Tag Archives: Arsenal

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon – 1 day to go

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Tomorrow is Christmas Day. Tomorriw is Hanukkah. Tomorrow is Diwali. Tomorrow is Eid. Tomorrow is Guru Nanak’s birthday. Tomorrow is your birthday. The FA Cup Final is every celebration, and more. It is the most important day in the English football calender. It is the day hero’s are made. And I am absolutely buzzing.

It has been 9 years since our last trophy. 9 painful years. 9 years filled with near misses and not so near misses. To say it has been tough to have been an Arsenal fan is an understatement. And the 9 trophyless have led to divisions within the fanbase, fights on the terraces, disagreements between friends. But all that is forgotten tomorrow. As the most important thing is the Red & White. The Arsenal.

The FA Cup Final has a massive place in the heart of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. As fans will know, the blog is based on the Arsenal song of the same name. The name of the blog came about by an agreement by the message board users at the time when they were forced to move network due to Sky. And how we have grown since then – thanks to all the readers / contributors.

Anyway, back to tomorrow. Buzzing. Yes, the magic of the cup has been lost a bit. I miss the days when the entire week leading up to the cup focused on the two teams involved. The TV coverage starting early on a Saturday, interview players by the pool of whatever sunny destination they went to for a pre-cup training camp. Following the players from their hotel, onto the coach to the ground. The ‘Road to the FA Cup Final’ montage. Red and white flags, balloons, bunting, on almost every house in Islington. 3pm KICK OFF. Sadly things change.

The press – unsurprisingly – are already digging Arsenal out. Having a go at us for organising the bus parade on the Sunday. Yes, it might look cringey, but the fact is, due to red tape, you must organise road closures in advance and warn residents. I work in Twickenham, and the yellow signs indicating road closures  before a rugby international go up about 10 days before.

Hull City also have plans for an FA Cup Final parade. There signs are also up, but where is the press commenting on them? They aren’t, because in reality, Hull City are not a story, they do not sell papers.

It is not just Arsenal though, the press have previously ran similar stories on Chelsea and Manchester City. The fact is, if you are a successful club, a club worth writing about, the press will write about you. So ignore it.

As for the bus, that is an indication of the world we live in, where everyone with a smart phone is now a private investigator. A journalist. The bus would have always had to have been prepared in advance. Only now, it is easy to take a picture and stick it up on twitter.

As for everyone wanting Hull to win (bar Arsenal fans), this is normal. It is not a bias against Arsenal. Last year, we all wanted Wigan Athletic to win. When it comes to football, the neutral will always supports the underdog, so do not fret about it.

Rant over. Let’s focus on tomorrow. Enjoy yourself, have a few beers before, and hopefully have a part after. Back the team for 90 minutes (or 120 minutes and penalties if that’s whats needed) and remember, we are The Arsenal. Back the boys in red and white.

Keenos

Arsenal v Hull – FA Cup Final Facts

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1) This year will be Arsenal’s 18th FA Cup Final, equalling the record of Manchester United.

2) If Arsenal win the FA Cup, it will be the 11th time they have won the trophy, equalling the record of Manchester United.

3) Arsenal played at the old Wembley Stadium 41 times, a record. This will be Arsenal’s 45th visit to Wembley (both incarnations), equalling the record of Manchester United.

4) Of the 10 FA Cup victories for Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has won 4 of them. Victory bring his personal haul up to 5.

5) If Arsenal win the FA Cup this year, Arsene Wenger will become the 2nd most successful FA Cup Manager, alongside Alex Ferguson (Manchester United – 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004) and Thomas Mitchell (Blackburn Rovers – 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890, 1891). Only George Ramsay (Aston Villa – 1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920) has won more.

6) Arsenal’s FA Cup Final record under Arsene Wenger reads : P 5 W 4 L 1 F 6 A 2

7) Arsenal have kept clean sheets in each of their last 3 FA Cup finals.

8) Arsenal have a 100% record when it comes to penalty shot outs in FA Cup finals.

Keenos

 

Arsenal Fans: Keep Calm The Seasons Not Over

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The league season had barely concluded 24 hours before, an FA Cup final still to come, still to prepare for, but it has already started, the madness of summer transfers.

We are SheWore have not even started our A to Z of Transfer Speculation, where we usually start logging every player we are linked to, starting a month before the window opens. And yet, the craziness has begun. Not in the players we have already been linked to (although in a single day, we were linked to 10 players, and that was before the season had ended), but in the impatience of fans.

Reports are Liverpool have big for Adam Lallana, the Manchester United have bid for Luke Shaw, that Chelsea have agreed a deal for Diego Costa and, despite this being little more than paper talk, and Arsenal have an FA Cup final to prepare for, fans of the club are already questioning why we have not signed anyone.

CALM THE FUCK DOWN, THE SEASON IS NOT YET OVER.KEEP CALM

Yes, business can be done early, and it has its benefits – allowing a player to get a full pre-season under his belt with his new club being the main one. And yes, Arsene Wenger was wrong when he said reportedly said “Big deals are impossible to be completed before the World Cup” (The real quote is “in a World Cup year, it [business] has never been done early,”), but completing your deals early, and before a World Cups is also fraught with danger.

A perfect example is with Manchester United. In 2007, they did their business early, signing Anderson, Nani, Hargreaves and Kuszczak by July 2nd. Whilst they actually had a successful year that year (League and Champions League double) the 4 players they signed have been relative flops.

You then get the injury factor. Imagine we go and agree the deal for Julian Draxler for £37.5m tomorrow. He then plans in the World Cup, picks up a knee cruciate ligament injury, and is out for 12-18 months. We would be wondering why we signed a player before the World Cup.

Yes, there is business to potentially be done before the World Cup, but it will always be a bit of a risk, and anyway, our season is not over yet.

As for the players that our rivals are linked with Lallana, Shaw & Costa, would I even want Arsenal to be in for them? The answer is no.

Adam Lallana is a player I have liked for a long time, due to a friend being a Southampton fan and never shutting up about him, even when playing in League One. But lets look at things. In his position, we have Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey & Jack Wilshere. Two players are infinitely better than Lallana and the third, Jack Wilshere, is 4 years his junior and, were it not for another injury hit season, would also be considered superior.

People also seem to be getting confused over Lallana’s age. A lot of talk is about him being a rookie in the England squad. Whilst this is correct, it is wrong to lump him in with Sterling, Barkley and Stones. Adam Lallana is 26. He is older than Mesut Ozil. Add in Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky, where would the sense be in spending £25m, early, on Adam Lallana. Keep calm Arsenal fans!

Diego Costa is a player I simply do not rate. Yes, he has had an electric season this year, but it is his first year of doing anything special. Before this season, he had never scored more than 10 league goals in a single campaign.

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Whilst Costa’s record is slightly better than both Negrado’s and Soldado, it is not massively. Considering how these two have struggled in the Premier League, a £35m deal for Diego Costa is over priced. It is £10m more than what Spurs paid for Soldado, and £20m more than what Manchester City paid for Negrado. It is a massive outlay for a one season wonder.

As for Luke Shaw, his talent is not in doubt. Whoever he joins, he will be their 1st choice left back for potentially 15 years. A high price (reportedly £27million) for an 18 year old full back, it is justified if he remains at the club for a long period. And even if he does not, he will have sell on value. However, despite saying this, Arsenal have Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal. It would be gross misconduct if we competed for Luke Shaw. Spending £27m in a position which is perhaps our strongest in depth, a long side attacking midfield.

Gibbs especially is a class full back. Had he not once more been hampered with injuries, it would have been him, and not Luke Shaw, on the plane to Brazil. Whilst Shaw’s talent is not in doubt, Arsenal certainly do not need a £27m left back. Now if he could play right back…

So calm down Arsenal fans. We have an FA Cup to play for. We will do business this summer, so stop getting your knickers in a twist that we are not currently bidding for players that we do not need.

Keep calm, the seasons not over.

Keenos