RIP David Rocastle

Today is the anniversary of the death of David Rocastle. As is traditional on this site, the post today is a simple tribute to the Great Man. When I was a child Rocky was my hero. This video and this video will tell you why.

RIP Rocky.

Better than last week, King Koscielny back for Wembley?

Arsenal's driving force celebrates his goal

I’ve always said I can forgive a lot if the players put in the effort. Yesterday was one of those such occasions. Let’s get this straight: Manchester City are a far stronger side than Arsenal (especially an Arsenal missing Koscielny, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott and Ozil). If you want an illustration of the respective strengths of the squads on show yesterday then look no further than the late subs – they brought on Alvaro Negredo, we brought on an unknown French kid who is yet to score a goal. For that Arsenal team to put up such a display, especially off the back of the previous week and the publicity they’ve had, showed a lot of resolve and respect for the shirt and the fans. I haven’t written about the Swansea game and perhaps it’s just as well – the opposite of what I’ve written above would have been appropriate content.

If there is a frustration for me today it is that we had to go through the humiliation of the Chelsea game and the lack of effort in the Swansea game to get here. If the same players (and there was only one starting change yesterday from Tuesday) had played with the same desire against Swansea we would have been two points better off this evening and still in the mix (albeit mathematically). What I witnessed on Tuesday was as far removed from yesterday evening as it’s possible to be. Swansea City should have been swatted aside and the only reason they weren’t was a lack of proper motivation in our players after the hammering at Chelsea.

Yesterday they looked like a different group of players. There were nerves early on as City clearly came to play but I thought the defence weathered any early storm and Arsenal were then largely the team on top for most of the rest of the game. That didn’t translate to shots on goal unfortunately but we were mostly unthreatened. City’s goal came from us yet again dithering in midfield, though our lack of a decent run of the ball was there again when they scored. Szczesny made a very decent save to push Dzeko’s shot on to the post. For the ball to rebound and basically hit Silva and go in the net summed up a team short on fortune at the moment. As I write this I’ve yet to see the highlights so I don’t know if we should have had a penalty when Rosicky appeared to be fouled by Zabaleta, but the lack of a yellow card for a dive summed up a return to form for Mike Dean I suspect.

Mr Dean was certainly pretty abysmal for most of the rest of the game. But not as bad, maybe, as the linesman at my end of the ground. You might recall I referred to this official as a “busy little f****r” after the game at Spurs a fortnight ago. He certainly was yesterday, as long as you were “infringing” in a red shirt, at least. Again, I’ve not seen the replays but I’m told Flamini was offside when scoring in the first-half – just about the only thing the linesman got right in the whole game. James Milner was certainly offside when he nearly laid on a second goal for City shortly after coming on. Incidentally I’ve read the match report on the BBC website by some cretin called Phil McNulty who claims that Arsenal were being dominated down our left, with Podolski basically labelled a waste of space. That will be why Navas, on City’s right wing, was taken off then Phil. In general I don’t get this media impression of Podolski (that idiot Paul Merson said on Sky last week that he “doesn’t know what Podolski does” – well he doesn’t waste his talent with drink and drugs does he you bitter little t**t?) It might have been Podolski who was eventually robbed of possession that ended with City’s goal, but it was Arteta’s dithering and negative passing (which is getting more and more annoying) that saw us get closed down in the first place.

Arsenal’s biggest problem was, as ever in the absence of Theo Walcott, that we had nobody trying to run beyond the City defence. My brother pointed out that Zabaleta, from right-back for City, made more moves in behind than any Arsenal attacker did. I actually thought that Cazorla and Rosicky (especially Rosicky) had very good games, but nobody was really supporting Giroud who was winning more than his share in the air against Kompany and Demechelis. Rosicky was the man who was willing to take someone on with the ball at his feet and get between the lines. More than once it looked like it would drive us on, but there was nobody making that run that would see us get City’s defenders turning towards their own goal. We know how weak Clichy is but we didn’t really test him.

The Arsenal goal was thoroughly deserved and was again created by Podolski (absolute waste of space that bloke). His ball to Flamini was superb and it was a very decent finish. Flamini got forward a lot during the game which worried me at times, but his engine is good enough for him to get up and down all day long. Vermaelen’s more disciplined approach to defensive positioning today also made that possible. When the ball fell to Podolski a little while later, one on one with Hart, I felt sure he’d bury it. Again, with a bit of fortune it might have squeezed the right side of the post for us, but it wasn’t to be and Podolski really shouldn’t have given the Head and Shoulders boy a chance to make the save.

The season will, no doubt, end with some regrets for us. Yesterday’s performance won’t be one of them, I feel. The fact that we went in to such a game without the necessary strength in the squad will certainly be one, but that’s a discussion for another day. In concentrating on what was available on the day I thought it was a fine effort, ultimately not quite getting what might have been the deserved reward of three points. If nothing else it stops the rot and restores some confidence ahead of a tough trip to Everton next week. That game is, at the very least, a must not lose.

One final note for optimism. I met Laurent Koscielny in the car-park after the game yesterday and he said that he will be fit in “two weeks”. Assuming that it’s a real two weeks and not a Wenger two weeks he should be back for Wembley and Wigan Athletic. Fingers crossed.

Wenger has ostracised Flamini to our detriment

We are missing this man badly

I haven't written anything since before the game on Saturday afternoon. Where do I start? Where do I finish? What could I add that hasn't already been put quite superbly elsewhere (and not so well in some cases, it should be said)? I really don't know what to put that you haven't already heard.

What is clear is that we have a good side. We wouldn't have been in the position we were at kick-off on Saturday if this Arsenal team was poor. We were in with a real chance to win the Premier League if we could avoid defeat at Chelsea. To not even get close to that is hard to take. I had started to think that we had a chance this season. On Saturday morning I felt confident. That was the first sign that something would go wrong, I suppose. What unfolded, when put together with the results at Manchester City and Liverpool this season, proves that there is something seriously wrong inside this group of Arsenal players. I don't know whether it's their own mental issues or whether it's the way they are sent out for these types of games by Arsene Wenger.

Let's make it clear that a team as close to the top as Arsenal have been this season is not five or six goals worse off in any game than the sides that now lie above them. They should be more than able to compete in these games. We may lack the goal scoring options of the others in the absence of Walcott, Ramsey and a top striker, but we shouldn't be getting thrashed. This is the team that matched Bayern Munich when 11v11, and battled for all it was worth even when a man down against them. So why are we getting hammered by relatively mediocre opposition like this lot? If I had the answer I'd be the Arsenal Manager. I don't and I'm not. But there are a couple of things that appear to be common to these hammerings, and I don't mean the 12.45 kick-offs.

The first thing, and the most obvious, is Arsene Wenger's complete unwillingness to adopt a tactical approach to football that might give us the opportunity to steal a result despite not being the Arsenal team we were ten years ago. The Arsenal side from 2001 to 2005 didn't really need tactics. They had dominant players on a different level to just about everyone in the current squad. Because we had GREAT players and communicators like Seaman, Adams, Keown, Dixon, Lauren, Lehmann, Campbell, Cole, Vieira, Pires, Henry, Bergkamp, Gilberto, Parlour, Ljungberg etc we had a side that was able to adapt to situations and make decisions on the hoof, for themselves. This current team needs to be given a game plan to combat opponents who possess more quality than we do. It's not enough for Arsenal to play "their" football and hope for the best in these games. That Wenger has never grasped this, despite his years of no success in Europe, is perhaps his biggest failing.

Looking more particularly at this season there is one other thing that is apparent, and it's not so much just about those "major" fixtures we've been thrashed in. Let me say, first of all, that I do not believe Mathieu Flamini is the "answer" in Arsenal's midfield. However, in this squad he is a key man. Maybe he is THE key man. Since getting sent off at Southampton in January Flamini has started three games. The first was the FA Cup tie with Liverpool, a tremendous team effort marshalled from midfield by Flamini. The second was that fabulous rearguard action at home to Bayern Munich. The third was a 4-1 win, and an excellent team performance, in the FA Cup against Everton. Flamini provides pace and energy in our midfield. He also provides organisation. Nobody else directs operations in this team. Mikel Arteta never stops trying, but it is obvious that in the last two months his legs have well and truly gone. He is getting slower by the week and simply can not play in midfield without Flamini alongside him. Watch Chelsea's first goal again and you'll see him trying to run back but seeming to wade through treacle as Oxlade-Chamberlain rushes past him to try and get to Eto'o. 

Now I mentioned above that Flamini has started just three games since Southampton (to provide balance I should point out that he started the game at Man City, but was substituted with 20 minutes left and was suspended for Anfield through his own fault). Of those three games, the ones against Liverpool and Bayern Munich were the first for which he was available after suspension. From that we can deduce that he isn't being left out because he lacks discipline on the pitch. The reason he has been put out in the cold, as far as I can see, is that he chose to go after Ozil that night against Bayern and tell him what he thought about such an insipid display while everyone else worked their socks off. Just look at some of the games since then and try to tell me that Flamini wasn't the man we needed in midfield. Stoke away, we lost, we were bullied in midfield, and Flamini wasn't there. In Munich we drew 1-1 but at times Arteta's lack of pace and legs stopped us getting on the attack. Spurs away, we won 1-0, we were over run through midfield for large parts and only got a grip in the last fifteen minutes following Flamini's introduction. And then there was Saturday's debacle which saw Flamini watching on from the bench yet again. I am convinced that Wenger has fallen out with Flamini for daring to have a pop at his star player like he did. It is frightening to me that such a glaring error of team selection has been allowed to happen from Wenger in such important games. Of course there is no guarantee that we would have got results at Stoke or Chelsea with Flamini in the side (one man probably wouldn't have been enough to change the mentality on Saturday) but Wenger has not given us the best chance to do something in those games. If you don't give yourself the best opportunity then you start from a position of being on the back foot.

I didn't really know what I wanted to write today. If it seems a bit rambling then that is why. Like most Arsenal fans my mind is a bit scrambled at the moment where the Club is concerned. I've deliberately gone down a different route with this post, that I do know. I didn't want to write about Saturday as such. As I said at the top it's all been written elsewhere. I wanted to analyse, even briefly, where we could have given ourselves a better chance (or at least where Wenger could have given us a better chance). I also didn't want to write a "Wenger out" type piece. I've done that pretty much to death over the years and now isn't the time for it. But that doesn't change the fact, and it is an indisputable fact, that whichever way you look at it Arsene Wenger is the problem. My personal hope is that we finish the season strongly enough to stay ahead of Spurs, and maybe even grab second or third spot (the Title is gone, I am certain) and that we win the FA Cup. Such a finish to this season would make it the ideal time for him to bow out gracefully and with glory. I'll say no more for now.

Celebrating Arsene Wenger

The Great Man

Over the last few years I have written regularly with negative comment on Arsene Wenger. I firmly believe he should have been sacked immediately after the 8-2 defeat at Manchester United. In truth he shouldn't still have been in charge at that point as far as I'm concerned. I have long been in the "Wenger Out" lobby.

However, today (and tomorrow in particular) is not a day for sniping at Arsene Wenger. Instead it is a day to celebrate his achievement of being the Arsenal Manager for 1,000 (ONE THOUSAND) competitive matches. You could successfully argue that he has been fortunate to have a board of directors that were happy with a healthy balance sheet over success on the pitch in the last eight years or so, but that doesn't take anything away from this milestone. 

Over nearly 18 years he has overseen the development of Arsenal Football Club from a side that was just about filling Highbury (and not all the time) in to a Worldwide major player that is selling out 60,000 seats in the new stadium every week. More than that he has transformed English football by introducing the methods which just about every successful club in the country has used to prepare and recover their players before and after matches. Diet, stretching, rest periods etc were all pretty much in the Dark Ages in England until Wenger arrived. Maybe he hasn't moved with the times as others have developed new ways, but that doesn't mean his influence on the game has been any less. The Premier League would never have become such a massive international success without Arsene Wenger.

Eighteen years ago

I was around long before Arsene Wenger, and I will be around (God willing) long after he has left Arsenal. There is no doubt, however, that his first ten years in charge were the best I've had as a supporter. George Graham brought the good times back to Arsenal. Arsene Wenger took things to a level we could never have imagined. Years ago I remember watching Real Madrid playing in the European Cup and being amazed at the way in which their players moved the ball at pace, but with the most amazing control over it. I always thought that it was the football I'd never see from any English team. Arsene Wenger built teams that did exactly what that Madrid side did, only we did it even better. He was maybe a little fortunate that his appointment at Arsenal coincided with the rise of the French national team. He brought in a number of players that were part of that side - Vieira, Petit, Anelka, Henry, Pires, and Wiltord were all major stars for Les Bleus during their great run. Having the players in one thing. Making them successful in a foreign country is entirely another. Arsene Wenger recognised the talent of those players and made them in to stars of the World game. I've said before that I think he is now doing the same thing with German players - he has realised that Germany are the next big thing on the international stage and he is filling the Arsenal squad with quality players from that country.

Reaching the Champions League Final - a rare show of joy

The glaring omission on Arsene Wenger's CV is a European trophy. We've been to two finals in Europe with Arsene and should have won both games. We came up short on each occasion. We have certainly had the teams to do it. A lack of tactics on occasion, and more than our share of bad luck have scuppered us at times. Given that nobody really wants to play in the UEFA Cup anymore our only chance would tend to be in the Champions League. Right now we're as far away from winning that as we have been in any of Wenger's seventeen consecutive campaigns in the tournament. I imagine he, like most of us who were there in Paris in 2006 and Copenhagen in 2000, often thinks back to those games with much regret. I sadly doubt he will be around long enough to build a side capable to genuinely challenging in Europe (the days of poor sides winning it, or getting close to winning it, in the mid-2000's are gone).

Unique

What Wenger did do, of course, that nobody else has, is go through the season unbeaten. The Arsenal Invincibles are without a doubt Arsene's greatest achievement on the pitch. I would say that they maybe weren't his best Arsenal team, but that's a subjective view to be debated on another occasion. The Invincibles played football from another planet and, in Thierry Henry, they had the best player in the World at the very peak of his career. They should have won everything that season, and I mean everything. They were semi-finalists in the League Cup, but too many were rested from the 1st leg that ultimately lead to elimination. They were semi-finalists in the FA Cup but a strange team selection and a host of early missed chances cost them. They were quarter-finalists in the European Cup but those missed chances again were costly after an incredible first-half performance at home to Chelsea. But to not lose a single game in the Premier League is astonishing. No other club has a gold trophy to commemorate such an achievement because no other club has done it. It will stand for years as a tribute to Wenger's greatness.

Wenger's Arsenal legacy

It may be that Arsene's greatest success overall actually came away from the pitch. Building a new stadium was basically his idea. He wanted it and the Arsenal directors backed it. Perhaps that's the reason Wenger has stuck around despite the apparent lack of transfer money. He is nothing if not loyal and it's a real shame the modern day player doesn't have such values - Wenger has suffered more than most as a result of the avarice and greed of certain players he developed in to top class performers. The Emirates Stadium is one of the most visually impressive buildings in football. It is a stunning arena. For people like me it lacks the feeling of home that Highbury had, but that's not to take away from it in any way. Herbert Chapman built up Highbury as a citadel of class that would be the last word in luxury football stadia for many a long year. The stadium at Ashburton Grove is a modern day version of what Highbury was. It is intended to bring a new, more affluent audience to Arsenal. The East and West Stands at Highbury were exactly that as well. When Arsene is gone it will be noted that the success he achieved on the pitch allowed Arsenal to build their new ground. It will stand, as Highbury did for Chapman, as Arsene Wenger's legacy to Arsenal Football Club.

One more Double?

I've felt for a long time that we were destined to win nothing more with Arsene Wenger as Arsenal Manager. The FA Cup draw has opened the door to the best chance we might ever get to end his drought. We are also still in with a great chance to win the Premier League as I write this. Arsene has won the Double on two occasions. Here we are on 21st March 2014 with the chance to go for a third. I think we'll come up short in the league, but the FA Cup is ours to lose, quite frankly. Perhaps in a season where Arsene Wenger reaches his landmark of 1,000 games it would be fitting or Arsenal to win a trophy for him. He may even still leave at the end of the season as his contract remains unsigned. Given Manchester United's performances this term people like me maybe ought to be careful what we wish for as Wenger will be as tough an act to follow at Arsenal as Ferguson was at Old Trafford. I want Arsene Wenger to prove me wrong. I want him to make me look stupid. I want Arsenal to win at least the FA Cup. If we can win tomorrow (or at least not lose) then we are right in the hunt for the Premier League. It would be nice for Wenger to celebrate his 1,000th match in charge with a first win over that obnoxious self-publicist at Chelsea - much like a trophy, it's long overdue. It would be even better to celebrate come May with an actual piece of silverware (or two).

Congratulations Arsene Wenger.

Wenger's best signings for Arsenal

Anelka - should have been an Arsenal legend

While I was working yesterday it seems that Twitter was awash with Arsenal fans naming variations of "Best XI's" under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Having missed out on the fun I thought I'd put together a blog post this afternoon of my own Arsene's XI, this one being based on a team put together from players signed by Wenger at Arsenal. Anyone in the first-team before his arrival is not included (I reserve the right to make an allowance for a certain player signed on Wenger's advice, but before his official appointment). Players brought in to the first-team from the youth system after Arsene came to Arsenal are also eligible. One of the good things about doing this on the blog rather than Twitter is that I can elaborate as to why each player has made the cut. Incidentally, at the bottom of the post I've listed my all time Arsene Wenger XI (players who've played for him at Arsenal) which is slightly different.

Goalkeeper - Jens Lehmann

How exactly do you replace David Seaman? When you think of the trouble Man Utd have had finding a new Peter Schmeichel you can see it's not easy. Quite apart from natural ability you need a man with skin thick enough to be able to put up with the constant comparison with his predecessor. Seaman's gloves were large ones to fill. Jens Lehmann coming in meant you could barely see the join. In truth Big Dave had been on the wane for some time, but that still didn't make it easy for Lehmann. His particular personality made it possible for him to come in and add his name to the pantheon of great Arsenal goalkeepers. It's worth noting that Jens didn't taste defeat in the Premier League until his 48th game in it. He was an outstanding goalkeeper for Arsenal, badly treated by Wenger at times. He should never have had to play second fiddle to Almunia in the way he did and it cost us the Title in 2008. I'll always be particularly fond of Jens Lehmann and he was the man that won us the FA Cup in 2005 with one of THE great performances in an Arsenal shirt.

Right-back - Lauren

This was a tough one. Bacary Sagna has been unbelievably consistent since he arrived. There was also Emmanuel Eboue to consider (okay, not really). For me Lauren gets the nod because he is one of the most under rated footballers I've ever known. He arrived as a midfield player, of course, and a very effective one. I've never really forgiven Arsene for leaving Lauren and Parlour our of the Cup Final team in 2001 when we contrived to lose to Liverpool - Ralph had destroyed Spurs midfield alongside Vieira in the semi-final. When he moved to right-back he was having to take over from Lee Dixon, a man many consider our finest ever in that position. With Dixon still around the place Lauren was able to learn from the master and he made the position his own until serious injury intervened. Ralph could tackle, run, cross and score goals. More than anything he was a genuine hard man. Nobody messed with Lauren and Ray Parlour says that Lauren was his and Freddie's "protector" on that right side of the Invincibles. Lauren was a top class player.

Left-back - Ashley Cole

There is no competition here in my opinion. Kieran Gibbs is getting better and better, but is not there yet. Gael Clichy simply plateaued as a player. Cashley was the best left-back in the World even before he left Arsenal. It serves as one of Arsene's greatest regrets, I'm sure, that we didn't get the best years of his career. Cole was the man destined to be the Arsenal Captain for many years. His personality defects sadly outweighed his love for The Arsenal and he chose to go Chelsea. His excuses over the years have been poor, and his digs at the Arsenal supporters when he won the European Cup at Chelsea were classless and unnecessary. It's sad that a player who should have been one of our greatest has ended up being one of our most hated. He was still a blinding player for us though.

Centre-back - Sol Campbell

Quite simply the most outstanding coup of a transfer probably in the history of the game. His second coming was also inspired. To sign the Captain of Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer, just as he was entering his peak years as a player, was simply incredible. Big Sol was a tremendous player for Arsenal and replaced Tony Adams in a seamless fashion. He was colossal for Arsenal during our most successful period under Wenger and would be robbed by referees and injury of personal FA Cup glories. His goal in the Champions League Final got us so close to his Manager's Holy Grail in Paris. One of very few World Class players to join Arsenal at a time when they were in that category Sol is a legend of the Club.

Centre-back - Kolo Toure

Less easy than picking Campbell was finding someone to be paired with him in this team. Arsene has a chequered history with centre-halves. Mertesacker and/or Koscielny may yet force their way in to this sort of company over the next couple of years, but people like Vermaelen flickered and faded quickly while the likes of Cygan were never more than a decent squad player. William Gallas was another man whose personality let him down. Kolo arrived and nobody knew where he should play, not even Arsene Wenger. It seems that it was Martin Keown that suggested he should move in at centre-half in the Summer of 2003. That shows what a great Arsenal Man Keown was as it effectively meant seeing himself left out. With Keown's cajoling from the sidelines and advice in training, and Campbell and Lehman organising on the pitch Kolo was a star of the Invincible season. He was upset at not being made Arsenal Captain and that ultimately was what saw him move on. In truth we'd had the best out of Kolo and I'll never forget his trademark runs out of the defence, pushing us forward and making things happen. Kolo got his share of goals too and was a fabulous signing by Wenger - an archetypal Arsene Wenger buy, if you will.

Right wing - Freddie Ljungberg

It's well known that Arsene likes to scout players many times before he signs them. Freddie was the exception, signed on a whim when Le Boss gambled on him after watching Sweden v England on TV. Freddie scored on his debut but really he struggled to adapt for a year or so. He would get better and better and then cemented his position as a legend when Pires got injured in 2002. As a goalscoring midfield player he developed a seemingly telepathic bond with Dennis Bergkamp. Their combination was lethal, but never more so than in that run-in to the Double in 2001-2002. When injury finally robbed him of a yard of pace Freddie became a player who struggled, but we'd had great times with him. He loves the Club and we loved him.

Central midfield - Gilberto and Patrick Vieira

You can't have one without the other, in my opinion. There is obviously a case for putting Emmanuel Petit in there and it's a pretty close call. But Gilberto was the missing piece in Arsenal's footballing jigsaw for me. Like many I found him frustrating for a time. I couldn't understand what it was he did. Then he got injured and missed a few months. My God, how the Arsenal team missed him. At that point it was obvious what a great player Gilberto was. He was a leader on and off the pitch, and he skippered the side superbly in the first season at the new stadium while Thierry Henry was out injured. He should have been made Captain of Arsenal when Henry was sold. We still haven't really replaced Gilberto, who was released at least two years too early.

Vieira was Wenger's first gift to Arsenal. I don't think anyone will forget his debut against Sheffield Wednesday. With some players you just know from that first glimpse that they are that good. David Rocastle was like that. So were Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Vieira was the best midfield player in the World as far as I was concerned. Forget any idea that Roy Keane has some kind of measure over him - Keane was afraid of Vieira because he knew Vieira wasn't scared of him. Patrick was the dominant force in Arsene Wenger's greatest Arsenal team and, like Gilberto, should never have been sold because he could never be replaced.

Left-wing - Robert Pires

This was a close one between Pires and Marc Overmars. Pires gets the nod because I think he was a better footballer than Overmars. He had more natural ability and skill. That's not to say that Overmars wasn't skillful, but I always feel Pires could be dangerous even when his pace had departed. For Overmars his speed was key. The combination Pires formed with Ashley Cole down Arsenal's left which allowed Thierry Henry to hammer sides was probably the key attacking component of the Invincibles. He was deservedly made Footballer Of The Year for 2001-2002 after  a stellar season was cut short by a serious knee injury. That he came back to be even better tells you just how great a player Le Bob was. He left after the Champions League Final when he felt his early substitution (he was the man sacrificed after Jens was sent-off) meant he was now behind people like Hleb. That robbed us of at least two more years of Bobby at Arsenal.

Centre-forward - Thierry Henry

Quite simply Wenger's finest project. Having given him his debut as a kid at Monaco, Arsene kept tabs on Henry throughout his early years. He came to Arsenal as a winger who had briefly played in Italy (not quite as unsuccessfully as popular myth would like to suggest). After a settling in period where he struggled to adapt to English football Thierry would go on to be THE star of the Premier League. A multiple Footballer Of The Year winner he was the man who provided the gloss in Arsene Wenger's greatest side. He should have won us the Champions League in 2006 but failed to take his chances when they came that night, a familiar failing on the biggest of occasions. That doesn't detract from just what a great player he was however. The ability to control the football while running at such pace, and with such power, made him a phenomenon. Henry redefined centre-forward play in England, and probably throughout Europe. He was unstoppable over a three year period for Arsenal that brought us plenty of trophies. To me he is second only to Dennis Bergkamp as an Arsenal player.

Centre-forward - Nicolas Anelka

Slightly strange selection, I suppose. It's a shame that Anelka's career has always been simultaneously on the edge of greatness and calamity. That it now appears to have finished with the latter probably shouldn't be that much of a surprise. What a contrast to the teenager who fired us to Wenger's first Double in 1998, and nearly did it again the following season (though if Ian Wright hadn't thrown his toys out of the pram and stropped off to West Ham he might well have lost his place early in the next season after a series of bad misses). Young Player of the Year in 1999 he was persuaded by his family that he should agitate for a move away from Arsenal. When you see what happened to Henry under Wenger's tutelage you can only wonder how the even more talented Anelka (certainly as a goalscorer) might have developed. If he'd stayed then Henry might never have arrived, of course, but that makes it no less of a shame that his incredible talent never saw him become the best striker in World football. When we did sell him to Real Madrid it was for a profit of £22.5m. Wenger used it to build his training ground that would lay the foundation for the players and the success that lay ahead.

So there you have it. I suppose if I was picking some substitutes they would be:

Wojciech Szczesny, Bacary Sagna, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Robin Van Persie.

As promised, this is the team that I would select if I was picking the best players to have appeared under Wenger:

Seaman, Dixon, Cole, Adams, Campbell, Ljungberg, Vieira, Gilberto, Pires, Bergkamp, Henry.

Subs: Lehmann, Keown/Bould, Lauren, Parlour, Overmars, Petit, Wright.

Arsenal paper over Tottenham's crack and the Gooners enjoy the Craic

Standard

Tim Sherwood is as deluded as the most rabid of Tottenham supporters, which is unusual considering he's an Arsenal fan. His post match interview must have been cringe worthy to the Tiny Totts watching as he claimed that Tottenham deserved to win the game and that Arsenal's win was merely "papering over the cracks" for us. What an embarrassment. If Arsenal had cracks to paper over then you can be sure that we made sure Spurs mighty cavern was filled by Tomas Rosicky's glorious strike.

At half-time I couldn't understand why Sky's experts (though one of them was self-confessed "Chelsea Man" Paul Merson) were saying how Spurs had been so dominant. Yes, they'd had a lot of the ball, but Arsenal should have been three or four up before the break. We got the first goal in stunning fashion from Tomas Rosicky (as I may have mentioned) and then hit them on the break time and again. Every time we went forward we looked like we would score. Lukas Podolski was ridiculously given offside just as he was about to lay one on a plate for Giroud before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain missed a hat-trick of chances on his own - did he have the right boots on yesterday? There was also time for Podolski to hit the side netting himself. As I say, we should have been away and over the hills long before half-time. What exactly did Spurs create in that half? Szczesny didn't have a save to make (in fact he didn't make one until the 89th minute).

In the second-half Arsenal were poor, there is no doubt about that. The lack of composure in possession was disturbing while the front two might as well have gone and sat in the stand. I'm sure when Arsene told Santi Cazorla to take on the Ozil role he didn't mean that he should become invisible for 90 minutes. As for Giroud I couldn't believe he got through the whole game without getting the hook. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how he ponced about at Stoke and yesterday was exactly the same. Giroud gave us nothing up front and the ball just kept coming back. I'd start with Sanogo at Chelsea next week to run their centre-backs across the pitch before bringing on Giroud when they're tired. If Giroud plays next week and he performs like that then Cahill and Terry will have the cigars on and the sun loungers out.

How about another picture?

Szczhelfie

For all that Spurs huffed and puffed in the second-half they still didn't create chances. Their best opportunity came from Szczesny dropping the ball and having to be bailed out by Koscielny and Mertesacker who were both absolutely brilliant yesterday. Szczesny has a long list of mistakes in big games, throughout his career. I wouldn't be averse to Fabianski coming in for him now. Having said that, the one thing with Wojciech is that he doesn't lack confidence and he was assured enough through the rest of the game to keep coming for high balls and taking them. His handling when Spurs finally got a shot on target was excellent. I kept hearing about the effort Adebayor was putting in, but all I saw was Mertesacker beating him in the air and Koscielny dominating on the floor. I'm not sure how they were seperated in the Man Of The Match stakes, but I suppose Bryan Robson wasn't there to accept the award for himself (ask your Dad if you're too young to get that joke).

I thought Arsene got the changes wrong yesterday. Arteta's lack of pace was causing us a problem in midfield, both going forward and in defence. I saw no point in taking off Rosicky or Podolski whose effort on either side of the pitch was massive. They also provided attacking threat for Arsenal. The commentators said that Ox had a tight calf but I don't necessarily believe that - he looked like he was moving alright in the post-match celebrations. Talking of which, this was the scene in the away end for a full twenty minutes after the game as the Gooners were locked in - it's taken ten years but the Invincibles finally have their song and I can't wait to sing it at Wembley.

Shall we have another picture?

Podolski lapping it up

I must mention Mike Dean and the fact that he had perhaps the most anonymous game I've ever seen from him and maybe the best display of refereeing I've seen all season. It was most unusual for Dean to be so invisible as he usually wants to be the star of the show. Fair play to him yesterday and he was, in hindsight, probably having his view obscured when Vertonghen fouled Koscielny for a clear Arsenal penalty late on. However, his linesman who, to that point, might have been described as a "busy little f****r" most certainly did see it yet chose to keep his flag by his side. Well played Mr Dean.

You can always rely on the Tottenham fans for comedy and they are even better in defeat than they are before games. Funnily enough I've never known them so defeatist before playing us. Most of them expected a hammering for a change. Usually they're going on about this being their year and all the nonsense we expect of them. Yesterday there were two highlights from them. The first was seeing Nacer Chadli described as a "Belgian Andy Sinton" by an old friend of mine who happens to be a Spurs fan, and the second was the gentleman pictured below on the Tube after the game. There's nothing like beating Tottenham.

They just keep on giving

Far from disappointed

Cazorla can easily replace Ozil at this time

I thought Arsenal were pretty damn good in the Allianz Arena on Tuesday evening. We held it tight to half-time and stayed very much in the tie. The plan was clearly to open up a bit more after the interval. Sadly we were quickly a goal further behind thereafter and seemingly out of it. However, when Lukas Podolski rammed home the equaliser (how hard can this man hit a football?) you could see Bayern visibly wobbling. A better pass here and there and Arsenal would have not only won the game, but would have seriously threatened to take the tie. A 1-1 draw away to the best side in the World is not to be sniffed at. The damage had been done back in London. I just wonder how much of a classic European Cup tie might have ensued had the referee not sent off Szczesny. Arsenal proved on Tuesday that they could once again get a result against Bayern, even if they were just lacking a bit of depth in what was on the bench the other night. Imagine if we'd had Walcott or Ramsey or a top striker to be bringing on. 

I was annoyed with Ian Wright and Lee Dixon both during and after the game. At half-time Wright was moaning about how Arsenal weren't doing enough to score a goal and all that. Dixon was also saying we should have been going forward more. Given that Dixon actually played at Anfield in 1989 I found it bizarre. The score being 0-0 at half-time was just fine. We'd soaked up plenty of pressure, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was far too good for their midfield throughout. Quite how one or two Bayern players weren't booked for fouls on The Ox is a mystery. Vermaelen had Robben well scouted throughout, Sagna had Ribery in his pocket, and Koscielny and Mertesacker were mopping up just about everything that went near Mandzukic. For all Bayern's passing and pressing they hadn't threatened too much. To hear Wright and Dixon hammering the Arsenal approach made me sick. After the game they moaned that Arsenal hadn't gone for broke after getting the equaliser. As I said above, I thought we had Bayern rocking and there was a stage when we looked certain to score another goal sooner or later. Rosicky, Podolski, Arteta, Giroud, Cazorla and Gnabry were all guilty of wasting great opportunities to either create or score a goal. That's my only regret from Tuesday, that we didn't take advantage of the pressure we put them under in the last 30 minutes. To say we didn't go for it was ridiculous. I expect better from ex-Arsenal players when they're talking about a Club they still refer to as "we". I wonder what George Graham would make of the way they criticise Arsenal given that they were taught to close ranks and "be The Arsenal" as players under him.

Of course we lost Ozil at half-time. I wasn't sure he was ever really out there to be honest. He had played a better game on Saturday than we'd seen in a long time from him. He wasn't outstanding, just better. On Tuesday he was poor. It seems now that he had injured his hamstring early in the game. Did he communicate that to the bench? We looked so much better when Rosicky came on. We were quicker and more combative. Ozil had already not started the game in the centre which is perhaps an admission by Arsene Wenger that the key man at Arsenal at the moment is back to being Santi Cazorla. I read a prominent blogger this morning who tells us that anyone seeing Ozil's injury as a possible blessing is some kind of idiot. Take it from someone that goes to matches that we are far better off with Cazorla at the moment than we are with Ozil. The contention is that we will be without one of our best players but that's not really the case. The Mesut Ozil that first arrived would be a miss to the Arsenal team. The Mesut Ozil we've had since November is someone we can get by without. It should mean more playing time for Rosicky and Gnabry and Podolski, whose second-half display in Munich was probably his best Arsenal performance. Ozil being injured means that Cazorla will play in the centre more often than not and be able to dictate the play. We went in to overdrive at this stage last season with Cazorla playing behind Giroud. With Oxlade-Chamberlain potentially playing the Walcott role (or the Ramsey role as necessary) there is not a lot to be sad about with Ozil's injury. And anyway, didn't people keep on telling us he needed a mid-season break?

One final comment on the punditry from Tuesday and it concerns John Hartson, another ex-Arsenal player, who was on Radio 5. Hartson said after the game that Arsenal had been "humiliated" by Bayern Munich on Tuesday and a major overhaul of our squad was required if we were ever to compete. Considering that Hartson watched the game you would think he might have noticed that the final score was 1-1. If drawing 1-1 at the home of the European Champions is the stuff of humiliation then I wouldn't mind a bit more of it, thanks very much. Barcelona lost 7-0 to Bayern over two legs last season. That's humiliation. Losing 3-1 on aggregate having played most of the home leg with ten men is far from humiliating. Hartson should be ashamed and embarrassed at talking such nonsense and he should never work on the BBC ever again. It's as bad as anything the likes of Savage and Claridge have ever come out with.

It was important to not get hammered in Munich. In the same way that winning there last season proved the spark that got us through to the end on a high I was concerned that a beating this year would have the opposite effect. As it is, having been disgraceful at Stoke, these players have been outstanding against Everton and excellent in Munich. It's good that we played on Tuesday as it gives an extra day for recovery from all the tremendously hard work before going to Spurs on Sunday. The next few weeks are going to be ridiculously hard but, if the players perform how they have in the last two matches, we could still be very handily placed for a tilt at the Double this season.