Tag Archives: She Wore

History rewritten but the majesty of Arsenal never in doubt

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘Royal Arsenal – Champions of the South’

I’ve mostly shied away from historical books about the Arsenal over the years, simply because they have always seemed to be rehashes of what is generally accepted to be the timeline of how our wonderful club came to be in existence.

But the revelatory pages of ‘Royal Arsenal – Champions of the South’ tell a different story to what has already been written — and how! In this treasure, no stone has been left unturned to shed light on various anomalies and the major findings unearthed well and truly set this book apart from what has been gone before.

Examples of the exhaustive research baring fruit include the correction to the hitherto acceptance of the circumstances surrounding the notion that Nottingham Forest gave Arsenal their first set of red shirts; a significant update of how the club turned professional in 1891, and how the name Royal Gun Factory FC may have been more apposite than Royal Arsenal FC (the latter being chosen to “represent the whole factory on the football field”). The location of the initial Dial Square FC game is also revealed, while my favourite link (tenuous though it is) to the club in the book concerns a certain Isambard Kingdom Brunel!

I suspect, like I did, readers will find the chapter entitled ‘Success’ particularly interesting, especially the details of an historical 10-1 massacre of Tottenham in 1889 that “so traumatised” the lily-livered opponents that the teams did not meet again until 1896!

The writers (Arsenal historians, Mark Andrews and Andy Kelly, along with editor Tim Stillman) have succeeded in presenting enlightening historical information (borne out of an almost forensic examination of mothballed facts) in an engaging style; a happy balance between statistics and narrative can be difficult to attain but, hats off, they have the measure spot on.

If you were ever in doubt about the majesty of the mighty Gunners, those uncertainties will be banished good and proper once you have read ‘Royal Arsenal – Champions of the South’. For anyone with more than a passing interest in the Arsenal this is a fascinating tome.

Patrick Barclay, the chairman of The Football Writers’ Association, argues that “historians are the lifeblood of football” and, thanks to the diligent work in this Arsenal archive, the club’s magnificent history may well live forever.

Far be it for me to tell you how to please friends or family of the Arsenal faith at Christmas, but I can at least suggest you don’t look too far beyond this blockbuster.

Up the Gunners!

Arsenal Historians, Mark Andrews and Andy Kelly, along with editor Tim Stillman, uncover how Royal Arsenal grew to become the Champions of the South – encapsulating the football lives of the founders, players, administrators and supporters of the forerunners of The Arsenal Football Club.

Along the way, this hard back book chronicles how the football club emerged as an offshoot of the Dial Square cricket club, which was established after the 1886 cricket season had ended to keep the men occupied. The location of the initial Dial Square game is revealed, how the supporters responded to their team, and we reveal the club’s first programme writer – a very well-known late Victorian era poet.

The real story of how Royal Arsenal became professional is a fascinating tale of how working men repelled the rapacious landlord of their ground, and at the same time, put one over the old boys’ network who ran the local Football Associations. A history of intrigue, underhand dealings, drunkenness  and sham-ateurism in Victorian era Plumstead.

Their book Royal Arsenal: Champions of the South is available to buy from Legends Publishing.

CARL ELDRIDGE

Bromance of Arsenal strikers

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When he joined in January, there was plenty of talk that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  was a disruptive influence.

There was talk that his arrival would cause friction with between the Gabonese striker and the man bought in the summer, Alexandre Lacazette. That two players competing for one position, and one with the ego of Aubameyang, would result in the French striker being unhappy and leaving.

Calling Aubameyang a disruptive influence with an ego was basically lazy journalism.

They saw a young black man with spiky hair and tattoos who liked sports cars and jackets and assumed he had a massive ego, without really knowing the player. It was labelling, the same we see with Raheem Sterling.

Every multi millionaire footballer has a top of the range car, usually more than one, but it seems only certain players are criticised for it. Usually young black players.

They also claimed he was a disruptive influence. But there had no evidence of it. Just hearsay. Even though those that knew him, or were close to the Dortmund set up debunked the rumours. They said he had a couple of issues over the years arriving late for training after visiting Milan or Paris, but that was all.

He was a team mate. A jolly character who bought people together.

The press ignored the facts and wrote their stories for hits, clicks and advertising revenue.

Instead of competing against each other, seeing each other as rivals creating friction, Aubameyang and Lacazette have actually struck up a bromance, and it should not be a surprise to anyone.

Aubameyang and Lacazette were born just two years apart, they are both in their late 20s adjusting to life in a new country.

Lacazette was born in Lyon, France, spending his entire life in the French city prior to moving to Arsenal. Aubameyang meanwhile is much more travelled in his career.

Aubameyang’s career has taken him from Italy, to France, then Germany and now England. What is often forgotten about is that whilst he plays for Gabon he was actually born in Laval, France.

He lived in France for 17 years before moving to Italy to join AC Milan’s youth set up. They then loaned him back to French clubs before selling him to Saint-Étienne in 2011.

He is the son of former Gabonese captain Pierre Aubameyang, but is as much French as he is Gabonese.

Like Aubameyang, Lacazette is also from a French immigrant family. His family originate from Guadeloupe.

Lacazette is the youngest of 4 brothers, Aubameyang the youngest of 3.

So here you have two men of similar age, both bought up in France to immigrant families, both the youngest children, both living in London for the first time. Is it really a surprise that they are drawn to each other, seeing themselves as friends rather than rivals?

They clearly socialise together, and their off the pitch connection came through during the game against Cardiff on Sunday where they linked up well.

Playing the pair up front together, at the sacrifice of either Mesut Ozil or Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an exciting option.

Keenos

Match Report: Cardiff 2 – 3 Arsenal

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Cardiff City (1) 2 Arsenal (1) 3
Premier League
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Sunday, 2nd September 2018. Kick-off time: 1.30pm

(4-2-3-1) Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal; Guendouzi, Xhaka; Ramsey, Özil; Aubemeyang, Lacazette.
Substitutes: Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Torreira, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Welbeck, Leno.
Scorers: Mustafi, Aubemeyang, Lacazette.

Yellow Cards: Bellerin, Guendouzi, Monreal, Xhaka.
Referee: Anthony Taylor

Attendance: 32,316

The last occasion that we were in South Wales for a Premiership match was back on 30th November 2013, when two goals from Cardiff City alumnus Aaron Ramsey (along with Mathieu Flamini) sent The Bluebirds packing with a confident 3-0 victory to the Londoners; of course, as we know, history has also linked our two clubs because of the incident in our first FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on St. George’s Day 1927. If you can stand the angst of a painful Arsenal cup final defeat, the grainy footage is available on YouTube; be my guest. In modern times, however, the city has been kind to us; out of four cup finals at the Milennium Stadium we have lost only once, so the omens for today are good.

With the sprightly and youthful Alex Iwobi absent through illness for this Sunday lunch-time kick-off in sunny Caerdydd, we applaud the return of Mesut Özil finally reclaiming his rightful place in the midfield area, and also the appearance of our top bandits for the first time in this campaign, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette which certainly had the necessary ingredients to whet the appetite of our travelling band of loyal and enthusiastic supporters.

In the explosive cauldron of Cardiff City Stadium, the first half started in a very lively manner indeed with the home side attempting to capitalise on one or two early errors from Petr Cech which thankfully came to nothing. After eleven minutes, a superb Granit Xhaka corner was powered into the back of the Cardiff net by Shkrodan Mustafi – a well-taken header that obviously had its origins on the training ground last week. Now the rollercoaster starts. Both defences were found wanting, none more so than the home side’s. Alexandre Lacazette hit the post on 33 minutes, and before half-time we were quite wasteful at times when we should have been more clinical in front of their goal. Such frustration leads to mistakes, and in injury time of the first half, Cardiff City equalised after a series of dreadful errors in our defence.

After the break, we came out fighting, and we gained control of the match. After a Shkrodan Mustafi header that was brilliantly saved by the Cardiff goalie, a moment of true brilliance happened. With 61 minutes on the clock, Mesut Özil slotted the ball through to Alexandre Lacazette, who flicked it on to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored with some aplomb. A contender for goal of the season already! Our joy was short lived, when eight minutes later, they equalised when confusion reigned yet again in the Arsenal six-yard box. The last twenty minutes of the match was a frenetic dash for another goal by both sides; the matter was decided by an incredible solo effort by Alexandre Lacazette nine minutes from time that saw all three points go back to North London on a day that was truly a breathtaking contest between two very entertaining sides.

A corner was definitely turned today, with some remarkable performances, none more so of course, than Alexandre Lacazette, whose intelligent and unselfish play was at times, unbelivable. Our defence, individually, is okay; but collectively, is shaky at best. Mr. Emery needs to dedicate time to ensure their cohesion, as this will be a problem area when we play our rivals over the course of the season. Mesut Özil, it has to be said, played very well today, and was conducting proceedings in the manner that we all know that he can; let’s hope that he grows under the new regime and he finds confidence in his role in midfield. The unsung hero in our team is most definitely Mattéo Guendouzi; this 19-year-old midfielder is a confident, pivotal player who has a bright future at the club, and like 22-year-old Lucas Torreira, will propel Arsenal Football Club to greater glories over the next few years. Exciting days ahead for us all. Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as these early days are going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.