By Walter Broeckx The beautiful (I still haven’t found the right words to praise it) article from Paul Fowler about good supporters had made me think a bit. Forgiving is indeed maybe a big part of what we as good supporters should be able to do. A good supporter can forgive a striker to have …
Read More “Forgive? Yes. But with supporters there is still a limit”
Phil Gregory So with the transfer window shut, and no deals still pending approval for last season’s top three, let’s see how this year’s title contenders have fared in their summer dealings. Arsenal arrivals: Koscielny Squillaci Chamakh Arsenal departures: Campbell (11) Silvestre (12) Gallas (26) Eduardo (24), 11 as a substitute Numbers in brackets represent …
Read More “Arsenal’s transfer window experience, plus the “25” and the 57 under 21s!”
By Tony Attwood We’ve often taken a little look at the finances at clubs such as Man IOU, Barca and the like on this site. Swiss Rambler does the same, often in more detail, and recently did a brilliant piece on Inter Milan, showing how they too are facing an absolute financial crisis, and how …
Read More “Man City was 40% of the transfer window this year. What the hell happens now?”
Good Supporters? By Paul Fowler A few months ago I made a conscious decision never ever to post any opinions on football blogs again. Being a fervent gooner, and apparently currently undergoing the phenomenon that is trophy-cold-turkey – which if you believe the press, is a football condition only experienced by Arsenal fans – I …
Read More “What makes a good supporter? After yesterday’s comments on this site, it is time to find out”
By Walter Broeckx So it’s final now Squillaci was the last player this transfer season to join Arsenal. Now you all can be happy or unhappy about the signing but I will tell you that I am furious. I’ve had enough of it. For years I have been supporting Arsenal and our manager Wenger with …
Read More “Transfers are over and it’s time to say what we are all thinking… “Wenger out!””
Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 3 By Dale Higginbottom This is the second instalment of the weekly look into the injury levels faced by the clubs in line for a title challenge. Arsenal’s problems with injuries over the past three seasons have been well documented in the media and have largely been blamed for the …
Read More “Do we get the most injuries? Untold Arsenal Injury Index, Gameweek 3”
Is this the last season in which Arsenal will buy any player who is above 21yrs of age?? by Dark Prince Now on the last day of the transfer window, lots of questions have arisen on how many more players Lord Arsène Wenger will be buying. But we have to remember that we have a …
Read More “Is this the last season in which Arsenal will buy any player who is above 21yrs of age?”
By Tony Attwood Arsenal is more than the first team, more than the “25” – it is a collection of teams including an all-conquering women’s team, and a youth team that has taken three trophies in the last two years. Additionally we have our loanees. The number of these will rise over time (we hear …
Read More “Untold round up women and children. (Perhaps I should rephrase that…)”
by Walter Broeckx So let us have a look at the ref from the game against Airburn Rovers – Arsenal. Ref in charge was Mr. Foy who had received a fair deal of criticism after the game Stoke City – Tottenham H. And he deserved that criticism as he was truly bad in the Stoke …
Read More “Football reduced to the survival of the fittest. The untold referee index – gameweek 3”
By Walter Broeckx Sébastien Squillaci, (note the right way his name should be written), is the new player we have brought to the Emirates. If we remember Wenger is the man who never buys experienced players working with a board of directors who never want to spend money. So who is this “unknown” player …
Read More “The emperor of Corsica joins Arsenal”
By Walter Broeckx A tactical and statistical view on the Blackburn game. As a Dutch speaking person I have had the pleasure many times to listen to Johan Cruijff when he was talking about football and tactics at half time or at the end of a game. It is not that one has to agree …
Read More “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Tactics and stats at Blackburn”
By Tony Attwood What a jolly day. And so many issues. I’ll combine them into one article, so we can move on to broader matters of substance for consideration and in-depth analysis tomorrow (or not if I get up late, or if you are bored and have had enough). Wenger’s “rant” (as one correspondent described …
Read More “Totts booed and issue DVD, Wenger supremely clever”
By Phil Gregory Here we are again, Blackburn away. Fresh off the blower asking the box office why my tickets haven’t arrived yet (they were very helpful to be fair) we’re straight into the match preview. Arsène’s started up with the pre-match mind games, though he’s directed them at the referee. In speaking about the …
Read More “Blackburn away: the Untold Arsenal preview”
by Billy “The Dog” McGraw. As Arsenal prepare to play Bolton, or as they are called locally, Blacheborne (a name which, as I mentioned ahead of the fixture last year, is taken from the Old English name for bleach) Untold Arsenal have had the privilege of an interview with Magnus Samo a notorious northern gangster …
Read More “Untold interview Allerdyce as Arsenal play Bleach Rugby Team at Pleasington Cemetary. It could get nasty.”
By Tony Attwood Just a couple of days after the annual Untold preview of Arsenal’s five squads (the “25”, the cup squad, the reserves, the loanees, and the youth team) the Guardian is reporting that the EPL is looking to ban loans. In the article “One club five squads” we all picked up on the …
Read More “Premier League trying to ban all loan deals following Man City “squad doping””
By Bogus Cheese, our man with an argument Mes cheery cheries. Bonjour, hello and what’s new? A happy Limburger to you all. Our dearest old chums of chance, the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal are up to it again! You’d have thought they might climb back down a bit having taking such a hammering over the question of …
Read More “Bogus Cheese takes on the anti-Arsenal brigade and tells them what for!”
Managerial Ping-Pong! By Steven Hebert Why is it that Managers can be sacked and replaced at any time of the year? The acquisition and selling of players is, as we all know, restricted to two windows. This makes perfect sense as it brings certain stability to the season and benefits the players as much as …
Read More “Managerial Ping-Pong! And where the **** is Tschaempeeonshipe?”
By Walter Broeckx of Arsenal Worldwide Is every 6-0 the same? It is a question we could ask ourselves on the day, well after a few days in fact, when we won 6-0 and Chelsea also won their first home game with 6-0. A popular score in London for the moment. The pundits are wild …
Read More “Why we need to be very careful in quoting Arsenal statistics”
by Tony Attwood Arsenal, as we know, has five squads – all of which are flexible. And within the system matters are planned and arranged – just as you would expect. We watch the players come up through the youth team, the reserves and so on. Isn’t that how it always go? You’d think so, …
Read More “Arsenal: one club, five squads, and no Bebé (which is probably our good fortune)”
By Phil Gregory In my match preview for the Blackpool game, I touched upon how Theo looked to have filled out quite a bit and how it’d benefit his game. Now, I didn’t anticipate him quite having the impact that he did, but the results are looking to be extraordinary. He looked to have a …
Read More “Exactly how fit is Theo? And why is Koscielny so skinny?”
By Roxy Beaujolais, our correspondent in foreign parts. Well, my little Tour Eiffels, my little je ne sais quoi. Tony advertised for a foreign correspondent, I replied, got the job, and he sent me off to… Manchester. I know it is a foreign country et al, but realmente, I mean. It’s not even in Europe. …
Read More “Exclusive: Untold Arsenal interview with the owner of Manchester City.”
By Richard Bedwell and Tony Attwood The formula for popularity? Given that football clubs are brands, the start of each season is a chance to re-measure each brand and see how well it is doing. Brands, we should explain, are what all businesses aspire to be. Being a brand means that your name is recognised …
Read More “The formula for popularity. How Arsenal became the biggest brand in English club football”
By Walter Broeckx A few months ago we mentioned on Untold Arsenal that I was working on a project called Arsenal Worldwide and which was a site set up by Arsenal fans from outside the UK. What started as an idea brought to me by Armin Medic of the Arsenal Bosnian supporters club has finally …
Read More “What it’s like following Arsenal from abroad. Arsenal Worldwide, finally online”
Barcelona: A lone crab By Ann O’Gram – our girl on the spot On this fine and sunny day Bar Bar Barcelona have announced that they intend to make one more push to sign Cesc Fábregas (with an accent) before the transfer windows pings shut at the end of the month. The local paper “Sport” …
Read More “Barcelona claim Cesc will transfer before 31 August”
Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 2 By Dale Higginbottom I wrote an article at the end of last season (found here: http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/4610) about how I felt the squad had developed since the era of the invincibles and how much injuries to players seem to have been a factor on our own title challenges over the …
Read More “Do Arsenal really get more injuries than anyone else? Time to find out.”