Scum is as scum does - and Joey Barton is scum, Come on Bayern Munich

Any mugs out there still want him at Arsenal?

I'll start with an apology, as ever, for not updating things since Monday. The hours I've been working this week have not been conducive to getting time to write properly. As a result today's post may seem to be a little off the pace, but I've had it in my mind since last Sunday.
On Monday 20th June 2011 Arsenal Football Club was heavily linked with a move for Joey Barton. I was disgusted by the idea that Barton might end up representing my Club and putting our Cannon on his chest. I wrote this piece about the subject and said how I would "have no desire to watch an Arsenal team of which Joey Barton is a part." The comments section of that post makes for interesting, and surprising reading. Those that have contributed their view on this blog were far from alone in wanting Arsenal to bring in Barton, in order to add some steel in the midfield. I wonder what those people are thinking right now, following Barton's behaviour last week at Manchester City?
The actions of Joey Barton last week were truly among the most disgusting I've seen. Here was the Captain of a team facing relegation, drawing 1-1 at the Champions-elect, and knowing a defeat could see them relegated. How did their leader choose to inspire his teammates? The man is nothing more than lowlife scum. Were it not for his football ability (make no mistake, Barton is a very decent player) he would be just another Croxteth scumbag serving time in a prison somewhere. Barton is an animal who lacks any self-control whatsoever. The way he lost it last Sunday was just the latest in a long line of violent assaults perpetrated by Barton, both in football and beyond. The look of pure hatred on his face as he stuck his knee in to Sergio Aguero was something the FA should be looking at before they consider allowing him to play football again. How long will it be before Barton maims someone permanently and ends their career?
I mention the FA there, and I do so in the knowledge that they could have (maybe) helped to avert such an incident occurring with Barton. Obviously they have previously missed opportunities to ban Barton indefinitely as a result of his physical assaults on people. Even more recently than that, they failed to deal with him on the first day of this season. Arsenal supporters will remember well how Gervinho was sent off for "slapping" Barton at St James' Park on his debut. Big hard Joey went down like a sack of spuds, whining to the referee that he had been "punched" by our Ivorian winger. This is the blog post from the day after. The reaction of the Newcastle fans to the blog kind of shows that they disliked Barton as much as anyone, but tolerated him as he wore a black and white shirt. I made the point, back in August, that Barton was "out of control." Nine months later, the failure of the FA and referees to deal with this mad man came home to roost. It nearly relegated QPR, though more fool them for signing him in the first place, I suppose.
If I was an R's fan I'd want him sacked - had Bolton got a winner at Stoke he would have relegated his side with his violent behaviour. If Mark Hughes still has Barton on the payroll come August it will pretty much sum him up as a man and a Manager. The FA should take a stand, and kick Barton out for good - before it's too late. We, meanwhile, should remain delighted that Joey Barton never signed for Arsenal.

It's the European Cup Final tonight and that means that we face the prospect of John Terry raising the trophy. Just consider that for a moment. It would mean that Chelsea would become the first London side to win it. Ahead of Arsenal. This artificial, small club with big money, would beat us to the big prize. Anybody that thinks that is a more palatable outcome than seeing Spurs getting the chance to play a qualifier for the tournament next season really needs their head examining.
I have to say I think Chelsea will win tonight. The way their games went against Barcelona has me believing this is their year. I know the game is in the stadium of their opponents, Bayern Munich, but the Germans' form in recent weeks is pretty woeful. Bayern have quickly shown themselves to be chokers as they threw away the Bundesliga, and were destroyed 5-2 in the German Cup Final last Saturday. Defeat tonight would see them emulate Bayer Leverkusen with a treble of runners-up finishes, having been set to win the lot just a few short weeks ago. Let's hope they can rouse themselves tonight, and be inspired by playing the European Cup Final in their own stadium.
Come on Bayern, do it for London!

No blog post tomorrow as I'm off to Lords for the Test Cricket. I'll begin the annual squad review on Monday morning.

West Bromwich Albion 2 - 3 Arsenal - Gap Minded

Kieran Gibbs - made the £30million tackle

Thank God for that. I had to spend yesterday afternoon stuck at work with little or no access to information in the outside World. Not knowing what is happening at a game is the most horrible thing. I kept taking the opportunity to try and sneak a view of what was going on via my Twitter feed, but the 3G didn't want to play during most of the game. I had a couple of texts to tell me the score, but the nature of my job meant I was unable to check those messages until about twenty minutes after I'd received them. It was absolute torture. I finally got a break at about 4.40 and went in to a back room where I could get some signal for the internet. I put my Sky Go on and saw a couple of minutes of the City game, and they didn't look like scoring. I quickly flicked over to Soccer Saturday, but they were understandably not going to The Hawthorns by that time. So it was back to Twitter where a number of Gooners were, thankfully, giving regular updates. When my break was over I was relieved to see that what I was dealing with at work had dissipated somewhat, so I was able to move slightly away from the desk, and the 3G was now better. I punched the air when Ray Parlour was the first to celebrate the victory in the Twittersphere. For the first time all day I was able to relax. The feeling was not one of joy and elation, but pure relief. I am pleased that we finished third, but not happy with a third place finish - there is a difference between the two.
I've watched the Match Of The Day and Football First highlights and we really do owe something to Marton Fulop in the West Brom goal. For me he was at fault for all three of Arsenal's goals, and I thank the spirit of Almunia and Fabianski for possessing the Hungarian yesterday. Having said that we have suffered so many times from a goalkeeper playing the game of his life against us. It made a nice and refreshing change to see someone have such a nightmare against us. It was fitting, for me, that Laurent Koscielny should get the goal that ultimately took us to the European Cup - he is by far the most improved player at Arsenal this season. His moment in front of the travelling fans was well deserved.
The less said about Arsenal's defending the better, I suspect. We were unlucky, perhaps, with the first goal. Shane Long was clearly offside (not a close decision) and had received the ball via a studs up challenge on Francis Coquelin in midfield. Having said that, Carl Jenkinson had ignored the position of his two centre-backs as he headed back towards his own goal, while Andre Santos wasn't even in Arsenal's half of the field. The second goal was simply awful as Vermaelen yet again went walkabout in to midfield as a ball was lifted over the top. You can lip-read Arsene Wenger after the goal mouthing "...every long ball over the top it's the same..." and he is not wrong, but I have to question why it keeps happening. Surely if Wenger has noticed what the rest of us have then he should have done something about it.
I was surprised to see Kieran Gibbs left out yesterday. Perhaps Wenger wanted the experience of Santos, and maybe the attacking quality he can bring. It certainly worked in the attacking sense, with Santos getting the equaliser before half-time. I must give credit to Arsene for then bringing on Gibbs in the second-half (though he then left Oxlade-Chamberlain on the bench again, and brought on Aaron Ramsey whose main involvement again was to give away possession). It was a change that ultimately got us in to the European Cup. The tackle made by Gibbs in the final minute was the challenge of the season from an Arsenal point of view. It was an intervention worth £30m-plus to Arsenal Football Club. In that moment he turned in to Nigel Winterburn or Kenny Sansom, launching himself with perfect timing to save the day for us. Gibbs has struggled a lot with injury but his form has generally got better across the season. Making a challenge like that, in the most important moment, in front of the England Manager, will have done his future prospects no harm at all. Well done Kieran, and thanks for saving our season. It was a tackle as important as any of Robin Van Persie's thirty goals.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

So we finish in third place. If someone had told us we would be in that position following the game at Blackburn (I stated on here that I felt we were in a relegation battle, and I was not alone that day) we would have bitten their arms off for it. In that respect it has been a fine achievement from this group of players. There is plenty that is wrong, still, but today is not the time to talk about that. What is frustrating for me is that, had the Club done its business properly last Summer then we might have challenged closer to the top two this season. The fact that the worst Man Utd side in 20 years should have won this Premier League tells you how poor the overall quality was. Arsenal were not in a position to take advantage, and it was all their own fault. We can only hope that the relevant lessons have been learned and will be acted upon.
The third place finish of course meant we did get our St Totteringham's Day after all this year. The neanderthal masses were vanquished once again, as they have been for the past 17 years. Back in January we were being told by 'Arry and his journalist mates that they could win the Title. The Tottenham supporters were also believing it (they never learn) and were constantly telling us to "mind the gap". Well the gap has been well and truly minded, and Arsenal have finished above them yet again. In a season of disappointments it is a little bit of a consolation to know that they will not be lording it all Summer. You know it would have been unbearable had they got in front of us, so I'm rather pleased at the outcome, even though my ambitions for Arsenal are somewhat higher than finishing above perennial mid-table dross like Spurs. Just check out that picture above of those idiots before the North London Derby at our place - I'd love to meet those idiots, wouldn't you? Just tell me that doesn't make you laugh. What a bunch of cretins.

I can't sign off today without mentioning Manchester City. Congratulations to them on winning the Premier League. It truly is an astonishing achievement for a team assembled for hundreds of millions of pounds to win the Premier League on goal difference. I mean, could you ever have thought they might have a chance with that method of team-building?
The nature of the finish has given Sky the opportunity to go on and on about the best finish ever to a "Premier League" season. Of course football did not exist in England before 1992, did it? Except, of course, that football did exist, and there was an even more exciting ending in 1989. There will never, ever, be anything to compare to the top two effectively playing-off for the Title. Factor in that the underdogs had to win at the Champions by two clear goals (which hadn't been done at Anfield in years) and did so with the last kick of the season, and you can see that Liverpool losing to Arsenal will always be the most exciting.
I found it galling, though unsurprising, to hear Match Of The Day's pundits ignoring Anfield. Has Alan Hansen forgotten about it? I suppose he was a mile out of position as Mickey went "charging through the midfield" in 1989, but to ignore it completely? Cretinous stuff. Sadly, Hansen was not alone. Niall Quinn, who was sitting on the Arsenal bench at Anfield that night, also couldn't recall it as he claimed on commentary "I've never seen anything like it in my years in football." Paul Merson, who played at Anfield that night, was at it too - "I've never seen anything like it" he exclaimed on Soccer Saturday. What is wrong with these people? Yes, it was dramatic and it was incredible and it was exciting, but not as good as Anfield '89. Nothing ever will be.

West Brom (a) preview

One last chance

So here we go. Nine months of pain and pleasure (mostly pain, let's be honest) all comes down to one final ninety minutes in West Bromwich. If someone had told you after the humiliation at Old Trafford, and the defeat at Blackburn, that Arsenal would have Champions League qualification in their own hands going in to the last game you would have taken it. Conversely, if someone had told you that would be the scenario as we went in to the Wigan match a couple of weeks ago you'd have been wondering how the season could collapse again quite so quickly. It's been that kind of a season I suppose. Now the players simply must rouse themselves to put together a proper performance at The Hawthorns. This group has put the supporters through the mill this season, and they seriously owe us a win on Sunday.
The team news is that Theo Walcott looks like being fit for the game. Just how fit he really is I don't know. I would also question whether it's even worth bothering with Theo if he is any less than 100%. After Gervinho's performance last Saturday, and the fact that Oxlade-Chamberlain must be champing a the bit for a game right now, as well as Yossi Benayoun, we are not short of options in that position. What I would really like to see is a switch to the 4-4-2 that saw us create a plethora of chances in the last fifteen minutes last week. We have to win, and our defending is awful, so why not just go for it? I know many would question the point in bringing in Marouane Chamakh, but he is certainly due a goal! We all know that a change in formation is most unlikely to happen.
At the back we have the problem of how to fill Bacary Sagna's position at right-back. I can see Arsene bringing in Carl Jenkinson, but I would far rather see Francis Coquelin continue there. The energy and pace of Coquelin will be needed in such a game so I see no point in bringing in a lad who hasn't played in weeks. There was a rumour earlier today that Wojciech Szczesny might be injured, but I've not seen anything else about it so I hope it was just a not very funny joke.
West Brom have their own problems. They will be missing their skipper, Chris Brunt, and Jerome Thomas is also doubtful, which might dent the attacking side of their game slightly. Having said that they do have Peter Odemwingie fit again and he has damaged us in the past. Paul Scharner is also fit for what looks like being his final game for the Club. I have always rated Scharner, who will give us no end of trouble at set-pieces, and also with his strength and power in midfield. They also have Ben Foster in goal, and we all know how he has been inspired against Arsenal on the big occasion before - we owe him some real punishment after Wembley last year.
Arsenal have a pretty average record at West Brom. This being Roy Hodgson's final game in charge is another thing that could go against us. Their players should be really up for it, as will the crowd, as they look to give Hodgson a good send off. What we need is for our players to prove, for once, that their words about Pat Rice can be backed up with actions on the field. We simply must win. There is no other option. The consequences of not winning do not bear thinking about.
I'll post a match review on Monday morning when, hopefully, we will be celebrating a place in the European Cup, having finished above that mob from up the road. Please God let that be the case.

Somehow it's still with us, New kit just not Arsenal, Steve Bould promoted?

Terrible on Saturday

Like most Gooners I was convinced we'd blown it after the 3-3 draw on Saturday. It really was an awful performance all round - and I include Robin Van Persie in that as the chances he missed were easier than those he put away. The attitude was once again all wrong. Yossi Benayoun's magnificent opener should have seen the players pressing home their advantage. Instead they took it as their cue to stop playing. Defensively it was as shambolic as any other this season. Had Norwich been capable of taking their chances (and the referee been worthy of his position) we would have been four goals down at half-time, and five shortly after. The Manager has admitted that the players once again had the wrong mind-set going in to the game. How can this be the case time after time? It is his job to make sure that's not the way the players are approaching any game. If he could see they were underestimating the opponents then why did he do nothing about it? Or is it the case that he is no longer capable of motivating the players appropriately?
I've seen the usual criticism of Alex Song after he gave the ball away, leading to the third goal for Norwich. Fair enough, it was absolutely criminal at a time when keeping it simple was all that was required. Lack of "discipline" in this part of his game has long been a problem with Song, but perhaps we shouldn't be so quick to forget the inch-perfect pass that set up Van Persie for Arsenal's second goal.
There are two players that I really want to examine from Saturday. The first is Thomas Vermaelen. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Koscielny and Djourou had been taking it in turns to carry him defensively. It seems some more people are now noticing that there are some serious deficiencies in the Belgian's play. I mentioned that Song has lacked a certain "discipline" and the same applies to Vermaelen. We can all enjoy him bombing forward when needs must (Newcastle at home being a great example of the positive side to Vermaelen's game), but when you're pegged back to one-one and struggling to defend already, there is no excuse for being 90 yards out of position when your opponents take the lead. His involvement in Norwich's third has also been overlooked by most. Having seen Song give it away on halfway, surely Vermaelen should have been stepping back in, and covering the ball over the top. Instead of that he was charging forward, presumably trying to play the laziest offside in history, thus allowing Morison through on goal. It is an area that Vermaelen must improve on as his ability to score goals is currently masking the problems in doing what he is really being paid for.
I also want to talk about Wojciech Szczesny. Two of the goals on Saturday, despite the defending, should have been prevented by him. The first goal was one of those things that, had it been Fabianski or Almunia, would have seen the vitriol raining down from the stands. He was also at fault (as well as those already mentioned!) for the third goal. Having started to come towards the ball, he should have kept going. At the very least he would have forced Morison wide, rather than giving him a free shot across goal in to an area he couldn't cover having got his bearings all wrong. His all round game on Saturday was not good. Goalkeepers will make mistakes, and the best keepers are the ones who make the fewest errors. There is no doubt in my mind that Szczesny is going to be World-Class. However, at the moment he seems to have a problem in games that really matter. The Carling Cup Final is a case in point, where he had the mix-up with Koscielny that cost us the trophy. There was also the error in the game at White Hart Lane that cost us that match earlier this season. It is something that David Seaman seemed to suffer with in the early part of his Arsenal/England career. If Szczesny can go on to become as successful as Seaman then we can all look forward to exciting times, but I despise the fact that Almunia would have been crucified, while the Pole gets no criticism whatsoever.
Somehow, after Spurs messed it up on Sunday, third place remains in our hands. Quite how we are still in this position I do not know. It should have been wrapped up two weeks ago, and it should have been taken away from us this weekend. Now that we have been let off the hook yet again there can be no excuses at West Brom on Sunday. There is one game left, against a team that shouldn't live with us. If the players can not gather the necessary motivation to want a win more than the opposition this week they should all hang their heads in shame. The equation is a simple one - win the game and finish third. Is it really too much to ask?

Man Utd's new shirt?

Nike have done it again with yet another disastrous Arsenal shirt. The Club is trying to spin the blue hoop on the sleeve of the shirt as being a throwback to Herbert Chapman's hooped socks. I'm all for such tradition, but surely a hooped sock is better commemorated with another hooped sock? The amount of blue on the shirt is distracting. For me the shirt looks more like something Manchester United would wear. They might have got away with it slightly had the neck been white. There is simply too much blue in the shirt. I don't understand what is so damn complicated with designing a red shirt with white sleeves. Adidas were more than capable of producing different designs on the proper theme, so why can't Nike?
If you think the home shirt is bad then just wait for the away shirt. This year Nike have given us purple (redcurrant) and black hoops to wear. Ivan Gazidis informed the Supporters Forum members on Saturday that yellow and blue are "no longer our away colours" as they "do not appeal to the Worldwide fanbase" (apologies if I am misquoting the odd word). That's right folks, as long as people in Nigeria and Malaysia are happy, then stuff those of us who know the importance of a yellow shirt to Arsenal Football Club. No other club has a traditional change strip that can be considered as iconic as its home colours. And how many of these "Worldwide" supporters actually get their shirts exported from Arsenal via online shopping? Why would you spend £70+ on getting the shirt from Arsenal.com when you can head down to the local Bangkok market and buy the same thing for £1.50? Even better you can just get your cousin to bring one home from the factory where it's been made! Once again the heritage of the Club is sold out to people who know nothing of where we have come from, and what history really means to those that go to Arsenal and support the players in the flesh.

Still got no hair

It seems that Steve Bould is set to replace Pat Rice in the seat next to Arsene Wenger next season. Steve Bould scored the first Arsenal away goal I ever saw live. It came at Sheffield Wednesday in late 1991. Bouldie scored the equaliser with a header, right in front of the travelling support. For the last twenty minutes of the game the Gooners who had sold out the Leppings Lane End sang Steve's song over and over again. It was a fantastic atmosphere, and made my first away game a special one to remember. He was part of the "back four" of course and is an Arsenal legend. However, I fear that those who are hoping Bouldie can drill this defence in to some sort of shape may be disappointed. When Arsenal TV was having its brief run on Sky a couple of years back we enjoyed extended highlights of all youth-team games. With Bould as their coach the youngsters had as much of the headless chicken about their defending as the first-team has. I may be doing him a disservice, and I'm certainly not going to judge Bouldie before we've seen the first-team coached by him for couple of months, but he has yet to demonstrate that he can organise a defence accordingly.
It is also believed that Steve will be joined at first-team level by Neil Banfield, promoted from the Reserves. I have to say I don't like the in-house nature of that. One of the biggest criticisms of the Wenger staff in recent years is that they are "yes men". To promote one of them to work even more closely with him (Bould was as detached as you can be working with the youths, but Banfield was not) is a bad move for me. Neil Banfield seems a really nice bloke, and may be a very fine coach, but does he have the sufficient gravitas to work at that level? Time will tell, but I really wanted to see some more of the old-guard involved.
Tony Adams has been spending much more time at Arsenal recently than he has at any time since his retirement as a player. I think most people would baulk at the idea of Tony being installed as Manager of Arsenal. However, I also think most of us would be more than happy to see him coaching the first-team. He has had success as a number two to Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth. As we've seen from Arsene's comments this week the players have a problem with the motivation aspect of football. I somehow suspect no such problem would exist with Tony Adams charging around the dressing-room before kick-off. In my view Arsenal Football Club needs Mr Arsenal to be involved, and Martin Keown should be brought back too. There is a dream coaching line-up to be had here, if only Wenger would do it. If the new "team" fail to improve matters at the back next season, then we will be in a whole lot of trouble come this time next year. I wish Bould and co well, and I sincerely hope my fears are proved to be unwarranted.

Pat deserves a proper send off, Norwich (h) preview

Arsenal, man and boy

It is widely expected that Pat Rice will finally retire from his long career at Arsenal when the season finishes next weekend. If that is the case then tomorrow will be Pat's last home game involved with the team. I am a bit surprised that Arsenal have not made a formal announcement ahead of the game in order that Pat can be lauded by those in attendance. Perhaps he has asked for no particular fanfare which would really be a mark of the man. If it is to be his last game then he deserves to be sent off in to his retirement in the proper way.
Pat Rice came through the Arsenal youth-team, having grown up round the corner from Highbury. He was an Arsenal supporter who progressed through the ranks to win the FA Cup as Arsenal Captain in 1979 and took the trophy from Prince Charles (in John Motson's words, he received the Cup from "a young man of around the same age, who grew up in a palace"). By his own admission he was never the most talented of footballers. His story was one of a trier, who did everything he could to make a career at Arsenal. It is probably testament to his determination that Peter Storey was shifted in to midfield in order for Rice to come in to the Arsenal team as a youthful right-back.
Aside from a four year sojourn at Watford right at the end of his career (he was there with Bertie Mee who was assisting Graham Taylor in his early days at Vicarage Road), the life of Pat Rice has been at Arsenal. Before long he was back at Arsenal and Don Howe, and then George Graham, put him in charge of the youth-team. Having been part of the original Arsenal Double team in 1971 Pat was equally successful in his early coaching career. His boys would win FA Youth Cups in 1988 and 1994, and his team would produce players like Kevin Campbell, David Hilllier, Ian Selley, Ray Parlour, Steve Morrow and Andrew Cole. It was quite a production line.
When Arsene Wenger arrived Pat was promoted to work with the first-team. This followed a brief spell as caretaker-manager (he is the only Arsenal Manager never to have suffered a defeat!) The rest, as they say, has been glorious Arsenal history. Pat Rice's association with the Club spans more than forty years, and he was part of every success from the Fairs Cup in 1970 to the FA Cup in 2005. Watch film of Anfield '89 (and even the Littlewoods Cup in 1987)  and you will see Pat sat on the bench being a real cheerleader to the team. I remember the Cup Final and Cup Final Replay in 1993 when our end had maybe gone a little flat after being pegged back in both games. As George rallied the players before the extra-time began, Pat came towards the fans waving his arms in order to get us back up and singing the boys on. He did the same in Paris in 1995 after the 90 minutes were up. He was also the first to be out there consoling the players in defeat - even last year he was there to wrap a fatherly arm around Jack Wilshere after the Carling Cup Final.
Over the past couple of years Pat has come in for unwarranted stick. As things have not gone so well on the field so people have looked for scapegoats. Pat Rice has become one of those scapegoats. Personally I believe that a lot of Man Utd's success under Ferguson is due to the revolving door used by his coaching staff. Arsene Wenger might have freshened up the coaching line-up at Arsenal, but he has always stuck with Pat Rice, as his link to Arsenal's past. And what is his crime exactly - doing his job and being on the Arsenal bench, caring about the result every week?When things are not going so well it's Pat who comes to the touchline to rally the players. The nature of some of the criticism has been nasty, as it has with Arsene Wenger, and that leaves a nasty taste with me. We all criticise, and we all moan, but to abuse such an Arsenal man is completely unacceptable to me.
The dedication Pat Rice has shown to Arsenal in his life is testament to his love of the red and white shirt. He is up there with Tom Whittaker and Ken Friar in terms of a lifetime of service. Arsenal always tend to recognise their own, and I hope that Pat is given something special at the end of a long career. He will probably move in to the hospitality side at Arsenal from next season, but I want Arsenal to honour him with a testimonial match. He had one as a player, obviously, but he should be given the same honour as David O'Leary and Tony Adams, with a second one in recognition of a life spent with Arsenal. Whatever happens, I would like to wish Pat Rice all the best, and his version of the Legends Tour is one I might even pay to go on.

So the final home game of a long season is upon us. The team news is that Abou Diaby is replaced in the 18 by Ju Young Park, and Johann Djourou should be back for Sebastien Squillaci (we can hope anyway). Apart from that there will be little difference from last week.
The situation for Arsenal is simple - win two games and secure a place in the European Cup. The players are certainly capable of doing so, if they get their attitude right. It could actually be finished before the weekend is over. If we can beat Norwich, while Newcastle (as is likely against Man City) and Spurs (who have a tough game at a desperate for points Aston Villa) fail to win, we will have achieved the immediate objective. If someone had told you before we played Spurs that Arsenal would have a clear shot at third place, with two games to go, you would have bitten their arms off for it. What is frustrating is that we should have it wrapped up already. You can point at many games throughout the season, but the ones against QPR and Wigan when it was in our hands to get things over with early, stick out for me. The attitude of the players was bad in both of those matches, and a win in just one of them would have had us needing only to beat Norwich to secure our position. As it is things are far more tense than they ever needed to be.
Norwich looked like a side headed for the beach against Liverpool next week. They have been quite outstanding in their first season back in the Premier League. I just hope that Paul Lambert hasn't managed to get them our of the departure lounge in the week since Suarez destroyed them at home. Given Arsenal's record against the "lesser" teams this season, there is more than a little cause for concern for Gooners. It's time to step up to the plate, and score some goals.

Arsene's new policy

Recognise some of them?

When Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal we were very much an English dominated club. Apart from Dennis Bergkamp there weren't too many foreign players knocking about. Obviously a number of those English players were among the very best of their time, which is why Arsenal were able to compete for honours to a reasonable level year on year. At the time of Arsene's arrival England had just got to the semi-final of Euro '96 and seemed to be going places. France, on the other hand, had been dumped out and seemed to be going nowhere. What we didn't know was that France was about to uncover a golden generation of players, led by Deschamps, Zidane and Desailly, that would go on to be a fairly dominant force over the next 10 years, up to the Final of the 2006 World Cup. While we in England were ignorant to it, Arsene Wenger obviously was not.
Wenger's first move, even before he arrived, was to bring in Patrick Vieira. He would go on to be joined at Arsenal by Emmanuel Petit, Nicolas Anelka, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord. Each of these players would play a key role, at some point, in that French international success. They all would be crucial to Arsenal's successes in the ensuing years as well.
You can argue that Arsene was very fortunate to be able to take advantage of France's resources when they were at their peak in terms of talent. To do so would overlook the fact that he recognised in these young men (only Petit could have genuinely been considered as an experienced player, possibly Pires or Wiltord at a push) that they were going to be World Class footballers. Off the back of that Arsenal enjoyed a similarly successful period up to 2006. Since that year, when both lost in Final matches they should have won, both Arsenal and France have fallen back in to the shadows. Both are still feared to a certain extent, and often threaten to produce something, but usually fall a little short of the very top, hence no trophies.
So what has Arsene done since the French talent pool dried up? Unfortunately for us he has put his faith in youth and promising players. It is a plan that has not worked out for Arsenal. The likes of Fabregas, Nasri, Hleb etc have regularly burned reasonably brightly, only to walk out for pastures new when it suited them. The year 2011 was a terrible twelve months for Arsenal and for Wenger. Results on the pitch were bad for most of the year, and off the pitch the transfer dealings were simply managed in an unacceptable manner. However, within all of that, and with the recent signing of Podolski I have seen, I believe, a new strategy. This new course being sailed is once again going to be supported by a generation of players from one particular country.
At the last World Cup I think everyone was surprised by the way an unfancied Germany performed. They really weren't expected to come anywhere close to the standards expected of a German side on the biggest stage. Critics were summarily confounded as they played arguably the finest attacking football of the tournament. Along with Argentina they were the only "entertainers" in the last World Cup. Most of this was done with a number of relatively young players. Two of those players are now at Arsenal - Mertesacker and Podolski. We are clearly interested in signing Mario Gotze from Dortmund (sadly the rest of Europe is also watching him). There is another young German in the Reserves now, in the shape of Thomas Eisfeld. He may turn out to be the "Aliadiere" in Arsenal's growing German cast, but I think I can now see what Wenger is up to. Germany are the up and coming international force. We have two of their national team players already. This could act as the same kind of snowball effect that got us Robert Pires and Sylvain Wiltord. If Gotze, and maybe one or two others, take Arsenal's bait then we could re-live the glory days, albeit with a German-filled side, rather than French. It's enough to make you excited about the future - as long as the necessary business is done to bring in the quality, and ship out the rubbish.

Happy Birthday Rocky, Thanks Big Sol

Why on Earth did he leave Tottenham?

I promised on Monday that I would be bringing you a special piece about Arsene Wenger's current transfer policy. That is still coming your way, but two events today have rather superseded that particular space-filler. First of all I was reminded via his children, Melissa, Ryan and Monique (through their Twitter feeds), that today is the birthday of David Rocastle. Secondly, we have had an announcement from Sol Campbell that he has retired from football (in fairness I think most people kind of assumed that happened a year ago).

As regular readers will know David Rocastle is one of my favourite ever players. As I was growing up he was my first hero in an Arsenal shirt. Like most very young Gunners in the early 1980s I assumed that Charlie Nicholas was God in red and white. As I grew to know my own mind, however, my favourite player became The Rock. Every year on his anniversary I dedicate the post simply to the Great Man. I see nothing wrong in doing something similar in celebration of what would have been his 45th birthday, though today I want to write about why he was special to me.
David Rocastle was a special talent. He had pace, power, skill and an eye for goal. He was tough, strong and determined. He would never back down from anyone - just ask Norman Whiteside who found he couldn't bully the young Londoner in what was the spark for the long running feud between Arsenal and Manchester United, which festered until Martin Keown finished it in 2003 (it's often thought that Nigel Winterburn's goading of McClair in the FA Cup was the catalyst, but it was actually the unjust red card for Rocky that set things off). Above all that he was a genuinely nice man. When someone in the public eye passes away we always get the talking heads queueing up to tell us what a good person they were. In David's case people were doing that years before he even fell ill. I implore you to find a copy of a video Arsenal produced during his time with us called "Rocastle - The Rocky Road To Success". In that you will see some of the finest tributes you could wish to hear about this proud, respectful (respected), and excellent family man. I wish I could have got to meet him.
In some ways I am too young to talk with authority on David Rocastle. When he had his peak years with Arsenal I was too much of a child to really appreciate what I was watching when I saw him play, and the need to take those memories with me. I remarked on Twitter earlier as to one of my favourite Rocky memories. It came not with the goal at White Hart Lane in 1987, but around 18 months later in a game at Anfield. Rocky scored a stunning equaliser from the right edge of the box, with one of the most thunderous shots you will ever see. The ball seemed to stick in the side of the net, such was the power with which it was hit. It was not only a great goal, but it marked a change in English football, and the beginning of the end for Liverpool. Earlier in that season, 1988-89, Arsenal had beaten Liverpool at Highbury in the Mercantile Credit Football League Centenary Trophy. The performance at Anfield in the League Cup, however, was what really made us all realise that we were now challengers to the Liverpool dominance. We eventually drew that game (having had a perfectly good winning goal disallowed late on) and would go on to lost the tie in a second replay at Villa Park. But having outplayed Liverpool at Anfield the players knew they were now better than their opponents. The season finished with Mickey getting the Title clincher back in Liverpool, but without Rocky's goal in the Autumn it might never have happened. I think the reason this goal sticks with me so much is that I was allowed to stay up and watch the highlights on Sports Night that evening. A rare treat, thanks to David Rocastle's extraordinary talent.
I cried when I found out that Rocky had been sold by Arsenal. I was on my way to watch Kent play cricket with my friend Pete, and saw the back of The Sun at the train station. I think I hid it well from my mate, but the tears were there at the thought that David wasn't going to be at Highbury when we went back in August. This came after, in my view, his best season at the Club after switching to the centre of midfield. With his good mate Ian Wright up front it seemed we were in for a long and successful partnership between the two childhood friends. Sadly for Arsenal it wasn't to be. Whatever possessed George Graham to sell his finest midfielder will always be a mystery to me.
I've found this rather superb tribute piece to David on Youtube this evening. I don't know why I haven't noticed it before, but the feelings of his peers towards him are clearly as heart-felt as they can be. Happy Birthday Rocky, always missed but never forgotten.

I remember exactly where I was when Arsenal signed Sol Campbell. I was at work and had heard earlier in the day that Arsenal had called a press conference to announce another signing - 2001 was a very busy and very good Summer of transfer activity for Arsenal supporters. It was assumed that we would be unveiling Richard Wright that morning, but he would have to wait 48 hours for his moment. I had been telling people for six months that Sol was coming to Arsenal. The longer his future dragged out, the more likely it seemed in my view. Part way through the morning I decided to take a break and logged on to the internet. I was met on Arsenal's website with the headline - Sol Campbell Signs For Arsenal. At that point the website crashed due to the traffic trying to get on to it, and I could get no more details. Sitting behind me in the office was my mate, and fellow Gooner, Jimmy. I jumped up and shouted "Yes! Jimmy we've signed Campbell!" I don't think he believed me at first.
Signing Tottenham's best player and Captain was all a bit surreal. I couldn't really take it in, and it still hadn't sunk in with me when I went to the first home game that season against Leeds. I got my new gold away shirt printed with Campbell 23, like most other people that year, and it only sunk in that he was with us when I got my first sight of him in the flesh, wearing an Arsenal shirt. In truth he would go on to struggle up until he played back at Spurs, and got that monkey off his back. From then on he cemented his place among the legends.
I can understand why the Tottenham fans despise Campbell so much. However, even the most rabid of them must realise why he chose to come to Arsenal. If they are in any doubt they should remember that he had won the Double by the end of his first season. Sol went on to be one of the key men in the Invincibles. Jens Lehmann can not talk any more highly of Sol in that years end of season DVD. Sol was a leader and a dominant defender at Arsenal. He had success and won trophies. Even if he hadn't turned his back on that lot up the road, which immediately brought him hero status at Arsenal, his ability would have made him a firm favourite.
Sol remains the only Arsenal player to have scored in a European Cup Final. Sadly it wasn't quite enough to bring the ultimate glory. I was disappointed with the way he left Arsenal in 2006. All that had been forgotten when he came back two years ago. That period in 2010 gave Sol a new lease of life. He was absolutely incredible and he carried the Arsenal team through those final months of a season that should have seen success. Sadly nobody else could get up to his standards. It remains a bug-bear of mine that Manuel Almunia was the Arsenal Captain at White Hart Lane that season, when Sol should have led the team. His performance that night should be held as a blueprint for how to play at centre-back at Arsenal Football Club. It was a tour de force that couldn't bring us victory due to the incompetence of those around him. Sol would walk out on us again at the end of the season, and play only eight games for Newcastle - had he stayed at Arsenal he'd have played a whole lot more, and we might just have held on for the Title last season.
For all that his two departures from Arsenal have been odd, it is clear from listening to him that he sees Arsenal as his Club. I would not be averse to seeing Sol back around the place as he does his coaching badges - the more winners and legends that are involved the better. Thanks Sol for all the great memories, and the trophies, and thanks for coming to Arsenal and destroying Spurs in the process. Sol Campbell, Arsenal legend.