Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team
"I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art." A Wenger
By Tony Attwood I made a prediction a year back that Tottenham would struggle at Wembley this season, on the basis that all teams struggle when they move grounds. And I was completely wrong. They didn’t. So it is with burned fingers that I venture cautiously back into the issue of Tottenham’s new ground. I’ve …
Read More “That pesky business of building a new stadium and the ever rising costs…”
By Bulldog Drummond There’s nothing unexpected on the injury front. Elneny is out for the rest of the season, Santi Cazorla is back running around the pitch at the Emirates, but what his future will be under the new management we don’t know, and it is suggested Mkhitaryan is reported as fit and ready to …
Read More “Man U v Arsenal. The injuries, the head to head and that away record”
By Tony Attwood This is, I guess, what it must be like each year in Germany. And what France is getting used to. And what it’s like in Spain. Only Italy escapes completely among the major leagues. I mean of course knowing who is going to win the League, weeks, months, possibly even a whole …
By Tony Attwood But life goes on, there’s still hope (although less than there would have been had we won 4-0), and there’s a weekend to look forward to. Man U away. No problem. I’ve done so many hundreds journeys back to my home along the M1 after matches, through countless lane closures and at …
Read More “It’s tough to take a blocked M1 when we don’t win 6-0”
by Bulldog Drummond And so, as we get ready to go out to the stadium for the last time on a Thursday this season, we hear the news that Atlético Madrid are ready to play Diego Costa, just to annoy us. He has played 12 league games and scored three this season, and played three European …
Read More “Arsenal vs Atlético Madrid: the team news and a lovely video about Costa”
By Bulldog Drummond If we look at the recent matches of Atlético Madrid we find that their three defeats in the last ten games have all been away from home. The other two away games have resulted in one win (against Lokomotiv Moscow) and a draw with Real Madrid. Overall this suggests that they are not …
Read More “Arsenal v Atlético Madrid: how have the teams been doing?”
By Tony Attwood The Guardian is still of course out on its own, insisting that Arsenal’s “demise” is totally Wenger’s fault.But elsewhere in the mainstream media there is movement. As with the headline “Arsene Wenger critics are ‘stupid’… he’s not the real reason they’re struggling – ex-star”. OK that’s the Mirror, not normally a newspaper …
Read More “Supposing the truth is that under Arsene Wenger Arsenal has been over-performing”
Arsenal need not fear Atletico Madrid As the only remaining chance of silverware this season for Arsenal, it goes without saying that the Europa League semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid will be absolutely crucial. For Arsene Wenger and the team, these are two games that might completely change how the 2017-18 campaign is viewed. …
By Sir Hardly Anyone So now we see what we get when the wild and whacky world of journalists, bloggers, pundits the AST and ArsenalTVNews get their way, and the manager goes. Maybe it will all run smoothly. Maybe Arsenal already have a new manager in place. Maybe it is not Brendon Rodgers. Maybe it …
Read More “Has the successful anti-Wenger movement now made Arsenal unmanageable?”
By Tony Attwood One newspaper headline today is “Arsenal need a realist who will get rid of half of the squad”. I am not at all sure that this is the case, but I wonder if those who have called for Mr Wenger’s departure are already evolving their position. The argument I have had tried …
by Tony Attwood There is an article in the Telegraph that runs this headline “Arsene Wenger won three FA Cups in twilight of his Arsenal reign, yet Spurs are lauded for a top-four finish.” It is indeed an interesting perspective, especially if we compare the last five years From 2012/13 to 2015/16 Tottenham entered the …
Read More “What the newspapers and others are saying about Mr Wenger”
By Tony Attwood The opening sequences of Arsenal v West Ham on BBC TV’s “Match of the Day” yesterday evening included a held shot of the Untold Arsenal “Football should be an Art” banner which has been at the Clock End for several years following donations made by a number of supporters of this site. …
Read More “Untold Arsenal’s Emirates banner featured on Match of the Day and record equalled”
by Bulldog Drummond Arsenal have beaten West Ham, many more times than they have beaten us, as you might imagine. We’ve won 64, they’ve won 34 and there have been 39 draws. In the Leslie Knighton era – the time which he reported in his autobiography that he was giving drugs to his Arsenal team …
Read More “Arsenal v West Ham. The past matches, the injuries, the teams and scoring 3+ at home”
By Bulldog Drummond Such is the level of, well not exactly debate but general commentary, on Arsene Wenger’s decision to leave that it is difficult to focus on the West Ham game. One thing I would add personally was that I thought that amidst all the snide remarks and put downs that came pouring out …
Read More “Arsenal v West Ham. Arsenal at home look very solid, WHAM away less so.”
By Tony Attwood The simplest way to measure a manager’s success or failure is by the number of trophies won – Arsène Wenger won 10. More than anyone else at Arsenal. But then of course he many many more years to do that in than other managers. So maybe we should measure his win percentage …
“After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season. “I am grateful for having had the privilege to serve the club for so many memorable years. I managed the club with full commitment and integrity. “I …
Read More “Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal at end of the season”
by Tony Attwood Managers, TV commentators and newspaper journalists don’t talk about PGMO, the referees organisation, just as they are mostly restrained in talking about individual referees, the organisation of the Premier League, Fifa, Uefa and the like. It has not always been like that but the big time restriction on who can say what …
Read More “How the Premier League has worked to restrict commentaries they don’t like”
By Tony Attwood There seems to be a lot of people getting involved in discussing the issue of empty seats at the Ems, but seemingly not wanting to discuss one of the key components: the context. And when an element is missing from a debate I always start to wonder “why?” One issue that is …
Read More “How do our attendance numbers compare with those when George Graham won the league?”
by Tony Attwood This is hardly “Untold” news, as you may well have seen it, but just in case not, the story is that Santi Cazorla’s footballing career might not be over. Arsène Wenger has made a statement to the effect that following a continuation of his rehabilitation period through the summer Santi might be able …
Read More “Santi Cazorla might well come back to play again”
by Sir Hardly Anyone With a 97% failure rate across each of the last two summers the general feeling among pundits is that since they can hardly do any worse than before, and since apparently people still read what they are saying, they might as well keep going. So here’s this morning’s list, most or …
Read More “Seven players we’re buying and two managers to lead us: Today’s tips from the pundits”
By Tony Attwood A comment from Stefan Melzak really set me pondering, and although I replied to it I thought I would add a few further views. Stefan Melzak wrote “According to your logic, if you went into a reputable restaurant, ordered a steak and received a plate of burnt gristle, you would not complain, …
Read More “I support Arsenal. I am not about to treat them as a restaurant.”
by Tony Attwood Two news items appearing today of wider interest: the advent of a winter break in the Premier League, and the fact that after the longest running case in the history of the Court of Arbitration in Sport, Manchester City have been allowed to sign their 16 year old. (Or at least he …
Read More “Premier League heads for Winter Break and Man C win appeal in kangaroo court”
by Don McMahon I recently read a BBC report about a lower league referee who had been assaulted by an enraged player twice during his soon to be terminated career. Here is the URL for those interested in reading this story: www.bbc.com/sport/football/43736236. The motive for me to write about this unfortunate referee is to highlight, …
Read More “Just another day at the office. The referee’s view.”
by Tony Attwood It has taken a long time to get there, but Uefa has let it be known that Paris Saint-Germain is still under investigation for breaches of the financial fair play rules that some of us had assumed had been buried in a box marked “don’t open under any circumstances or the rich …
Read More “Maybe FFP isn’t dead after all: and maybe the Court of Arbitration is finally stirring”
By Tony Attwood The attacks continue. Here’s one recently published on a blog… “I have been watching Arsenal since I was nine years old and I am 61 now. I have been going since long before England won the World Cup and been a season ticket holder for over 40 years. I have witnessed the …
Read More “No excuses left; claiming this is the worst of times is just damaging our club.”
