ARSENALISM©

 AFC Goal Of The Year   So, what to make of 2013 for the Arsenal? A trophy-less year again (right that’s that out of the way) but a year that ends with the Gunners on top of the league on 42 points. At the start of the year we lay in 6 th on 38 points so that undoubtedly indicates progress. Does this show a decline in standards in the Premier League, as Manchester United began 2013 on top with a massive 59 points followed by Manchester City with 52? Or does it indicate that we have caught up? Maybe it’s a bit of both. Hard to say, but we find ourselves in a healthy position and on balance 2013 shows that statistically we are the years most successful team at accruing league points. The key to this success may very well be in the new model Arsenal’s capacity to bounce back and string together positive results, this in itself only tells half the story. I think that the chemistry is right within this set of players and with the summer being a stable one for a change ...

 the sum of its parts   Arsenal v Chelsea: a game that neither team wanted to lose and a game that offered little to cement anyone’s view on the destination of the Premier League Trophy. Not starting with Flamini seemed to be a mistake given that the Chelsea midfield were quite combative, as the bruising on Arteta’s legs showed. Team selection for both team’s highlighted the lack of a world class striker in either camp but on boxing day Arsenal turned dominance into three points and this game showed Walcott’s value and the return of Podolski to strengthen the goal scoring ranks. Manchester City have many options, as do Chelsea but you feel that when the chips are down City can rely on a deadly finish to settle things. Is it possible that in the absence of an Aguero, Suarez or Negredo that a team that contributes with goals from all over the team will come out triumphant in May? Domestically maybe so, however in Europe the high level finisher is key to achieve...

 We lost to a rampant Manchester City side that have an exemplary home record in a game in which we may well have scored goals goals given some decisions but in all honesty were second best in. Dissapointment rained down as did media exlamations of "I told you so" but many overlooked that we retained top spot. Then the Champions League draw where we were paired up with the current holders (again) and negativity prevailed, yet the Champions League is all about facing the best teams in Europe and my view is simply 'that's the way the cookie crumbles'. En route to Paris we may have preffered not to draw Real Madrid or Juventus but we did and prevailed, we may have in the past been happy to draw a so called lesser team and ended up being elimintaed: it's the Champions League folks. We have a six pointer against the Stamford Bridge rich kids: win that game and we take e a significant step forward from the 6-3 step back. Resilience is what is needed on Mo...

Another day at the office for the Arsenal; Three goals, three points and a nice seven point gap to see us through Saturday. Dissenting voices now grudgingly suggesting that the arsenal can, in fact, win the league. Of course we 'can' that's the same for a couple of other clubs, it's more about 'will' we. I don't know but my mantra remains the same as it's been since the start of the season; Enjoy The Moment (ETM). Our players seem to be enjoying the moment, possibly as a result of not  being viewed as genuine contenders by the pundits of this world. It's always good for team spirit to have a backs against the wall mentality and proving those given to bias against the Arsenal wrong must be a great motivator . So on we go step by step, winning games, building a case for our title credentials, bouncing back from disappointments and growing stronger. These are the good times that have been a long time coming and who knows how things will pan out b...

Didn't play great but won the game against the third placed team: that's the mark of a good team, particularly in the context of the second placed team dropping points earlier in the day. Everyone looked solid and when called upon Giroud stepped up. It was a bit like a business as usual result that we had grown unaccustomed to. I attended with my brother in law and my two nephews and as a result I was in the family enclosure (well placed for goal number one). I found it a strange experience as a great deal of the families around me seemed almost to be attending a tourist event and many an eight year old child appeared to be rather  blasé  about the whole thing. I remember feeling a sense of awe when going over Highbury as a kid, and a sense of being in the adult world and therefore being a bit overwhelmed. Times change though and maybe children being more confident in these scenarios is a good thing or maybe its another sign of innocence lost. I'm sure many a family...

International football breaks things up: momentum, loss, victory and controversy. Going into this break we lost a rather dull fixture at Old Trafford but still retained top spot in both Premier League and Champions League. Those pointing the finger at ex players and missing players were missing the point somewhat. Our season has been going alright: as alright as the other teams with whom we are competing only guess what? we are in the position that they would all love to be in.  Bouncebackability is the attribute I think this model of the Arsenal has and the facts of the last 38 league games support that. Leading from the front can be viewed as a blessing or a curse depending on your mind set and often the talk is about handling the pressure. Well someone has to be in the lead and why not us. Young players, they say, can often deal with pressure in sport well as perhaps they tend to worry less and throb with ambition if that is the case it is to our advantage that we have a ...

For the first time in a long while I sat pitch side at the Emirates last night: row 2 to be exact, an interesting perspective on the game as I generally sit upstairs. What struck me was the pace and control of our midfield against a rather flatfooted Liverpool side. At times it was 5-a-side stuff out there as Rosicky, Carzola, Ramsey and Ozil, ably assisted by Arteta, bossed the middle of the park. This was a midfield with Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlaine, Flamini, Wilshere and the promising Gnabry absent and perhaps therein lays one of the keys to our excellent league form. A squad that is certainly on the thin side has an abundance of players in the centre of the park (I haven’t mentioned Diaby as unfortunately his career seems to be on permanent standby). The back four look increasingly confident and our keeper, one aberration aside, looks to be a proper player now. Giroud may lack the clinical qualities of an Ageuro, Suarez or Van Persie but he gives us an out and has a work et...

For some it’s difficult to talk about other clubs without recourse to cheap insult and slinging of mud. I always feel it far better to look to my own club first and view others with a detached logic. Where Liverpool are concerned there is often a fear that one may (for want of a better phrase) put ones foot in it and have to bear the brunt of outrage: the suggestion being that Liverpool fans, rightly or wrongly, can be touchy. Lets be clear. As far as English football is concerned there are really only three clubs that have been the benchmark: Manchester United, Liverpool and The Arsenal: that may change in the future but without decrying any other clubs this is the case and has been for a century. Manchester United, since Ferguson’s arrival have mostly had the upper hand and Liverpool have been in the doldrums for a while, as have we. This fact should not cloud judgement on the historical greatness of either club rather it should fan the flames of aspiration to return to...

On Saturday we see the first meaningful league clash between Arsenal and Liverpool for quite some time and it is very much a top of the table six pointer: and we haven’t had one of those for a while. Both clubs are looking to restore the glory years and this season is huge for both of us, possibly more so for Liverpool who, by their own admission, have drifted further from the standards that they once held. The loss against Chelsea has been and gone and losing is not habit forming if you take losing in context. Losing in the League Cup to a poor lower division side last season is not like losing to the team below you in the league who have a deeper squad. Put simply Chelsea were better and they won because they were better and we made errors. It wasn’t a capitulation or a humiliation it was simply a loss in a competition that is fourth in the pecking order. Don’t get me wrong though, I wanted us to win the game and the trophy but a moment’s reflection would tell anyone that w...

   “Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work”-Vince Lombardi Vince Lombardi Head Coach of the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s and one of the great thinkers in sports history had a plethora of quotable adages about team work, sporting excellence, motivation and the qualities in life that count for so much: almost embodying what team sport is all about. Commitment as a group is key, particularly when there are forces massed against you. Enemies from without is to be  expected so Alan Hansen's negativity on MOTD is par for the course particularly given his past status with Liverpool FC (haunted by ghosts of '89 perhaps?). Personally I record or pause MOTD on Sky+ and FF through the inane punditry as I do the commercials, so rarely pay heed to such nonsense. What did make me pause for thought was an interview on ArsenalFanTV with a rather negative Arsenal supporter following our 0-...