Ivan Gazidis’ 10 point analysis of football was far more interesting than the criticism it generated

By Tony Attwood The headlines over Ivan Gazidis’ interview were exactly those we have seen so many times before.  “Arsenal fans will be worried…” and “Wenger urges Arsenal fans not to panic after Gazidis transfer comments” and  particularly simplistically “Ivan Gazidis spits the usual transparent fan placation rhetoric”. It is sometimes difficult to work out …

Lens v Arsenal; the post-match review – looking for this season’s wonderkid.

By Tony Attwood . Martinez, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers, Monreal, Elneny, Coquelin, Walcott, Iwobi, Reine-Adelaide, Akpom On the beach: Macey, Gibbs, Bielik, Zelalem, Campbell, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Willock, Gnabry This was of course a pre-season game – the first of the run – and a chance for some of the youngsters to stand out.   However it was …

Lens v Arsenal: the match preview; the team; comments as the season starts

By Bulldog Drummond I made an attempt a week or two back at predicting who we might have in the team at this stage, and got suitably hammered for my efforts, partly in terms of team layout (suggesting Granit X was more than just a defensive midfielder) and partly for personnel (I left out Santi …

The Brickfields Gunners: A REAFFIRMATION OF FAITH

. From the Brickfields Gunners . Following the great response I received for my article FITNESS TO PRACTICE  ABSOLUTE AND TRUE AKBISM at  http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/53159, and being totally  bored out of my skull during this interlull, I felt it was a good time to call the faithful to the fore. As the opening day of the season …

No apology, no remorse, no honesty. Another day from the Arsenal covering football media.

By Tony Attwood This is where it ought to get difficult for the media.  It has become clear that the whole Higuain story has been a fantasy, a close repeat to the fantasies that were served up exactly three years ago and yet it has been pushed at us day after day by the media. …

Once again the FA, Uefa and Fifa treats football with utter and total contempt. Only this time they all do it at once.

By Tony Attwood Sam Allardyce has won the plodding meander to succeed Roy Hodgson – but only it seems after Arsene Wenger said “non” and reminded the FA that there are some people in the world who, unlike them, believe that contracts are there to be honoured.  He said (once again) that he has never …

An interview with Arsenal supporting John-Bull-Brexit by Patrick Chigwell-Smith

SOCK IT TO ‘EM JBB!   An interview with John-Bull-Brexit by Patrick Chigwell-Smith.   So John, you support Arsenal?   Yeah, through and through.   What do you mean through and through?   Well I’ve got Arsenal in me blood, the old man put me in the supporters club at nine months-unlike you Johnny-come-lately-types.  I …

It had to happen: after 21 days we’ve almost run out of players to buy and sell

By Tony Attwood Almost run out but not quite.  For we have one new player who is joining us and one more leaving to give the grand total of 81 players due to arrive at Arsenal this summer 21 players due to leave Arsenal this summer 3 coaching changes this summer 4 players who look …

The 1932 Arsenal cup final with action replays, and 3 Arsenal stars kicking football into a washing machine.

By Tony Attwood We’ve recently placed a film including slow-mo replays of the 1932 FA Cup final on the Arsenal History site, as part of our complete review of Arsenal in the 30s. So, since the History Society website has its own unusual film, why not Untold. This is Wilshere, Koscielny and Iwobi kicking balls …

Referee behaviour will change this coming season – but there’s nothing to suggest things will improve.

By Tony Attwood When it comes to what referees will do this coming season there will be some changes next season.  But whether they are the right changes, I wonder. You’ll know if you are a regular here, that Walter and his colleagues have been running a regular analysis of refereeing of Arsenal games, and …

By this August at least half the Arsenal first XI will have joined in the past year.

by Tony Attwood Lines for Arsenal Two things started me on this piece.  One was a correspondent trying to suggest Arsenal don’t sign enough players (I’ll come back to that) and a piece in the Telegraph under the heading “10 young players Arsenal fans can get excited about this season”. I was fascinated by this, …

Grab your chance and prove your genius

By Walter Broeckx Almost every day we get someone in the comment section who can point at all Wengers faults, errors and mistakes and then offer simple solutions. That solution is mostly down to two words: buy X. Buy X and the world will be fine.  Some will go further and say buy X and …

There are figures you can trust and figures you can’t. Some figures are numbers, some are people.

By Tony Attwood The other day we had a note from a reader saying that we shouldn’t trust the web site Who Scored.  Unfortunately in common with so many correspondents no supporting evidence was provided as to why this was the case. Which is a shame because I would have liked to know.  I haven’t …

Third signing to be announced, and why you shouldn’t get too excited by the “deal close” headlines

By Sir Hardly Anyone (with another robot cock up in item 15). Latest Arsenal Odds With the transfer fenêtre now 19 days old we are clearly moving into a new phase of transferationalisms, for with 80 players now tipped to be arriving at Arsenal and 19 leaving, we are by and large running out of …

When football clubs create problems of their own making… and then won’t ever back down.

By Tony Attwood Football clubs as a basic starting point should surely set out to behave in the same way as any good and well run business.   By which I mean that they should at one level treat those who attend the games as “customers” – worthy of the same level of service and …

Football is starting to kick off again: the pre-preview of the opening friendly in France.

By Walter Broeckx It looked as if it never would come to an end but the long wait without football is slowly coming to an end. This Friday Arsenal will step up the preparation for the new season and will play a real match. And if the post companies are willing to do their job …

We’re going to make Arsenal great again as now even the journalists are replaced

By Tony Attwood Substitute one word in the slogan and it is easy to see how Donald Trump land has come to football.  In the world of toxic rhetoric Trump promises to expel Muslims and build a wall between the US and Mexico (which Mexico will pay for).   How, why and with what consequence is …

Toxic rhetoric: at last we have a name for the assault on football from the media and their blogging allies

By Tony Attwood In the course of things, Untold’s ongoing battle with the Anti Arsenal Arsenal is of little significance.  But there is an issue that links us to the wider world, in the sense that the aaa uses the same sort of approach to debate as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson. And …

The weakness of English football regulations against the corrupt owner is revealed in all its glory

By Tony Attwood Vangelis Marinakis, owner of Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus, has been banned from football.  He has been reporting to police every 15 days on strict bail terms and banned from football after he was released on bail of 200,000 euros. That’s not news but this is: He is now looking to take charge of Nottingham …

Xhaka: where exactly is he going to play? And who will leave to reduce the excess of players?

By Tony Attwood There was a piece in the Guardian this summer which said, “for years, Arsène Wenger has been accused of buying too many playmakers. Now he’s discovered the joy of playbreakers: in addition to Francis Coquelin, Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny, he wants to sign Duracell bunny N’Golo Kanté from Leicester.” We don’t …

Arsenal Reminiscences with ex-Arsenal player Peter Goy

. Peter Goy gives an inside view on life with Arsenal in the 1950s. Interview conducted at Thorpe Hall Golf Club, Thorpe Bay, Essex on July 11th 2016, by John Sowman   Peter John Goy was born on 8th June 1938 in Beverley, Yorkshire and became a member of Arsenal’s groundstaff in 1953 as a …

Arsenal v Liverpool? – we have no players left for the game,shock horror.

by Bulldog Drummond. Shock, horror, disaster, Arsenal unprepared as usual.  For the amazing news just discovered by the old Thunderer (as the Times used to be called) is that Arsenal could be without four of their main first team players for the starting day of the season!!! The four in question are Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Özil, …

Liverpool and Uefa contemplate suing anti-drugs agency

By Tony Attwood Proceedings against Mamadou Sakho of Liverpool by Uefa following his being found to have taken a banned subtsance were stopped and the case dismissed after Uefa stated that the drug should not have been on the banned list. A Uefa statement read: “The independent Uefa control, ethics and disciplinary Body met in …

We don’t need new players, we need new pundits. Only four new Arsenal transfers this week.

By Tony Attwood I remember being taught at school that the Stone Age ended when we ran out of stones, so I suppose the Transfer Window ends when we run out of sand, soda and lime. But although that merciful release might still be 47 days away, there are real signs of strain as this edition …

Social media warning: do not use your brains!

By Walter Broeckx I am busy on social media like Facebook and Twitter. Well as for Facebook I have to be busy as I am the chairman of the official supporters club in Belgium and we do a lot of our communication with our members using it. Twitter is something special. It sometimes is (was) fun …