Category Archives: Arsenal

The Curse of The Arsenal Captain

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Over the there have been a few curses on Arsenal Football Club.

We have The Curse of The Arsenal Number 9, which stretches back into the last millennium. Under Arsene Wenger, no one who has worn the number 9 shirt at Arsenal has ever really prospered for a long period of time. Paul Merson, Nicolas Anelka, Davor Suker, Francis Jeffers, Jose Antonio Reyes, Julio Baptista, Eduardo, Park Chu-Young and Lukas Podolski. All either failed at the club under Wenger, or were shipped out within a couple of seasons. Current holder of the shirt is Lucas Perez. The Curse of The Arsenal Number 9 has not yet been broken.

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Then we have The Curse of The Invincibles. When you sell your soul to the devil for a donut, you pay a hefty price. No matter how tasty that donut is, you are forever cursed, forever owned, by the devil. A special place in hell is waiting for you where you are fed donuts for eternity.

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And that is what Arsenal pretty much did when they went invincible. They sold their soul. Since that glorious day in May 2004, we have failed to win another title. It is as if it took half a century of luck, strength and ability, rolled it all together, into just a single season. Of course, the curse has slightly been chipped away with FA Cup wins, but until we win the Premier League title, the Curse of The Invincibles will continue to grow bigger in folklore.

Will The Curse of The Invincibles end up being like Mayo GAA? They have not won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship since 1951. The story go’s that they will not win another one until every member of the 1951 side is dead. They made the Final this year. Their 5th in 12 seasons. They have lost them all…

Then we come on to The Curse of Aaron Ramsey. We all know how this one go’s. When Aaron Ramsey scores, someone important dies. From Osama bin Laden to Steve Jobs; Whitney Houston to Muammar Gaddafi, Paul Walker, Robin Williams, Richard Attenborough, David Bowie and Alan Rickman. What will it take for Piers Morgan to be added to the list? A hat trick?

It should be of no surprise therefore that over recent years, another curse has attached itself to Arsenal. The Curse of The Arsenal Captain.

 

https://twitter.com/DarrenArsenal1/status/774593620649316353

For an Arsenal captain to have played just 13 games in the last 3 seasons is a shocking statistic.

Current club captain is Per Mertesacker. He is out injured until 2017. With his contract set to expire at the end of the year, talk has already begun that he might return to Hannover 96 on a free in the summer of 2017. A return to his home town club, the city of his birth, to see out his career.

When you add his injury and contract situation, alongside the current form of Laurent Koscielny & Shkodran Mustafi, the development of Rob Holding and the presence of Gabriel, a case could easily be made that we might never see Per Mertesacker in an Arsenal shirt again.

Never playing for Arsenal again is unlikely, but I would be very surprised if, when he does eventually return, he plays another 10 times for the club. He certainly will not make another 10 starts, and will only break in if injuries hit. Even with injuries, Wenger might be tempted to push through Gabriel or Holding, who are much more suited to our current high pressing, defend the half way line, game, than Mertesacker.

So after getting the arm band in the summer, the curse looks likely to hit again.

A little investigation shows this curse has been going on longer than the last 3 seasons. Maybe it will get renamed The Curse of Tony Adams?

Adams captained the club from March 1988 to 2002. 15 seasons as captain. In the next 15 seasons, Arsenal have had 8 captains.

First up was Patrick Vieira. He was long consider heir apparent to Tony Adams. A foreign leader for the foreign legion of Arsenal players. When he became Arsenal captain in 2002, he was 26 and looked set to become an Arsenal legend. He then spent his 3 years at Arsenal engineering a move away from the club before finally being sold in 2005 to Juventus. 3 years as captain.

Next up was Thierry Henry. Given the armband as talisman of the team. The best player, but not necessarily the best captain. He lasted 2 seasons. Then, like Vieira, engineered a move away from the club to Barcelona. Cheers T.

William Gallas was the surprise next choice as Arsenal captain. He was stripped of captaincy after a little more than a year after giving an unauthorised interview where he revealed tensions within the squad which were disruptive to team morale, and suggested that Arsenal’s younger players needed to show more courage if the team were to be successful.

Following up from Gallas was Cesc Fabregas. At the time people felt he maybe got the arm band too early. Barley 2, the argument was that if captain Arsenal young was good enough for Tony Adams, then Cesc could also step up. A young leader for a young team. He last 2 and a bit seasons, going on strike in his last season, heading to the Spanish Grand Prix rather than supporting the team, and buggered off the Barcelona.

It then fell to Robin van Persie to be Arsenal captain. A similar situation to Henry, he was basically given the armband to ensure he stayed at the club when, like with Henry, others around him were leaving. He did stay, for one season, before engineering a move to Manchester United.

Thomas Vermaelen was next in line. He looked an ideal fit. Had been at the club for 3 seasons. Was 26 years old. Was a guaranteed starter. Was an international regular. Was captain of Ajax before he joined us. Was a natural leader. The Arsenal captaincy resulted in injuries and lack of form and 2 years after being given the armband, he was sold to Barcelona.

Vermaelen was replaced by Mikel Arteta. At the time it was a questionable decision. Many pointed to the fact he was already not a 1st team regular. His legs already going. Per Mertesacker was the fans choice in 2014. As captain Arteta started just 6 games. 612 minutes of Premier League football over 2 years. He retired.

Per Mertesacker finally got the armband this summer. An odd decision considering he was already out for the rest of the year injured. And with his contract expiring, likely to leave.

Arsene Wenger should bite the bullet now. Take the armband off Mertesacker and give it to Laurent Koscielny. The Frenchman has grown as a leader this season since the Euro’s. He seems to be revelling in being the senior partner.

Laurent Koscielny should be Arsenal captain, and hopefully break the curse.

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Keenos

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Theo Walcott showing signs of returning to his best

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Fans never like to get on the back on players, but when you get the feeling that someone at your club is playing well within themselves and has so much more to give than they are showing, it is difficult not to feel frustrated or think that they are best off leaving for pastures new. I have previously admitted that I was amongst the many who felt that Theo Walcott should have been moved on in the summer, based on the fact that we were watching a player devoid of any confidence or ability to influence a game in Arsenal colours.

It is easy to forget that this is the same guy who fourteen Premier League goals in thirty-two appearances during the 2012/2013 season when he looked a real player, with searing pace and ability to go past players with ease being a hallmark of everything good about Walcott’s role in the team. Some could argue that he has never been the same since the serious knee injury he picked up at the start of 2014, but it is testament to his character that has proved me and many others wrong by making a real impact this season.

He has been honest enough to admit that he became comfortable at Arsenal and let his game slide away, with a drastic change in attitude in training and matches resulting in five goals in seven games in all competitions as Theo looks a completely different animal. Betway may not consider him to be amongst the leading contenders for the Premier League Golden Boot in the latest football betting odds, but we appear to have the Theo of old back and firing on all cylinders.

The manner in which he dispatched both goals in our comfortable 2-0 win against Basel in the Champions League tells me that missing out on England’s Euro 2016 squad and the threat of being moved on to West Ham has reignited the spark and fire back into his belly to be a real success at Arsenal. A change in mentality and approach has definitely improved his impact on the pitch, but Theo has always been a confidence player; becoming complacent at the Emirates never works out well, but Theo has been mature enough to put things into perspective after two disappointing seasons in which he has barely featured and make big changes that would convince Arsene Wenger that he still has something to offer.

Theo has something to offer alright. Four goals in his last three games has been the result of a player brimming with confidence and a new lease of life, and I for one hope that his excellent start to the season continues. He could more than play a role in Arsenal putting themselves amongst the contenders for the Premier League title, and with big matches to bet on after the international break against Swansea, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, it would come as no surprise to see many fans back the team to win all of them with Betway. All three are more than presentable opportunity if Arsenal are serious about chasing early pacesetters Manchester City, and although there is a long way to go in the season, it is great to see Theo bounce back from the brink and show the qualities that we all know he has

Some Burnley thoughts

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Win when playing poorly is the sign of Champions

That is what would have been written if it was Man City, Man U, Spurs, Liverpool or Chelsea. But this is Arsenal. And the media always have an agenda to grind. Instead of a gritty win against a northern outfit who parked the bus, showing our title credentials, the media claimed we were “lucky”, “undeserving” and that we “escaped”.

Let’s call it how it was. The goal did have some elements of luck to it, but isn’t that how you win these type of games? A scrappy goal. In the last second. We never gave up and got our just rewards.

1 nil to the Arsenal without playing well.

premier-league-football-arsenal-burnley-laurent-koscielny_3799672

Remember, Burnley beat Liverpool (who we are above in the league) with the same tactics. They are set up hard to beat. A Sam Allardyce Black or Bolton from yesteryear. They are not pretty, some might say it is clever, but it is dull. Very, very dull.

5 years ago we would have lost yesterday. And the press would have been loving it. Arsenal losing to a small Lancashire club. They would have had a field day. We would have shown once more that we have no title credentials and the same old failings.

Instead, we win, and the press show that they can not change their agenda. So they change the narrative. What perhaps sums up the differing narratives is this tweet about Man U going 1-0 up against a side who were second bottom with 2 points from 6 games…

What Mourinho was what he always does. Bring in £80m worth of talent in the hope an individual makes a difference. They did. But ultimately they drew 1-1. But well done Mourinho.

After a game, Twitter can become a minefield. Fans from both sides grinding an agenda. all shouting for their bit of space. Craving their attention. It is embarrassing. Trying to impress 14 year old boys for RT’s. But where Twitter is brilliant is when fans just tweet from the heart. Taking the piss out of the losers whilst celebrating the winners.

We knew we ground out the win, got a fairly fluky goal in the 92nd minute, but that doesn’t stop us boasting, taking the piss out of Burnley, out of the media. These are two of my favourites:

https://twitter.com/19Wildie/status/782631950653743104

Just a bit of a wandering mind now with some other thoughts:

Spurs v Man City – If you are an Arsenal fan who were happy Spurs won at the weekend as it “got us closer to City”, then you are not an Arsenal fan.

Cows – Fair play to all those fans who still managed to get to the game despite there being cows on the line. Last time we played Burnley, the mini bus broke down outside Coventry and we ended up watching the game in a pub in Coventry whilst it got fixed. Fair play to all who got there. And RIP to the cows.

Wenger’s 20 – No matter if you are a loyal servant, or you now despise the man, we should all be grateful for what he has bought to the club

Embarrassing fans – Why can’t we just all enjoy a win?

https://twitter.com/goonermck/status/782665844140732416

Title challengers – So 7 games gone. A couple of points off top. Some inconsistent performances. We are in the title race.

Shkodran Mustafi – We have a player on our hand. Just 24. He could be at Arsenal for a decade.

Madrid – I’ve just spent the weekend in Madrid. Great weather, cheap beer, cracking birds, and a good time!

 

As we go into the international break, Arsenal are sit pretty in 3rd. We are in the title race. With 3 favourable game’s coming up after the break, we could, no we should, push on. Have a good Monday (I have it off to sober up).

Keenos

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