King Henry: Inspiration or Desperation

We wake up this morning to strong rumours about an imminent return to the club of the legend that is Thierry Henry. A man who is the leading goal scorer for our club, is arguably the best player we have ever had and whose statue now resides at our stadium. The rumours of a possible return have been whispered ever since Thierry started training with the team to keep his fitness in the MLS close season. However as the transfer window draws nearer, these whispers have turned into full blown shouts with even senior players such as Song and Mertesacker giving their nods of approval to such a move.

A Lost Opportunity

Arsenal 1 - 1 Wolves

We didn't get the win we desired and which our performance would have maybe justified but a combination of wastefulness and absolutely brilliant goalkeeping (well done Hennessey) meant that we only earned a point during a round of games when 3 really would have been welcome.  Sp*rs and Man Utd won so they are the only real victors here...while we couldn't capitalise on the points dropped by Man City and more importantly, Chelsea and Liverpool, the previous day.

Yossi to the Rescue

Following the Man City game, a win was needed to keep the momentum going into Xmas. Villa away was always going to be a tricky game for us and so it proved, but we took the 3 points with another hard fought and gutsy performance which is now starting to be the trademark of this team. After the game Wenger said ‘We got a very late three points that are vital for us. We were a bit unlucky on Sunday [against Manchester City] and today maybe a bit lucky. You could see that some legs were jaded from Sunday and some minds as well in the speed of the decision-making. But we kept going and there is an exceptional attitude and spirit in the side.’  In terms of effort and commitment on the pitch it has been a while since I have seen an Arsenal team work this hard and that is refreshing to see. What we need now is some additional talent in the squad which will hopefully come in January.

New Money / Old Money

New Money

I’m left with a strange feeling in the aftermath of the Man City game. We lost, are in 5^th place and wasted a chance to get back in the title race, but despite all of that I’m unbelievably  proud of our team and the way we played. For large parts of the game we exchanged blows with the richest club and best squad in the premier league and did not back off or look overawed in any way. In fact when we did go one goal down there were no heads that dropped and no players feeling sorry for themselves, the team responded with a show of spirit and fight in a manner that we have rarely seen in previous seasons. That never say die attitude is one only a true team where everyone pulls their weight has and is a testament to how far this team has come since the start of the season and is something that gives me comfort for the rest of the season.

Poles Apart!

Premier League goalkeepers are a rare and mad breed. To have a job which involves balls being smashed at you day in and day out by players who are the best in the world at smashing them must mean somewhere deep down inside there is a screw loose. That mixture of part madness and part fearlessness is the hallmark of any good goalkeeper around the world and for whatever reason if the mixture isn’t right their performance suffers…just ask Mr. Cech. Like professional boxers you want your goalkeepers to be confident, cocky and have a strong personality because when you’re putting your body in danger for your team like no other player in any other position, you don’t want there to be any second thoughts or hesitations.

Robin Van Perfect

Arsenal 1 – 0 Everton

It may not have been the great performance that the club had hoped for when celebrating 125 years of history but nonetheless it was three precious points and a single goal (how appropriate it was ‘One nil to the Arsenal’) of absolute beauty that was fitting to win any football match.  Everton were their usual dogged, determined and passionate selves.  However they lacked imagination (always a possibility when your most creative player, Arteta, now plays for those in red and white) and the belief that they could actually get something more out of the game than a draw (hence Moyes’ decision to take off Saha with over 25 minutes remaining and replace him with a central defender).  All in all though, we huffed and we puffed and eventually Song and RVP combined to blow the house down!

Three Men to Celebrate 125 Years

Despite the news being leaked earlier in the week, today the club is set to announce the names of the three men who have had a significant hand in shaping the form of Arsenal FC and as such will have commemorative statues of themselves adorning the grounds of The Emirates....



The names of the three men will provoke outrage and discussion amongst some fans because they don’t match the three that they would have chosen.  Our club has a rich and long history and has seen many men pour their heart and soul into shaping its existence.  In my mind they should all be honoured.  But this isn’t possible so the club has chosen to narrow the list down to three and despite it containing the name of my favourite ever Arsenal player (answers on a postcard please), offering a tribute to the three men mentioned above seems fitting and just.

Obviously the club chose to ignore those in its current employment, hence the names of Arsene Wenger, Pat Rice and Liam Brady were omitted.  Others too, have offered significant and memorable contributions but sadly now is not the time for former influences such as George Allison, Cliff Bastin, Ian Wright, George Graham, Michael Thomas, David Rocastle, David Seaman and Patrick Vieira.

In the end it came down to three and surely if you wanted to celebrate the history and success of our club then you could do no better than to chose Herbert Chapman, Tony Adams and Thierry Henry.   

I will not write in this post a biography of each man because their importance and achievements would make for a very long blog.  What I will say is thank you – thank you to each man for devoting their sporting career to Arsenal FC and helping make the club what it is today.  Specifically to Tony Adams and Thierry Henry, two players who represent the Arsenal that I have supported since a boy – one a one club man who was our most successful captain and  the other, our top scorer who was in my eyes the best player in the world during his time at Arsenal.  If any player comes along and surpasses what these two achieved then they deserve to have the stadium named after them!

Greek Tragedy

Olympiakos 3 - 1 Arsenal

The team that so valiantly lost against Man City in the Carling Cup last week put in an abject display this time round in surrendering to the Greeks.  On one hand, individual and collective mistakes meant that we were extremely lucky to only lose 3-1. On the other hand, this was a team full of squad players (barring Vermaelen and Santos who we unfortunately have lost to an ankle injury leaving us with no recognised full back on either side of the pitch and a trip to man City in less than two weeks) and we comfirmed some interesting things about our more experienced players and some of the younger guns.  Arsene admitted after the game that he was annoyed with the performance and is responsible for putting out a team that maybe he shouldn't have.  At the end of the day though this game was a dead rubber for us but not to Olympiakos and the difference in motivation and desire between the two sets of players was clear for all to see.

Four Star performance from Eleven professionals

Wigan 0 - 4 Arsenal

Apologies for the delay in Saturday's match review but a lack of technology has meant that I was unable to post on the blog...where's a pigeon when you need one!  No worries though because the Arsenal overcame their slight blip against Fulham the previous week and romped away with what was a very easy and convincing 4-0 win courtesy of four different goal scorers.  Wigan, barring the first ten minutes, offered little resistance, and will probably be relegated this season.   With the teams ahead of us all winning this was as an important a result as it was a performance and we duly obliged.