spurs

Keenos

Arsenal set to release £12 million worth of players

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At this end of this season, it seems like Arsenal will continue what they started last summer. Culling the ‘dead wood’ – although I hate this term.

Last year saw Abou Diaby, Ryo Miachi & Lukasz Podolski leave the club. According to the Evening Standard, Arsenal are unlikely to renew the contracts of Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini. All of whom’s current deal’s run out at the end of the season. This will free up nearly £12 million from our yearly wage bill.

Whilst many will say they should have gone a long time ago, all 3 will leave with their heads held high knowing that they helped Arsenal through a tough time in the clubs history.

Some will claim Mikel Arteta was one of Arsene Wenger’s most important signings. Whilst this is a tad of an exaggeration, he joined the club during our darkest hours.

Clichy, Fabregas, Eboue & Nasri had just left. Arsenal had only signed two first team players – Gervinho & a young Oxlade-Chamberlain. We had just lost 8-2 to Manchester United. The club was in crisis.

On transfer deadline day, Arsenal spent nearly £30 million bringing in 5 players.

We needed calm, experienced heads. And in Mikel Arteta – and Per Meresacker – that is exactly what we got.

His influence on the club, both on and off the pitch, was there for everyone to see.

On the pitch, he was like a metronome. His ball retention ability was 2nd to none in the league. Whilst he did not have the flair of Nasri, or the creativity of Cesc, he was able to influence the team from deeper, leading many to say it is a pity we did not sign him sooner.

Sacrificing his own attacking instincts, he went back to the defensive role which he played earlier in his career, and he was excellent, if not always ideal.

As captains continued to leave around him, Robin van Persie & Thomas Vermaelen, Arteta became more important off the pitch. He grew into his current role of club captain.

He might not have been a first choice for 18 months now, but a captains job is not just for the 90 minutes on the pitch. Many players have often spoken about Arteta’s role in the dressing room.

Santi Cazorla said “He is always up for whatever the guys need. And that is what a captain has to do: transmitting conviction in order to keep the team together…. Whenever there is a problem he is the one that goes and talks to the manager. He leads this group, so this captaincy is well deserved after his hard work here at Arsenal.”

He is also often found at Hale End with the Arsenal academy taking training sessions, and is the man who makes youngsters welcome when they are invited to train with the first team.

Arteta is a true captain. After the ego captains of Henry, Gallas, Cesc, van Persie & Vermaelen, he was the right choice to get the arm band 18 months ago.

It is just a pity he is not a few years younger, as he would still have an important role to play within the club.

Personally, I would not mind seeing him getting a contract extension. He is clearly influential off the pitch, and he could fill a role that the likes of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes did at Manchester United. Guiding other players through the early stages of their career and ensuring squad unity.

I would not be surprised to see Mikel Arteta become a very successful manager in the future.

Tomas Rosicky joined Arsenal in 2006. After a brilliant World Cup, where in my opinion he was the 2nd best player on show after Kaka, he had just been made captain of the Czech Republic. I was excited about his signing after having first seen him at Dortmund.

This was a player who had the talent to fill Robert Pires’ boots. To become a World Class player.

Sadly, injuries damaged his career.

A mysterious injury in 2008 saw him make no appearances for the club in 2008/09. However, his contribution to the club is certainly not to be sniffed at.

Memorable goals against Spurs showed his talent. He was just unable to put together a run of games.

I was very surprised (as was he) when Arsenal decided to take up the option of renewing his contract for a further year this summer. It was clear he was surplus to requirements, and wanted out to seek regular football elsewhere in the twilight of his career.

Was his contract only extended to ensure there was a friendly face at the club in our pursuit for Cech? If so, it is a years salary well spent.

He Resigned for 12 months, and has since been injured. It is the tale of his Arsenal career.

Like Rosicky, Mathieu Flamini nearly left in the summer.

Moves to turkey were mooted, and then turned down. Whether this was Flamini wanting to stay and fight for his place in the team, or the club realising that he made Mesut Ozil happy, and Mesut Ozil’s happiness was more important than saving a few million, only the club know.

What is for certain is the two goals he scored against Spurs will write him into Arsenal folk lore.

It is amazing to think that if Flamini does move on this summer, he would have been transferred 4 times during his career. All on a free transfer.

On his return to the club, he was good for the first season. Providing the legs and energy that Arteta was perhaps unable to.

Imagine a Flamini / Arteta hybrid, 10 years younger. It would be the perfect defensive midfielder.

After his first year, it was clear Flamini was no longer good enough. Arsenal needed more than someone who could just ‘run around a little bit’. The defensive midfielder saw the ball more than any other player in a red and white shirt. They needed to be able to pass. And that was Flamini’s weakness. He was not a very good technical footballer.

His demise is mirrored by Francis Coquelin’s rise. Coquelin was as close to a hybrid as we could get. He has the legs and energy of Flamini, but can also play. He showed in a few games around 12 months ago everything Arsenal was missing. Everything that both Flamini and Arteta could not do.

Flamini did a job for 12 months, and then picked up a wage for 24 months. He clearly still has the passion to play, and could still perform at a mid table side in England or France. Arsenal should thank him for his contribution and let him depart.

The money that letting these 3 leavIng free’s up essentially means that Arsenal could go out and add a World Class talent to the squad, an Ozil or Sanchez, without the wage bill increasing. Of course, this relies on us spending, but that’s another blog.

All 3 have played a key part in Arsenal’s history. Whether it is a single game or a season. We should all wish them well.

Keenos