FFP – Fundamentally Flawed Policy? Why Freedom is Best.

May 6, 2013May 6, 2013TotalArsenal

As many of you who may have followed my occasional warbling will have noticed, there is a common theme in which I have bemoaned the arrival of the ‘meddling’ multi-billionaires and oil rich state owned corporations into football, but also I have cast doubt on the equally meddling UEFA and EPL FFP regulations which will try to lamely control these wealthy entities.

Why do I describe these people as meddling?

Well both the multi-billionaires who now own football clubs, as well as the Arab or Eastern European state backed owners, and the state owners of clubs, do not really need to dabble in football at all, and neither do they show much personal interest or enjoyment in the sport itself, but they do clearly have their own agendas in plucking financially struggling clubs and transforming them at a stroke.

The average, and frequently penurious fan may goggle at the nine zeros in a billion dollars, [$1,000,000,000] or 1,000, million dollars, which represents the sort of money (give or take) expended on Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour, and the very similar sums paid out for Chelsea, Manchester United and even Arsenal by the new owners.

For some of the oligarchs, football is a tasteless way of indulging themselves in a personal whimsy or fiefdom, and to play a real life version of FIFA 2012, and to show to the adoring fans how omniscient and clever they are by buying struggling clubs and injecting huge sums of money to enable them to be regenerated and start to become trophy winning giants.

For others, such as Silent Stan, it is a safe vehicle for their financial investment in a major sporting institution, in which they intend to see a rich reward in the medium to longer term.

Alternatively, for the state backed clubs, it is another way to give their countries some reflected glory from their involvement with world renowned clubs, or in the case of the state of Qatar, their purchase of PSG has underlined their credibility in ‘buying’ the World Cup venue and showing their state in a better footballing light.

To prevent the inevitable rampant distortion of the economic football environment, the powers at UEFA, closely followed by the English Premier League owner, have introduced the FFP regulations, which are purportedly to return to a financially level playing field in the European Leagues, particularly the EPL, and to stymie the runaway financial power of the mushrooming oligarch clubs.

That’s good isn’t it?

Well, not for every club, I am afraid.

Let us accept for the sake of this discussion that FFP will work, and then we can look at what the consequences will be for the different level of clubs in the PL.

UEFA decided to act on the inequalities and financial instability of many clubs throughout Europe, once it became obvious that the oligarchs and Arab states were also seriously affecting the footballing environment. They now require all clubs to introduce more discipline and rationality into their club football finances, particularly by decreasing the pressure on salaries and transfer fees, and limiting inflationary effects, by the simple expedient of requiring the clubs to compete only within their generated revenues, and to invest more in their youth teams and their club infrastructures.

Basically, they now require clubs to balance their books or break even. Simple!!

Under this concept, clubs cannot repeatedly spend more than their generated revenues, and they will be obliged to meet all their transfer and employee payment commitments and not build up unsustainable debt, or failing this they will be thrown out of European competitions.

Ok, that is a brief synopsis of the major requirements of FFP, with which we are all too familiar.

So why am I concerned that these seemingly very laudable objectives might achieve exactly the opposite of what was intended and will not result in a level financial playing field?

In large part, this whole concept has come about on the basis of shutting the stable doors after the horse has bolted. Chelsea and Man City have been transformed from also ran, financially struggling clubs who were rocketed up to become part of the prevailing elite, consisting of Arsenal and Man United, by the injection of vast sums of money from their wealthy owners.

It happened and it is not possible to turn the clock back.

The new FFP rules will still permit oligarch type owners to purchase a club such as Wigan or Sunderland, but they will not be able to pour outrageous sums of money into those clubs, and therefore they could not grow to challenge the existing elite. The same block on uncontrolled spending also applies to clubs who have already been bought by somewhat less wealthy owners, such as those at Reading or Southampton, and again they will not be able to challenge the existing elite because of this financial restriction.

Incidentally, should Usmanov manage to acquire the ownership of Arsenal, he too would be restricted as to the sums he could pour into Arsenal, subject to some magical accounting, of course.

What magical accounting you ask?

Well, this is a little digression from my theme, but there is a major difference between owner investment and owner personal loans. Loans can build up and will need to be repaid at some time – just ask the Portsmouth fans, whereas owner investment means to inject capital into the company usually by way of additional issued share capital in exchange for cash, and this can be extended to fan ownership too, as in Germany.

Anyway, so happy were Arsenal, Manyoo, Liverpool and even Spurs, with the provisions of the UEFA FFP that they sent out a joint message, on an Arsenal letter head, to all the other clubs, (which I am showing below) proposing that the Premiership should introduce their own version of FFP.

Last December, partly as a result of this letter and some arm twisting negotiations, the EPL FFP provisions were passed, much to the delight of the main proponents, and to the chagrin of clubs like Man Citeh, Fulham, Southampton, Reading etc, all of whom objected but were outvoted.
[Oddly Abramovich, against all reason, agreed the proposal – which he could have blocked].

The effect of this agreement is that all EPL clubs have to submit their financial accounts not only to UEFA for audit, but also to a Premier league appointed Investigator for certification.

OK, I can hear you say, so what?

[this is the Arsenal letter mentioned above]:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2262027/Manchester-United-Liverpool-Arsenal-Spurs-join-forces-shackle-spending-Man-City-Chelsea.html

Here comes the rub with these FFP proposals.

Clubs like Arsenal and Manure have the biggest stadia and the highest revenue streams, although Manyoo are really in a league all on their own, and can only benefit from linking expenditure on transfers and salaries to a percentage of turnover, which in turn means their transfer chests will, over time, become bigger and give them the greatest chance of buying the best players.

I can hear you thinking, so if Arsenal is likely to be one of the big beneficiaries of the new regime, why am I not happy with the outcome of FFP?

Well, Arsenal’s inclusion in a small group of clubs that will benefit, if as seems likely, the oligarchs and the state owned clubs are not permitted to ‘invest’ whatever monies they wanted into their clubs, is also balanced by the exclusion of the ‘lower’ clubs, such as Newcastle, Villa and West Brom etc, who will forever remain cannon fodder for the ‘elite’.

In effect, if a new oligarch happened along, as mentioned earlier, all they would be able to do is to maintain the status quo, with the elite group expanding their clubs profitability and influence, whereas those with smaller revenues will only be able to watch them disappear into the distance.

Silent Stan must be rubbing his hands with glee that Arsenal now stand a very good chance of getting back to near the top in the medium term, which will not do his investment any harm, and I don’t suppose he will much care that it will be at the expense of our club submitting to the financial ‘power’ of Manyoo, who will, in all probability, win the Premiership every year, as they become unassailable.

There is another imperative downside to FFP, and that is the cost to all the loyal fans of clubs throughout the EPL, if these more stringent rules result in clubs failing to keep within them, or if sponsorship income dries up, or if player wages continue to increase, despite efforts to curtail them, there will be only one way to recoup additional funds, and that will be by charging fans even more for tickets to watch their teams.

As I hope I have shown you, what is a very well intentioned change in the administration of the game by using FFP to try and impose a level financial playing field, could very easily result in the exact opposite, with the establishment of a rigid regime that will prevent any clubs, except the privileged few including our own dear Arsenal, from having even the smallest chance of winning the Premiership, and making Manyoo into the sole English Galactico in the process.

I believe in freedom.

Freedom to allow people to do what they want, within the Law, even if this means allowing all football club owners, whoever they may be, to spend as much or as little money as they want, on the clubs that they own, or to borrow what they, as businessmen, deem necessary.

A freedom, which will permit the Arsenal owners, should they wish, to stick rigidly to their policy of pursuing a self sustainable finance model.

A freedom, where perhaps eventually a small, well run club in the ‘lower’ echelons of the Premiership could emulate the success of the CL semi-finalists, Borussia Dortmund, who themselves, in 2005, accepted external short-term funding, from another wealthier club, Bayern Munich, which enabled BD to survive and prosper.

That freedom will not be permitted in the future because the whole premise of FFP is flawed and just downright wrong.

This is a simple choice – Freedom for the clubs to pursue their own rainbows, or statutory regulation forcing all clubs to strictly adhere to a straight jacket within a fundamentally unbalanced new system.

I vote for freedom – how about you?

Written by: Red Arse.

THE revolution Arsenal cannot afford to miss out on this summer

May 1, 2013May 1, 2013TotalArsenal

It was back in days when Serie A was the strongest league in the world, season 1999-2000. Alessandro Del Piero only returned from a horrible injury and desperately needed a goal from open play. Referees in Italy – as you might know – gave penalties for bianconeri on regular basis, and Del Piero scored them regularly, but the problem was that he had failed to score from open play in the first 21 matches of the league.

Week 22 gave Juventus an easy fixture at Venice against Venezia. Del Piero scored a penalty in the first half and a strong Juventus side that included such players as Van der Sar, Davids and Zidane didn’t have a lot of problems to score a few more goals. Del Piero had two chances to score himself from open play but his team-mate Filippo Inzaghi took all the glory in both occasions – first he decided to round the goalkeeper instead of passing the ball to Del Piero, who would have had an empty goal in front of him – and the second time, after his first shot was saved by the Venezia goalkeeper, he scored from the rebound instead of passing the ball to Del Piero, who was in better position. Inzaghi himself completed a hat-trick, but those goals turned some Juventus fans against him – he could and should have helped Del Piero to restore his confidence, but his hunger for goals was stronger.

A real poacher is a bit selfish, it’s something that goes with jersey No.9 (and I don’t mean jersey No.9 that Khalid Boulahrouz used to wear for the Chavs), but Inzaghi went over the limits. Nobody can deny Inzaghi was one of the best goal-scorers in the history of Serie A, and one who actually scored important goals (like that lucky brace against Liverpool in Champions’ League Final 2007) worthy of trophies.

I have been very critical regarding our pre-season. If you ask me, it is rather unacceptable that we had had just one pre-season match with all our players, including three reinforcements signed in summer transfer window (it was against Koln, the very last match in which Van Judas wore a proper shirt).

It is totally unacceptable that we have spent most of our first halves this season learning how to play against our respective opponents. Whether it is a result of pre-season or poor match preparation/scouting of our opponents (I wrote before – all top players of our opponents have scored against us: Mata, Van Judas, Bale, Fellaini, Michu, Berbatov, Suarez), it has been frustrating to watch goals conceded due to individual errors (lack of concentration might be connected with poor physical condition, but that collides with the fact we have scored 18 goals in the last 15 minutes of our games), or chances wasted due to misunderstanding of our players in attack.

Now, we all know about our defensive record (which has been much better lately), and how 4-2-3-1 formation has worked much better for that department of our team, as well as the partnership that was formed between Mertesacker and Koscielny in the heart of our defence, but I haven’t seen too many words written or said about lack of understanding in our attacking department.

Most of criticism have been pointed at individual performances from Giroud, Gervinho and, to the lesser extent, Walcott. And there are things we should say about it as well.

Our attacking play has been too much one-dimensional when our strongest striker Giroud (despite his flaws, he is the best option we have for CF-role) has been the spearhead of the attack. We have relied on his flick-on-play too much, and the match against Blackburn might be a good example of how Giroud’s attempts to link-up with the rest of our attack fail. Our other attacking options lack physical abilities to cope with strong defenders.

Then, there is something that has happened too many times this season and what is the biggest reason I wanted to write this post in the first place.

How many times have we seen our players in attack waiting for the ball on the other side, and then just angrily raising their hands in the air due to lack of positional awareness of their team-mate, who picked the ball instead of playing “the dummy”? Giroud was usually doing this and that’s where he reminded me of aforementioned example of Pippo Inzaghi (which might lead us to the similar question that was asked regarding Inzaghi and Del Piero: what kind of relationship does he have with his team-mates?).

It would be unfair to jump on the Frenchman’s back as his team-mates act mostly the same when the ball goes inside the opponent’s box. Gervinho and Walcott have screwed up some of our counter-attacks due to desire to score themselves as well. Statistics can fool a bit if you don’t see actual things on the field. For instance, Walcott got himself an assist for Podolski’s goal against Norwich; what stats won’t tell you is that Walcott was dwelling on the ball on the right after Giroud’s flick-on released him (Walcott was offside), attempting to beat the defender and, when he was left with a tight angle and no free space, he decided to pass the ball to Podolski outside the box, who pulled out an individual effort to create himself a space and take a shot to seal our victory.

The worst part is that we have seen a glimpse of how we should play in that match at Anfield. There was a GIF-file after that match in which our players (I think Gibbs, Cazorla and Podolski) make a triangle on the left flank. I can’t recall of many triangles we pulled after that one.

Our players – with fine exception of Aaron Ramsey – tend to attack the ball, despite their team-mates might be having a better position after “the dummy”. In my humble opinion, Ramsey is a unique player in our team when it comes to this, and that’s one of the reasons I would like Wenger and/or his successor to stick with Aaron in years to come.

A brief look at the Premiership table would imply that there is nothing that we should be worried about regarding our attack. We have scored 65 goals (before match with FAnchester United) which is third best record in the league. 65 goals in 34 matches makes average 1,91 goals per game. Not bad at all. However, there is a problem when it comes to distribution of goals – we have scored 7 against Newcastle, 6 against Southampton, 5 against Reading (away), West Ham and Spuds and 4 against Reading (home). That means we have scored 32 goals out of 65 in just six matches. That leaves us with 33 goals in 28 matches or just 1,17 per game.

It’s obvious that we lack consistency as well as ability to score goals against top teams. Top teams are harder to break; relying only on individual efforts of our best players, and that’s something that we need as much as another top-class striker. One of the greatest Yugoslav and Croatian coaches of all times and one of the founders of Hajduk Split, Luka Kaliterna (also known as Barba Luka) used to say that it is the quality display that scores goals and not players, and that football is more played by those who don’t possess the ball than by those who do.

Watching recent Champions’ League matches in which German direct football (Bayern) dominated over the Spanish style of football build around ball-possession (Barcelona), and football built around automatic off-the-ball movements (Borussia Dortmund) dominating over direct football build around expensive world-class players (Real Madrid), was something that would make late Kaliterna smile, but also something that we should take note of, especially the latter example.

Borussia Dortmund had less ball possession against Manchester Oilers in Group Stage at Etihad, but anyone who watched that game will have noticed that they should have won with at least a three-goal margin (the very same Oilers that are second in English Premier League), despite only 39 % of possession.

Same thing happened against Real Madrid on Wednesday as Spanish giants had most of the ball (51 %) while Borussia enjoyed quality of possession. Their players have formed brilliant counter-attacks, and attack with triangles under Klopp, with off-the-ball movement and anticipation of their team-mates moves of the highest level.

It might have something to do with the current policy of German football in which Matthias Sammer has imported a philosophy of automatism from the very first football steps. His intention was to reduce the time with the ball to one second or less in order to fight against Spanish domination which was based on half-a-touch football. Marco Reus recently spoke about his understanding with Goetze (sadly, that partnership will continue only at international level after the summer), and how he knows where Goetze is without watching.

There is a new revolution on the horizon and it will be of the highest importance not to miss out of it.

Pre-season and match preparation must be focused on our players’ understanding on both sides of the pitch, as it might turn out to be the best weapon against all Abramovichs, Fergusons and Sheiks that have ruled English football since 2004-05.

I understand that there is a reason for commercial Asian tours, as Arsenal have been rather popular there as well, but even those tours should serve more to reaching tactical perfection and automatism than commercial purposes.

Written by: Admir.

It is time to show our Gervinho some love!

April 3, 2013April 4, 2013TotalArsenal

Yes, Gervinho needs some love, hugs and songs from us the supporters and his fellow players.

I know there are as many Gooners out there who rate him as don’t rate him, but Gervinho is one of us, always works his socks off when he plays for us, and can add that extra dimension to our football that we often badly miss.

Our man from the Ivory Coast is not the most self-confident footballer, and as we all know, confidence is a vital part of being successful on the pitch. Our nr.27 (I guess he chose that number because he was born on the 27 of May) appears to be very introvert and lacking friendship with other players on the pitch.

It is about time us, the fans, and the players try harder to make him properly part of the Arsenal family.

Born in Anyama, a Northern suburb of Abidjan, the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, it cannot have been easy to come here and settle in straightaway. He has been away from his home country for quite a while, with spells at Beveren, Le Mans and Lille; and he must have learned to adapt to different environments by now.

But London is a modern, world city, and it is not easy to settle there, especially without a good command of the language, which I am assuming he doesn’t possess. Many Englishmen and Europeans find it hard to feel at home and make a success in such a large city. So it should come as no surprise that Gervinho is having some difficulties in adapting to life in London, and playing for/ settling into Arsenal right now.

I was at the FA cup game, at home against Blackburn a couple of months ago, and Gervinho, who had only just returned from international duty, was struggling a bit with form. Many ‘supporters’ around me started to moan about Gervinho from the first moment he did something wrong. There was no leeway; no ‘let’s give him a chance to settle in’, but most of the fellow Gooners around me were simply eager to confirm to themselves what they had decided in their heads was a fact: Gervinho is rubbish.

It was the weekend after Valentines Day and I realized soon that many supporters were taken to the Home of Football by their partners as a surprise gift. These people wanted to be entertained and show their partners – in most cases women – how frustrated and embarrassed they were at the poor performance of the team; by shouting, swearing, yelling at our players from the word go.

We played rubbish and the team deserved the fans’ scorn to some extent, but as supporters we have a duty to support (the clue is in the word!); only if and when certain players do not work their socks off, and look like they do not want to be on the pitch, should they be showered with our anger and frustration.

And by supporting our players from the start, we will help them build their confidence; and the stronger the confidence – combined with a strong willingness to do well – the better they will perform.

Gervinho is a fully committed, hard-working player. He gives his all, always makes himself available and never gives up trying to create something for the team. Gervinho is an enigma: he can be equally totally frustrating as absolutely fabulous from one moment, or game, to the next. I reckon, Gervinho will always be prone to missing sitters, even if we were to embrace him fully and show him the love and respect he needs and deserves.

But I am sure, he would become more consistent and play with even more energy and desire to make things happen for us, and the number of goals and assists would also improve; if we were to become more supportive of Gervinho from now on.

There is no other player in our team, except Wilshere maybe, who is as good as our Ivorian in taking on players in front of him and move into space with the ball at his feet. He is one of the few who can receive the ball in a tight space and can keep hold of it, without needing to pass it to another player as soon as possible. Currently, he is also better than any other player in effective wing-play and ensuring that our team has enough width.

There are very few players in our team who position themselves better in the box than Gervinho: how many times was he at the right place, at the right time against Reading on Saturday, for example? Gervinho almost always offers another dimension to our team and football, but a large number of supporters just seem to focus on his glaring misses rather than his overall performance and contributions to the team.

Ultimately, Gervinho will be judged on his return in assists and goals for the team, and I agree with many critics that he needs to improve further regarding these. It could well turn out that he is not capable of making the grade at Arsenal.

But I believe there is more to come from Gervinho and that we, the supporters, and the players have an important role to fulfil here: the more the Ivorian gets supported and forgiven for occasionally producing a bad miss, the more he will keep going for us and his confidence will grow; and the more assists and goals he will produce. But the opposite is equally true: love and trust is likely to lead to a successfully performing Gerv, but hate and rejection will most probably lead to a failing one.

Let’s love and embrace him, and shower him with songs of praise when he does well. The Gerv, I am pretty sure, will pay us back handsomely.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Is that what the ‘little boy inside’ cried out for, Robin?

April 1, 2013TotalArsenal

Robin van Persie has been speaking to Dutch media in recent weeks; about how he just made the right decision to join Manchester United. He said he should not have left Arsenal earlier or later, and that he could see himself finish his career at United, as they care so much more about ‘the older’ player.

Robin van Persie will win the league with United this year and well done to him. He had more than his fair share in his new club’s achievement so he deserves the credit. He scored 19 PL goals; only one less than Hernandez and Rooney put together and he won many a game for the Mancs singlehandedly, mainly during the first half of the season.

However, he only scored one goal in the last twelve games for MU, and he has once again not produced the goods when it really matters. Against Real Madrid he had a number of opportunities in both legs, but a lack of composure let him down time and again; very similar to his performances for us against Milan in the CL a year earlier and for the Dutch national team in recent years.

Today, in a crucial match for his team to win a ‘double’ this season, he was given the role of super-sub. He came on in 61^st minute in order to turn the game round, after Demba had put the Chavs ahead by doing something the Dutchman himself used to do when he still played for a proper football playing team; scoring from a ball over the top with a piece of fine technical finishing.

Once again, he fluffed his lines as his team worked hard to get him in a promising position. The magic has somehow disappeared, and to be fair to him, this happens to all strikers. But RvP is paid an incredible £1m a month now and for that money surely more is expected by the Mancs’ owners and fans. Four under-par performances against Chelsea – he was a ‘super-sub’ in the FA cup home draw as well – and Real Madrid; and two painful, gloryless cup-exits.

He will be able to say he won a Premiership’s medal at the end of this season, but who is to say he would not have done the same if had he stayed at Arsenal and scored his 19 PL goals for the mighty red and white? In the end, we conceded only two goals more, but scored eleven goals less than MU.

But he had no patience and wanted the big money, rather than fulfil his contract and pay back the club for all that it had done for him. The little boy was screaming loads and loads of cash at him and that he would win so much more with United. The inner-voice was so loud, it made him go against the club and burn all his bridges with a disgraceful statement.

Well the little boy was partly right, and who knows what he will still be able to win with MU in the following years, but I cannot help but take some satisfaction out of his recent failings.

The man who once said he is a ‘Gunner for Life’ and that he ‘loves the club and that will always be the case’, but who still left us in the lurch at the first opportunity, is going through a mighty dip in performance. And long may it continue.

Written by: a still bitter TotalArsenal

Forget about tactics, transfers and deadwood: THIS is what really matters!

March 20, 2013March 21, 2013TotalArsenal

It is great to blog about everything Arsenal and watch games on telly; to discuss tactics, formations, who’s the deadwood and who we should sign during the next transfer window.

But nothing compares to live football. Nothing beats, seeing the boys in the – red and white covered – flesh, being able to smell the pitch, sensing the tension and the hope, singing along with fellow Gooners, being able to see the entire pitch and watching the tactics of both teams unfold, as well as celebrating our victories together.

I am lucky enough to watch a few games every season, but I know there are thousands, if not ten thousands of fellow Gooners out there, who support their team passionately but in relative, or sometimes total, isolation – whether based in the UK or anywhere else in the world – and have never seen our team play live.

BK was approached by Switzerland based Pope the Gooner with a request to publish his personal experiences of his first-ever live Arsenal game, and of course I snapped his hand off! 🙂

Enjoy the read, and please tell us your first/special Arsenal game experience!

TotalArsenal.

First Arsenal Live Game: a few lines on pre-match expectations, the game itself, and final thoughts.

Thanking the Guardian for being able to copy their pictures of the Bayern - Arsenal CL match. — Thanking the Guardian for being able to copy their pictures of the Bayern – Arsenal CL match.

After the outcome of the CL draw ‘Arsenal vs Bayern Munich’ had been communicated, I was really excited. There was a real chance that I would be able to take one or two days off and go to Munich to see the Gunners live for the first time.

I immediately asked a friend of mine studying with me in Zurich, but originally from Munich, if he was interested in seeing the game with me. After a positive answer, I called our local ticket agent to get the tickets. However, they told me that nothing was known yet, not even if they would be able to get some of those little pieces of paper. ‘I should check the homepage for updates’, they told me: and so I did; every thirty seconds or so. And then one day, it was around Christmas, suddenly the tickets appeared in the web shop; we would be seated in a Bayern section of the Allianz Arena, but finally I’d be seeing my Arsenal!

Expectations v1.0

Well, as can be deduced from the title, my expectations did in fact change a little after watching the home game. However before that day, I was full of expectation. Get a result, maybe even only a scoreless draw, at home and a one clinical counter attack at their place might prove decisive. Given the current form around that time – that time being the 2012/2013 season – I admit that was kind of overly optimistic, but as long as we’re not out, we’re still in!

Then the transfer window came and went. The addition of Nacho seemed very decent, especially after his performance against Stoke after just one training session with the club. But there was this tag Nacho was carrying: ‘cup-tied’, and he would sadly not be able to help us out against Bayern. Gibb’s injury concerned me a little, and the information the club was leaking just gave me enough HOPE that he would be back in time for the Bayern games.

Then, finally it was time and the first leg was played. I was meeting with my friend from Munich and we watched it together with some other lads. Most of them were for Munich, one or two undecided, and then there I was with my Arsenal shirt. We started quite well with some quick and decisive forward play and the Bayern guys were starting to talk about how bad this could end when they scored against us. Kroos’ goal certainly was a fine finish, but it had a too well known smell to it. Possession ceded in the build-up, no one backing Vermaelen at left back against his two opponents, Koscielny almost intercepting the ball, but not preventing it from ending up in the net. Then I felt the game changed, and the team were unable to return to the way we played during the first few minutes.

Expectations v1.1

After the quite poor performance and result in the home-leg, I did not expect the team to be able to advance; still hoping for the (im)possible though! More realistically, I was hoping for an entertaining game with a couple of goals. After arriving in Munich in the wake of disheartening games against Blackburn and the Spurs, I’d have taken a result like a 2-2 draw all day long. Finding out that Podolski as well as Wilshere would not be in the squad didn’t really make me raising my expectation either.

The Match day

At 1pm we took a bus from Zurich to Munich and arrived there around 6pm, which left enough time to deposit our bags at lockers in the Ostbahnhof and going to a traditional restaurant near Marienplatz. We already had encountered quite some singing Arsenal fans in the streets and train stations. Only trusting one’s ear, it would have appeared to be a home game for our guys. However opening one’s eyes again one could see that many of the red-and-white scarfs actually bore the emblem of Bayern.

Then upon entering the restaurant, it had something with Augustiner in the name, the setting was quite the same, many dispassionate people wearing Bayern scarfs and shirts, and on a small table almost in the center of the room a group of Arsenal fans drinking beer, shots and singing about the Arsenal. It felt really great how they radiated optimism and believe in this situation, and I instantly felt a little more confident about the match. The beers that accompanied half a duck and some kraut with a dumpling did the rest.

The Match

We arrived just in time in the Allianz Arena glaring in (Arsenal-) red and found our seats at the same time as the referee started the match. I didn’t even make myself comfortable when I already had the first chance to jump out of my seat and shout with joy. GIROUD! In only the third minute! If we would score at that rate we’d comfortably win by 30 – 0, only a tenth of that was needed, though, allowing us plenty of time to seal the end of Bayern’s CL campaign.

For a moment no rational thinking was happening in my brain; I was just happy and wanted the guys to have a go at it. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to score again until the 86^th minute or so. Which did not leave us enough time to complete the task, still I was impressed by the display and there were some scenes that I will not forget that fast.

Besides the two goals, there was Rosickys tackle on Robben to deny them a counterattack. It was not exactly the tackle, but Rosicky’s reaction, that impressed me so much. Knowing he’d get the card, he just got up and walked straight back to help out at the back, with Robben lying on the floor where he left him. There was such a determination on display in this short scene.

Another good example, for the determination in the team, was when one of our defenders chased down Robben on their right wing, performed a perfect sliding tackle, got up with the ball on his feet and directly tried to start a counterattack with a fast forward pass. I think it was Jenkinson, and if I remember correctly his pass was intercepted. However, what remains is the strong will and determination shown to help out the team, run his socks of and give absolutely everything.

And then in the end, the away support. However much I would have liked to be seated (or better standing and jumping) in the Arsenal section, it was impressive and good to see how the away supporters were still cheering to the Arsenal some 5 to 10 minutes after the game.

In the subway on the way home, it felt weird. We had won and still lost. In the end, the feeling that managed to keep hold of myself would best be described as a mixture of proud and content. The miracle did not happen, but the lads worked really hard for it and almost did the trick. The Bayern supporters, on the other hand, went home beaten, in a downcast mood – even though they progressed. Weird things can happen in a supporter’s mind…

Final thoughts

Well, nine games to go, 27 points to play for; one small and one rich team to overtake. Let’s see what happens. I myself feel quite confident that the guys are capable of finishing in 3^rd or 4^th place…

On another note, I really want to see the Arsenal playing at the Emirates: even more so, than before this last week’s fantastic experience.

Hopefully that dream will soon become reality!

Written by: Pope the Gooner, who is based in Switzerland.

Why key players have left Arsenal and how to stop it happening again

March 18, 2013TotalArsenal

Nowadays in football there is no loyalty. This is because of one reason, and one reason alone: football is now a business, and everyone knows that there are no friends in business. Everyone now involved in football, whether that be players, managers, owners,or clubs and agents, are looking out for no. 1. Behind every action of a player, manager, owner, club or agent, there is an ulterior motive that benefits whoever has instigated it.

Football fans see players moving clubs for a number of different reasons. The different scenarios include a player moving to a club that is more prestigious than the club they are currently at; a player moving to a club that offers them a higher wage than the club they are currently at; moving to a club that wins trophies; moving to a club for personal reasons (family, homesickness or because he does not feel respected by the club he is currently at); and even a player moving club because his friend has recommended him to do so.

As Arsenal fans, we are no strangers to players leaving our club, and our players who are still at the club are never far from transfer speculation. In recent years we have seen a lot of players leave our club. These include the likes of Clichy, Nasri, Fabregas, and recently Song and Van Persie (all of which have been our best players). Players will move clubs for many different reasons and there is no problem with this, but when you start to see a trend in the reasons why players leave a club (players leaving the club for the same reasons), you know that there is a deep lying problem within the club.

Arsenal are now one of these clubs and have been for a number of years, with players such as those mentioned above either leaving Arsenal for a more prestigious club, and/or a club that pays them higher wages, and/or a club that has won trophies in recent times.

Players who have left Arsenal are often branded as being selfish, greedy, sell-outs and traitors by us fans, but in my opinion I feel that they were right to leave Arsenal, and I will explain why.

Firstly, for most professional footballers, playing football is a job first and a hobby second. This means that to most football players this is their career. Like anyone else who has a career, you want to improve your career and climb the ladder to get yourself noticed. For the players who have left Arsenal in recent years, moving to a club which gives them a higher wage, a club that is more prestigious and a club that wins trophies is their way of improving their career; climbing the ladder and getting themselves noticed just like everyone in the world wants to do.

Secondly, many fans say that Arsenal players who have left the club should have been loyal and stayed at Arsenal, regardless of Arsenal not winning any trophies for 8 years. I have to disagree. Why should Arsenal players who have left the club, stayed at a club that is underperforming. Suppose it was the other way round and it was the player who was underperforming. The club would not stand by him. That player would more than likely be sold as quickly as possible or just kicked out the club (forced to go on loan). We have seen this with the likes of Park, Santos etc. Suppose your boss had been promising you a pay rise for 8 years and you never got it; you would leave the company you work for as well.

What Arsène Wenger and the board must do to stop more of our best players from leaving our club for the same reasons, is very simple.

Arsène Wenger and the board must abandon their current wage structure that Arsenal are using to reward their players. Arsenal pays the wages of their football players using the idea of a ‘socialist model’. This means that the gap paid in wages between the highest earners and the lowest paid players, are much narrower compared to the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

This is shown by the likes of Podolski and Walcott, who are regular first team players for Arsenal but get paid only around £90 000 a week, and the likes of Squillaci, who is a reserve player and our fifth choice centre back, and gets paid around £60 000 which is not a huge difference at all.

Arsenal’s collective wage bill every year is around £143 million which is the fourth highest collective wage bill in the Premier League; with Manchester United’s collective wage bill every year being around £160 million; Chelsea’s collective wage bill ever year being £171 million; and Manchester City’s collective wage bill every year being the highest in the Premier League at around £201.

Manchester United’s wage collective wage bill is not that much higher than ours but because they do not follow the ‘socialist model’ of paying wages this means that they can afford to pay the likes of Van Persie and Rooney around £220 000 a week, meanwhile we cannot afford to pay wages above the £110 000 mark to players. Arsène Wenger and the board need to start paying the wages of Arsenal players based on their performances, abilities and value to the team.

In addition quite a large chunk of Arsenal’s collective wage budget is made up from Arsenal paying other clubs to take Arsenal players on loan (for example Denilson whose loan deals just seem to never end). Arsène Wenger and the board would save a lot more money if they just sold these players or released them from their contracts.

This must stop, and with the money saved from selling or releasing players from their contracts, as opposed to just loaning them out, and by switching to a new wage structure, it would allow Arsenal to pay their best players what they deserve, and also have the money at their disposal to pay the wages needed for top quality players to come to Arsenal.

If Arsène Wenger and the board can do this, we will easily start to be able to win trophies again and our club will be able to be as prestigious as it used to be, and our best players will not want to leave Arsenal.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Written by: AFC.

Santi drives, Diaby & Ox are improving, Nacho & Gerv coolest: report and ratings

March 16, 2013TotalArsenal

Nacho tells the Spuds and Chavs who he's gunning for! — Nacho tells the Spuds and Chavs who he’s gunning for!

Facing the Jacks without Jack? Who really gives a Jack?!

It turns out, the almost-miracle in and against Munich, may well be the much needed lift for our squad to finish in the coveted top-four domestically by the end of the season. Amidst the downplaying by some critics of our victory at the Allianz arena (due to Bayern’s suspensions and being mentally unfocused after their first-leg victory), the significance of that victory may go beyond the criticism of coming short in Europe yet again; it represents a huge boost for Arsenal in confidence, and the cornerstone for momentum to the rest of the season.

The problem for most of this season has been following up a great performance with another. There has been a lack of consistency game-to-game and even within a game; the 2-0 victory against Bayern saw the potential for Arsenal to be a fortress defensively like we were for the first few games this season, while playing as a collective, cohesive unit offensively.

Arsenal was able to follow up its 2-0 victory in the CL with another inspiring 2-0 victory against a Swansea side that beat us by the same score-line earlier this year. Arsene made some changes to the line-up that played mid-week in Germany, by starting Ox, Diaby and Monreal in place of Rosicky, Ramsey and Gibbs. We started off the game with some very nice one-touch passing, while Swansea countered with some beautiful passing of its own. It was evident that this would be a wide-open game with both teams taking turn passing and attacking.

Swansea dominated the first 20 minutes of play by creating the majority of chances and holding on to the ball very well – they ‘out-Arsenaled’ Arsenal in the process. Their first half was highlighted by golden opportunities both missed by Michu. Our defence did well in neutralizing the early threats; and after the initial 20 minutes of dominance by Swansea, Arsenal took over the game.

We had our fair chances to score in the first half, none better than Ox’s two shots off the crossbar, and Santi’s dipping effort from 25 yards out that Vorm saved calmly. However, both sides were unable to convert, and the half ended in a stalemate with both sides outplaying the other for half of the first 45 minutes.

The second half was a much different story to the first half of the game; as Arsenal have been able to own second halves, with only 12 goals conceded – better than any other squad in the Premier League. We started the second half as we ended the first half: in complete control on both possession and scoring chances. Santi drove our team forward on numerous occasions and Diaby threatened with a couple of nice runs, but we still lacked either the final ball or the finish to put us ahead. It once again appeared that we would be victims to our lack of creativity, as we were very stationary on the edge of the opponent’s box, contemplating a way to break through their defence.

However, in the 71^st minute of the game, Arsene made two key substitutions that changed the flow and outcome of the game – Gervinho and Ramsey came into the match for Ox and Diaby. At first, I was a little puzzled by the substitutions since two-thirds of our most threatening attacking options today were now off the field, but I had faith that Gervinho’s trickery and runs would add some flair and potentially reinvigorate our stale offensive approach.

Immediately after the substitutions, Santi drove us forward once again and played a ball to Giroud, whose poor touch was saved by a diving second effort to get the ball to Monreal in the opponent’s box. Cool and composed as ever, Monreal slid the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to give the Mighty Arsenal a much-deserved one-goal lead. From there, the game was history as we continued to own possession and still attacked when given the opportunity. We moved up and down the pitch like a well-oiled machine, paying special attention to the defensive side of the game before eventually scoring in the 91^st minute. Gervinho capped off a counter-attack in the 91^st minute by calmly slotting an insurance goal for us from a Ramsey pass.

Player Ratings:

Fabianski (7.5) – He was never really tested, but came up with saves when needed. His aggressive goalkeeping in running out to meet balls played back to him by defenders displayed his confidence and comfort level in goal. I also noticed that most of his kicks in the air often find Arsenal players in open space, which is another benefit Fab brings to the table. Two clean sheets in a row, nothing extraordinary today, but he provides us with stability in goal going forward.

The Back Four: Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny (7.5) Monreal (8.0) – I grouped our back four together because I thought they all played a very solid game and have finally provided us with some defensive consistency and reliability. Jenkinson’s pass directly to Michu in the first half was frightening, but fortunately we were not punished for his mistake. Aside from that, Jenkinson was lively running up and down the flank and is blossoming into a fantastic and dependable RB. Mertesacker held the line well and played very deep to receive passes in typical fashion; he was steady as ever. Koscielny was aggressive and assertive in his defending again, and has formed a solid partnership with the BFG in the center of the park. Monreal’s timely goal set him apart from the rest of the back four, but all four are worthy of recognition for playing a solid defensive game with little to no errors.

Arteta (6.5) – I was a little disappointed with Arteta today, as he misplaced some passes (one to Koscielny in our own half) and was careless with his tackling (conceded a free kick just outside our own 18-yard box and picked up a yellow), which almost cost us. His lack of pace has been frequently exposed lately against clubs with fast players like Robben, Ribeiry, Routledge, Dyer, Pablo etc. However, he is still the engine of this team and Arsenal are more disciplined and organized when he wears the armband and is in the line-up.

Diaby (7.0) – Considering it was Diaby’s first game back after another injury lay-off, I was relatively impressed. There were flashes of his old-self coming back, as he galloped down field with ease and stripped the ball off Swansea players on numerous occasions. It was clear that he was rusty and not fully in form yet, as he had a heavy touch on a couple occasions and could not finish from the scoring opportunities he created for himself.

Cazorla (8.5) – Santi was the driver for our team and constantly pushed us forward throughout the whole match. Much like Diaby, Santi is once again showing signs of becoming the player he was at the start of the year and is exerting his influence on the game. He was my MoTM and has looked brilliant filling in for Jack in the hole. As mentioned earlier, it was Santi’s run with the ball that created the first goal; and his pass up field to Giroud that started the counter-attack for our second goal.

Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5) – Ox’s first start in a while and like Diaby, it was clear that he had some rust to shake off. He was our most dangerous player in the first half, hitting the crossbar twice, combining well with Santi and making some nice runs into the opponent’s 18-yard box. However, he also had a couple heavy touches and made some errant passes in the final third. I’d like to see Ox get some more minutes during the rest of the season, as he provides a different option to our wings than Theo, Poldi, Santi and Gervinho.

Giroud (6.5) – Giroud was underwhelming yet again today. Aside from the nice second effort to assist on Monreal’s goal, he was largely not involved and never helped to threaten Swansea’s defense. As always, his work rate and attention to defensive duties is admirable, but we’ll eventually need goals from our striker if we’re to qualify for the Champions League next year.

Walcott (6.0) – There were times when I questioned if Theo was even on the pitch. There has been a disturbing pattern of Theo drifting centrally recently, looking for the breakaway pass and to be the man who scores timely goals, whilst leaving Jenkinson defending and attacking on his own on the right flank. While the belief in his own ability is great, the delivery has not been focused enough, and he needs to let the game come to him, instead of forcing the issue. I’m confident he’ll eventually find his scoring boots again.

Gervinho, Ramsey (7.0) and Gibbs (Incomplete) – In their cameo appearances, Gervinho and Ramsey made a substantial impact on the game. Their ratings are only a 7.0 because they only played approximately 20 minutes of the match. Gervinho immediately threatened Swansea with a nice run down the left, but fell victim to his own poor pass in the final third. Still, our offense looked livelier once he was on the pitch and his goal in the 91^st minute sealed our victory. Ramsey’s work rate running up and down the field was necessary as our team was starting to fade before he came on. Despite his pass being played behind Gervinho on the goal, he still played it into the right area and picked up a crucial assist. Gibbs came onto the game in the 84^th minute to defend the lead and never really had the opportunity to make his mark.

On a day where the Arsenal is victorious, it’s hard to point out too many flaws in our game, and I believe my player ratings more or less reflect this. Going forward, the striker partnership of Theo and Giroud will need to improve, as we’ll need their goals in the coming weeks to secure a Champions League spot.

Hopefully, Arsenal can maintain this level of intensity and consistency and finally form an identity of being a defensive fortress, while winning games in typical, beautiful Arsenal fashion.

Written By: Highbury Harmony

How many game-changers do Arsenal have: Wilshere, Cazorla, Arshavin?

March 14, 2013March 15, 2013TotalArsenal

So here we are, nearing the end of another season which has careened from the sublime to the ridiculous. A season where Arsenal has flattered to deceive, and deceive it has for most parts. Sadly, we are only in March, and it will be another season without a trophy.

Frustration has been rife for most part of the season, and a large part of it has been directed towards Wenger, a manager who historically has had loyal support from the fans.

It all boils down to two basic questions at this juncture: How did we get here, and where do we go from here.

Much has been written on the first question, and I will only touch upon it by mentioning two anecdotes which for me are prime examples of Arsenal’s decline.

The first one is that rather infamous tirade Patrick Viera threw at Wenger in the summer of 2001 (http://www.arsenal-mad.co.uk/news/tmnw/vieira_fires_major_gunners_salvo_11449/index.shtml), comparing Wenger’s dealings to shopping at Harrod’s. Funnily enough, Patrick wanted to leave because he wanted to win the Champions League, not just any trophy and claimed that the team at the time (including Henry and Wiltord) was not even going to finish fourth. We know how that ended.

But back then, our team comprised of world class players who could walk into any team. We were formidable, and yes, we weren’t perfect; we had our share of bad luck and Achilles heals, but yet we’d fight and win more often than not.

The second anecdote is a recent conversation with a friend. During the early part of the season when we were struggling (heck, we still are) he put to me that Arsenal no longer has world class players in the same vein as a Suarez, RVP, Ronaldo etc. He was referring to players who could change games. My immediate reaction was to deny it, but then he asked me to name our players who could do that for us and that’s where the conversation floundered.

We used to have RVP, and he’s truly world class. But currently, who else can be classified as a game changer? Cazorla? Podolski? Varmaelen? Wilshere? Walcott? How many of these players can you rely to change games? How many of these would fit into a European ‘big’ team? How many of these players have actually changed BIG games for us this season?

At the time, when I was having that conversation with my friend (incidentally a Man U fan, which doesn’t really help)I had picked Cazorla and Poldi. After all both had world class pedigrees and Cazorla was having a good spell. Wilshire was injured at the time. Interestingly my friend suggested Arsharvin, and I had to agree. Unfortunately Arsharvin despite being world class, never quite worked for us.

If I were to have a go again today at the same question, I’d only pick Wilshere. He’s the only big-game changer that we have. He’s the only one who can be relied upon to have a full go in a big game.

The rest? They may be fantastic players with fantastic pedigrees, but they haven’t shown consistency or been big game changers. Poldi, Cazorla and Arteta have popped up to score crucial match winning goals (3 each) for us this season, but there’s still something missing (incidentally, RVP has got 5, while Bale has got 6 winning goals). Cazorla looks brilliant, but quite often struggles to impact games against big opposition. Walcott can be fabulous, but has also struggled in games where you’d think he’d assert himself. In fact the last big performance (in an important match) from him was that 5-2 vs Spurs last season. Verm I adore, but something’s gone wrong. He’s not a bad defender, but he’s having a crisis of confidence for sure.

So… we have moved from a team with world class players who wanted to win the Champions League, to a team of good players who want to win ANY trophy. Perhaps it has to do with some bad buys (Squillaci, Park)… perhaps it has to do with players with potential not returning Wenger’s trust as much as they should (Arsharvin, Poldi, Verm, Cazorla, Walcott, Gervinho, Diaby), perhaps it’s just a transitional season where we are still discovering our best system with the players still trying to gel with each other, or perhaps it’s because Wenger buys all round players and plays them in THE system, rather than in their best positions leading to their potential loss in form (Arsharvin, Ramsey, even Cazorla to a certain extent). Whatever the reason, and I’d say it’s probably a bit of all of the above plus more, we are where we are.

We are no longer a formidable European team with a fortress for a home. We are at best a good mercurial team, a top 6 team.

So where do we go from here?

In the longer term, I think it’s important for us to take stock and count our blessings. We finally have a team that’s likely to stay together for a couple of seasons at least. We have a good solid core group of midfielders, even if we lack in defense and attack. We have Wilshere, arguably one of the best of his generation (touch wood). We have Cazorla, Giroud, Poldi and Walcott, who hopefully will have gotten to know each other better and also improve individually as the new season arrives. We have good support staff in Ramsey, Gibbs and to a certain extent Gervinho. We have potentially good defenders (even if most of them are out of form) and for the first time in two seasons, we have the makings of a squad.

To transform this into a great squad, dead wood would have to be let go, and possibly three new players brought in: a world class striker (Villa perhaps), a world class goal keeper and world class central defender. I would certainly like for us to keep the Verm, he may be struggling, but to me he embodies the Arsenal spirit. I would be sad to see him go.

So we are in relatively good shape if the right additions are made, to be able to launch a campaign in which we can realistically hope for a trophy, if not the premiership.

In the shorter term, we need to keep faith in Wenger and in what he’s doing. He has been unlucky at times and he has made rather odd decisions at other times, but I have complete faith in the fact that he lives for Arsenal and believes in us returning to glory. At the same time, I’d be surprised if a new manager can come in and help us to win titles, while simultaneously retaining our football philosophy. Pep would have been one, but he’s off to Bayern, against whom we had an almost massive night in the second leg. It was a performance of grit, character and solid defense, and it makes me proud to be a supporter of this club. If only we had let in one goal less in the first leg!

Most importantly in the short term, we have to capitalize on Spurs’ dropped points by winning our next game at Swansea, which will not be an easy one, but This 2-0 away win vs. Munich with a side lacking in Wilshere and Poldi should give the team immense confidence, belief and faith that we’ll be able to get through to the EPL top four.

Wilshere is likely to be missing for Swansea as well so the onus will be on the other players to step up their game. I’d really like to see Diaby get back into some solid form, for Walcott and Giroud to score goals, for Cazorla and Poldi to pull strings from midfield and finally for our defense to return to saner footing.

Our club crest says it best, Victory through Harmony, and we need to regain our internal and external harmony, as players and fans both, in order to meet our short term and long terms objectives.

Written by: Umair Naeem.

Umair Naeem is a Karachi-based writer and the author of the novel Drowning Shadows, a spiritual thriller set in Karachi that revolves around man’s inherent desire for control.

He is currently balancing his time working on his second novel all the while rooting for Arsenal to return to glory!

Website: http://Umairn.wordpress.com

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/umairn

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/umairnaeemofficial

Is it loyalty or money that keeps Arsene at Arsenal?

March 6, 2013March 6, 2013TotalArsenal

There are many fellow Gooners out there who believe that Arsene has an easy job; that he has absolutely no pressure put on him by the BoD, and is paid vast sums of money whilst constantly underperforming. They have picked up a rumour from one of the blogs or newspapers that he is being paid more than Red Nose, somewhere in the region of £7m.

I have no doubt Arsene is generously remunerated by the club. His salary, whatever it is exactly, will be a reflection of him having been our manager for so many years. It will also reflect market value; as in what others – like the Spanish giants – would be prepared to pay in order to entice our manager to their club, and it will also mirror the club’s attempt to keeping Arsene at Arsenal throughout the difficult period of building the new stadium, and beyond.

You might strongly believe that Arsene has not been worth his assumed mega salary, as he failed to bring in silverware for eight years and counting, but the BoD are likely to have a totally different view. They are more likely to look at the wider picture, and will regard Wenger as a fine and loyal captain who guided the new Arsenal ship through some stormy seas. In the process, he ensured CL qualification year in and year out, and did not require additional funds for player purchases to achieve it.

The club will have made a ‘Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats’ (SWOT) analysis during the periods of before, during, and after the build of the new stadium, and will have done the same for the direct competition. I have no doubt that based on these SWOT analyses, the BoD will have concluded every time that Arsene did relatively very well. There will have been hope rather than expectation for silverware over the last eight years, and only now will Arsenal enter a period in which it will be able to become a reasonably strong competitor for the top prices again; and hope is very likely to turn once again into expectation as a result.

This optimism is based on both a better financial position going forward and the likely, or should that be hoped for, impact of Financial Fair Play on the mega-rich clubs, who have been able to operate with enormous losses over the last 4-8 years.

It all remains to be seen whether Arsene is the right manager to guide Arsenal to silverware in this new era, and whether he actually still wants to do it.

Looking at him over the last few months and seeing all the abuse he has had to put up with, I wonder why he just does not call it a day. He could go anywhere; I am sure both Madrid and Barcelona will have vacancies this summer, or he could take a national manager job and take a team to Brazil. He could also just take a break from it all and spend time with his family: life could be so easy for him.

I don’t know Arsene personally but he does not strike me as a person who values money very highly, or somebody who wants an easy job either. Managing Arsenal during and after the building of the new stadium has been anything but easy. Yes, he was paid a lot of money in the process, and no doubt he was offered more job security than most football managers across Europe, but staying at Arsenal, during what is most probably going to be his best remaining years as a manager, was not the easy option.

What would he have lost, had he gone to Madrid or Milan, or Bayern, or Barcelona, or the French National Team, or anywhere else, say in 2006? Even if he had been sacked after a season for not winning anything, or for whatever reason, he would always have had his fantastic record with Arsenal, and found a new job again in no time.

Arsene clearly does not have to work for money anymore. He stayed at Arsenal, and is also now not prepared to leave, for another reason: partly because he is a very loyal person, who, in an old fashioned sort of way, wants to honour his contract every time, and partly because he is an ambitious man who wants to finish on a high and return Arsenal back to the very top, and with beautiful football in the process.

I am not sure anymore whether he is capable of doing this once more with Arsenal, but what I am sure about is his loyalty, ambition and passion for the club as his main drivers for staying put at Arsenal, and that money has very little to do with it.

And for that alone we should always respect him.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Spurs – Arsenal: midfield drives on, but defence and attack let us down again

March 3, 2013March 3, 2013TotalArsenal

Another game in which we gave away the game in the first 45 minutes; another game in which our defence was too easily breached; and another game in which our attackers lacked composure and intelligence to hurt our opponent.

Against the top seven of the PL we had just one win in all our away games: against Liverpool. We drew at Everton and Man City, and lost to MU, Chelsea, and now to Spuds; and we still have to go to Newcastle United (last game of the season). We lost all these matches with a 2-1 score, and every time we gave our game away with sloppy, undisciplined defending in the first half.

We started well and worked very hard to dominate the game against a defensively well-organised, and equally energetic Spuds team. The defence and midfield looked sharp and it looked like a goal would only be a matter of time. However, it became soon clear that our attackers had difficulties in finding each other and also struggled badly to both make clever runs and deploy composure in front of goal. The Spuds defended well and did not allow us much space, but we still should have done better in attack.

I see more and more similarities between Giroud and Ramsey: not only do they look each other – they could easily be brothers – they are also great workers and very likeable chaps, and I would never slate them because of this, but they also lack the necessary quality for the level Arsenal should be playing at. Perhaps both players are going through a bad patch, but I have seen enough now to realise they are at best first-18 squad players, rather than automatic choices for the first-11 team.

Theo Walcott also had a disappointing game. He did not receive the best of service and Spuds did a good job defensively against him, but in games like this he needs to be more dominant and force himself into the thick of the action. In general, I felt we lacked wing-play today as both Theo and Cazorla, and of course Jenkinson and Nacho, faced strong opposition and did not have the discipline and/or skillset to add another dimension to our attacking play. Although Jenkinson managed to get a few decent balls into the box from the wing, and he had a decent game in terms of supporting our attack.

I thought Cazorla was our best player today and I loved his drive and energy. And this brings me to the one really good thing about our team today: it had drive and determination from the start and the likes of Arteta, Wilshere and Cazorla, but also Vermaelen, Nacho and Jenkinson, and of course also Ramsey and Giroud, all played with passion and a real desire to win today.

I thought we played well in midfield and were able to dominate this area for large periods of the game. In that respect, Ramsey should be credited for his hard work and focus, and the same goes for Arteta who was a warrior for us, although not without fault, today.

I felt that Jack struggled to find the quality openings which we know he is capable of, but together with Santi he always adds something to our football, even when he is not at his best.

I won’t be telling you anything new when I say that both our defence and attack were well below par, and the main reason we lost against the Spuds. Had only one of these departments been at the required level, we would at least have drawn this game.

I don’t want to talk about our rubbish defending in the first half – in the second half it was not much better but we rode our luck a few times – as it depresses me too much right now. Let’s analyse it again during the week.

There is also not much new that can be said about our attack: plenty of hard work and willingness but not enough composure and quality; and as a unit, our attack is missing cohesion, creativity and focus.

So, to give you our current situation in a nutshell: Arsenal are in transition and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel; our defence is disorganised and lacks confidence and leadership; our attack lacks cohesion as well as individual quality, and our midfield has become our stronghold and driver of the entire team. At least we have that to build our hopes on.

Written by: Total Arsenal.