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Honestly…

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Mar 122013

Good evening my Arsenal family. Tomorrow we face a Bayern Munchen that are in hellish form. I know we were all celebrating when we heard all the news that it could be a “depleted” squad. Then we heard that Jack will not be playing and all of a sudden we lost all faith in the other 10 players on the field and the 7 on the bench. If my memory serves me well, Jack was not at the AC Milan game either and it was the same full strength Milan squad that hammered us 4-0 at the San Siro. Before I carry on Rosicky is the best player at Arsenal at the moment and you can argue with me till you are blue in the face but it won’t change a thing. Okay back to Jack. I am actually glad he won’t be playing and before you think I don’t know what I am talking about, just sip your coffee and read on.

The kid needs time to grow up, see, I like what Wenger is doing to the Ox and in a couple of seasons he will be absolutely dynamite for arsenal down that wing. There is an experienced player in his position and even though he [The Ox] is a part of the first team and is being called upon to his weight, it does not change the fact that he is still a kid. The same with jack, all he needed this season was to watch Rosicky and Arteta play, granted the Czech and the Spaniard have had their fair share of injuries this season and when called to stand Jack did that and more.

At the moment the hopes of our team are placed on the shoulders of a 22 year old instead of the experienced campaigners. Rosicky is our best chance tomorrow night. That man has the ability to find space, create space, use what little space he has to his advantage, can find a player ANYWHERE on the pitch and as simple as that sound it’s all we need.

I am officially calling for Vermaalen’s head as Captain. I’m sorry but the man is a pathetic leader and is having an appalling season. Give the band to Arteta.

I woke and went straight to twitter and an interview by Arteta was up.

“You can’t keep saying we played well but lost. It’s not good enough”.

This is him speaking about the FA Cup opportunity that we flushed down the toilet. I do however feel that with that was our “Top Club” status.

Every time we hear or read about the post-match press conference it’s the same thing over and over and over again. “We played well but we lost” or “We fought hard, now we have to bounce back” it’s sad to have to read these comments from the manager and players. We need a midfield General, with a relatively young squad we need a leader and Arteta is exactly that. Yes, I know he lets the ball slip to easily at times but more often than not he is solid, reliable, loud (which is always a good thing) and can rally up the troops.

As for the rest of my/our team. All we need is a good wake-up call and for me that was at the Capital One Cup already but maybe they are delayed so the FA Cup was next. All we want is an all-out performance. Win or lose I will be a proud Gunner if come on that field and leave with our heads held high.

By Ntokozo Hlongwane

Could this season be the beginning of something fantastic for Arsenal’s future?

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Apr 292012

To every Arsenal fans displeasure who had to witness it, the start of Arsenal’s 2011/12 campaign was the worst that had been recorded under Wenger. People were questioning whether we would make the top half of the table let alone top 4. After being forced to make late signings of Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and the loan deal of Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea, we didn’t have time to let these players gel together and prepare for the upcoming season.

However we were given a life line, one last chance to fight other teams and climb the table, newly appointed captain Robin Van Persie was that lifeline. Robin delivered crucial goals week in week out to ensure very important victories for us while our new team was slowly gelling and becoming stronger. On Monday 3rd of October we were 15th in the table and this is where our climb began. After a disapointing loss to our North London rivals Tottenham on the previous day, we would then go on to complete 10 games undefeated in all competitions. Slowly we were becoming the Arsenal we all knew and loved, in this matter of time we had gone from 15th to 7th.

The purchase of Mikel Arteta had proved one of best signings we had made in years, his passing, vision and understanding of the game kept our midfield together, plus he was also able to get a few goals at the same time. Come New Year we were 5th and getting close to our usuall position of top 4, our defence was restored to its original line up which allowed Koscielny and Vermaelen to show how dominant they can be when they play together. Our team were on the form of their lives, they were catching up with Tottenham, scoring goals and most importantly not conceading many. January and Febuary were very special month’s for Arsenal, we had brought back legend Thierry Henry on a 2 month loan deal, with him scoring on his second debut against Leeds, but added to that by scoring on his last game of the loan deal which helped Arsenal win in the dying minutes against Sunderland. We got revenge on our rivals Tottenham by beating them 5-2 at the Emirates, which then led to Tottenham’s poor run of form which cost them a 13 point gap between us.

Eventually by March, we had overtaken them and were now 3rd. In the same month reports from Germany had stated that Lukas Podolski of FC Kóln would join Arsenal in the summer for a fee expected to be around £10.9m. Even though both clubs denied this rumour, everyone knew it was probably true. So far this season had proved to be the one of worst, but the end was looking promising.

Why you may ask ? Well lets look back. We lost two very big players during the summer, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. We didn’t buy any replacements until the last hour of the transfer window. We had lost the promising Jack Wilshere to injury. Yet still with all these problems we were third buy March. We had witnessed the determination to win and achieve and it had paid off.

Which is why im confident that by next season, when our team is all together with players back from injury and new additions. This season will be the start of something very bright for Arsenals future.

By Benji Corbett

Follow me on twitter, @benjicorbettafc

One nil to the Arsenal

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Apr 082012

What a game! There is nothing more satisfying than beating a team that has wasted 210 million pounds trying to improve, and putting them out of reach of the Premier League title. Some may look back on the match and say we were unlucky not to score more, but at the end of the day, three points were all we needed.

Arsenal started brightly, passing and moving with the ball very smoothly. We dominated the first third of the match and after 10 minutes we had 74% possession, only 15 minutes in, the crowd were up on their feet celebrating. It was one of the most unlucky moments of Arsenal’s season, RVP rose to power a header towards goal only to be blocked by the Verminator’s wandering run. It then cannoned off the bar and was quickly cleared by the Man City defence. As the game progressed and we struggled to break the deadlock, the miss began to look more and more costly. The citizens spirits were then further dampened by the loss of Yaya Toure through injury, he was replaced by on loan Roma midfielder David Pizzaro. After about 25 minutes had passed, City started to settle into the game, a low corner caught Song napping as Balotelli shot completely unmarked, only smart defending from Gibbs kept the score at 0-0. The only other notable chance of the first half was when Balotelli was sent clean through, only to be thwarted by Scz’s impressive clearance from outside the box. As the half ended, Arsenal went in high on confidence after owning the first half in all aspects.

After the break, City were a changed side, they started to press on in the game, searching for the vital 3 points. Aguero pushed much further forward and nearly reaped the rewards, but Scz’s safe hands were there to tip over for a corner. After a spell of pressure from City, Benayoun lead the attack with various weaving runs, providing balls that couldn’t be finished. His selection today really came off in my opinion, many have been quick to criticise Wenger’s tactical decisions in recent weeks but this was one really paid off. Arsenal came remarkably close again, as Song delivered one of his patented chips only to be headed at the post by the Flying Dutchman. At this point it seemed as though time was running out. More chances from City came as Kos acquired a yellow card (he will miss the next two games v wolves and Wigan) and gave away a free kick in a dangerous position. Later on Balotelli missed an overhead kick from the six yard line, but it seemed the breakthrough had been made as minute later RVP had the ball in the net, only to be ruled offside. Another impossibly close chance for Arsenal followed, Theo Walcott shot from close range, the ball bounced off the post to the Verminator who scuffed his shot into the path of Benayoun who also missed past the opposite post! In the final ten minutes it was one way traffic, Arteta stole the ball and shot from outside the box to seal the win in the 88th minute. Only a minute later Balotelli received another yellow card and was sent off to compile Mancini’s misery. In the final minute’s Ramsey was through on Hart and seemingly certain to add another but completely misjudged his shot and blasted high and wide. Luckily for him it turned out to be unimportant as Arsenal triumphed again to move back into third place.

Now the team have some well-earned recovery time before we play Wolves on Wednesday.

Till Then.

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