Having kept an eye out for legions of spectators making their way to Ashburton Grove with bin bags and [...]]]> A Blackburn side without their two main pillars of attack and defence (Yakubu and Samba respectively) where dismantled by an Arsenal attack that were unrecognisable as the one that failed to score at Bolton earlier in the week.

Having kept an eye out for legions of spectators making their way to Ashburton Grove with bin bags and seen none the atmosphere before kick-off was subdued due to the near freezing temperature and the early kick off.

Wot no bin bags ?

Your humble scribe even omitted his pre match Peroni’s as necking lager at noon didn’t feel quite right, in any case a hot drink would have been more in order to stop the teeth chattering.

The only surprises in the starting XI were the omission of Sagna (perhaps due to his comeback being managed with caution) and the continued starting of Robin, although to be fair he would have a week’s rest before the next fixture; the resting of Ramsey was less of a surprise as he had looked tired towards the end of his last few games.

Viewing from behind the clock end goal the away support seemed, like the home crowd, filled their quota to around 80% and seemed a respectable turn out especially considering their relegation battle and the supporter-Board of the club struggle.

Blackburn supporters

Barely had we taken our seats then Theo rampaged towards my line of sight to the left of “Chunky” Robinson’s goal and slid in a straight forward cross which Robin ran onto and slotted in, easy as you like.

A quick fire start

One nil down inside 90 seconds and the away support became even quieter.
The Blackburn midfield had offered no protection for the back line and the early attack cut through the defence with ease.

From thereon in some jolly jokesters in the Clock End decided to heckle Chunky with (in a parody of Robin’s song):

“He eats when he wants,
He eats when he waaaaants,
That Paul Robinson,
He eats when he wants……you fat bast**d”

Sitting behind him for the first half I noticed Chunky’s nervous tic of kicking his right foot against the post and looking at the sole of his boot to ensure there was no mud on his studs, before he would take a goal kick that always landed near the right touchline, level with the centre circle.

Arsenal continued to probe away at a Blackburn side that struggled to gain any meaningful possession of the ball so it was against the run of play when a rare Rovers foray up field resulted in a free kick following a Kozzer pull back on Modeste, I think it was.

Those around me muttered their expectation of an equalizer, which Pedersen duly supplied.

Now the press may have been rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of another half time booing of the home team off the pitch, but 5 or so minutes later another Theo surge down our right flank resulted in another assist for Robin and the lead was restored, much to the chagrin of the hacks ready to paint the Arsenal support as fickle and petulant.

I saw no dissent or protests of any sort, trash/bin bag related or otherwise; however with the way the game panned out perhaps that is not surprising.

While Theo did not score he was creating almost as much havoc on his wing as Oxo was on the left – the twin wing menaces were giving the Blackburn full backs an unnerving time all through the game – and two assists will have done his self-confidence wonders.

Theo sets up RvP's 2nd goal

Almost straight after we had started goading the away end with “You’re not singing anymore” then Oxo crowned a stand out first half performance with a debut premier league goal after he rounded Chunky, following a Robin through ball, and showed composure beyond his years to slot the ball home.

Oxo's 1st goal celebration

3-1 nearing half time and Rovers already looked a shattered side although to be fair their supporters still tried to keep their spirits up with a near constant refrain of “Barmy army”

However all spirit seemed to drain from them when a few minutes after Oxo’s goal Givet was off for an early bath, as Eddy Waring may have said, for a crude lunge on Robin, one which Robin took some of the sting out of by managing to hurdle some of the flailing legs of the Frenchman.

The red card and all the yellows were fully deserved as Rovers were a fairly cynical side, giving our players a nudge whenever they were following the flight of the ball onto their head; however referee Mariner spotted most of these offences and had a fairly decent match.

Note, we were 3-1 up BEFORE the sending off so don’t believe any pony (pony and trap, crap) about the red card being a pivotal moment.

It was still an anxious wait for Robin to recover and prove there was no lasting damage done and the first half ended with the Gooner faithful very happy, if rather frozen.

The second half started with a spell of dainty possession for Blackburn, with which they produced no significant attacking intent and soon enough we increased our lead thanks to a rare long range shot from Arteta after a half clearance following one of our endless number of corners.

Theo then produced his third assist of the game to set up Oxo for his second of the game and confirmation that he had arrived – are we seeing a legend in the making? Too early to say but the possibility is mouth-watering.

A present day legend however sealed his hat trick after receiving a cross from the willing Coquelin and slotting in effortlessly for his third of the game and the cue for the Rovers fans to start drifting away at 6-1.

Those that remained did show a sense of humour in “Oleing” whenever their team could string a few passes together as Arsenal inevitably eased off in the intensity of their attacks after the 6th goal.

Some more action in the Rovers penalty area led to what, even from my view at the opposite end of the ground, looked like a decent shout for a penalty however at 6-1 we could afford some largesse to the referee and his linesman and lineswoman.

Oxo and Kozzer were taken off so there was time for the re-introduction of another legend (and for Sagna to continue his comeback) and with the sense of theatre we expect from the great man Thierry Henry duly obliged with the 7th goal in front of his beloved North Bank.

His upward twisting, pirouetting goal celebration shows that his 228th goal for Arsenal is as cherished as his first. As he left the pitch and the sky darkened and looked ready to start sleeting at full time one could sense the NY Red Bulls player was savouring every moment he could in his second chance to play for the club he loves.

TH12 claps off the pitch

Charybdis1966

twitter @charybdis1966

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Players line up

On a deceptively cold December afternoon all eyes were on The Arsenal to take advantage of the Siberian oligarch’s team’s concession of two [...]]]> A ricocheted deflection off the Wolves player who typified their approach, Hunt, at Ashburton Grove today gave Wolves a scarcely deserved point and denied Arsenal the chance to rise to fourth.

Players line up

On a deceptively cold December afternoon all eyes were on The Arsenal to take advantage of the Siberian oligarch’s team’s concession of two points to the Michael Jackson Velodrome all-stars team on Monday.

Kick off huddle

Few teams have arrived at London N5 and offered so little going forward and also played such a defensive formation, generally resembling a 6-2-2.

The only Wolves player interested in attacking was Jarvis, of the flat footed, wobbly running style. Surprises in the Arsenal line up were the replacement of Ramsey with Benayoun and the absence of Walcott from the squad.

There seemed to plenty of opportunity to go through the middle of the Wolves back line and there were early chances created by the Israeli, Benayoun who was given a debut start in the Premier League, with the first of his many probing runs being curtailed by being barged off the ball by a lumpen Wolves defender – the tactic for the day was for all headers to be contested with a leading elbow as Robin and Mertesacker can attest to, with Zubar and Johnson showing a penchant for the sharpened elbows raised tactic. Being in the North Bank today meant I heard a rendition of Per’s song for the first time:

“We’ve got a big fu***ng German,
We’ve got a big fu***ng German
“We’ve got a biiiig fu***ng Geeeer-man!”

An inspired through ball from Benayoun was trapped by Gervinho who swiveled and shot after rounding Hennessey, who was to star for good and bad reasons later.

After the goal the script was for another goal to come floating Robin’s way to continue his steady march to Alan Shearer’s calendar year goal record – wrong.

A rare sortie up field by the Wolves pair of non-defenders led to a deflection off Hunt after a cross in from what looked to me an offside position. Being located by the corner flag where the North bank meets the West Stand the Wolves player who put the cross in appeared to me to be a good yard or two closer to Chesney’s goal than our back four.

Half of block four, North Bank lower tier, rose to shout offside well before the deflection. The replay of the “goal” was not shown from the view of a line across that I had, however to the naked eye and in real time it appeared off side.

The black and gold dummies that populated the south eastern corner of the stadium suddenly woke up and began celebrating their scrappy, messy, undeserved equaliser.

After this it was entirely predictable that McCarthy’s men would resort to time wasting and shows of dissent to the referee; Hunt expending most of his energy on jibber jabbering away in the referee’s ear at every Arsenal free kick to distract him from encroachment by Wolves players.

Every tackle from an Arsenal player was the cue for face clutching or floor rolling, akin to those spats seen by children having tantrums at being refused their way in supermarket aisles the world over.

The second half saw a continuation of the ill-tempered, “gamesmanship” tactics of standing on the ball at free kicks to slow Arsenal’s attacking momentum and haranguing the officials at every opportunity, not just the players but McCarthy and his assistant routinely arguing with the linos for every call that didn’t go their way.

The first action of the second half saw Zubar slide in with a cynical, late challenge on Gervinho in front of me but some justice was done as he injured himself and had to go off later – but not after holding up play with a few more bouts of rolling around on the grass to curtail Arsenal attacks with the aid of referee Atwell, who repeatedly fell for this “rope a dope” trick, hook line and sinker. You know the referee is on a wind up when he holds up play for treatment to an opposition player when the player is not even on the pitch.

Not wanting to be outdone by Zubar in this form of cheating Hunt also fell, in the style of a downed cowboy from a Sam Peckinpah movie, in the Wolves penalty area during a spell of pressure when there was corner after corner for Arsenal.

Arteta floats in another corner

Hennessey kicked the ball out of play when Hunt was felled by the invisible sniper in the Upper Tier and the looks of indignation when Arsenal, rightly, didn’t return the ball to Wolves were a picture of hypocrisy and self-righteous outrage.

It’s clear Wolves were not demonstrating the Corinthian spirit of sport in any way today and none of their team enhanced their sporting reputations although we did witness yet another visiting goalie have the game of his life as per-freaking usual; however he was rightly booked for timewasting so in that respect he kept in with the team ethic of the day.

Referee Atwell didn’t help himself by allowing numerous displays of dissent from the Wolves and, as we can guess, when a ref lets the opposition bully him around the first sign of dissent from an Arsenal player and a yellow is flashed; Vermaelen for the standard “first offence Arsenal yellow” we have come to know so well.

Similarly when Atwell lost control of the game, Wolves changed their mind about who was to be substituted and Hunt hadn’t even gotten off the pitch and his replacement was on and the throw in ordered to be taken, Wenger’s waved his arms in frustration so Atwell made a big show of going over to him to tell him off. Pity he didn’t do that when McCarthy and his assistant were routinely abusing the lino for giving throw ins to Arsenal even from balls bouncing straight off Wolves defenders and out of play.

Wenger threw on more attackers, Arshavin and Chamakh after he replaced the tiring Israeli skipper with Ramsey with Arshavin looking skill full and tracking back to snuff out any rare counter attack from McCarthy’s rag tag mob – he still has the ability to worry any defence and with an upturn in form/effort he can be a vital squad member.

Chamakh’s only contribution seemed to be banging heads with Robin and causing a sharp intake of breath all around the stadium at the sight of Robin prone on the floor; it’s hard to know how to solve a problem like Chamakh.

As we approach the half way stage of the season Arsenal will need maximum effort and luck with injuries from hereon in.

Keep the faith everyone.

Charybdis1966

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With the choice of Arsenal legends for the three commemorative statues around Ashburton Grove now already known (Herbert Chapman, Tony Adams and Thierry Henry) [...]]]> The pre match 125 year centenary celebrations were among the usual talking points before a game that saw the Arsenal in line for a top four spot for the first time this season.

With the choice of Arsenal legends for the three commemorative statues around Ashburton Grove now already known (Herbert Chapman, Tony Adams and Thierry Henry) I made my way to my seat on a crisp but clear December afternoon after having looked at two of the three legends preserved in iron.

Having been a product of Essex in the early seventies also I have a particularly empathy with TA06 and coincidentally we were also born in the same year. A lot of us can also relate to the personal demons he battled during his time with us. He stood arms outstretched in the “Would you believe it” moment after he scored the fourth goal to seal the League title in our second double winning season in May 1998.

Would you believe it !

My seat being at the western corner flag at the Clock End(with the away fans at the opposite corner) of record goal scorers statue was at the opposite end of the stadium to Tony Adams, who was fittingly stationed outside the North Bank. It was clear that the majority of the fans around the TA06 statue were old school Arsenal while those around Thierry Henry were more international fans.

I love scoring against Tottenham

This being because the appeal of Arsenal as an international known team was cemented with the likes of talents such as Thierry, Dennis, Bobby and others. As we now all know Arsenal picked another iconic moment to immortalise with Thierry’s statue, namely the memorable goal against the Spuds with the equally memorable celebration.

I defy anyone to look at that statue and not have a lump in their throat while they remember the emotions of that match – I’m not surprised Thierry was moved the way he was on Friday at the unveiling.

Sadly I couldn’t locate Herbert Chapman’s statue in time as the pre match build up was in full swing, but I’ll aim to seek it out next time, Chapman being the manager who paved the way with the first of our 13 League titles.

A long list of Arsenal greats were being led out as I took my seat, the whole event being compered by celebrity, but certainly die hard, gooner Tom Watt.

Legends Guard of honour

It was gratifying to see that George Graham’s presence in the legends line up signified the Arsenal hierarchy had forgiven the circumstances of his departure similarly David O’Leary who, in his Leeds managerial days, would regularly lambast Arsenal; O’Leary’s greying sideburns visible even from my seat.

Others I heard being announced were Parlour, Pires (extra cheer), Morrow and another hero of the nineties Ian Wright, Wright Wright who is still loved by the supporters.

Unsurprisingly the biggest cheer was for Thierry when he was introduced.

Thierry on the big screen

And even more unsurprisingly the chants of “Sign him up, sign him, sign him up” were there to remind us of our anxiety at the prospect of Robin being unavailable for any period of time.

A nod towards our clubs heritage were the cannons pitch side, a reminder of lucky we are to have them as a symbol, rather than, say, a stringy chicken sitting on a netball.

Royal Artillery Canon

With the festivities almost over the team were led on, with Red Action and North Bank sections being supplied with red and white cards to spell out “125”.

Red Action 125

As the teams were being read out I noticed how our number 8 got a respectful cheer from the Everton fans, no rancour at his departure detected there and later on in the game when Arteta went over to take in front of the away fans he applauded them back.

The match started with Arsenal as usual attacking the Clock End and Everton, as befits a team schooled by Moyes, compact and solid with minimal forward intent with the only forward player who caught my eye being Coleman. Seamus Coleman did seem to have some attacking ability and the Evertonians are right to rate him so highly, however Phil Neville continued to prove why we hate him with his constant niggling of our midfielders, Ramsey in particular, and his constant niggling in the ear of the other villain of the peace, the referee Howard Webb.

Ramsey had another “almost there” type of performance in midfield, with one swivel-turn-chip in the Everton penalty area being all most Bergkamp-esque.

An innocuous nudge by Arteta on the quarter hour mark – which was on an Everton player just outside his own penalty area- earned him a yellow for his first challenge and just to prove Fergie’s rent boy (as the Clock end shouted at Webb) has no concept of consistency then failed to give a yellow for a trip on Theo by Baines as he was about to run through on goal.

Shades of Lee Mason in the same fixture last season sprang to mind in terms of anti-Arsenal incompetent or biased refereeing.

The linesman were also very quick to cooperate with the Everton offside trap as Theo and Gervinho were repeatedly called off side, however the officials were consistent in calling them either way.

Having been shown the yellow Arteta seemed to be a little subdued thereafter and he had a quieter than normal game – no matter, I think he is a vital player for us and one we were fortunate to acquire.

Arsenals superiority began to show with a succession of corners, some taken by Robin and others by Arteta.

Robin taking a corner

The New Jersey born Howard had to be on top form for the various corners that rained in on him and as the half drew to a close one sensed the Everton goal had a charmed life as the Arsenals approach play was decent although Theo and Gervinho’s finishing wayward. Robin had few chances and he seemed to be predominantly carving out opportunities for others.

Waiting for Arsenal corner

Half time approached and there was only a minor murmuring of concern amongst the by now frozen gooners –chances were being opened and the goal seemed inevitable.

During the interval a final historic presentation was made on the pitch of Nottingham Forest FC, the team that donated the Arsenal (then known as Dial Square FC) their first red and white kit.

Notts Forest half time presentation

The second half saw Everton begin to slow the play as for them a nil nil draw was a sizeable achievement against the arsenal, the Garden State native being the most guilty of time wasting, taking an eternity to take goal kicks.
Moyes stood on the edge – or slightly outside – the technical area pretty much the whole match, even having to step back to allow the lino to get past so often was he guilty of encroaching.

The Moe Szyslak look alike provided much of the touch line entertainment, for example when Cahill’s boot came off when a free kick was awarded to Arsenal(I think for off side) Cahill’s hissy fit involved him hurling the boot that had come off in Moyes direction; much hilarity ensued.

My suggestion of “Stamp on his foot!” while Cahill’s left boot was off and he continued playing was not taken up by the Arsenal defenders, can’t imagine why.

As the crowd were bracing themselves for a sustained spell of pressure at the Everton goal at the North bank end out of nowhere I saw Song loft a forward pass over Robin’s right shoulder – like the rest of the stadium Tim Howard assumed Robin would take a touch, then shoot.

The volley and net ripple that followed in an instant (with an almost audible gasp) took us all by surprise – a reminder of another two feet in the air volley by Robin, the one against Charlton Athletic from a cross by Eboue.

After that the Everton team seemed to have been given electric shock therapy as the transformation in the speed of goal kicks/throw ins/free kicks being taken was astonishing, again I can’t imagine why.

After the goal Vermaelen was taken off after an earlier collision to be replaced by Miquel who was, understandably, nowhere near as solid as the Belgian had been. I watched him for a five minute spell and I counted five interventions by him, two were solid clearances, one was a good through ball, one miskick into touch and one pass intercepted by an Everton forward.

Before Vermaelen’s injury Arshavin was being readied to come on, presumably to replace Robin, however Gervinho (who had a fairly good game) was replaced by Rosicky as Thomas came off instead.

Two late Everton subs included a Valbuena sized dwarf who was marked by Mertesacker – the worry there being that he would run through the big Germans legs.

There were two late alarms and two shots fizzed towards me behind the Arsenal goal and the crowd whistled for the full time whistle to be blown by Webb, who to be fair had temporarily forgotten his Arsenal hating-ManUre loving tendencies and had a marginally better second half.

At full time Mertesacker made a point of clapping the Clock End, he – like Arteta – seem to be loving the fact they are playing for a big club with a noble tradition. We’ll need him when we come up against the troglodytes of Stoke, Bolton and the like.

Final Whistle

What seemed like me to be a scuffle between Chesney and Robin as the players went off was actually Chesney’s bowing down to Robin’s left foot – the producer of that moment of magic that gave us the three points to put us into fourth.

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As the match drew to a close I recalled the target of four points from the two games against the French champions set by Wenger and was able to assess [...]]]> A vaguely disappointing nil nil failed to quell the feel good factor derived from the Arsenal’s heroic high octane defeat of the Siberian oligarchs team last Saturday.

As the match drew to a close I recalled the target of four points from the two games against the French champions set by Wenger and was able to assess the performance and result in that context. Arriving at Arsenal tube station I was, as usual, “treated” to some singing from the Bouches-du-Rhône region, initially unintelligible but as the away supporters followed me up to the ticket barriers I could eventually pick up:

Mar-seille allez, Mar-seille allez, allez, allez, chante!

To the tune of “Oh my darling clementine” as sung by Huckleberry Hound a lot clearer than last night’s version.

The atmosphere for a mid-week evening kick off at Ashburton Grove is altered by that claustrophobic feel that the darkness that descends in London in November gives to the journey to your turnstile from the stadium environs.
The team line ups as announced before kick-off revealed our Captain was being benched to give the Park a start and that there was a welcome return to the starting line-up for the Verminator.

My seat was behind the Clock End goal, lower tier, so I had the away support a few blocks to my right. Inside the stadium they were fairly vocal as most away crowds tended to be on European nights — louder than Porto’s, quieter than Dinamo Zagreb’s, from memory. To their credit the complete 4 block allocation was full and animated.

Kick off

The early exchanges showed that Marseilles had pace all over the pitch if not skill, with the full backs making light work of Gervinho and Theo’s attempts to pull apart their back line.

Chesney showed himself to be a goalie of supreme confidence when he took on a Marseilles forward; even from the other end of the pitch I could see him dummying and dribbling around him and while there was much mirth in the crowd in reaction to his skill and confidence I would have preferred him not to be put (or put himself) in those situations and that he just takes the safety first option – a hefty hoof up field for example.

Defence wise the Verminator slotted straight back into the team as if he’d never been away and Mertesacker showed the calm authority we’ve come to expect but without the missed headers that he needs to eliminate from the game.

“Jenks” has quickly become a fans favourite with his work rate and never ending drive to push on whether defending or getting forward, conversely Santos was seen differently, a capable and experienced defender who is probably not 100% match fit.

Marseilles pushed forward for the first half hour and for an away side that was quite brave however their finishing was as bad as ours turned out to be.

There were few alarms and no one especially felt we would concede at any moment – a feeling we definitely had in matches during the closing stages of last season. Encouraged by their support striking up the Huckleberry Hound song, Marseilles continued to press and a few shots on Chesney’s goal resulted which were on target, and many more off target.

As time went on however the Arsenal then gained more possession which resulted in whistling from the away support.

It’s clearly a continental thing to whistle when the opposition has the ball, in the UK it tends to be done to register displeasure at a bad refereeing decision or the opposition not kicking the ball out if one of your players is injured. If that happens in a continental game what would they do then as an alternative to whistling? If they just whistle more, how could you tell what the crowd was irate about if it’s just more of the same?

Anyway gripe/observation over.

Despite the extra possession Arsenal had as the first half drew to a close it seemed that Park was lacking that “something” as things just failed to happen for him; maybe he needed a bit of confidence that would result from a few more of his one twos working or having some decent shots on goal?

We clearly need a stand in for Robin but at the moment Park is not the answer, I sincerely hope he will be part of the answer at least and the sooner the better.
Gervinho seemed to be having one of those days also where things didn’t quite come off and when they did the resulting shot was wide or well saved with Aaron seeming a touch jaded also.

The extra possession Arsenal gained as the game went on was as a result of the Song-Arteta axis establishing a metronomic understanding in the centre of the midfield.

One gets the sense that Mikel is loving being on the European Cup stage, a chance a player of his quality and experience should really have had earlier in his career. One of our more palpable chances was an Arteta free kick, which on another day would have drifted in rather than swerved away from the top left corner of the goal.

Arteta free kick

Half time came and with it the news that the Russian’s from the bus stop in Fulham were one nil up against the mighty Genk.

No substitutions from either side at half time but as time went on and the Marseilles defence held firm it seemed it was only a matter of time before changes would have to be made.

Robin and Arshavin had been warming up as soon as the second half had kicked off, Robin being the benefactor of a standing ovation from the Clock end.

Robin Arshavin subs

The pattern of the second half followed the latter half of the first in that Arsenal pressure was repelled or the final ball was poor or the finishing was not quite there.

The referee had a fairly good game and wasn’t buying the feigning injury Marseilles started to indulge in, with Mathieu Valbuena seeming like a refugee from a dwarf throwing/diving competition; the sort I imagine being held in deepest Tennessee by some good old boys. Perhaps the midget Mathieu was giving the crowd a preview of his bid to be part of the French 2012 Olympic diving squad? However the referee did seem a bit too keen to book that well known midfield destroyer Rosicky for his first challenge, having come on as the second sub with Robin on shortly before.

Then an exchange of dwarfs – Valbuena off, Arshavin on to try and provide a creative spark and feed Robin for the goal that would seal a Round of 16 qualifying victory.

The game seemed to peter out with a few more attacks by Arsenal at the North bank end and try as Arshavin did to make something happen by the last third of the game Marseilles had decided to settle for the draw and their initial attacking intent evaporated.

Final Whistle 0-0

Overall, not a disastrous result, just as long as a victory against West Brom on Saturday can be won before another wretched interlull/nationalism break before hostilities resume a fortnight later.

Just to cheer up the Gooners emptying Ashburton Grove news filtered through that the European footballing powerhouse of Genk finished their game level with Chelsea to extend the team “led” by John Terry’s winless run to 3 games.

Nice.

Cha(ry)azza

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First off – that tabloid generated assertion was way off the mark as the feeling in the bars and streets around the N5 area of [...]]]> An unusually mild late September afternoon saw Arsenal’s third home game of the season take place in what the media would like to say was an air of apprehension amongst the support.

First off – that tabloid generated assertion was way off the mark as the feeling in the bars and streets around the N5 area of London was certainly not apprehension. The mood was that of expectancy and quiet confidence that the real Arsenal would show up today.

Your humble scribe found himself in the Upper tier of the Clock End where conventional wisdom would assert there would be a soporific feeling generated amongst the support, only slightly less lack lustre than Club level.

Second off – not true either; the support was surprisingly vocal and while my less than complimentary remarks about Cyril Davies (when he replaced the anonymous Ngog) were still met by inquiring looks from pre-pubescent Gooners, irregardless (c. Tim) from where I sat Block 124 backed the team as well as the rest of the home support did.

From this view point the Red action section of the North bank could be seen passing around the giant club flag.

Red Action flag

Once all the crowd had arrived it seemed the stadium was around 90% full with Bolton’s support taking up around 80% of their allocation

Prior to kick off we saw a rather cheesy “huddle” from the Bolton players – that’s so 1990’s; who does on pitch team huddles anymore?

Cheesy Bolton huddle

After a slightly nervy start, where Chesney pulled off a great one handed save from an early Bolton attack Arsenal settled into their passing game gradually although nowadays it is more customary to highlight our defence. Chesney is without a doubt the leader of the defence – for such a young man he commands his back four like a seasoned pro, not someone who was keeping goal for Brentford the season before last.

Apart from the early shot on our goal Bolton offered very little going forward in the first half and in that respect the defence seemed to settle. There was the odd hic cup, where a hoofed Jaaskelainen goal kick would bounce a few too many times before our centre backs cleared their lines however no groans were to be heard.

What we still heard were the odd groan when our forward would not shoot early enough, although that was harsh on us as the Bolton 4-5-1 line up was basically two banks of 4 close together with little room for manoeuvre, hence the probing for an opening prior to shooting.

Early impressions on the new players were that Arteta looks very much like a player used to the hurly burly of a rumbustious quality of a premier league midfield and at home there. There were a number of efficient forward passes he made that although not Hollywood, eye catching long range passes, kept our attacks ticking over nicely.

Mertesacker looked a gentle giant rather than an orc-like animal of a defender in his style of play, but I saw a clever cut back to nutmeg the Bolton left winger and keep the ball in play and pass forward as well as several passes in the opposition area which progressed attacks nicely. This suggested some finesse and skill – I wager he’ll fit in nicely. I suspect as his game time grows he will become that big lump in the centre of our defence that we have needed ever since “Big Tone” (TA06) retired.

It soon became apparent after the substitution of Ngog that K Cyril Davies is indeed an odious individual – he took less than two minutes to commit a foul after coming on and his whole repertoire of football skills consist of backing into the defender and falling over to win free kicks.

As half time approached I realised that I didn’t feel nervous after a goalless first 45 minutes; partly because although we were feeling our way back in our attacking play Bolton offered very little goal threat and their “strategy/tactics” consisted of nullifying our attack by making sure Robinson hacked Theo at every opportunity and Wheater grappled with Robin, the way in which Vidic is allowed to WWF-style-lee, whenever we had a free kick in the Bolton half.

Half time was spent by of me kicking myself for not getting any pictures of “The Carlsberg girls” who were around the stadium concourse posing for pictures with supporters before kick off; as a middle aged chap I naturally felt uncomfortable asking for a picture with the trios of twenty somethings, however there’s always next time to rectify this omission.

At the restart the stadium big screen showed a close up of Arteta and Gervinho on the centre spot pointing and discussing how to get the second half underway – whatever they said, they could quote Hannibal Jones in saying “I love it when a plan comes together” as Ramsey fed Robin onto his hammer left foot seconds later who then buried the shot bottom right past Jaaskelainen who had, typically, been repelling Arsenal’s attacks almost single handedly.

A minor miracle was Clattenburg playing the advantage when another Bolton ankle crusher took out Gervinho in the build-up to the goal – and another miracle, after the goal was scored he booked the offending Bolton player (Steinsson)

The Bolton fans who had, up till then, contented them themselves with chanting “Champions League you’re having a laugh” fell silent so we returned the favour by shouting back “Premier League, you’re having a laugh!”

Arsenal gained confidence and the attacks became more fluid and Theo more influential, with another one of his central runs leading to Wheater, taking time off practising his half-Nelson on Robin, deciding – by way to hack him down.

DOGSO – red card and flash forward to Coyle bemoaning how even the game had been up till then (excuse me, you were one nil down and camped in your own half) in the post-match press conference and how the red card was the turning point.

Despite being hacked relentlessly Theo kept ploughing forward and another run from centre to right set up Robin for his 100th goal for Arsenal with a deft flick from the Dutchman who now has 26 goals in 31 games for 2011. His thanks to Theo visible even from my distant viewpoint.

The blow Gervinho took earlier probably accounted for his replacement by Arshavin ten or so minutes from time and Robin was taken off close to the end so he could get applause for his brace and 100 goal achievement. There was still time for Theo to set up our Russian enigma with a shot he rifled against the side netting, Andrey’s guile and craft will be needed on Wednesday night as we look to gain points in the Champions League.

Sadly Theo, after having missed an easy opportunity when put through by Ramsey, then pulled up with hamstring trouble as a Bolton corner led to a through ball to him that should have made him one on one with the Bolton keeper. A sting in the tail of this match that we could do without and we await medical bulletins on the extent of the injury.

As the full time whistle approached the early departees were punished by a late Song strike, a rising drive into the top of the net as Arsenal attackers pulled apart the tiring Bolton defence.

All in all a satisfactory win and, at the very least, a platform to build on.

A satisfying final scoreboard

Is this result the start of a change in our wretched form to date – who knows? Gooners world wide will be hoping it is.

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Tim: Now that I have two writers I need to coordinate posts a bit better. How do you feel about posting on a set day?

Grimbo: I can try… my problem is the work schedule, if [...]]]> Grimbo: I penned something this am if you don’t feel like writing today. Up and ready – may need a quick proof.

Tim: Now that I have two writers I need to coordinate posts a bit better. How do you feel about posting on a set day?

Grimbo: I can try… my problem is the work schedule, if one of my contacts suddenly demands my presence then I have to down tools and whore myself out to them… What day were you thinking of?

Tim: Well, Jeff is doing Friday.* Tuesday?

A weekend passes…

Grimbo: OK… having given it some thought I’m going to have a crack at the Tues column. It’ll have to start next week…It won’t really be news based as Tuesday is the armpit of the week, but will be my usual rambling malaise of nonsense. I’m suggesting either “It’s a Grim Tuesday” or just “Grim Tuesday”…is that cool?

Tim: Great idea. I love either title.

BTW: you don’t have to be topical. There’s a ton of stuff in football to rant about. Shit, we could write every day for 10 years about technology in football. Like how they claim that every level is the same but then sell a $200 ball to the pros who wear $300 sneakers and have chefs and personal trainers and fucking GPS track their every movement. You know, stuff like that.

Grimbo: Jesus Tim – am I ever topical? My ‘style’ is generally to open my brain and let my mind vomit nonsense onto the keyboard via my digits. I will look for inspiration from our firstmatchoftheseason©.

It’s funny how some things start eh? I’ve mentioned it once or twice (or three or four million times) that writing regularly is tough, and that’s why I’m always in awe of the every-day blogger… that’s what journo’s do and get paid for! These guys do it day in, day out for the love of it, certifiably Jens if you ask me.

Anyway, as I’ve been penning utter tosh here on and off for a a while I think I owe it to Tim to try and do something regularly as he has, to date, let me be a part of the sheer awesomeness that is 7amkickoff for ages without asking for any proper commitment from me, not even first refusal on signing me or anything. Now that Tim’s numbery-stuff is on Arseblog and Jeff’s the new statistical wizard, I must do what I do best – chat utter bollocks backed up with my own slightly removed perspective of being an ex-Londoner living stateside. A quick word on the Tim/Jeff phenomena though, it never ceases to amaze me the patience they both have with numbers – I’ve hated numbers ever since I was a lad because I was always waiting for the Number 53, Number 12, Number 36b or the good old 171 (just aged myself there) – London Transport’s always been shite.

Mertetabeyoun and the start of something new…but something old.

Anyway, onto the point of this Grim Tuesday. I return to my original thoughts from Saturday. As just about anyone sane has mentioned already and at length the Swansea game had a very pre-season feel to it and so it should because this was in essence a new side… after the Nasrigas episode was over and the deadline day bonanza left us all stunned, we were really looking at the most radical changes in the side since the departure of PV4 (sob, wail – still hurts to say his name after Nasri’s confession) and the consequent disbanding of the invincibles – there’s a certain sick irony knowing now that PV4 was let go because Fabregas was the ‘future’. Personally although I still do point a big fat digit at Fabregas for the problems of the summer, my personal feelings on the sixyearswithoutatrophy situation is that we’ve been suckered by numerous players using Arsenal’s status as a big but efficient club, as a stepping stone to a big and stupid club. The list just in recent times is long and weary; Flamini, Adebayor, Fabregas, Nasri, Toure, Hleb, Clichy – yes there are exceptions there, but barring one let me just say this once – they all left for money. Although it’s never that simple to detect the truth of what’s happened and there were always mitigating circumstances like that whining byatch Gallas whom I suspect played a massive part in causing Toure to leave, oh and the constant tapping up of other clubs of course… regardless, despite these issues the final nail in the coffin rightly or wrongly was a big fat payday in all but the Cesc scenario’s where everyone but Barca got screwed, including Cesc himself.

Although the Toure and Clichy’s exits were far more dignified then all the others they represent to no small degree the spine of the ‘07/’08 side that came so close to stomping all over the Premier League. The side that made Milan look average and played some of the best pure football I’d ever seen up until that day at Birmingham, where that cnut (notthatkindofplayer) Martin Taylor ruined the career of one of the best finishers in the modern game – I truly think Eduardo was destined to be that good. Cesc’s departure is causing a rethink; an entirely new way of playing will come to the fore, because he was the fulcrum for much of what Arsenal had been known for in the last 6 years – the fluid beautiful football and the “don’t like it up ‘em” statements that came out of knuckle-dragging idiots that think just because you don’t need to foul every ten minutes you’re babies (oh yeh Evra, well babies keep beating ManUre in the champs league). All was a result of the technician game that the Fabregas based Arsenal played. It was very effective and really was very like Barca’s current style (minus the harrying), but unlike Barca who enjoy a lot of referee protection don’t forget, Arsenal, without being afforded the same protection from Premiership refs was often kicked to death – show me another team in the modern game that suffered three broken legs in five years (I can hear Tim & Jeff scrabbling around looking for that stat now) . As a result it will now remain unknown if it could succeed because Cesc’s in Spain getting all the ref love that Barca always receives.

Just to underline that point about English refs, consider the protection that Spain didn’t get in the world cup final; remember Van Brommel inside 5 mins or Nigel De Yong’s kung fu kick? BOTH red cards in this author’s opinion, both still on the pitch come the end of regular time: Yep it was Howard Webb reffing the match. Holy shit; RVP can get sent off for not hearing a god-damned whistle in a stadium with 100K fans whistling by some Swiss cnut, but an English ref needs to see bone coming out of a sock or Rooney diving before he’ll pull out a card… someone remembered to tell Holland (probably RVP) but forgot to tell Spain (Cesc was on the bench). Like it or not, the English FA allows refs the freedom to condone violent tackling – and no, I don’t mean I’d like a ban on the ‘physical game’ I mean I’d like teams like Stoke disciplined for not going out to play football and instead going out to injure players, because they do – it’s a tactic. I mean, who in their right mind is going to leave a foot in against Shawcross after seeing what happened to Ramsey? That last millimetre of stretch can decide a game sometimes and when you’re up against a cnut like that, you’d be an idiot to not have it cross your mind. That’s WHY they do it, and WHY the blame is with the refs and the FA for condoning it.

Finally it’s WHY I think Wenger bought who he bought. Look at Mertesacker, not a typical ’05 to ’10 Arsenal vintage player eh? Arteta too, he’s like a mix between Fabregas and Viera, he has some of the Spanish flare, but with a hint of phuck you. I don’t like dirty play as much as the next man, but a wry smile crossed my lips when he got that yellow… sneaky phucker. No, these purchases were far more ’98 to ’04 in flavour. These leads me to the conclusion that Wenger’s “failed experiment”, which I personally see more as several near misses, was not about ‘yooof’ at all as so many AMAJ’s (Arseholes Masquerading as Journalists) have declared, but an experiment of a technician based game similar to that Farca employs… the problem was not the style, but the English system because honestly – do you think Farca would last the distance in the Premier league? 38 Games with four or five teams that are just out to nullify Messi? If they think Madrid kick the stink out of them, they wouldn’t know which way to look when they met Stoke, Wolves or Blackburn because they’d all be on the surgeons table.

I think Wenger’s ‘experiment’ was to try and drag the British game into the 21^st century, but he has realised that although he has certainly revolutionised the English game to date, it’s evolved as far as it can for now and so he’s reverting to type and mixing style, speed and a certain nastiness back into Arsenal DNA. Will it work, who knows… that depends on so many factors, but before any judgements can be made, we’ll have to let them gel first. Saturday was not easy on the old Grimbo Clenchometer (my own personal measurement of Arsenal discomfort), but we didn’t fall down as we have done so many times in the past, we stood firm right up to the final whistle… and that my fellow Gooners, is a phucking good start. Today sees a different kind of test, one that will be far more telling… let’s see if this older Wenger style can do the business, because that’s what I think we’ve got.

*Uhh, yeah, that was the plan. – Tim

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What a week, eh?  (No, I am not Canadian.)  First the storm in Manchester, then [...]]]> Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm” – Bob Dylan

What a week, eh?  (No, I am not Canadian.)  First the storm in Manchester, then the storm of transfer window activity, with some wondrous additions coming in to Arsenal.  Lastly the thousand-year storm of utter crap and negativity about Arsenal, Arsene, and the entire enterprise.  Just incredible.  There’s numbers for everything except that last.  And if its not as good as what Bob found, well, it ain’t bad…

The Hundred Year Storm in Manchester

You know the idea of the hundred year storm? Well, this is Arsenal’s hundred-year defeat, and while that doesn’t make it any easier to take, it should help bring needed perspective.  Some times, everything goes wrong at once

Was it a surprise that Arsenal lost at Old Trafford?  Don’t see how.  Even at full strength, and ignoring Howard Webb’s presence, it was most unlikely.  What if Arsene chose to park the bus?  Do you think that’s something they practice a lot?  Down in the reserves, maybe?  And anyway, given the player absences, all Arsene would have been able to park was a large cardboard packing crate on roller skates that had been left out in the rain.

So if the defeat should not have been a surprise, maybe it was the size of the defeat that shook you, because I’m willing to bet that if the result had been 3-1, 3-2, even 4-2 with a missed PK, most fans would not feel so violated.  Well, don’t, because I’m here to tell you that more than anything else, the size of the defeat was down to two reasons:  United were unusually superb and they piled it on.  Consider some numbers:

12.6%    – percentage of shots United scored with last year, tops in the league

33.3%    – percentage of shots they scored with on Sunday

19.0%    – percentage of shots Leo Messi scored with last season

21.7%     — percentage of shots Thierry Henry scored with in 2004-5

36.8%    – percentage of United shots on goal that went in last season (also tops)

57.5%     – percentage of United shots on goal that went in on Sunday

36.4%    – percentage of Messi’s shots on goal that went in last season

5.5           — United’s average shots on goal per game last season

14             – United’s shots on goal on Sunday.

315          –  matches Ashley Young has played as a professional (since 2003)

3               – times before Sunday that Ashley Young has scored twice in a match

Is that Young stat a “hundred game” rarity?  Obviously, there are lots of stats like this.  It was an amazing performance by United.  I know our defense could have been much better, and this is not a matter of ignoring that, just acknowledging what Arsenal faced.  I didn’t research it, but can anyone really think that Wayne Rooney has netted two such fine free kicks in one game before?  Not me.

For comparison, Arsenal netted 11% of their shots last season, second highest in the league, and 14.3% of their shots on Sunday.  They put 25% of their shots on goal in on Sunday, compared with last year’s average of 30.5%.  (That was tenth in the league, yet Arsenal made up for it by putting 11% more shots on goal than United last season.)

The match breaks down this way.  Through 62 minutes, it was 3-1, and should have been 3-2 but for RVP’s horrible penalty.  Coquelin’s removal weakened the middle, and United got three great goals in 14 minutes.  Then the red card, and that’s when United put up the numbers that resulted in their passing superiority.  Down to ten men, down 6-2, United poured it on, completing 127 or 132 passes and scoring two more goals.  It was a rout, and no doubt Wenger rues subbing off Coquelin.

When the entire United team performs at levels that Leo Messi can only dream of, do you not have to give them some credit?  On Sunday three things happened that can be checked off your “Things I’d like to see Before I die List” – Ashley Young nets two Beckham-like goals in one game, Rooney nets two free kicks with finesse, not force, and David De Gea saves a penalty.  It’s a one-off, folks.  Happens to everyone, and usually more frequently than once a century.

As for piling it on, that was class, wasn’t it?  Ferguson’s remark that they could have scored more should be all the proof you need.  United let up?  What a lark!  Is that why they were in the box when Theo gifted them a penalty?  Is that why Young took that long shot in extra time?  GMAFB.  The man who was knighted by The Arsenal Fan wanted to crush Arsenal, stamp them into the ground, make their supporters squeal in pain.  And he got what he wanted in the way the press and fan base responded.

Late Acquisitions Restore Some Hope

I’m thrilled at the new signings, and don’t think they’re as much a departure from past practice as people think.  Every season in recent memory Wenger has started the transfer window by bringing in a rising yet largely unacknowledged future star, usually from France – Sagna, Nasri, Koscielny, Vermaelen, and Chamakh.  All are internationals and the first three were made so by coming to Arsenal.  Then he signs some promising youngsters, sometimes for a lot of money, getting flak for each one.  There is the winnowing out of the youth corps to send those who will have no chance on their way, plus loans for others who
need more seasoning.  And near the end of the window, he picks up some opportunistic bargains like Gallas and Baptista or older players like Sylvstre and Squillaci to fill short-term gaps created by an injury or departure.

Normally, undesired departures have happened at the start of summer, like Henry, Viera, Flamini, and Hleb, and Arsenal had time to figure out how to replace them and stay within plan.  This year, that wasn’t the case, and we will likely never know all the reasons why it took so long, but to me they all are pronounced “Barcelonan toads.”

Looked at that way, the transfer window seems closer to normal, if far more numerous:  Gervinho in at the start, followed by young players like Campbell, Miyachi, and AOX.  The youth winnowing went as usual, accompanied by off-loading players who had made the squad, but for whom it was time to leave.  That was different.

Then, when all efforts to keep the midfield intact failed, Wenger went to the usual; end game, perhaps with a bit less time to do so than normal.  Dos Santos is both a defensive need and a fire sale buy from Turkey; Mertesaker is said by many pundits not to be as good as Cahill, although he has played 77 times for his country’s team, and they have done a bit better than England in international competitions, so not sure I buy that.  He is bigger than Samba, and can’t be less mobile.  The Korean is there for a number of reasons, but mostly, I think, because with the departures of Nasri, Bendtner and Eboue, to name three, Wenger has fewer people to play on the wing on offense, and also wants an alternative to Chamakh in the middle.  Benayoun is a classic late
career signing, though in midfield.  And Arteta is more, and the truly different acquisition.

Our New Field Commander

As long as Cesc was at Arsenal, Mikel Arteta was the player least needed by the club.  Then he became most needed, and we got him.  His game is mature.  He’s had to produce and command the offense in the offensive wasteland that is Everton. He knows the Premiere League.  It should be a great signing.  Everyone is talking about his frailty, which I don’t see.  Except for 2009-10, when he was injured, over the past six years he has started and played a similar amount of games as Cesc.  His numbers last year at Everton weren’t the best he has put up, but they were still better than Nasri’s, in a much worse and offensively limited team.

Last year, Everton were 11^th in the league in goals scored, 6^th in assists, 7^th in shots on goal, 15^th in percentage of shots on goal, 8^th in percentage of goals created with an assist, and 9^th in percentage of shots that were on goal.  Arsenal were second in all these categories, except the last, where they led the league. How can Arteta not be more in a squad that is far superior offensively to
his old team in every possible manner?

Watching those Refs

Well, even though his decisions did not affect the outcome, Howard Webb did make some game-changing decisions last Sunday.  I recall at least three: the PK given Arsenal, perhaps wrongly, the PK given United, and the red card to Jenkinson.  Any others?

Finally, A Word for the Press

On Sky Monday morning some See You Next Tuesday named McCarthy delightedly went over the Monday coverage of the debacle at Old Trafford. He noted that all the coverage focused on Arsenal, not United, and how right that was, quoting at length from such “wise heads” as Samuel and Williams, before mentioning, all the while shaking his head in wonderment, that a few, Paddy Barclay, to be one, found something positive to say. Then without pausing, he contrasted that with the coverage of Spurs-City, where the focus was on the excellence of City, not the woefulness of Spurs. How breathlessly approving and amused he was. And if you look at the weekend’s routs, who did the world’s media cover? City, Barca, Real, and Arsenal. Made me go back to the following…

A newspaper is a collection of half-injustices
Which, bawled by boys from mile to mile,
Spreads its curious opinion
To a million merciful and sneering men,
While families cuddle the joys of the fireside
When spurred by tale of dire lone agony.
A newspaper is a court
Where every one is kindly and unfairly tried
By a squalor of honest men.
A newspaper is a market
Where wisdom sells its freedom
And melons are crowned by the crowd.
A newspaper is a game
Where his error scores the player victory
While another’s skill wins death.
A newspaper is a symbol;
It is feckless life’s chronicle,
A collection of loud tales
Concentrating eternal stupidities,
That in remote ages lived unhaltered,
Roaming through a fenceless world.

Stephen Crane

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By way of Intro:

Who am I? Well, after some pithy remarks on the blog, Tim asked me if I’d like to contribute, if I had anything to say. As another [...]]]> ED NOTE: “Hitting the Bar” is going to be an occasional column on 7amkickoff written by Jeff Knight,  an Arsenal supporter and fellow numbers anorak. – Tim

By way of Intro:

Who am I? Well, after some pithy remarks on the blog, Tim asked me if I’d like to contribute, if I had anything to say. As another 7am-er, from the Other City by the Bay, I jumped at the chance.

Why the title? Many reasons – hitting the bar in football is the classic point of debate – was it just another miss, or a bit of underserved luck? The others, involving standards or entering a tavern to swoon over Bobby Pires with an old man in the corner, are two others. More about me later.

So what do I want to talk about, first time out? Well, first, about the supertanker’s load of crap that has been dished out about Arsenal, Arsene, Nasri, Cesc, the excellence of Liverpool, the poor quality of the existing squad, the failure of Wenger, the uselessness of the current squad now depleted by Saint Cesc and Judas Isnasriot, many other things. So let’s get started, and since Arseblog owns Tim’s numbers, here are numbers that matter to me:

The season to date

2       – Number of matches Arsenal has played in the EPL
2       – Number of matches Arsenal has received questionable red cards
2       – Number of goals scored against Arsenal due to poor refereeing
2       – Number of goals scored against Arsenal
0       - Number of matches Arsenal has finished with 11 men on the pitch
6       – Minimum number of bad ref calls against Arsenal
4111 - Number of press and Arsenal fans who believe Wenger does not want to strengthen the squad

What have we learned except that with a 17 man squad, with 9 players out, and playing a man down, we don’t do so well? Is anyone shocked by this conclusion? Were you sold on the all-powerful Liverpool?

Bottom line: How can anyone know how Arsenal is doing if the refs don’t let the team operate on a level playing field?

Samir Nasri, Maraoune Chamakh, and Adam Johnson (transfer rumor dweller)

10      - Goals + assists delivered by Nasri from run of play last season
11       – Goals + assists delivered by Chamakh from run of play last season
27.3  – Number of full games Nasri played
20.5  – Number of full games Chamakh played
.54     – Offensive points (G+A) per game produced by Chamakh
.37     - Offensive points per game produced by Nasri
46%   – The greater productivity of points per game from Chamakh over Nasri
9         – Number of goals plus assists deliver by Adam Johnson in 2010-11
.52     – Offensive points per game produced by Johnson in 2010-11
0%     – Chance that Man City would bid $35 million for Marouanne Chamakh

Nasri’s Streak

7       – Number of weeks in Nasri world class streak, from Oct 16-December 4
9       – Goals + assists by Nasri in the streak (6 G 1 A in EPL + 2 G in UCL)
41     - Goals + assists by Leo Messi in the exact same seven weeks

Bottom line: Nasri’s stardom is still a maybe. Do you think he took his foot off the gas last spring? Why? Arsenal were still in it. Do you think his teammates and the fans at the Emirates would have let him get away with it without so much as a murmur?

[Longer comment]

Bottom line: Nasri produced .37 goals per game played, while Chamakh produced .54 goals per game, almost 50% better. Chamakh also had a higher percentage of goals to shots taken, and goals to shots on goal than Nasri, with the same accuracy of shots to shots on goal. All in all, Arsenal got more out of each shot Chamakh took than it did out of Nasri.

Did Nasri tank it after the first of the year as some suggest? I’m not so sure. That’s giving a lot of credit to a player who had such a brief period of excellence in his entire career to support his desire to move. The crowds at the Emirates are keen at perceiving lack of effort, and Nasri never got the boos and derision that Denilson and other players who clearly were not trying received.

Nasri’s production level of the past three years can easily be replaced. As for the future, remember how everyone thought Arsenal had bottled it when we did not sign Joe Cole?

Sunday at Old Trafford

1-1-6   – Arsenal’s record the last 8 visits to OT
12        – Goals scored by United in last 8 visits
3          – Goals scored by Arsenal in last 8 visits
13        – Yellow cards handed out to United in last 8 visits
27        – Yellow cards handed out to Arsenal in last 8 visits
2          – Red cards to Arsenal in last 8 visits
0          – Red cards to United in last 8 visits

Bottom line: Don’t get befuddled by all the current brouhaha regarding Arsenal’s lack of quality. This is a tough place for the Arsenal to perform in. The loud crowds DO influence the refs. Folks at the Emirates ought to keep that in mind the next time you let the refs know you support negative treatment of Arsenal players.

Arsenal’s Defense Let Them Down Last Season

Arsenal Record – 1st Half 2010-11        11W 3D 5L 36 Pts 39 GF 22 GA
Arsenal Record – 2nd Half 2010-11       8W 8D 3L 32 Pts 33 GF 21 GA

Bottom line: The defense?  It wasn’t the defense that flagged in the second half, it was the offense. Had Arsenal scored another 8-10 goals, with the same defense, they might have been champions. So what, you say? Well, beyond understanding what we lost when Nasri either reverted to form or took his foot off the gas, we know Arsenal is great at scoring; defense, not so strong.  So lets strengthen the scoring.

Enough about stats. They’re my passion, and you’ll hear more about them from me in the future.

On-Going Interest – Referee Cock-ups

In football, a game where there are usually zero to three scores and the average goals per game is 2.5, a ref’s chance to influence the outcome with mistaken game-changing decisions is arguably the greatest of any other major professional sport. I’d like to know, at the end of the season, how many of Arsenal’s results were achieved thanks to the efforts or cock-ups of our manager and players, how many were imposed on them by the other team, and how many by the impartial managers of the level playing field.

What is a game changer? Clearly a red card changes the game, putting one team a man down. A penalty kick, the closest thing to a gimme in all of sport except golf, is also a game changer, as is the denial of one. It is a free goal. PKs are successful 85-90% of the time, after all, which is 6-7 times the success rate of most strikers, and 3.5 times better than Messi.

Are there others that are stone-cold game changers? Maybe Samba’s obstruction last year, but I think it rare. And I at first thought offsides and mere yellow cards were not. At least, until the Liverpool game, where there were two offsides uncalled in the surges that resulted in the two Liverpool goals. And there was a crappy first yellow card that set Frimpong up for his second, which morphed into red.

So maybe, in two matches, Arsenal has already suffered as many as 7 referee cock-ups.

The most amusing factoid regarding the non-offsides calls vs Liverpool was that we knew instantly they were incorrect. How? Thanks to a mysterious technology that FIFA, UEFA, PILFA, FOOFA and all the other bodies of football-running ostriches know nothing about : video replay and digital imaging. What is going on!? If ESPN or Sky can show me within seconds whether a man was offside, then how hard and non-interfering could it be to have an official on the sidelines monitoring the events live and informing the referee of the infraction during the post-goal celebrations or before the goalie lines up the free kick?

Aside from gamblers and those who do not want sporting events to offer a fair opportunity for either side to win — which I think all ticket buyers assume is a given –  who likes the situation as it is today?

Anyway, I’d appreciate your thoughts and comments on this little obsession.

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