By Tai Emeka Obasi
Life As An Arsenal Fan.
Being an Arsenal fan, I’ve concluded, is never a coincidence. It’s rather a design, which has a lot of bearing in all endeavours of anyone privileged enough to be deeply associated with the London-based outfit. If this assertion may be considered an overstatement prior to Arsene Wenger’s arrival, it cannot be waved aside in the modern times where the Frenchman’s attitude to every criticism is forever a perfect manner for any progressive’s handling of daily affairs.
Chelsea has beaten Arsenal twice in the league. The stuff we heard and read centred on Arsenal can’t beat or score against Chelsea. Few bothered to add that in both games, Chelsea couldn’t score or truly threaten until Arsenal were reduced in numbers. Nobody cared to recall that in the only match Arsenal completed with equal number of men against Chelsea this season ended in the Gunners’ victory and that it was Chelsea, with Mourinho, who couldn’t score. Or that in the last game Chelsea had to park the bus against 10 men for the better part of second half to preserve their slender lead.
Fast forward to Arsenal against Leicester City….Arsenal Lucky Against 10-man Leicester; Leicester So Unlucky Against Misfiring Gunners – and such stuff. To score against Arsenal, Jamie Vardy had to dive. Martin Atkinson willingly gave a penalty. Listening to commentaries…the commentator said he wouldn’t blame Vardy, that it was a clever play. I’m sure he would have had a different thing to say if it was Oliver Giroud that was involved at the other end.
Today, pundits are tipping Tottenham to win the League. Nothing wrong in that. The White Hart Lane outfit has deserved the attention this season. However, what mirrors inconsistency in this punditry is the reason for tipping them – they are young, energetic and play entertainment football. Aren’t these exactly same reasons same pundits ascribed to Arsenal’s lack of trophies in past seasons? You can’t win with kids…you can’t win playing so pretty…Arsenal lack leaders…etc, etc.
In everything about the game in England, Arsenal are measured in a different parameter from all other contenders. But it NEVER gets to Wenger. He’s always replied them with one action – FOCUS. Try as they do, the FA, PIGMOL, Match Officials, Press, Rival Fans, AAAs have NEVER succeeded in shifting Le Prof’s focus. In press conferences, he’s always calm, collected and full of wisdom. He knows the gang-up but never gives his knowledge away.
Despite nearing end of the club’s financial crunchy times he still sold Robin van Persie to Ferguson and Manchester United. While RVP helped Fergie to a healthy retirement both club’s fortunes have literally reversed ever since.
Everybody that has heard the word football ‘knew’ Arsenal needed a defensive midfielder to truly compete…the Carvalhos, Vidals, Benders, Scheiderlins, Wayamas, etc. Wenger stuck with Mikel Arteta, added Mathieu Flamini and continued to nurture Francis Coquelin. Even Thierry Henry said Giroud is no potent striker. But Wenger ignored his ex-captain and others, stuck with his compatriot, shifted Theo Walcott to the middle to offer competition and variety of play while patiently waiting for Danny Welbeck’s return.
The ex-Monaco coach is a perfect study on how to be a professional – believe in yourself, stick to your convictions and work tenaciously. It may take longer than people anticipated but you’ll certainly get there.
At the risk of getting sacked, Wenger stuck to the rules of re-building his team. As mentioned earlier, van Persie was the last player he was forced to lose. Ever since, he has kept all players he needed for following season. He wanted Luis Suarez, missed him because Liverpool were being unnecessarily cocky by breaking contractual agreement …but Wenger got Mesut Ozil same summer. Pundits and AAAs screamed Arsenal didn’t need Ozil but rather a world class striker. Wenger kept his cool and broke his nine-year trophy drought with the FA Cup. Again the following summer, he kept all players he needed while adding Alexis Sanchez…people screamed for more but he kept his cool, retained the FA Cup and added Petr Cech…
The pundits wanted Wenger to spend 200 million pounds in one summer but Wenger knows much better than all of them combined. Loius van Gaal has spent over 300 million pounds in less than two seasons and will be lucky to last till end of this season. While his United team looks exactly like a team that needs another 300 million spree to resemble anything like a top 4 side.
Arsene perfectly understands that he needn’t distort team chemistry while attempting to strengthen. That is why he gradually continues to add to his squad. For the past three summers it has been one world class addition at a time. Last season, when Arsenal was ready to compete, the monster of injuries disrupted the first half of the campaign. I remember even Mathieu Debuchy played as a centre back in many matches. Nacho Monreal as well while new signing Calum Chambers was Mr Utility. By the time players, including Ozil, returned Arsenal have been the best EPL side ever since.
Today, pundits are quick to tip Leicester, Tottenham…they forget that these two teams lack experience in playing personnel to drag through the remaining 1/3 of the campaign without stuttering – the same we’ve seen of Arsenal in past seasons they had playing personnel of same inexperienced pedigree.
Nobody wants to acknowledge that in the present Arsenal fold that we have in Cech a veteran that has won everything in club football. Monreal and Per Metersacker are with World Cup winners medals while Monreal adds European Championship winners medal. In the middle, Santi Carzola and Ozil are equally World Cup winners. And while Carzola adds Euro medals, Ozil adds La Liga winners medal. Sanchez may not showcase a World Cup medal but he more than compensates with La Liga, Champions League and Copa America winners medals.
We’re talking of six experienced winners spread over all departments while the rest of the team virtually have two FA Cup winners medals and two Community Shield successes to brandish. Not forgetting Giroud came with the French Ligue un medal.
I don’t know of any player in the combined teams of Leicester and Tottenham that has any medal to show. Let me pause here and warn that all these medals may count for nothing by mid May but I’m just trying to recall a vital aspect of winning teams pundits are suddenly ignoring just because it’s in Arsenal’s favour.
Even Man City do not have it as good in assemblage of top winning personnel in their kitty. Despite recent long-term injuries to three key players the Gunners are still just two points behind the season’s shock team. Despite battling unfavourable officiating in every match, any team has to garner more points than the Gunners to win this title.
Do pundits think that Arsenal being the only team yet to lose against top 5 rivals this campaign is a coincidence? In fact, in the available 15 points against top 5 teams, Arsenal have kept 13 of them. Only Tottenham snatched a point. It’s no coincidence or luck. Wenger has built a solid team without making noise about it. And more, he has added winning-ugly tactics to his variety. In the five matches we lost so far only Southampton’s cannot be explained. Against Chelsea twice wouldn’t have happened if referees weren’t overzealous with red cards. West Ham was first baptism and WBA was one of those nights everything goes wrong.
Keep your Mourinhos and the likes…give me Wenger any time…for his patience, humility, dedication, tenacity and unrivalled professionalism. My book on Wenger is coming in my own style…but I won’t even pen down a word in it yet until he wins the Champions League. And I’m not guessing it – he certainly will. Not this season but the next two will see him do it. Football, posterity and the protagonist acts of conscientious life will be too cruel to Le Prof if he retires without winning it. And I don’t think God’s world is that tainted.
Anniversaries
22 February 1964: Tottenham 3 Arsenal 1, start of seven game sequence without a win – a run that suggested that manager Billy Wright did not know how to rectify the situation. He did however last until the end of the following season. Laurie Brown, signed by Tottenham from Arsenal the day before, played for Tottenham.
22 February 1997: Nic Anelka arrived from PSG for approx £250,000. The story is that PSG did not want to sell him, but Arsenal arranged the signing on a technicality. He was later sold for 100 times the cost to Arsenal.
The Untold Books
The latest Untold book is Arsenal: The Long Sleep 1953-1970 with a Foreword by Bob Wilson, available both as a paperback and as a Kindle book from Amazon. Details of this and our previous and forthcoming titles can be found at Arsenal Books on this site.
Very well written article Tai.
I always fnd it rather bizarre how much hypocrisy is involved when judging Arsenal. Liverpool fan and reporter Andy Dunn continues to put the boot into Arsenal and Wenger, after the Hull game he was displaying all the ignorance you expect from todays agenda driven hacks.
Unfortunatley, Wengers intellignece and his reluctance to play the game of ‘Fantasy Football’ means he is sneered at. It is actually quite funny watching dinosaurs like Dunn writing pieces that prove how little they know about the game, whilst criticising Wenger. Hilarious.
proudkev/Tai
Not read a thing following the weekend matches, but what I have gleaned from comments on UA since, is that despite Spurs getting knocked out, and only sitting above us in the PL on GD, they are still being praised to the hilt, where as we are still shite I suppose !
Man City, despite having spent £100’s of Millions, supposedly I would of thought in order to assemble a squad ‘capable of competing on all fronts’, have been knocked out of the FA Cup, yet are being afforded more sympathy than we could ever hope for.
We on the other hand are still in the FA Cup, sitting joint 2nd in the PL and still in the CL, yet are by all accounts getting abuse, yet again.
As you say lads, everything Arsenal do is measured and judged in a completely different way to how everyone else is.
Remember when every media and some of the Arsenal fans say to sack AW and get Klopp, and how they make out Klopp is like a messiah, well now Klopp is struggling and he even point out how intensive the Premier League is.
I like Klopp and wouldn’t mind him taking over Arsenal when AW retired, but to suggest Klopp is better than AW and that AW should be sacked is just pathetic. Had the board listen to the media and WOBs we would probably be currently sitting in 8th place and 15 points behind top spot instead of two.
Nice article. The important thing about being a fan is to enjoy it – and for me Arsenal provides that enjoyment – with a few heartaches for added interest!
Proudkev, Jambug, Polo…,
Thanks.
Today, they all scream Arsenal has conjested their fixture schedule by inheriting an FA Cup replay…
Didn’t Tottenham replay against Leicester? Hasn’t Man City got extra COC final game to add?
Believe me, this is a replay though I never wished for but one I’m not fussing about. We have Coquelin, Sanchez still not at their best…we got Welbeck who desperately needs such games. We have Ox who needs extra games to continue improving…we have Campbell who shouldn’t be completely relegated back to the bench. We have Gibbs, Chambers, Iwobi, who need such games to be sharp and ready to join the run-in crew…even Gabriel, Walcott need such replays. And soon Wilshere and Carzola as well.
These pundits think it’s doing Leicester’s chances any good by a two-week break. No way…it slows their momentum.
Brilliant write-up Tai. Thoroughly enjoyable. Hasn’t it been one of the bullets fire at us every time; that if you can’t compete against fellow contenders (the top 4 or 5) then you’re useless as far as the title is concerned? Now we are clearly head and shoulders above EVERY member of that elite group our detractors conveniently forget their own rule. They wont believe we can win the EPL even AFTER the trophy is resting cool in our cabinet in the Emirates. Who cares whether they believe in us or not? We must never stop believing in our own ability, that we can do it, and that is Wenger’s gospel right there.
It only makes watching Arsenal more exciting for me, when they measure us by a different rule than the other teams. It is frustrating and annoying, but I must say that am used to it now.
I wholeheartedly buy into your prediction that Wenger will eventually win the Champion’s League. I only want to ask why you think it can’t be done this season, IF (and it is a big if) we manage to scale the Barcelona hurdle. And am not even putting it past this team to do that. Why? Two reasons. One, we demolished Bayern 2-0 THIS season at the Emirates. Virtually the same Bayern that blew Barca away 7-0 or so. Two, Chelsea won it when they were shite. They were not exactly on top of the EPL when they did. No. we were clearly the better team, and they couldn’t even dust the Tiny Tots that year! I believe and I will savour that hope until we get knocked out.
Glad to see Tipster hasn’t come on and polluted this thread – probably because s/he realised that the title didn’t apply to him/her. Wasting too much of everyone’s time.
Great comments Stan…
I hope and pray the we overcome the Barca obstacle.
Tai, yes we can!
For once, nice article in the Telegraph today by Jonathan Liew about Arsene Wenger.
Good article, Tai. Hope you’re right about the Champions League!
I’m also being barracked in the office how we will be hammered 7-0 tomorrow. Yet I think we have a better squad than 2011. Besides how did Sevilla beat Barca in October? This means we have a chance. I also think, should we go with any advantage at the Camp Nou, this time we have a bigger chance of going through. How I will celebrate, especially when Chelsea go out!
To all my firneds on untold.
I must apologise to you all because I must have a bit of a rant. I apologise unreservedly to Jambug, my online pal who probably invented the ‘rant’ – but I have had to do this…..
1. Champions League
Anyone who thinks it is a disgrace if we fail to beat Barca over the two legs would need a full frontal labotomy, if they hadn’t already had one. Go forth and multiply Mr. Moron because your pathetic agenda driven garbage is doing my friggin head in. We know you are setting us up for a fall, its a bit too obvious. Those of you who have convinced yourselves you are supporters, who piss on the club at every opportunity are mistaken. You are fantasy fanboys who are mere pawns to the media to whom you serve. You havn’t got an ounce of brain inside that head of yours. Please do not join the armed forces, I would not want traitorous elements like you fighting my corner.
2. The English disavanbtage in Europe
Man City did the right thing resting players, so too did Wenger.
A physically demanding league with no easy games, several teams competing for the title and a cup competition like no other. Meanwhile, our continental counterparts have referees who protect players, few important games and a winter break. They also have football authorities who help them out and varous other ‘benefators’.
PSG have won the French league and sit 25 points clear. 25 points clear. You call that a competition? I signed up to one of those marriage licenses, so I can predict who I am going to have sex with, with as much certainty as who will win the French league. It’s just as bloody boring too and nearly as pointless. Difference is I can inject a bit of interest, although I usually have to spike her drink first.
Barca and Real dominate Spain, when they struggle they call on their mates to throw a few favours, know what I mean? If Bayern fail to win the Bundeliga they just go and buy the best players from the team that wins it. Its all a stroll in the park.
Nobody should be knocking English teams in Europe because everything is against them. But it’s Arsenal so the abuse is never bloody ending. Now everyone is setting up Arsenal for catastrophic failure against Barca, a team we have no right to expect to beat. Look at that Barca front line. If we beat Barca it should be treated like an amazing result but it wouldnt be. Last time we beat them the media said we were lucky. Remember Alan Brazil, the convicted drink driving ex spud who preens on Talkshite and his rant about how poor we were when we beat Barca 2-1? He was finally forced to admit that he had in fact not seen the second half because he hadleft the Emirates early! Agenda, agenda, agenda.
He’s another alcohol obsessed British dinosaur who thinks the greatest achievement in life is to pour twenty pints of bear down your neck, while stuffing a large kebab into your mouth sideways and turning up to training wearing a floral dress and a pair of sandals. Complete tool.
Yet the British dinosaurs in the media and in the studios, with their up and at em style of football, think players can play all these games simply because they did in the eighties. Making disparaging remarks about Tikka Takka football, while Spain walk off with the World Cup and The European Championship. Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and we’ve got Drinkwater, Henderson and Milner………! I mean, its just so bloody embarrassing to be British.
Meanwhile we have 4 British players breaking Arsenal players legs (because you have to kick better players) and instead of condemnation its defended as ‘you have to stop Arsenal playing or they’ll beat you’. The thugs are described as ‘not that kind of player’ evertime they miss the ball and snap someones leg. Cue hankerchiefs and a sob story from the media. You couldnt make it up.
Hey, so fking embarrassing are we, that fans from that shit hole Stoke (it is an utter hell hole, a place that reflects their fans perfectly) think its clever to sing songs at Aaron Ramsey because he dared to refuse to accept Shawcrosses ‘apology’, for nearly ending his career with his reckless assault. Embarrassing. Backwards. Thick. Stupid. Neanderthal.
The Europeans must really be laughing at us. Our National team embarrasses us at every tournament, well the ones we actually qualify for. Play a more skilful team with a neutral referee and our tactic of kicking the best players is over before it started and we’re finishing bottom.
That’s why they don’t like Wenger. Some smart European coming here and attacking the culture. The alcohol and food abuse, late night parties, little kids playing on full size pitches with full size goals, hoofing the ball as long and as high as you can get it while headless chickens run around a lot quickly. Instructing certain players known as ‘not that kind of player’ to kick anyone who is better than them to stop them playing.
How dare some Frenchman with a thousand languages and a degree in economics act like he knows more than us. After all, doesnt Wenger know we invented the fking game!
Jeez, he knows what they are, cue singing: “You know what you are, you know ahat you are …………………..”
Clueless, arrogant, dinosaurs who embarrass the rest of us. To think we have a Football Asscoiation that
* * *
3. Arsenal Reserves cant beat Hull reserves
Funny stuff. Arsenal battered Championship leaders Hull and but for two clear penalties turned down, as predicted, by Mike Dean and a couple of very good saves, we would have walked that game. A game where Hull played deep with ten men behind the ball yet we carved out 24 attempts. 24 attempts on goal.Never easy to play against a team that parks the bus, let alone create chances. Without Ozil. Welbeck looked fresh as a daisy and a few more games he is going to be a massive asset. Iwobi showed the ability he has and most importantly we rested key players. Cue mocked angst from the AAA and their mates in the media. Liverpools Andy Dunn in the Mirror slaughtering us because our ‘reserves’ arent as good as we think. Well mate, you dont know half as much about football as you think you do based on that ignorant match report I read. Clueless, agenda driven twats the lot of them. Andy Dunn, take a look at that crap club you support, a giant in the 80’s that has done nothing but stink up the Premier League. Close once but despite the huge sums of money Liverpool have spent your club has been a laughing stock. The only thing you lot have got to be proud of is a song. And you nicked that, pretty ironic dot you think.
Meanwhile, perenial failures Spurs lose at home to Crystal Palace with a strong team and no Champions League game and they can’t even score. Harry Kane played like Cynthia Payne and Delli Lhama, sorry Delli Ali, failed to hit the target, somebodys stomach, this week. Man City and their billionaire owner with their billion quid squad get stuffed 5-1 by Chelsea. Lets not mention that it wasnt long ago that Chelsea got stuffed at home by a league 1 side. Yet Arsenal rest players, batter Hull and we get criticised. Have a frigging day off you clowns.
* * * *
4. Arsenal discrediting the FA Cup
Teams are accused of discrediting the spirit of the FA CUp by not fielding their strongest teams. No winter break and a physical league and we should play the strongest team in every game? Some clown accused Arsenal of that, I nearly threw up.
Arsenal being accused of discrediting the FA Cup is hilarious.
Spurs have been discrediting the league for 55 years, yet nobodys having a go at them. One trophy in 25 years and that was only the League Cup, I mean what the hell is going on around here. Yet nobody has a bad word to say about that bunch of under achieving bottle jobs. Spurs couldnt win a raffle if they had the only ticket. They are one Italian meal short of a disaster.
Someone please remind these clowns saying we discredited the FA Cup of our FA Cup record under Wenger. What about the last two FA Cups – the only thing we’ve been doing is polishing them in our trophy room.
Two fingers to all the haters. The same to all the spineless Arsenal fans in the media like John Cross and Amy Lawrence who do nothing to redress the balance. Traitors who choose friendship with their peers over the football club they claim to support and our great fans.
It’s all such a load of AGENDA bollocks it really is and I’m sick and tired of the fking lot of them.
RANT OVER – APOLOGIES!
Pete
February 22, 2016 at 4:00 pm
Word on the block is that she/he is having a major operation to day.
Someone is changing his/her nappy (diaper, pampers) as she/he is not big enough to do it for herself/himself.
Brilliant piece, Tai. I had posted the below on the other thread about city youth team, adding to what Polo and Hilbert had said about Wenger, and wasn’t aware there was this article. But it seems it’s more suitable here;
“Wenger definitely up there with the best I’d say. Kids or trolls like the one frequenting this site lately don’t understand what management is all about. Wenger has been unearthing gems for the last decade fighting against billionaire clubs when his hands were tied at the back. Imagine what he would have done with the stars and budget such as those found at Barcelona, Madrid PSG or Chavski…noone would have been able to stay with him. He could have gone to any of those clubs had he wanted (he still can), but as a man of integrity he stayed to try and do things the proper way with us.
Cheque book managers like mourinho, guardiola are just that, cheque book managers. It doesn’t require a genius to get a team like Barcelona to win things. Even Enrique who has never coached anyone is breaking records with Barcelona. Let Guardiola or mourinho go and coach a side like Watford, then we can really see how special they are. I rate Ranieri better than those two.”
proudkev
No need to apologise my friend, as you would expect I’m with you on every word.
Well except perhaps for this bit, for what will become obvious reasons:
“PSG have won the French league and sit 25 points clear. 25 points clear. You call that a competition? I signed up to one of those marriage licenses, so I can predict who I am going to have sex with, with as much certainty as who will win the French league. It’s just as bloody boring too and nearly as pointless. Difference is I can inject a bit of interest, although I usually have to spike her drink first.”
Mrs Jambug nearly choked on her 15th spoonful of ‘Rocky Road’ while I was reading it out to her. We’re still laughing. F**king hilarious mate.
As you probably know, I seriously try to avoid the media at all costs.
First of all it was just after a defeat, now it is even after a win. That is how pathetic it has got.
As well as the refereeing descending to new depths, it seems the media bile is matching them every step of the way, but as they go hand in hand that is hardly a surprise.
Thanks Al…we all know what genius of a manager Wenger is.
Proudkev…that should have been a post on its own…I still think it should. Great effort.
Jambug, cheers. Glad I made the Mrs. Smile, trying to get my own wife to lighten up is not so easy. After 26 years of marriage, I’m still training her. I took her to a wife swapping party once but that was a disaster When I bought the washing machine home it packed up so I had to take it back!
You said: “First of all it was just after a defeat, now it is even after a win. That is how pathetic it has got.”
Absolutely. Win, lose or draw you just know something negative will be written about us. Never known it this bad. Now they set a ridiculously high expectation level, to make it easy for their next article. For example, the bit about how it’s a disgrace if we don’t win the league.
Great post tai absolutely brilliant article apart from the following drivel.
You started with “Chelsea has beaten Arsenal twice in the league. The stuff we heard and read centred on Arsenal can’t beat or score against Chelsea. Few bothered to add that in both games, Chelsea couldn’t score or truly threaten until Arsenal were reduced in numbers.”
Whose fault was it tai that we were reduced in numbers?? Whose fault was it that that left merts one on one with costa ,whose fault was it that we were allowed to let costa wind up paulista up??I suppose it was the referees whom we blame now for every defeat.
Then you post”Today, pundits are tipping Tottenham to win the League. Nothing wrong in that. The White Hart Lane outfit has deserved the attention this season. However, what mirrors inconsistency in this punditry is the reason for tipping them”
What those two teams have is a consistent striker that is capable of hitting the back of the net with consistency.
And “Everybody that has heard the word football ‘knew’ Arsenal needed a defensive midfielder to truly compete…the Carvalhos, Vidals, Benders, Scheiderlins, Wayamas, etc. Wenger stuck with Mikel Arteta, added Mathieu Flamini and continued to nurture Francis Coquelin”
.Thats not really true as it was only because arteta and flamini werent up to the job any more and their legs had gone that wenger had no option to bring coquelin back and give him a chance. Penny pinching at its finest but as it turned out coq has been a revelation as much as the other two are past it.
Then you mentioned”At the risk of getting sacked, ”
We all know even though we havent finished in the top two in the league for over a decade there hasnt been the slightest chance of that happening .Every other club yes, but the man who makes Stan Kronke money ,never in a million years.
Next it was “Today, pundits are quick to tip Leicester, Tottenham…they forget that these two teams lack experience in playing personnel to drag through the remaining 1/3 of the campaign without stuttering – the same we’ve seen of Arsenal in past seasons they had playing personnel of same inexperienced pedigree.”
The point here is that the pundits have seen year after year, like groundhog day Arsenal mount a charge only to falter and fall away and only to muster a surge for the fourth place trophy..
And finally if your going to wait till we win the champions league before you start writing your book, your god Arsene Wenger will be long gone before that happens and your ink in the pen will have dried up..
John.
No need to be rude mate. Have an opinion fine but seriously take a look at some of your own content, because it borders on utter bollocks.
Firstly, it was not Wengers fault that Mike Dean failed to send Diego Costa off when it was nil nil. The fact that Costa received a red card on review nails that one. Everything that happened after that is irrelevant because Chelsea would have been down to ten men. Instead we were down to ten. That is what is known as a ‘game changer’.
I appreciate you are an expert on hindsight but then again everybody is.
The champions league comment again shows ignorance.
I guess Jens Lehmann being sent off in the 18th minute in the final was Wengers fault? So too Thierry Henry missing three chances for our ten. men to win the final. That was our champions league trophy there, the result of a fantastic run to the final breaking records. Yet it is conveniently ignored.
The fact you comment on the ‘4th place trophy’ shows how deeply entrenched you are in the agenda. It’s a common phrase used by those who want to show their true ignorance. Nothing Wenger does will ever please you because it’s no longer about results, is it. Agenda, agenda, agenda. 4th place trophy is such a childish, ignorant comment it should almost be ignored. But it exposes the agenda members.
I guess judging Wenger against what you would have done using hindsight makes you feel good. It probably gets your pulse racing. Don’t get too excited mate because in reality, it’s like the village idiot trying to tell a surgeon how to perform a liver transplant. Know what I mean?
Proudkev
I was responding to tai’s origional post that tries to post that everything is rosy in the garden and that we have the best manager going .I think otherwise and im a realist that can see our frailties as a club and think that the reason why we arent at the top isnt down to REFEREES,OIL MONEY,INJURIES,PUNDITS etc.Its easy to blame others..
John you really are an a***hole.
Yeah John…I love that…I love constructive criticism…especially when ended the way you did yours. Good comments….
Now, 1. If the ref was right in sending Gabriel off at Stamford Bridge, why did the FA cancel the red card and banned Coasta instead?
2.It wasn’t really that Arteta and Flamini weren’t up for the job…both were injured … Wenger recalled their understudy from loan earlier than he planned. It turned out Coq was up to it. Remember Coquelin’s coming coincided with Carzola being shifted to defensive double with Coq…it was not by accident.
3. As per getting sacked…Wenger confirmed himself he could have gone if he didn’t win the FA Cup in 2014…’could have’ means RISK.
4. About having strikers that hit the net with consistency…yet one of them is only ahead of Arsenal by two points…the way you sounded it’s like a 10-point gap!
5. Those years Arsenal faltered towards the end have been years Wenger performed miracles…with better finances, sometimes better squads, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton couldn’t get close…and even at that only Wenger and Arsenal stayed in top 4 of English league for 20 years. If that’s not consistency then my mother is French.
6. Finally, as long as you keep visiting Untold site, I’ll remind you the day I start penning my book, which will be sooner than you think.
Proudkev,
Thanks for helping out.
Great read Tai, and Proudkev,……brilliant stuff!
Arsenal do so much right, but to win the league in England these days, you have to do so much wrong, as Leicester and Spurs are discovering in their largely successful attempts to emulate the cheating, gamesmanship, manipulation of refs and attempts to injure players patented recently by the likes of Fergie and Mourinho, and their little wannabes .
Never apologise for telling the truth, Kev. As you so pointedly explained, the Arsenal-hating English media and the nitwits who lap up their nonsense can’t handle the truth.
To paraphrase Mike Schmidt, a legend of baseball, The Arsenal is the only club in England where you can experience the thrill of victory, and the agony of reading about it in the next day’s newspaper.
Arsenal remind me so much of the black race of people. Achieved so much, often imitated worldwide, yet slagged off and put down at every opportunity in the media.
Great and impressive stuff , guys , loved it !
And some sound advice for ‘them’ . Do heed it . It’ll be bliss for the rest of us .
‘ If you choose to have a closed mind , please choose to have a closed mouth as well .’
And …
‘Wrong is wrong , even if everyone is doing it . Right is right even if no one else is doing it .’
That is why we AKBs sleep well at night !
I’ve just watched our 2011 matches against this lot and have come to the conclusion that I don’t care a jot how we beat them (fanciful penalties, mistaken sendings off, broken limbs, feigned biting gambits). If the universe won’t make up for the shitfest that went on during that away leg on its own then is it so wrong to want some vengeful redress for ourselves. I don’t think so.
The greatest mistake we humans make in relationships ( amongst others ) :
‘ We listen half , understand quarter , think zero and react double !’
Interesting stats.
http://outside90.com/stats-show-arsenal-dominate-barcelona-in-combined-xi-infographic/
We’ll said max lets get these people
I guess tonight will give us a better idea whether or not the book gets written !!!
Give me Wenger any time…for his patience, humility, dedication, tenacity and unrivalled professionalism.
Excellent way of putting it. Thanks!
Go Brickfields…!
proudkev/Jambug just read your PSG part of the comment & I’m in tears laughing. It is really a gem when it comes to discriptive writing.
Thank you for the humour.
spelling – descriptive writing
I thought untold was against unnecessary repetitiveness, any point writing posts like this every 2 weeks ad infinitum?
Going back a few years, 2001 to be precise. In July of that year we signed Sol Campbell, and what a wonderful day that was. I had thought on many occasions how biased referees were against us., the days of Ellery and that obnoxious Durkin. I remember around that time we had a replay against Millwall at the Den, Tony Adams called Ellery a cheat for his dreadful decision making that day. Although Ellery did not punish Adams on that occasion it does illustrate how poor refs were then. Subsequently after a few games for us I often wished that I Could have asked Sol what he thought of the difference between how referees treated Arsenal compared with his time at Tottenham. I am certain he would have been absolutely shocked at the difference.
John – you seem like an intelligent boy, so let us begin with sums. How long will it take you to earn £50,000.00 (fifty thousand pounds)? Now if you work that out then ask yourself How long does it take for Wenger to earn £50,000.00 (fifty thousand pounds)?
You must have two numbers there. Is yours bigger than Wengers? Now ask yourself why does Wenger make money so quickly? It is because he knows about football. When you grow up to be a big boy & can manage a football club you will know what drivel is. You will also know that ‘everybody’ does not include everyone.
Now get back to your sums & work out how long does it take for a penny to become big enough for you to spend on a defensive midfielder. I can spend your money easily but earning it is another sum.
proudkev,
“Man City did the right thing resting players, so too did Wenger.
A physically demanding league with no easy games, several teams competing for the title and a cup competition like no other. Meanwhile, our continental counterparts have referees who protect players, few important games and a winter break. They also have football authorities who help them out and varous other ‘benefators’.”
Thanks – City and Arsenal fans will rarely see eye to eye but good to see that you view it like this. Whatever City’s resources – and I can’t deny they’re not inconsiderable of course – the fact remains that we’re only allowed a squad of 25 senior players like every other club and we get injuries just like every other club. At the moment we have several first teamers – both first and second choices – out injured plus Aguero, Kompany, and Silva are arguably 3 of our 5 most important players but all are injury prone and there’s no way we could risk playing any of them against Chelsea when we had a CL game in Kiev 3 days later, a League Cup final against Liverpool 4 days after that, and a Premier League game away at Liverpool 3 days after that. Something had to give, and as much as I love the FA Cup that was the most logical game to put at the bottom of the priority list. I see Arsenal made some changes against Hull – not as drastic as City’s mind – and that too is entirely understandable with a huge game against Barcelona tonight. Where you’re going to fit the replay in I’ve no idea and this is something that needs looking at.
Yet it’s the clubs that always get accused of disrespecting the FA Cup when the truth is that the FA themselves have disrespected it in recent years – devaluing the occasion of a Wembley final by holding the semi-finals there, shifting the traditional 3pm kick-off time of the final to tea-time, even if it’s 2 northern teams playing and making it difficult to catch the last train home (we were in that situation in 2013 v Wigan and if it had gone to ET and pens there’s not a chance we would’ve made it – I guess Ben Watson’s last minute winner did have one benefit to us and we made the last train home!), and even playing the final on the same day as key Premier League fixtures some years (like when we won it in 2011 v Stoke and United clinched the title earlier that same day).
M18CTID
Nice to hear from you again.
The truth is, if Wenger had played the first 11 and lost say, Ozil and Sanchez to injury for example, he would of got slaughtered for that, and not only by the odious Media but by a lot of the same fans (you will of met some of them here abouts) who are moaning about him resting players. Hindsight managers some call them.
By the way, what’s the general feeling of City fans over this? Did they think Pellegrino did the right thing, despite the defeat, or are they up in arms like some of ours?
Tai
Sadly i dont think you will be writing that book anytime soon..A lot of people in the summer said we needed a quality striker and a Dcm to compete with Coquelin .We decided to keep the money in the bank as we were told there wasnt anyone out there as good as them ,and its coming back to haunt Wenger.
Jambug,
It’s a catch 22 situation for sure and if Arsenal had indeed put a full strength side out for the Hull game it could’ve come back to bite you. No disrespect to Hull who are a very good Championship side but that’s the kind of game where squad rotation has to come into play, especially with the Barca game looming coupled with a trip to Old Trafford a few days later and the another league game a few days after that.
Pellegrini had given a heads up almost as soon as the draw was made that he would be putting out a weakened team for the Chelsea game so the fans were able to make an informed decision as to whether to buy a ticket or not so most of us understood why he did it. Nevertheless, he’s still come in for a bit of stick from sections of our support and I don’t think anyone expected the line-up to be quite as inexperienced as it was – to put it bluntly, he’s effectively thrown the game by putting that team out which isn’t good but I can understand why he did it. If the match had been on a Saturday instead of a Sunday and if we had Kiev at home rather than away then he would’ve put out a stronger side.
I’ll also add that City have been panned almost universally in the media for doing this – the BBC (Shearer and Le Saux in particular) did a proper hatchet job but Brendan Rodgers surprisingly stuck up for us, and the national press was largely critical about it the following day. You probably don’t notice it so much but City get a lot of negative articles written about us in the press just as Arsenal do, whereas media darlings United and Liverpool get a virtual free pass – you can bet your life that when United suffer a bad result the following day some newspaper or other will print a story linking them with Bale, Ronaldo, or Neymar to ensure umpteen clicks from their huge army of armchair fans.
On another note, I can’t see us winning the league this season and I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up without a trophy. We’re not playing consistently well enough to sustain a title challenge as things stand. Of course, that could all change and there’s time to turn it round but I think it’s between yourselves and Spurs. Leicester have had an unreal season but I can still see them faltering. I’m looking below us as much as above us which makes your game against United on Sunday one of those where I’m not sure what result best suits us!
M18CTID,
I think the difference between Shearer/Le Saux and Brendan Rodgers is that the latter really knows what it is to manage a club. As the first two just sit in their chair and spout their bullshit (well it is most of the time what comes out of their mouths) without facing any consequences. And the only time Shearer did try to manage a football team… wow we know how that ended for Newcastle…..
To be honest I didn’t know Pellegrini would put out a weakened team and I really hoped that you would beat Chelsea in the FA cup… I much rather would love to play City in a football match than play against Chelsea. With City you know you will face a team that will try to play football but as for Chelsea… So didn’t like the outcome but can understand Pellegrini (and Wenger for his team selection against Hull)
Oh, just hope we win on Sunday 😉
Walter,
Nice to see us agree for once 😉 Having said that, I agreed 100% with you the other week when Sky changed the date and kick-off time of your game against Leicester at such short notice which I know hugely messed up your travel plans for those of you travelling over from Belgium for the match.
You are indeed correct about Rodgers – he has a better understanding of managing players through congested fixture lists than Shearer and Le Saux ever will. I do sometimes wonder whether these pundits actually believe what they’re saying or are they just saying it to create arguments? Or have they been instructed by the BBC to say it? I’m sure I heard somewhere a while back that after being sacked by Sky and taking up jobs for a broadcaster in the Middle East, Richard Keys and Andy Gray said it was better working for their new employers because they had free reign to express their views rather than being dictated to by the powers above.