Written by Mean Lean on Sunday, 14 August 2011 05:32

A scoreless draw at Newcastle can be and will be seen in so many different ways from all types of supporters. Many eyes were fixed on the fixture as the Cesc and Nasri stories dominated the headlines in recent weeks. How would the side cope mentally following the dramatic 4-4 draw last season at the same ground?

Those who expected an eight goal thriller would have been very disappointed as the game on the whole lacked the punch that it promised.

Arsene Wenger's line up was pretty straight forward and nothing out of the ordinary, especially as Jack Wilshere was unavailable due to injury suffered in the Emirates cup and the obvious absence of both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

The only real choice that Wenger had to make was who to select on the opposite flank of new signing Gervinho. Andrey Arshavin was given the nod, possibly due to the Russian competing in the final pre season matches where as Walcott had missed them through injury.

I have been looking forward to watching the Vermaelen and Koscielny partnership develop and it looked every bit as wonderful as I had imagined. Both players were fully committed, on the same wave length and dealt with pretty much everything that was thrown at them. Shola Ameobi and Demba Ba were kept firmly in the center backs pockets throughout the match.

Another great defensive positive was the organisation and command at set pieces. Arsene Wenger and a few of the players have been talking about the work that has gone into sorting out that area and if yesterday was anything to go by then we can collectively wipe our brows. Wojciech Szczesny was commanding, brave and aggressive while our defenders flung themselves at every ball into the box.

Newcastle United were starved of the ball for long periods, especially in the first half and had clearly been waiting for opportunities at set pieces but were continuously thwarted. Gibbs looked strong and dynamic while Bacary Sagna was his usual sturdy self.

Alex Song ahead of the back four was very strong and he pressed with the rest of our team very well, breaking up Newcastle's play time and time again. My one criticism of Song at times is that he often delays making the pass and instead shields the ball, twisting and turning before releasing the pass. I worry that he will get caught and we could suffer a counter attack but also that we often lose the opportunity to counter ourselves. That said his defensive performance was top quality.

His stamp on Joey Barton was foolish and unnecessary. It will probably cost him a three game ban as the incident is likely to be looked into. Alex Song is a professional footballer who should know that getting away with acts like that is unlikely to happen unless you are the England center forward playing for Manchester United. Then elbow's in the face are acceptable.

It was not the last act of stupidity of the day.

Tomas Rosicky continued to impress after some fantastic pre season displays. He was offensively our best midfielder and linked up with his team mates very well. His turns and drives into the opposition third reminded me of Rosicky in 2008. If Rosicky had continued his pre season form then the same has to be said of Aaron Ramsey as he struggled to stamp his authority on the game. He worked hard but flitted in and out o f the game.

Aaron Ramsey is a quality footballer who has just come back from a major injury. He will be a fantastic talent for many years but right now, I am not sure if he is ready to be a first name on the team sheet.

Robin Van Persie who is currently our best offensive player was not on his game. Van Persie seems to be a slow starter to seasons but I am not sure that he helped himself or indeed his wide attackers. His role as a false nine was to drop off the front and allow the wide players to get ahead of him. Robin often stayed alongside the center half and was easily picked up. Not only would have dropping off the front allowed runners to replace him but he would have been able to add extra creativity that was missing from Ramsey, Arshavin and company.

Gervinho was lively but lacked end product but at least he was willing to make something happen other than passing the ball, I like that about him and feel he is what has been missing from our team since perhaps Thierry Henry. Henry had better end product, probably at the same age but he had the same ability to skip past people to open up spaces that had previously not been there.

Gervinho's red card was the big talking point and many have differing views on it. Fans have said that he defended himself whilst others believe that he should be more professional. I fall into the latter camp. Joey Barton is Joey Barton, everyone knows what he is about. I defended Abou Diaby last season for reacting because it was a dangerous tackle and Diaby has massively suffered from career threatening tackles in the past but knowing what Barton is like, as soon as Gervinho's shirt was grabbed, he should have thought about the advice given to him not to react to possible Barton provocation. If that information was not passed on then why on earth not? It was a needless claw into Barton's face and being the despicable human being that he is, he fell to the floor.

A man complaining of a player diving is diving to get the same player sent off. What utter madness. I don't really care about Barton and that he deserved a red card. The colour of Barton's card does not mean that Gervinho will miss vital games but Gervinho's retaliation will mean that an important player will miss Liverpool, Manchester United and Swansea, probably sat alongside Alex Song in the stands due to not using self control.

This isn't to ignore the fact that we should have actually gained a penalty. If not for the trip from Cheick Tioté which caused the controversy but at least for the man handling of Gervinho from Barton when the ball was still active but that is certainly the type of penalty that would be awarded against us and not in our favour.

Theo came on and had a shot saved but his overall contribution was below what it should have been.

Even down to ten men, we still looked the team likely to win the game. Johan Djourou came on in central midfield to contribute to preventing Newcastle's only possible threat, the long ball and set pieces and he had a great chance to free Walcott or Van Persie on the break but his pass was badly executed.

The game finished goalless and defensively we can take great encouragement from the performance even if it was against an average side. Offensively in the absence of Cesc and to a lesser extent Nasri, work needs to be done. Too many attacking players were off their game but you would expect Cesc to be replaced externally. Hopefully we can work on our defensive foundation and improve both defensively and offensively as the season progresses.

Man of the match: Laurent Koscielny

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Comments (67)

• 14-Aug-2011 09:23 | | Andeeeguner  - Arsenal
  

  Good post man! Bartons scum that's all. Can't wait to see who we will sign in the market. Udinese Tuesday is it??
  

• 14-Aug-2011 09:27 | | Anonymous
  

  I was reasonably happy with the performance of all our players. Clearly they are not yet at their best level, as the number of passes which came close but did not quite make the intended target, showed.
  
  In my opinion we were robbed of two points by the officials and in that respect nothing has changed since last season. Walton failed to act against Taylor for a number of fouls - just watched the game again and clearly van Persie should have had a penalty when he was pushed in the back in the box. Then there is also the penalty we should have had after the Gervinho incident as you described. I have a feeling that his assistants told Walton that Barton should have been redcarded and/or a penalty given to Arsenal, which he chose to ignore.
  
  The fact that there are always different rules applied to Arsenal is really frustrating me to the point where I think why do I still watch this rubbish.

• 14-Aug-2011 09:40 | | Jan  - Money Talks
  

  Seems to me our manager is suffering at the hands of the uber rich clubs in terms of his ability to sign real quality - they use their riches tactically not only buying up quality but preventing other clubs from doing so. They only have to be mentioned in connection to a player and his head is turned along with the heads of the selling club.
  
  This is what Wenger means when he says that there are only two price brackets at the moment £3-7M and £30M + (Quality falling into the latter). The situation is being played and caused by these clubs and their benefactors.
  
  It seems Football's governing bodies lack the power to change this (even with financial fair play). The Rich clubs will remain rich - if you can't beat them join them - unless we do, we will remain isolated . I worry that even our ability to attract good youngsters will be affected and then there's the question of how we keep them at the club.
  
  I know paitence is a virtue, but there are no guarantees that "Financial Fair Play" will work. The "Uber rich clubs are buying up all the best young talent to ensure that they stay at the top for the next 5-6 years at least - by then they will have stolen a march on us.
  
  In order to defend our club we need Usmanov's money if he intends to invest it in the club and then we need to spend it.

• 14-Aug-2011 09:46 | | stuart  - stupidity
  

  I watched the match yesterday and I thought as usual we dominated possession but did nothing with it. I think gervinho looks good but goes down way to easily. It's something he has to stop quickly or he will get a reputation. The slap was a red card but so should have barton for man handling and over reacting. Alex Song knew what he was doing and if he is not banned I'd be surprised. He was plain stupid and if the rumors are true and he is in trouble back home we could lose him for a lot longer. So we go into the next two league games and a two leg champions league match with our season about to be defined. If we lose the champions league matches we lose £20m in possible revenue. If we lose to Liverpool and United I can see Wenger going quite quickly. I see that especially if we lose and have not signed anyone of note. Wenger looks worried and his body language on the bench suggests he is under extreme pressure. Watch this space but the next two weeks will shape our season. I hope it shapes for a successful one but I don't think it will.

• 14-Aug-2011 09:53 | | Vuja De
  

  What a player Koscielny is. He just oozes class. I think he'll turn out to be one of Arsene's best ever purchases.
  
  And to think that there were/are a vociferous number of so called Arsenal "fans" who didn't/don't rate him, simply because of his low price tag. Make no mistake, if he was playing for Utd or Chelsea, those same "fans" would be wetting themselves in envy.
  
  I think that we created enough chances, particularly in the first half, to have won the game comfortably, and don't buy into the narrative that we didn't score because neither of Fabregas or Nasri were on the pitch.
  
  It's very clear that the long running, all year round campaign by substantial sections of the sports media - feeding and being fed by certain sections of the Arsenal support - to get Arsene Wenger out of his post, has been racheted up a notch or two.
  
  I really hope that the Arsenal board continue to show leadership in rejecting the hostile climate & negativity surrounding the club generally and Arsene in particular, all manufactured by the above parties.
  
  The Board are media literate, and know that it's all about trying to get rid of Arsene. They would be making a serious mistake should they even think of going down that route.
  
  Very excited about the signing of Joel Campbell. Saw him in action at the Under 20s World Cup for Costa Rica. I like what he brings to the footballing table.

• 14-Aug-2011 09:56 | | red boy
  

  If wenger dont buy now we will be lucky to get in the top 7 with this squad .

• 14-Aug-2011 10:12 | | cavalry  - Liam Brady's explanation for our current inaction
  

  instructive to listen to Liam Brady on television last night. He is a pundit on the Irish version of Match of the Day on Irish television station RTE. When asked about the current turmoil at Arsenal and why Wenger is reluctant to buy in players he replied that the Arsenal board and unwilling to sanction very high wages for any player hence the fact why we have failed to buy any player of proven quality. He further addded that Wenger would carry on trying to buy players on their way up rather thatn proven players whose wages are deemed to be too high.
  As Brady is an inside man so to speak I think that in his answer last night you find the reason for all the club's dithering over the past six years. Trying to find players on reasonable wages that they can eventually sell on at a profit. Even at this we are useless in comparison to the likes of Porto, Lille etc. What the hell are our scouts at???
  It also leads on to the interesting question that if your manager is on six million in wages a year, how much of his remit is to make sure that he stays within financial perameters as laid down by the board. I find it incredulous that our two main shareholders who are multi billionaires have not as yet put their hands into their greasy pockets. Compare Kronke's inaction to what has been going on at Liverpool, At Maunure under the hated Glazers.

• 14-Aug-2011 10:20 | | DJ Dragonfly
  

  @ ML
  
  Long time since I've written on here. Hope everything is good in your world mate?
  
  Creatively we weren't at our best, which is a bit of a worry. The team were unable to make that final pass when we got to the edge of Newcastle's area.
  
  In Wilshire's absence, Rosicky really needs to step up in the playmaker role until Jack returns. Also Van Persie needs to gain more support from the wide attackers. Arshavin and Gervinho were not at their best in fulfilling this role yesterday IMO.
  
  Defensively we were solid with every member of the back five impressing. It was refreshing to see Vermaelen bringing the ball out of defence and starting some of our attacks from this area. Damn we've missed him. Szczesny was commending in goal and he dominated his penalty area with strong authority.
  
  A draw was the correct result. Bring on Udinese!

• 14-Aug-2011 10:40 | | Podge
  

  you were making a good point until that last sentance. Keep Usmanov away from Arsenal

• 14-Aug-2011 10:53 | | Podge
  

  Song was stupid, Gervinho was stupid,Taylor was stupid and Barton was stupid all 3 should have been punished yet only one was our player. While I'm dissapointed in Song I do like to see some fight from our players as they are so often criticised for a lack of it. Gervinho dived I think, haven't seen a replay of it but he better not be that kind of player. Barton manhandled him in open play and we should have had a penalty for it. Wenger was right about 2 reds or 2 yellows.
  Don't think there will be a knee jerk reaction like that.The board know firing Wenger is 99% likely to be a disaster

• 14-Aug-2011 11:20 | | theo
  

  its good to see arsenal defending well for 90 mins, that doesn't happen a lot. I think the main problem with us is not the fact that we can't defend, its just that we tend to lose concentration on either set pieces or counter attack which leads us to conceading sloppy goals, so it was really pleasing to see us totally focues for the whole match. Its a shame we were pretty slow and predictable in the final third, no doubt fabregas and nasri have to replaced as soon as possible. However, my main concern is with the fans. I know its not an easy time to be an arsenal fan and I know that a fan who pays money has the right to express his views, but I don't see what's the point if it affects our team and makes us worse. Chants of "spend some fucking money" when ure playing away from home in the first match of the season, is not really the best way to encourage your players and help your club go forward. With udinese and liverpool at home next, I'm really worried that the fans will once again turn on the players if things aren't going great. There's no doubt that the media have accomplished their goal of turning the fans against their own club but for the sake of arsenal, I hope our fans are more of an asset than a liability this season

• 14-Aug-2011 11:30 | | Spectrum
  

  @ Vuja De - The A.K.B.'s are not only deluded, but now you can add paranoia to the list. The hostile climate and negativity surrounding the club is "manufactured" ? How convenient. So they're making up all this ?
  It's of OUR OWN making. The media feed off it to some extent, but they'd do that with any club that conducts itself as poorly as we do. Media beat ups are nothing new. But these reports and stories are largely reflecting, and commenting on, the turmoil that we're needlessly putting OURSELVES through. They're not beat ups, they're expressing the thoughts and views of those with open minds, who can see what is wrong with our club, and the lack of action to do anything about it.
  Media "conspiracies" are a straw for the A.K.B.'s to clutch at. After all, they have to keep coming up with excuses from somewhere, don't they ? This is just their latest one.
  "******************"

• 14-Aug-2011 11:40 | | feeno
  

  You're part of it.

• 14-Aug-2011 11:42 | | Spectrum
  

  cavalry - Agreed. Wenger has not and will not, give up on his youth project. He is single mindedly obsessed with being proven right. It's his vanity and ego that's driving him on with it. Six to seven years he's been trying, and six to seven years we've been waiting to see the fruits of it. And now he's frustrated and desperate. He must know he's had more chances than he's entitled to have.
  The only way we can force the issue and get rid of him, will be if we fail to make the Champion's League one year. The loss of 20 million in revenue is the main thing the board will not sanction.
  "******************"

• 14-Aug-2011 11:49 | | Spectrum
  

  Dragonfly - The defence weren't called on to do much. Newcastle were poor, and looked uninspired ( much like us last season ). We lacked creativity because we sorely lack Fabregas's influence. We will MISS him. And it shows.
  Mata isn't coming. Wenger says we musn't ask why. We fans are just plebs. Not important. "I don't have to give you a reason". he dismissively says.
  " ******************"

• 14-Aug-2011 12:06 | | Spectrum
  

  theo - The media haven't turned the fans against the team. That's the management and their disciples who want you to believe that. The fans ( the ones who are objective, that is ) have minds of their OWN. The paper talk is picking up on the manifest discontent and anger around the club.
  And on the fans booing e.t.c. - don't you think the players are aware of what's been going on all this time ? No doubt most of them share and tacitly concur with the views of the boo-ers. So why would it necessarily affect them negatively ? In fact, they're probably having a chuckle to themselves, hoping the message sinks in.
  And remember - these players are professionals, paid thousands of dollars a week. They're adults, and if their minds are that sensitive and fragile, then maybe they should take up tai chi classes instead. At least Gibbs and Van Persie wouldn't get injured as often !
  "******************"

• 14-Aug-2011 12:09 | | Spectrum
  

  “You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.” ( quote from George W. Bush )
  Hmmm. Wonder if George has been having a word in the ear of Wenger ?
  “******************”

• 14-Aug-2011 12:43 | | richie  - Podge check slow Mo
  

  Tiote tripped Gervinho! Watch a replay. Many will say contact was minimal but there was clear contact and it was clearly enough contact to trip. Could Gervinho have stayed on his feet? Yes, probably but who but Gervinho will know if the contact at that second was enough to trip?

• 14-Aug-2011 12:56 | | richie  - Jan I'm with Podge good points until last
  

  Usmanov won't buy players for us he's a Manu'er fan (That came from his own mouth it isn't a storey from the Mail or 5live). He's invested his money in the club to make money on the shares he bought. Usmanov was David Dein's parting "gift", it was his revenge on the board for being thrown out by his one time friend Fiszman.

• 14-Aug-2011 13:01 | | richie  - Spectrum= Tiny Tott in disguise
  

  Cavalry the Brady interview will be ignored by the by the AW out brigade it doesn't suit their adgenda.

• 14-Aug-2011 14:10 | | richie  - An Amazing Confession truth will out
  

  Spectrum confesses to being able to fool some of the Gooners who post all of the time! Many of you didn't realise he was a Spud in disguise!

• 14-Aug-2011 14:25 | | Spectrum
  

  richie@ 14;10 - The usual A. K. B. retort of being "a Spud in disguise". Now tell me how Wenger built the stadium with his bare hands, how we are broke, and can't compete, how he's done so much for us IN THE PAST ( of course ), that he's able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, and the classic one ; "go support another club."
  "******************"

• 14-Aug-2011 14:29 | | Spectrum
  

  By the way richie - that George Bush quote I used above, was aimed at people just like you. Has that dawned on you yet ?
  "******************"

• 14-Aug-2011 15:45 | | john  - Average against poor team
  

  we were very average, against a poor Toon team and their forwards did very little to test our defence, but our defence did cope very well when they needed to be. They have to cope well against the bigger teams though, its then we will know how good our defence is. we looked like a mid table team, with no creativity, no end product. Gervinho was ok but again no end product. Ramsey was poor and would need to improve, Gibbs was not as bad as some think he is. Rosicky was more creative than usual which maybe says more about what we are lacking in midfield when im praising him. RVP was not his usual self, he actually looked a bit deflated and isolated with few chances on goal at all . Overall we were very average, and i hope Arsene heard the shouts of Spend some f*****g money because if things dont change the disillusionment of the Arsenal fans will increase and Arsene will be going going gone very swiftly. A positive outcome in the Udinese match is critical for Arsene never mind Arsenal imo.

• 14-Aug-2011 17:23 | | feeno
  

  you're a pleb.

• 14-Aug-2011 17:24 | | feeno
  

  funny that it applies more to you speccie.

• 14-Aug-2011 21:39 | | Man United Killa  - Killa's Take
  

  My man of the match: Gervinho
  I would have given Gervinho a 10/10 if he had slapped Barton on the other cheek too.I hope he slaps him again in the home game next year.

• 14-Aug-2011 21:47 | | Man United Killa  - Lousy reffing
  

  The Reff had clearly not taken his medicaton.what the heck was that all about?Barton just gets a yellow?Gerv should have slapped the punk on the other cheek too.What difference would it have made.The card wouldnt have been any redder than the one he received.talk about killing two birds with one stone.To hell with EPLl refs.
  But on the other hand our passing was not incisive enough.We cost ourselves points.

• 14-Aug-2011 21:53 | | Man United Killa
  

  I agree with your first point..what beats me is between Gerv and Barton I still can not fathom why only Gerv got his marching orders and Barton got to stay on.
  About your second point, firing Wenger will not necessarily be a disaster-change is not always a bad thing.

• 14-Aug-2011 21:58 | | Man United Killa
  

  I disagree with most of your points except 2.I agree with you on Kos though I think there is much improvement to be mage.Sometimes he reminds me of the HTC slogan; "quietly brilliant"....Campbell looks like quite a signing....
  About your other points, Arsenal board is showing nothing but lack of ambiton at this point.Its shameful to say the least.

• 14-Aug-2011 21:59 | | Man United Killa
  

  True Story!

• 14-Aug-2011 22:02 | | Man United Killa  - Nice one Calvary
  

  I guess there nothing more to add.Shaking My Head!

• 14-Aug-2011 22:05 | | Man United Killa
  

  The lack of urgency and incisiveness in our passing is worrying.There is not single player at the club who can do Cesc's job.Not even close.Rosicky to fill Cesc's role?Really?What a joke.We need a playmaker and we need it now.

• 14-Aug-2011 22:08 | | Man United Killa  - thoughts?
  

  Hey spectrum..what is your first thought after yesterday's match given that,that is the opener?

• 14-Aug-2011 22:16 | | feeno
  

  aye cos the management are saying that, anyone with a half a brain or arent trying to force their own agenda, no exactly what is going on with the media, you insult the club, the managment, the players and everyones intelligence to suggest otherwise. You are not an arsenal fan

• 14-Aug-2011 22:45 | | richie  - The usual retort of a 5th colomnist
  

  Your sudden defensiveness is very telling. Just like your confession about being able to fool the people. No need to try to reflect things back (as I've stated many times) you reveal most about who you really are when you criticise the club, the board, the manager, and our players.

• 14-Aug-2011 23:18 | | richie  - DJD longtime! Gooner
  

  This is a bleak blog these days unfortunately we've ended up with a very negative bunch of bloggers on here, ML spends most of his time defending our players, our manager, our board, and our club against the negative bloggers who seem to want to see the club go down the tubes. I know I've missed the more reasoned posts from those who would offer constructive criticise of our tactics, our players, and indeed our manager. Welcome back!

• 15-Aug-2011 02:57 | | TB Gooner  - Agree
  

  good post. I agree that the color of the card that Barton received is of little consequence now. gervinho was rightly sent off and song will, rightly, receive the same ban. we will just have to deal with the losses of those two for three very important games. perhaps we will have to see miyaichi, chamberlain, and/or frimpong much earlier than we had expected to this season.

• 15-Aug-2011 03:07 | | richie  - Buying&Selling the Arsenal way
  

  Now with the Cesc deal done there's a good chance we'll see some movement on the transfer front. Cavalry's quotes from RTE TV station from insider Liam Brady are very revealing RTE has an iplayer or catch them on youtube.Previously I mentioned Deloitte the football accountancy firm that said Arsenal would need to sell before we could think of buying, and so its proved. Just hope our board approves the wages. I've been hearing for a good while that when buying Arsene has to facture in both the transfer fee and the wages bill. i.e. the total wage bill for the club plus the new wages and transfer fee's and yearly there is only a fixt amount for both.

• 15-Aug-2011 03:18 | | richie  - Muk
  

  Not really surprisingly I disagree if Gervinho was gonna get red carded then best he's nicked for a sheep rather than a lamb. I wish he'd chinned Barton good and proper and put him down the way he fake fell for real. Then I'd have thought his red card was value for money viewing, even missing 3 top games worth it, no one could've argued Barton wouldn't have merited it.

• 15-Aug-2011 04:21 | | abdullah  - not bad after all
  

  immediatly after the match i was furisturated and dissapointed, even though i predected 1-1 draw, my major issue was the red card and how joy was lucky enough to escape sent off.
  anyhow, 1point from tough oponenmt isnt bad.. things will get better as the season goes on

• 15-Aug-2011 08:11 | | John  - Racist scum
  

  Barton got off lightly , and he is nothing but a racist thug. Gervinho was stupid alright, he should have stamped on bartons head never mind a flimsy slap.

• 15-Aug-2011 12:00 | | Spectrum
  

  Man Utd. Killa - Hello mate. Don't believe what the A.K.B.'s say about me being a Spud in disguise. Would I spend all this time and effort if I were ?. They see Arsene and the club as one and the same entity. Indistinguishable from each other. Criticising the manager is akin to denigrating the club itself, in their eyes. My beef is with the manager and the board. Any criticism of the team is incidental, and flows FROM THAT. The A.K.B.'s are too thick to see that, however.
  You asked about the match - well to save time, I'll copy my post from another blog to here, for you -
  
  "This is the team the manager put out, and WHERE was the creativity ? The
  chipped through balls, the defence splitting passes ? Fabregas’s
  influence is noticeably MISSING. You can’t take out our leading passer
  and assist maker for last season, the most creative midfielder in Europe
  – and NOT miss him.
  
  To the match itself ; Our defence was hardly tested. That is yet to
  come.This was a poor Newcastle side, who didn’t show much desire. So how
  ordinary does that make US ? Last season we would have beaten this lot
  easily and…..oops ! wait on, we were four nil up, and we drew THEN, too. "
  
  ” ******************”

• 15-Aug-2011 12:09 | | Spectrum
  

  Sometimes you’ve just got to shake your head. This post from over at the A.K.B. blog "A Cultured Left Foot" Mean Lean, richie, feeno, how will you top this ? – ( you can almost hear the “Rocky” theme playing in the background ) –
  
  “My friends, my team, my champions. Though it is the same, this is our biggest challenge yet and the stakes are greater than this time last year.
  
  Last year we were defiant, make no mistake about that. None expected us to achieve, none expected us to do what we did. The juggernauts of City, cowered before us. The mighty Barcelona humbled before us. Chelsea, knelled, and the champions United felled. Though we ultimately fell in our quest, we gave them all pause for thought. We punched the untouchable, bled the invincible, and shook the establishment as though it were Samson’s tomb.
  
  But our defiance has angered them, and their wrath, all that they could do is spread mistruths and make their expectations of failure bolder. We cannot give them the victory. We must not let the proclaimations of doom affect our spirit, our unity, any more than it already has. Now is the time to regain what was once ours; now is the time for our desire for victory to become emboldened by the faith we have.
  
  Let those who want to leave leave. We have new allies, ready to take up the burden. And that burden begins in earnest now. Today with an enemy who sought to embarrass us like none before. We have a justice to be righted today. Do not play with this in mind, play with the mind to win, to score, to be impenetrable.
  
  Play as a team, attack as a team, defend as a team, fight as a team, and when May arrives, let us celebrate as a team.
  
  Vindicate those who believe.
  
  Victoria concordia cresit.
  
  ARSENAL ”
  
  ” ******************”

• 15-Aug-2011 12:28 | | Feeno
  

  why would we want to top it? Someone looking for people to have faith in their team, and you want to ridicule it. Every day your desperation grows, the points put to you ignored every day show me that you arent a fan of this club and are looking undermime and disrupt proper fans

• 15-Aug-2011 13:12 | | Spectrum
  

  richie - Well we now HAVE sold. And we have 100 million plus in our pocket. If that can't buy as some EXPERIENCED quality, what can ? But will Wenger spend the whole 100 million ? He needs to. But based on past behaviour, what do you think will ACTUALLY happen ?
  He'll buy a couple of average players for no more than 30 mill, fill in the remaining gaps with inexperienced Project Youth graduates, and then triumphantly claim he's made us 70 million profit. And some of us will gullibly applaud him for his "genius".
  '' ******************"

• 15-Aug-2011 13:16 | | Spectrum
  

  Feeno - You just don't get it.
  "******************"

• 15-Aug-2011 13:30 | | Man United Killa  - My thoughts exactly
  

  Spectrum, you mirrored my thoughts exactly in your post.I look at this team and I shake my head...There is no single player in the midfield whom I can vouch for when it comes to consistently orchestrating the midfield.The team is that bad.
  At this point, I curious to see what Wenger will do with the money he receives from the sale of Cesc and Nasri( if he leaves).
  Funny you mentioned about people on here thinking you are a spud...that is the order of the day on here..If you dont agree,then either you are not a sensible Gooner or you are a spud.So, my take is keep doing what you are doing.People complain because they love their club and are obviously not happy with the status quo.
  Something is terribly wrong at Arsenal..I say there is no smoke without fire.

• 15-Aug-2011 13:33 | | Man United Killa
  

  Dont be mean Richie

• 15-Aug-2011 13:35 | | MeanLean
  

  That sounds like a supporter, someone who loves the club and feels the passion of the club in their every breath. There are many of those around the world for every club. It fills me with joy that in this day and age where everything is about themselves, you still have people who actually feel a sense of loyalty for the club they 'support'
  
  I've asked you what your purpose was, I asked you what you get from supporting Arsenal. I explained why I do it and I asked you and you clearly avoided the question.
  
  MUK and I do not agree on many levels and while I find his comments overly negative at times, I have also read things that show that he cares about the club the same goes with CH Gooner and a few more posters. I have no problem with differing views to my own, I do not expect everyone to agree with me but Spectrum, I see you pop up on many many blogs not praising Jack Wilshere's ability, not happy at the return of Aaron Ramsey from injury, not pleased to have a leader like Thomas Vermaelen back in the side not waxing lyrical at the goalscoring of Robin Van Persie. Nothing. Ever.
  
  So, I no longer believe that you are an Arsenal supporter. Many people from different clubs or other agenda's crawl through the web onto Arsenal sites and post rubbish to stir trouble and just generally troll. Spurs fans do it to us, Liverpool fans do it to Manchester United, West Ham probably do it to Tottenham etc etc.
  
  That is much more likely that you actually being an Arsenal 'supporter'
  
  I suppose trolling through as many Arsenal blogs as possible is the most excitement that you are likely to get given that you will forever be in our shadow. How quickly do you think that St. Totteringham's day will be this year?

• 15-Aug-2011 13:36 | | MeanLean
  

  I swear I read somewhere that Spectrum was caught out that he didn't support Arsenal. Cannot remember where it was. Perhaps LadyArse comments section or something.

• 15-Aug-2011 13:38 | | Spectrum
  

  After our sterile draw at Newcastle, bookmakers Betfair have blown out our odds of us winning the league from 9/1 to 14.5 /1. Mean Lean - if you have so much faith in Wenger's leadership of our team ( as you eternally preach to us on this blog ), I presume you'll be breaking down the door at Betfair tomorrow, to place 100 pounds on us at those juicy odds ?
  "******************"

• 15-Aug-2011 13:44 | | Spectrum
  

  Man Utd. Killa - "People complain because they love their club and are obviously not happy with the status quo." Spot on. You my friend, get it.
  " ******************"

• 15-Aug-2011 13:46 | | MeanLean
  

  Still better odds than the Spuds.
  
  "In Harry you rust"

• 15-Aug-2011 14:20 | | Spectrum
  

  Mean Lean - You make the same basic fundamental mistake common to all A.K.B.'s. Blurring the difference between supporting the club, and supporting the manager. The two are NOT mutually inclusive. To you it seems, they are. Yes, I mock Wenger frequently. Because his actions and inaction over the years ( seven seasons and counting ! ) have led us to the point we're at now. Trophyless, without ambition,putting profits before team building, tactical ineptitude, the list goes on. If it seems I'm hard on the players, that's PARTLY because they deserve it (sometimes) - last season for instance ?
  But as I said above, criticism of the team flows from the fact that the person responsible for that team, is not doing his job properly. Of course I appreciate our talent,we have top players, Wilshere is one. But praising players and blindly having faith in them and the manager, in face of clear evidence to the contrary, is not going to change things for the better is it ? People who care, who can SEE what's wrong, and speak out about it, are the TRUE supporters. Sitting back silently, staying complacent, and pretending everything's alright, is lazy to the point of being delusional* - ( *see my 12;09 post above )
  Why can you not love your club, and yet not love the manager at the same time ? He's done well in the past. I acknowledge that. But he's not the same man he was, he's in decline in so many ways, and it's not just me saying it. But when we DO say it, our loyalty is questioned. ( "Spud", "go support another team" e.t.c.) Frankly, that's insulting, and juvenile.
  I'm passionate in my views, which is why I continue to state : "******************"

• 15-Aug-2011 14:41 | | Spectrum
  

  So how much are you putting on then ?
  "******************"

• 15-Aug-2011 15:12 | | MeanLean
  

  And what positive thing have you ever said about Arsenal? Not the managers of the club or the players of the club but the actual club?
  
  Nothing!
  
  "In Harry you rust"

• 15-Aug-2011 18:56 | | Man United Killa  - Tell me!
  

  lol.."In Harry you rust"..Nice one ..didn't see that one coming ML..thanks for the comic relief.By the way who is your manager going to sign to take Cesc's place eh?another 15 year old?Please for the love of God dont say Wilshere or Ramsey.Those kids are class..they are just not ready..They need a bigger man to learn from.And dont even think of Ro-sick-note.He is obviously past his best.

• 15-Aug-2011 21:51 | | feeno
  

  funny after being challenged Spectrum is all our and we and trying to be much more emotive in the post, your facade is still waining speccie. Noe you look even more foolish

• 15-Aug-2011 23:13 | | richie  - No Muk you tell me
  

  Muk he's our manager, remember? He ain't Spectrum's manager which I'm pleased to see everyone has finally caught on to, but he's still yours and mine. I'm loyal to our club and our managers as long as they are our managers. Just like ML said above you know I argue with you all the time on this blog but even though I think your misguided I've never said your ASID (a Spud in disguise). I just think as a Gooner you lack faith in our club, our players and our manager

• 15-Aug-2011 23:26 | | richie  - Muk'll claim your mean
  

  John our very own Muk will say your mean for suggesting such actions. Personally if Gervinho had done what I suggested above, swiftly followed by your "coup de gras" it would've been the first bit of riotous behaviour of recent time that I would've fully condoned.

• 16-Aug-2011 00:36 | | richie  - you got the genius bit right
  

  In all honesty Spud I shouldn't answer you but there are many Gooners out there that you've managed to fool. As you continue to try to influence vulnerable fans with your foolish idea's I'll counter your tiny tott idea's.
  
  Why ever would our club spend £100 mil? In Arsene we have the maker of great players. Why spend a lot when you have a coach that can develope youngsters into great players? Why spend a lot when you can buy for little develope players, and sell for a lot? Why not continue on the path we have been on and develope a great team? After all Arsene's model has given us 15 years of CL qualification. Something no other manager in our clubs long history has managed.
  
  Many old Gooners like myself can see our continued progress. Why would we give that up unless its for a more successful model? There is only one person more successful than AW. Only one step up from Arsene and thats Taggart, if we Gooners could be guaranteed that our next manager would be more successful than Arsene maybe we could be persuaded to change. But if it ain't broken Spectrum Spud don't offer your clubs model to replace ours.
  YASID.

• 16-Aug-2011 01:16 | | Dean  - That ain't funny its Spectrum
  

  The infiltrators won't answer any proper points made.

• 16-Aug-2011 04:01 | | Spectrum
  

  Mean Lean - It's a given that I support the club. Do you or anyone else, get up each morning and kneel down and pray saying "Oh lord, we have such a wonderful club, thank you from the bottom of my heart." ? Of course not. We take that FOR GRANTED, otherwise we'd be following another sport altogether. Talk sense !
  As I continually try to get through to you and the others, I support the club. The club will be here long after most of us are gone. But in the short term, we don't have to tolerate mismanagement , a culture of complacency, and gross neglect. The realists who care, see this, the others either can't, or simply refuse to. Notice I state "****************** Not in Arsenal we rust. Spot the difference, or do you need a few more years ?
  " ******************"

• 16-Aug-2011 04:14 | | Spectrum
  

  richie - You're missing the point ( again ). Re-read my posts at 12;00, 13;44 and 14;20 . Will we ever get through to these A.K.B.'s ? Surely the concept is not that hard to understand ?
  "******************"

• 16-Aug-2011 21:14 | | jgunz  - just a thought
  

  is thier a slight bit of racisum towards foreign black players from british ref's when they are involved with incidents/tackles with white english/british players, as they foreign players always seem to be treated harsher and get punished to the full extent.
  (ie:wayne rooney punches a player in the face but is cuddled by the ref and no punishment...gerviniho slaps barton after barton grabs him in a threatening manner,this was the same when vieira and keane had thier issues vieira was always punished fully while keane was given allot of leway.

• 16-Aug-2011 22:56 | | richie
  

  No Spud its you that us Gooners can't get through to, we have at our helm the most successful manager our club has ever known. Why would a true Gooner want to change anything unless it was for a more successful model? If you can tell us the name of the available manager that would bring us more success please do so and the Gooners on this blog will debate it. Though please remember 'arry the twitcher is your clubs manager and therefor wouldn't cut it at the Emirates.

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