Bergkampesque

Arsenal v Sheffield United – October 21^st, 2019

The club was formed by members of the Sheffield United Cricket Club, formed in 1854 and the first English sports club to use ‘United’ in its name. Sheffield United’s predominant nickname is “The Blades”, a reference to Sheffield’s status as the major producer of cutlery in the United Kingdom. United’s original nickname was in fact “The Cutlers” from 1889–1912. City rivals Wednesday held the nickname “The Blades” in their early years, however in 1907 Wednesday officially became “The Owls”, in reference to their new ground in Owlerton, and United would later claim “The Blades” nickname for themselves.

Sheffield United officially formed on 22 March 1889 at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield (now the site of the Crucible Theatre) by the President of the Cricket Club Sir Charles Clegg. The Wednesday had moved from Bramall Lane to their own ground at Olive Grove after a dispute over gate receipts and the tenants of Bramall Lane needed to create a new team to generate income. Sir Charles Clegg was incidentally also the president of The Wednesday.

Undoubtedly United’s heyday was the 30-year period from 1895–1925, when they were champions of England in 1897–98 and runners-up in 1896–97 and 1899–1900, and FA Cup winners in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925. United have not won a trophy since 1925, bar those associated with promotion from lower leagues, their best performances in the cup competitions being several semi-final appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup.

Their darkest days came between 1975 and 1981. After finishing sixth in the First Division at the end of the 1974–75 season, they were relegated to the Second Division the following season, and three years after that setback they fell into the Third Division. They reached an absolute low in 1981 when they were relegated to the Fourth Division, but were champions in their first season in the league’s basement division and two years afterwards they won promotion to the Second Division.

On 3 September 2013 it was confirmed that Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of the royal House of Saud had bought a 50% stake in United’s parent company ‘Blades Leisure Ltd’ for the fee of £1 with the promise of providing “substantial new capital” with the aim of returning the Blades to the Premier League as “quickly as possible”.

Since their formation in 1889 United has bounced about the leagues – here is a look at their league history:-

Over the years we have taken a beating at Bramall Lane and as yet we have not beaten them away in the Premier League.

A win will keep us in 3^rd place – will it happen – what do you think?

GunnerN5

I can’t believe football is back. It feels like an age since Luiz rose high in the air to flick home the only goal of the match against Bournemouth. The fixtures from now to the end of the year come thick and fast but OGAAT (One Game At A Time) would continue to prevail. The ‘next’ game is always all important and for us that all important game is a premiership trip to Bramall Lane against 13th placed Sheffield United.

Sheffield is a very clumsy team in the sense that opposition never know how to gauge or engage them. They have lost three of their four matches at home but are yet to lose a single away match. It doesn’t rhyme, does it? They have beaten Everton and drawn with Chelsea both away from home. They narrowly lost to the mighty Liverpool team 0-1 at home courtesy of a howler by their keeper. Obviously, the big teams don’t awe them. If you are still not unsure about who they are, they have conceded only 7 goals, one less than Liverpool who’ve conceded the least.

They lead the league in the long balls and like to stretch the field when in offense. They deliver a lot of crosses and 43% of their attack come from their right flank, our left. I guess Tierney on that our left is very much used to such teams in the Scottish league, with a mix of the seventies and now. Trust Emery to have worked this one out having had the whole interlull to pore through the videos. Tierney is expected to make his premier league debut. With only 18% (the least in the league) of their attack coming from the centre, our central midfielders mightn’t  have much to worry about in terms of their creativity, but Guendouzi and co have to be ready for 90 minutes of sweat. Have you ever heard about hard running and fight?

Now to us. Nobody seems to have figured Emery’s team out. We keep peering, desperate to get to know him and his team. He is so elusive. Should we take him for his word and accept that it’s all about being chameleonic? After wk 8 this is what some vital stats say about the team:

01) Most goals for ————- 6th (5th of big 6) — City 1st (Liv 2nd) in the League.
02) Least goals against——– 9th (4th of big 6) — Liv 1st (Sheffield/Leic 2nd).
03) Most possession ———- 8th (6th of big 6) — City 1st (Liv 2nd).
04) Highest passing accuracy- 8th (6th of big 6) — City 1st (Liv 2nd).
05) Most attempted shots—– 8th (4th of big 6) — City 1st (Chls 2nd).
06) Most shots on target.—— 6th (4th of big 6) — City 1st (Chls 2nd).
07) Least shots conceded —- 18th (6th of big 6) — City 1st (Chls 2nd).
08) Most tackles.————– 8th (4th of big 6) — B’mouth 1st (City 2nd).
09) Most interceptions. ——- 17th (4th of big 6) — B’mouth 1st ( (Chls 2nd).
10) Most dribbles————– 1st (1st of big 6) — Arse 1st (City 2nd).
11) Least unsuccessful touches 14th (5th of big 6) – City 1st (Villa 2nd).
13) Most key passes ———–  6th (4th of big 6) – City 1st (Chls 2nd).
14) Most accurate long balls — 12th (5th of big 6) – Liv 1st (Evert 2nd).
15) Position on the table ——– 3rd (3rd of big 6) – Liv 1st (City 2nd).

These stats are chameleonic (1st, 18th, 6th, 17th, 3rd, …). The mathematics shouldn’t work out 3rd on the table for us. Most of us worry that we might have already exhausted our quota of luck for the season.

It’s a bit curious but during the 22 game unbeaten run last season everybody was saying the same about us having the rub of the green. Can there be more to it than meets the eye? Can it be cunning Emery and his pigments? That would need a lot of convincing and I doubt am ever going to get fond of a chameleon. I love the beasts who vanquish through sheer motor power and elegance. That is not to say that at this moment I wouldn’t bite off the fingers that offers me 3 points at Bramall Lane together with all the pigments in the world. Helpfully our injured players are all back in one go to give us more hope (or is it more pigments?).

Sheffield has conceded only 7 goals but they have managed the least number of shots on target in the league @ 2.5 per game. Obviously Emery’s tactical balance should be tilted offensively. Lacazette is now available and I can’t see any reason why it shouldn’t be the PALs against their mean defence.

They would come from the wings and we would also come from the wings, toe to toe kind of. That shouldn’t bother us as we have the hard working pair of Chambers and Tierney as our full and flying backs. Sokratis and Luiz would be there for their aerial bombardment with Leno behind them. Of course we know that Xhaka and Guendouzi would be in Emery’s line up, once fit. The one position remaining to be filled is anybody’s guess. Ozil? Ceballos? Willock? Torreira?

Am still trying to figure that one out as this post goes to print. Meanwhile let’s have your opinion on the comments section. Who of these four names do you expect would start? Or whom of them would you like to start? I will chip in too as soon as I get it resolved for myself, the noises from the camp suggesting it could be a surprise.

I want Emery to succeed, not because I love his face but I don’t want the pains of further stagnation. I also don’t want us running from pillar to post changing managers. It might get us into United’s type of recurring mess.

Three points and another clean sheet to the good guys. COYRRG!!!

By PE.

Games after an international break are always difficult and especially so when the first game back is away from home.

International players return late in the week and have tired legs from playing for their nation once or twice and from travelling to all sorts of places. There is little time to get back into training with the team and get collectively into ‘the zone’ again. If on top of this the team has to travel up-north in cold and damp October, there is a good chance the performance will be below par, especially if we have to play a team who don’t have too many travelling internationals in their squad and so have had time to prepare for the arrival of the Gunners.

I would prefer for Emery to give most  just returned internationals a rest and to start with a combination of non-international first-team players and youth players. However, I do believe we need to play one quality first team player in every area – GK-Defence-Midfield-Attack – as to not lose our shape and confidence too much.

I am not sure whether Torreira played and travelled a lot for Uruguay, but I know that Xhaka did and so I would prefer for my favourite midfielder to be rested. If LT11 did indeed play and travel a lot, I reckon he needs to be rested too as there is too much risk for fatigue and injury. Maybe it is time to give Ainsley the deep midfield role but then put two fellow central midfielders next to him, for extra support. Three midfielders in a line, or two slightly in front of a deeper laying midfielder, seems to be the way forward for us.

At the back I reckon we need to play Luiz, whether he travelled and played or not (again not sure whether he did). It must be time to start Tierney and Bels cannot be far away from a start either. But with Chambers playing so well at the moment, it really seems to make sense to start with him at RB. I assume that Big Sok could do with a rest and that Robbo is ready to rock and roll, so would like to see him start instead of the Greek lover of wisdom.

Up-front I would love to see Ozil and we need Auba to start, simple as that. With Nelson out till November, this is another chance for Sakakakaka to shine. Martinelli and (hopefully fully recovered) Laca can come on after sixty minutes and replace either of these three starters.

For me the team below would give us good balance, freshness and aggression and quality in all areas to blunt the Blades on Monday:

But that is just me…. how would you like to line-up the team on Monday?

By TotalArsenal.

Ryan Babel, the Dutch international who was allowed a second chance to establish an international career by Ronald Koeman, said something recently that made me think: this group of Dutch players do not have many egos amongst them and so there is a better chance for success – or something down that line. I am with him all the way re this: the era of big, self-celebration egos of Sneijder, Van Persie and Arjen Robben is luckily behind us, and the current Oranje are much more of a team with players working hard for each other rather than for their own glory.

Why am I writing this on an Arsenal blog? Well, one of the highlights of the season so far have been the selfless and yet very effective performances of the likes of Saka and Nelson on the left wing. Ryan Babel tends to play there too and, now in his early thirties, he really plays for the team and has become an automatic starter in Koeman’s Euro 2020 hopefuls. For six years he was not selected by Koeman’s predecessors so that is quite an achievement by the purple-haired former Liverpool player.

I like a player who is humble, works hard and likes to be part of a team. Players like Giroud and Mertesacker, Flamini and Ozil, Coquelin and Xhaka, Auba and Laca are the ones that make me really proud of our club.

On the left wing we have had some very talented players since the departure of one of our Invincibles, the one and only Robert Pires, in 2006. Reyes was phenomenal but did not stay long enough due to this homesickness for us to properly judge him. Arshavin could be unplayable on the day and Sanchez was close to world class in terms of raw talent and ability, but both players were never really part of the team and were mostly interested in their own glory, key stats and weekly wages. And when they left us they were quickly forgotten, and not really missed, despite their considerable contributions in terms of goals and assists. Football is of course a team game and really successful teams are much more than the sum of their individual talents and skills.

I don’t think Auba is used at his best on the left wing, and although I liked Iwobi a lot I don’t think he was best used there either. So the really, really good news is that we have two very talented youngsters on the team now who thrive on the left wing and work their socks off to get into the first team: Saka and Nelson.

It is early days to judge both their talents and personalities but they both look to me the real deal. Both have impressed me a lot with their team play and individual talents and they have given us a real edge, especially in the Cup games. It will be good to see who of these two will establish themselves on the left wing or whether they can both push themselves into the first team this season. I have no doubt that Pepe does not only feel pressure on his shoulders from his summer-sale price-tag but also from the fast emergence of two very talented and hungry young wingers.

To have at least three quality wingers on the team after years of make-do is music to our ears. Let’s see how they develop but hopefully the wait for quality and effective team-wingers is finally over.

By TotalArsenal.

Subject? The Usual … Mr Emery.

1. Freezing out the under-achieving mega-stars at the club (Woodcock and Caton in year 1, Nicholas and Marriner later))
2. He brought through a number of youth players who were inculcated into the Arsenal Way (Adams, Rocastle, Keown, Merson Thomas, Hayes)
3. He signed players from the UK who were versed in British football culture. (Dixon, Winterburn, Marwood, Richardson, Smith)

1. He has frozen out Ozil (perhaps), And before we get into an argument, is there anyone who believes Ozil has performed to his best over the past 18 months? Cech and Mhiki are gone.
2. Emery is bringing through some exciting youngsters (Saka, Douzi, Nelson,Martinell etc)
3. Signed players with experience of British football (Holding,Chambers, Luiz, Tierney – yes, I know AW signed Holding & Chambers but UE played them)

And what about a new Romford Pele? 😀

We all know we tend to see our former heroes in our up and coming players. A certain way of running, a few typical gestures combined with certain skills and before you know it we believe a former great has been reincarnated in the latest hot talent. We just cannot help ourselves; it just has got to be done! 

We all loved Patrick Vieira’s persona and incredibly diverse midfield football skills, and it can be argued that we never had somebody like him since he left us for Juventus in 2005 (an incredible 14 years ago). Abou Diaby had it all but his football fate was so cruel; Flamini did come quite close but wasn’t as majestic as the his fellow Frenchman; Ramsey had the potential to be the new PV04 but wasn’t strong enough defensively and also got injured too often, and; much-loved Coquelin also tried hard but just never quite got there for us.

I have heard a few fellow Gooners say that we may have a new Vieira, but to my surprise they were suggesting it would be Guendouzi of all our youngsters. I can see that Matteo has some of Vieira’s skills and characteristics: he likes to run forward with the ball from midfield, is a more than decent passer – including through-balls – he puts his whole body into the battle and likes to get involved when there is a players’ bust-up. But what MG is missing is PV04’s incredible physique and, most importantly, his reading of the game when we need to defend and his subsequent positioning and recovery skills are still well below par. I have my doubts whether the latter can be learned but, who knows, maybe Matteo will get this part right too in the next few years. The new Vieira, though?! No, not for me.

For now I see more of a new Ray Parlour, the Romford Pele, in Matteo, as the skills are similar and both are more attack-focussed than defence-focussed. The only thing missing are those screamers from well outside the box (or goals in general, which I am sure will come in the next few seasons). But in all seriousness, Guendouzi will of course become his own player and who knows how good he will become?! Time will tell.

I believe there are two players who really have the potential to become close to our ‘next Patrick Vieira’, in terms of type of player: Ainsley and Joe.

Ainsley Maitland Niles has the calm and physique, the engine and aura of Patrick. He is ideal for the defensive duties in midfield and is a good passer of the ball; he also will do those box to box runs all day long. Ainsley is more of an introvert but there is so much power in him; just watch him run with the ball and you can see the real potential of this young man. This season will be interesting for the 22 year old Gunner who produced two PL assists already. He will not be required to play in the RB position much anymore, with both Bellerin and Chambers being the better options. So now he will need to fight to get himself into midfield, starting with the cup games in which he really needs to shine. I have high hopes for Ainsley but this will be a big challenge for him, given the available quality in midfield and Emery’s love for Granit and Matteo…

Joe Willock is a player who really has it all and that at the age of just 20. He is a bit more extrovert than Ainsley and he has that same engine to run b2b all day long. For such a young lad he is surprisingly strong both mentally and physically and his reading of the game, both in defence and attack, is very impressive. Especially his runs into the box are superb and although he (as yet) misses too many chances, he did manage to score a couple already this season. His passing needs to improve further, but if there is one young player I would be happy to put in our best 11 players against a top team, next to Granit and Lucas, it is Joe Willock. That is how high I rate him.

Getting the balance right in midfield remains Arsenal’s biggest challenge, but boy do we have some good players coming through in that area!!!

We can analyse stats, youtube videos etc all day long, but my gut-instinct says that out of Matteo, Ainsley and Joe, the latter is our biggest prospect in midfield and he may even turn out to be our real new Vieira. Early days of course, but we can count ourselves lucky to have three such young midfield beasts donning the mighty red and white shirt. Ooh to Be!

So what do you think: will one of these three midfielders become (close to) the next PV04?

By TotalArsenal.

The History of Arsenal Managers

The following is the complete history of Arsenal managers, my research includes information from my own data base, Arsenal.com, “Arsenal, The Complete Record” by Josh James, Mark Andrews and Andy Kelly and multiple other sources.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

 Management Committee 1893 – 1897

In the early years Arsenal were managed by a players committee. 

Trophy’s won: – Zero

 Thomas Brown Mitchell 1897 – 1898

Thomas Brown Mitchell was Arsenal’s first professional manager, joining the club in 1897. A Scotsman from the Dumfries area, Mitchell moved south of the border around 1867 and held the title of secretary at Blackburn Rovers for approximately 12 years. He spent less than a season at Arsenal but in that time, managed to guide the club through three FA Cup qualifying rounds before succumbing to Burnley in the first round proper. He also took the club from tenth to fifth place in the League before resigning in March 1898. Mitchell later rejoined Blackburn, where he passed away in August 1921, aged 78.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

 George Elcoat 1898 – 1899

George Elcoat, like his predecessor Thomas Brown Mitchell, only remained at Arsenal for one season. Elcoat, who hailed from Stockton-on-Tees, showed a strong preference for players north of the border as illustrated by him having eight Scotsman in his first-team at one stage. Arsenal finished seventh under his leadership but as the League has been increased to 18 teams, it was on par with the previous season. Arsenal were heavily beaten by Derby in the first round proper of the FA Cup having been given a bye to that stage. He passed away in Stockton-on-Tees in 1929, aged 65.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

 Harry Bradshaw 1899 – 1904

Harry Bradshaw took over the reigns from George Elcoat and in the space of five years, had transformed the fortunes of the club. Regarded as Arsenal’s first successful manager, Bradshaw built his reputation at Burnley from 1891 to 1899 and was a clever tactician, guiding Arsenal to a top-three finish in the League in 1902/03. Bradshaw moved on to Fulham and later became secretary of the Southern League before his death in 1924.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

 Phil Kelso 1904 – 1908

Phil Kelso was a hard, rugged Scot who was a coach at Hibernian, before taking over as manager of newly-promoted Woolwich Arsenal from 1904 until 1908. Kelso guided the club to two consecutive last-four finishes in the FA Cup but did not make much progress in the League. After leaving Arsenal, he returned briefly to Scotland to run a hotel in Largs, before becoming manager of Fulham in 1909. He stayed with the West-London outfit for 15 years before his death in 1935, aged 64.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

George Morrell 1908 – 1915

George Morrell was manager of Woolwich Arsenal from 1908 to 1915, and oversaw the club’s move from Plumstead in south east London, to it’s former home at Highbury in North London. Morrell was forced to sell many of his best players but still guided the team to sixth in the League in his first season. Unfortunately, he holds the distinction of being the only Arsenal manager to have experienced relegation; Woolwich Arsenal dropped from the First Division to the Second after finishing bottom in 1913. But Morrell’s Arsenal finished 5th in the Second Division in 1915 – high enough to get them elected back into the First Division.

Trophy’s won: – Zero 

Leslie Knighton 1919 – 1925

Leslie Knighton was appointed manager of Arsenal in 1919, following stints as an assistant manager at Huddersfield Town and Manchester City. He was manager for six years, but Arsenal never finished higher than 10th, coming 20th in 1924-25. Knighton was sacked at the end of that season, and was replaced by the now legendary, Herbert Chapman. After leaving the Gunners, Knighton went on to manage Bournemouth, Birmingham City and Chelsea.

Trophy’s won: – Zero 

Herbert Chapman 1925 – 1934

Sheffield-born Herbert Chapman not only established Arsenal as English football’s dominant force, but his football concepts and ideas served as a template for teams and managers the globe over. He managed Leeds City and Huddersfield Town before taking over at Highbury where he introduced the 3-3-4 or ‘WM’ formation, winning the FA Cup in 1930 and the First Division title, scoring a club record 127 goals, in 1930/31. He won a second League title two years later before his tragic, sudden death in 1934, aged 55. A bronze bust of Chapman stands inside Highbury as a tribute to his achievements at the club.

Trophy’s won: – 

3 – League Championships

1 – FA Cup

4- Charity Shields

George Allison 1934 – 1947

George Allison was born in Darlington and was a journalist before moving to London in 1905. He became Woolwich Arsenal’s programme editor, and later commentated on the very first FA Cup final to be broadcast on the radio, between Arsenal and Cardiff City in 1927. He later became the club’s secretary and then managing director, before taking over as first-team manager in June 1934. Allison added to the Club’s two successive League titles, by winning a third in 1935. He also won the FA Cup in 1936 and the League again in 1938. Allison decided to step down and retire from the game in 1946-47.

Trophy’s won: 

2 – League Championships

1 – FA Cup

1 – Charity Shields

Tom Whittaker 1947 – 1956

Thomas James Whittaker was born in Aldershot, Hampshire and joined Arsenal in 1919 before becoming the club’s first-team trainer under Herbert Chapman in 1927. Whittaker had an important role under Chapman in reforming the training and physiotherapy regimes at the club before taking over the reigns from Chapman’s successor, George Allison, in 1947. He won the League in 1948 and 1953 and the FA Cup in 1950 before his tragic death from a heart attack in 1956, aged 58.

Trophy’s won: – 

2 – League Championships

1 – FA Cup

2 – Charity Shields 

Jack Crayston 1956 – 1958

Jack Crayston was born in Lancashire in 1910 and was appointed manager of Arsenal in November 1956. A former player with 187 appearances for the Club, Crayston elevated Arsenal from eleventh to third place in the Leauge, before eventually finishing fifth in his first season. He resigned after 24 years’ service at the club in May 1958 and went on to manage Doncaster Rovers. Crayston passed away in 1992.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

George Swindin 1958 – 1962

George Swindin, a former Arsenal goalkeeper with 297 first-team appearances to his name, was invited to take over the manager’s reigns at Highbury in 1958, following a successful stint as manager at Peterborough United. He oversaw a drastic overhaul in the playing staff at the club during his first season in charge and guided the team to a third-placed finish. After leaving the Gunners, Swindin went on to manage Norwich City, Cardiff City, Kettering and Corby before retiring to Spain. Sadly, Swindin paased away in October 2005, aged 90.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

Billy Wright 1962 – 1966

Billy Wright was born William Ambrose Wright in Shropshire in 1924 and was the first player to win more than 100 caps for England, captaining the national side no less than 90 times including their campaigns at the 1950, 1954 and 1958 World Cup finals. He became manager of Arsenal in 1962 but Arsenal never finished higher than seventh under Wright and he left the club after the 1965-66 season, where Arsenal finished 14th and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers. Wright left management and later became a television pundit for ATV. He was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of influence on the English game.

Trophy’s won: – Zero 

Bertie Mee 1966 – 1976

Bertie Mee was born in Bullwell, Notinghamshire and managed Arsenal to their first League and FA Cup ‘Double’ win in 1971. He became manager in 1966, and recruited Dave Sexton and Don Howe as his assistants. Under his tutorship, Arsenal reached two successive League Cup finals in 1968 and 1969, but lost to Leeds United and Swindon Town respectively. However, the following season, the club won it’s first trophy of any kind for 17 years, beating Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate, in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Having lost the away leg 3-1, Arsenal beat the Belgian side 3-0 at Highbury. The first part of the Double – The League title – was won at White Hart Lane, home of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, on the last day of the season. Five days later, Charlie George scored the winning goal as Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley after extra-time to claim the FA Cup. Mee resigned as Arsenal manager in 1976, later joining Watford as assistant to Graham Taylor in 1978. Sadly, he passed away in 2001, at the age of 82.

Trophy’s won: –

1 – League Championships

1 – FA Cup

1 – Inter Cities Fairs Cup

Terry Neill 1976 – 1983

William John Terence “Terry” Neill was born in May 1942 in Belfast and moved to Arsenal in 1959 as a player. He retired from playing in 1973, and succeeded Bill Nicholson as manager of Arsenal’s local rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. He managed Spurs for two seasons, nearly getting the club relegated in the process, before being recruited by the Arsenal board as manager in 1976 – becoming the youngest manager in the club’s history. The club enjoyed a minor revival under his management, reaching three FA Cup finals between 1978 and 1980, though only winning in 1979. He also reached the final of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1980, losing on penalties to Valencia. He was dismissed as manager in December 1983 and retired from football.

Trophy’s won: – 

1 – FA Cup 

Don Howe 1984 – 1986

Donald ‘Don’ Howe was born in October 12, 1935 and was a player with West Bromwich Albion before Billy Wright signed him for Arsenal in 1964 and made him club captain. Howe retired from playing and became Arsenal’s reserve team coach under Bertie Mee, before stepping up to the role of first team coach after the departure of Dave Sexton in 1968. He later returned to his old club, West Bromwich Albion, as manager before stints as coach of Galatasaray, Turkey and Leeds United, before rejoining Arsenal in 1977 as head coach. Howe succeeded Terry Neill as Arsenal manager in 1983 and brought through the likes of Tony Adams, David Rocastle and Niall Quinn before resigning in March 1986.Howe was later assistant to Bobby Gould at Wimbledon and then had spells managing Queen Park Rangers and Coventry City before moving into journalism and broadcasting.

Trophy’s won: – Zero

George Graham 1986 – 1995

A former Arsenal player, George Graham rejoined the Club as manager in 1986 after three years in charge of Millwall. He won two League Championships, two League Cups, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup in eight years, making Arsenal one of the dominant teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was renowned for building his team on the meanest of rearguards, perfecting the offside trap along the way. He also bought Ian Wright, until recently Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer, from Crystal Palace. After leaving the Club in 1995, Graham went on to manage Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur. He is currently a football pundit.

Trophy’s won: – 

2 – League Championships

1 – FA Cup

1 – Charity Shields

2 – League Cups

1 – Cup Winners Cup 

Bruce Rioch 1995 – 1996

Bruce Rioch left his post as manager of Bolton Wanderers to succeed George Graham as Arsenal manager in 1995 and stayed for just a year. He guided Arsenal to a UEFA Cup place in 1995-96, securing qualification on the last day of the season at the expense of Everton, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur. He also reached the League Cup semi-finals but lost on away goals to Aston Villa. After leaving the Club he became assistant to Stewart Houston at Queens Park Rangers. He later managed Norwich City and Wigan Athletic and is currently in charge of Danish club Odense.

Trophy’s won: – Zero 

Arsène Wenger 1996 – 2018

Arsène Wenger joined Arsenal in September 1996 following spells as manager with Nancy and Monaco in his native France and Grampus Eight in Japan. He guided the Club to their second League and FA Cup double, in his first full season at Highbury in 1998 and won further League titles in 2002 and 2004. He won seven FA Cups, which is the most won by any manager to date. He also guided Arsenal to the UEFA Cup final in 2000, losing to Galatasaray on penalties and through an entire unbeaten league campaign on the way to the title in 2004. In 2006 he took Arsenal to the UEFA Champions League Final, where the team were narrowly defeated by Barcelona.

Trophy’s won: – 

3 – League Championships

7 – FA Cups

7 – Charity Shields

Unai Emery 2018 – Present

 Trophy’s won: – Zero

A couple of questions to you:

1. Giving Emery’s second place in % League Games Won & % Points Won, should we be more patient with him?
2. And how important is style/quality of football played to you?

By GunnerN5