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 Bogus Cheese, chief correspondent. Now I am going to have to make a bit of a confession here. You see, I ought to have put one of those question mark things in the headline, but I forgot, and well, you know, then I fancied a pizza, and by the time I got back it …
by Tony Attwood Arsenal, in terms of any player of any age, who is thinking of getting a transfer, has a number of attractions. One is obviously Arsène Wenger, who is so highly regarded worldwide as a coach. Another is the training facilities. Another is the ground. Then there’s the year after year of Champions …
Read More “The Philosophy of Wenger: the approach to transfers”
Celebrating the remarkable honesty of Danny Murphy. By Ian Trevett It doesn’t need me to point out that Arsenal have been kicked around a fair bit over the last few years. Three smashed legs in five years isn’t a co-incidence, as everyone knows that ‘the only way to play Arsenal is to get in their …
by Walter Broeckx We have to be more clinical in front of goal. I think we all have said it or heard it over a million times these last 24 hours. And no one can argue this. Yes we had the chances to score goals and we missed them. But to be more clinical in …
By Tony Attwood Could this be the all-time injury record for Arsenal – or indeed any EPL club? If you are a reader of the Arsenal History site you will know that we recently covered a game in the 1920s in which Arsenal were without 10 first teamers and ended up playing the goal keeper …
By Tony Attwood Imagine being told by the boss that he doesn’t think you are quite up to it. Maybe you would like to move on? There’s a good opportunity going in… Norway. Or maybe Malta…. That must be bad enough. But as a footballer being told by people who are supposedly supporting your team …
Read More “Almunia: It’s been a really tough year; plus free club level tickets for WBA”
By Tony Attwood Good news on free tickets, good news on injuries, good news about women, good news about Carlos Vela. It is all Good, Good, Good, Good. Oh yes! First off, the two free tickets for club level this weekend. If you read my meanderings on a regular basis, then in between your need …
Read More “It’s good news day. Win 2 club level tickets for WBA; plus Gibbs is OK and Vela is freed”
By Paul Blythe The Art of Name calling. We all have one, more often than not several. The ones bestowed upon us by our loving parents and those used by friends and foes alike, often to describe our obvious flaws and shortcomings. However names often have a deeper more powerful and historic significance often lost …
Read More “The art of name calling: what the names of the Arsenal team actually mean.”
Can Arsenal win the League with Almunia in goal? by Paul Collins A couple of weeks ago I saw an article in a major newspaper that asked the question “Can Arsenal win the League with Manuel Almunia?” The writer concluded that Arsenal could not win the Championship with Almunia playing in goal. The writer used …
By Walter Broeckx As everyone is again and rightfully focusing on our great attacking play I thought it would be a good thing to have a look at our defensive game. As I pointed out in my early season comparison and like Wenger pointed out at arsenal.com at first sight we tend not to concede …
By Tony Attwood Carlos Vela was 21 last March, according to my maths, and yet it seems like he has been here for centuries. In fact he came in in 2007/8 but didn’t start playing for us until the following season. Year on year his stats are 2008/9 – Starts 10 – Subs 19- Goals …
Read More “Is Carlos Vela not a little too old to be playing for Arsenal”
By Tony Attwood Paul Robinson, Martin Taylor, Ryan Shawcross and now Dan Smith – the list of criminals walking the streets of England after committing violent and pre-meditated assault seems to grow by the day. In any just society they would all be in prison for their attacks on footballers, with their managers at least …
By Gordon Driver and Tony Attwood We thought today that we might do a sort of match day Untold programme, complete with special feature (the interview with Cesc), plus an updated preview of the game, and the like. (Phil is currently installing himself in his new university in France, and so can’t make it this …
Read More “The Untold Interview with Cesc Fabregas, today’s team, tactics, injuries, crowd trouble”
By Walter Broeckx – our man in Belgium So here we have it again with the Cesc DNA and move to Barceloanus. And this time it would have been Vermaelen who has said something. But has he really said something? I will try to find out. I’m not going to say that I am going to …
Read More “Cesc is leaving according to Vermaelen, or maybe he didn’t quite say that…”
By Paul Blythe ‘There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you shall see Marouan, and Laurent, and Sebastien, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of Arsene, and you yourselves thrust out.’ I am a seeker of truth. I study the mystic runes and the wisdom of our ancestors to discover a deeper …
Spot Fixing in English Premier league Dilshan Mohemad On the back of Pakistan cricket teams spot fixing scandal one has to wonder how clean is the English game and could it be also targeted by bookies if it has not been already. First we must understand what spot fixing is. It is different from match …
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 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 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 …
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?”
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.”
By Tony Attwood, Block 99 You remember that old thing: Arsenal are useless because they have no plan B. Well you can forget all that – because we now have not only a plan B but also a Plan C. Given the way our Lord Wenger is working we probably have a Plan D E …
Read More “Welcome to plan C; thank you Mr Cappuccino; hello Henry/Pirès II”
