As the summer draws to an official close this Sunday, I have decided, after much deliberation, that central line women are the fittest of them all. Believe me, I'm right, particularly as I have conducted extensive research in this field – worthy of a PhD. Imagine, Dr. Khanage!
Anyhow, what an interesting month it has been for Arsenal FC. 7 wins from 8 since our capitulation at Blackburn – our only defeat at White Hart Lane and the Club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) - more on this later.
The unexpected loss at Ewood Park was quickly followed by wins against Shrewsbury (Carling Cup), Bolton Wanderers (Premier League) and Olympiacos (Champions League). Unimpressive performances but the results were most welcome. The irony is that I think we actually played well against Spurs and in fairness, the game could have gone either way. In the end, it was settled by another wonder goal, this time from young right back, Kyle Walker. As expected, I received numerous abusive text messages at full-time and rightly so – if you can give it, you’ve got to be prepared to take it. However, all this nonsense about the ‘shift of power’ and that Spurs are now the ‘force of North London’ is total bollocks. May I remind those fools, that in addition to the fact we have finished above Spurs every season in the Premier League, our club honours also boast the following achievements:
13 League Championships
10 FA Cups
2 League Cups
European Fairs Cup Winners
European Cup Winners Cup
and Champions League 14 years running – a feat matched only by Barcelona and Manchester United
As Kasabian sing, (those) days are forgotten, simply forgotten.
I must say, some of the headlines that have followed our losses this season have been nothing short of hilarious. Claims that Arsenal are finished, or that Arsenal won’t finish top half and my favourite, Arsenal for relegation, are laughable. Such sensationalism is expected from the media but when it comes from the fans, it spreads like a poisonous cancer. Needless to say, this negativity has spread to match-days at the Emirates resulting in hostile receptions for the team every week. This isn’t healthy and must stop. For the record, Newcastle United will not finish top 4, we will not be relegated and we are certainly not finished!
Since the North London derby, we’ve picked up wins against Sunderland, Marseille, Stoke and Bolton. It would be fair to say that we’ve ground out some of these results with less than impressive performances but is this such a bad thing? Considering where we were, we can’t complain and I am convinced the performances will come. As Arsene once brilliantly put it, ‘If you eat caviar every day it is difficult to come back to sausages’.
Incidentally, I must apologise to my fellow Emirati for my outburst at the game against Stoke City. I should not have lost it – sorry. Peter Crouch’s equaliser came as a result of awful defending from a set piece. Ryan Shawcross was left totally unmarked, much to my dissatisfaction (as caught on Sky Sports, below) and he headed it straight across the goalmouth to get an assist.
The club held it’s AGM yesterday and to be perfectly honest, there was nothing of significant interest. We had a few words from Stan Kroenke, the usual polished waffle from the Chief Executive and a rousing speech from Arsene, calling for the club (fans) to be united. The media immediately picked up on some disgruntled supporters outside the stadium who all urged the club to spend millions. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we don’t have the money. Trying to keep up with these sugar-daddy funded clubs isn’t the right path to take. In twenty years we’ll all look back and realise that Arsene was right all along.
Next up, Chelsea. I’m going to the Bridge for the first time tomorrow and am really looking forward to it. Much has been made of their disciplinary problems and JT’s spat with Anton Ferdinand but make no mistake, they will be up for this and will be very tough to beat. I’d be pleased with a point but I think we’re capable of all three.
Oh and guess who’s back… Tommy V = nails.
And finally, an interesting find that has caught my attention. Rambo’s statistics in terms of ball retention, pass completion, goals scored and chances created are on par with David Silva. Of course, he won’t get the same press coverage, but I’ll take that all day long.
Viva Le Arse!
