Norwich vs Arsenal: Match Preview

So, here we are. Final league game of the season.

Compared to the previous two campaigns, when we had to scrap with Tottenham for fourth, you could say that this season has been progress. After all, fourth is sealed two Gameweeks in advance and we have bettered our points tally by potentially six. That's good, right?

I agree! However, for me, at least, this season hasn't been progress enough. I firmly believe that the team we had was better than Liverpool, injuries or not. Indeed, with some clever tactics, we could have even gone past Chelsea.

I firmly believe that on paper, we are the second best team in England, below City. Add a striker and a defensive midfielder in the coming months, replace the departures with quality, and we may be the best. Why then, did we slip to fourth?

For me, it was the away hammerings. Of course, you could argue that we could have won the league despite that, had we not slipped against Stoke, United, Southampton and Swansea. Mathematically, yes, we could.

However, in a 38 game season, you are bound to make a mistake against lower opposition once in a while. Even though our record this season against mediocre opposition is impressive to say the least, going through flawlessly past all of them is nearly impossible. If you want to be the best, you need to take out the best.

That's where we've failed this season. And last season, and the season before. That lies with Wenger, as he failed to suitably adjust his tactics and motivate his team ahead of these crunch clashes.

Finishing with fourth and the FA Cup is not a successful season. It would be, on comparing with our previous eight seasons, or comparing it to teams like Everton or Spurs or United. Those teams would take Champions League and a trophy anyday.

But we are Arsenal. If you look at the players we had, the instability in other teams, and the bank balance of ours, we should have done better than fourth. This season, hugely because of the FA Cup, has been acceptable, but not a benchmark for other seasons.

Coming back to the game, which shouldn't be of much importance. The league season is practically over, and considering there's a final coming up, we should rest a lot of players. Again, I say 'should', but I know Wenger won't.

I would like Diaby, Rosicky or Sanogo to get a run in. Maybe even Vermaelen or Jenkinson, and Viviano as goalkeeper. If I had my way, I'd go with Viviano - Jenkinson - Koscielny - Vermaelen - Monreal - Kallstrom - Diaby - Rosicky - Cazorla - Podolski - Sanogo.

But screw it. Why fantasize over something that won't happen? I know Szczesny will play, Mertesacker will play, Özil will play. Giroud or Arteta might be rested for Wenger's two French darlings, but that's about it. Let's just live with that.

I'd love for Arsenal to reach 79, for it might raise the bar higher for next season, and keep the confidence flowing ahead of Wembley. But in hindsight, the win obviously will mean nothing.

If anything, this will be the last time I'll see this Arsenal side (one more colourful and characterful than other) play in sync, without pressure, without expectation. It goes without saying that I'll miss watching these group of players together, so I'd better appreciate them before they get disbanded for lesser known, lesser cared-of people. And yeah, that's happening this summer, so live with that too. Sagna's on his way out.

Until then, there are only two games of this Arsenal left, one so close to perfection. One final show, please, Arsenal?

P.S. I've been told that Arsenal's interest in Serge Aurier is genuine. You can take this as a fact. Make of that what you will. Personally, I don't know him, and that's what worries me. I don't know him.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Why Arsenal wouldn't have won the league even without injury woes

Arsene Wenger played it well. He always does play it well. Amid one of the most insulting defeats against the Top 4 clubs (other than Arsenal, of course) and the exacerbating conditions in the away matches of English Premier League for Arsenal which gave rise to excruciating questions and a feeling of intense doubt among Arsenal fans, Arsene Wenger once again, politically correct as always – very beautifully veneered away the blames in the shadows of excuses that involved FFP, referee misjudgments and majorly injuries.

“When we came out of Christmas, we were in a strong position and what you want then is to have your strong players available in March and April, but we had too many injuries”, said the Frenchman as he looked up at the reporter with his blunt smile as usual, depicting the expressions that are never expected and the answers unprecedented.

Giving excuses is what a manager is good at, but with Arsene Wenger it has become a tradition. In a club as big as Arsenal that ranks fourth in the world in terms of revenues, money is really not as big a problem as it has been portrayed to be. The frugalness and economic spending that has been attached to the club is really not as much as Arsenal’s as it is Arsene’s. Getting the club to a decent position without spending much is what Arsene Wenger is good at, but the word ‘decent’ in Arsenal’s dictionary has been deteriorating year by year.

“If we don’t win it (Premier League title) I will take full responsibility."

These words spoken by Arsene Wenger in February 2014 still reverberate in the minds of passionate Gooners as they look up at the Premier League standings, which in a month saw Arsenal sliding to a position which was never even thought of this season. And towards the end of the season, all the words we find out of the mouth of the manager are ‘injuries and injuries’.

So now let’s get deeper into the scenario. Would Arsenal have won the Premier League title if all Arsenal players were fit?

The answer is as simple as it can be. No. 

Arsenal’s major problem this season like every other season has been a face-off against big teams. When the season started well off by defeating teams like Liverpool and Tottenham, people thought that this might just be what Arsenal needed. But in the next few matches Arsenal revealed their Achilles’ heel. The problem was the attack. 

All the teams could potentially judge the fact that Arsenal’s attack is just not good enough even with the help of world-class playmakers such as Cazorla, Ozil and the rest of the army. Even a layman could understand that Arsenal’s frontmen Oilivier Giroud and Nicklas Bandtner were far from able to helping Arsenal to the title. The team with full strength got defeated by Manchester United who were at their worst form in the past 20 years and soon after that a shameful 6-3 defeat at Etihad made situations worse. 

In all these matches, players like Ramsey and Walcott did not prove to be of much help. Reason? Because these players are in the process of being club greats but they still lack the potential of being consistent in every big game. It was clear as day that Arsenal needed a DM like rock, and a prolific striker that could convert the brilliant passes of Cazorla and match the speed of Rosicky.

Would you think that a match against Manchester City, in which Arsenal conceded luckily only 1 goal in the last 10 minutes inspite of City hitting more than 25 shots on target (and still making a total of 6 goals) was ever to be considered an even sided match? Clearly the team was not underperforming; it was incapable of matching the strength of Manchester City even with its full strength. 

Still, somehow other big teams stumbled and Arsenal managed to remain on top till January. But these rankings were a hallucination created which Arsene Wenger couldn’t foresee. While he was too complacent looking just at the then standings, the bigger picture could be seen by many. Teams like Manchester City and Chelsea ranked below Arsenal only because they stumbled in less important matches against weaker teams and they obviously had the potential to come back strong against these teams. On the other hand Arsenal lost to the teams against which it ‘could never win’. This clearly meant that even though Arsenal ranked ahead of the others, it needed reinforcements more than them.

Why then, did Arsene Wenger did not get a replacement of Olivier Giroud/Nicklas Bendtner? Only Wenger knows.

And the result we all know has been ever disappointing - shameful defeat in the hands of Liverpool by 5-1 which saw the first chance of the match missed by Olivier Giroud, and then conceding 5 goals. Wouldn’t the equation be different had Arsenal taken the lead then? 

And how can we forget the match which Wenger would never forget – his 1000^th against Chelsea, we all know what happened there. Same old story.

Arsene Wenger might be putting himself off the blame a little too much. The problem is more the attitude than the result. The man is too stubborn to accept mistakes. The ‘You cannot buy class’ thing has gone a little too far with Arsenal. On the other hand, Manchester City, inspite of losing their main striker Kun Aguero are managing to win the title because their bench of forwards are better than Arsenal’s main men upfront, and Manuel Pellegrini has been as quite as ever.

The FA Cup might be a trophy in itself, but it can never be redemption of the insults that Arsenal have endured in the Premier League. And what’s even more disheartening is the latest statement by Arsene Wenger in which he claims to buy a forward but openly states that it would not be a replacement of Olivier Giroud. In short – he assured you all that the main striker will still be Giroud. And the next season if the same thing happens – the answer will also be the same - ‘Injuries’.

-Vib_H (Follow me on Twitter @Vib_Hafc)

Arsenal 1-0 West Brom: Goodbye Sagna?

Not much to talk about, am I right? The match was as interesting as those godawful 'classic' musicals, the result (however narrow) was predictable, the fans were at their brilliant best, and ultimately, it ended three points to us.

The result, coupled with Chelsea's 0-0 draw at home to Norwich (Remember when Jose said this?) means that they are 3 points ahead of us going into the final Matchday. Mathematically, we could still achieve third if Chelsea lose on the final gameweek, and Arsenal defeat Norwich 0-20. Hey, it is a possibility.

Coming back to the game, which had a lot of positives. Firstly, we displayed a rare ability to score goals from corners. Santi whipped the ball in around the 18th minute, the West Brom players were too busy admiring Giroud's face, only to see him bang a header into the net. 1-0, get in!

Secondly, I think Ozil had a fantastic game. This was exactly the kind of stuff you pay 42 million quid for. Sure, he didn't get any goals or assists, but then again, I never judge people on goals and assists. I like Rosicky even though his assists this season have been pitiful. I don't fancy Giroud as a first-choice striker even though he has amassed 22ish goals this season. Similarly, I was always wary of Ozil's long-term impact to the side, even though he was backed by impressive statistics.

Don't get me wrong, I still am. However, today, Ozil showed class, you know what I mean? That drifting away from defenders, gliding into space and splitting open defence lines was all apparent. It was inspirational stuff, really.

However, our happiness at his performance suggests that we've almost forgotten how it feels to have a world-class player. Ozil cannot carry the team next season, not to mention that to truly flourish, he needs the team to be built around him. To satisfy his creativity, he needs a pacey striker. To negate his lack of workrate and his physical weakness, he needs a powerhouse of a midfielder, a Patrick Vieira figure. Ozil played well because he was rested and didn't have the pressure of expectation on him. If Wenger manages to create that atmosphere for him as long as possible, and build the team around the German, it would be great for the club as a whole.

In other news, Abou Diaby is back. I, for one, am sure that he's going to play a part next week and/or in the FA Cup Final, along with Jack Wilshere. It's not exactly a massive boost to see him back, seeing that our league objective is pretty much accomplished and that we have Mathieu Flamini to cover up his loss, but I'm sure everyone wanted him to get a run-out on the field yesterday.

Would he be the answer to our defensive midfielder issues? Could he be Arsenal's Yaya Toure? I imagine if he's given the right amount of games and gathers confidence, he can be our answer. However, it's impossible to see him produce a string of consistent displays without getting injured, especially not under Wenger's murderous man management skills and his inept medical staff. I honestly don't hate Diaby, I doubt any Arsenal fan does. However, when it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be.

Diaby has to go.

After some huge spans of dull moments, which were made like 4% exciting by an Ozil miss and Podolski hitting the bar, full time was upon us. And as the players went through the customary lap of appreciation, one chant in the Emirates Stadium rang in chorus, above all others:

"We want you to stay, we want you to stay! Bacary Sagna, we want you to stay!"

Who could argue with that? After all, Sagna has been a superb right-back for so many years. He's stayed throughout the trophyless years and kept respectfully mum. He's Arsenal through-and-through. He has the potential to be a reliable centre back in the future as well, once his pace dies down. Which club wouldn't want to keep him?

I still haven't ruled out the possibility that Sagna will stay if we win the FA Cup. From time to time again he's spoken about his dream being to watch Arsenal "compete", and winning a trophy at long last would certainly suffice that. Does Sagna's future rest on the FA Cup? I think so, but I'm not sure. We'll see.

Anyway, that's all for today. Vib_H will post an article in midweek, while I take the week off. Until then, have a good one Gooners.

P.S. Apologies for the short, lifeless post. In honesty, there wasn't really much to talk about, was there?

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Arsenal vs West Brom: Match Preview + Wenger's transfer quotes

Literally nothing to play for today, as Manchester City did our job yesterday. Win, lose or draw, whatever happens, fourth is sealed.

We should look to win, though. Facing West Brom at home is ideal to finish our impressive home record with a bang, not to mention improve on our points tally.

The outside chance for third remains as well. IF Chelsea lose today as well as next week, and we win our matches, third is ours. Long shot, anyway. No need to keep my hopes up. I guess I'm desperate to see Arsenal improve on fourth, especially considering the Premier League season we've had prior to the 5-1 Anfield game.

Today's just one of those nothing games, so I hope the manager will rest some of his players. I'd probably give Sanogo a run, not to mention rest Ozil, Arteta, Ramsey and either Mertesacker or Koscielny. Now that Gnabry's fit, trying to integrate him won't be a bad idea either.

Of course, these are just fantasies. Wenger won't change much in the lineup, even though there is absolutely nothing to play for. I suspect only Giroud and the fullbacks will be rested, while the others unnecessarily overplayed. What a predictable guy.

Anyway, now that the pressure is off us, I'd expect to see a mesmerizing Arsenal performance. We play well when there's no pressure, and we certainly play well at home. Seeing that there's nothing at stake except for a 1% chance at third and a near-perfect home record, I think we'll be an attractive side to watch today.

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Remember this Arsenal side, guys, for it will be one of the last times we'll see them like this. Arsene Wenger went all psycho in the press conference, pretty much confirming half of what I had predicted in my last post.

Says Wenger: "The main thing for us will be to keep the stability because we feel we are close. We want to add something that makes us even stronger, but number-wise it will not be

Number-wise it will not be massive?!

We have Fabianski leaving. Viviano leaving. Kallstrom leaving. Bendtner leaving. Sagna almost definitely leaving. Podolski and Vermaelen possibilities as well. That makes it eight players needed in the summer, not to mention a wild card purchase. Nine players needed in two months, and Wenger says "number-wise it won't be massive"?!

Remember I said this yesterday?

"2. Arsenal will fall short of players. There will be at least one panic purchase on deadline day, and in the end we'll lack in depth in at least one area. Whether it's goalkeeper, defence, midfield or forward, I don't know. Whatever happens, fans will come out with their excuses. Stuff like Wenger wasn't allowed to spend by the board, World Cup was an unnecessary distraction or clubs deliberately didn't sell their players to Arsenal, will be doing the rounds."

 Yeah, like it or not, it's happening. Live with it. Because this is what our manager proceeded to say:

"From my experience the World Cup years have always been very quiet until the end of the World Cup, with no players reachable. Everybody is focused in the country on their national team and there is not a lot happening, people are away so I believe this year again you will have to wait until July 15 to start going."

 Well, Mr Wenger, that didn't stop Chelsea from doing their business early, did it?

And it's not like they bought some promising 20 year old nobody. They bought DIEGO COSTA, one of the hottest strikers on Planet Earth, the dream player for any football club!

If our need for a striker is obviously more than theirs, why didn't we try to buy Costa as well? Did Financial Fair Play stop you? Or the referees? Or injuries?

"We have only two players who are out of contract - Fabianski and Sagna."

Incorrect. Viviano, Kallstrom and Bendtner are out of contract as well.

“I want to keep [Fabianski]. He’s 29 and has a decision to make. Does he want to stay here or move and have a guarantee to be No 1? He knows I want to keep him. I hope, because we have shown faith in him for long periods, that we will be rewarded for that.”

Come on Wenger. We know that Fabianski is leaving, emotional blackmail won't help. Just accept it and move on, or else offer him a bumper deal with the promise of being a regular first-teamer. Why are you pulling a van Persie all over again?

Even though there is time for it, the summer is already showing signs of turning into anarchy. Late deals, panic buys, injury crises, unprepared squads... this will turn into a repeat of summer 2011 under Wenger. I guarantee it. And I'll quote this on September 2nd (that is, if Wenger stays, of course).

Enjoy the World Cup, guys, and pray to Lucifer that Wenger calls it a day after Hull, because otherwise, we're in for another embarrassing summer. Indeed, another embarrassing campaign, possibly.

Ozil didn't sign up for this.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

A truthful Gooner quits the club + 2014/15 predictions

No, it's not me.

I still have truckloads of Arsenal passion in me. Even though I know that the ship of Arsenal is going to sink regardless of whether we win the FA Cup or not, my pure love for the club means that I'll always be there.

However, Arsenal Truth, a blogger that has been saying the absolute reality of the situation for around six years, has withdrawn his support for the club, exiting after yet another unnervingly accurate post.

Let me get this straight - I have no affiliation whatsoever with Arsenal Truth. I haven't the slightest clue about his life, nor does he care about mine. I seriously doubt he'll ever read this post. However, his exit from blogging genuinely took me aback, which made me spill my thoughts on the Internet.

Arsenal Truth, by the way, is the reason I've become enlightened to the ugly truths surrounding Arsenal Football Club, also the reason why I started this blog. His critical analysis and predictions, that are nearly always right, has made me wise to the depths of incompetence of Arsene Wenger. Even though I've never met him, I have respect for the anonymous guy who ran the site.

A note to the Arsene fan base: Instead of arguing over what will happen next season, why don't you go to the Arsenal Truth archives instead? The evidence of Wenger's incompetence and his regularly accurate predictions written there are so true, it's scary.

Here's an extract from Arsenal Truth. Who could possibly disagree with this?

"If this season ends up potless and Arsenal uncompetitive, for obvious reasons, somebody quite simply HAS to be made accountable! I am also leaning further and further towards wanting David Dein back at the club, even if it means having his sidekick Usmanov with him. Dein would be at the forefront, the beached whale would be peripheral, and his vulgar money is really no different to Kroenke's.

They're all in it for the prestige and the profit - but at least we know Dein cares passionately about Arsenal, and has the ruthless, naked ambition that the rest of the Arsenal board evidently lacks. Dein sacked Terry Neill and brought George Graham to Arsenal, they didn't even get on, but Dein sat it out because George was a legend and a winner. And Arsenal need that now, not a board full of corporates and a manager that even alongside Dein, best friends as they are, wouldn't be allowed to get away with this ludicrous incompetence."

Many would assume that this post was written around the 6-0 Chelsea game, or maybe the 5-1 Anfield demolition. Wrong, it was actually written in September 2010, approximately one week after we thumped Blackpool 6-0. 4 years later, barely anything has changed.

Arsenal Truth is one of the few Arsenal blogs that I've seen, which speaks with absolute conviction and truth regardless of the final scoreline on Matchday. It's the first Arsenal blog I had come across that took such a violent and aggressive turn from other Arsenal blogs, yet was bang on the money in the long run.

Arsenal Truth, as you would expect, is anti-Wenger, but speaks with reason. While I believe Le Grove is better than Truth, AT was the first blog I had found, hence I followed it more.

Not anymore. Now that Arsenal Truth has called it quits, I'm left seething over Wenger, because he was mostly responsible for a loyal supporter turning his back. I hope I won't end up his way under Wenger stewardship.

I genuinely understand why Arsene's supporters are angry with the Wenger Out section. After all, I was one of them around 2 years ago. However, whichever way you look at it, the Wenger Out crew has always been right. The truth may be bitter, or it may be what you don't want to hear, but it remains the truth. Wenger remains a con man, a procrastinator, a tactical joke, a poor motivator, an excuse-hunter, a dictator, a miser and a two-faced fallen philosopher. Loads of evidence, and archival match reports from Le Grove, Arsenal Truth (and indeed, this blog) suggests the same.

For five whole years, everything has stayed the same. The only change has been an increase in our bank balance, which was down to Mr Gazidis, not Arsene Wenger. Anyone who thinks that a football manager was responsible in striking deals with PUMA and Emirates are off their rocker, frankly.

Every year, it's the same mistakes. Under Wenger, those mistakes are certain to continue. We won't compete for the Champions League nor win the Premier League EVER. We'll always find supporters - desperate to not see their fallen hero being blamed - lambasting injuries and refereeing decisions instead. We might pick up some cups along the way, but let's face it, they'd be a poor substitute for our proud history.

In fact, I can make 10 bold predictions for the next season. If Wenger stays, regardless of what happens in the FA Cup, the following will happen in 2014/15. I guarantee it.




1. In the transfer market, Arsenal will not do even half their business early (before the World Cup). Even though there is a possibility of needing to buy around 8 players to have a complete squad for the next season, I'm sure we'll make a circus of it.

2. Arsenal will fall short of players. There will be at least one panic purchase on deadline day, and in the end we'll lack in depth in at least one area. Whether it's goalkeeper, defence, midfield or forward, I don't know. Whatever happens, fans will come out with their excuses. Stuff like Wenger wasn't allowed to spend by the board, World Cup was an unnecessary distraction or clubs deliberately didn't sell their players to Arsenal, will be doing the rounds.

3. Arsenal might buy one world-class player, but he would be bought due to fan pressure, not out of some master plan. It'll be synonymous to the £42.5m splash on Ozil. This one would possibly be on deadline day too.

4. Arsenal will not win the EPL, nor will they come close to winning the Champions League. We might win the FA Cup or the Capital One, but we won't win trophies a club of Arsenal's stature should win.

5. 90% of the mistakes that I've mentioned about Wenger (to see them together, click here) will recur. Whether they are unnoticed by deluded supporters or are spoken by the mainstream media remains to be seen.

6. There will be negative, Villa-ish results at least thrice next season. Boos ringing around the stadium are certain to follow, if these matches happen at home.

7. Even though lack of transfers will have a huge impact, Wenger's insane tactical approach, and his clear inability to motivate his team during the crunch clashes will prove decisive in us not competing. Of course, Wenger's apologists will instead blame injuries and refereeing decisions.

8. There will be an injury crisis, somewhere after the Christmas schedule.

NOTE: This isn't because fate, luck and destiny loathe Arsenal, it's because Wenger overplays his key players until they can barely walk, and then overrules his medical staff advice like the dictator he is. It's not a coincidence that Arsenal have topped the injury list for the past five years.

9. Mesut Ozil will not be as successful as people think. A lot have got it wrong with Ozil, they think this season is his adaptation period. If so, shouldn't he have a bad first half of the season and then a good second half of the season? Why is it the other way around?

Fact is, Ozil never was good with Arsenal once he learnt the Wenger way. Sure, he started his season brilliantly, but once Wenger started to impose his tactical approach on Ozil, the guy faded. Wenger also overplayed him throughout the Christmas schedule and heaped pressure on him. He surrounded Ozil with weak and slow people which exposed his flaws even more. Ozil's injury was predictable, really.

Of course, there is every chance Ozil can resist Wenger's suicidal man management. World class players like Cesc and Robin did. However, if Ozil manages to set the league alight next season, it would be inspite of Wenger's management, not because of him.

I fear Ozil will go the way of Arshavin.

10. The season, as the past ten, will end up as 'not good enough'. A majority of Arsenal's fan base, to not heap pressure on their beloved philosopher, will instead glorify what he will 'achieve' throughout the following season, make themselves believe that better days are set to arrive and continue their futile exercise of hoping that Arsenal, under a zombie manager, will put things right the eleventh time around.

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While I can't guarantee that all of these will happen next season, certainly around 8 of these points will transpire under Arsene Wenger. Most of them happened this season, they happened last season, and also the season before. If you don't want to believe that it's happening, tough, but it'll happen anyways, and you'd better deal with it then.

Frankly, it's embarrassing that a blogger from India can predict the impending disaster with such certainty, before one of football's supposed greatest managers can do anything about it, or even know it. I'm in no way suggesting that I could be a better manager than Wenger, for I have zero footballing managerial experience. But if me, Le Grove and AT can see what's coming, why can't Wenger?

It doesn't take anyone to be a football manager to realize that Arsenal needed a bloody striker for two seasons. You don't need to win the Premier League to have an opinion on Wenger's laughable tactics. If people loathe Hitler for killing millions of Jews, did any German retort by saying, "Well, you haven't been a dictator, you don't know how hard it is!"

In honesty, I feel sorry for Arsenal fans, I really do. The Arsenal fanbase is, in my opinion, one of the most loyal and patient ever. However, Wenger destroying his own legacy is having an adverse effect on these fans, who are now filled with self-doubt, false belief and are forced to accept mediocrity from time to time. Wenger is killing the club, feeding Gooners with the poison of hope, destroying their passion and trust and in return, delivering nothing.

How do you describe this situation? One word - fraud.

Don't let a 3-0 win against a disinterested Newcastle, or penalty shootout relief against a Championship side fool you; Arsenal is a mess. The backroom staff don't get a say under Wenger, the rotten system - flawed on ALL levels - will not change, players will get fed up and leave, Wenger will pick up his salary, the clueless board will not challenge him, and Arsenal will remain godawful under his dictatorial reign. On every level, the club remains hamstrung.

Hopefully if Wenger leaves in the summer, all the madness will stop and fans will be fed with genuine optimism. I have always supported Arsenal, but today it is more out of loyalty than pure passion. If Wenger is to leave, that passion will return.

Otherwise, if the chaos continues, years from now, I might end up like Arsenal Truth.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )