It was a moral boosting win for the team too. Eight victories in the last nine games shows that the team is on the ascendancy now. The belief is back and I’m not saying they will win the title, but there is a very good chance that they will finish as one of the top four.

With no meaningful football for the past couple of weeks, my friends and I were discussing the developments over the season and it turned out to be quite an interesting discussion. One friend suggested that given the form that we are in, we could possibly go on to win the FA Cup at least, if not the League. While another suggested that it is still too soon to expect Arsenal to win something. Explaining further, he said that Arsenal and Arsene Wenger had known all along that moving to a new stadium would significantly reduce the club’s capacity to fight in the transfer market, and the only way they could keep themselves competitive was to qualify for the Champions League proper.

When asked to explain why, if this was the ambition from the very beginning, did the club not say so and why did the board and the manager always say that they had the money to spend if they wanted to, my friend said that ”Wenger never categorically said that we would WIN the league” and those who thought otherwise were being naïve.

The discussion trailed off to other things, but it made me realise how strong some peoples’ emotions are towards Wenger. Perhaps, for them Wenger is Arsenal and Arsenal is Wenger. I won’t deny that I think Wenger has taken our club forward and he is the best manager we ever had, but for me he is not the most important. Arsenal Football Club is more important than Arsene Wenger.

If qualifying for Champions League was indeed the ambition all along, then Wenger has been LYING to us all along. If we didn’t have the money to compete, then the board should have told the fans. Perhaps it was to ensure that the fans didn’t despair when the likes of Chelsea, United and City were buying players left, right and centre. But, for me, I’d any day like to be told the truth about the club’s financial capabilities rather than living in false hopes. In that respect, I must say I like Harry Redknapp. The old ‘twitchy’ tells things as is..a quality I admire.

What do you think?

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Next up we met Bolton in the Premier League and we won 3-0; two Van Persie goals and one from Alex Song. RvP scored his 100th goal for the Gunners and we managed a clean-sheet in a zillion years. Makes you wonder what Van Persie would have achieved had he managed to stay fit for an entire season.

It was an overall good 7-10 days for Arsenal, but what I want to talk about is the constant sh*t stirring by the media when it comes to Arsenal and its players. On September 24, Arsene Wenger said that he was ready to start contract talks with some of the senior players in the squad. Commenting on the situation of Van Persie, Walcott and Song, who all have two years left on their contract, he said:

“Yes, this starts now. We will try to convince them. Our desire is there to do it and we are ready to sit down with them.”

Robin, however, came out saying that he was not ready to start negotiations now and would rather wait until the end of the season. He said:

”I still have almost two years, so for the moment that’s fine. I’m happy with my contract. I can’t look into the future. I can’t see us talking now because we are so busy – we have games every three or four days.”

The media turned this into another looming crisis for Arsenal, with headlines like ‘Arsenal suffer another blow as captain Van Persie refuses contract talks‘

Really? Is it really ‘another blow’ for Arsenal? As far as I understand, it is quite normal for a player to postpone his contract talks. I fail to understand why the media has to sensationalise everything. First and foremost, it depends on the player when he wishes to sit and discuss the offered contract. Secondly, Van Persie is a professional and has the right to see everything that is on offer and then take a decision.

Perhaps he will not extend his stay at Arsenal and will look to go somewhere else after 2013. He is 28 and this will be his last big contract and he has every right to choose where he wants to play. It is similar to any professional in any field.

The media, however, are always quick to make it sound like everything is doom and gloom. They do it especially in the case of Arsenal. Case in point the ankle surgery of Wilshere. He went under knife on Monday and his rehabilitation is expected to take 3-4 months. Guess what? Another ‘blow‘ for Arsenal.

This is not even funny any more. Perhaps they sensationalise things to sell their paper, but they should show logical, reasoned, clear journalism sometimes. How about reporting facts without padding up things and reaching illogical conclusions? Highly desired but unlikely to happen.

Image source: Arsenal.com

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Arsenal were a goal down at half-time and had to respond. Robin van Persie made it 1-1 and within five minutes the Italians were awarded a penalty after Tomas Vermaelen was adjudged to have handled inside the box.  Wojciech Szczesny pulled off a brilliant save to deny Antonio di Natale and keep Arsenal in the tie. Later Theo Walcott put the tie beyond Udinese by scoring the second. With the negativity and the media-created doom and gloom surrounding the squad, it was a very astute performance and the players showed true grit and determination.

Following the departure of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona, Arsenal have sold Samir Nasri to Manchester City.  There transfer window closes on August 31 and Arsenal are yet to find a replacement for the duo, who were perhaps the two best players of the club.  Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, although very talented, are still quite raw and it will be unfair to expect them to perform the way Cesc and Nasri did.  Perhaps it was a wise decision to let Nasri go, since he was on the last year of his contract and he had refused to sign an extension.  Next summer he would have moved for free so it was better to let him go. And when you receive GBP 24 million for a player who is on the last year of his contract, you really cannot say no.  So now Arsenal have GBP 70 million from the sale of Fabregas (GBP 35 million, Barcelona), Nasri (GBP 24 million, Manchester City), Gael Clichy (GBP 7 million, Manchster City) and Emmanuel Eboue (GBP 4 million, Galatasaray).

Now is the time to spend the amount to bring in experienced players to complement the youth.  With less than a week left before the transfer window closes, Arsene Wenger and the board must act quickly.  Emphasis must be put on the midfield now, because that is where the team are lacking right now in terms of creativity.

It is impossible to find a player to replace Fabregas, but worryingly all the players that were linked with Arsenal have either decided to stay back at their respective clubs or have gone on to join other clubs. This is a cause for worry because being the seventh biggest club in the world, Arsenal do have the financial strength to pay these players. Perhaps the players believe that they don’t stand a genuine chance to win anything if they play for Arsenal. If that is the case, then it really shows how far down the club have fallen since the Invincible days.

Arsenal have lost their chase for Juan Mata, who has joined Chelsea. The Argentinean that we were after a month or two ago has joined Inter, while Edin Hazard has decided to stay with Lille and then there was this story about Arsene trying to bring in Kaka for a season-long loan. Apparently Madrid want to sell him instead of loaning, which Arsenal dont want because at 29, he has no resale value.

The point is, defensively we need a left back because Kieran Gibbs is injury prone and Armand Traore is unreliable. We have three good centrebacks. In defensive midfield we have Alex Song and Emmanuel Frimpong who both are excellent. It is the creative side of the things that need immediate solution or else it is going to be a long and painful season ahead.

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What was never in doubt was his commitment to the club and the cause. He was our captain and he gave his all on the pitch. So it was quite surprising and in fact very disgusting to read some of the comments left on various internet forums by some ‘fans’..abusing him and questioning his loyalty.

In his first interview after becoming a Barcelona player, Cesc said that he was unhappy with the fact that he had been unable to explain himself to the club’s fans.

He said: “I have time to talk about it and I’m sure I’ll do an interview especially for them. I’m sorry I couldn’t say anything in the last two and a half months, Arsenal wouldn’t allow me to talk to anyone, even if I wanted to I couldn’t. I’m disappointed and upset about it because I have had a great relationship with the fans over the years. It took time to build this and I’m disappointed I could lose some of them. All I have are words of gratitude. I’ll never forget what they have done for me, I gave absolutely everything to the club and I think they know that but it was the right time to come back here. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to them in the last few months but I couldn’t. I was very, very sad to leave, I spent one third of my life there, eight years, so I’m very sad but life goes on.”

That shows his loyalty to the club and his feelings for the fans. I don’t care what the plastic fans think of him, but for me the lasting image of Cesc will the captain who suffered a hairline fracture yet played on against Barca. He never gave up and I shall always have respect for the man.

Now that he has finally gone, it will be interesting to see how the team and Arsenal as a club react. There are rumours that a deal with Manchester City is close to be completed, leaving us bereft of two of the best creative players.

When we lost Thierry Henry in 2007, everybody said that we wouldn’t make it to the top 4. But we came back strong and lead the pack for majority of the season before losing steam post February. What was interesting was the way we reacted to Henry’s departure. We fought as a unit and were nearly there.

We didn’t splash out cash to replace Henry with another world-class striker. Perhaps we couldn’t afford one or perhaps we had someone in Fabregas who could create chance after chance after chance. Things are different now. We have been without any silverware for quite sometime now and the pressure has increased on the club and the manager.

Earlier, Arsene Wenger was successful in shouldering the criticism alone, referring it as a youth project and how the strategy was to have the young guys play together, keeping them together and reaping the benefits later. That project, sadly, has failed. It has been an epic failure.

We had perhaps the best midfield partnership in the entire Premier League in Fabregas and Flamini that showed its immense potential in just one season. Why we let the Frenchman run down his contract and leave on a free is still a mystery. All the while Arsene said that he “expected Flamini to stay.”

And the same thing has happened again in case of Nasri. Wenger can’t protect his players from facing the flak any more. He did that successfully previously, but not any longer. It was no surprise that some fans chanted against Nasri, who wasn’t even in the stadium, at the season opener against Newcastle. The fans questioned his loyalty and called him greedy.

I for one don’t support these fans. In fact, I believe if they have some gripes, it should be against Wenger and not Nasri. He is young, talented, ambitious and wants to win trophies. If he believes Arsenal is not the team with whom he can realise his dreams then I see nothing wrong with that. Many ‘experts’ would have you believe that Nasri showed flashes of his brilliance for just one half of the last season and the rest of the time he was lacklustre or nothing out of the ordinary. I respectfully disagree because he took over the creative mantle of the team when Cesc was out with injury and he kept us in the title race. A certain Andrei Arshavin was having a nightmare of a season.

My point is, a footballer has a very short career. A manager can remain in the game for decades; a footballer has to win down his career in his thirties. If Nasri decides to leave to win trophies, then I see no problem with that. Because we haven’t been able to sustain our challenge — we lose our steam every season before the end of February.

I lay the blame squarely on Wenger. I blame him for turning us into a feeder club. I blame him for not buying players and I blame him for waiting to buy players of ‘Super quality’ when the others buy quality players and keep on lifting trophies.

Is Wenger going to change his philosophy? If not change, is he going to be flexible enough to accommodate players who are not dirt cheap and come from clubs we haven’t heard about before? Are the Arsenal players mature enough to handle the loss of two of our best players and play to their full potential? Are there players in the reserves who will take this opportunity and step up the plate?

I honestly don’t know. It would be interesting to step back and observe from a neutral point of view because Arsenal definitely are in crossroads at this point of time. Whether they go up or go down will depend as much on the manager as the players. But as an Arsenal fan I just hope and pray that we do well and finally win some silverware.

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Yes, Barcelona have started their summer shenanigans about Cesc Fabregas. There are also reports of Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy trying to force a move out. But can we actually afford to lose them? Here is my take on who we should let go.

Tomas Rosicky: Rosicky, who when he first arrived in 2006, was known as the ‘Little Mozart.’  Sadly, Arsenal fans have seen little of the Mozart who has the knack of picking up injuries now and then.  He is 30-year-old, which usually means a little lack of speed but tonnes of experience and a certain calmness on the field. While the first two points are correct in case of the Czech, he is certainly not a calm character. For me, he lacks composure and is one of the first players to hit the panic button, which costs the team. Check the build-up to Newcastle’s fourth goal in the game that ended 4-4.

Emmanuel Eboue: Eboue was supposed to be our right-back. He is not because we have the excellent Bacary Sagna. Eboue doesn’t play as the right-winger because Theo Walcott and/or Samir Nasri play in that position. Eboue is not defensively sound. He dives and he tries to con the referee.  He brings nothing on the pitch that improves the team.

Gael Clichy: I believe Arsenal should look to sell Clichy. But definitely not to a Premier League side. Not because he will come back to bite us, but because it will be sad to see him play for another team in the league. Clichy is undoubtedly the ‘fastest’ left-back in the business. But that is all he is — fast. He overlaps Andrei Arshavin on the left flank, yes. But the quality of his crosses, the end product, is almost always poor.  Both of our full-backs run a lot. However, compare the result of Sagna’s deliveries to Clichy’s and you will know what I mean.

Denilson: The former captain of the Brazil under-17 national team was brought to Arsenal as a player of ‘exceptional talent’ in 2006. He did impress initially when he was under the tutelage of Gilberto Silva and had to fight for his place against the likes of Mathieu Flamini. But the standard of his performance went down ever since he got more playing time. Probably a case of complacency creeping in.  The right time is now to show him the door.

Why Arsene, Why?

Manuel Almunia: Can be exceptional on his day. He single-handedly kept us in the game in the first-leg quarter-final against Barcelona at the Emirates in 2009-10. But those moments were rare for the Spaniard. Seems to lack confidence, doesn’t have a commanding presence like David Seaman or Jens Lehmann had.  With the likes of Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski ahead of him, there is no chance he will ever be the number one again.

Nicklas Bendtner: I admire Bendtner’s confidence and belief in himself. Although he has not delivered consistently, he never fails to try. With Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh ahead of him, he is unlikely to get regular starts.  Although it is no fault of his, the Dane is surplus to our requirements.

Sebastien Squillaci: Why did we buy him in the first place?

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I have always been of the opinion that knee-jerk reactions or frequent changing of managers never solve problems. A club must be sensible in spending money and allow time for its players to mature and gel together. I have always believed that for a club to be successful, it must always think long-term. And it is this belief that has led me to support Wenger’s views that Arsenal have a young squad that will mature and fight for trophies “next year.” With more than six seasons gone, it is about time they deliver.

Almost like a ritual, the reasons for Arsenal’s failure is written at the end of every season and enough has already been written since the end of last season. Some have blamed the lack of quality, while some have blamed the lack of variety in tactics. And then there is the perennial mention of the defensive frailties. I believe all these factors indeed played a part, but the biggest issue facing this Arsenal team is its mentality. No matter how skilful a player is, if he has a suspect mentality, if he panics under pressure, he is going to cost his team. Two players that come to mind are Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue. Against Newcastle away, with Arsenal leading 4-3 (4-0 up at half-time) and fending off wave after wave of attack from the home-side, the team had to keep possession. There was panic among the players and it was expected that at least the senior players would keep calm. Going for an aerial challange, Rosicky needlessly barged into one of their players in a dangerous area. The resulting free-kick lead to the equaliser, a game the media dubbed as the ‘greatest comeback in a Premier League game.’  In reality it was not so much a comeback as it was the ‘greatest gift given to one team by another’ or the ‘biggest collective mode panicking ever.’

Arsenal went 1-0 ahead against Liverpool at home in injury time, a game they had to win to keep the pressure on Manchester United. From the re-start, Liverpool kicked the ball straight to Wojciech Szczesny. All Arsenal had to do was to keep possession and let the seconds tick away. But they gave a cheap penalty inches outside the box. Suarez hit the wall and all Eboue had to do was to shepherd Lucas away from the box. Instead, he clambered all over him and the Brazilian needed no second invitation to go to ground. Result: Penalty. 1-1. Goodbye title.

Apart from bringing in new players, Wenger must address the issue of the players’ mentality. What Rosicky did against Newcastle can be expected from a 20 or 21-year-old, not from a 29-year-old international. When senior players of the team panic and give away needless free-kicks, you can’t expect the younger lot to do any better. I believe Wenger must take some tough decisions this time and let go of players like Rosicky and Eboue. Also, he must bring in a sports psychologist to work with the players, to instil discipline and develop mental toughness in them. Hopefully we shall see a better, much improved Arsenal next season, one that finally wins some silverware.

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Arsenal lose to Manchester City 2-4

Arsenal beat Standard Liege 3-2 in the Champions League after going down 2-0 within five minutes.

Arsenal beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 at home

Arsenal beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 in th eCarling Cup

Arsenal beat Fulham 1-0

Arsenal beat Olympiacos 2-0 in the Champions League

October Highlights:

Arsenal beat Blackburn Rovers 6-2

Arsenal beat Birmingham City 3-1

Arsenal draw 1-1 with AZ Alkmaar in the Champions League

Arsenal draw 2-2 with West Ham United

Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 in the Carling Cup

Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-0

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Fletcher takes out Arshavin, yet goes unpunished

On the other hand, Dean was quick to award United a penalty when Almunia was adjudged to have brought Rooney down inside the box. Rooney had his back towards Dean, who was further out and couldn’t have possibly seen the incident clearly. However, he was quick to point to the spot and didn’t even bother to consult with the linesman. As is seen in the picture below, Rooney was already going down before he came into contact with Almunia.

Rooney dragging his back leg and going down before contact with the keeper

Had it not been an own goal, Mike Dean would have thought of some other way of ensuring that his master Sir Alex Ferguson’s team took all three points. Not only did he award the dubious penalty, he also sent Arsene Wenger to the stands with just a minute or two left to be played. That situation could easily have been avoided. Arsenal had made their three substitutions. With just seconds left, there was no way Wenger could have influenced the game had he remained in the dugout. But Mike Dean thought otherwise and made sure that Wenger was humiliated.

Injustice has been meted out to Arsenal for a long time now. The referees, both the domestic and European associations, the media – everybody has had a go at the club, its players and the manager at one point or the other.

Why is it that Arsenal are singled out every time?  I am reminded of Arsenal’s Champions League campaign two seasons back. While playing Milan away in San Siro, Alex Hleb was fouled right inside the box. The referee, who was standing close by, booked Hleb for diving !

The same competition, Ryan Babel went down very easily inside the Arsenal box. Result – penalty.  Needless to say that Arsenal were knocked out of that season’s competition.

The UEFA also seems to have problems with Arsenal. Michel Platini, for some strange reason, has never been an admirer of Arsene Wenger. Platini has never spoken in favour of the club or the manager. Time and again he has accused Arsenal of poaching young talents from other clubs. But the UEFA president never opens his mouth when clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona openly use the Spanish press to unsettle Arsenal’s players. He never said a word when Barcelona made it clear that they were after Cesc Fabregas, knowing quite well that he had a long-term contract in place with the Gunners.

Platini also openly criticised Wenger’s call for the introduction of video technology in the game. He would rather see his crazy five referee per game system being implemented, even though that system is inferior to goal line video technology. Back in September 2008, when asked to comment on Wenger’s call for introduction of video technology, Platini had this to say:

“I like to talk about football, him (Wenger) about business. We must stop with Wenger and all that. It would make me happy that Arsene Wenger never sees it.” Citing the example of Romanian club CFR Cluj’s victory over AS Roma, he said, “That is what makes football so great. It is what people like Wenger do not want, little clubs beating the big clubs, because they want their business.”

Going by those comments, one would think that under Michel Platini, the UEFA was totally against video technology. However, it is the same UEFA which decided to hand a two-match ban on Eduardo da Silva for allegedly trying to deceive the referee by diving.

In doing so, UEFA contradicted FIFA’s rule that says that the decision given by a referee in a match would remain final and no changes to it would be made later. Also, the UEFA needs to explain how a yellow card offence can be turned into a two-match ban by a disciplinary committee.

Secondly, how did the UEFA committee come to the conclusion that Eduardo dived, when the video footage shows there was actually contact between the Celtic keeper and the Arsenal striker?

Thirdly, if the UEFA has decided to punish Eduardo, will Michel Platini take retrospective action against Ryan Babbel for diving in the Champions League quarter finals against Arsenal? Would he be willing to have his men analyse every single minute of every single match played?

That won’t happen because the issue here is not stamping out diving or cheating. Had that been the case, video technology would have been incorporated in the game long time back. The agenda here is to pull down Arsenal by whatever means necessary.

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