ARSENALISM©

As someone with no vested interest in this season’s Champions League there was a fixture that caught my eye; Manchester City v PSG. So I thought I’d find out a bit more about them.  MANCHESTER CITY:majority owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group whose investment, according to Human Rights Watch,is intended to launder the image of the repressive authoritarian regime in Abu Dhabi and construct a public relations image of a progressive, dynamic Gulf state, which deflects attention from what is really going on in the country. V PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN : Owned by Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, through state-run shareholding organization Qatar Sports Investments (QSI). Significant human rights issues in Qatar include restrictions on free expression, including criminalization of libel; restrictions on peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including prohibitions on political parties and labor unions; restrictions on migrant workers’ freedom of movement; limits on the ability...

  And lo, there was a weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in North London as the stark reality of how far the Arsenal have fallen from the once giddy heights, finally registered with the optimists and pessimists alike. I say 'giddy heights', what I mean is the year in year out European qualification, the FA Cup Wins, The European Finals and Semi Finals, the victories over Man City, Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea, yes the overachievement of recent years. That's right, over achievement. I'm not talking about the title challenges, Championships and imperious unbeaten season because that's all pre-Emirates. The point at which we find ourselves is directly related to our abandoning of one of the great football stadiums in world football for purely fiscal reasons, or should I say greed? We were told that the intention was to make the Arsenal more competitive by increasing revenue and thus being able to recruit effectively giving us the personnel with which to compet...

  Dare I be positive? Yes I dare! The Arsenal are actively reducing the age profile of the squad. Tavares 21,  Lokonga 21, White 23 and the imminent Ramsdale 23 and Ødegaard 22 are all purchases that have a sell-on factor and regardless of the relative merits, seem to be planned, prudent and sensible acquisitions. Add to these players Saka 19, ESR 21, Tierney 24, Gabriel 23, Martinelli 20 and Balogun 20 and we are looking at an understandable and forward thinking plan. The caveat is that with a young set of players you need to play in a way that allows them to express themselves, you also need those senior pros at the club to set the standard, lead the way and give them a platform from which to develop. In my view Arteta is not the man to whom these raw gems should be entrusted as his approach is stifling. Nor do I feel the majority of senior pros at the club are the required role models. Because we have lumbered ourselves with a group of underachievers and those loitering in ...

  The opening weekend of the Premier League Season has bought Arsenal's place in the scheme of things into sharp focus. The teams that finished above and around us last term, by and large, have had a great start; scoring goals and being generally expansive. The fun we were going to make out of, Harry Kane-less Spurs has been well and truly kiboshed by there overturning of the champions. The Arsenal have come out of this weekend as the fall guys. The announcement of the extension of Granit Xhaka's contract and pay rise has arrived after a weekend of fan reflection and is hardly the sort of thing that will elevate spirits. A risk averse performance against the Premier League new boys was as predictable as it was expected. Put simply, our bloated squad full of players we can't off load due to ridiculous contracts is such that there is a reliance on youth and if you rely on youth you need to give them the platform in which to express themselves. They do not get that with the wa...

  Prone as I am to positivity when it comes to The Arsenal, let me tell you where I’m at; reality is going to hit hard. This club lost its grip on what the club means when it believed in Wenger’s economics. The move to the Emirates and the introduction of Gazidis was completely money motivated, but not money to put into the club but to be taken out. We then lay in bed with agents making stupid deals with stupid contracts that only benefit their clients and line pockets of those individuals at Arsenal only interested in what they can get from the club.  We got in Emery and then Arteta because they were cheap. Everything about the Kroenkes, Venkatesham and Edu seems to be about getting their piece of the pie It’s actually quite scandalous that we moved away from Highbury to earn more so that we could be competitive when in actual fact we earn more to line the pockets of the parasites draining the club dry We have become less competitive year on year as we continue making bad, ag...