Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arsenal fans conflicted ahead of Champions League final

  By jtom | 19/05/2012 - 7:30 AM | Uncategorized
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Bayern Munich or Chelsea? Which club should Arsenal supporters cheer for in the Champions League final on Saturday night?

The Case for Bayern Munich

If Chelsea are victorious at the Allianz Arena, they will become the first club from London to be crowned European champions. As the most successful London club in the history of English football, Arsenal should hold that distinction. In addition, Ashley Cole plays for Chelsea, and we don’t like him.

Can you imagine what the Blues’ fans will be saying if they win the Champions League this season? Roberto Di Matteo has already led Chelsea to FA Cup glory, and now he has the opportunity to capture the European cup. Even though we finished far ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League, we will never hear the end of it from their fans if the Blues win two competitions this year.

In contrast to Chelsea, Bayern Munich are a well-run football club. Like most Bundesliga clubs, Bayern are not treading on thin ice financially. I would have no problem supporting Bayern Munich on Saturday. It would be amazing to watch them win the Champions League at their home ground. Conversely, no Gunners’ fan can particularly enjoy applauding for Chelsea.

 The Case for Chelsea

Jack Wilshere recently posted a message on Twitter saying: “Every Gooner will be a Chelsea fan next week…” Not quite every Gooner, Jack, but certainly a significant portion of the Arsenal family.

If the Blues beat Bayern, Tottenham will be bumped out of an Champions League slot. By rule, the defending European champions are granted a spot in the following season’s tournament. Chelsea finished sixth in the league, so a victory on Saturday will crush the hearts of all of the Spurs’ fans.

Without the attraction of Champions League football, Tottenham may have to let go of some of their top players. Surely, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric will be swayed by offers from Europe’s elite clubs. A crisis could ensue at White Hart Lane, which could be reassuring as well as amusing for Arsenal supporters.

Verdict

Perhaps the best way to handle our conflicted emotions is to simply enjoy the spectacle. Saturday is set up to be a fine day of football; the Championship play-off final between Blackpool and West Ham will serve as an appetiser for the Champions League final. We can debate all day the positives and negatives of supporting either Bayern Munich or Chelsea. Whatever you decide to do, please remember to enjoy a fantastic weekend of football!

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Arsenal unveil new home kit for 2012/13

  By jtom | 08/05/2012 - 7:15 AM | Uncategorized
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Pictures of Arsenal’s new home kit for the 2012/13 season have been officially revealed. The main difference from this year’s shirt is the sleeves, which are red, white, and dark blue.

Click here to view a several images of the Gunners’ new home kit.

“The playing kit features a blue hoop detail inspired by the home kit socks worn in the 1930s under legendary manager Herbert Chapman.

“As is traditional with the north London club, the world renowned red and white is the main colour way in the shirt, with a block red body and white sleeves.

“Further details in the shirt include the outer back neck graphic which references the WM formation that Chapman pioneered so successfully, along with the inner back graphic which reads “Victoria, Concordia, Crescit” – the Club’s long-held motto since 1948 which translates as Victory through Harmony.” (Source: Arsenal.com)

Could it be possible that Nike designs the kits and then justifies the changes with historical references later? If they wanted to honour the socks worn by the Gunners in the 1930s, then why not just put the blue hoop on the socks and not the shirt? All in all, I don’t like the new home shirt, especially those idiotic sleeves.

On a side note, the sleeves resemble Dutch flags. Perhaps the club is trying to send a subliminal message to Robin van Persie. If you look at the sleeves from a different angle, they mirror the colours of France. Of course, Arsene Wenger needed to have that little touch included in the new shirt.

The 125th anniversary crest was only commissioned for the current campaign, so the crest will revert back to the usual, most recent edition.

I must confess; I do not plan to purchase this new home shirt. The design is nontraditional and unattractive. However, I may reconsider if we win some silverware next season. In fact, if we win the league, it will become one of my new favourites.

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Arsenal 1-2 Wigan: Frustrated Gunners fall

  By jtom | 18/04/2012 - 7:30 AM | Match Report, Premier League, Uncategorized
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Arsenal were unable to forge a comeback after Wigan scored two goals early in the match. As Arsene Wenger fumed at referee Andre Marriner and Robin van Persie feuded with Wigan captain Gary Caldwell, it became apparent that Roberto Martinez’s side had success in frustrating the Gunners.

The whole mess began very early in the contest. Arsene Wenger’s men dominated the period directly following the opening kickoff, but the Latics had a plan of counter-attack. Arsenal’s first corner ended in misery, as Fernando di Santo raced away from the recovering defenders and scored on his second bite at the cherry. The Gunners have had trouble tracking back on corners all season; they let in a similar goal against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season.

As if conceding an early tally at home against Wigan Athletic isn’t humiliating enough, Arsenal allowed a second goal just seconds later. Victor Moses manuevered his leg like a snake to torment Bacary Sagna before pumping a low cross into Wojciech Szczesny’s penalty area. The Polish keeper failed to gather the ball, and Jordi Gomez punished him by stuffing it into the back of net. Wigan were shockingly ahead 2-0 after eight minutes.

Thomas Vermaelen’s header in the 21st minute cut Wigan’s advantage in half, but Arsenal were never able to get the crucial equaliser. Numerous chances were wasted, and, to be fair, the Latics defended well. A crowd of Wigan players behind the ball stopped the Gunners from advancing through the middle. Unsurprisingly, Arsene Wenger’s side did not opt to attack through the wide areas.

One point of controversy was the excessive time-wasting by Roberto Martinez’s men, which commenced immediately after the second goal. Whether it was the sluggish throw-ins, the slow-as-syrup goals kicks, or the frequent injury breaks, Wigan tried their hardest to bore the spectators and impede Arsenal’s attacking onslaught. After the match, Arsene Wenger did not blame the Latics:

“It is disrespectful to people who pay big money to watch the game. I told the fourth official, ‘You know what, their goalkeeper will do it all game because he did it after 10 minutes and, with three minutes to go, he will get a yellow card’. That is exactly what happened.

“We are sorry we did not play well – but that the referees do not act on it is not right.

“I do not want to look for excuses. I congratulate Wigan, they did well, but whether it’s tonight or in another game, the referee has to act.” (Source: ESPN)

Wenger makes a good point. Why is a yellow card for time-wasting in the 90th minute not a booking in the 12th minute? Surely, if referee Andre Marriner would have issued a warning to Ali Al Habsi early in the first half, the Wigan keeper’s unsporting behaviour would have ceased.

Marriner’s decision not to punish Wigan’s time-wasting was not his only poor adjudication in the match. The referee should have displayed a red card to Maynor Figuero after he bundled over Theo Walcott, who was destined for a clear goalscoring opportunity. Officials that are scared to make decisions are one of the major problems in football today.

While Wenger was berating the fourth official, Robin van Persie was involved in a minor altercation with Wigan captain Gary Caldwell. The Dutchman often seems to quarrel with a member of the opposition at one point or another during most matches. Perhaps that’s just part of his duty as captain, or maybe van Persie just likes to remind opponents of his superior quality. Either way, what’s wrong with a little fire in the eyes of our skipper?

Even though the loss to Wigan was disappointing, the most disheartening moment in the game came when Mikel Arteta was injured. The Spanish midfielder has been instrumental in Arsenal’s revival, and now it appears that he will miss a significant amount of time. At his post-match press conference, Arsene Wenger provided an update on Arteta:

“It is an ankle problem. It looks quite a serious one. We have to scan it tomorrow, it is too early to say tonight. But it doesn’t look a little ankle sprain. It is a serious one.” (Source: Arsenal.com)

On Saturday, Arsene Wenger’s side will host Chelsea after a dreadful defeat and without the services of Mikel Arteta. The only positive is that this Arsenal team, unlike some of the teams of the past, seems to thrive when faced with adversity.

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Rumour: Pep Guardiola to Arsenal!

  By jtom | 04/04/2012 - 7:50 AM | Uncategorized
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A mysterious Twitter message posted by Marca TV has suggested that Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola’s future lies at the Emirates Stadium.

Translated from Spanish, the Twitter message that sparked the rumours reads: “Although it seems that the renewal of Pep for the club (Barca) is imminent, a very good source tells us that his destiny is Arsenal.”

The post originates from Marca TV, which is the television channel affilated with Spanish sports newspaper Marca. Now, Marca are known to publish some less-than-reliable stories, but the information for this rumour apparently came from a “very good source.”

It is important to notice that the message does not state when Guadiola’s move from Barcelona to Arsenal will happen. There is no indication that he will take over from Arsene Wenger at the end of this season, though it could be a possibility.

Guardiola has spoken before about his desire to someday manage in the Premier League. Perhaps it is the new challenge that excites him, or maybe he wants to quiet the critics who say that he wouldn’t have success away from the Camp Nou. Whatever the reason, it is not surprising that Guardiola would target Arsenal as his club of choice.

Of course, Guardiola has been linked with the Chelsea job, but no one wants to work under Roman Abramovich. Arsenal are a stable club. While Guardiola would be replacing a legend in Arsene Wenger, the current crop of Gunners are not equal to the group that last won silverware. There is room for improvement, unlike at Manchester United. At the Emirates Stadium, there is not a large hill to climb for the Gunners to reach the top and the resources appear to be available.

To be clear, Arsene Wenger’s time should not be up quite yet. His contract does not expire until the end of the 2013-2014 campaign. Wenger is expected to honour his deal, and it’s unlikely that the Arsenal board will sack him. Perhaps Guardiola will begin his reign at the Emirates Stadium when Wenger’s current contract runs out.

Considering his achievements at Barcelona, Guardiola may be the perfect man to succeed Arsene Wenger as manager of Arsenal.

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Saha: Experience gives Spurs the edge over Arsenal

  By jtom | 29/03/2012 - 7:30 AM | Uncategorized
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Usually, I adhere to a strict don’t-post-about-Spurs policy, but Louis Saha’s comments will provide a laugh for most Arsenal supporters.

After a 3-1 victory over Bolton in the FA Cup, Tottenham are feeling confident, which seems odd considering that the Wanderers are one of the worst sides in the Premiership. Also, Owen Coyle’s team surely had Fabrice Muamba in their thoughts as they took the pitch at White Hart Lane.

Louis Saha believes Tottenham’s experience will be the deciding factor in their battle with the Gunners for third:

“It is football, with lots of paradox and things can quickly change. Arsenal have had a run so they are confident. They are in the front seat, they are in a good position but it doesn’t mean we cannot do the same. We have shown consistency during the season. We may have dropped a few points during the past weeks but we have shown that we have closed the gap in terms of our performances. We have players like Emmanuel Adebayor, William Gallas and Rafael van der Vaart, who have won lots of things, so I think experience is on our side.” (Source: The Guardian)

Firstly, Saha only joined Redknapp’s side in January, so he can’t really speak about the ”consistency” Spurs have apparently displayed during the season. Secondly, Tottenham as a club have only qualified for the Champions League once, while we have qualified for the tournament every year since 1996. Let’s not even begin to compare the managerial records of Arsene Wenger and “Harry Can’t Read-Knapp.”

Currently, we are three points ahead of Tottenham. Perhaps Saha and company should focus on winning a Premier League match before they state more ridiculous claims. Spurs haven’t tasted victory in the league since the 11th of February. Shockingly, they still have the audacity to make silly comments to the media.

 

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Former Gunner Muamba in critical condition

  By jtom | 18/03/2012 - 7:30 AM | Uncategorized
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Fabrice Muamba during his time at Arsenal.

Former Arsenal youth player Fabrice Muamba collapsed during Bolton’s FA Cup quarterfinal match against Tottenham at White Hart Lane. As Muamba continues to fight for his life at London Chest Hospital, my thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.

Muamba suddenly fell to the ground in extreme agony in the 42nd minute of the game. It appears that his collapse was due to a heart condition. When medics hurried on to the pitch in order to resuscitate Muamba, many of the players, and members of the crowd and live television audience, began to realise the seriousness of the situation. Several minutes later, Muamba was carried out of the stadium and taken by an ambulance to hospital.

Howard Webb made the sensible decision to abandon the match. Bolton manager Owen Coyle and striker Kevin Davies accompanied Muamba on the ambulance, and the rest of the Wanderers were clearly far too worried to finish the football match. The Spurs players were just as distraught. The life of a 23-year old father was the only priority.

Bolton and the hospital released a joint statement on Saturday night: “Bolton Wanderers can confirm that Fabrice Muamba has been admitted to The Heart Attack Centre at The London Chest Hospital where he is in a critically ill condition in intensive care.” (Source: BBC)

The news of Muamba’s collapse has hit home for many at Arsenal Football Club. He is a graduate of the Gunners’ youth academy and made two league cup appearances in 2005. Once it became clear that he would not be able to break into the first team, Muamba joined Birmingham City on loan and helped the Blues earn promotion to the Premier League.

 Johan Djourou said on Twitter that he had visited Muamba at hospital. Of course, many of the current Gunners advanced through the youth ranks alongside Muamba. Still, there are others at the club, like David Court, who remember the day Muamba literally showed up at the door.

David Court, Arsenal’s assistant head of youth development, told the story of how the 11-year old Muamba came uninvited to the club’s training ground. Court explained: “We are not in the business of offering trials to everyone who wants one, but he had such a nice and persuasive manner we gave him a chance. He is one of those kids that has such desire, you want to see them succeed. He would do things other boys wouldn’t dream of doing. He always wanted to improve himself.

“He is such a genuine boy, and such a warm boy, with a very good family ethic. He came from such a serious situation in the Congo he got indefinite leave to stay. Then he got his British passport and British citizenship. He was different as a young boy, having come from Africa, but he was prepared to stand apart from the crowd. He had a little bit of gravitas about him. He was not someone who thinks he’s special.” (Source: The Guardian)

Only once did Court ever have trouble with Muamba: “We asked him to play centre-half and he pulled a face, so we told him to go inside if he didn’t want to play. Then, about five minutes later he came back and said: ‘I am ever so sorry.’ Everybody really loved him. Everybody thought he was a smashing kid.” (Source: The Guardian)

Just imagine the confidence Muamba needed to possess to show up at Arsenal’s youth academy when he was 11-years old and new to England. Even though his knowledge of English was minimal, Muamba was still able to gain 10 GCSEs as well as A-levels in English, maths, and French in school. And to add to it all, he was fleeing a war-torn country, surely leaving friends and family members behind.  Muamba’s history of overcoming challenges may be put to the test in the coming hours and days, but so far, he has a flawless record.

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Arsene Wenger charged by UEFA

  By jtom | 08/03/2012 - 7:30 AM | Uncategorized
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UEFA have charged Arsene Wenger with improper conduct following Arsenal’s 3-0 win over AC Milan on Tuesday night at the Emirates Stadium.

According to reports, Wenger confronted referee Damir Skomina in the tunnel after the match had ended. A UEFA spokesman said: “A disciplinary case has been opened for improper conduct.” (Source: The Guardian)

Arsene had a right to be angry because Skomina fell for all of Milan’s tricks to slow the game down. Zlatan Ibrahimovich flopped around like a fish whenever he was touched, and the referee was conned by the tall Swedish striker on just about every occasion. Skomina also wasted no time in flashing yellow cards early in the match, but he did not produce cards later in the game for similar offences. Thankfully, the referee did get the penalty decision right by pointing to the spot when Oxlade-Chamberlain was bundled over by that clumsy Milan left-back Mesbah.

UEFA and Wenger seem to have started a feud. Remember that our manager was forced to serve a one-match touchline ban earlier this season due to his conduct towards the referee from the second leg against Barcelona last year. While Arsene was watching from the stands against Udinese, UEFA tacked another two matches onto his suspension due to an apparent violation of the rules of his ban.

It seems the Europe’s esteemed football-governing body will not leave Arsene Wenger alone. Perhaps the charge is valid because, during his post-match press conference, Wenger did not hide his displeasure with Skomina:

“I was not happy with the referee tonight because I felt he gave many free-kicks in the middle of the park. Every time they went down a free-kick was given for them, and they sensed that very quickly and they used it very well.” (Source: ESPN)

I will be interested to see how Wenger responds to the charge when he is invariably asked about it in his next press conference. Either way, the battle between Wenger and UEFA continues…

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Arsenal announce profit of £49.5 million

  By jtom | 28/02/2012 - 7:30 AM | Uncategorized
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Arsenal Football Club announced their half-yearly financial results on Monday. The overall before-tax profit for the six months up to the end of November was £49.5 million, which is much more than the Gunners earned during the same period last season.

The most important information regarding the financial side of the club was posted on Arsenal’s official website on Monday. In the same six-month span last year, Arsenal’s total before-tax profit amounted to a loss of £6.1m, while this year the figure came to a profit of £49.5m. That dramatic increase was caused by a number of factors.

Last season, there was a loss of £5.9m in the player trading sector. The profit from player trading this year was an astounding £46.1m. The turnover from football rose from £97.6m in 2010 to £113.5m in 2011 due to more home matches and increased commercial income streams. Many Arsenal supporters have spoken about our massive cash reserves. The amount currently in the vault is £115.2m, which is up from £110.4m.

Cheif executive Ivan Gazidis addressed concerns over whether Champions League qualification will be necessary in order to spend money in the summer:

“We cannot gear our entire financial model around that [Champions League] expectation because that would place the club in jeopardy if we did not qualify. So we have always got to keep something in reserve. I can assure fans that we would be able to be resilient and reinvest in the squad if things didn’t go our way so that we get back into the competition in the following year.” (Source: The Telegraph)

He also believes that we will have no trouble attracting new players if we finish outside of the top four: ”In terms of players selecting clubs based on the Champions League, I think there are very few clubs in the world you would go to ahead of Arsenal in terms of consistently being there. So I do not believe it affects our ability to attract top players and in fact, our Champions League record is a fantastic advertisement for this Club and a reason to come here.” (Arsenal.com)

Furthermore, Gazidis said about the recent criticisms of the club: “Well, we hear the noise and we understand the concerns of the fans. We know there are issues and we know we are not where we want to be. But I can tell you that the manager and the players are absolutely united behind what we have to do before the end of the season, which is to finish in the top four. That is not out of our hands in fact it is very much in our hands. We have had unbelievable support from our travelling fans – they have been to Sunderland and Milan just last week. Our supporters have put aside the questions, put aside the doubts and put aside the differences of opinion and got behind the team. If that can happen between now and the end of the season, I know that we can achieve Champions League qualification for next year, we can rebuild and regroup in the summer and come back strong next year.” (Source:

Some were expecting a massive outcry from Arsenal supporters when the financial results were released, but I’ve not heard too much. Perhaps the victory over Tottenham on Sunday has kept the mood of most fans positive. Even so, there is not much to be mad about.

As we have seen with Rangers and Portsmouth, a club spending beyond their means is putting itself at danger. Just because we have been a top Premiership side for quite a long time does not mean that we are immune from such a financial disaster. In fact, Chelsea and Manchester City could be in the same position as Rangers ten years from now.

While the press mocks our club for our self-sustaining financial model, they speak about the situations at Rangers and Portsmouth as tragedies. All of the misfortunes of both clubs were brought upon themselves by poor management. Sure, it is sad for the supporters, but the whole situation could have been avoided had they adopted a system similar to ours. More clubs will face the same fate as Rangers and Portsmouth unless football clubs across England and Europe attempt to solve the debt problem. It is a question that many countries in the European Union are facing and, sooner or later, football clubs will need to take on the same issue.

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New article on the impact of Arsenal’s loss to Milan

Link

  By jtom | 16/02/2012 - 6:17 PM | Uncategorized
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My article discussing the implications of Arsenal’s 4-0 defeat to AC Milan has been published on EPL Talk. 

Basically, the piece is about how we desperately need to recover from that terrible night at the San Siro. The next four matches, not counting the second leg of the Champions League are so crucial (Sunderland away, Spurs at home, Liverpool away, Newcastle at home). We really need to avoid the type of collapse that occurred last season.

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Wenger interested in Hazard, but profits come first

  By jtom | 07/02/2012 - 7:30 AM | Uncategorized
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Eden Hazard

Arsene Wenger indicated that he would love to sign Lille star Eden Hazard, but that Arsenal need to keep their yearly profits in the £15-to-£20 million range first and foremost. Judging by Wenger’s comments, it appears that the club prioritises making money, which will surely anger many of the anti-Wenger and anti-board Gooners.

Wenger said: “You should know that each season, it is imperative to show a profit of between fifteen and twenty million pounds. I would add that the purpose of a coach is to always buy at a price he sees fit.

“I really like him [Hazard] and, for several reasons: it’s his creative power, his ability to mis-align the opponent, his vision of the game and his consummate skill to address the last pass which make him a very interesting player.

“Hazard has what it takes to play for a top-level club, and Arsenal are a top-level club.” (Source: ESPN)

Whether we would be able to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid for Hazard almost completely depends on whether we qualify for the Champions League or not. As one of the top young players in Europe, Hazard will likely only sign for a club participating in the tournament. His current club, Lille, currently hold a Champions League spot in the Ligue 1 table.

Furthermore, the money the club receive for Champions League qualification (and for advancing in the competition) helps contribute to the profit margin, which Wenger seems so worried about.

An important aspect of Wenger’s comments is that he is not referring only to transfer profits. Unfortunately, John Cross of the Daily Mirror predictably twisted Arsene’s comments to make it seem as if the club need to make the £15-£20m through player transfers. In reality, Wenger is talking about the profit margin of the entire club, including all of its activities.

Ideally, our manager should not be worried about total revenue and costs of Arsenal Holdings plc. The manager’s job should be to handle the operations on the pitch and make decisions in the transfer market (with the help of others). But, when a club hires a manager with a master’s degree in Economics, I guess it should be expected that the boss takes up an interest in profit margins.

Now, the real question is whether Arsene Wenger set the £15-£20m figure or the board. If the board are mandating that this number be met at all costs, then some members of the anti-Wenger crowd may feel compelled to reconsider their position. On the other hand, if Wenger has the money to spend and still refuses to, then maybe all of the talk about him being a stubborn, slightly delusional man may be true.

Another possibility is that Wenger and the board are unified in their goal to earn a healthy and hefty yearly profit for the club. Perhaps, even if the manager is allocated significant funds for squad investment, the board are still at fault because they will not bring in a David Dein-like character to work with Arsene.

In the many ways, the Wenger-or-the-board debate is the most important topic regarding our club at the moment. It is always an overarching topic that is discussed no matter the recent results. And is has been going on for years now. The disappointment from last season coupled with the struggles in this campaign have Gooners left looking for who to blame.

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