Arsenal’s multi-accented marvel of a Chief Executive, Ivan Gazidis, has given an in-depth and intriguing interview to Arsenal.com. Â It is certainly worth a read. Â There’s a glowing tribute to Pat Rice, a bit of insight in to our commercial activity, and a tubthumping message to the Arsenal fans about our prospects in 2012/13.
There is, most pressingly, a little bit about RVP. Â It goes something like this:
“Robin sat down with us at the end of the season and we had a good discussion. What we agreed at that meeting was that we would keep all the discussions we had over the summer to ourselves and make announcements when it is the right time. We have to respect the fact we have agreed to keep that among ourselves. Robin is clearly focused on the Euros at the moment and we wish him well, and at the right time we will make the right announcements. But at the moment we are not saying anything.”
It’s hard to gleam much from that. Â If your glass is half-full, you might read something in to Ivan’s use of the word ‘announcements’ – the only likely announcement of any kind would be that Robin has agreed a new deal. Â If it’s half-empty then you might ask why, with the entire club in suspense and season ticket renewals still open, if you had something positive to say would you not just say it? Â If Robin really does want to focus on the Euros, and knows he wants to stay at Arsenal, then surely having it signed, sealed and settled would only help him concentrate on the task in hand.
It’s very clear that he wants to keep his options open, and the longer he does so the slimmer our chances of retaining him become.  My opinion about what will happen with Van Persie changes as frequently as the engravings in Salomon Kalou’s hair, but at the moment I find it very hard to foresee him agreeing to a new deal.  Arsenal would then be left with the same choice they faced with Samir Nasri: keep him for a year but lose him on a free, or pocked £25m.  Possibly more.
There is, I suppose, the possibility that Robin is holding Arsenal to ransom, waiting to see how our transfer activity unfurls before committing. Â However, he’s unlikely to see any seismic moves take place between now and the end of the European Championships. Â Gazidis himself says:
“I think the way that the window will pan out is with some activity before the Euros, particularly with respect to the European players who are playing, the quieter period while the Euros are actually taking place and then a period of activity afterwards.”
So even in the best case scenario, we won’t have any resolution for months yet. Â It is going to be a long old summer.
Gazidis will come under the microscope again at this evening’s AST Q&A. Â I imagine he’ll mainly be repeating himself, but if any interesting tidbits come out of that I’ll try to let you know.
I thought I had better squeeze these in before May is out, otherwise they’ll begin to feel outdated and irritating, like Noel Edmonds or woolen trousers. So, amidst muffled fanfare and the half-hearted applause of a fanatical few, let us begin.
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PLAYER OF THE SEASON
Remarkably, in a season which will be remembered as much for calamity as class, there are several credible contenders for this award – three of whom are arguably surprise candidates.
At the start of the campaign, both Laurent Koscielny and Mikel Arteta were expected to play supporting roles to the men playing directly next to them. However, a combination of injuries and poor form meant that Thomas Vermaelen and Jack Wilshere never hit the heights expected of them – or, in Jack’s case, never even hit the pitch. In their stead, both Koscielny and Arteta stepped up to the mark with some outstanding performances. Laurent eradicated the silly errors that marred his first season to become the model of consistency, whilst Mikel’s importance to the team was underlined most pointedly by how desperately he was missed when absent. The contribution of both players did much to make up for the aberrations and absence of more illustrious team-mates.
It may seem unfathomable now, but the winner of last year’s ‘Worst Player of the Season’ Award was one Tomas Rosicky, who “made 34 appearances without doing anything of noteâ€. For the first half of this season, that ineffective form continued, until he suddenly sparked in to life – and what life. Against the odds, Rosicky has found the best form of his Arsenal career, supplanting Aaron Ramsey and bringing verve and vision to the Arsenal midfield. He rightly earnt himself a new deal, and will be hoping to carry his tremendous end-of-season displays in to next season.
However, despite the various claims from these three pretenders, there can surely be no arguments about the fact that the crown ultimately goes to one Robin van Persie. His quality has long been undoubted, but this year he finally managed to shed the concerns over his fragility. Taking on the armband has seen him flourish both as a player and a man, and it’s hardly worth imagining how 2011/12 might have panned out without him. Saying that, depending on how the summer plays out, we might just get a pretty good idea in 2012/13. Let’s enjoy him and raise a glass to him while we can – Robin Van Persie: the best footballer in the country.
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
This is always a hotly-contested award in this Arsenal squad, and I certainly found it hard to call.
I haven’t been entirely convinced by Kieran Gibbs’ first full season at left-back, and to be fair to him he suffered a fairly hefty injury which ruled him out for the middle third of the season. So that was him off the list.
I toyed with the idea of giving to Francis Coquelin – a young man who returned from a loan spell at Lorient fairly unheralded, and showed his mettle as a midfielder, full-back, and invaluable squad member.
And then I plumped for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: a teenager who in twelve months has gone from League One to Champions League and on to the European Championships. The thought of what he could achieve with such an impressive first campaign behind him is mouthwatering.
And then I remembered: there was one candidate I was overlooking, simply because I had forgotten that he was even young. I simply accepted him as an essential part of the team.
Wojciech Szczesny only turned 22 last month. In goalkeeping terms, he is a baby – fully three years younger than Joe Hart. To play almost fifty games, with only the odd dip in form, is an outstanding achievement for Szczesny. Next season he will inherit the number one shirt, and I can’t see him letting go of it any time soon.
WORST PLAYER OF THE SEASON
It’s never nice handing this out, but it is tradition, so we may aswell get on with it. Perrennial contenders Almunia and Fabianski didn’t really get enough game-time to bungle themselves into consideration. I thought long and hard about awarding it to Park Chu-Young, but decided he was more guilty of invisibility than ineptitude – although perhaps that’s because his greatest crimes came on the training pitch.
In the end, however, I’ve plumped for Marouane Chamakh. The Morroccan ventured on to the field 13 times more than Park, without managing to beat the Korean’s goal tally of ‘one’. He simply has not lived up to either his generous pay-packet, or his performances in the early part of his Arsenal career- and unlike Tomas Rosicky, I don’t think he’ll get the chance to prove me wrong next season.
GAME OF THE SEASON
It’s been a thrilling season, so it’s no surprise there are plenty of contenders here. It won’t live as long in the memory as others, but I for one enjoyed our workmanlike display to beat the eventual Champions, Manchester City, thanks to Mikel Arteta’s late strike.
Our entire season felt like a comeback, and it was full of microcosmic comeback games. Highlights include the 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge, Thomas Vermaelen’s late late winner against Newcastle, and the incredible attempt to reign in AC Milan.
The undoubted winner, however, has to be Arsenal5 – 2 Spurs. Bacary Sagna’s thumping header turned a season on its head, and set us up for a late run that would ultimately see us pip Spurs to third and the Champions League. It was a fantastic day, and a quite outstanding match.
I won’t pore over the details. It was painful enough the first time. Suffice to say that in my time as an Arsenal fan I cannot remember a game in which we were so comprehensively humiliated by a rival.
I will now consign this game to the same part of my brain that stores the image of John Terry lifting the Champions League trophy, and attempt not to mention it unless absolutely necessary.
Afraid not. The highlight of my season was the magical moment when Thierry Henry not only deigned to return to the Emirates turf, but dared to grace it with a goal so transporting we all felt that Arsenal, briefly, were Invincible again.
Like Martin Tyler once said, the man is simply electrifying.
DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE SEASON
I think it tells you something about the topsy-turvy nature of the season that there were as many crushing disappointments as uplifting highs. I’m going to go in, the end, for a rather abstract winner: our dreadful start. Although our poor run in January was arguably more damaging to our final standing in terms of the points we dropped, our poor start was so frustrating simply because it felt so avoidable. Our failure to sort out the future of major stars early in the summer, and enable us to focus on completing our transfer activity ahead of the deadline cost us not only points but morale, momentum, and belief. I still believe it very nearly cost Arsene Wenger his job.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that next season’s fortune’s are largely dependent on learning from our mistakes last time round. Over to you, Arsenal.
As you probably all know by now, Robin van Persie will meet with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis this morning to discuss his future. Â The get together will take place in Arsene Wenger’s house, of all places, at 10.30am. Â It’s been splashed all over the web and papers for the last two days as if its big news. Â In reality, it’s not news at all. Â For six months now Arsenal and Robin have made it clear talks would take place between the end of the season and Robin joining up with the Dutch squad for the Euros. Â That time has now arrived.
It’s hard to see what can be accomplished in just one day. Â Robin leaves for Holland tomorrow, and it’s unlikely anything concrete could be sorted and signed so swiftly. Â Perhaps Van Persie already knows what we’re offering, has been mulling it over, and this is his opportunity to give us his answer. Â Perhaps this is genuinely the first time they’ve talked any kind of terms. Â Either way, I can’t see us having a definitive resolution until much later in the summer.
RVP was pretty cagey after the West Brom game, but that’s understandable. Â It wouldn’t be much of a negotiation tactic for him to say “I’ll definitely be signing a new deal”. Â Even if he does decide his future is with Arsenal, he’ll want to squeeze us for as much money as possible – this is, after all, his last major contract. Â And after his performances this season, who could begrudge him a big payday?
If I had to make a prediction – and it remains a hard one to call – I’d say he’ll stay and sign a new deal making him Arsenal’s highest paid player. Â The reason being is that I can only see him really being tempted by a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid, and he doesn’t seem to be on either club’s radar this summer. Â If he was, they’d have made their move by now, and we’d be reading a lot more quotes about his “DNA”. Â I think he’ll be impressed by the arrival of Podolski, by Arsene and Ivan’s plans, and by the money we offer him. Â And you know what? Â If things don’t work out, he can always hand in a transfer request at a later date and leave for a decent fee. Â He’ll still have plenty of suitors in twelve months time.
The stories this morning say that even if he doesn’t want to sign a new deal we’ll hold him to his existing contract. Â That’s all well and good, but it does present some conflicts: do you want a player who you know is leaving to be the captain of your club? Â Seems to happen to us all the time, but it’s hardly ideal.
Anyway, for a bit of fun, I’m live-tweeting this morning’s meeting over at @Gunnerblog, covering the conversation, the croissants, and the contract.  Follow me, it might be a laugh.
In other news, Euro 2012 is just around the corner, and at 1pm today we’ll find out if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joins Theo Walcott in the England squad. Â Personally, I hope he does: if he’s not at the Euros, he’ll be at the Olympics, which is far more disruptive. Â A host of other players are already ‘on the plane’ with their respective nations, and if you do me a little favour I could be too. I’ve written this piece on 5 Rising Stars at Euro 2012 (which includes a profile of reported Arsenal target Yann M’Vila). Â If you could give it a read and click the ‘Like‘ or ‘Tweet‘ button I might just win a competition which takes me all the way to Poland. Â Would enjoy blogging to you from there.
Whilst we’re on the subject of doing me favours: if anyone out there has a company that would like to sponsor Gunnerblog for next season, do let me know. Traffic is particularly high during the transfer window so it’s a good time to get on board. Apologies for being so public about it but I’ve got to find a way to pay for my season ticket somehow! Â I can be contacted here.
Right. By tomorrow, we might know a good deal more about the future of RVP, and quite how painful this summer might be. Â Don’t forget you can follow all that and more @gunnerblog.
Let me start by declaring a bias: I really dislike Stoke. Â I dislike their manager, their players and their fans. Â I dislike their ‘style’ of play and their indeterminate evolutionary heritage. Â So if anyone who is not an Arsenal fan accidentally stumbles upon this entry, and feels it’s a bit partizan: it is. Â I dislike Stoke.
I do, however, have a grudging respect for the effectiveness of their set-piece based game. Â With that in mind, I would gladly have taken a point before the game. Â The bonus of seeing Newcastle hammered at Wigan makes it an even better result.
It could arguably have been more. Â Arsenal outplayed Stoke, and even Tony Pulis was forced to admit we coped better than ever with their aerial assault. Â We looked like a side who were focused, determined, and eager to take all three points. Â Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be, as we fell behind early on due to our sole lapse in concentration – Bacary Sagna failed to close down Matthew Etherington, and from that point on we were helpless – the cross and Peter Crouch’s header were both inch-perfect.
We recovered in impressive fashion. Â The goal we scored was a combination of some great harrying and hustling from Yossi Benayoun to win the ball high up the pitch, an outstanding cross from the rejuvenated Tomas Rosicky, and classic movement from RVP to pull away at the far post to tuck home.
There were moments where we flirted with a second goal. Â Gervinho ducked out of a a simple header, Ramsey fired wide from the edge of the box, and Yossi Benayoun took a tumble in the box, asking for a penalty which he’ll know in his heart of hearts would have been a very soft award. Â Despite our dominance, Stoke are always a threat when the ball is out of play, and they nearly punished us from a late Rory Delap throw-in; Bacary Sagna redeeming himself with a spectacular clearance from under our crossbar.
And so, a point it was. Â Although we haven’t won in our last three league games, this was by far our best performance since the victory over Manchester City. Â Particular credit is due to Aaron Ramsey, who put in a committed and industrious display on a ground which must hold some dark memories for him. Â As for the Stoke fans who booed him? Â Well, it’s a level idiocy beyond comprehension. Â I hoped the empathy and compassion between football fans that sprung up off the back of terrible incidents like the Fabrice Muamba collapse might help put an end to such hateful attitudes. Â I was wrong. Â Arsene speaks with great eloquence about the situation here:
“I don’t think you can be especially proud to boo Aaron Ramsey, I don’t see what he has done wrong. It’s an old story where the fans of Stoke stand behind their player but it shouldn’t go as far as booing Ramsey.
I think sometimes when I go out on the pitch at the end of the game, and people are angry or hateful, I would like a little picture to send home for them to show their son or daughter, and then come back next week and see if they will do it again, see if they are proud of you.”
Beautifully put. We can, however, be proud of Ramsey and his team-mates for a very creditable point. Two games left; two wins required. Play like we did yesterday, and it’s eminently possible.
I was furious at how Arsenal allowed the game to pass them by…
Chelsea are already in one major cup final, and could make it two. Â This was, in many respects, our equivalent. Â After defeat against Wigan, a win was required to restore momentum and build a protective cushion between us and the chasing pack. Â I was bang up for this game, and had been excited all week. Â However, from the first five minutes I couldn’t help but think that the players didn’t feel the same. Â The game opened with a prolonged period of possession from the Arsenal back four, knocking it back and forth across the width of the pitch – there was no pressure from Chelsea’s attack, and little intent of driving forward from Arsenal.
It made for an incredibly dull game…
It burst briefly in to life at the latter end of each half, with Arsenal making most of the running, but it was more the most part an uninspiring affair. Â It had the feel of an end-of-season game in which nothing was at stake. Â And yet, bizarrely, there was a huge opportunity for both sides to secure a vital three points. Â Neither team was at the races, and the game was there to be won for anyone who could find an extra gear. Â However both sides seem to play with, as the Arsene Wenger might say, the “handbrake on”.
Arsenal’s midfield lacked shape and authority…
Mikel Arteta was a huge miss. Â He is disciplined in his positioning, and intelligent in his use of the ball. Â At the best of times, Aaron Ramsey isn’t really either of those things, and out of form and out of position he fell well shot of the Spaniards standards. Â Alex Song was also poor alongside him, and Chelsea looked relatively comfortable in the middle of the park.
Abou Diaby could have a big part to play…
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him taking the field with half an hour or so to play, but I was impressed in flashes. Â With Arteta out for the rest of the season, Diaby (and indeed Francis Coquelin, who is also fit again) could be a key figure between now and the end of May.
That said, we did have chances…
With a fresher Robin van Persie, we’d probably have won the game. Â Laurent Koscielny also struck the bar with a free header, and if any side was going to win it I was sure it’d be us – partly because of the inexplicable selfishness of Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge, who ruined several counter-attacks by failing to make obvious passes to team-mates.
I was possibly a little harsh on the team…
I’m sure they were up for it. Â I’m sure they wanted to win. Â We’re probably just a little jaded. Â Due to injuries and lack of quality options, we have not been able to rotate the side much all season long. Â Inevitably, we’re suffering a little for that in the final straight.
Spurs’ defeat made it a better weekend…
Every time I expect Tottenham’s form to pick up, they confound me with yet another disastrous result. Â Their form is so patchy that Newcastle are arguably now the greatest threat to our third-placed position. Â Arsenal have three games to go – our next, a trip to Stoke, is arguably the toughest. Â That said, none of the three sides we face (Stoke, Norwich, WBA) have much to play for. Â We should aim for nothing less than nine points, though I suspect six will be enough to claim third spot.
RVP is a deserving Player of the Year…
Despite his recent ill-fortune in front of goal, he has been a cut above everyone else in the Premier League this season, and is richly deserving of following in the foot-steps of the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp by being voted the PFA Player of the Year. Â There can be few greater honours than being recognised by your fellow professionals, and I hope this individual gong will be followed by the trophies his class richly deserves – with Arsenal, of course.
