Wenger's "failed" youth project

Three months and a decent revival later, Arsenal have now well and truly gone some way to establishing themselves at the right end of the league table. The nightmarish start to the current campaign, although not yet a distant dream, has now been replaced by a string of solid if not elegant performances. There is still no guarantee that we will finish in the top four this season, but then, it looks like we've given ourselves a bloody good chance. The added experience in the squad has no doubt played a huge part in the resurgence with the likes of Gervinho, Arteta, big Mert and Santos adding some steel and calm to a flamboyant and young team. There seems to be a notion doing the rounds though, that Wenger's investment in experience, has meant his youth project of many years has failed and that he has abandoned his youth policy. I'm not quite sure about that. 

Van-tastic Pitch-side View

Courtesy: The Telegraph

I've spent a good deal of money on The Arsenal. It certainly does not compare to what most avid Arsenal fans spend, going to every other game. Yet, after quite a few trips to the Emirates, I felt a sense of entitlement to see the REAL Arsenal. By that, I mean some flowing passes, good possession, and as a bonus - a victory. I got most of that today. Every single penny I spent was worth it (this is compared to my previous visits ONLY of course), mainly due of the genius of Robin van Persie. A flowing move for the first goal before some of the Emirates faithful had even warmed their seats, a sublime chip that came off the post and a brilliant late free kick again from the skipper sealed a deserved win. It did for a long time look uncertain after a nicely taken free kick by Seb Larsson, which I didn't see in real time to be honest.

Need it Here, Now, Today!

I was guzzling down a pint of beer on Friday evening and engaged in a casual conversation on football, cricket and rugby with my boss. He's been having a great few months with England thrashing India in the recent Test and one day series, Wales faring well in the ongoing rugby World Cup while also taking pleasure in reminding me (maybe once too often) of the not-so-pretty performances of the Indian team and of course Arsenal. We've never got to the point of aiming blows at each other, so it was all in good spirit. We wound up the discussion quickly and soon I was on the train, heading home and all I could keep thinking of was about the way the world of sports has been transformed in the past decade or so. What I'm referring to could have happened earlier, but of course I'm speaking from personal observations and whether I'm right or wrong, I think you'll agree with me on some level.

Of Number Crunching and Joey Barton

It's that time of the weekend. Premier league games are going to be hitting our TV screens in a few hours. It's about now when Twitter time-lines start filling up with previous match-ups between teams, win-loss records, goals scored against this opponent, goals scored by Mr Soso etc. While a lot of these statistics are quite interesting and give us a way to use up some time before the actual games begin, this number crunching has gone way too far nowadays that sometimes I find that some of it, actually most of it, is just useless. 

Stats are good, but at the end of the day they're just stats. I'm not completely blind to suggest that all stats are useless, but the thing about this overdose is that now we have stats not based on actual events, but even on hypothetical situations, that are probably playing out in some parallel universe. The irritating part is that you can manipulate these numbers to make a good situation better, a bad situation worse or basically any way to prove a point that you want to prove. Now if you ask me why I'm coming up with this anti-stat rant it's because I started thinking about it when I saw this USELESS stat that I'm going to talk about.

Thoughts from inside the Emirates + Arsene still Knows Best

Walking into the Emirates yesterday, to watch the first home league game of the season, my emotions were a mix of cautious excitement and of course like a lot of Arsenal supporters, a feeling of anxiety which has surrounded the club over the last few months in particular. Wenger's dealings in the transfer market, or the lack of it, have left a lot of fans disgruntled, and this was evident as the match wore on or rather as Liverpool edged closer to sealing the three points at the end. 

It all started quite brightly, to be honest, and the atmosphere inside the stadium was great, although it wasn't extraordinary. The announcement of Nasri in the playing eleven invited a few boos (as expected), but I think the majority realized that the team needed him there (and he proved that with a very good performance), with the squad being stripped to its bare bones through injuries and suspensions. The first half didn't inspire a great deal, apart from a couple of chances on either side. Frimpong was having a great little spell and he seemed to be really up for it. He got a great shot on goal, then turned around to all of us in the stands and egged us on to make some noise. The crowd reacted and there was suddenly a wave of loud support. There was a genuine sense of appreciation for the Arsenal as they headed off into the tunnel at half-time, for the fight they had put up with the resources at their disposal. 

The red card for Frimpong in the second half of course changed what could have been a well deserved draw to an unlucky defeat. We were not shown replays of the tackle and to us it just looked like they had run into each other. I think most of those who watched the highlights on MOTD would have realized that it was in fact a bad challenge. The goals for Liverpool heightened the sense of frustration around the Emirates, and a section of the crowd broke into the "Spend some F***in money" chant. I don't see a place for this during a game, when you have 11 men playing their heart out for your club. Such chants while it might not affect the players too much doesn't help them either. The encouraging fact was that it didn't gain momentum and a couple of those in front of me who started chiming in, stopped as soon as they realized that most of us weren't interested in joining. Another section of the crowd then brought back the "We love you Arsenal" chant which garnered more support and that was good to see. It was a bit disheartening to see a number of people leave before the game ended but then for all of us who stayed back, it was a chance to applaud the team for putting up a spirited display and show them that we were behind them. 

While the defeat hurt, I liked what I saw of Arsenal's young guns. I know a lot of you might say we have to spend and the usual lets sign Cahill/Samba/whoever the media links us with. I too am not blind and do realize we need a few reinforcements but I have a lot of faith in the manager and at the end of the day I think he knows what he is doing. We can go on and on about what has to be done, but I'd rather have Wenger decide what's best for the club. The man is an absolute genius and immortal IN MY OPINION. 

I dream of a day when Arsene Wenger has his hands aloft with a trophy in hand, after having won it with a team that was made with his vision, and those who wrote him off running around the streets naked with their unmentionables covered (I don't want to see that bit) with print outs of all their criticisms of Wenger/Arsenal strung around their waist with a piece of thread. I really hope it can happen soon, not for the sake of Arsenal winning a trophy, but because I want to see that joy on Wenger's face for all that he has had to face in what has been his most challenging time at the club. Whether that day comes at the end of the current season or a few seasons later, I'm prepared to wait and continue to support this great club. If it does miraculously happen this season, remember, you heard it here first. 

Defence of the Arsenal Defence

In case you missed the CL qualifier, I just want to start off by saying that Arsenal actually won the match against a relatively fancied Italian opponent, clean sheet intact and all that, although some newspapers might have you believe that winning nowadays is not the point. The media have been banging about on how Arsenal just escaped, how SZCZ's saves barely rescued us from embarrassment, how frail the team was and so on. It seems to me that most of these nut-cases who wrote these reports had started with an already planned agenda before even watching the game. Now, while I acknowledge the fact that there is frustration in Gooner world around Arsene Wenger's reluctance to splash the cash in the transfer market, those wearing the Red and White on the pitch did a lot to lift our spirits and gave us a win. 

Please let the football begin

Aren't we all fed up with all this transfer talk? I don't know about fans of other clubs, but if you're an Arsenal fan who sees a blog on Fabregas, Nasri or even Wenger or Gazidis you probably just go - Oh no, not again! Maybe we should just have like a social network for clubs to conduct their business and make it public for the whole world to see. Now that would be fun. Okay, not so much for football journalists, who'll have to actually think of something creative to write about when there is no football on, but it would benefit the footballing society in general.

It should be something like a combination of Facebook, Ebay, YouTube, Twitter and emm... okay let me throw in Google+ as well, just so that it doesn't feel left out. It should be made mandatory for all managers, players, coaches, scouts etc. to join (yes, even Arsene Wenger will need to create a profile even though he prefers to do his transfer business privately in  a dark cave in the French Alps). 

Show Me the Money

Moneyball

I hear a lot of talk that is ridiculing Arsenal's refusal to budge when it comes to player wages. Samir Nasri is of course the subject of this speculation. He tells us through his Twitter feed not to believe the papers, but we all know the truth don't we? He wants some extra cash and based on his performance in one... err.. sorry half a season, he thinks he has somehow earned it. He's an excellent player no doubt, but now the situation is quite dicey. I still think he'll stay but his image has been tarnished. Even if he stays he'll find it extremely difficult or impossible to get into the good books of Gooners again. Anyway if he can perform, thats all we would really care about.

A lot of fans (especially opposing fans) are saying "Oh, just give him the little extra cash and get him to stay". But this view does not consider the larger context in which it must be seen. The amount of money Nasri seems to be demanding is in no way unaffordable for Arsenal Football Club. But again, there's more that needs consideration and its by no means rocket science. Lets look at this in a slightly broader perspective, shall we?

Needle in a haystack

Wake up in the morning nowadays and all you see in the papers, at least in the football section, is about which player/manager might be going where, what fee is expected, what fee/wage is on offer, players' wage demands and then you'll see some of these players emphasising the fact that they were moving for "footballing reasons". Yeah right! The was precisely the reason why, in my previous post, I said I was flabbergasted when it was reported that the Hiddink-Chelsea deal was finally down to money. Of course, it was down to money. If Chelsea were to offer significantly less than what Hiddink was being paid in his role as Turkey national coach, I have no doubt that he would at least see out his contract before thinking of the next job. This is not to undermine Hiddink's integrity or his lack of interest in the Turkey job. It is just the way football works these days and is just one of a million examples.

Another story that has consistently been in the news for the last couple of weeks is the Nasri situation. It is turning into one of those protracted transfers that helps no one, least of all, us fans. Whether he will begin next season in a United or Arsenal shirt remains to be seen, though I am quite convinced that Wenger will not let one of his best players leave to a top, rival team. Nasri and his agent are just looking for that extra cash and if he does leave I am pretty sure it won't be to United. One good (half) season and he has demands. When Cesc says he wants to leave, or wants a pay rise, its understandable and as a fan you feel he has served the club well and has been loyal. For his age he's shown great maturity and handled the Barca situation extremely well over the last two seasons. 

Truths, untruths and things in-between

Have any of you heard of the quote "Nobody ever sees truth except in fragments"? Well I haven't either. And I'm not an ultra creative person, who can whip out a funny or thought provoking line in the blink of an eye and therefore I can confirm it's not mine. I relied on Google and found this one after a search that lasted approximately 0.23 seconds which fits nicely into what I'm going to harp on for a little bit. Now just look again at the quote as I'm quite sure you've forgotten what it was in the middle of all the drivel that has followed it. 

Lets start with Robin van Persie shall we? So we heard that he asked the players of Spain and Chelsea to concentrate on football and stop complaining about the referees. Well not exactly in the same manner as I, but using some of the English language's choicest words. Then we had some of the Chav blogs reacting instantly, some obviously saying that RvP was a c***. That is expected of course and proceedings were fun for a little while on Facebook, Twitter, blogs and even some otherwise boring news websites. Then all of a sudden Robin comes out of the closet and says he never said anything like that in the first place, spoiling all the fun in the process. So someone said he said it, he says he didn't, we believe the version we feel is best suited to our egos and life goes on with the episode registered in memory for use in future discussions with opposing fans.

Nothing you didn't know

It's that time of the year. There's not much football on and life is well, not boring but then there are time slots on weekends that need to be addressed. Since doing something constructive with my free time does not come naturally to me, hours and hours are spent reading things of very little importance on the internet. Thankfully I have a job now, which takes up my time during the week. 

Image Courtesy: Vetty Pictures

It's a time for reflection, especially since I'm an Arsenal fan. Think of how things could have turned out last season, how things could turn out next season and how things could turn out in the season after next when the next one doesn't go to plan. This is also a time when I get excited about any shred of transfer talk related to the club. First I read an article, then try to find at least three or four more to try and validate whether the first one was pure garbage (which it is nine times out of ten) and then think why I read it in the first place. When I'm tired of doing that, thoughts go to the upcoming season and a renewed, over optimistic sense of hope sweeps across me before it all comes to a grinding halt. That's when I suddenly remember that what I'm going to witnessing at the end of July will be a bunch of unheard of players with un-pronounceable names taking to the Emirates pitch for the Emirates cup wearing the Emirates, sorry Arsenal jersey, playing to rules that increase our chances of winning, then winning and finally pledging that THIS is going to be THE season.

If Arsenal were to Win the Premier League...

This is a preview to what you can expect to see, read or listen to from certain sources (not necessarily the ones I've mentioned)  in the highly unlikely (or impossible) scenario that Arsenal win the Premier League this season or actually any season for that matter.

So first lets go to a certain newspaper. Here is an extract from an article that I hear they have already prepared a rough draft of, in case Arsenal do win.

"One of the most entertaining Premier League seasons in recent times has a winner and Arsenal have managed to end a six year wait after their fellow title contenders made it easy for them by dropping points at crucial junctures. While the Gunners celebrate, it is also important to put this victory in perspective. Arsenal must consider themselves lucky that they have the crown. Fellow contenders not playing to potential and inconsistent refereeing definitely helped Arsenal's cause and in general it is also fair to say that the overall standard of football this past season has been below par. It is therefore not a time to celebrate the victory of sublime attacking football, but a time to reflect on the decline of the sport in this country. How can a team win the League with three different, substandard goalkeepers and a defense that leaked goals?

"Salman Butt caused Old Trafford defeat" - Wenger

In a shocking revelation almost a week after Arsenal’s loss to Manchester United, Arsene Wenger has finally admitted that the actual reason for his team’s loss was not the Old Trafford pitch. After being criticized for blaming the pitch in sections of the media and by a lot of Arsenal fans (me included), Wenger obviously had to come up with a better excuse. 

At a press conference today, Arsene was put under the microscope again regarding the loss by the media and with an uncharacteristic slip of the tongue said, "I believe that Salman Butt.. err... Cesc Fabregas could have played better". Cesc Fabregas was thought by us all to have come on to substitute Tomas Rosicky in the 64th minute of the game. As it turns out it was actually Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt!  Wenger then owned up to the fact and then in his usual factual way said, “I firmly believed it was just that Csec lacked a little strength, technique, togetherness (and 5 more of his keywords) on the day. Then I discovered it was not Cesc when he disappeared after the game." Butt had escaped to a posh hotel in London. Wenger continued - "If it was actually Cesc we would have won 3 or 4 nil”. He was obviously forgetting that United had scored a goal in the first half itself.  When a journalist in the room pointed that out, his reply was, "From where I was sitting I could not see it. I will have to look at the replay and see if it was a goal." Another journalist in the room who also happened to be an Arsenal fan was about to fling a microphone at him in disgust before he was reined in by his colleagues. In those few seconds Wenger showed that he is as good as his players when it comes to being silky and slid out of the room. 

Apparently, it all started when Wenger was boarding the flight to Manchester, saw Butt, and thinking he was Fabregas asked him why he came even though he was injured. Butt replied, “I just have to play this one game for my team.” Wenger, obviously happy with his ‘captain’s’ commitment took him on board. Little did he know that Butt was talking about a totally different 'game' and 'team'.

Undercover reporters from The Guardian newspaper, desperate to publish some news that criticizes Arsenal, have since released a video from a hidden camera which was placed in Butt's hotel room, in which he is seen receiving a bundle of cash for what his 'team' called a "match-winning" effort. When asked about the game Butt responded with the same lack of confidence that you see in his footwork when he’s batting. Biting his nails he said, “I am completely innocent. I just wanted to win the game for Arsenal and I think that I have performed to the best of my ability.” On further investigation, it was found that Salman Butt had made plans to go to Old Trafford about a week before the match. His 'team' then asked Butt to run on to the pitch during the game assuring him that a bet on the incident will have high stakes. Butt was to receive his share of the payoff if he managed to stay on the pitch longer than one minute. Butt couldn't believe his luck to be on the actual team and wanted to use the opportunity to get some much needed match practice which is impossible when playing for the Pakistan cricket team. "Once I'm on the field, I concentrate on getting settled and staying there for the 'team'. The pitch was turning a lot (now we know why Arsene said "bad pitch") but I fought hard to stay there", he said. He was nervous but of course aware that he could escape by getting back home to share his earnings with who else but the PCB, so that they could in turn blindly claim that England had fixed their football World Cup match against Germany to divert attention.

The real Cesc Fabregas wasn't available for comment as he was busy on Skype. Yes, his friends in the Barca team are reportedly using the new group video chat option to lure him to the Nou Camp in January itself. Sam Allardyce who wasn't even asked to comment came forward to say, "Well, these are not valid excuses. I can do much better than that" hinting that he might be interested in the Arsenal top job that he will never get, after his sacking by the new Blackburn owners who think the best way to start "great things" at the club is by removing a manager who was not doing too badly midway through a tough EPL season.

Disclaimer: As you have definitely figured out by now, the post is entirely false. Just a rant from a frustrated Gooner who cannot take more lame excuses for Arsenal not winning the BIG games. For the record, I still am and will always be an Arsenal fan and I still think Arsene Wenger is one of the best managers in the world. I also have Cesc's squad number on my Arsenal shirt, so there's no question about the great admiration I have for his game.

Credits: Thanks to @vikasgowda20 of Buffering Brain fame for sharing this link which inspired the post. So its not me who originally thought Butt and Fabregas look alike. I obviously do see it now though. Do you?

The Eternal Optimist

I’m definitely not being a whiner when I say that today hasn’t been the greatest day for me. So it might not seem to be the best time to kick start a blog of my own, which I must admit has been on my mind for God knows how long. Well, the procrastination was not because I was lazy; it was because I didn’t know what I wanted to write about (I’m still not entirely clear). 

The string of events today though, prompted me to write this post because I think most of you reading will have definitely encountered at least one similar experience, maybe in slightly different contexts, but similar nevertheless. So where do I begin? Let me just go with the day as it happened.