BREAKING NEWS: Arsenal FC have not won a trophy since May 2005!
This is roughly the sentiment that has been repeated in headlines and articles within the British press every few months for the past five years.
THIS JUST IN: A year has passed by and a sports team have not had the success that they had initially been predicted to!
There are a lot of things published by the media that I look at and am forced to ask: 'Why is that news?'. Yet the old chestnut of Arsenal's continuing and apparently fascinating trophy drought is one that leaves me particularly puzzled.
The facts are unarguable. Since the end of the 2004/05 season, Arsenal have failed to win any of the three major trophies for British teams: the Premier League, the FA Cup or the Champions League. For a club that in the eight seasons up to and including 04/05 won a total of seven major trophies, this quite clearly represents a serious decline.
But is it really all that bad? Let's take a look at how the other 116 clubs currently playing in the top five leagues in England have fared in the past eight years. Out of those teams, six have succeeded in winning at least one major competition. Considering that Arsenal have continued to qualify for the Champions League every year since their last trophy, once reaching the final, it still seems fair to count them amongst the most successful of those 110 trophy-less teams.
And yet year upon year the papers recycle their favourite headline buzzwords: 'crisis', 'collapse', 'failure', along with a photo of Arsène Wenger looking solemn. Sometimes it is raining in the photo. Often he wears a coat.
Undoubtedly for a club that ten years ago went an entire season unbeaten, recent campaigns have been underwhelming to say the least. But teams don't go on winning forever.
From the mid seventies until the late eighties, Liverpool FC were the greatest team in England, arguably in Europe. During that time they won domestic and European competitions on a yearly basis, but since 1990 have won just three FA Cups. In the past Aston Villa, Everton and (a lot further back) even Huddersfield Town have been at the top of the English game. Now they are not and people do not expect them to be.
And therein lies the reason that people refuse to stop talking about Arsenal as an 'underachieving' club. Because in reality those people still expect Arsenal to succeed. And why? Because unlike Liverpool. Everton or Villa, Arsenal have stubbornly clung onto their status as one of Europe's top teams.
Despite lack of silverware, in recent seasons Arsenal have transformed their home ground into one of the largest and most impressive in Europe. Their financial stability is rare and enviable within the football world. They have developed their style and played some of the most attractive and exciting football ever seen in this country.
For a few years at the start of the 21st century, Arsenal were able to match Manchester United, the biggest and richest football club in the world, in terms of trophies and success. This was not always the case. (In fact from 1979 to 1989 Arsenal failed to win any major trophies at all). They should be remembered as the first team to seriously challenge Alex Ferguson's incredible strangle-hold on English football.
But this gets forgotten now that Chelsea and Manchester City have risen above Arsenal during the last eight years despite the fact that both these clubs required takeovers by foreign billionaires in order to do so.
They have been overtaken, first off the pitch financially and consequentially on the pitch and they are now vulnerable to being outcompeted when signing and keeping players. The club, like every other in England, has struggled to deal with the rising dominance of billionaire-owned teams.
This is hugely frustrating for a generation of fans that had become used to seeing their team lift silverware every year but there is a need to remain rational. It could always be worse. As mentioned, Liverpool are a lot further off their former glory than Arsenal; likewise teams like Leeds United and Nottingham Forest. Fans should therefore not be totally disheartened by the lack of trophies but encouraged by the fact that we have not dropped completely out of contention.
This does not mean that we should lower our expectations, or not feel justified in ranting if we get knocked out of a cup but we should at the very least be able to laugh when someone tells us their favourite 'since Arsenal last won a trophy' line. Would you rather have won the FA Cup, like Portsmouth and Wigan have, and be where they are now or be playing the best teams in Europe every year?
Not everything is measured in silver.
Friday, 30 August 2013
Monday, 29 July 2013
Arsenal's Pre-Season Asia Tour - Review
For the past two weeks Arsenal have been in the heart of Asia for the first leg of their pre-season friendlies. The team have spent their time training and meeting fans from across the globe (including this fella) in order to increase the club's visibility worldwide. The four games played all ended in victory for the Gunners: a 7-0 demolition of the Indonesia Dream Team and a 7-1 rout of Vietnam, followed by the more modest results of a 3-1 win over Wenger's old team Nagoya Grampus before edging past Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1 on Monday.
Arsenal 19-3 Asia. Not a bad aggregate. These were of course all teams that should have posed no real threat but on the whole Wenger will be pleased with the energy and determination the team has shown in these fixtures. The Emirates Cup begins on Saturday and this will be a more solid test of how the team will look in the new season, with tougher competition coming from Napoli and Galatasaray before a final friendly against Manchester City.
Throughout their tour the Arsenal players have largely looked fit and disciplined and some great attacking football has been exhibited by both established names such as Theo Walcott and Alex Oxelade-Chamberlain as well as youngsters hoping to get a chance in the first team this year including Chuba Akpom and Serge Gnabry. Olivier Giroud looks like he is striving to hit the ground running this August and was top scorer of the tour with a total of six goals. Akpom gave him a run for his money, notching four goals along the way.
Selection-wise it seems as though Wenger will start the season with Fabianski, who started three of the four games, as his first choice keeper. The need to add a central defender to the squad has been highlighted by the injury to Thomas Vermaelen (who Wenger has insisted will remain club captain next term despite falling behind Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny in the pecking order).
Pre-season is not always an accurate indicator of how the season will pan out but Arsenal fans will be pleased to hear that Manchester United have so far lost two, drawn one and won just one of their own July fixtures. City have also lost two of their initial games. Arsenal also in theory have an easier start to the season than most, not having to face either Manchester side or Chelsea before November.
The transfer window continues to drag on and still nothing exciting looks to be heading Arsenal's way. I read an interesting blog about on this situation this morning which suggested that Arsenal need a boardroom shake-up in order to allow the club to take bolder leaps in the transfer market. Either way, though it would not be the end of the world to start the campaign with this current squad, a few injuries in the opening months could seriously damage Arsenal's season if they don't make one or two signings. On the pitch then things are looking good whilst off it speculation remains the main ingredient.
There are three weeks until the Gunners kick of their 88th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. Let's hope it's a good one.
Arsenal 19-3 Asia. Not a bad aggregate. These were of course all teams that should have posed no real threat but on the whole Wenger will be pleased with the energy and determination the team has shown in these fixtures. The Emirates Cup begins on Saturday and this will be a more solid test of how the team will look in the new season, with tougher competition coming from Napoli and Galatasaray before a final friendly against Manchester City.
Throughout their tour the Arsenal players have largely looked fit and disciplined and some great attacking football has been exhibited by both established names such as Theo Walcott and Alex Oxelade-Chamberlain as well as youngsters hoping to get a chance in the first team this year including Chuba Akpom and Serge Gnabry. Olivier Giroud looks like he is striving to hit the ground running this August and was top scorer of the tour with a total of six goals. Akpom gave him a run for his money, notching four goals along the way.
Selection-wise it seems as though Wenger will start the season with Fabianski, who started three of the four games, as his first choice keeper. The need to add a central defender to the squad has been highlighted by the injury to Thomas Vermaelen (who Wenger has insisted will remain club captain next term despite falling behind Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny in the pecking order).
Pre-season is not always an accurate indicator of how the season will pan out but Arsenal fans will be pleased to hear that Manchester United have so far lost two, drawn one and won just one of their own July fixtures. City have also lost two of their initial games. Arsenal also in theory have an easier start to the season than most, not having to face either Manchester side or Chelsea before November.
The transfer window continues to drag on and still nothing exciting looks to be heading Arsenal's way. I read an interesting blog about on this situation this morning which suggested that Arsenal need a boardroom shake-up in order to allow the club to take bolder leaps in the transfer market. Either way, though it would not be the end of the world to start the campaign with this current squad, a few injuries in the opening months could seriously damage Arsenal's season if they don't make one or two signings. On the pitch then things are looking good whilst off it speculation remains the main ingredient.
There are three weeks until the Gunners kick of their 88th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. Let's hope it's a good one.
Tuesday, 23 July 2013
Should Arsenal fans accept Suarez?
Following two months off after pledging not to post again until some concrete news involving Arsenal emerged, I have nonetheless decided to come out of the woodwork to comment on what seems to be the biggest Arsenal-related issue at the moment.
It has been a summer of frustration so far, with none of Wenger's supposed £70 million transfer kitty being broken into as yet. The talk has largely been positive in my eyes. A strengthening to the team's spine seems to be the most pressing issue and in a world without agents and complications, bringing in Ashley Williams at centre-back, Maroune Fellaini at centre-mid and Gonzalo Higuain at centre-forward would be both feasible and (just) within the budget. There has presumably been enough space made within the wage structure following the departures of Denilson, Arshavin, Squillaci, Santos and Mannone.
But for whatever reasons no moves have yet been made. Two weeks ago it emerged that Arsenal, seemingly out of frustration had tabled a bid for Luis Suarez. This initially seemed more of a statement than an indicator of genuine interest but today it has been reported that Wenger has upped his bid to £35 million plus add-ons.
This has led to a flurry of twitter-talk and some angry exchanges between Arsenal bloggers and commentators about whether a Suarez deal will be made and, importantly, how the fans should feel about it. After reading a lot of interesting and passionate opinions, I couldn't resist throwing my own out there.
Many of the bloggers that I respect and frequently read have been broadly arguing that were Suarez to join the club, they and that most of Arsenal's supporters would put aside whatever criticisms they may have harboured and accept him. A recent poll suggested a slim majority of fans agree. It seems that people are able to swallow their reservations if a player is talented enough. This sounds to me like desperation from fans deprived of silverware.
Personally, I reserve the right not to want a player like Luis Suarez at my football club. Of course he is a fantastic footballer, probably within the top three or five in England at the moment, but standing back from the excitement of attracting a top player like that, surely people can see that such a move would be unwise. One fan tweeted:
'I couldn't care less who plays for Arsenal as long as they win us games. That's their job and that's what they're supposed to do.'
This suggests that footballers should be immune from moral judgements because all that matters is their ability to play well and win games. This is the wrong way to think about sport. It also suggests that winning is everything and that any means necessary (for example cheating) justify the end. This is also (obviously) the wrong way to think about sport.
Why does it matter if a footballer is a racist and a cheat if they are good? Do you seriously need to ask? Modern footballers are not only role-models for a huge number of young people but they are also paid a ridiculous amount of money. Do we want to further embed the message that it's fine to misbehave if you're talented, rich and famous?
Yes, everyone makes mistakes and I'm not suggesting every player with points on their driving license be banned from the game but Suarez has repeatedly and unashamedly shown his true colours on a number of occasions. He admitted unapologetically to using his hand to prevent a goal at the World Cup finals. He dives. A lot. He has physically bitten an opposition player on the pitch. He has been found guilty of racially abusing an opposition player on the pitch. And these incidents continue to occur without fail, every season.
The argument that these matters are 'off the pitch' does not make sense as Suarez's controversial actions have always been on the field and have directly affected his team (most notably through his frequent bans). As if you needed more convincing, see how he is also now agitating for a move away from the club that have stood by him while he continuously damaged their age-old reputation.
Not to mention the fact that the fees and wages necessary to secure Suarez would be astronomical, particularly when we could strive for a player not too far behind in quality for a much more reasonable price (such as Higuain).
Signing any player who will score you a lot of goals will not always be a good move. This one in particular is extremely likely to damage the club's reputation, cause friction amongst the other players, divide the fans and cost a lot of money. The player would also spend a lot of time in the stands serving bans and at the end of it all most likely blame it on somebody else and consciously disrupt and undermine the club until he was allowed to leave.
And if he does join? I'd assume I'm in a majority in believing that my football team is worth more to me than one player, so I would still support Arsenal with Suarez in the team and I would probably celebrate his goals. But I could never see myself chanting his name as I have done for Bergkamp and Henry.
Winning is not everything and a club with Arsenal's reputation should carefully consider the consequences of such a transfer.
It has been a summer of frustration so far, with none of Wenger's supposed £70 million transfer kitty being broken into as yet. The talk has largely been positive in my eyes. A strengthening to the team's spine seems to be the most pressing issue and in a world without agents and complications, bringing in Ashley Williams at centre-back, Maroune Fellaini at centre-mid and Gonzalo Higuain at centre-forward would be both feasible and (just) within the budget. There has presumably been enough space made within the wage structure following the departures of Denilson, Arshavin, Squillaci, Santos and Mannone.
But for whatever reasons no moves have yet been made. Two weeks ago it emerged that Arsenal, seemingly out of frustration had tabled a bid for Luis Suarez. This initially seemed more of a statement than an indicator of genuine interest but today it has been reported that Wenger has upped his bid to £35 million plus add-ons.
This has led to a flurry of twitter-talk and some angry exchanges between Arsenal bloggers and commentators about whether a Suarez deal will be made and, importantly, how the fans should feel about it. After reading a lot of interesting and passionate opinions, I couldn't resist throwing my own out there.
Many of the bloggers that I respect and frequently read have been broadly arguing that were Suarez to join the club, they and that most of Arsenal's supporters would put aside whatever criticisms they may have harboured and accept him. A recent poll suggested a slim majority of fans agree. It seems that people are able to swallow their reservations if a player is talented enough. This sounds to me like desperation from fans deprived of silverware.
Personally, I reserve the right not to want a player like Luis Suarez at my football club. Of course he is a fantastic footballer, probably within the top three or five in England at the moment, but standing back from the excitement of attracting a top player like that, surely people can see that such a move would be unwise. One fan tweeted:
'I couldn't care less who plays for Arsenal as long as they win us games. That's their job and that's what they're supposed to do.'
This suggests that footballers should be immune from moral judgements because all that matters is their ability to play well and win games. This is the wrong way to think about sport. It also suggests that winning is everything and that any means necessary (for example cheating) justify the end. This is also (obviously) the wrong way to think about sport.
Why does it matter if a footballer is a racist and a cheat if they are good? Do you seriously need to ask? Modern footballers are not only role-models for a huge number of young people but they are also paid a ridiculous amount of money. Do we want to further embed the message that it's fine to misbehave if you're talented, rich and famous?
Yes, everyone makes mistakes and I'm not suggesting every player with points on their driving license be banned from the game but Suarez has repeatedly and unashamedly shown his true colours on a number of occasions. He admitted unapologetically to using his hand to prevent a goal at the World Cup finals. He dives. A lot. He has physically bitten an opposition player on the pitch. He has been found guilty of racially abusing an opposition player on the pitch. And these incidents continue to occur without fail, every season.
The argument that these matters are 'off the pitch' does not make sense as Suarez's controversial actions have always been on the field and have directly affected his team (most notably through his frequent bans). As if you needed more convincing, see how he is also now agitating for a move away from the club that have stood by him while he continuously damaged their age-old reputation.
Not to mention the fact that the fees and wages necessary to secure Suarez would be astronomical, particularly when we could strive for a player not too far behind in quality for a much more reasonable price (such as Higuain).
Signing any player who will score you a lot of goals will not always be a good move. This one in particular is extremely likely to damage the club's reputation, cause friction amongst the other players, divide the fans and cost a lot of money. The player would also spend a lot of time in the stands serving bans and at the end of it all most likely blame it on somebody else and consciously disrupt and undermine the club until he was allowed to leave.
And if he does join? I'd assume I'm in a majority in believing that my football team is worth more to me than one player, so I would still support Arsenal with Suarez in the team and I would probably celebrate his goals. But I could never see myself chanting his name as I have done for Bergkamp and Henry.
Winning is not everything and a club with Arsenal's reputation should carefully consider the consequences of such a transfer.
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Arsenal 2012/13 - Firm Foundations?
Thank god that's over. By 'that' I am referring to the month of May. The reasons for this are both personal and football: on a personal note, my exams are now over and on an Arsenal note, WE GOT 4TH PLACE.
Jubilation all round. I'll admit that I as I watched the nerve-wracking final five minutes of Arsenal vs Newcastle on my laptop in Newcastle University Library, where I could almost hear the Geordies' roaring their team on, I was on the edge of my seat. It was all so predictable. After a goalless 45 minutes I said to myself (quietly - I was in the library) that Bale would definitely score a wonder goal in the last ten minutes. He has dug Spurs out of the pickles they've got themselves into on several occasions this season. I don't have the stats to hand but without his late goals they would certainly have finished a few places lower down in the table. Late goals are his speciality. Come on United he's custom-made for you!
In seriousness a move to United for him would bring a sigh of relief from the red half of North London. He ran us close this time but even if he stays, I believe that Arsène will sign the players in the summer to cement our hegemony. Besides we should relish their challenge.
Now the dust has settled on yet another 'transitional' season, Arsenal are left all too aware of how close they came to missing out on their regularly-reserved place in Europe's biggest competition. There has been talk of big money and big names. Yet this summer it looks like it will be more difficult than ever to attract the top players. There are potentially big changes underway at both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Arsenal, having consistently struggled against the top teams this year cannot point to their victory over Bayern in March as proof that they can challenge at the top level with their current squad.
We seem to be the only club not undertaking big changes in management this summer. Who would have guessed that in December!? Ferguson, Mancini, Benitez, Mourinho, Heynckes, Moyes, Martinez and Pulis all leaving their posts but Wenger still in place! This makes him the current longest-serving manager in the Premier League by a gap of fourteen years.
There are also big changes afoot in playing personnel. Neymar to Barcelona, Götze to Bayern, potential moves for Bale, Rooney, Lewandowski and a shed-load of cash thrown around by the newly oil-rich Monaco.
2013 will be a big year in the football history books. But where do Arsenal fit in to all this?
In the transfer arena to be honest fans are none the wiser. At least we can finally shift Arshavin and Squillaci, who are out of contract and out of luck. Further than this, permanent moves away for Bendtner, Denilson, Djourou and Chamakh to name a few would be greatly appreciated. Wishful thinking that a clear-out on this scale will take place but we can dream.
Aside from that we should endeavour to hold onto the players who have played a part this season. In my view that definitely includes Vermaelen and Fabianski. Even though neither will be in the starting eleven come August, squad depth is what Arsenal have been lacking for a long time, and both these players can still play a part for us.
Names are being thrown around about potential transfers in, none of which have been particularly convincing as yet. Obviously the obligatory unknown Frenchman has already been drafted in in the shape of Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre. Hard to comment on how Wenger plans to use him except maybe as backup for Giroud.
Positives from our current group of players? Well defensively the team are being lauded from all quarters. It is true that apart from that mid-season slump where all our dreams of silverware were once again dismantled, the defence has been greatly improved. Koscielny is the stand-out performer and I expect to see more of the same next season before we get carried away.
In my very first post on this blog in October, I mentioned how little Arsenal's fans were obliged to dust off the 'one-nil to the Ars-en-al' chant in recent times. As it turned out, the last game of the season saw the team's seventh one-nil victory of the season, and their third in five games. Hopefully they can bring this ability to scrape wins in tight games into the start of next season.
As you would expect from a side who lost their star player over summer and replaced him with three new players, Arsenal's attack this season had been a testament to the 'team' effort. Glancing over a few stats from Opta, this becomes even more apparent. The debutant trio of Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla all hit the ten league goal mark this term along with Walcott, who reached double figures for the first time. This makes Arsenal only the third team in Premier League history to have four players to hit more than ten goals in a season. Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski also made up three of only seven players to achieve more than nine assists this season.
So both defence and attack are looking good. Perhaps not world-beating but there are firm foundations here. With Wilshere fit again hopefully that gap in midfield will be plugged. A couple of additions over summer would make for a tenacious looking side come August. Hopefully the other big clubs will take time adjusting to their new managers and Arsenal can actually start a season strongly for once.
Though this summer will certainly not be quiet in football, despite the lack of a big competition, this blog will probably be infrequently updated. I'm making no promises but I will aim to only post when something Arsenal-related actually warrants comment, and I do not include speculation is this. So over to you Arsène. Give me something to write about.
(Please).
Jubilation all round. I'll admit that I as I watched the nerve-wracking final five minutes of Arsenal vs Newcastle on my laptop in Newcastle University Library, where I could almost hear the Geordies' roaring their team on, I was on the edge of my seat. It was all so predictable. After a goalless 45 minutes I said to myself (quietly - I was in the library) that Bale would definitely score a wonder goal in the last ten minutes. He has dug Spurs out of the pickles they've got themselves into on several occasions this season. I don't have the stats to hand but without his late goals they would certainly have finished a few places lower down in the table. Late goals are his speciality. Come on United he's custom-made for you!
In seriousness a move to United for him would bring a sigh of relief from the red half of North London. He ran us close this time but even if he stays, I believe that Arsène will sign the players in the summer to cement our hegemony. Besides we should relish their challenge.
Now the dust has settled on yet another 'transitional' season, Arsenal are left all too aware of how close they came to missing out on their regularly-reserved place in Europe's biggest competition. There has been talk of big money and big names. Yet this summer it looks like it will be more difficult than ever to attract the top players. There are potentially big changes underway at both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Arsenal, having consistently struggled against the top teams this year cannot point to their victory over Bayern in March as proof that they can challenge at the top level with their current squad.
We seem to be the only club not undertaking big changes in management this summer. Who would have guessed that in December!? Ferguson, Mancini, Benitez, Mourinho, Heynckes, Moyes, Martinez and Pulis all leaving their posts but Wenger still in place! This makes him the current longest-serving manager in the Premier League by a gap of fourteen years.
There are also big changes afoot in playing personnel. Neymar to Barcelona, Götze to Bayern, potential moves for Bale, Rooney, Lewandowski and a shed-load of cash thrown around by the newly oil-rich Monaco.
2013 will be a big year in the football history books. But where do Arsenal fit in to all this?
In the transfer arena to be honest fans are none the wiser. At least we can finally shift Arshavin and Squillaci, who are out of contract and out of luck. Further than this, permanent moves away for Bendtner, Denilson, Djourou and Chamakh to name a few would be greatly appreciated. Wishful thinking that a clear-out on this scale will take place but we can dream.
Aside from that we should endeavour to hold onto the players who have played a part this season. In my view that definitely includes Vermaelen and Fabianski. Even though neither will be in the starting eleven come August, squad depth is what Arsenal have been lacking for a long time, and both these players can still play a part for us.
Names are being thrown around about potential transfers in, none of which have been particularly convincing as yet. Obviously the obligatory unknown Frenchman has already been drafted in in the shape of Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre. Hard to comment on how Wenger plans to use him except maybe as backup for Giroud.
Positives from our current group of players? Well defensively the team are being lauded from all quarters. It is true that apart from that mid-season slump where all our dreams of silverware were once again dismantled, the defence has been greatly improved. Koscielny is the stand-out performer and I expect to see more of the same next season before we get carried away.
In my very first post on this blog in October, I mentioned how little Arsenal's fans were obliged to dust off the 'one-nil to the Ars-en-al' chant in recent times. As it turned out, the last game of the season saw the team's seventh one-nil victory of the season, and their third in five games. Hopefully they can bring this ability to scrape wins in tight games into the start of next season.
As you would expect from a side who lost their star player over summer and replaced him with three new players, Arsenal's attack this season had been a testament to the 'team' effort. Glancing over a few stats from Opta, this becomes even more apparent. The debutant trio of Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla all hit the ten league goal mark this term along with Walcott, who reached double figures for the first time. This makes Arsenal only the third team in Premier League history to have four players to hit more than ten goals in a season. Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski also made up three of only seven players to achieve more than nine assists this season.
So both defence and attack are looking good. Perhaps not world-beating but there are firm foundations here. With Wilshere fit again hopefully that gap in midfield will be plugged. A couple of additions over summer would make for a tenacious looking side come August. Hopefully the other big clubs will take time adjusting to their new managers and Arsenal can actually start a season strongly for once.
Though this summer will certainly not be quiet in football, despite the lack of a big competition, this blog will probably be infrequently updated. I'm making no promises but I will aim to only post when something Arsenal-related actually warrants comment, and I do not include speculation is this. So over to you Arsène. Give me something to write about.
(Please).
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Time to 'finish the job'
Right, this is only going to be a quick one. It's been about two weeks since my last post, which followed the draw against Man United. The reasons for the drought in writing are twofold:
Firstly, the last weeks of Arsenal's seasons for the past couple of years have not been the most exciting of times. This year, as before the team have hit a good run of form and are still plugging away at gaining qualification for the Champions League next term. As such there are not too many interesting developments to speak of.
Secondly and most importantly, it's that time of year again and I've been stuck revising for my exams therefore having to limit my football-related outpourings to 140 character tweets.
Now with just one game of the season remaining and for Arsenal at least, everything still to play for, I am signing off until the end of May, by which time the football season will be well and truly over (unless Arsenal and Chelsea have to play a third-place playoff) as will my exams.
In the meantime I'm going to have to keep my recent musings on Arsenal's strengths, weaknesses and summer prospects to myself, and will probably unleash a tirade of pent-up poorly-structured stream of consciousness shortly after leaving the exam hall at the end of the month (I may also be drunk at this time).
By that time we will know which of Arsenal Chelsea and Spurs has finished 3rd, 4th and 5th in the league. Everything else that matters in English football has already been decided. United have won the league and City are ending up a not-so-close second. Everton finish sixth and Liverpool seventh (actually an improvement on last year for both). QPR and Reading were realistically relegated months ago and Wigan are the team that will join them in next year's Championship.
Sorry Wigan. Like most people seem to be all of a sudden, I am sympathetic to Wigan, not because they play 'great attacking football' (which seems a popular overstatement of late) but because their story of resilience and drama over the past few seasons has been refreshing. I hope they make a speedy return, though as Wolves have demonstrated, it's dog eat dog in the Championship.
All that now remains for Arsenal is, in Wenger's words, for them to 'finish the job'. Victory at Newcastle will not be as easy as Alan Pardew has made out but if we pull it off we are in the Champions League next season. If fate really was smiling on the club then Chelsea would slip up and Arsenal could even nip into third place, though this is less likely. The season is very much not over yet for three out of twenty clubs.
There have been good omens from recent games, with the team really starting to play like one. The last few fixtures have seen good team performances and it seems we are relying on individuals less and less (ahem - apart from Santi's 4 assists on Tuesday).
Giroud will be back from suspension this weekend but I think on the back of a convincing 4-1 victory in which he scored twice, Podolski should retain his place. Unless of course he's too tired.
I repeat that Newcastle away, despite their current league position will not be an easy game. Newcastle is the city in which I currently reside and I know that the home crowd on the last day of the season will really be urging their team on to make amends for a fairly awful nine months of football. It also wouldn't be the first time they've spoilt our party.
Hopefully the players will stay as focused as they have been in recent matches and Chelsea (maybe tired from their Europa Cup win tonight) will be less than focused, and at the final whistle on Sunday we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
If not my mood will be even worse when I have to tackle a two-hour exam first thing Monday morning. So I'll echo Wenger in urging the boys to 'finish the job': St Totteringham's Day has been too long in the coming this year.
I'll be back in two weeks' time.
COYG
Firstly, the last weeks of Arsenal's seasons for the past couple of years have not been the most exciting of times. This year, as before the team have hit a good run of form and are still plugging away at gaining qualification for the Champions League next term. As such there are not too many interesting developments to speak of.
Secondly and most importantly, it's that time of year again and I've been stuck revising for my exams therefore having to limit my football-related outpourings to 140 character tweets.
Now with just one game of the season remaining and for Arsenal at least, everything still to play for, I am signing off until the end of May, by which time the football season will be well and truly over (unless Arsenal and Chelsea have to play a third-place playoff) as will my exams.
In the meantime I'm going to have to keep my recent musings on Arsenal's strengths, weaknesses and summer prospects to myself, and will probably unleash a tirade of pent-up poorly-structured stream of consciousness shortly after leaving the exam hall at the end of the month (I may also be drunk at this time).
By that time we will know which of Arsenal Chelsea and Spurs has finished 3rd, 4th and 5th in the league. Everything else that matters in English football has already been decided. United have won the league and City are ending up a not-so-close second. Everton finish sixth and Liverpool seventh (actually an improvement on last year for both). QPR and Reading were realistically relegated months ago and Wigan are the team that will join them in next year's Championship.
Sorry Wigan. Like most people seem to be all of a sudden, I am sympathetic to Wigan, not because they play 'great attacking football' (which seems a popular overstatement of late) but because their story of resilience and drama over the past few seasons has been refreshing. I hope they make a speedy return, though as Wolves have demonstrated, it's dog eat dog in the Championship.
All that now remains for Arsenal is, in Wenger's words, for them to 'finish the job'. Victory at Newcastle will not be as easy as Alan Pardew has made out but if we pull it off we are in the Champions League next season. If fate really was smiling on the club then Chelsea would slip up and Arsenal could even nip into third place, though this is less likely. The season is very much not over yet for three out of twenty clubs.
There have been good omens from recent games, with the team really starting to play like one. The last few fixtures have seen good team performances and it seems we are relying on individuals less and less (ahem - apart from Santi's 4 assists on Tuesday).
Giroud will be back from suspension this weekend but I think on the back of a convincing 4-1 victory in which he scored twice, Podolski should retain his place. Unless of course he's too tired.
I repeat that Newcastle away, despite their current league position will not be an easy game. Newcastle is the city in which I currently reside and I know that the home crowd on the last day of the season will really be urging their team on to make amends for a fairly awful nine months of football. It also wouldn't be the first time they've spoilt our party.
Hopefully the players will stay as focused as they have been in recent matches and Chelsea (maybe tired from their Europa Cup win tonight) will be less than focused, and at the final whistle on Sunday we can all breathe a sigh of relief.
If not my mood will be even worse when I have to tackle a two-hour exam first thing Monday morning. So I'll echo Wenger in urging the boys to 'finish the job': St Totteringham's Day has been too long in the coming this year.
I'll be back in two weeks' time.
COYG
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