Cech, Szczesny, Ospina and the problem of the Homegrown Rule..

 Here we are another Saturday and another Premier league-less Saturday. Not the best of sentences to open this post with, I know, but then again the great thing abut a blog post is the fact that you can write (type) informally. See at the moment the problem is that there really isn't much to write about. It's all transfer rumours and games of he says she says with a little bit of the Copa America thrown in to top it off. You can see already in this paragraph I have resorted to mentioning the fact that with a blog you can write informally, I mean who is interested in that?  As another blog Highbury House has pointed out even the club's official site is finding topical writing difficult with their latest poll about our best headed goals...

Anyway, there are more rumours circulating that Vidal will join the club. Most of these suggest that Juventus have already agreed to sell the player, however which club he has been sold to will not be revealed until after the Copa America. So make of that what you will.

The Petr Cech story rumbles on, like the proverbial snowball gathering more and becoming bigger the longer it goes on. The latest being that he had his medical at the club yesterday. It would seem as though this is true, I mean it has been picked up as the the general narrative from Arsenal bloggers/ newspapers etc. BBC reported it via David Ornstein on twitter who said:

"Chelsea gk Petr Cech will undergo a medical today ahead of completing his proposed    move to Arsenal. Fee & personal terms agreed"

 ESPN, another reputable source also said the same. This would also seem to tie in with the fact that Sky belive the deal would not be announced until next week as Arsenal generally don't announce transfers on the weekend, with the exception of it being deadline day. Anyway we will have to wait and see I guess..

See there you go, I just played a game of he says she says, with a transfer rumour and am now about to mention the Copa America...

David Ospina, the man supposedly making way for the arrival of Petr Cech had a great game last night for Columbia against Argentina. I didn't see the match but he made a spectacular double save from Messi and Tevez which is now been used by some to claim that Arsenal don't need Cech, which is ridiculous. It really bugs me how people can make such decisions based on one match. Most of those people are probably the same ones who were calling for a new keeper throughout last season.

The problem with this is that I actually like Ospina, well let me qualify that: I like Ospina more than Szczesny. However, as I said in the above paragraph it looks as though the Columbian will be the one making way after just a year at the club. There is supposedly a £4 million fee agreed between Arsenal and Fenerbache. I think he was solid when he came in for the second part of last season, whereas I just don't trust Szczesny at all. However, he has the advantage of the home grown rule.

First of all, I do believe that Wenger prefers Szczesny, and only dropped him as a punishment for his smoking antics at St. Mary's, so i'm not too surprised to hear that he will probably be the one to stay (unless both leave?) The manager has a lot of faith in him. I do firmly believe that the decision was helped massively by the home grown rule, though, why would you let a home grown player leave, essentially now a back up, when you can sell another non home grown backup player?

This ridiculous rule is supposedly there to help English players. Well this is one of the loop holes. Yes, Szczesny has been in England for may years and even has a not so slight English accent, however he plays for the Polish national side and I don't think him or any one else for that matter would say he is English. So why should this rule protect him over Ospina? It makes no sense whatsoever.

Football is a sport and sport has to be based on which player or team is better than the other, not on which passport you have. The world is more diverse and multi cultural than ever, so why start limiting who can play where? Really, when you think about it, at its heart isn't this rule not somewhat xenophobic? I am not saying the F.A is xenophobic or anything, far from it. I understand that they want to improve the English game, and moreover the English national team. However, the way they are doing it is just wrong.

How does a football player improve? By playing with better players. Do England currently have the best players in the world? No, far from it. Does the Premier League have the best players in the World?, no, far from it. So can anyone tell me what sense this rule makes? English players will always get the chance to play if they are good enough. At the moment a lot of them simply are not. It is far too simplistic and quite frankly symptomatic of an old attitude within both Irish and British society to blame the problems on foreigners.

Couldn't you also argue that for the F.A to implement this rule, they are saying British players are not good enough and need extra help, what sort of message does that send out? I believe that they should spend there time investing in youth football, improve coaching levels and training facilities for younger players. More English payers in the English league does not guarantee success for the national team, in fact all it does is promote mediocrity.

A Columbian player will most likely leave Arsenal football club due to an English rule that says a Polish player is more important than he is, all to make room for a Czech Republic international; if anything it just sounds like a bad joke...

Anyway time is against me, so I'll leave it there. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Also keep an eye out for the twitter and google plus follow buttons on the side!

Have a good one.

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

More Updates On Cech Transfer..

                                                                                  Arsenal Bound?

Well here we are in the thick of silly season and yet the only thing silly seems to be the impending arrival of Petr Cech from title rivals Chelsea, who just happen to be managed by Jose Mourinho. I wrote last week on the possibility of this transfer actually happening and at the time I really didn't see this as a possibility, looking at all the factors, and especially seen as we have all been fooled into thinking transfers were done before, Higuain and Remy for example. However, my opinion has changed over the course of the last week and it's looking quite likely that this may happen.

There have been a couple of 'signs' the last couple of days that have sent people on twitter eager for any sort of official announcement from Arsenal. The first being Stuart MacFarlane, Arsenal's official photographer following Cech on Instagram which was taken as a sure fire sign of the Czech international's arrival. I can obviously see how people have jumped to that conclusion but I doubt that the club's photographer has any special insight on transfer dealings. He might hear some chatter around the club, but I imagine that would be about it. He has since tried to clear up the matter via twitter:

"Funny people think I know what's going on with transfers, just a photographer. I'm an Arsenal fan like you and follow all the media rubbish".

Anyway let's just hope he is right. There was also a picture put up on Tomas Rosicky's Instagram account saying 'Welcome to #Arsenal Petr Cech', and seeing as both players are international teammates this sent everyone into a frenzy. However, it has since been confirmed that it was a fake account and the real Tomas Rosicky has not put anything up on the subject at all....yet.

Even with all this nonsense floating around I think the signs look good in general, there's no smoke without fire after all. However, for me at least, today was the biggest sign, as Sky Sports have claimed that there has been progress made towards a transfer.

Up until now the big, and generally more reliable media sites have been realtively quiet on this topic, so this is encouraging. Sky have claimed that while the fee is yet to be agreed, personal terms, in principle have been agreed between the player and the club. Here is what they said;

"Sky sources report Cech, 33, has agreed personal terms in principle on a switch to the Emirates Stadium but we understand the two clubs are still not close to agreeing a fee and negotiations will continue this week"

 "The transfer fee is unknown but it will be a cash only deal, with Chelsea's request to receive a  home-grown player as part of the proposed transfer no longer being considered"

So there we have it, it's also great to see that there will be no player exchanges as part of the deal, because I really wouldn't have wanted to lose Chamberlain, the player supposedly wanted by Chelsea. All in all it looks good, here's an article on the Metro comparing Cech to Ospina and Szczesny, the new arrival looking a definite upgrade. It would be great to see this deal go through as I don't think we have had a steady goalkeeper since mad Jens left, this signing could be the foundation of a strong title challenge.

Anyway I will leave the rest of the transfer speculation to you lot, let me know your thoughts on the situation in the comments.

Have a good one.

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

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Who Deserves A New Contract at Arsenal?

This is an article I wrote for another site back in March that I thought might be of interest to any of you that haven't read it, especially seen as the season has ended. It's actually quite ironic that I wouldn't change my mind on any of the individual cases. Although I am less convinced on certain players. I am more skeptical about what role Arteta can play in the squad, for example, when you take all the factors into account such as age, injuries etc. but I am also expecting a new signing in midfield which may force the manager's hand. I am still undecided about Rosicky, again it's nice to have experienced players in the squad, but i'm sure he will be looking for game time. If I was the manager I would leave the decision up to him, which, when I think of it now, he probably will. It also looks almost certain that Podolski is on his way out and obviously Diaby has not been offered a new deal, which I wrote about here.

Anyway, I have decided to leave in the introductory paragraph, reminders of the Monaco disaster notwithstanding.....

                                                **************************************


After Monday's cup tie I just began thinking to myself  that we have only 10 Premier League games left. That's crazy isn't it? It only feels as though we are half way through the season.We still have a Cup semi-Final and that return leg against Monaco in the Champions League, whether our chances are slim or not. So, we are only guaranteed a minimum 12 games left this season, hopefully 13 should we progress to the Cup Final (more if a miracle happens in Monaco). That leaves the manager with some decisions to make. I would certainly hope that he already has in mind what he plans to do not only in terms of recruiting players this summer, but also in terms of which players he wants to keep at the club. Let's have a look at which players deserve a contract extension.

Here's a look at the player's with contracts running out at the end of this season;

Francis Coquelin: At the end of January the Manager was asked )not for the first time) about the contract status of some of the players and while at the time he didn't have much to say. He did say that Coquelin was '99% done'. This is great news for Arsenal fans as he really has grown into one of the key players in the squad this season. Since he came in for the injured Mathieu Flamini away to West Ham, he hasn't looked back. There were many question marks about how he would settle into the team and even many questioning whether he could handle the physicality of the Premier League, well he has certainly answered those criticisms. In the recent game against Everton he suffered a broken nose and while Arsenal were adamant that he should come off; he wanted to play on (He was eventually forced off when he received another blow to his nose late on the game). Even in the win over Man United within the first 5 minutes, Fellaini elbowed (Accident? you're having a laugh) him into the face and he got straight back up, that showed the kind of fighting spirit that would see us gain such an important victory. Verdict: Extend.

Mikel Arteta: The captain has missed most of the campaign through injury, making only sparing appearances. There have been conflicting reports on whether or not he has actually signed a contract extension. Sky Sports, say he has while his agent also says he has, yet at that time Arsene Wenger  has denied the reports (see the Coquelin report above) that he has offered him a one year extension to keep him at the club past this season. Arteta has only made 7 Premier League appearances in total this season and while many may think it's time for him to move on, I still think he has a lot to offer the club. Yes, he will turn 33 this month and yes, he is quite slow, however what Arteta offers is leadership and experience. How many times have we, as Arsenal fans said that we lack any real leadership or experience? Or even wish that Wenger kept the more experienced players around longer? Arteta also plays a fundamental role in keeping the team ticking over and retaining possession, there have been games this season where his calming influence would have helped the team, the Monaco disaster, for example. Verdict: Extend.

Abou Diaby: It's really hard not to feel sorry for Diaby and his struggles with injuries, after a ridiculous challenge from Sunderland's Dan Smith in 2006, but once again another season has come and passed him by, as he remains on the treatment table. He has to be given a lot of credit for his willingness to return from injury after so many set backs, but there comes a time where the manager will have to look at what's best for the club. According to the Daily Mail,  Diaby has suffered 42 injuries at the club, while also averaging a set back every 80 day's. Wenger has already said that he will discuss Diaby's future with him in March, have a look at this post from The Daily Canon here. I think that the manager will have to accept that it just simply isn't feasible to keep a player at the club that can hardly string 5 consecutive games together, it's a shame because he is a really gifted player and had a lot to offer the squad. Remember that performance at Liverpool anyone? Verdict: Release.

Right here's a look at the players who still have another season left on their contract's;

Tomas Rosicky: Once again this season Rosicky has been in great form and while he may not be able to complete 90 minutes three times a week any more, when he does play he gives the team bags of energy. Rosicky is the one player in the squad who, I think, is capable of coming on and really changing the tempo of the team. We have seen plenty of games where Arsenal start the game slow, and lethargically, only for Rosicky to come on and add new emphasis to the attack, he isn't afraid of making a few tackles either. While Rosicky will turn 35 next October, once again, like Arteta, while it might be obvious that he will get even less game time, I think he still has a lot to offer the squad. Here's a question, who has had more of an impact on the team this season, Rocicky or Wilshere? Rosicky has another year remaining on his contract, so it's very hard to judge , with a player of his age. Verdict: N/A

Mathieu Flamini: It has not been the greatest of seasons for Flamini in his second season of a second spell at Arsenal. He has struggled to get into the squad this season and, yep, you guessed it he is currently sidelined with injury. Flamini has been caught out numerous times this season, giving away the ball here for Chadli's goal for Spurs at the Emirates, for example. While I don't usually mind a player's age (Arteta, Rosicky), they have to perform for their age not to be an issue, and while 31 is not necessarily that old, it just seems that Flamini's game has suffered the older he has got, and he has struggled to adapt his game accordingly, like Rosicky and Arteta. Although he has another season left on his contract, I'm not sure he offers the squad enough to earn his keep; I would look to cash in this summer. Verdict: Sell.

Lucas Podolski: Podolski has been a great disappointment to me at Arsenal, as I was expecting a lot from him when his signing was announced. While his goalscoring stats are excellent, accoring to The Telegraph,  Podolski’s ratio at Arsenal is 172.11 minutes per goal. That puts him behind four of the most effective Arsenal strikers in recent times in Emmanuel Adebayor (169.24 minutes), Ian Wright (154.12 minutes), Robin van Persie (138.48 minutes) and Thierry Henry (121.78 minutes). It really is disappointing that when you analyse his overall game he does not offer a lot; if football was a game based on goal scoring instinct he would be one of the best, but it's not; it's about a whole lot more. Podolski is a very static player, he hardly makes lung bursting runs to either make a chance for himself or create space for his team mates, he is not technically gifted (beside's his shooting), and put very simply; he does not fit into this Arsenal team. Like with Flamini, I would cash in this summer after his loan move to Inter Milan. Verdict: Sell.

Theo Walcott: This is the hardest of them all to balance, and I did mention this in yesterday's post about Chamberlain's injury. Although I have a feeling the manager might well cash in on Walcott this summer, and while I would't really complain if he did, I would still be unsure, however, because unlike Podolski, he does offer the team more than his goal scoring. Walcott primarily relies on his speed to create chances for himself, but he also uses this asset to create space for the team. If you look at any Arsenal game in which Walcott plays you will notice that he never stops moving and he really would be a night mare to defend against. While I think Oxlade-Chamberlain's overall game is better than Walcott's, Theo is far better with the final ball, be it an assist or a goal. I still think Walcott has plenty to offer the team, even with his limited technical abilities, he deserves the chance to come back from his injury, at Arsenal, but the club won't be held to ransom over a new contract this time, and rightfully so. Verdict: Extend.

Right so that's pretty much it, but I'd like to know which of these players contracts you would extend or which you would not. Leave your thought's in the comments.

Also follow me on twitter here; @Cosmic__Kid ,


Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

Wilshere On Injuries And Man City Links..

Posting two days in a row has been a rare thing on the blog the last while, but so too is the realization of an alcohol free weekend to come; no alcohol and no Arsenal on a Saturday is not a great combination. I suppose there is international football, and from my side the Ireland match, but watching this national team is, well, not fun. Anyway this will just be a short post.

Jack Wilshere has been speaking to the media while out on international duty with the England squad. He has had another injury hit campaign, after suffering a clumbsy foul from Mc Nair against United back in November, he only returned to the squad against Hull at the start of May. It has been a strange season for Jack as he got injured initially while he was starting to get some form together, and even as he came back last month he looked fresh and determined to get game time, but the season was almost over. He has been as unlucky on the pitch as he has been stupid at times off the pitch. Here's what he said on the injury front;

“I was just starting to play well, I was feeling good about myself. 

“When I was injured, a few people said I should change my game, that should get it and pass it,”  

“It did go through my head, I thought: ‘Maybe they are right, maybe I should.’ But as soon as I came back and I got on the ball, I just wanted to run with it. 

“You look at the best dribblers in the world, [Lionel] Messi and [Andres] Iniesta, it seems to stick to their foot. I can work on that when I am dribbling, but I am never going to change my game. 

“You have to learn from your mistakes and the only way you are going to evolve as a person and as a footballer is by making mistakes and learning from them.”

 He has also been linked with a move to Man City, who besides their unusual fetish for signing Arsenal players, are looking to back up their home grown quota. What a stupid rule that is,  anyway here is what he had to say, via Sportinglife:

"I definitely wouldn't go somewhere just because I'm a home-grown player. I'd want to be wanted by a club, I want to be wanted by Arsenal,"

          "I've grown up at Arsenal. As long as Arsenal want me, I'm happy."

          "It's been a frustrating season. There have probably been more lows than highs,"

I really hope he is able to stay fit next season as it really is time for him to kick on now. While i'm not exactly sure if he would get back into the starting lineup, it would give us the options we need. It also creates competition in the team and there have been some who have suggested, for example, that Giroud only plays well when Welbeck is fit. Obviously no one can answer that question, but it is an interesting viewpoint nonetheless. One would hope that it is not the case and that the players are all self motivated. Competition is what we need. If Wilshere is back and fully fit, what will that do to Cazorla and Ramsey? I for one would love to find out. 

Right that will do it, just a reminder that there are 'twitter' and 'google plus' icons on the side, so click them and give me a follow!

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

Rumours..

                                                         Disclaimer: This is not an album review!

When I woke up this morning one of my first thoughts was that tomorrow is Saturday, so that means an Arsenal match. Then I remembered its the summer, so no matches. I'm still adjusting to this and by the time I do completely it will be August and off we go again. I know we have the Copa America, but it just isn't the same. Anyway we will have to make do with the scraps of rumours, or rumors for you Americans reading. Yes, I know I don't normally delve into the transfer sillies, but there are a couple of rumours that just won't go away. 

Firstly though, Chile were playing in the Copa America last night and defeated Equador 2-0. I didn't see the match so I don't know what it was like. I was watching dinosaurs eat people, which is always fun, I guess. Although this is the part where i'm supposed to say that it wasn't as good as the first one, or not since this isn't a film blog. Anyway, Our little supremeo set up one of the goals, classic Sanchez, dare I say? (I hate calling him Alexis). The other goal was a Vidal penalty, and for any of you interested here is a link to the goals. The video is a little annoying but you get what you want to see, so why complain?

As I said at the start and also aptly named the post, there are plenty of rumours that won't go away when it comes to the early silly season nonsense. The first of which relates to Petr Cech. I don't really know what to make of this to be honest. Then again I am writing a post about it so I guess I should. I would love to get him, definitely, but there is something that doesn't quite add up. The first reason is the fact that we know that Wenger doesn't like to spend big money on a goalkeeper. Let's have a look at his record when it comes to signing keepers..

Overall he has signed 13 goalkeepers, the most recent of which being our current starting keeper in David Ospina. There are plenty of recognizable names such as Jens Lehmann, brought in at the start of the unbeaten campaign, and he would go on to play in all 38 league matches that season. He also still holds the record for most consecutive Champions League clean sheets, with 10. Before he got sent off in the final. That's Mad Jens in a nutshell. Manuel Almunia, another memorable keeper, but not for the reasons we associate with Lehmann. Almunia was an absolute clown of a goalkeeper, sure he was great against Barcelona and kept us in the game somewhat in 2009/10 and even the next season in the Nou camp, but he was just as likely to throw the ball in the net the next match as he was to follow it up with another good performance. What the manager saw in him I will never know. Maybe its the fact that, i'm not sure about any of you, but I always felt sorry for him, I have no idea why, but perhaps Arsene was the same? The only 'logical' reason I can think of. Other memorable names, for one reason or another, come in the form of Richard Wright and the recently departed Lukasz Fabianski, who has gone on and had a fantastic season. There are a few that don't particularly stand out such as Rami Shaaban, Stuart Taylor and Guillaume Warmuz.

I know its too early to judge Ospina and Szczesny, but when you look back on our keeper signings the only one that we can truly say was a great goalkeeper for us was Jens Lehmann. Scary stuff indeed. Wenger spent £6 million on Richard Wright, which is an exception, besides that its mainly been two or three million. It's one of the reasons I remain skeptical on the links with Cech, who would probably cost around £10 million. Besides, he will have to get rid of one of the keepers to bring him in. I'm not sure he is willing to get rid of either at this point in time. Szczesny is still relatively young and has been at Arsenal since he was a teen, and Ospina was only just signed last summer. I don't think either kepper will want to leave either, Szczesny already said that he wants to stay, talk is cheap I know, but I don't think he is actively looking to go. He did just start in the cup final after-all, although so too did Fabianski last season.

The biggest factor in all this, once again is Jose Mourinho. Not in a million years can I see him letting Cech come to us without a fight. He has already said that, although the final decision is Ambramovich's, he will want an Arsenal player in return;

"Every club that is interested in Petr, I can find a player that I like in that team too”

I pulled that form the Irish Examiner. Basically he is going to be Mourinho about it. You don't need to curse anymore you can just insert Mourinho for them all. 'Mourinho you Mourinho Mourinho'. Alright its a bit too much, fine.

Anyway as I said I think Cech would be a big upgrade on what we have, and I would welcome the signing, but I just can't see it happening. I will gladly eat my words if it does, however.

Another rumo(u)r finding the light of day again is that of Gonzalo Higuain, the former Madrid player turned Napoli star. He has had a good season in Italy, with 28 goals in 51 appearances, including 10 assists, according to Whoscored. Again here I go with the skepticism. First of all the reason Wenger said he was put off by him in the first place is due to the fact that he was managed at Madrid by yours truly Jose Mourinho, and when Chelsea were out looking for a striker they had no interest in Higuain. Probably a picky reason form the manager, but still a reason nonetheless.

The same issue with the goalkeeping situation, is the fact that we will have to get rid of a striker or two before we sign one. Look at our squad, first of all Podolski, Campbell and Sanogo are coming back. We have number one, in Giroud and the backup in Welbeck, who was only signed last summer. We also have Walcott who started up top in the last two games, which included the cup final. He scored a goal in that and a hat trick in the match before and the manager has always maintained that he will end up as a striker. Then you can also throw in Sanchez to the mixing bowl as well. I am sure we will look to offload Podolski and perhaps Campbell again. Sanogo will probably go out on loan also. But I still don't see room for a striker, unless Walcott leaves. Perhaps that's what it all hinges on.

The final reason, when you look at the stats, can you really say that Higuain is better than Giroud? I don't think so, in fact they only serve to highlight that Giroud has had a really good season. He has scored 19 in 29 appearances, (according to whoscored) which is far better than Higuain's 28 in 51 appearances. That gives the Argentine a 0.54 goals per game average compared to Giroud's 0.65. Higuain does have the edge in terms of assists with his 10 bettering the Frenchman's 3. Again however, he has played far more games. My point is that there is no point in signing a striker for the sake of signing one. That sentence was strange. Wenger is always saying that he will only sign 'top, top quality', and I don't see Higuain in that category. He does have a great first name, however.

Right we'll leave it there for today, to put it quite simply we need quality in the squad now, not depth. I also think we are fine at the back, we have 4 centre backs (Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gabriel, Chambers) Two right backs (Debuchy. Bellerin) and two left backs (Monreal, Gibbs). I suppose this summer, more than others depends first and foremost on who leaves the club. Realistically, we are most likely to see a midfield signing or two, but I have been wrong before...

Let me know what you think in the comments, should we sign Higuain/Cech? Who should we sign? What positions need strengthening in your opinion?

Follow on twitter @Cosmic__Kid

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Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.

Abou Diaby and the consequences of football thuggery..

The season has ended, the summer has started but Arsenal related news has yet to dry up. I have been surprised to find out that my 'news now' feed is loading up new articles every few minutes rather than every few hours, which is usually the case in the summer time, especially since it has been a week and a half since the cup final. All in all, besides the usual silly season transfer nonsense, there has been plenty of Arsenal related stuff since my previous post, last week, the big news coming in the form of Abou Diaby.

Diaby, who has (had?) been at Arsenal since January 2006, making him our longest serving player, alongside Theo Walcott, has been released by the club a number of reports have announced today.You can't help but feel sorry for Diaby, whose Arsenal career has been destroyed by injury after injury. What makes it worse in the eyes of most, if not all, is the fact that his injury problems seem go back to the end of his first campaign at the club, where we played at Sunderland, only a few weeks before the Champions League final, and he suffered a reckless tackle from Dan Smith.

I know the photo isn't the best but there doesn't really seem to be one of a better quality around, I also wanted to put this one in because you can see the timing in the match. It is a very poor challenge and completely unnecessary at that point in a game, especially where you are 3 goals down. It is the 91st minute of the match and I know some people will use that to, in some way, justify the tackle as the player would have been disappointed and frustrated with not only how the game went but the season as a whole, as Sunderland were relegated, but to me that is absolute nonsense. You can't do these sort of things on a football pitch, part of the job is controlling your temperament and if you cannot do that then you shouldn't be on the pitch in the first place.

The simple fact is that these injuries are the symptom of poor managerial tactics and strategies.There has been a general consensus by most in football that the best way to beat Arsenal is to kick them off the pitch. There is no problem with passion or even controlled aggression during the match but too often teams go overboard and the Arsenal players are the ones that suffer. We can all call for more protection from referee's, but we don't want the English game to disintegrate down to the completely absurd strict level of officiating we see in European matches. The bottom line is that it is up to the managers to set the team out to stop the opponent from playing which doesn't resort to, what I call, at times, 'legal assault'. Maybe that's too strong a term, but you can't go around kicking some one on the street because you don't like them or they are better than you at something. So why can you on a football pitch?

What I don't understand is, when players are set up by a manager to physically stop a team playing football, why don't the players find that offensive? I mean it's basically saying, 'right your not good enough to beat them on your own terms and qualities, so just kick lumps out of them and we might get lucky'. There are ways to beat teams which don't take risks with leg breaks. Set the team up to be well organized, sit deep, work hard, press the opposition in key areas, don't give them space, when you get the ball use it carefully and break fast (not to be confused with 'breakfast'!), use set pieces to your advantage. I am not saying that every time Arsenal lose it's because they were kicked off the pitch, far from it, but it only takes a small minority of teams for these sorts of injuries to happen. You know, Something about one bad apple and all that.

I have come across some strange reasoning from people to justify some of the bad injuries we've suffered, like the point I made about losing your temper at the end of a match above. However, one of the most ridiculous, is where the problem is actually turned back on Arsenal and more specifically,the  the managers. The people who say this believe that these poor tackles are the consequences of him signing smaller, more diminutive players from abroad who cannot cope with the physicality of the English game. Do they believe that there should be some sort of cut off point for the size/ build of a player who can play in England? It's completely nonsensical, its like where people try to blame what women wear as the reasoning for rape. Pure madness.

It is part of the game and sport in general that players will suffer injuries, and there will always be bad tackles. There is nothing you can do about that, but there is a difference between a player getting his timing completely wrong and a player who quite obviously over aggressively challenges for a ball. We have even seen some players who purposely go out to hurt others. Think of Roy Keane on Alf Inge Haaland back in 2001. He says he never meant to purposely injure Haaland, I say he should have never played again. In the end Haaland never played again, no end of fines or temporary bans can make up for a career lost to complete thuggery. Here's a link to an article in which Haaland says that he still feels his knee twinge to this day; the tackle still haunts him.

I really hope no one brings up the injury Keane suffered previously involving Haaland. There is no excuses for that sort of behaviour.

Perhaps some people may feel that I have been too strong on the issue here, but I doubt Abou Diaby, or even Arsenal fans will feel that way. Arsenal fans have had to suffer more than other clubs with this, think of Eduardo, Ramsey, Diaby obviously, but even this season that Arnautović push on Debuchy on the advertising boards basically ended his season. There was no charge or ban for that, however. My worst football memory came when Arsenal lost their unbeaten run at Old Trafford in October 2004. United had resorted to kicking Arsenal for the result, the Neville sisters had tag teamed on Reyes for the afternoon. He was never the same player again. Van Nistlerooy ran his studs down Ashley Cole's shin;  he was only punished after the match. There is nothing worse than seeing so called big teams resorting to this type of behaviour. More than anything big teams have a responsibility to play good football.

If he were punished during the match, how different would the outcome have been?

What really puzzles me is the fact that this sort of behaviour has not only been given the cold shoulder, but it is encouraged by the media at times. Remember Phil Neville saying he would have 'two footed' Rosicky for making a fool of him? I found that absolutely ridiculous at the time, even more so now. Physicality is a great strength (pun intended) of the English game, but the consequences of the over-physicality is too much to risk for a single match.

The fact of the matter is that the best Arsenal teams have always over come the aggression of other teams, and we are beginning to see this again with this squad, but to be quite short, the simple point I wanted to make in this post  is that they shouldn't have to. Yes, football is a contact sport, but I believe that it is first and foremost about skill and being proactive. It is why (since people always ask me) I dislike Mourinho's sides and his style, it is far too reactive and depending on other teams weaknesses rather than your own strengths, and by the same token so too is relying on your physicality as a means of bullying teams to get results.

Right I want to get back to Abou Diaby now. According to The Telegraph, he has suffered 40 injuries in 9 years at Arsenal, and shockingly only made 124 appearances as a result. It is a really disappointing end to a player who was always an exciting prospect but never quite got the chance to show it. It would be great for him to move on to another club and overcome his problems.

While i'm at it, It has been said that Diaby highlights a big flaw in Wenger's approach to management in that he stuck with him too long and was not ruthless in the sense that say, Mourinho or Ferguson would have been. That is a valid point, but I also think that this is a strength of his management style. He sticks by his players and gives them the opportunity to come back even strongrer, look at Aaron Ramsey for example. This aspect of Arsene is greatly under appreciated in my opinion.

Right I'll leave it there for today. Let me know what you think in the comments.

 Don't worry Abou, we will always have Liverpool in 2012!

Follow me on twitter @ Cosmic__Kid.
Until next time,

Subjectively Cosmic Kid.

F.A cup winners, Arsenal flags & Premier League contenders...

Arsenal are back to wining trophies and setting records. In the build up to this game I had been feeling somewhat apprehensive but at the same time exited, It was, I suppose, the usual mixing bowl of emotions that only a cup final can throw up. I was expecting a difficult match, the ease and complete comfort with which Villa dispatched of Liverpool in the semi final had stoked up a simmering fear of what seemed like an inevitable tragic end to a season which had rebounded back to an acceptable level for Arsenal football club. While not reaching the lofty pre season expectations of most following last seasons cup win, it was certainly higher than the fears of most on New Year's day. We had our season back on track but only winning the cup would make this a successful season, and Aston Villa stood in the way of that. No matter how disappointingly their league season ended, the relief of Premier League survival, the passion of a new manager and the hope of winning their first F.a cup since 1957 seemed to me like the perfect ingredients for stubborn resistance at the very least. Besides the last time a team won the final by more than one goal was in 2004, when Man United beat league one Millwall 3-0. In the end both my hopes and worries were blown away by a fantastic Arsenal performance, who ran out 4-0 winners. 

As I am sure you are all aware by now, I am not a fan of writing conventional match reviews, as you can get that anywhere. Besides I'm not quite sure what you are doing here if you have not managed to watch the match by now anyway. So I'll just go over a couple of things that I found very interesting about the game. The first of which being the inclusion of Theo Walcott in the starting line up. The manager was faced with a number of difficult decisions, for example whether to start Wilshere following a string of encouraging cameo appearances, but this was arguably the most difficult choice to make. It seems Theo's hat-trick the week prior coupled with the extra space on the Wembley pitch were the decisive factors. It proved to be an inspired decision, which really maximised the teams fluidity, which was used to constantly pull defenders out of position. 

The best example of this increased movement in forward areas was the first goal. Sanchez and Walcott had swapped positions with the Chilean moving central while the Englishman moved out to the left. The Villa defence were unsure how to handle the situation. Sure enough Walcott punished this indecisiveness, as the ball came into the box it had been half cleared and fell just right on the left hand side of the box for Theo to volley home, you guessed it with his left foot. It was an excellent finish from arguably the club's best finisher at present. Perhaps the time has come for Walcott's prolonged chance centrally, certainly with 4 goals in his last two games starting up top, which was half of Arsenal's total goal haul in those matches, the stats point to that fact also.

I was also impressed with Arsenal defensively. Sure you can point out that Villa never really turned up on the day, but I am a big believer that the reason why teams do not randomly turn up is due to the other teams excellence, not the team in questions deficiencies, they still have to be punished on the day regardless. Alright, maybe if the keeper is throwing the ball in his own net or you play like Q.P.R did at Man City a couple of weeks ago then you can say it was due to the other teams general uselessness. I'm surprised uselessness is an actual word, it really doesn't sound right, does it? Anyway back to my point, it seemed Villa's only main point of attack was Benteke. They tried on numerous occasions to hit the ball into the box, and Szczesny dealt with that very well. It was a clear tactic for the keeper to come and collect the ball on every possible opportunity to limit Benteke's aerial threat throughout the match. For the most part this tactic worked, there were a couple of dodgy moments, but this is to be expected. Even when the ball was played into feet our centre backs and Coquelin were fantastic in mopping up any danger. So, overall, well played Szczesny, I must confess, I have been his biggest critic at times this season.

I've got another confession to make, I did not actually manage to watch the game live at the time. I was up at the Foo fighters concert at Slane Castle. They were excellent and would recommend them, if you are wondering. It was torture at times however, well, besides the getting drenched by the rain and missing a bus which meant sitting around in Mc Donalds in Dublin until 7 in the morning, it was difficult getting any sort of update on the match. All I had to go by were texts from a somewhat dodgy source, while at the same time battling my phone's low running battery. There was also a large Arsenal flag at the front, however, which was constantly waving so that did keep me going.

Yes, I know that it's not the best picture, but whoever had that flag it was greatly appreciated. I did manage to get the goals right before my phone died, which made the waiting around more relaxing and less time pressing. The first thing I did when I got home was watch the match, and even though I had seen reports of our domination, I was really surprised by how strong the performance was. It will certainly be a cup final I will not forget. Not that I can truly say I remember watching it live at the time!

The very first sentence of this post stated that Arsenal are back to winning trophies and setting records. So let's get back to that. Remember during the Invincibles era it seemed like the team were setting records every week? Well lets hope this is the beginning of a truly new era of brilliance. As I'm sure you are aware, we are now the outright leading F.a cup winners with a total of 12 wins from another record setting of 19 finals. We are also only the fourth club to have won the cup consecutively on more than one occasion (2002 and 2003, 2014 and 2015). 

Arsene Wenger has become the joint most successful winner of the old cup with 6 wins (half of Arsenal's overall wins), George Ramsey, ironically of Aston Villa, also claimed 6 wins back in the late 1890's and early 1900's. Arsene is also only the second manager to have won the cup consecutively on more than one occasion, (see the years above). He also has a fantastic record in F.a cup finals, having won 6 of 7. Here's a couple of bonus facts, the last time Arsenal won the F.a cup two years in a row they went unbeaten the next season and more importantly, obviously, is the fact that Per Mertesacker now has 3 Wembley goals, after scoring in the final and in last years semi final. He also scored the winner for Germany against England in a friendly last year. 

It seems ironic that the curtain raiser for next season, will see Arsenal square off with League winners Chelsea for the community shield. Let's hope Wenger can get his first win over Mourinho and set the trend for a strong title challenge next season. I'm already looking forward to that match, after all it could be a fourth trophy in two seasons for a team and manager that do anything but win. 

Overall I think this has been a good season for us, on top of retaining the cup we have managed to get the winning 'big games' monkey off our backs, with 2 wins and a draw in our last 3 Manchester games and a 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool proof of that. We have to progress from here now, we are not the finished article by any stretch of the imagination, but I think we are close now. Let's strengthen the team in the summer and go on from there. Next season a strong title challenge is a must, 12 points off the leaders is still not good enough. We should be looking at making it past the Champions League last 16 also. I am confident we can do that and I am looking forward to next season positively. The F.a cup has to be the start, more than anything this cup win has to make us Premier League contenders, there is so much promise around the club at the moment, let's hope we don't look back in years to come at this team as the big pretenders. 

Right that about does it, let me know what you think in the comments. I hope to do some stuff over the summer also, so keep an eye out for more.

Also follow me on twitter @ Cosmic__Kid.

Subjectively, Cosmic Kid.