ARSENALISM©

So that’s that. Another point gained in the slow jog to a Champions League spot and another game undefeated. A draw against the newly crowned champions that somehow encapsulated a number of issues that have been scrutinised, analysed and postulated over in a season of, by and large, mediocrity for the Arsenal. The returning ex player who left for glory or was it money or just the little boy inside. Good periods of possession but failure to turn that possession into goals. Defensive errors alongside some excellence at the back. A team that rose to the occasion on occasion but fell short of taking all of the spoils. Lack of cutting edge when it was most needed. Shortcomings in terms of substitutions and missing pieces of a jigsaw. The sideshow over the guard of honour was nothing more than tomorrow’s chip paper and the vilification of our former captain was restrained on the whole. Is the twenty something point gap between the two sides that pronounced on...

Cosa Nostra Italian pronunciation: [Koza Nostra], Italian for "our thing" This season, more than most, has seen discussion about other clubs at an all time high. It’s almost as if Arsenal supporters are distracting themselves from the real issues at home by looking elsewhere. The on going disputes with our noisy neighbours carry on with fractious insult from both parties, there is a sense of glee at the failings of the Russian’s project club and sympathy for once mighty Liverpool. It seems to me that the club with whom we once tussled for Premier League supremacy are almost an after thought. Their inevitable march to a twentieth title was something to be observed from afar: perhaps with wistful nostalgia for the good old days of Keane v Vieira. Not now though.  Aston Villa may not be the pushover that clinches the title before United come calling  so there may be an ugly intruder looking to set up camp on the Emirates pitch come this time next week. An int...

"Greatness is not measured by what a man accomplishes, but by the opposition he has overcome to reach his goals" - Dorothy Height Muhammad Ali’s greatness was about many things: charisma, ability, cultural significance, power and technique, his greatness was also measurable in terms of his opponents. Ali existed in an era of supreme competition. Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Patterson, Liston, were all there in front of Ali and he still retained a place at the summit. In that context the Arsenal’s classic teams were competing against other great teams; a Manchester United side that is probably the best in their history and the Liverpool sides that made Anfield a fortress. The Arsenal won things consistently in a Premier League era where teams like Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Villa, Blackburn and many others had sides were far better than the current versions. The great teams to compete against are currently not in our domestic league; they are in Eur...