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 It is now five days since the shocking scenes outside of Arsenal Stadium, where thousands of fans were shouted at by stewards and forced to queue incredibly dangerously on concrete stairways when trying to gain access to the ground. No apology has been made and no explanation has been offered to fans …
Read More “Arsenal refuse to acknowledge that entrance to the Ems was unsafe on Saturday”
Tony Attwood and Christophe Jost If there is one great benefit to Arsene Wenger’s proposal that there should be a world cup every two years it is that it has forced some serious re-thinking. Of course most of the comments that have been made are little more than a simplistic denunciations, saying, “it’s impossible” …
By Tony Attwood One of the key points I have been labouring away with is the fact that last December everything changed for Arsenal and as a result the club which measured by the first third of the season was 15th in the league, in the second two thirds of the season was second, beaten …
Read More “Arsenal training methods questioned? No, it’s just antiquated reporting”
By Tony Attwood One of the great problems with instituting a large number of changes in a squad across one transfer window, is that it then takes the incoming players a long time to adjust to at least some of these factors… a) living in a new country often with a different language b) working …
Read More “How is the drive to cut tackles, fouls and yellow cards going this season?”
By Sir Hardly Anyone It is not each individual attack on Arsenal and its manager that is particularly frustrating and annoying, especially when it is not backed up by the facts – or indeed based on utter falsehoods. But it is also the overall effect that is so worrying, for the newspapers by and large …
Read More “It’s the anti-Arsenal drip and the false “facts” that are so insidious”
By Tony Attwood The table below relates to the number of tackles, fouls and yellow cards per game in the Premier League , with all clubs except Burnley and Everton having played four league matches. Those two clubs are on three games. The table is in descending order of fouls called by the referee per …
Read More “Fewer fouls than Liverpool but 3 times as many yellow cards as Liverpool!”
By Tony Attwood My point is staying with the story of the crowd chaos before the Norwich match (see On the basis of the Norwich game Arsenal stadium should be closed as unsafe) is not just to highlight this but to suggest that the safety team at Arsenal learned nothing from the events of 2017 …
Read More “The ten things Arsenal must do before the next game to assure us of safety”
by Tony Attwood It is possible, although perhaps rather unlikely, that you know of Tim Sparv, the Finnish midfielder. He spent three years in the youth academy of Southampton and was a member of Southampton’s youth team that reached the final of the FA Youth Cup in 2005, playing in a team that also included …
Read More “Players don’t often write interesting articles about football, but…”
By Tony Attwood It is not surprising that we have started to get a few comments made attempting to denounce or undermine the thesis developed on these pages that there is something amiss with the refereeing of Premier League games. The tactic normally used is one in which just one element of our argument about …
Read More “The seven reasons why professional refereeing in England should be investigated now”
By Tony Attwood I’ve been going to Arsenal since the 1960s but I have never experienced events as worrying and dangerous as I experienced while trying to gain access to the stadium yesterday for the game against Norwich. In essence, one entrance to the environs of the ground up a slope with the underground car …
Read More “On the basis of the Norwich game Arsenal stadium should be closed as unsafe”
By Bulldog Drummond In previous articles we have covered Home and away form and injuries and the explored the approach of each club to this season. There’s a piece on the danger Arsenal must be aware of in this game, and of course with our regular interest in the tackle, foul, yellow situation, Expect …
Read More “Arsenal v Norwich: We’re off to a 3pm saturday kickoff! Here are the teams”
By Bulldog Drummond. Previously: Arsenal v Norwich: exploring the approach of each club to this season Arsenal v Norwich: the danger Arsenal must be aware of in this game. Expect a foul to be given against Arsenal before Norwich kick off this weekend Here is our home and away form for last season for Arsenal …
Read More “Arsenal v Norwich. Home and away form and injuries”
By Bulldog Drummond It is difficult to get much from the statistics of this season since both clubs are doing a fine impersonation of a British entry in the European Song Contest and getting no points. And there is a curious link between the two clubs – just take a look at the Norwich form …
Read More “Arsenal v Norwich: exploring the approach of each club to this season”
Will Ben White Live Up to his Price Tag? Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta looked to bolster his defensive options in the transfer window. The Spaniard quickly moved for English defender Ben White, one of his first signings of the summer. White arrived from Premier League rivals Brighton for £50 million in July. The defender followed …
By Tony Attwood We know Fifa is looking to set up its own club competition in Africa as a prelude to taking over the Champions League. Now we can return to the way it works when anyone dares to challenge its approach. Stefan Keller was the special prosecutor of the Swiss public prosecutor’s office in …
Read More “Fifa is now attempting to make itself above all national and international law”
By Tony Attwood The statistics comparing Norwich City and Arsenal for the game on Saturday are frightening. Fortunately it seems quite clear that Mr Arteta aware of them and has a plan in place to overcome them. Now we are about to see if the squad has taken his response to the situation on board, …
Read More “Arsenal v Norwich: the danger Arsenal must be aware of in this game.”
by Bulldog Drummond Arsenal have been handed a situation worse than having the whole first team injured for this weekend’s game with bottom of the league Norwich. For the referee they have been given is the man who handed out more fouls per game against Arsenal players than any other referee last season. And on …
Read More “Expect a foul to be given against Arsenal before Norwich kick off this weekend”
by Tony Attwood In the end there is one set of organisations that could take on Fifa. Not the countries that are members of course, because they are afraid of being suspended from a competition which could carry on without them. But the clubs which are allied to the regional bodies such as Uefa. Of …
Read More “Could clubs finally take on the appalling Fifa over the legality of travel?”
by Andrew Crawshaw Match report of the first leg Borehamwood Tuesday 31 August It was nice going to watch a game live again (I was poorly on the day of the Men’s season opener and so this was my first live game). The journey was rather reassuring, Park the car at Penge East, £1 for …
Read More “Arsenal v Slavia Prague – Womens Champions League Second Round”
By Tony Attwood How does an expert become an expert? And how long does he stay an expert for? Doctors have about six years training. Solicitors also have six years. Teachers have four years. And all have a set retirement age. And football journalists… well none. Football is full of self-appointed experts so that …
Read More “Why certain key football statistics are never ever published in the media.”
By Bulldog Drummond “All the news that fits” is a phrase thrown at newspapers who endlessly promote their own agenda through their choice of stories. And choice is important. Of course there are some stories that all the newspapers will cover, but actually the number of these is quite small. England matches, the resignation or …
Read More “How long is it since Arsenal last won a trophy, and how does that compare to others.”
By Bulldog Drummond Much has been made in terms of three league defeats at the start of the season, and as we’ve noted off and on in recent weeks this is indeed unusual for Arsenal. Not unique, but unusual. But a defeat in August or September counts exactly the same as a defeat in November, …
Read More “How often does Arsenal get three defeats in a row? More than you think!”
By Tony Attwood One of the great things about Arsène Wenger is his ability to run rings round journalists so many times that they not only get giddy, they have no idea what he is actually saying to them. But I must admit that since he accepted a job at Fifa as chief of global …
Read More “What is Arsène Wenger up to with his proposals relating to the world cup?”
By Tony Attwood There is something of an oddity with Arsenal. During the Wengerian days there was a cry from parts of the ground saying “spend some fucking money”. Mr Wenger would smile and carry on as before. Indeed he would often say that if he was given unlimited funds he give it back, preferring …
Read More “Which squad has cost the most, and which players did Arsenal miss out on?”
by Andrew Crawshaw First the Context: Chelsea have been the WSL champions most years recently. They have the deepest squad and, in Emma Hayes, one of the most determined managers in any branch of the game. To say she dislikes losing is an understatement. Manchester City are the only other team, apart from ourselves to …
