The fruits of patience We are now in a position where our relationship with Arsene Wenger can be purely romantic. We don’t have to remember the frustrations. We can rewind to the first 10 years and see his legacy with the fog of the recent past subsided. We remember not only the titles but how […]
An Accidental Benefit POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES At half time yesterday I had written down five potential headlines for this blog all about our obvious need to be able to create clear-cut chances. We had recorded more chances in one half than anybody else in the Premier league this season. Apart from Lacazette‘s disallowed […]
Headers and Volleys POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Did you play Headers and Volleys when you were young? I did. Every day. At lunch break. Rising like a salmon at the far post with a salmon sandwich in my hand. Actually, I don’t like salmon. I made that part up because it sounded cute. For those […]
No Intensity at the Beach This opening thought is probably utter nonsense. It is not reactionary though as I’ve waited half a day to process what I saw at the Emirates yesterday. Trying to make sense of the attitude towards the game is what rattled me as much as the unexpected scoreline. My wife and […]
Killing yourself trying not to get killed POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Football has trends. It always has. When I was younger the trend was 4-4-2 with a tall target man and a penalty box striker. When the Premier League came along and Arsene Wenger showed up we introduced the trend of short passing and high […]
A day for Arteta This isn’t just good form you know. Step back for a minute and admire this new team. That performance last night wasn’t just dogged. You can’t play Liverpool at Anfield, one of the best teams in world football, and shut them out with 10 men with no shots on target if […]
Big fat respect points POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES There are certain games that are even more important than the points and performance. New Year’s Day, the only game on TV in the world, the beginning of the transfer window and a chance to confirm the rumor that you are good. If you aren’t an Arsenal […]
Was that easy or are we good? POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Sometimes I think that we are programmed as football fans to think in cheesy sound bites. Watching the game yesterday my son and I commented at 1-0 that this was ‘looking like 3 points’ That we were playing ‘comfortably in second gear.’ Max has […]
The Wink of Clarity POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Before we start I want you to try to not get annoyed at how many pictures of Charlie Patino I’m going to add to this blog. I’m excited. Got Patino fever. Pretending I’m 30 years younger than I am and I make no apologies 😉 There’s the […]
Calling back the Bank POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Rewind back to August. There were concerns everywhere but arguably the greatest concern was where the goals were going to come from. We hadn’t scored and didn’t look much like we were interested in that rather important part of the sport. Arteta openly challenged his young forwards […]
