That’s also part of being a fan, though. It’s not all away days drenched in sun sailing lazily down the Thames to Craven Cottage. Sometimes its just pies with friends and soggy walks up the match.

A match Arsenal won 4-1!

Pre-funking at Piebury Corner.Pie and a pint, it’s traditional, though these are made with quality ingredients and named after famous Arsenal players. If you ever get to London, stop there and get a pie.

Or a premier sausage roll! Like the Rocky Rocastle.

Always go with friends, it’s more fun!

That’s the works right there folks. Making me hungry.

Early crowd… sparse.

People always mass around the cannons.

Pouring down rain, people still smiling!

Crowds are getting thicker.

The King watches over his people.

Right, that’s it for today. Tonight (tomorrow in Britain) I will publish Arsenal Letters’ match preview. Until then!

Qq

When Alisher Usmanov was introduced to Arsenal one of the first big mistakes he made was to ask that the board pay dividends to shareholders. It was a shocking demand because unlike an average business, sports shares don’t normally pay dividends. The value of the share of a club or team is in the real holdings of the club like real estate and players or in some intangibles like “growth potential”.

However, in the normal course of business most shareholders will want dividends if a company is making money. Usmanov routinely takes dividends from his companies, like the massive payouts he received from Mail.ru when they sold shares in Facebook. Arsenal is making money and in that case your average investor, who sees Arsenal as a business and not so much as a sports team, would normally ask that some dividend be paid.

Not all companies pay dividends and not all investors ask for or receive payouts. Warren Buffet, the most astute businessman the world has ever seen, owns Berkshire Hathaway and their stocks have only ever paid dividends once, when he famously said “I must have been in the bathroom when that vote was taken”.

Buffett believes, and with good reason, that shareholders will benefit more from Berkshire’s retention and reinvestment of the funds than they would if the company paid them out. His letter offered competing hypothetical examples of the impact on a shareholder’s net worth under both scenarios. By paying dividends, he estimates that he’d reduce the company’s compound annual growth rate by 4%.

Most Arsenal supporters would subscribe to the “Buffett” model of Arsenal ownership and ask that owners re-invest profits back into the club in order to grow the club, team, and business rather than take dividends.

In fact, The Arsenal Supporters Trust reacted strongly to Usmanov’s reported demands for dividends “challenging” the businessman openly in the press saying:

It is completely wrong for Red and White to seek to extract profit. No dividends have been paid at Arsenal for more than 30 years. All extra monies should be reinvested in the club

A number of Arsenal supporters and supporters groups are openly worried, however, that majority shareholder Stan Kroenke will take dividends because he wouldn’t flat out refuse to do so, deferring the decision to the board. Despite the fact that Kroenke has never taken any money out of Arsenal Football Club (that we know of) and the fact that Usmanov has asked the board for a dividend and routinely demands his investments pay him dividends, the fear among some supporters is that Kroenke needs the cash more than Usmanov? “Why would he need that, it’s just pocket change to a man like Alisher who is richer than Croesus!”

It’s true, he is rich. And with another £250m dividend coming his way soon to be much richer.

Qq

P.S. There are some fans who will see the £250m and say “WOO HOO! He could invest that in the club!” but that may not be entirely true. UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) is supposed to prevent exactly that type of investment. Though whether FFP will pass the tests of the courts remains to be seen as it is being challenged as I write this.

And though he be but little, he is fierce.
– Cazorla

Oh, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in ’t!
– the Transfer Market

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
– Wenger

Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
– 7amkickoff

Bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.
– Ramsey

Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
– Samir Nasri

Wouldst thou not be glad to have the n*ggardly rascally sheep-biter come by some notable shame?
– Luis Suarez

One may smile and smile and be a villain
– Cesc (via @GiantGooner)

He’ll deliver all,
And promise you calm seas, auspicious gales,
And sail so expeditious, that shall catch
Your royal fleet far off.
– Arteta

This sanguine coward, this bed-presser, this horseback-breaker, this huge hill of flesh!
–Arshavin

He were better to be eaten to death with a rust than to be scour’d to nothing with perpetual motion
– Diaby

To say nothing, to do nothing, to know nothing, and to have nothing, is to be a great part of your title, which is within a very little of nothing.
– Tottenham Hotspurs

If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow, and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favors nor your hate.
– Arsenal’s Youth Team

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
– Nicklas Bendtner

By heaven, I had rather coin my heart
And drop my blood for drachmaes than to wring
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash
By any indirection.
– What Arsenal Fans Want From Stan Kroenke

God hath given you one face and you make yourself another.
– Robin van Persie

The golden age is before us, not behind.
– Arsenal

I get it, Suarez on paper looks like a beast. The man has attempted 291 dribbles this season, that’s a dribble more per game than Mr. Dribble himself, Franck Ribery. But he’s only pulled off 95 of those dribbles making him simultaneously a “trier” and one of the most wasteful forwards in all the big leagues.

Still, I hear people say, “he creates his own shot” and Arsenal need someone to “create their own shot”. And again, on paper, this is correct, he has a total of 187 shots this season, second only to Mr. Chucker* himself, Christiano Ronaldo. It’s no coincidence that both Liverpool and Real Madrid are number one and number two in shots per game among all the top Leagues — they have the top two shooters. Tottenham are up there in shots per game as well, and Bale is a big reason for that.

As an aside, Juventus are third in shots per game, which you probably didn’t expect. You also probably didn’t expect to find out that they have 8 players who average two or more shots per game and no players who average 3 or more shots per game. They don’t have a chucker, they share the ball.

You probably won’t be surprised to hear that shots and shots on goal correlate well with winning football matches. It does, they do, hardly a surprise; you have to shoot the ball to score the goals and scoring goals means winning games. So, it follows that you want a player like Suarez on your team. I get it, on paper.

I don’t get it in real life.

Setting aside the diving, which all players do now and which Gary Neville has said is a prerequisite for playing football. In real life Suarez has been found guilty of biting and making racist comments. In real life, if you watch Liverpool play week in and week out, you see a team force-feeding him the ball like a duck in gavage. Liverpool live and die by what Suarez does on and off the football pitch. Which is big reason why Liverpool are going to finish below Everton this season, in 7th place.

That match against Chelsea epitomized Suarez’ entire career. He places the perfect cross to get Liverpool the opener, then handles the ball to gift Chelsea the draw, bites Ivanovich in a fit of pique, and scores the tying goal in the last minute with a brilliant header.

Another player Arsenal supporters seem to be keen on is Wayne Rooney. And here’s the thing about Rooney: fuck Wayne Rooney. Rooney is one of those players you don’t even take on your fantasy team because he’s unreliable. Even Manchester United’s own fans have grown tired of Wayne Rooney’s shit and they booed him at the team’s victory parade.

Rooney is 27 years old and should be in the prime of his career. Perhaps, if I give Rooney some credit, that’s why he turned in a transfer request. He’s ready to make a big splash in his career and playing second fiddle to noob Robin van Persie after years of service to Man U might sting a bit. What am I saying? Rooney is such a massive ego that it probably stings a lot. But it’s also his second transfer request in two years and the first one was really just all about the money so who knows, this could also just be about the money.

But his career stats and off the pitch antics are worrying as hell. Since 2008, Rooney has had one season on and one season off every year: 12 goals, 26 goals, 11 goals, 27 goals, 12 goals… I suppose he’s due for a 28 goal season! A lot of that record is down to an ankle injury he suffered between 2008-2010, though, he did score 26 goals on a dodgy ankle and a quick search of the press reveals Ferguson saying the ankle is both “not as serious” and “more serious” every other week. So, again, how much of Rooney’s success is down to him and how much is down to management by Fergie is unknown.

Personally, Rooney smacks of an old school footballer. You know the kind I mean, the guy who smokes on vacation, the guy who drinks when he’s injured, and the guy who cheats on his pregnant wife. Rooney is the player who throws a football at a referee and as he’s walking to the shower has a little spit in his direction. A player who looses his temper and kicks out at an opponent, getting sent off ahead of a crucial European campaign. The guy who doesn’t take care of himself and as a result ends up looking like a withered pear; it looks ill, it eats drily. A guy who dives to end Arsenal’s 49 game unbeaten run.

So who would ever want either Rooney or Suarez?

I think in many ways players like Suarez and especially Rooney hearken back to an earlier time in football. A time when the footballers were hard men and when the terraces were full of chants like “You’re gonna get your fucking heads kicked in!”

I’ve heard it said by many that Arsenal need some of that, some “steel”. To put it not too delicately, I’ve heard people say that what Arsenal need is “a cunt like that.” And I would agree, Rooney and Suarez are, in fact, cunts.

But I’m not so sure that what Arsenal need is a player who does a zombie impression in big games or a barely manageable half-Gascoigne. Times have changed and players like that are dinosaurs. I get it that you see Rooney busting a gut to beat Denilson that one time and think “why can’t we have players like that?” Orr that Suarez slips past his marker and pokes in a delicate little goal that reminds us of King Charlie in his pomp at Highbury.

But if you’re playing fantasy football and what you want is a player who will bust a gut and who has the talent to leave defenders standing still like pillars of salt why wouldn’t you aspire to have something better than Rooney or Suarez? Take a player whose worst attribute is that he’s had his ears pinned or that he’s a Spurs player!

Take Bale over those two any day.

And if you want someone in this Arsenal team who never stops working for the cause, who tackles hard but fair, and whose put his body on the line time and again for the Red and White, cheer for Aaron Ramsey.

I do.

Qq

*A “Chucker” is the player in basketball who shoots every time he gets the ball, rather than pass to an open teammate, see Kobe Bryant.

I’m now just a few weeks away from wrapping up my company here and after the initial shock my mind is now starting to look at its demise as an opportunity which may at first seem; a) weird b) fucking irrelevant to an Arsenal blog such as this…. however as always dear reader, bare with me and let me explain: This season as the last post outlined was a very testing time for me due to that Dutch bloke that left us to play for ManU… my ire at him is, this week at least, tempered by my joviality that he has jumped into the same damned boat that old Cescy did a few seasons ago; i.e. the scenario he left us for only lasting one season. With Cesc it was for his home club and childhood hero Pep, who promptly fucked off after that season… the laughter still echoes in my mind whenever I picture the Barca team sitting being told, the tears welling up… hohoho. With vanSkunkie it was the little boy inside that took SAF at his word that he wasn’t going anywhere, because you DO know that was mentioned in the contract negotiations right? With SAF ManU’s credentials were that with the Red Nosed wonder they were guaranteed to be fighting for silver every season, that’s why vanSkunkie left no; for ‘titles’? Without SAF that guarantee has been flushed like a mid morning turd. Sure Moyes is a sound manager that’s done a great job at a mid-table club… but ManU is a different beast entirely and if he CAN cut it, it will I think take a few seasons first which takes vanSkunkie to the end of his shelf life.

It famously took SAF a good chunk of time to get going after his appointment, time that Moyes is NOT going to have, in addition ManU’s dressing room is full of the sort of prima donnas that I’m pretty sure Moyes wouldn’t have employed at Everton so he’s got an interesting challenge ahead of him balancing that many egos and as of this writing Rooney’s the first to hand in a transfer request. SAF commanded the respect of the squad, but a new manager like Moyes with exactly Zero on his CV and regardless of reputation, may not. Look at how the Chav players treated AVB or failing that just watch The Damned United for clarification of how it can go very, very wrong. My guffawing at this scenario is based upon a simple precedent: Disruption for them is opportunity for us. Think of disruption as a Ninja that’s stalking you. Miss it and it’ll fill you full of shuriken or spider venom. Catch it and… erm, well you won’t be dead. Actually that was a really crap analogy; my point is that the summers main disruptive talking points are OTHER PEOPLES for the first time in a long time.

I’ve written before about the 5+ years of summers marred by players wanting to go home, flashing their tits at other clubs for more money, disagreeing with the ‘direction of the club’ and the ongoing gnashing of teeth about our finances which I suspect were never as rosy as was suggested by many in the ‘spend it now’ side of Goonerdom. The state of AFC finances has always seemed to me to be indefinable because all the figures are out there but we don’t have the minutiae of detail needed to predict the true net worth… Plus, we all know Wenger is about as open with his plans as the CIA is with a Drone Strike program. We also all know that the future of the club was mortgaged to long term deals to fund the building of the Emirate Stadium and that now those deals have run their course. The fruits of the switch, in addition to the end of those old agreements, will see an injection of cash into the club of steroidal proportions. This was all part of the ‘plan’ I’ve eluded too in many a post over the years which is only really visible with ‘20-20 hindsight glasses’ (patent pending).

What I’ve never alluded too and what I couldn’t foresee (nee – did any of us?) was the absolute cluster bomb of WTFedness that’s going to happen in the Summer of 2013. We all knew that the Chavs were going to sack Benitez as he was always a stop gap. Citeh have also just chopped the charming and modest Mancini for being a complete and utter failure by only providing two trophies in three seasons just 12 months after handing him a 5 year contract. Of course this all pales into insignificance next to the laughter fest that is Fergie stepping down. We all have Manc friends (don’t we?) and I have several from whom I’ve had to take gloating from since the invincible season and the huge swathe of disruption since that heady season, worst of all last Summer. For the last 8 years we’ve all taken it on the chin but the one conversation stopper with them ALL has always been; “Oh yeah, what are you going to do when Fergie goes?” Some try to laugh it off with mutterings of “we’re bigger then Fergie” but the fear in their eyes tells a different story. Pure, unadulterated, dread! I would say with some justification…loathe him or merely hate him even this scribe, who has the misfortune to share a birthday with him, has always had to respect his impact on ManU and the game in general. To stay at the top for that long is a massive, massive achievement and now we know Moyes is taking over the pressure is palpable, almost crushing, in the manner of an elephant deciding to park itself on your toes.

Moyes may or may not be the man to take the club forward but with SAF staying at the club in a director position, the ghost of his legacy will always cast a shadow over Moyes’ reign… will he hover like Busby did? Will he hang in the background messing up perceptions when things don’t go to plan as Dalglish did to the Scouse managers, namely Woy? The addition of such mass disruption at most of our direct competitors is at odds to the relative stability we’re looking to have in the summer, plus the big boost to the coffers seems to make 2013/14 a really big opportunity for the squad that has perpetually needed one or two signings. Of course as I type this I’m crossing my fingers whilst gripping wood, throwing salt over my shoulder, dodging all ladders & pavement cracks and heartily stomping repetitively in all the dog shit I can find and, as I live in Marin which has the highest level of dogs-per-capita of ANY county in the US there is PLENTY of that going around which does beg the question; “why do I have such shite luck?” This is not to mention any black cats thinking about coming anywhere NEAR my path over the coming weeks; take note I’ll be carrying a spray bottle and a LASER pointer with me at all times.

Simply put, I might actually be right in being optimistic for once. For where there is disruption amongst ones competition there’s opportunity for one (us). This very circumstance is something that the Chav’s, Spuds, Mancs and Citeh have all taken advantage of in their own ways in the last 8 years. Not even counting the poisonous fuck Cashley, for years the Chav’s transfer policy seems to have basically been to watch whoever we’re linked with and then buy ‘em for 3x the price. The Spuds have been working in relative stability* compared to their own recent past and finally might have a manager that suits them. Up until last summer ManUre had been relatively quiet to be honest with regards to destabilizing our squad, but certainly they’re the main contributors to our downfall this season by taking advantage of the fact all of our Capt’s have left for the last 5 years and that our wage structure is so rigid it makes North Korea look positively cosmopolitan. They waved a guarantee of trophies and a fat stack of cash under his nose and he took a massive dump on his legacy. That of course is not to forget Citeh… we don’t need to go there do we? If you haven’t noticed how many have they taken off us in recent years then you’ve probably just returned from the Bermuda triangle…or something.

Now the boot may well be on the other foot, which is pretty stupid because why would you wear a left sided boot on your right foot? Ridiculous phrases aside** my point is that we’re facing the most stable summer in recent memory with regards to players… in the core everyone’s signed up (please re-sign Sagna!) and are seemingly pretty happy. Buckets of cash will be coming through the door in the not too distant future with sponsorships being renewed and barring the Cocks on Balls there’s massive disruption at all the other clubs we mainly compete with. So while I realise I’m a diehard optimist and my rosy view is not shared by many in the days of “Stan’s robbing us blind” is this not at least some sign for Gooners having a cheerier outlook? Well as someone who’s staring at both the unemployment roster and a very uncertain future after fourteen years as a nerdy publisher I see what many many view as misfortune as simply a step into the new; an opportunity to go and do something different.

STILL not optimistic? Tsk… there’s no pleasing some people.

Grimbo

*How stable can a cock standing on a ball EVER be?

**I’ve never understood “Sweet as a nut” either… because they aren’t.

It was only 6 moths ago, December 1st, 2012, that Arsenal were still trying to get some kind of form together after a rocky off-season which had seen their leading scorer demand a trade to bitter rivals Manchester United and their leading playmaker and midfield enforcer work his way out the door through a variety of antics which angered manager Arsene Wenger.

On that day, in front of a home crowd, an insipid Arsenal performance was punished by Swansea City’s upstart striker “Michu” who scored two late goals. The Gunners slipped to 10th place in the League table, the worst start of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal tenure. Boos rained down on Arsenal from the home crowd.

Ten days later Wenger would field a full strength Arsenal team against minnows Bradford City in the League Cup and another soft performance meant that the Arsenal crashed out of the cup on penalties as Bradford fought tooth and nail to defend their 1-1 stalemate for 120 minutes. Some fans pre-called the match and wondered if a loss to Bradford would have echoes of the infamous Arsenal loss to Walsall in 1983 which saw near riots outside of Highbury House force the board to fire then manager Terry Neill.

Much to the chagrin of the Anti-Wenger crowd, the board persisted with Arsene. And Wenger has managed to turn the ship around, despite a powerful challenge from both London rivals Tottenham and Chelsea.

Arsenal and Chelsea are the form teams of the last six matches with both teams taking 2.33 points per game. Arsenal have been one of the best defensive sides as well in this run, allowing just three goals in six matches while Chelsea have conceded five and Spurs eight.

But really, Arsenal turned the ship around after the 23rd of January where the Gunners have lost only one match in League play, conceded just 10 goals, and despite some profligacy up front have managed to score 26. Not only that but a ruthless Wenger battened down the hatches after a horrible performance at center half by captain Thomas Vermaelen against rivals Spurs saw Arsenal slip to their only defeat of the run-in. Vermaelen was subsequently benched in favor of Laurent Koscielny and in the ensuing eight matches, Arsenal have conceded just four goals. None of those goals has come from open play.

Against Wigan yesterday there was a familiar feel to the story but with some new twists. Arsenal came out in the first 20 minutes playing some of the best football I have seen from them all season. Taking ine shots in that opening quarter of the match they were at their best with the imperious Santi Cazorla running the show from the wings before setting up Lukas Podolski with the free header from a corner to get the opening goal. It was number one with a bullet.

But then the familiar “handbrake” feeling crept over this Arsenal team and for the next 26 minutes Arsenal seemed incapable of getting out of their own half. Wigan shut down all service to Podolski as the Gunners sat back and seemingly invited pressure.

Koscielny was forced to make some magnificent stops during this time, none moreso than his acrobatic kick to deny a long ball to Kone.

And Kieran Gibbs was called upon to keep MacManaman quiet on the wings, which he did with excellent tackling and great positional play. But it was an entire team defensive performance during that 26 minute period which strove to keep the Arsenal sheets clean — Ramsey was bursting a lung tracking back and tackling, Walcott played an almost right back position at times to stop the forward runs of Espinoza, which is exactly how Arsenal Letters said Arsenal needed to play in his match preview.

Mike Dean, whose record against Arsenal speaks for itself, manged to inject himself in the game before half time by refusing to call Wigan for pulling on Cazorla’s arms on every possession while blowing up Arteta for the exact same offense on the other side. Wigan were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box and Maloney hit a ripper over the wall which Szczesny got a hand to but not enough to keep the ball out.

1-1 at half time and if there were any worries that the Arsenal faithful would turn the crowd got behind the team, as described by our Man at the Match reporter Chary, and the boos rained down on Mike Dean, along with chants of “cheat cheat cheat.”

The second half kicked off for Arsenal much the way the first had with the Gunners pounding the Wigan box with excellent probing play from Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, and Aaron Ramsey. In a 10 minute burst, Arsenal scored three goals, relegating Wigan and bringing me to tears of joy for Aaron Ramsey as he scored his first League goal of the campaign. A real cheeky goal it was too — he received Cazorla’s pass, drove at the keeper, looked to see Podolski begging for his hatrick, and no-looked the shot off the keeper’s head and into the net.

And now Arsenal head into the final game of the season, this Sunday, and it’s looking like it’s one for the road. There are three teams vying for two places at the top of the table, all three teams are London rivals, all three teams are playing opponents who have nothing to win (Arsenal’s match is against Newcastle and Geordies boss Alan Pardew has stated that he doesn’t care if Arsenal win 4-0), and there could even be a playoff for third place should Chelsea draw against Everton and Arsenal win by just one goal. It would be the fitting end to what has been a wild season for Arsenal so far.

Xenophobia and Pejoratives

I made some controversial remarks on twitter the other day about how there’s a certain element to the anti-Kroenke sentiment which is, I believe, xenophobic and that there’s a common usage of the word “Yank” that is often used pejoratively. I stand by those remarks.

There are some people who seem to hate Stan Kroenke and all Americans just because we are American. I did a quick Google search and found this comment on Le Grove by someone named Goonerboy:*

That’s not to say that Le Grove or Goonerboy are xenophobes but that comment is certainly attempting to paint all Americans with the same brush and frankly, it’s not as rare a comment as some people would like to imagine.

I have had people say such things to my face, “not you of course” they will say, but they will say it regardless. Which would be astounding except that I have been around when Arsenal fans sing about “gassing the Jews” and have heard more Gooners than I care to count say “I’m not a member of the BNP but I do believe in some of what they say.” Moreover, I have banned many people from commenting here (and probably will have to ban many more after today) and have blocked people on twitter because of comments just like those above.

But here’s where my critique above is being taken out of context, people are accusing me of saying that I think anyone who wants Kroenke out is a xenophobe, which I have never said. I have said “there’s an element” of xenophobia to this and that is undeniable — some people who want Kroenke out want him out because he is American. Just look at the comment above and you can see what I’m talking about.

Why can’t people just say “Kroenke doesn’t understand history” or “Kroenke doesn’t get community”? I would probably agree with that oor at least it would give us something to talk about. But when you start getting out the broad brush and painting all Americans as know-nothing carpetbaggers I’m going to feel the need to defend myself.

Qq

*The goonerboy in this comment is someone you’ve never heard of who calls himself goonerboy, not the other guy you’ve never heard of who calls himself Goonerboyblog on twitter and on blogspot, or something.

As the rain came down in relentless sheets on the red corner of North London the Arsenal faced up to a Wigan side fresh from a giant killing of Roberto Mancini’s former team, Manchester City.

The neon lighting around the Ashburton Grove stadium combined with the heavy bursts of rain to give the look of a Blade Runner inspired backdrop but with a cool autumnal feel despite it being mid-May.

With all but the ever injured Abou Diaby available for selection the major choices for Wenger would have been whether Gibbs and Flappy would return to the starting XI at the expense of Monreal and Chesney, with the latter having done nothing to deserve being dropped, in the event the return of Gibbs was the only change.

Wigan’s support were squeezed into one block, rather than the three away clubs normally get probably due to their supporters opting for the Wembley fixture of their 2 London dates in the space of four days.

As the game kicked off the Wigan danger man McManaman was given license to run their right wing however it was clear early on that Gibbs had the measure of him – Kieran’s anticipation of his interplay with Maloney prevented anything of consequence developing offense wise for Wigan.

While there was a little tension in the air around the stadium Gooners would have done well to realise that Wigan’s defence has been leaky most of the season and so it was to prove. A cross into their box was headed in, with little challenge from the Wigan defenders, by Podolski to put the good guys one up fairly early. Due to Arteta losing the toss we attacked the North bank in the first half, and not the second as is usual, so my view on the goal was a distant one as I was in the Clock end lower tier.

The rain carried on saturating the players and the pitch and possibly Mike Dean’s brain as he gave the first of two Wigan free kicks for fouls of what seemed to be of minimal contact and close to the edge of our penalty area.

The first of the free kicks went into the wall and ricocheted off in my direction to the right of the goal but the second 30 seconds before half time beat Chesney’s left hand.

The sense of injustice of an equalising goal coming from the “Dean effect” galvanised the crowd and the aforementioned official and his team left the pitch to a justified chorus of boos and whistles.

The atmosphere at the stadium could have gone one of two ways in the second half – either nervous anxiety or defiance and support of a team that deserved to be winning. It went the second way and it has to be said the way the crowd got behind the team and didn’t let the officials get any respite from home crowd pressure or the timewasting by the Wigan players (the goalie, who was given the countdown, or the player who got booked for slowing down the taking of the corner) go unnoticed.

The Arsenal were now attacking the goal in front of me and it seemed the team were being energised by the crowd to get the win that was rightfully theirs with Cazorla being effective in decisive bursts.

All of a sudden he was running towards me, down our right wing, and a cross was slung in towards Theo. At that point time appeared to slow:

Oh, it’s bobbling around in there, wouldn’t it be nice if Theo got onto that, but wait the goalie has ploughed into him, that’s a penalty surely, never mind it’s a goal now as he’s bundled it in!

It was nothing more than Arsenal deserved and the crowd felt the vindication of taking a lead that was lawfully theirs.

About 25 minutes or so to go, would we hold onto the lead? Moments later, all of a sudden Podolski latched onto a through ball from Santi, who I think took advantage of napping by the Wigan defence to send in a quick cross, and Lukas duly lobbed the floundering Joel in the Latics goal.

Relief! A two goal buffer, one that this more defensively resilient Arsenal would surely hold onto. However yet another telling through ball from Santi set off Rambo on a marauding left wing run, which just as I saw the whites of his eyes he flashed them to the side and curled in a delicious goal past the keeper who was expecting him to cross, and made it four goals for Arsenal. After another lung busting performance in a dynamic midfield the supporters to a man were elated for Aaron, who thoroughly deserved to score

A few late subs saw Jack return; he suffered his first foul (one that Dean even called) after being on the field for five seconds and our skipper come on after Oxo.

4-1, a decisive score line and one that started the exits of the bedraggled Wigan supporters to begin their long journey up north to Lancashire, where they would contemplate life in the Championship come August. To the Arsenal supporters credit when the Wigan team went to clap their fans at the final whistle they also applauded the team and their remaining fans.

The chants of “We’re coming for you, we’re coming for yoooo—uuu, Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you” rang out at fulltime and while the job is not finished the home season ended on a high note and the lap of appreciation was warmly received and all thoughts would then be focused on final fixture against Newcastle.

It’s been a rough old season and your humble scribe hopes you enjoyed this season’s reports and looks forward to a win on Sunday to salvage a season that started off inauspiciously.

UTA!

By Charybdis1966, on Youtube and Twitter.

In case you didn’t notice there are the following types of Arsenal articles that every Arsenal writer must pen at least 15 times in a season:

• FINANCES FINANCES FINANCES
• Sponsorships
• Ticket Prices
• The new kits are ugly
• Did you hear what that person/player/racist said on Twitter?
• Suarez/Rooney/someone from the Premier League who I want at Arsenal
• Does Arsenal need more players?
• Who is to blame for not buying players?
• Does Arsenal need a keeper/defender/DM/striker?
• Who is the keeper/defender/DM/striker Arsenal should buy?
• Why Arsenal will never buy a “big name player”?
• Why Arsenal can’t afford x player if Arsenal drop out of the Champions League spots
• Why the Subhumans “Animal” is one of Tim’s favorite songs of all time.
• Arsenal are/aren’t going to finish fourth
• Why Arsenal can’t defend from set plays
• Why Arsenal can’t score when teams park the bus
• Long balls
• Tactical fouling
• Egregious physical play
• Diving
• Why the press suck
• Tiki-taka (pro-con)
• Counter attacking
• etc etc etc

And of course, the granddaddy of them all “Arsenal need to win this game”.

Continuing from the theme of two days ago, as you can see above, writing about Arsenal has become absurd. Not just in the harsh sense that some will take it, but in the way that I suspect Camus would identify absurdity: a deeply meaningless action, just like the rest of life. We ascribe Arsenal meaning, but in the Absurdist sense, that’s just a form of intellectual suicide. If we think about it, look a little bit bigger than just the 10 mile radius around us, we all know how meaningless this is. And once we discover that meaninglessness we are presented with three choices: death (physical or intellectual), religiosity, or perseverance.

In the Arsenal sense, death is giving up. Just quitting on your team. You know, “Fuck it. I just can’t do this shit any more.” Though, unlike real death, I suppose you could try to come back. I’m not sure anything would be the same. If I stopped blogging for a year, I might return but it would be very different.

Religiosity in the Arsenal sense is another form of intellectual suicide as it’s the abdication of the self over to a higher power. Stats can become a form of worship, Arsene is worshiped (and hated, which is not the negation of worship but rather another form of worship), concepts such as history, and historical figures become gods, on and on, its the raising of someone or something else to a higher power in order to explain what is fundamentally an unexplainable world.

And then there’s Camus’ perfect being, the Absurdist hero, Sisyphus – he who knowingly perseveres in the face of the contemplation of the absurd. “Groundhog Day” is another way to describe the Sisyphean task, though interestingly, the myth of Groundhog Day had an out, once Phil perfected himself he was allowed to escape. Sisyphus is offered no such out and I imagine him down there in Hades, shoulder to the stone, loincloth rippling from the heat of hell, smiling up at us* as I write this.

But importantly, Sisyphus defies the gods, rejects them outright and does what he wants (until he’s captured and forced into a life of toil). But Sisyphus also escapes death. He wants to live the absurd life to its fullest. Which is what I’m doing here with my columns on this blog. You certainly can’t look at my entire history of writing for four years on what is essentially one rather meaningless topic and say anything other than “well, this is absurd”.

This revelation of fundamental meaninglessness will give some of you pause. As if Sisyphus himself took a small break and said to you “you know it’s all kind of pointless.” You will now say, “wait… why am I doing this?”

Good.

I’m doing this because I have to. It’s not really any deeper than that. I enjoy it most days. I love reading other people’s informed opinions. I love when someone like Arseblog makes me laugh. I love when commentators call me a “Yank who knows nothing about the history of the club”. I love when my readers give me something new to think about. And I love Arsenal when they win and when they lose.

And today against Wigan, is a “must win” but I do not despair because tomorrow I will be here, doing what I always do. In fact I feel no nerves about the game. None. I feel like the result is never in doubt. And I mean that no matter what the result.

It was never in doubt.

Qq

P.S. Before the match, you should read Arsenal Letters’ very intelligent analysis of Wigan’s tactics and his conclusions about Wigan’s vulnerabilities down the flanks, how they will pack the center, the importance of Theo Walcott, and where they will try to pull Arsenal apart with Kone-Maloney. Cracking great stuff!

Also, look for Chary’s Man at the Match report after the game. It will be his last one until fall. CONTEMPLATE THAT.

*I imagine George Carlin down there too, with Sisyphus, smiling up at us.

After the incredibly annoying AVB’s little Spurs won at Stoke following another crappy display, now it is official that Arsenal have no room left for the slightest slip-up: the Gunners must win both of their two remaining games. Somewhat ironically, on Tuesday they are facing Wigan, aka the Kings of FA Cup, who will be relegated themselves unless they win at Arsenal. It is a massive game for both sides. It is more massive than AVB’s insecurity and lack of logic.

You might be interested to know that I have not cut my fingernails since the QPR game 10 days ago. As I type, my nails are getting stuck in the keyboard. I have also done a lot of Ashtanga Yoga (I have not done any such thing; I do not even know what that is). Just like every Arsenal fan, I am getting ready for the nail-biting wretched 90 minutes on Tuesday.

Before I start with a bit of tactical analysis of Wigan, here are the likely starting 11s. For Arsenal, Giroud is still suspended, but there are no fresh injuries. For Wigan, no injuries can stop them, because they are just awesome!

• Arsenal (4-3-3) Szczesny (GK), Sagna (RB), Koscielny (CB), Mertesacker (CB), Gibbs (LB), Arteta (CM), Ramsey (CM), Rosicky (CM), Cazorla (LF), Walcott (RF), Podolski (CF).

• Wigan (3-4-1-2) Robles (GK), Alcaraz (CB), Scharner (CB), Boyce (CB), McArthur (RWB), Espinoza (LWB), Jordi Gomez (CM), McCarthy (CM), Maloney (AM), Kone (F), McManaman (F).

How Do Wigan Play?

Roberto Martinez has adopted a hybrid (or should I say unorthodox?) system at Wigan whose objective is to preserve width while keeping the center of the pitch congested. Their game plan tries to achieve those conflicting objectives in three ways.

First, Wigan employ three center-backs (against City in the FA Cup final they had Boyce, Alcaraz and Scharner as CBs) and defend their flanks with two wingbacks. Their first choice wingbacks (Stam on the right and Beausejour on the left) are both injured. Therefore, against City they used Espinoza on the left and McArthur on the right. When the opposition have the ball, their two central midfielders, McCarthy and Jordi Gomez, drop deep in front of the Wigan box. Depending on the direction of the attack, one of the two center-backs sweeps behind the full back (more on this later). For example, if McArthur is caught high up the pitch on the right, Boyce pushes towards the right back position. Scharner does the same to cover for Espinoza on the left.

Second, when the opposition have the ball, Shaun Maloney, Wigan’s most advanced central midfielder, stays slightly higher up the pitch than McCarthy and Gomez and presses the opposition build-up. Kone drops to the wide left position and McManaman stays wide right. When Wigan gain possession, Kone and McManaman provide quick outlets for transition through wide areas and Maloney provides the link up. In other words, the first ball in transition is usually played towards one of the flanks, instead of a central striker who is being marked by opposition center-backs.

Third, both of the two wingbacks play quite high up the pitch and motor forward to create an overlap when Kone and McManaman run inside to central areas. For example, against City Espinoza could be seen as a covering left back inside the Wigan box in one instance, and then appearing as a left winger shortly after (see image below). The Kone-Espinoza combination gave the typically excellent Zabaleta such a hard time in the FA cup final, simply because David Silva was not tracking Espinoza’s forward runs. The same can happen against Arsenal if Walcott again decides to play like a central striker and evacuates the flank!

Below, I will try to illustrate those 3 points through the help of some images taken from the FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday.

Kone on the left and McManaman on the right stay wide, Maloney works between the lines like a traditional #10.

The image sequence below is useful to illustrate how none of the three attacking players for Wigan (Kone, McManaman and Maloney) occupy the traditional central striker role when Wigan gain possession and break forward.  In the first image, timed at 8:19, Maloney (on the far right side of the image) is starting the break by finding McManaman who is controlling the ball under pressure. Look how wide of the pitch the first ball is received.  Also observe Kone at the other side of the pitch as he will be involved in the next image

After controlling the ball, McManaman turns inside and passes the ball to Kone, who is on the other side of the pitch. The point is how wide the two forwards are stationed when the move starts. Kone has now received the ball in the next image (timed at 8:43) and is attacking Zabaleta. On the far right, McManaman is now looking to pick his time for a run behind Nastasic. There is no Wigan central striker that City centerbacks can mark easily. Shaun Maloney is around the center circle at this point and has not yet entered to the image on the left panel.

The final image from this move captures 2 seconds later, timed at 8:45. Kone has brought the ball inside Zabaleta, and is feeding McManaman’s run past Nastasic. The young forward will waste a good opportunity after receiving the ball. This is how Wigan make the transition from 5-3-2 off the ball to 3-4-1-2 when they gain possession with Maloney linking up play behind Kone and McManaman. The crucial point is how Kone and McManaman leave the centerbacks alone and stay wide to stretch play.

Arteta and Ramsey should be alert to close down the passing angles to Kone and McManaman when Wigan break from their own half. Rosicky and Cazorla should again start pressing high up the pitch to allow Arsenal to get into shape. The template here should be the Swansea away game when Wigan gain possession in their half. Press quickly and then retreat into shape!

An important duel in the game will be between McManaman and Gibbs on Arsenal’s left flank. McManaman simply tortured Clichy all game long, but this was also because Clichy received absolutely no help from Nasri in front of him. McManaman threat on Wigan’s right might also pin Gibbs back and deny him the opportunity to overlap on the left which is vital for Cazorla to roam inside.

Wigan Crowd Out the Center with Three Centerbacks and Two Midfield Anchors

The  image above illustrates how Wigan defend with 5 men at the back and how their two central midfielders congest the area in front of their box. Here, McCarthy is trying to close down the ball. Behind him, Jordi Gomez is screening in front of the box packed with three centerbacks. The right wingback McArthur has retreated very deep and level with his three centerbacks. The closest CB to the right wingback is Boyce. More central are the other two CBs, Scharner and Alcaraz  On Wigan’s left, Espinoza has retreated deep and has come narrow. Look how narrow City are and how Wigan have congested in front of their box.

Arsenal will have trouble breaking this packed center if their build-up is slow and predictable. I believe the key point here is a direct winger running at this narrow and congested defence through the flanks. Wenger might call for Oxlade-Chamberlain on the right flank and ask him to utilize the space behind Espinoza. Theo Walcott can also threaten with direct runs but he needs to stay wide and try to exploit the area between Espinoza and the left sided centerback Scharner. Walcott’s usual trick of making an off the ball killer run behind the left back will probably not work here because there is an extra CB covering the left side.

The good thing is that Wigan also do need a win. Unlike the FA Cup final where they had no pressure, they have to open up a bit rather than keeping a tight game and going for extra time. Arsenal should look to stretch the three centerbacks laterally with Podolski drifting to the left and overloading Wigan’s right by combining with Gibbs and Cazorla.

Espinoza Caught High Up the Pitch

The image above captures an instance where the left wing back Espinoza is caught somewhat high up the pitch and running back. David Silva has received the ball on the right wing, and the center-back Scharner has pushed up towards the left back position to cover for Espinoza. This is a key point for Arsenal. The Wigan wingbacks, especially Espinoza, push forward and play quite high up the pitch, leaving the area behind them often exposed. Arsenal should look to find the wide man (hopefully Walcott stays wide if he is given the role) in this area quickly and create a one-on-one with the covering center-back. In short, the area behind Espinoza is a key weakness of Wigan! This is where they conceded on the counterattack against West Bromwich Albion as well.

This is a game where Arsenal need to follow the template of the Swansea away game, press early, retreat into shape, do not give the opposition any chances and be clinical themselves The first goal is very important. Wigan need a win as well, so they will be more open compared to the FA Cup final, and this openness might be what relegates them!

Sisyphus is the absurd hero. He is, as much through his passions as through his torture. His scorn of the gods, his hatred of death, and his passion for life won him that unspeakable penalty in which the whole being is exerted toward accomplishing nothing. This is the price that must be paid for the passions of this earth. — Albert Camus, “The Myth of Sisyphus”

Tottenham won today, beating Stoke with a last minute goal by the guy who has carried them over the last few weeks, former Arsenal player Emmanuel Adebayor. In another part of England, as I write this, Norwich are running away with their game 4-0 winners, Southampton and Sunderland are heaping pressure on Wigan with a close-fought 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light, and Newcastle is trying to perform a miracle escape from relegation by beating QPR 2-1 despite having their starting keeper sent off. All of which is being overseen by Zeus, sat upon his throne at Mt. Traffrord, a special, red, Chevy bucket seat, chewing gum, and ready to cast lightning bolts down upon his players if they ruin his big day.

All in all, it’s been a terrible day for Wigan. Much like Sisyphus, they had just pushed the boulder to the top of the hill by beating giants Man City in the FA Cup yesterday, and today they had to stand there and watch as Newcastle, Sunderland, and Norwich kicked the boulder back down to the plains below. As Camus would rightly point out, this is the moment in our absurd narrative where Wigan walks back down the hill toward the rock, contemplating their fate all the way, smiles that they have beaten the gods and resigned themselves too their absurd and pointless task, and simply grasps that boulder in both hands and begins the long push back up the hill.

That boulder is Arsenal on Tuesday.

Wigan won the FA Cup head to toe, by which I mean both that the toe of keeper Joel Robles saved a goal by Carlos Tevez and the head of late substitute Ben Watson scored the only goal of the game. But I also mean that Wigan played that match with every inch of their bodies, not a single minute went by that Wigan let their foot, heads, or torsos off the gas pedal. Which is how you have to do it if you’re a team from a town of 80,000 people with a turnover of just £50m facing an opposition team who spend that amount on just one player.

They have stuck around in London for Tuesday’s match, against another of the big teams who have annual revenue around 5x that of Wigan and they will be looking to get that boulder back to the top of the mountain again.

People complain that fourth place isn’t a trophy but then those same people will say that Tuesdays game will be “like a cup final”. The reality is that for both Wigan and Arsenal, a loss in Tuesday’s match means almost certain relegation and a resultant massive financial hit. For Wigan, relegation from the Premier League this season means that they would lose out on the windfall new television contract. And when you consider how reliant they are on television money (in 2009/2010 £38m of their £43m budget came from TV revenue or as Swiss Ramble put it “They have the lowest revenue in the top tier, just about the smallest crowds, the highest reliance on television money, one of the highest wages to turnover ratios and no cash.”) that means relegation from the Premier League is financially devastating. It might even prove the end of Wigan.

Arsenal are in a similar situation, as a completely self-sustaining club they rely on Champions League money and there is a huge fear among many Arsenal fans that if they were to finish outside of the Champions League places that the club would instill austerity measures and buckle down on the cash reserves that they have socked away for just this type of rainy day scenario.

So, while I understand that finishing fourth again for Arsenal fans doesn’t seem to have the glory of winning a trophy, for both club’s management and for most of both team’s supporters “staying up” is a trophy of sorts. And both teams are going to play with the fire of a cup final — at least we hope.

But if the task for both teams is Sisyphian, the analogy breaks down a bit in that in the myth Sisyphus never loses. He always completes his task. And unlike Sisyphus one (or both) of the two teams on Tuesday will lose.

After which they will turn around, see the boulder on the plains below them and begin the long, slow, contemplative march back to their never-ending task.

Qq