ARSENALISM©

Nothing comes for free and football is no exception, no one should expect to watch it without a cost. In these strange times many people have been struggling with health, mental and otherwise, day to day problems and of course finances. It’s a changed landscape but even so the rich have still got richer and private interest has muscled in on Covid related opportunities to earn. Then there’s The Premier League, and therefore Sky & BT. They have a product that people want and they are cynical having that knowledge. Just when you thought that they had squeezed as much juice as they could out of the beautiful game they come up with new ways to get more money. How far does it go before the fans say “hang on a minute! You’re mugging me off?” The product is not the same, the product lacks the atmosphere and emotion that a crowd brings to the party but the broadcasters want top dollar to watch it. The so called Top Six want to ensure that they never have to face the possibility of being th...

We are on the brink of the FA Cup Final 2020, that oldest and most famous of competitions. Ah, FA Cup Final day. The sun will be shinning, the beers will be flowing and the emotions will be highly charged. The transitional Arsenal take on the Oligarch bolstered Chelsea. It's a fixture that's happened before and the victors on those occasions have been the team in red. This time around Arsenal are viewed as the underdogs (as we were against Manchester City in the Semi-Final) but I like that; I'm more than happy being the underdogs. This FA Cup final will be a unique one for obvious reasons. The lack of supporters is something that we've almost grown accustomed to in the Covid-19 world but there are other noticeable differences referred to on the match day shirts: Black Lives Matter-All players and staff will be taking a knee at the start of the game and lets remember this was not a mandate this was a choice that players made. It's an issue of complexity...

On to Cardiff, a place that was our home for a while when cup final followed cup final there but this time we face the master of bluster and industrial football Mr Warnock. These are the games that season's past could be frustrating or walks in the park. This time around who knows? Its almost as if this is our first away game of the season as the Stamford Bridge match seems a long time ago and a different experience for the club. Let's make no bones about it, this season we will find out more about where we are going by games like these. We are looking for a cohesive style while getting results against teams like Cardiff. When we play teams who finished above us last season it may be more of a case of trial and error but we have to count on taking three points from teams below and around us: not the ideal learning environment but the only one that we have. The Caraboa and the Europa (we'll know more about the latter shortly) are opportunities to see more of the new ...

It won't be the game against Manchester City at the Emirates or the away game at Chelsea that will show us what the new look Arsenal is all about, it will be playing away at Crystal Palace in a fixture where we have previously been outgunned in the cojones department. it will be at home against West Ham United: a game we are expected to win but lost on the opening day of seasons past.  These are the games that will show us where our year one strategy will take us. Getting on equal footing with the five teams that finished above us will take longer. So far what we have seen is players having to be accountable for poor performance as evidenced by  substitutions, we've seen a team adjusting and trying not to slip back into bad default habits. We've seen the importance of being clinical in the final third and we've seen a young man with belief in midfield and an experienced Swiss show some jiggery pokery that is always a delight to see. At this moment it is still far...

Oh my Dennis, there is so much negativity around at the moment. We have a new manager (that happens at clubs) the Kroenke takeover seems to be the Apocalypse for some (single ownership happens at clubs) and everyone seems to have complaints about our transfer policy. Given the last few years you’d think there would be more of a positive vibe knocking about.  I think it’s mostly those who can’t accept that we are like other clubs: going into a season unsure what might happen. Not guaranteed success. Not guaranteed Sublime football. It’s a ‘wait and see’ season.  Let’s have a bit of perspective. 99% of Arsenal supporters know next to nothing about Emery other than he’s won stuff in Europe. He’s joining as a coach and as part of a team that deal with fitness, contracts and recruitment. there are also very few experts on  the players that have come in yet there seem to be untold perspectives out there. The goings on upstairs have been going on for ages; they’re just di...

And so it came to pass, The Arsenal face a new dawn, an ending and a beginning. A Sixth place finish and a terrible away record with no silverware will be the final word on Wenger's tenure. A tenure that, at the end, has been divisive and disappointing (depending on which side of the fence you stand on) I've come out of hibernation to write about the future. Other far more accomplished writers will make their state of the nation on Wenger's 22 years so I'm going to put forward what I would like to see. AMBITION When we were told that the move to the Emirates would enable us to compete with the biggest clubs in Europe it was, at best an optimistic statement, at worst a serious misjudgement. To move forward we need to set our sights at realistically competing and having the personnel and more importantly the set up that allows for progression. A manager that knows how to implement in-game management and knows how to plan for a two legged tie is essential for Eu...

Yes it's been a while, and not a great deal has changed at the Arsenal: nothing that would draw one out of blog hibernation but I got to thinking (yes I know.a dangerous pastime), thinking about what this club is now. Yesterday (Watford v Arsenal)  was another 90 minutes where t he frustration, anger and apathy gave way way to ennui. The feeling is not so much about what has been lost but what is there to gain.  Most clubs have targets in the top division be it staying up, breaking into a European spot, finishing comfortably mid table with perhaps the bonus of a decent cup run, and then there are those clubs aiming to win the league and taking steps to give them the best opportunity to do so. And where do we fit in? what's our club's aspiration? I don't think anyone knows. Are we expected to beat Watford away and on what grounds is that expectation built? Are we looking at a serious title challenge or achieving European glory in the Europa League? Again, I do...