Long Time No Speak

Hey guys and gals!


Sorry it's been so long, I've missed you! :)


So what's going on in the world that is Arsenal? Well we've won 7 games in a row (we haven't done that since Oct 07!) which I think is great! It sucks that we're not on TV at the moment, I almost forgot about football because we haven't been on for so long. Well 3 games... man I sound lame! But that's what it feels like, if i had the money i'd go to every match. I can dream.


Anyway. So Chamakh seems to be on his way out, to be honest he hasn't done much. He's scored only once this season, admittedly he's only had a few appearances but it's a shame though that he's lost form since when he first got here. We seem to have a few players that are just taking up space, so we should start to shift them or get them ready for summer transfer. 


So only 8 games till the end of the season. Well we need to keep focused and keep your eye on the prize that is 3rd spot. All the matches we have left are important, even the smaller teams. Cos you never know, they can be sneaky at times. I'm looking forward to our next televised game Arsenal v Man City, I've got a few mates of mine that have been harping on all season about how great Man City are and it'd be nice to hinder they're trophy chances. Mind you i'm not really fussed as to who wins as long as we have 3rd spot. Who would have thought at the beginning of the season we would end up here.


Well, sorry again for us lacking in the blogging. It won't happen again we'll be here through the thick and the thin, but thanks for sticking around all the same. You guys are great and we're what makes the Arsenal clan so much greater!
 I'm out for a mates birthday this weekend so i probably won't resurface till Monday, so have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine!


If any spurs fans go to give you s*** about the gap earlier this season just show them this that I found on the web. :D

Have a fantabulous weekend and come on the Mighty Gooners show QPR how it's done!


Much love 
Mrs Fabregas
xxx 

A summer car boot sale? How is GFS doing? Can I get more?'s

Morning all, another sunny day in the UK today with drought on the horizon and hosepipes banned except in Scotland who knows what the summer will bring? Well at Arsenal I hope for a massive car boot sale to get rid of some of the player clutter we seem to have built up. You know how it is, you move to a shiny new home and then before you know it you have built up an alarming amount of stuff which you never use. So, thought Arsene, standing by the boot of a car with a table in front of him with the players neatly arranged on a trestle table with little tags on them with their asking price. "Who wants a under used Park, in working order, perhaps with a clothes horse thrown in for good measure?" A queue of clubs wandering around the car park at the Emirates trying to get a bargain and an annoying little man from Citeh pointing at RVP saying "I want that one!" "he is not for sale" says Arsene as the little man keeps waving a large wad of notes under his nose, "not even a little bit!"

Yes I realise that this is rather far fetched (It would be fun though) but a clear out is very much on the cards when you see the amount of players we have who give very little for the amount of money they are costing. A revamp of our wage budget is required when you look at the following.
Andrey Arshavin is on £75,000 per week whilst at Zenit. Then there is Chamakh and Almunia on £60,000, Squillaci, Bentner,Vela and Denilson on £50,000. I am not sure what business head Ivan Gazidis is currently wearing but it seems that Denilson will stay on loan for another season in Brazil, due to his current change of form. If I were Ivan I would say pay up or he is for sale to who ever. Then comes Park, currently on £40,000 compared to Oxlade Chamberlain on £20,000 it sort of makes a mockery of our wage structure.

If this clear out is realised we would have funds to tempt RVP to stay, give the likes of Song what he deserves and Walcott incentive to re-sign. Also a chance to get some of our summer targets too. Some areas of the press are saying a cull of £23m. Personally I think it is just good business which the club has needed for some time. Arsenal have to kick on next season and stop, as Ian Wright puts it, being a champions league qualifying club only. The fans deserve more than that, even if some are fickle and cry for heads to roll. So Arsene if you need a hand getting the car boot sale organised, give me a shout. I will get Mrs F to do your artwork and Surfergirl to make the bacon sandwiches and big Ray for security. Along with Statto taking the money and myself shouting "Get your Arsenal players here!" we have a good Sunday day out on our hands. Hows July looking for you?

As for ourselves, I thought I would give you a bit of an update on how GFS is doing. Since we started back in September 2011, where does the time go, we have being doing quite well. A few ups and downs along the way both football and blog wise too but we are getting there. With a good wind behind us we are looking to go full time with the site later this year so keep your eyes pealed for updates on that. We have got some good writers now too, but we never say no to anyone who wants to have a go, from the UK, USA and even South Africa where we found a Ghost. Our top 10 all time list of where we are read are as follows;

United Kingdom
USA
South Africa
Nigeria
Ireland
India
Russia
Germany
Canada
South Korea

I am constantly amazed at how far away from Sussex we have been read so on behalf of all at GFS can I say a very big thank you for finding us, reading us and staying with us. You are all part of our ever growing family and you know that where ever you are, your never far from a fellow Gooner.

Laters,
The Dog.

3 is the Magic Number!

First a big shout to JamrockRover, glad it was a win an hope all was good at the Tollington, I hope to see you there soon and get you to sing when Paddy got up!

So maybe my last blog was foresight, doubt it but hey I will go with that! Yes 3 was our magic number and a convincing win it was too. A big up to Kieron Gibbs for his first league goal, Ray Winstone or Arsenal Winston for those who follow on twitter did have a disagreement with a fan sitting behind him re Gibbs, suffice to say he asked him to shut up. He did! Mr Given did help it in to the back of the net but you could see by the guys face what it meant to him and to Gooners too.

Song was a deserved man of the match, his pass to Walcott for number two was a thing of beauty and it was fab to see it put away so well. Walcott as certainly made big strides ahead. Here is a stat for you. It has been 15 years since Arsenal have had two goals scores by Englishmen in a Premier League game!

Goal number three from Arteta was a stunning free kick, bring back memories of Fabregas with a 30 yard stunner. True we should have won by more with misses from Walcott, RVP( one man team anyone?) and Ramsey but hey, not so long ago we were 12 points behind Spuds and now were are 3rd with a 3 point lead. Who would have guessed that after the 8-2 drubbing but fair play to Arsene Wenger with sticking to the plan, ignoring the shouts for his head. We even got a smile from him and that has been missing for a while.

So we look in good shape but we still have 8 games to go. The champions league now looks likely but there is still work to be done and a squad strengthening required during the summer. What will happen to the likes of Almunia and Chamakh and Park who knows. I do feel sorry for Benayoun as even he his now doubtful of his future. Rosicky is a new player now and even Djourou filled in well for the injured Kos, lets hope the knee injury is minor and he is back soon.

So it's 3 for me at the moment but as we are at 7 wins from 7 that could all change again. I am fickle with numbers but when it comes to my beloved Arsenal, one thing is for sure, I always keep my faith.
I will leave you with a picture to brighten you day.
Laters,
The Dog

Arsenal's lucky number, 3, 4, 6? Errrm? 0-1?

Well how are you all? Me? Well been a bit of a lame Dog recently but thanks to the guys at Bristol I am back on both legs. Cheers guys. I also send my thoughts to Fabrice Muamba, I really hope he is on the road to recovery. I was glad to see the twitter bile was stopped in the UK by the football family. Shame on Twitter though for that redneck calling himself a Christian, allowing him to post such garbage and when reported, Twitter replied that it will not stop free speech. I am all for free speech but just nasty bile has no place in this world. I hope they re-think in the future!

Anyway why the title today? Well I have not been to idle in Hospital, reading all things Arsenal and something stuck me. Numbers seem to be playing a big part in Arsenals current form so let me explain the best I can.

3

On reading through blogs and Twitter posts it was clear that 3 is a big number for us. Firstly, thanks to our own winning streak we are now 3rd in the EPL. Not only that but also 3rd in the Home table of results but also 3rd in the Away table too. To top that off we have the 3rd best goal difference so maybe it is 3?

4

Yes 4 and that is our back four. The previously dubious defence unit has turned into the fantastic four. In the last 5 games Arsenal have fielded the same defencive line up of Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen and Gibbs and won them all. They have gone from shaky to sturdy and with TV5 finding the net as well they are now standing firm. I know it is only our second clean sheet of 2012 but it is a hell of an improvement on the beginning of the season and at last some consistency of players is bringing us results.

6

We are now on a run of played six and won six. We should have been in front at Everton on the 6th minute when Arteta played in RVP who then headed down to Ramsey. Shame it was high and wide. We have now also taken 6 points off Merseyside teams in 180 minutes of football and in most of the papers 7 of the Everton team were rated at 6. Including the ref Lee Mason. Given that back in February we were 12 points behind spuds, 2x6, it seems to figure alot. Yes the last bit is grabbing at straws but hey, I have been in hospital!

0-1

Apart from Everton we seem to be the new come back kings. Going a goal behind seems to be doing us some good recently in the fighting spirit department but of all the numbers this is my least likable one. I would rather hear the strains of "1-0 to the Arsenal" than going through the nail biting, finger chewing of going behind to the opposition.

So there you have it. My view of course and perhaps you may have other numbers, let me know if you do and I will do my best to write them up. Onwards to Saturday and we entertain Aston Villa. Due to me being lame I shall not be going but I am sure that Arsenal Ray will be doing enough shouting for me.

Last but not least this is for my Consultant. Mr Gregor. Sadly he is a Manure fan be asked me about an Arsenal song he heard on that last visit to the Emirates. He said he knew of it but was there a full version. Well just for you sir here it is and long may we Gooners continue to sing it. Also god bless the Internet for helping me find it!

A version of B'Jesus said Paddy.

When Paddy came over from Ireland
In praise of the AFC
We hadn't won an awful lot since 1953
Well he'd stand at the back of the Clock End
In the sun and the rain
Week after week for many a year
But never a trophy came
Second leg of The Fairs Cup Final
We'd already lost away
We needed to pull something out the bag
In order to save the day
Then Paddy remembered a ditty .
His father used to sing
And quickly jumped up on to his feet and started to sing it again.

So Paddy got up and he sung it again .
Over and over and over again
B' Jesus said Paddy I sang it so well
I think I'll get up and I'll sing it again.
So Paddy got up and he sung it again.

Now The Gunners they all played like heroes
To the song that Paddy had sung
And Kelly and Radford and Sammels
Made sure that the Fairs Cup was won.

The next year things got even better
The Arsenal the best in the land
We marched up the Seven Sisters Road
And invaded every stand
We covered the whole of the High Road
And all the streets around
We knew that we would win the league
When we heard a familiar sound
Ray Kennedy's header was priceless
And as Paddy sang out aloud
The Gunners were once again Champions
And The Boys had done us proud

And Paddy got up and he sang it again
Over and over and over again
B' Jesus said Paddy I sang it so well
I think I'll get up and I'll sing it again.
So Paddy got up and he sung it again

Just a few days later that we found out
As we marched along Wembley Way
That Paddy just hadn't stopped singing
Since the match on the previous Monday
Now he sung for the full 90 minutes
And he sung right through extra time

The boys done The Double
So Paddy got up and he sang it again

Over and over and over again
B' Jesus said Paddy I sang it so well
I think I'll get up and I'll sing it again.
So Paddy got up and he sung it again

Now we've won the League up at Old Trafford
We've won it at Anfield too
When Paddy was singing on Merseyside
And we had to beat them by two
We'd already won it at Tottenham
When we lifted the pot at The Lane
We liked it so much
It was such a nice touch
To go back there and win it again
So The Arsenal went back there and won it again

Over and over and over again
B' Jesus said Paddy I sang it so well
I think I'll get up and I'll sing it again.
So Paddy got up and he sung it again

Now he's travelling all around Europe
Over land and sea (and Leicester)
He's been drunk in Madrid
He's been nicked in Kiev
And he got stoned at PSV
Now wherever The Arsenal may wander
Be it Munich or Paris or Rome
They all cock an ear
And they know that we're there
When they listen to Paddy's sweet tones

And Paddy got up and he sang it again
Over and over and over again
B' Jesus said Paddy I sang it so well
I think I'll get up and I'll sing it again.
So Paddy got up and he sung it again

I will look for more Arsenal songs but maybe Arsenal Statto can help. Hint hint!
Enjoy your weekend guys.
Laters,
The Dog

1 point behind spuds

The late Monday night game did not stop me from staying up to watch Arsenal v Newcastle. Kickoff was at 10:00pm and I sat till 12:00pm. Arsenal have been haunted with resent results v Newcastle and it looked like all my fears will come to life in the first 10 minutes. Newcastle generated all of the action before Hatem Ben Arfa popped up and smacked a shot on the inside post past Wojciech Szczsny. Luckily v.Persie made sure of an equaliser 54 seconds later. The game lulled into Arsenal dominance but attack after attack yielded nothing. The second half was once again dominated by Arsenal, however there was a rare Newcastle attack every now and then. The clock ticked, Arsenal attacked and came close to securing the victory. Then the 5minutes of extra time was announced, I have to admit I thought it would end in another draw. But the Gunners kept their cool, the last chance of the match came with 1 minute of extra time left on the clock. Vermaelen received the ball inside the area and slotted it home with his 10th goal in 50 appearances. 2-1 isn't a very convincing win, but it could just as easy have been 8-3, hence our massive amount of shots on target. I was very impressed with Rosicky. He played like a new player and I hope his brilliant form continues. Tottenham have only twice ended higher than the Gunners at the end of a season. I am confident that we can brush that 1 point deficit aside and secure a surprising 3d place. Arsenal had their worst start to a premier league in 50 years but with our brilliant come back attitude we're now on the hunt for big scalps.

Here are the player ratings of both teams Arsenal

Wojciech Sczesny - 5

Committed a goalkeeping sin when he was beaten at his near post by Hatem Ben Arfa. Had little more to deal with through the remainder of the evening.

Bacary Sagna- 7

Nullified the threat of Gutierrez and constantly galloped up the right hand side proving a constant threat.

Thomas Vermaelen - 8

Shrugged off an early injury to provide assurance at the back. The unlikely source of the late winner.

Laurent Koscielny - 8

As convincing an Arsenal performance during his two seasons at the club. Keeping Newcastle's top marksman Demba Ba quiet throughout.

Keiran Gibbs- 6

Inexplicably allowed Ben Arfa onto his deadly left foot in the penalty area for the opener, but shepherded the Frenchman out of the game thereafter.

Tomas Rosicky - 7

Defined Arsenal's energy in the second period, continually driving from midfield. Showed a desire on the ball many of his opponents lacked.

Mikel Arteta- 7

Kept things ticking over in his withdrawn midfield role, allowing Rosicky to take control. How Arsenal could have done with him against Milan.

Theo Walcott- 8

Perhaps his most rounded performance of the season. Created problems for Santon in the first half, while with two assists, he banished those final ball critics.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6

On the periphery of the game throughout. Was shadowed well when he did receive the ball, but cut a frustrated figure when substituted.

Alex Song -7

Part of the midfield trio that spearheaded the late win. Moved the ball effectively around Newcastle's two-man central midfield.

Robin van Persie - 7

Struck decisively, as ever, to draw the hosts level but a second half missed chance was the highlight from then on. Clashes with Tim Krul undermined his evenings work.

SUBS

Gervinho - 6

Aaron Ramsey- 6

Newcastle United

Tim Krul - 7

Made an excellent save from Vermaelen's header, but was helpless for both goals. Good service from the ground.

Fabricio Coloccini - 8

Didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Put his body on the line when it mattered, and made a crucial block from Walcott's effort.

Davide Santon - 6

Santon took the fall for Newcastle's failure to cut the service to Walcott. Out of position for the equaliser however.

Danny Simpson - 8

The strength of his positioning showed as Arsenal continued to attack down Newcastle's left. Marked Chamberlain and Gervinho out of the game.

Mike Williamson - 7

Immense in the air as always, but his lack of mobility allowed Van Persie to equalise. Missed header led to the winner.

Yohan Cabaye- 6

An overall quiet evening, with defencive duties dominating his workload. Often a sitting duck among Arsenal's quick passing.

Hatem Ben Arfa - 6

Struck brilliantly to give The Toon the lead, but made few contributions afterwards. Too often tempted to take on players.

Jonas Gutierrez - 6

Spent most of the evening in his own half, toiling against Sagna and Walcott. Wasteful when possession did come his way.

Cheich Tiote- 8

Dominant in the middle of the park, and Newcastle notably faded after his substitution. Quickly becoming the Premier League's best holding midfielder.

Gabriel Obertan - 5

Laid the ball on for Ben Arfa, but like too many of his teammates, found getting involves afterwards difficult. Horribly careless with the ball.

Demba Ba - 5

Really only thrived when Ameobi was introduced, but until then had been cut adrift from the rest of Newcastle's attack. Ineffectual throughout.

SUBS

James Perch- 7

Shola Ameobi- 7

Danny Guthrie - 6

Laters, The Ghost



Happy Mothers Day

Hey guys,


Just a quick message, we haven't stopped the site. We've just had a few things happen recently that have effected our blogging, everything should be back to normal soon. Promise! 


Happy Mother's Day everyone and lets hope Bolton's Fabrice Muamba makes a speedy recovery! 


Mrs F
x

2-1 and thank god!

Right fellow Gooners.! A big big question for you, a Liverpool player goes down at the Emirates, it looks bad, he has to be taken off on a streacher, so do we give a rousing appluase for his commitment and work for his team? Only to be on the back foot for our midfield? Well done the Kop! I will complete a full write up on the game, tomorrow but I was gobsmacked by the the kop fans.
 Again RVP does what he does best but when you need a fan to be a fan? Thanks to the loud gooners for today but a big thanks to the Kop for the applause for our number 8. Thank god he was not 888 as the ref would have put that as extra time. Well done boys and more tomorrow.

Laters
A happy an tired Dog

Wall of fame

First time I walked into the Emirates Stadium, it was a joy to behold. It was DB’s testimonial and the place was awash with colour. It took an unlikely character to give the place it’s opening day christening.

Step up Gilles Grimaldi - when he took out Edgar Davids just as he was about to put the ball into an empty net – hilarious.

Anyway after the first few games the fans were starting to settle in nicely. It was evident though that the stadium needed to move away from a cold feel (concrete bands inside the stadium where the top tier separates those in the boxes and all that concrete outside the stadium). Then gradually over time, the place started to get more colour, advertising on the lower concrete bands, decoration and banners in the concourses celebrating great players and great history, the ring of great players past and present on the outside of the stadium as a giant mural (my particular favourite), however, there is something there, as part of the ‘Arsenalisation’, that really is out of place.

The dreaded band of honours. It is like a chain around our neck. Whose bright idea was that then? Since it’s been there, we haven’t won a trophy. Do we really need to see a load of years when we’ve won a trophy. Do me a favour. For opposing fans who see this just below the upper tier, they must think we a right bunch of arrogant Shysters. Now one think I love about being a gooner is that we have always been looked at as a respectable club, impeccably behaved and knowledgeable set of fans. The general feeling when talking to opposition fans is that the club oozes class (even knowledgeable spuds fans – yes that is a very rare breed!). However this band just does us no favours and is now becoming a source of ridicule at our expense.

Do me a favour Mr Gadsucks & Kronktite (loved those Remmington ad’s of yours, years ago), get rid of that band and substitute it with a players wall or ring of fame. The likes of seeing McClintock, Wilson, George, Graham, O’Leary, Thomas, Blockley (only joking), Drake, Bastin, James, Jack, Hapgood, Kelsey et al around the stadium would be a far more pleasing sight. I mean there is only so much room for putting statues outside the ground (which do look good). And there are only so many banners you can think of to block those years (nice touch though, out of interest our banner is between 1930 & 2005 above the away fans. Strangely enough it’s to do with a certain Dutchman’s fear of flying!).

I leave you though with a downside of a hall of fame, at the Etihad, there is a big sign, at one end of the ground, with Bell on it, named after the superb 60’s / 70’s midfielder, Colin. This is affectionately called the BELL END!!!

Keep The Faith

Statto

Sore throat. Sore Hands. Filled with JOY!!!

Hello Arsenal fans!!!!

Well!! They said we couldn't do it and we showed them we could!! And with such flair and exuberance!!

I was so excited, even at 8am as my twitter followers will know... I just had 'a feeling', NO! not that feeling! we had a good chance. With what RVP said in his interview with the Sun the day before, it gave my heart lift, and hope. Wow, did it work!!  As I was getting my boys ready for me to leave and go meet The Dog, Mrs F, and Alex at the pub, both my boys said hang on we'll come with you!! One of them is already a die hard Gooner, but the other one never really has gotten into football to go watch it, or really follow it.  Maybe cause The Dog is trying to get him involved more with GFS_Arsenal, he's watched a couple games lately... Anyway so I said ok, but you gotta wear a shirt. He said ok and so we all marched to the pub in all our Arsenal colors and scarfs.
When we got there Paul (landlord, and unfortunately a Spurs fan) had let Mrs F (who works and lives there), have a whole raised corner of the bar!!  He let her put up signs saying 'HIGHBURY CORNER!!' with Arsenal flags and everything!!  Hats off to Paul, because I don't think any other landlord would've done that!! You're immense, dude!!
So the game started and 4mins in we were already losing.  The Spuds were singing 'Yid army', and I turned round to my son that had never been to a game in the pub and said... Here we go...  When they scored the 2nd, I was actually hoping if we just score a goal it would show that son how it is to be in the Arsenal family...
So by half time with the score 2-2 and half the pub (which was rammed) singing 'Yid Army' and our half singing louder '2-0 and you f@@ked it up, 2-0' I looked back to see my son singing!! So another Arsenal fan was born on Sunday!!
You guys all know the rest of the game, and I'm sure your throats were killing you from singing and hands hurting from clapping!!! I've haven't  seen a game that exciting and memorable in ages!!

Well done Arsenal, and thank you, thank you, thank you, for filling every (old and new) fan with joy in our hearts!!!   Now, just to try and get my shirt back from my son!!  :o)

Signing off,
Surfergirl

2-0 down 5-2 up. Arsenal destroy Tottenham‏

I would like to start by congratulating the boys on one of the best victory's I have ever witnessed. They displayed character,confidence and never say die attitudes, even though they were 2-0 down fro a heavily deflected goal and an unfair penalty. The Gunners staged , what was thought, a dubious comeback to overhaul Tottenham Hotspur's two goal lead and move back above their other London rivals Chelsea.

This illustrious north London fixture promised a lot of goals in pre-match predictions, and it lived up to that promise in a game that dished out 7 goals. Harry Rednapp's side got off to a great start after five minutes when ex Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor found Louise Saha running into the Arsenal are with nobody near him. A moment of dawdling meant Vermaelen could get in front of the shot, but the deflection was wicked and went over Szczesny's head. Arsenal recuperated well and looked dangerous on attack, but it got worse in the 34th minute when a brilliant through ball form Luka Modric sent Gareth Bale running into the area. Kieran Gibbs and Szczesny brought Bale down and the well practiced fake fall payed dividends and got him a penalty. Adebayor slotted the penalty home but the Gunners kept their cool and made sure that was the last Spurs goal of the match. Van Persie found space in the area after a Walcott flick but his shot hit the post and Spurs seemed to fall asleep as Arteta found more space and crossed for Bacary Sagna who headed it home with brilliance. The Gunning equaliser came when Benoit Assou-Ekotto failed to clear his lines properly and the ball fell to the Premier Leagues top scorer. Van Persie received the ball at the edge of the box, his speed proved to much as the twisted inside Scott Parker before curling the ball past the despairing dive of Freidel. So ended the first half at 2-2.

 The second half started where Arsenal had left off in the first. Rosicky flicked a goal from an acute angle just 5 minutes into the second half, it left the Emirates and me leaping out of pure joy. The game settled down, but on 64 minutes the roof was raised once more as Van Persie held up the ball well before playing in Walcott and the England winger, who had been anonymous in the first half chipped the ball over the advancing Friedel. Walcott fired a cross goal two minutes after his first, to make it 5-2. I hope this will give him much needed confidence for the future.

What a match, and one that was listed as one of the most important North London derby's ever. What pride to be able to say that your team won. The Arsenal beat a very strong Tottenham side, and the Gunners are truly London Kings of the season, The 5-3 victory earlier this season against Chelsea made sure of that. We face Liverpool next week, and after scoring 14 goals in 3 Premier league matches I'm confident that we can win.

From a very happy gooner. Laters,
The Ghost.

Transfers part 2 of 2‏

Here is Statto on our transfer history part 2.

6. Thierry Henry (August 99 from Juventus; £11m). We had just sold Le sulk and made a cool £23m. But we needed to replace him. So we got Davor Suker (a little cameo role at the club which I did enjoy, because he was a class act, just a little bit past his best) and a bit of a calculated gamble in TH. Echoes of Mr Bergkamp, in that his confidence was badly dented in Italy. Don’t forget that this man was a World Cup winner. More echoes of DB in that it took an eternity to score his first goal. Yet even more echoes when we played Southampton and he scores his first. I was at home watching Soccer Saturday. The legend that is Frank McLintock was commentating on the game and was in raptures about the goal. When I saw MOTM that night, I could see why, super strike. As Andy Gray says – you don’t save those. Well there followed over 200 more of them. Probably the best player ever to play for the club (there are a lot of you who will argue that, having seen Brady, Adams, Drake, James, Jack, DB, George et al). The reception that he gets at every PL ground, apart from WHL, shows what a player he is. I would finish it off by agreeing with Andy Gray’s comments during the Leeds game in April 2004 (a period when he almost single handily got us back into winning the title, when it was about to go horribly wrong). He said, after watching him score his fourth, after being fouled by Gary Kelly, that in all his time watching PL football, he hasn’t seen another player like him. This came a few days after scoring a hat trick v Liverpool (on a Good Friday, sorry, I meant a Great Friday). Remember my mate Carragher and Biscan bumping into each other after his mazy run for his third. Oh how I laughed.

7. Robert Pires (July 2000 from Marseilles; £6m). Fresh after his Euro 2000 win, with strong competition from Madrid and Juve (hard to believe now, the way that we now operate in the market, what we were capable of doing), we bought him. The last part of the Trinity (with TH & DB). For the next 6 years he destroyed teams. That strange running action, he would never give the ball away and possibly the best finisher I’ve ever seen (yes better than Wright and TH). The only time I’ve seen him cock up was the infamous penalty v Mancarab when he tried to be too flash with TH. Wonderful player, that goal v Villa on St Patricks Day 2002, the Dane, lobbed on his line, happy days.

8. Sol Campbell (June 2001 from Spuds; FREE, yes FREE). Don’t need to say much about this, apart from the fact it made me laugh a lot. The game that made him though was his return to WHL in October 2001, he was immense in that game, indeed on his 2^nd return to the club he was brilliant at WHL again. Only downside, the first £100,000 / week footballer. Understandable because we bought a £10 million player for nought. But that ceiling being broken has lead on to us being priced out of the market (well that is the impression I get, but can’t understand how – but that’s a debate / article for another time).

9. Robin Van Persie (May 2004 from Feynoord; £2.75m). Just after winning the title, we get this unknown kid. Lots of injuries and lots of goals later we’re singing his praises. Just hope he doesn’t go in the summer. Bet Blackburn are hoping he leaves the country. His goal scoring record against them is incredible. That volley against Everton on our 125^th birthday was one of the best goals seen at the ES.

10. Alex Oxade Chamberlain (June 2011 from Southampton; circa £9m). This kid could be one of the greatest players ever. Never seen anyone that young, show so much intelligence (even more than Cesc), great attitude, strong as an Ox (very apt) and an eye for goal. It also looks that he’s helped Theo raise his game. Just can’t wait until he teams up with JW. That will be interesting for us and England.

Special mention for transfers need to go to.

Malcolm Macdonald from Newcastle £333,333.33 (before my time admittedly); Lee Dixon from Stoke £400,000, Steve Bould from Stoke £390,000, Nigel Winterburn from Wimbledon £350,000 (3 of the best ever defenders for under half of what Manure paid for Gary Pallister); Marc Overmars from Ajax £5.5m; Manny Petit from Monaco £2.5m; Nic Anelka from PSG £500,000 (best teenager I’ve seen at the club until possibly AOC), Bacary Sagna from Auxerre £6m and Tom Vermalaen from Ajax £10m

Kanu from Inter Milan - £4.5m in January 1999. Mugging De Goey, Le Beef & Desailly for his hat trick at Stamford Bridge, say no more!!!

Statto

North London Derby

It’s difficult not to recycle old feelings or those that have already been stated, but for me personally the va va voom about this Arsenal team isn’t there anymore, the club is very special, but it appears the team isn’t, everyone has used the word mediocre, I find this word very cruel and disrespectful, but of course they like many are comparing this team to the successful Arsenal teams of old. 

Wenger: 

"A football team is like a beautiful woman. When you do not tell her, she forgets she is beautiful." 

How fitting is that now? but the media and many fans of our own have made it sound like this woman is a deluded beast who needs massive plastic surgery. She doesn’t, a little eye liner never hurt anybody but in order to avoid the whole make-up parody, point is that the natural beauty about Arsenal, the way we used to make things flow with some consistency at least has stopped, we’re only seeing flashes, flashes of what we we’ve been spoiled with for years. 

I think this team has forgotten what they’re capable of or perhaps they aren’t capable of it, Wenger said today that the players had not let him down, cued a reaction from supporters thinking that obviously they had, but we know how professional Wenger is, like he is ever going to admit it, we’re still in the race for fourth, it’s not the right time anyway. 

We had a brand, a way of playing, the tactics have been subdued and midfield has been laboured, what I felt at the beginning and feel now are the same, we have too many players in midfield that are too similar and perhaps it’s the same on the wings now that Nasri has gone as he was more of a possession playing winger. 

Against Spurs we don’t have a choice, we need to get our engine ticking and our style needs to mix with the directness to give us the result we all crave more than ever, A home win. 

Giving Credit To Them….. 

Tottenham have played well this season, they’ve shown more consistency, of course our former Togo striker who begged for Beyonce but ended up with Heather from Eastenders has helped their cause.  

But I say with much happiness that even if they do finish above us, it’s not the end of the world, let them have their little parade, let us suffer, let us rebuild and let us get over it, our club will always be there, self-sustainability is living within your means, of course it means Gazidis will be paid a bit more than you’d want and not everything goes to transfers, but that’s how a proper football club is run and that is what we are, a proper football club. 

This season to me, is the season that we let go of ourselves, the unresolved summer still haunts but I just think of it as a stumble to prevent a big fall, I don’t want to sound like Arsene but economically the world is ridiculously unstable, we are going to be incredibly cautious with transfers and everything, because every football club is scared that the market can react in a way to affect the finances of every club.  

We saw proof of this during the winter and the summer, only Man City, PSG were actually spending money and the signings were not big, especially this January. 

I understand this is difficult for people to understand or to accept, we were sold dreams in 2006 that all these youngsters would become something special together, yet they most were sold, one by one, now the ones that are left are either injured or very inconsistent. It would make anyone frustrated but we do just have to persevere, this is our team, this is our club. 

Team News 

Szczęsny

Sagna Koscielny Vermaelen Gibbs 

Song 

Rosicky Arteta 

Walcott Van Persie Gervinho 

Subs: Oxlade Chamberlain, Jenkinson, Fabianski, Chamakh, Benayoun, Djourou, Park. 

According to the news running around, Arsenal have agreed to let Arshavin go on loan to Zenit St Petersburg, wrong move in my opinion as we need all the cover we can get but I guess they want him to have as much play time as possible so that his sale value goes up in the summer, it might be a goodbye cut short for the diminutive Russian who stole our hearts 3 years ago and has been straining it every since. 

But looking at that bench, with Benik Afobe coming back I don’t see that much room for Arshavin anyway, sadly. 

This is the most I’ve been worried before a NLD in my life, but all that worry will turn into excitement when the game starts, perhaps we’ll finally get to show them who runs things in London, the optimist in me says 3-1 to the Arsenal, the pessimist says a dodgy injury and a red card results in a 2-2 draw, let’s all stay united and give the best support we can regardless. 

I want to redirect everyone to this: 

http://postimage.org/image/ml6wnmnu7/ 

it was made by an amazing Gooner, you can follow her on twitter; 

@Dorkkly

Have a beautiful weekend everyone, 

Much love, 

Alexander