Somebody at Arsenal has lost their puppy. The puppy has been kidnapped and sadness spread around the squad. Results aside, there seems to be a sadness. A stream of sadness that I have felt watching Arsenal the last three games. Admittedly, I am watching these games on the television screen and cannot see everybody all […]
Anyone who knows me or reads my articles will know that I am an admirer of Mikel Arteta but even the best coaches get tactics and decisions wrong. On a lucky day the odd poor call may not cost your team, or you may have time in a match to readjust or even reverse a […]
The game didn’t start at 4:05pm POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES It’s not too late. It seems like it is, but it’s not. The situation and our push for Champions League football is still possible even though it seems like we are throwing it away. What has been too late however, is how our coach and […]
Don’t be nervous POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Me: We need another one Max: Yeah, we definitely need another one Me: Has Leno made a save? Max: No, but we need another one Me: Do we need another one? Max: They don’t look like scoring so… Me: I’ve seen this before though. One isn’t enough. Max: […]
A place to dream POSITIVES, NEEDS and HOPES Everybody went back to the bus and I stayed for a few minutes. I sat at the top of the world in Meteora, Greece on a cliff where a monastery sits, and I dreamt. A short dream. Short but meaningful. I’d being sweating it all day as […]
Our manager isn’t the finished article. He has made mistakes in the past and he will make mistakes in the future. However the bumps in the road are becoming further and further apart. For a young coach who’s never managed before at any level he is doing a remarkable job. When he arrived at Arsenal […]
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 […]
Another satisfying afternoon’s work for Arteta’s slimmed down, tightknit unit against Brentford. The 2-1 score line was scant justice for an utterly dominant and controlled display, and but for a myopic referee and the lack of a clinical striker it could and should have been more. Nevertheless, it was sweet revenge for the Bee’s […]
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 […]
