Hello all. If you’ve wondered where I’ve been all week, and haven’t seen my intermittent babbling over on twitter, I’ve been in bed with something I’m calling ‘flu’ but which is probably just a slightly jumped-up cold.
Tomorrow afternoon we face Stoke City with, remarkably, yet another chance to go top of the table. A lot of the focus, unsurprisingly, is on our first encounter with Ryan Shawcross since this (you thought nothing could make that tackle seem more cold-bloodedly cruel – then you heard it with Germanic commentary).
Watching the video will bring back a lot of painful memories. The important thing to remember is that as much as those players were furious – surrounding the referee and appealing to the heavens as much as the officials – they were professional enough to settle down and get the victory for Aaron.
We have to do the same tomorrow – without the leadership of a guy like Sol Campbell. I’m sure some fury will be vented at Shawcross & Co, however much Arsene politely appeals for respect, but let’s not forget that the greatest revenge would be a hammering on the football pitch, rather than from the crowd. Let’s embarrass Shawcross by exposing his limitations as a footballer first and foremost. Putting four or five goals past him will be more painful than a few chants which he can use to build his persecution complex.
By the way, it’s worth remembering that as much as Shawcross undoubtedly deserves a rough ride, Stoke’s Glenn Whelan should be given a warm reception: it was he who stayed with Ramsey throughout the ordeal. A decent bloke and not a bad footballer either.
As you’ll all know by now, the Champions League Draw pitted us against our old friends Barcelona this morning. There was a sense of inevitability about being pitted once again against the team Arsene had already called ‘massive favourites’ to win the competition.
I have to say, if you’re not excited about this rematch then I don’t really know why you’re a football fan. Would you really rather have watched us in two games against Schalke? Elite competitive sport is about having the opportunity to pit yourself against the best in your field, and Barcelona certainly are that. As I’ve said all along: if you want to win the Champions League, you have to beat these teams eventually. If we manage to win (big if, I know), then what’s to stop us going all the way to Wembley? If we don’t, then we’re able to focus on the domestic prizes that will still be up for grabs. In the meantime, we’re guaranteed 180 minutes of showcase football. I can’t wait.
It’ll be something a little different from this weekend, then, when the weather conditions and the opposition are likely to dictate a very different style of game. Nicklas Bendtner may be unavailable due to the impending birth of a baby – if he is still in London, I think he might be included on account of his physical strength. The same goes for Johan Djourou.
A lot of speculation has suggested that Andrey Arshavin could be dropped from the side after a couple of disappointing performances. There’s a lot of debate about the Russian’s contribution: many fans perceive him as lazy, whilst Arsene defends him on the basis of statistics. In a bid to uncover some of those numbers, I spoke to a pleasant lady called Hannah at EA SPORTS’ Player Performance Index.
According to the PPI, Arshavin is the ninth best player in the Premier League this season. From the Arsenal squad, only Marouane Chamakh (3rd) ranks above him. Arshavin has the third highest number of assists in the division (8). The next Arsenal player in the rankings is Cesc Fabregas, who has barely played.
He’s had 25 shots on target to Samir Nasri’s 29, and has completed an identical number of dribbles (25).
You can prove anything with stats, I suppose, but his numbers do suggest he’s having a productive season. My personal opinion is that Arshavin is the kind of player who never plays a safe game. He takes risks and tries things that won’t always come off. When they do, they’re devastating. When they don’t, it’s frustrating. It’s not worth bawling at him to run around like a maniac though. He never will: it’s not his game. He is what he is, and unlike most of our young squad, he isn’t at an age where he’s likely to change.
Snow is descending on London. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There’s nothing more festive than three points. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
It was another one of those games. You know, those ones where Arsene and the squad insist we’re about to announce ourselves as title challengers by beating a major rival. And then we don’t.
Usually there’s some major defensive calamity to blame. The funny thing about last night is that our defence actually coped fairly well with the gnarling threat of Wayne Rooney & Co. Our problems arose when we had the ball. We didn’t pass it well enough, and didn’t create a single goalscoring opportunity of note. From a side that prides itself on attacking, attractive football, it simply wasn’t good enough.
We should’ve known the game was up at about 4pm. As soon as Sam Allardyce was surprisingly and hilariously sacked, Arsenal fans should have realised that the footballing Gods simply aren’t kind enough to give you a win on top of that particular Christmas gift.
Apart from a brief spell at the start of the second half, we never put United under any significant pressure. They went with the 4-5-1 formation that has proven so successful against us in recent seasons, and Ferdinand and Vidic were able to cope with everything we threw at them. Once United had pinched a goal thanks to a bizarre or brilliant Park header, depending on your perspective, there only really looked like being one winner.
United could have scored a few more goals too. Nani fired over when clean through on goal, and Wayne Rooney missed a penalty in spectacular fashion, blasting high over the bar. It was probably justice done: the penalty award, for a handball by Gael Clichy, seemed very harsh. Rooney also went close with a chipped effort that was brilliantly palmed away by league debutant Wojciech Szczesny.
Szczesny started as Lukasz Fabianki was struggling with injury, and his assured display was one of the only positives we can take from last night. Whilst his kicking was a little nervy, he was generally solid and communicative. I hope he gets more playing time over the coming weeks.
I also thought Jack Wilshere did well. It’s easy to forget that he’s just 18 years old. He fought bravely and battled hard against some senior pros, and was never frightened to take the ball and try to make something happen.
Aside from those bright sparks, we were poor. Inevitably fingers will be pointed at individuals: Andrey Arshavin again failed to deliver a performance befitting of his ability, whilst Tomas Rosicky was anonymous. In games of this magnitude, you expect more from your experienced players.
Gael Clichy has taken a lot of stick overnight, some of it justified. I actually felt Clichy did well in his duel with Nani – the Portugese is in terrific form, yet Clichy won the ball more often than not. The problem is not so much with his tackling, but with what happens immediately after: he switches off. The most obvious example came when having prevented Nani from racing in on goal with a perfectly timed interception, he then dwelt on the ball long enough for Nani to take it back from him and have a clear goalscoring opportunity. It’s a mental problem – he seems to lack the concentration and discipline required of top class defenders. The fear, I suppose, is that it may be too late for him to learn it.
We had a strong bench, and bringing on Van Persie and Fabregas with half an hour or so to go was a hell of a hand to play. However, the changes seemed to disrupt what little momentum we’d put together. Cesc looked a long way from his best, and Robin was a little lost in an unfamiliar half-striker role.
It was an ugly game, with more bad tackles than good passes. Arsenal were the guiltier party, committing a succession of niggly fouls, though quite how Rio Ferdinand got away with tearing open Bacary Sagna’s shirt with his studs is beyond me. Arsene blamed the pitch for the lack of technical ability on show. He might have a point, but the size of the occasion probably had an influence too.
Arsenal do have a mental block when they come up against their major rivals. Frankly, I’m bored of writing about it. What will it take to end it? I don’t know. Maybe a lucky victory, a slice of fortune, just something to give us a win and the belief that we can beat these sides. This is the poorest Manchester United side in years, but they went in to the game knowing they had what it took to beat us. We didn’t look convinced that we could emerge victorious. In sport, confidence counts for a lot.
The win leaves United top of the table with a game in hand, and still unbeaten. It looks ominous. However, they travel to Stamford Bridge this weekend: plenty could change in this crucial period of the season. We need to refocus our energies on Stoke at the weekend, but Arsene will already have one eye on the visit of Chelsea shortly after. If we’re going to stay in the title race beyond Christmas, we’ll need to put an end to our big two hoodoo. Starting now.
As a medical diagnosis, paedophilia is typically defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents (persons age 16 and older) characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children (generally age 13 years or younger, though onset of puberty may vary).
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), paedophilia is a paraphilia in which a person has intense and recurrent sexual urges towards and fantasies about prepubescent children and on which feelings they have either acted or which cause distress or interpersonal difficulty.
In common usage, a paedophile refers to a person with any sexual interest in children or the act of child sexual abuse, often termed “pedophilic behavior”.
Good on you, Fergie. Whatever their differences, there is clearly a sufficient degree of respect between the Premier League’s elder statesman for the United manager to step in and defend his French counterpart.
What angered me, then, was reading this article from the usually excellent RepublikofMancunia blog. Give it a read. His main point of contention appears to be that he feels the ‘paedophile’ chants have been somehow equated with chants about the Munich air disaster. He says:
“So, whilst I applaud our manager for speaking out in the press about our fans who sing these songs, as it is rare for a manager to criticise his own fans, I abhor the fact he tries to compare calling Wenger a paedophile with laughing at the deaths of 23 innocent people.”
My first problem is that there is an implicit evaluation as to the degree of offence caused. I have to say, I don’t think it matters if referring to someone’s death in an unkind manner is more offensive than labelling a father and husband a paedophile or not. Neither is acceptable. It’s impossible to gauge the degree to which abuse hurts those it targets.
To try and create some sort of hierarchy of abuse is absurd and archaic, and I think the Republik of Mancunia have gone about it in a particularly cumbersome manner. In the same article in which he expresses horror that the ‘paedophile’ and ‘Munich’ chants should be compared, he also draws parallels between the ‘paedophile’ chants with ones about homosexuality. It doesn’t add up. The only thing you can say with any confidence is that abusive chants belong to a prejudiced and hopefully bygone time.
I wish United fans would admit that. Instead, they seem to be using the fact that they’re victims of Munich chanting to justify their own abusive behaviour. The blog reads like the protests of a child, who upon being caught doing something naughty, points at their classmate and says “they did it too”, or “they did it first”, or as in this case, “they did it worse”.
The strangest thing of all is that Ferguson doesn’t explicitly refer to the Munich chants at all. There’s no direct comparison. No attempt to say that one chant is ‘as bad’ as another. In fact, he hasn’t said anything at all yet. His programme notes are as yet unpublished. In the meantime, all we have is this – a statement from a United spokesman:
“We have gone on the record several times about this disgusting chant. We don’t condone it and have appealed to fans several times in the past but to no avail. There are many chants that opposing fans find objectionable and this is certainly one to which all decent supporters should object.
We will take strong action against people who chant in that way. Season tickets will be revoked and we will remove people from the ground for it.”
That is what was riled the blogger in question. Absurd, isn’t it?
Of course, nobody is whiter than white. Doubtless at some point some clever United fan will appear over here to say that Arsenal fans hiss at Spurs fans to mimic the gas chambers. It’s true, there are a small minority that do. I’ve experienced it myself: leaving the tube station in Tottenham with a group of Spurs mates, I was subjected to the same disgusting behaviour. It’s a disgraceful and sickening thing to do. But when I looked in to the crowd, there were only a handful of perpetrators. Sad, tired old men who were once hooligans just so they could feel that they belonged to something. Most of them probably didn’t have tickets for the game. Most of them probably don’t give a shit about the football. Like the idiots who turned a peaceful student protest in to a riot in London yesterday, they’re a small minority determined to cause problems, purely for the sake of indulging their pathetic prejudices.
I’m not justifying it. It’s appalling. It has to be stamped out. And thankfully, it is being eradicated. Arsenal is a hugely multi-cultural club, with a diverse fanbase that is the envy of the Premier League. The irony of calling it an ‘anti-semitic’ club won’t be lost on our thousands of Jewish supporters. We have a special anonymous text service whereby supporters can alert stewards to any racist behaviour they feel is occurring at a game – and this was introduced at the behest of a group of fans.
Among Arsenal fans, as among any social group, there are idiots. People who will sing distasteful songs, or impersonate aeroplanes. As I’ve said, nobody is whiter than white. But it is undoubtedly true to say it’s a minority. It’s a problem that is coming under control. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Wenger chants.
Think back to Arsene Wenger’s sending off at Old Trafford last season. As he stood among the crowd having been banished to the stands, thousands of fans taunted him with “sit down you paedophile”. Most versions of this video have had ‘funny’ music applied, presumably to cover the shame of the chants. But here’s the footage:
Can anybody tell me, in good conscience, that that is the sound of “a minority”?
I thought not.
Throughout the abuse, Arsene has maintained a remarkably dignified silence. When Alex Ferguson took a bit of stick from the crowd at the Emirates, he compiled a dossier underlining his concerns. And nothing that occurred that day came close to what Wenger has been subjected to.
Imagine, for a moment, that the boot was on the other foot. Imagine that is was Alex Ferguson’s name being tarnished by 70,000 Arsenal fans, being given a label around which there is more stigma than any other in modern society. Can you imagine the uproar? The disgust? A real life British person, with feelings and everything, being treated in that way.
Of course, I’d hate to see that happen. And if Arsenal fans were the perpetrators, I’d feel ashamed. I’d never sing a Munich chant. I’d never hiss at a Spurs fan. And I’d never call Alex Ferguson a paedophile. I can’t separate those out. I can’t draw line between what is acceptable and what isn’t. All I know is that all of those chants are wrong.
Arsene has shown, for over a decade now, that he’s strong enough to rise above it. At Old Trafford, he stood among fans hurling abuse at him with a messianic poise. He didn’t flinch.
His strength, however, is not a justification for the chants to continue. And I’m sorry, but nor is the abuse United fans have suffered about Munich. It’s time to be accountable for your actions. And time to stop.
The result was always going to be more important than the performance…
It would have been nice to have both, but if we had to chose we’d all have taken the win. Partizan defended well and made it difficult for us: at times they had up to ten men all in that defensive third of the field. It’s no surprise we struggled to break them down, but I thought we were impressively patient and got there in the end.
Robin van Persie played the Cesc role…
…as captain, penalty-taker, and even in terms of position. He played in a deep role behind Chamakh, occasionally switching to the flanks, and I’m not sure it entirely suited him. It’s great that he has his first goal of the season, and his relief was palpable – though I do wish he’d try and celebrate in a way that put less pressure on his brittle joints than sliding along the turf.
The goal we conceded reminded me of our game at Villa Park…
The manner in which Sebastien Squillaci failed to close down Cleo was very reminiscent of Gael Clichy’s failure to get out to Ciaran Clark before he volleyed in to the top corner. In this instance, Squillaci didn’t feel he could go because Koscielny had been turned and left for dead, and the more experienced defender was left dealing with two men. Two things: 1) Of course Koscielny has to make sure that doesn’t happen in future, but 2) if it does, Squillaci simply has to go to the play with the ball first rather than worrying about marking a second man.
Theo Walcott made up for a disastrous substitute appearance on Saturday…
…with an absolutely crucial goal. Against Fulham, he looked very much out of sorts, running down corridors with his head down and his touch uncertain. He even had a go at Bacary Sagna when he appeared to have little justification. Fortunately, last night, he was in better form, and when he replaced the disappointing Andrey Arshavin he made exactly the right impact, volleying the vital second goal.
Alex Song was involved in the build-up for both goals…
…which is all well and good, but I still think he could do more to protect the back four. Having the freshly-shaven Denilson alongside him last night definitely helped, however.
Samir Nasri’s goal was even better than it looked…
The build-up between Song and Bendtner is lovely, but the finish is once again outstanding. You almost can’t see it at normal speed, but a glance at the replays will show that upon receiving the ball, he instantly shifts it just the hard-yard it requires to give him the space to shoot. Give it a watch again. It’s brilliant.
Bacary Sagna’s sending off was the correct decision…
The striker was through on goal; Sagna didn’t get the ball – I can’t see how much more there is to discuss. It felt harsh, partly because the Partizan fans were so outnumbered. Had it been an Arsenal player brought down whilst tearing at goal, with 60,000 voices baying for the card, it wouldn’t have seemed odd at all. Just because the contest is dead doesn’t mean rules go out the window.
We now face one of Real, Barca, Schalke or Bayern…
After finishing second in the group (Shakhtar dispatched Braga with the ease you’d expect), we now face a tricky draw for the second round. Obviously a trip to Germany would hold a lot less fear than a clash with one of the Spanish giants, but I’m not worrying myself too much about who we’ll face. As I’ve said before: if you want to win it, you have to beat the big sides eventually. If you’re not good enough to beat them, you might as well go out early and concentrate on the domestic prizes on offer.
Samir Nasri is the talk of the town at the moment. After a few people started saying “he’s probably played as well as Bale but with less recognition”, his reputation has suddenly soared, and I’ve been hearing comparisons with Zinedine Zidane, as well as the confident assertion that Nasri is currently a better player than Cesc Fabregas.
On form, Nasri is probably superior to Cesc, but that’s primarily because the Spaniard’s season so far has been decimated by injury. However, some of the praise has been unduly hyperbolic. I’m not taking anything away from Nasri: I’ve championed him for a long time. But I don’t want to go overboard either. It’s important he keeps his feet on the ground and carries on the good work that’s brought him eleven goals so far this season.
From the sounds of this interview, he’s not about to get carried away:
He seems like a level-headed, modest guy – even having the humility to suggest his goals on Saturday were ‘lucky’ – but it’s clear that his confidence on the pitch is at an all-time high. He has such quick feet, and the ball sticks to him like a salacious rumour or chewing gum in the hair. The one thing he definitively does have over Cesc is pace: sprint times in training would suggest that he’s among the fastest players at the club, which is a little surprising until you recall the ease with which he has ghosted past numerous left-backs this season.
Arsene is keen to to tie Nasri down to a new long-term contract, and you can understand why. Whilst he’s not close to Zidane’s best yet, Philippe Auclair pointed out in The Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast that at just 23, Zidane was nowhere near Nasri’s level. If he continues this rapid progress, one wonders if a certain Spanish giant where Zidane is now a consultant might make a play to get Nasri to follow his heroes career trajectory. Sign him up swiftly, Arsene.
With just 18 months remaining on his existing contract, there is little talk of a new deal for Andrey Arshavin, and the Russian himself was pretty vague when asked about it in yesterday’s press conference. If he is to stay, he’ll surely be hoping to tie up any new contract before May, when he turns thirty. At that point, negotiating a contract of any length with Arsene becomes difficult.
It wouldn’t surprise me if no agreement is reached, and Arshavin moves on for a fee next summer – surely we cannot contemplate allowing our record signing to leave on a bosman. That said, his form in the last two games has been as good as anything he’s produced at Arsenal (four goal performances at Anfield aside), and I for one would advocate keeping a player of his class and experience for a few more years at least.
“We struggle in defence so we have to score more than we concede. It’s very frustrating and we’re trying to improve.
Normally I can’t go through our defenders in training, but we don’t just blame our defenders. Sometimes I can’t run [back], and I let defenders cross so the forwards score a goal.
“So it doesn’t always depend on defenders. As a team we need to improve defensively.”
And he’s right. Playing centre-back for a big club should be easy. It should make you look good. Even John O’Shea has managed it without embarrassing himself. And yet guys like Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, solid all through their careers thus far, look like clowns in this Arsenal team. And why? Because they’re more exposed than they ever have been. Take a look at William Gallas – widely regarded as one of the world’s best when at Chelsea. And yet he struggled at Arsenal, because he was put under more pressure than ever before. It must be a shock for players when they’re plunged in to that particular pool of panic. God only knows how a player like Tony Adams would have managed in this current team. He’d probably have been discarded a la Senderos.
A centre-back is just one man. There are very few ‘defensive Maradonas’, able to make a team defensively mean all by themselves. They can only be successful with the right players around him, defending as a unit. Arsene may think it’s a tactical masterstroke to allow Alex Song to roam forward, but the figures in the ‘goals against’ column would suggest otherwise.
With Johan Djourou suffering with a wee bit of thigh knack, the swiftly-recovered Laurent Koscielny will take his place alongside Seb Squillaci in the heart of the defence. If they’re to keep a clean sheet tonight, it will mean everyone – Arshavin included – doing their defensive duty. Chances are slim, but one can dream, eh?
We simply have to win tonight. Even though mathematically, a draw could be enough, it’s vital for our confidence and momentum that we end the group stage on a high. Defeat, like marrying a Spurs fan, is unthinkable.
816 words down, four more to go: Come On You Gunners.
