King Koscielny

King Koscielny allows a St Totteringham's Day celebration

 

 

Thank God it's over. I haven't enjoyed this season at all really. It's been a slog through a very long and very cold winter. Arsenal were largely poor with the same old errors and same old frustrations. However, by hook or by crook (I don't want to write too lyrically about it at this stage as I'll be writing a season review at some point this week) the players and the Manager turned it around in the last ten games to mean that once again we finished above Tottenham. The added bonus of not playing on Thursday nights is more than a pleasant one. The sight of Arsenal players and fans celebrating (more on that below) and Tottenham players and fans crying (and celebrating goals that never were) is enough to make you smile wide this morning. What we did yesterday does not rank as an "achievement". The day Arsenal fans accept scraping in ahead of Spurs and finishing 17 points behind the Champions as success is the day we turn in to Tottenham ourselves. It is not a trophy, or anything like it. The glow of victory is not there that you get with a trophy, but I'd rather have won yesterday than lost.

The game yesterday was tense, of course. We don't do things the easy way so we were never likely to race in to a 3-0 lead before half-time. But the tension was also affecting the mugs at White Hart Lane. I was surprised to see Arteta playing, but not surprised when he had to be taken off. It was a silly gamble that could have backfired badly. Thankfully it didn't so it doesn't much matter now. What we did see yesterday was a group who wanted to work hard to ensure they'd done everything they could to get the win. If you watch the last couple of minutes of the match again you'll see Tomas Rosicky sprinting all the way across the pitch to close down the opposition. He was then backed up by a racing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain breaking up the Newcastle attack around the edge of our penalty area. The result of just that bit of effort was a ball up to Giroud, whose own pressure caused the mistake that saw Theo Walcott through on goal. It was a shame Theo couldn't seal it there and then as a number of people lost fingernails over the next three minutes.

The goal we did get was gloriously scrappy. Winning 1-0 with such a scrambled goal is delightful as far as I'm concerned. Yes, you'd like to win 5-0 all the time and play the most wonderful football. But when the final reckoning is done you get just as many points for scraping a 1-0. Laurent Koscielny, henceforth known as King Koscielny on this site, got the winner that put us in to the European Cup, just as he did at West Brom last year. His partnership with Per Mertesacker has been crucial in the recent run with just one goal conceded in open play since we lost to Tottenham. They've also both contributed set-piece goals in 1-0 wins at Fulham and Newcastle. King Koscielny's return to the side turned the season around, and Arsenal must hold on to him in the face of apparent interest from the World's best team, Bayern Munich. In his three seasons at Arsenal Koscielny has got better and better. He is now head and shoulders above his colleagues as the best centre-back at the Club. He dominated yesterday in the Arsenal defence and has to be challenging Mertesacker, Arteta and Cazorla in the Arsenal player of the season stakes.

I watched Match Of The Day last night with a happy smile. I soon lost that as soon as Alan Shearer opened his bitter Geordie gob. Shearer told us a few short weeks ago that Arsenal would not finish in the top four. He told us that we weren't good enough and that Tottenham had a better squad than Arsenal. Having been made to look stupid (again) he decided to criticise the Arsenal players for celebrating after the game as we had not won a trophy. The fact is that the players were celebrating finishing ahead of Tottenham with a group of fans who were happy and grateful for that. They were celebrating finishing ahead of Tottenham despite being told by cretinous, overpaid "experts" like Shearer that they were not as good as Spurs. Once again they proved that they were better. Why shouldn't they enjoy it? Lest we forget that Andre Villas-Boas described a "spiral of decline" after his side had clinched their Champions League place (because these things are always decided after 28 games) after beating us a few short months ago. Meanwhile the Tiny Totts supporters are changing tack and claiming that the one point gap (that's "gap") is merely a sign of how far we have fallen. I'd be inclined to agree to a certain extent, but we still finished above them after a terrible season for us, which was also a fantastic season for them (or for Gareth Bale, at least). Now Arsene Wenger must make good on his promises and spend good money on top players. If he does that we can build up to glory again. In the meantime, make sure to smile at every Tottenham fan you meet. Just smile. It winds them up something chronic.

Play at pace and go for goal

Kieran has to play this evening

 

 

Having watched Andros Townsend give Nacho Monreal the run around at QPR last week, and having watched Calum McManaman tear Gael Clichy a new one at Wembley on Saturday, there is no doubt in my mind that Kieran Gibbs must play tonight. Until last week I'd been reasonably impressed by Monreal. But he was utterly destroyed by a player not good enough to get near the Tottenham team. The Spaniard's complete lack of pace was frightening. In the past he has shown a good reading of the game and his positional play was such that his slowness was not exposed. Against QPR he was all over the place and we were lucky Townsend was playing with such a complete bunch of donkeys on the day. Last season Kieran Gibbs made an amazing last ditch tackle to ensure the win at West Brom on the last day. As far as I'm concerned we need Gibbo to play in both of our final games, but that will mean him actually staying fit for a whole week. His fragility worries me and it is holding him back from a very bright future. The improvement in Gibbs over the last eighteen months has been superb and I want to see him be Arsenal's main man in years to come. He might never be as good as Cashley but if he could stay fit he could give it a good go.

Elsewhere on the pitch it seems certain that Lukas Podolski will not be playing through the centre. I suspect that will mean him being back on the bench but I would far rather Poldi was on the pitch from the start. Wenger's excuses for taking him off all the time, as he gave the press yesterday, simply don't add up. The fact that Podolski is the one man that can shoot to devastating effect and is a natural finisher means he must play in games in which you have no choice other than to win. Obviously the system isn't going to change, but I would move Walcott in to the centre and Podolski to the left. I would then bring in Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right and leave out Rosicky to allow Cazorla back in to the centre. Cazorla hasn't had an influence on a game for some time. By the way the season has gone that means he is due a performance. I also think, despite a growing reputation for not working for the team, Podolski will give Gibbs more support by tracking back - Cazorla wanders off so much that our left-back is completely exposed when he plays wide.

The other big decision is who plays in goal. Lukasz Fabianski is back to fitness following the rib injury inflicted on him by Grant Holt's elbow. Fabianski was outstanding in the games he played before that injury, but Szczesny has played very well in the last two games. The decision for Wenger is whether he goes for the man in possession, or whether he makes Fabianski his number one. Both men are error prone, and neither is really good enough, so it is a massive deal for the Manager to make the right choice. Perhaps he should ask his centre-halves who they prefer to play in front of. For me, Mertesacker and Koscielny look far more confident with Fabianski between the sticks, but maybe that's a false impression.

Whatever the team selection this evening Arsenal must play better than they did at QPR. There has to be pace in the way we go forward. We have to run at the opposition and make things happen, rather than the interminable crabbing sideways across the opposition back-four. When we play at pace we destroy teams. When we run at opponents we cause them problems. Look at the previous two home games as the example. Against Norwich we did nothing for 80 minutes. When The Ox came on with Podolski they took on defenders. Ox ran at their back four and committed players to the tackle. The result was Giroud's goal that put us ahead. Then there was the Man Utd game where our midfield ran theirs off the pitch, and Rosicky went at people with the ball at his feet. The end result was a Man Utd side reduced to kicking just to stay in the game. What was missing was the actual shot at goal, which is another thing that must happen tonight. It is not acceptable to dominate games as we did in the first half-hour against Man Utd and QPR, only to get to half-time and find that our own goalkeeper is the one who has had to make the saves. If you don't shoot, you won't score - just ask Frank Lampard.

I'm not going to be there tonight as I am at work just after 3am tomorrow and flying to Lisbon. I'll be watching on Sky and feeling annoyed that I'm not at the game. I just hope that's my only reason to be annoyed. As I'll be out of the country there'll be no match review, nor will there be a preview of the Newcastle game. When I next write we will know how the season has finished. Come on Arsenal!!!

A long week behind and a long week ahead

At least we could actually win this one

 

 

I apologise for the lack of updates over the last eight days. I've had a particularly busy week at work which has not really left me in the mood for more time in front of a computer when I've got home. The need to actually spend some time with my family ahead of this week was also important. It's a shame really as there was a fair bit to have written about last week despite the absence of any football for Arsenal. I'll try to cover the main points as best I can remember.

 

Let's start with Wojciech Szczesny and his comments about Tottenham last week. What an idiot this boy is. I've long lamented Szczesny's big mouth and how he really shouldn't be chucking stones about with the lack of toughened glass around his six-yard box. The fact is that Szczesny's performances have not backed up his rhetoric. In fairness to him he had really toned down the big-headed public statements in recent months. His end to last season, an horrific Euro 2012, and performances as bad as anything Manuel Almunia (more on him below) produced for Arsenal maybe had him realising he should keep quiet for a while. Last week, in my piece after the QPR game, I praised the young Pole for his last two displays. I thought he was excellent against Manchester United and again at Loftus Road. The trouble is that he obviously thought he'd done pretty well himself. I can see no other reason for him opening his mouth and claiming Tottenham aren't good enough for finish in front of us for a top four place. As soon as I read it I cringed. He got a rise out of Andre Vilas-Boas the following day which no doubt showed a mental weakness in the Spurs Manager - why respond to such nonsense from  Szczesny by getting gobby (and getting your facts wrong) yourself? However, since Szczesny's trash talking Tottenham have come back twice to draw at Chelsea and then again to win at Stoke. I'm not saying Szczesny gave them the absolute motivation to go and get those results as Spurs are more than capable of doing that anyway. But my point is, why give them extra motivation? We used to hear Robbie Keane or Clive Allen coming out with stupid statements about how they were better than Arsenal just before we'd give them another tanking in the North London Derby. They were made to look like cretins (which they both are, incidentally). Come Sunday there is every chance that Szczesny will be the inspiration for a new t-shirt down the Tottenham high-road simply because he's a big-headed little clown who has achieved nothing except a reputation for being a rent-a-gob.

 

On the day that Alex Ferguson announced his retirement (I hate him but can't fail to respect his incredible achievements - you have to make the best of your luck and he more than did that over the past twenty years at Manchester United) Arsenal were widely reported to have signed a mega-bucks deal with Puma. Many of us had been hoping for Adidas shirts (as much for the vintage stuff to re-appear as for any new kits) but it seems it's not to be. Arsenal haven't announced anything officially yet, presumably because of current tie-ups with the Nike contract. However, I am not disappointed with the news. If you can't have Adidas you might as well have his brother. The deal itself is the biggest in English football as Puma seeks to establish itself at the top table. It seems that our connections and support in Africa were a major factor (Puma have long made kits for Cameroon, for example) and the reasons for us trying to play in Nigeria last year are now a bit clearer, I suspect.

I heavily criticised Ivan Gazidis and his team over the renewed deal with Emirates. It is my view that the naming rights for the stadium have effectively been given over free of charge. His contention that other commercial deals will not be done (such as sponsorship of the training kit for example) "out of respect" for Emirates is a joke as far as I'm concerned. Manchester United ditched a shirt sponsor only to re-engage them as sponsors of the training ground. It may seem vulgar to chase the money like that, but this is the modern World. Man Utd have seen the need to open up new sponsorship revenue streams in light of the financial fair play rules. If you can't beat them, join them should be Arsenal's philosophy when it comes to business now. However, I have to give immense credit to Gazidis for the deal with Puma. It has come out of left-field and, if confirmed, will be a massive swelling of the coffers over the next six years or so. If it is matched with some success on the field then the next deal could be even bigger.

 

Before I go on to talk about Arsenal's situation on the pitch I'd like to congratulate Manuel Almunia for his part in Watford's incredible result yesterday. For those who don't know about it, Almunia saved a last minute penalty, and the point-blank rebound, which then saw Watford break down field and hit the winning goal. It was fairly rare for Almunia to be portrayed as anything approaching a hero in his Arsenal days. Perhaps the Championship (or lower reaches of the Premier League) is more his level, but I am delighted to see him doing so well. 

Manuel Almunia is a really nice guy. He gave my brother a signed pair of his gloves, simply because he asked for them, on the pre-season tour to Austria a couple of years back. He could never have been accused to giving any less than his best for Arsenal. The trouble for him was that his best was often not quite good enough for a Club like Arsenal. He was error prone a bit too much for the top level at which we were playing. Arsene Wenger showed too much faith in him at the expense of Jens Lehmann. It cost us at least one Premier League Title. With the errors came fierce criticism from the fans and a loss of confidence that betrayed a fragile mental state for Manuel. He simply wasn't nasty or thick-skinned enough to deal with the brick-bats, unlike Lehmann. Almunia's biggest "crime" at Arsenal was being "good, but not good enough" but I would still take him above any of the idiots still at the Club right now. I hope he gets promoted with Watford. I, for one, will give him a standing ovation if he gets to run towards the North Bank next season.

 

So the final week of the season is here. Arsenal find themselves playing catch-up after Tottenham's win at Stoke yesterday. Of course we couldn't expect any favours from Pulis and his Orc army, but we shouldn't need to be looking for them in the first place. Over 36 games we are in a position where our destiny is in our own hands, which is good. But the fact is that our own abysmal performances and results, especially before Christmas, mean that we are not already safely ensconced in the Champions League next season.

I really don't see us winning both games this week. We should do, of course, but this is football. Wigan have their Premier League future to fight for - if they beat us tomorrow I think they'll stay up via a home win over Aston Villa on Sunday. Spurs will comfortably dispatch Sunderland at home so it is still all to play for as far as Wigan are concerned. They will be confident after deservedly and spectacularly winning the FA Cup on Saturday (I'd love for Arsenal to form a guard of honour for them tomorrow night). My hope is that they are fatigued from the win over Man City and the celebrations that followed.

I'll preview the game properly tomorrow. Before then I just want to speculate on what sort of week lies ahead of us. If we win tomorrow then we go to Newcastle in front of Tottenham, as they were when going to West Ham on lasagne day in 2006. The wait for Sunday will be interminable and the need for a result annoyingly stressful. If we don't win tomorrow then the recriminations will begin. As I said, I see no way for Sunderland to get a result at Tottenham. Having seen Sunderland's defending yesterday I dread to think what Gareth Bale will do to them with that amount of space to run, create, shoot and score. That being the case Arsene Wenger can expect all manner of hell to rain down upon him if Arsenal don't win against Wigan. Even if we do, he will be in the same position if we don't beat Newcastle. The task couldn't be clearer. I just don't think our players are capable of pulling it off. If there is a silver lining from a failure to finish fourth it would be that the Europa League is a competition we could actually win, rather than just enter. Small, small consolation. Who wants to watch football on a Thursday every other week?

 

More tomorrow with the Wigan game at the top of a very short list of priorities.

Pet Shop Boys make a comeback

Early celebrations for Theo

I don't mind winning 1-0. It doesn't do wonders for the heart rate but you get the same amount of points for it as you do if you win 6-1. If we win our two final games by the same margin, yet fail to finish in the Champions League places, then Chelsea and Spurs will deserve their positions ahead of us.

Winning 1-0 always puts a certain song in your head, and makes you think whimsically back to the European success under George Graham. Those games were won on hard work and tactical genius, of course. Yesterday's performance, however, was a little bit frightening. Having scored inside thirty seconds we never again carried a genuine threat in the match. We should have been swatting aside 'Arry's boys, especially with such an early lead, but I thought we were awful. Still, 1-0 is all that matters once that final whistle is blown.

For me QPR were the better side for most of the game. Once they realised Arsenal weren't going to put any pressure on them by actually trying to score another goal Rangers got on top and had a few shots. On the rare occasions, largely late in the second half, where an Arsenal player did deign to shoot Robert Green looked predictably uncomfortable as a the ball came towards him. Why won't they do it more often? I could almost re-write the piece I posted on here last Monday after the Man Utd game. I'm genuinely fed up of watching the sideways passing across an opponent who realises they only need to string a few defenders along their eighteen yard line to stop us. You could look at almost any of the various Arsenal websites and forums and you will see the same discussion being had. Does Arsene Wenger see the same things we see? Surely he realises that the football currently being played is as far removed from the golden days of his reign as it's possible to be. It's slow and turgid and we go nowhere. We are unlikely to beat Wigan and Newcastle 1-0 so something has to change over the next ten days.

In the game yesterday I thought Rosicky and Podolski really let themselves down. Last week Rosicky was going at defenders and making things happen in between the lines, but yesterday he did nothing whatsoever. Podolski, meanwhile, offered nothing to the team. On the rare occasion that Theo Walcott wasn't mis-controlling the ball when beyond the last defender Podolski was making no runs to assist him. A couple of times in the first twenty minutes Theo shaped to play a ball across goal only to see Podolski standing still on the edge of the area. I've stopped short of criticising Podolski all season but yesterday I thought he was awful. I would have replaced both of them at half-time and got Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere on the pitch. When they did come on we had our best spell of the game, for me.

In midfield I thought Mikel Arteta was superb yesterday. Aaron Ramsey ran around plenty but gave the ball to the bloke in the front row of the stand more often than not. Arteta was everywhere though. He made more than his share of tackles and basically played them on his own in there, with Cazorla fairly anonymous out wide and Theo busy being Theo. By and large I think Arteta has had a fine season, playing in a role to which he is far from suited. For someone so small he is not afraid to put his foot in, even after getting nailed by a certain red-card challenge from M'Bia early on in the game (another storming referee appointment is Mr Moss). Without Arteta yesterday we simply wouldn't have won the game.

My man of the match was Wojciech Szczesny. In the last two games he has done extremely well. Quite how Theo Walcott got the official award I suppose only an idiot like Chris Waddle could tell you. Aside from the outstanding late save to deny the impressive Loic Remy I felt the Pole's handling was assured for the first time in a long while. He also dealt decisively with some well delivered corners, and one huge paw of the ball to take it off Remy's head was as important as the later save. I suspect Szczesny will be busy in each of the remaining fixtures against sides who will be desperate for the points. It seems unlikely that Fabianski will be back to take his place so he will have to stay focused and keep up his current form.

By the way, have you seen that idiot chimp Bale being interviewed after the Spurs game yesterday? I think the praise has been going to his head. Either that or he lost a bet and had to wear that stupid hat. Frankly, he looked more like he should be advertising tea-bags than playing Premier League football. Unfortunately he keeps scoring winning goals.

The task is clear

Some of this tomorrow would be nice

With three games to go Arsenal's target has to be nine points. Anything less than three victories and even the coveted fourth place trophy will slip away. There was a time when winning three games against bottom of the table dross might have been considered as a given. However, this current side is without a centre-forward and has shown it is able to lose to opponents even worse than QPR, Wigan and Newcastle. Of course three wins might still not be enough, but if Chelsea and Tottenham were to get the results they require to make that happen they would deserve their places, regardless of our end to the season.

Lukas Podolski looks set to continue as the lone striker tomorrow. In the absence of Olivier Giroud I think he represents our best option there, regardless of the fact that he's not a natural for the role. Given that the alternatives are Gervinho and Walcott I see no other choice. Naturally the whole team would be helped, whether Giroud is available or not, by a change to two men up front but that's not going to happen any time soon. I have to say I thought Podolski didn't do too badly against Manchester United last week and should, in theory, find things a little easier against Rangers tomorrow. Giroud will be more missed tomorrow in defensive areas - who in our side is going to challenge Chris Samba at a set-piece? Another thing to note is that Podolski actually has a pretty good record this season. Last Sunday was his first Premier League start since January, which puts his goals and assists tally in perspective. You also know that, by and large, if he gets a decent chance in front of goal the ball will end up in the net more often than not. If our players provide Podolski with the service to score goals tomorrow then he will deliver, I am sure.

The first half-hour last Sunday was outstanding from Arsenal. The players must produce the same tomorrow. Having dominated the best side in the country by closing down in packs and then springing forward from midfield at pace, just imagine what we can do to rubbish like QPR by playing like that. For me that's the key to our end of season. If we play with that intensity we will blow the opposition away. If we don't then we could have a repeat of a number of early season displays like Norwich away, for example. I see no reason to recall Jack Wilshere to the starting line-up. The midfield from last week did really well. The only change I would be interested in from an attacking point of view would be for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to come in for Theo Walcott.

With QPR down they have nothing to play for other than a bit of pride. I suspect Redknapp will have them seriously fired up to play Arsenal. It's his last chance for at least a year to take on the big boys and he will be keen to give the Spurs fans something to cheer tomorrow. They have a number of big, powerful, individuals as well as one or two skilful mavericks like Taarabt. I fear Loic Remy who has clearly seen his spell at Loftus Road as a Premier League shop window. Koscielny and Mertesacker must be right on top of him from the off. Above all I fear our record at Loftus Road. Interspersed by a great win in 1990 and a big FA Cup thrashing in 2001 we have struggled badly at QPR over the years. These things play at you in the back of your mind, no matter how bad their current league campaign has been. Tomorrow we have to win. There is no other result that will suffice.

It's the frustration that's killing me

Should never have been left out

The first half-hour yesterday was enough to get every Arsenal fan out of their seat. It was like the old days watching our midfield completely dominate the plodders that have somehow seen Manchester United saunter to another League Title. Arteta, Ramsey and Rosicky were quicker and stronger at every turn. The work of the players when we didn't have the ball was simply outstanding. The biggest clue that United were in trouble was the way they reverted to type and started kicking Arsenal players up in the air. Like I say, it was like the old days. Having dominated so much we had to take advantage and score more than once. However, aside from a good effort by Cazorla we didn't really test De Gea at all. Good positions were wasted by our insistence on passing the ball rather than someone taking proper responsibility. Aaron Ramsey then chose the wrong option when we broke three-against-two and Podolski saw his shot from a narrow angle comfortably saved. You just got the impression that we had wasted our opportunities because eventually United were always going to get in to the game. It is almost impossible for three players to keep that sort of intensity across midfield for the whole match.
My heart sinks whenever the ball is played to Bacary Sagna in the opposition half. You just know that the move is going to be slowed down before his eventual cross is cleared before reaching the near post. Defensively he has never got to grips with the idea of stopping the opponent crossing the ball in to our penalty area (even when he was playing extremely well). Since coming back in this season (twice he has been unjustifiably recalled ahead of Jenkinson after recovering from injuries) he has looked short of pace. His two broken legs have certainly played a part, and it's no coincidence that his best display of the season came at centre-half against Sunderland. All that aside, I never thought I'd see him do what he did yesterday. As with going forward, our players at the back are programmed to pass, pass, pass. They are unable to think for themselves, and that's why Sagna found himself playing the ball to Van Persie rather than sticking his foot through it and regrouping. United had just missed a couple of sitters yet the warnings hadn't been heeded. To then chase back and tackle the traitor from behind merely compounded the issue. It was amateurish play. With things getting no better (if anything he got worse) for Sagna after half-time it is surely time for him to get the same treatment as Vermaelen and Szczesny (who played very well yesterday, incidentally). At the start of the season we looked good at the back with Gibbs and Jenkinson at full-back. We have to finish the season with those players too. It might be too late.
The second-half was a different sort of game. United had more possession and a few chances. But we also had plenty of opportunities to test De Gea, only to play yet another square pass. I find it so frustrating to watch this Arsenal team. We see the same thing week after week after week. Pass follows pass follows pass as we crab our away across an organised opponent. At least with Rosicky playing the way he did yesterday we had someone willing to beat a player and create that bit of space. Sadly his own shooting was inaccurate while just about everybody else's was simply non-existent. I couldn't understand taking off Rosicky. And when it comes to not shooting the worst culprit is actually Jack Wilshere. Time and time again it opens up for him, on his left foot, and he refuses to pull the trigger. Having seen Jack a lot in his youth and reserve team days I know he can shoot. He used to be a regular goalscorer. from all sorts of angles, because he had an eye for goal. Now he just won't do it. Even The Ox seems to have had the urge to try and score a goal coached out of his game. Frank Lampard has made a career out of hitting a clean strike at goal and seeing it loop off a defender into the corner. Yes, he's had a lot of luck. But he's also bought a ticket for the raffle by taking a punt and trying to actually score. You can't score with a square pass twenty yards from goal, but you can certainly score with a shot every now and again.
Before the game I'd have taken a point so it wasn't a bad result, I suppose. It leaves a nasty taste that Viv Van Stapleton got their goal against us, and even more so that he led the United players to the away fans after the game. Worse than that is the fact that he was allowed in to the Arsenal dressing room after the game by Arsene Wenger. He didn't want to be part of Arsenal so he was sold. He told us (and he wasn't wrong, in fairness) that our players weren't good enough. For Arsene Wenger to allow him in the inner sanctum like that shows a lack of appreciation of the way the supporters feel. I hope one or two of the more vocal players told Van Persie where he could go. As for him being booed, so what? What did the press expect Arsenal fans to do? Were we supposed to applaud him for his achievements since leaving? I don't recall the Spurs fans being panned for their behaviour towards Sol Campbell, but I suppose that was different - he played for Arsenal when they were abusing him and throwing bottles and coins at him and the young Arsenal mascot in 2001. The double standards of the cretinous tabloid journalists are only marginally less frustrating than an unwillingness to shoot that could cost us a Champions League place.

Giroud will be a big miss, AISA strike the right note on Van Persie

A mark of class

Olivier Giroud will miss the next three games after his appeal against his red card at Fulham failed. I said in the match review that I thought it was a little harsh, but after Sidwell had gone off he was always going to get sent-off himself. I wasn't surprised to hear Arsenal were going to appeal. Giroud is the only proper centre-forward in the squad so to miss him for three games at such a crucial stage is huge. I don't subscribe to the idea that some "fans" seem to whereby they're actually happy he won't be playing. Giroud may be a bit more Lee Chapman than Alan Smith, but he is being unfairly compared to the man who went before him. How exactly was he supposed to replace Robin Van Persie? Giroud has 17 goals so far in his first season in English football. That's not a bad return in my view. He plays up front with little support most of the time. In a front two he would look a far better player. The fact is that Giroud is a decent centre-forward. If he was the reserve to a genuinely top class player he would get far less stick from the crowd. Thanks to the Manager not bringing in somebody else in January (or even last Summer) we are now left with a choice of Walcott, Gervinho or Podolski up front on their own. We've been there earlier in the season, and it wasn't wholly successful. Without Giroud we could be a bit toothless.

I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised that the FA chose to uphold the suspension of Giroud. After all, he plays for Arsenal. You might recall that earlier this season Vincent Kompany had a red card at Arsenal overturned because he said he had slipped in making the tackle. Even taking that in to account his challenge was far worse than Giroud's last week. Arsenal mounted a similar defence for Giroud's appeal. There is clear evidence of his standing foot going away from him as he moves towards the ball. For some reason the FA chose to believe that it was still dangerous from Giroud. I find that bizarre but seriously unsurprising. Arsenal could pay a huge price for his suspension over the next few matches.

Why Arsenal must reciprocate 22 years on

Arsenal has long stood for class and tradition. On Sunday we will be visited by the new Champions, Manchester United. As is customary, the Arsenal players will form a guard of honour. Of course this is given greater significance by the possible presence of Robin Van Stapleton. I have to say that, with the Title in the bag, the only reason for Van Persie to even travel to London on Sunday is so that Ferguson can create some spice for the occasion. I feel it would be best all round if the former skipper was to rest his weary bones after only the second season of his career.

I am a little shocked that there has even been discussion as to whether there would be a guard of honour. As I said above, Arsenal is about class, and it would have shown a distinct lack of that were there to be no acknowledgement of Manchester United by the Arsenal players. The supporters will each make their own decision whether or not to applaud. I suspect the majority will be entirely ambivalent to our opposition with little applause, a few turned backs, and a fair bit of booing (especially if he is taking to the pitch with his new friends). I think AISA have captured the mood pretty well, with the following from their Chairperson, Lois Langton:

 

"I think we have to give the guard of honour, as I don't want us to look as though we are being petty by not giving the guard of honour. For it not to happen would actually boost Robin van Persie's ego. I would rather us just acknowledge them and then get on with the game - otherwise the focus will be on Robin van Persie, rather than the Arsenal team, which is what we are supposed to be going there to support.

Having said that, the reality is he will get a hot reception. Football is a game of passion and emotion, and there are a large amount of supporters who feel very strongly about the circumstances in which Robin van Persie left. We had the seven years of him being injured with us, then he had his one injury-free good season, and at the end of that he decided to leave. The statement he came out with when he left, which I think he felt showed he identified with supporters, actually showed how very far removed he was from supporters. He completely called it wrong, he did not appreciate how Arsenal supporters felt about him and about the club. He alienated himself from supporters by the way in which he brought about his move, that is still felt very strongly by Arsenal supporters and is what is going to generate the response that he is going to get when he comes back on Sunday.

He has also not been terribly respectful towards Arsene Wenger, with the celebration after he scored that penalty (against Stoke), when he ran over to the touchline and embraced Alex Ferguson. It sends out a message that Arsene Wenger has not been the one who brought him to the stage he got to now, recognising who got him to where he is today. When he came to us he was a slight persona non grata in Holland, where he had difficulties at Feyenoord. It was a risk buying him, and without question Arsene Wenger has made him into the player he is today."

 

Lois goes to just about every game, home and away. It is no surprise that she has spoken the words that probably sum up the way most Arsenal supporters feel about the return of Van Persie and how the guard of honour is a mark of the Club that gives it. Basically, it's a case of "well done on winning the Title, now let's unleash the hounds of hell on that treacherous little scumbag who tried to make out he was one of us". It promises be very interesting if he turns up.