Two Penalties, a Win, a Cup and no Finishers

With the two starting wingers injured for the oh-so important match against WBA, a high-flying yet out of form outfit, the major weight of carrying the team forward fell on the middle three. Many a times before, these 3 extremely talented players, touted to be the arguably the best midfield in EPL, haven't simply connected. The free-flowing passing and the cut-through-5-defender runs of Cazorla seemed lost. Worry not gooners, came the voice of the ever-reliable Wenger, who, once again seemed to find the missing nuts in the Arsenal midfield engine. It was nowhere near the best these 3 can produce, but it was a welcome change from the few underwhelming performances of the past month. Szczesny was rarely troubled, in part due to the uninspiring performances of the opposition, and partly due to  the excellence of our defense in tackling the threat of the likes of Lukaku, Odemwingie, Gera, Long, Brunt, etc. quite easily.

Now regarding the elephant in this room, was it a dive from Cazorla? Yes, most probably. Was the injury act afterwards disgraceful, definitely. The two things most Arsenal fans are proud about Arsenal today are the fact that we are consistent without sugar-daddies and that we are known for our fair play. Arsene rightfully apologized in his own way afterwards, and one can only hope that the dive was a one-time act. Two coolly taken penalties from Arteta following the two controversial decisions in the Arsenal's favor made sure the poor finishing from the forwards of our team wasn't to make this game into a stalemate. But I still wish we had a better penalty taker, as I could see Arteta throwing away future penalties against better stoppers like Cech, Neuer, Casillas, etc. Coming to the front line, which was the only thing that went wrong for Arsenal today. Finishing was poor throughout, mainly from Gervinho and Giroud. Podolski couldn't live up to his finishing fame either. It was very clear just how much a poacher and finisher in the mold of Huntelaar is needed to finish the hoards of chances coming up from the wing and the midfield.

Moving on the cup quarters at  Bradford City, no Arsenal fan could see us losing this tie, given the position of Bradford City. All gooners will be hoping that this team finally ends the trophy drought, given the fact that the only top team remaining is the troubled Chelsea. But we'll have to wait till the January end to know for sure.

P.S.-
1) Ever seen a Belgian dive? What is with them? Does their model democracy teach them to not dive too?
2) Rumors about a 19-year old french striker named Ludalix being already signed going around. Thats what we need now! Also,  a rumor has surfaced about C. Ronaldo. Yes, I typed that right, Cristiano Ronaldo.

3) Arshavin, Eisfeld and DIABY, where are you people?

4) Walcott, sign da ting!

Mistakes, Crosses and Leaders

As you watch the ever-reliable Arteta put Ruiz down clumsily inside the penalty box after a non-sensical turn with the ball, you wonder. You wonder what  the last goal against Arsenal was that wasn't from a defensive mistake or from a cross. And its hard to remember. Both the goals at Old Trafford, all three here, 3 of the five at Madejski Stadium, all have been our own mistakes or our inability to deal with crosses. Having a Mertesacker in Central defense hasn't helped us much in dealing with the crosses either. And mistakes, so many silly mistakes. From giving penalties to giving great assists to opposition strikers to giving own goals to giving soft goals, it has been hard for an Arsenal fan to see the ball at the feet of your own defense and not wonder about the latest mistake they are about to conjure up. And when your captain and your vice-captain are the ones making them, you feel they are not just some one-off chances.

Into the last minute as you watch Arteta stand over the ball that would define whether this contest against Fulham was one feircely fought or one despairingly lost, there is this aura around us, one that tells us Arteta is not going to finish it. We simply dont deserve it. Maybe, that was what was going through his mind too. The commentator compounds my belief as he points that probably Wenger himself had ideas other than that of a win when he so anxiously watched our world-class passer take that kick. And as you watch that feebly hit, ill-placed penalty go straight into the hands of Schwarzer, you know that the only way that would have been a penalty was if he stood just like Mannone did in the first half, ball watching, or he went the wrong way. The fate of the kick and the match wasn't decided by the shot Arteta hit, but by the Goalkeeper's choices. And that's when you know, our team didn't have, never had, any control on the match whatsoever.

And as you get out the slumber of what is another painful result against a mediocre team at home, you realize what is needed. A leader, one who can change a match. One who can bring the fate of the match back into our own hands. And maybe, one isn't enough. You cast your glances on the results elsewhere and find that one team has got yet another turn-around. This team, you realize, is full with able people with leadership qualities, people who could change the result of a match, and you wish for your on team to have one. A Berbatov, a Ronaldo, a Messi, an RVP, a Lambert. One who would step up to take that kick away from an off-color Arteta and finish it into the top-right corner.Not a Giroud who would let go of the chance to get a match-winning hat-trick (Nothing to take from his top-class performance though.).

Times of Decline- Really?

Going through the thousands of articles on bleacher report website after the rather uninspiring 2-2 draw away at Schalke, I stepped on to this really mind-boggling article about the great team, that is Arsenal. The article wasn't all the great, though, in many ways. For one, it tried to put the recent slump in Arsenal form as the great recent years' decline in Arsenal. They say the spirit which created Arsenal for what it is, isn't there anymore. That this current Arsenal team is filled with nothing more than the shadows of the great men who preceded them.

As one opinion is just not enough to reproduce all my, or your, thoughts, here are three-

The optimistic Gooner-
For all I know, this writer was probably a hypocrite trying to bring down Arsenal morale and hopes. In that case, he should have realized many people have tried that over the last many years and failed. Shadows of great men? Not really. I mean this team has the youngest 100 capper (for Germany!, mind you), a Spanish prodigy (or two), hoards of young potent English first team choices, a league top-scorer,  a proven full-back, proven central defenders, a prodigy who matched Xavi and Iniesta in a decisive match at 19, the list simply goes on. This team doesn't look like a shadow of anything to me. If anything, this is just an inevitable period of form slump, a period only one team in EPL history has managed not to go through, the Invincibles. So the people, who try to bring down Arsenal posting crap about Arsenal in a period of decline should go back a week or two, and remember the team who gunned 13 in 3 matches, gave 3, kept four consecutive clean sheets with a make-shift defense, dominated the holding champions away, and played the most beautiful form of football, almost perfectly. And this recent slump, if anything, is just an amalgamation of people trying to come back from injuries, a bad dressing room atmosphere, new people trying to adjust and a myriad of new injuries.

The Pessimist Gooner-When was the last time Arsenal beat Manchester United, do you remember? When was the last season Arsenal didn't sell a player they still needed, do you remember?  When was the last time you basked in glory for Arsenal, and felt like you could shout Arsenal, Arsenal around in the streets for hours? I has been a long time, hasn't it? Some people will put that time to be a little more than seven years. What happening to Arsenal? We have gone from playing Adams, Bould, Dixon and Winterburn to Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Jenkinson and gibbs. From playing Henry, Pires, Bergkamp to Podolski, Gervinho and Giroud. Where did the Arsenal who were going to be the best in the world go? Clearly change is needed, change in philosophy, personnel, board, if it still doesn't work out, maybe, manager (Believe me, it hurts to even type that). The fans need to step up, show the people there at Arsenal who is the boss, and for who this show is running. The excuse of a new stadium is good enough for a year of three, but 6 years hence, we need more than just some hope. One marquee signing, one trophy, one season with no key players lost, we need it all.

The Realist Gooner-
The world runs on money and glory, doesn't it? So does football, and people go where both go. The people concerned with money, the board, the players and staff, go where money does (with the few exceptions in a hold of ridiculously huge amount of money.) For a club, a board and its employees, the reasonable option would be to follow the sustainable route of running a club, the Arsenal way; and not throwing your life in the hands of a single person with questionable wealth. But that's where glory steps in. The glory of holding gold and trophies, the glory of owning a champion team, the glory of being around the best in the world, and to compete to be the best. Where did Arsenal go wrong, you ask? It tried to run itself on only one aspect- the money. Sustainable in wealth, but not in the balance of glory and money. Sustainable, but not shiny anymore. More like a battle-hardened weapon, like a cannon, one which can be relied upon, but not chosen when you absolutely need to be the best. Then you choose tanks and jets. Clearly, we need to find the right balance between the two wheels of being a successful club, a balance once mastered by the Professor himself. How? Well, that's a broad question. And would probably need an article of its own (or maybe a book)

PS- Being a thousand miles away, I an not able to be a part of the "Where has our Arsenal gone" rally, or the thousands of fans lucky enough to be a part of the home and travelling supporters. But I urge every single one of you to try to be able to be a part of the protest, because it is us, the fans who will ultimately decide whether Arsenal stands the test of time and doubters.

What drives a Gooner?

In the final minutes of a sub-standard performance from a team best consisting of a few new and old "promising" faces, the 4000 travelling fans out-sing the 70000-odd crowd at Old Trafford.....they drive the team on towards a late goal which is a consolation at best....they hope they would turn it around like the make-shift team did just 3 days before. They hope they will have a story to tell their children and grand-children, one about how they pulled one over many glory-hunters, a few d*ickheads, a few rivals*(the actual fans) and a traitor. They hope they will have a story like the ones Norman Duncan must have a chest full of. They know its probably not possible, not after the performance they had put in that afternoon, but that's a gooner for you. For a gooner knows, that in a land where there is no hope, Arsenal wont survive. Because that all that's left for us. That is all the board and the manager accomplishes to give right now. Hopes, hopes that one day the great man who created and drove the invincibles shall be supported and he will rise again, and make a team that will give these fans a new song to sing, a cheerful one, one which will end in a victory, one that is more than just a hope. Hopes that someday, the promising team will become a champion team. Hopes that one day, the 4000 fans wont have to out-sing the 70000 fans, because the 75000 would have already left with their heads hung in shame. Hopes, that one day, they wont have to make reasons for their meager performances. Hopes that trophies wouldn't just be consisted of being able to play in the Champions League, for even FC Nordsjaelland manages that.

But is it really the hopes of some silver, some glory that ties you to this club? As a legend once asked- "I really like Arsenal. But you,do you really like Arsenal? Or just Arsenal with trophies?" I ask you the same. If its going to be another 7 years to a trophy would you still be a Arsenal fan? Because I would be, as its the club I love, the little joys that it gives me. One loves this club for every skipped heartbeat it has given to him/her, every laugh, every win, every hope, every inspiration, every fight, every relation, every friend. Its not what in the cabinet that matters, its the hearts and minds that does. It is these hopes, these recreations from the past, that a Gooner lives for. That's what makes him/her patient enough to listen "important" people telling him/her to be patient, giving excuses of problems hanging from every club's threads.

Having said all that, the hopes that every Gooner keeps, the ones which drive him/her forward.....are the ones best said below for a man in love-

As a man waits and craves for his beloved lady,
The one who has eluded him so far,
The one for whose arrival he makes himself ready,
For she can only be so far, only so far.

So what is it that drives you?