All posts by h79snht.top

What a week for Arsenal football club. And boy did they need it after morale demolishing defeats at AC Milan and Sunderland within the space of four days.

Last Sunday’s incredible win over their great rivals was arguably the best Arsene Wenger’s men have played all season long and they followed it up with another resilient display today a week later. It put the Gunners firmly in control of fourth spot ahead of Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool whilst their confidence will be boosted ahead of their Champions League date with AC Milan at the Emirates Stadium. They face a monumental task of clawing back a four goal deficit but with Robin Van Persie firing on all cylinders anything is possible.

This week on FFC discussions have centred around whether the club should do all they can to tie down RVP, are some players not pulling their weight and could Lukas Podolski be the first name through the Emirates revolving door in the summer?

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Best of FFC

A Week is a long time in football…Don’t Arsenal fans know it

Why Arsenal should rightfully break the bank to secure deal

The penny finally drops for Arsenal

Are we blaming the right people at football clubs?

Wenger’s Top TEN wonderkids that proved anything but at Arsenal

Are some Arsenal stars cheating the football club?

Arsenal transfer boost after Solbakken hints at summer exit

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Best of WEB

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What five things did we learn from Liverpool v Arsenal today? – Gunnersphere

Theo could be the answer to our problem up top, Bendtner madness and a warning to Ivan – Le Grove

Why Wenger should go, even if he is given a war chest to spend this summer – Online Gooner

Unity and Profit: Arsenal encapsulate modern football – A Cultured Left Foot

Arsene, stop, think and then be quiet – please!! – Highbury House

Lets give credit where credit is due – Gunnersphere

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Arsenal’s £13M Giroud Tale Gathering Pace – Transfer Tavern

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“People will see now that Arsenal are alive more than anyone thought before the game. The performance today showed spirit. From the technical side, and with the drive of the whole team and style that we want to play, everything was perfect despite a very bad start. Spurs started well in the first five minutes, but it was all us for the next 85 minutes. We were 2-0 down but refused to lose the game and kept going.” Arsene Wenger reflecting on Arsenal’s 5-2 win over North London rivals Tottenham (The Guardian). 

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Sky Sports estimated that more than 3,000 11-a-side teams have folded since 2007. This plays in stark contrast to Trevor Brooking’s desire, voiced back in 2005, for a better grassroots system. His logic was simple: ‘if you want quality at the top, you have to have a broad base at the pyramid.’ Whilst this is true, a key difference needs to be made between changes that can benefit elite football (i.e. at youth level) and changes that see adult amateurs continue to enjoy the game.

For any readers who play in weekend leagues the following is a standard: unplayable surfaces, a shortage of referees, thugs disguised as footballers and subpar match day facilities. Couple this with the emergence of synthetic pitches – Goals and Powerleague – and we see an appealing and accessible substitute for the 11-a-side game. Playing for about an hour, needing only five or so friends, with quality facilities guaranteed poses an infinitely more desirable circumstance than early weekend starts where pitch, referee and facilities are all questionable.

So it’s not difficult to understand the decline in 11-a-side popularity, really; shortage of funding means terrible facilities whilst the smaller 5 and 7-a-side synthetic pitches are suited to the compartmentalised needs of the working man (or woman). Sky Sports suggested this decline would affect the hopes of future England teams because less and less people played the full pitch game. But the weekend leagues’ biggest pull are adult players and, to a much lesser extent, school leavers. Brooking’s words of improving the base at youth level, we’re talking between five and eleven year olds, should be the top priority, and a natural repercussion of such action would mean more people playing 11-a-side at an amateur level when they are adults. I don’t think the answer is to simply get youngsters out on full size pitches, though. If we take the Dutch youth model into consideration the answer is, ironically, smaller sided games.

There is a lot we can learn from a system that focuses much less on winning and far more on enjoyment in the earliest stages of youth development. Juninho was pushed to say, after watching an FA youth coaching session, that ‘this is a load of rubbish. It’s like learning to swim on dry land.’ Rinus Michels, Ajax coach in the famed Johan Cruyff era, penned his thoughts on youth development and alludes to the reasons why Juninho was so disillusioned with the FA coaches. He insisted that a key belief was for kids’ football not to replicate the adult game. The emphasis is on every child being involved in an open game with many scoring opportunities: enjoyment is the top priority.

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At the age of 5, games are 4-a-side, at 9 they are 7-a-side on half size pitches, and at 13 they move onto 11-a-side on full size pitches. Louis van Gaal expanded the Michels model, and this is where our suffering 11-a-side game would benefit, by positing that professional and amateur games should work together. The Dutch FA, known as the KNVB, ensures that mid-to-late teens are not simply thrown away by their professional clubs. Instead the professional club is contractually bound to find the player an amateur one. This would remedy one of our country’s biggest problems; “We have the biggest dropout rate in mid-teens in Europe,” says Paul Cooper of the dutchUK football school in England, “[and] that’s because the kids’ game here is for adults.”

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How would these changes ensure better 11-a-side participation for us? Most obviously, young players who don’t make it will not be discarded without an outlet for their remaining talent. An affiliation between professional and amateur clubs would increase exposure and necessitate better funding at the lowest levels (an example of the sheer level of well funded, precisely thought out and community-oriented clubs in Holland is when an amateur club can have over 70 teams in operation, fully coached from the ages of 5 upwards). The distance between amateur and professional games would also inevitably be reduced, but this has been achieved in Holland by an overarching, ubiquitous KNVB. In England we have decentralised the power but instead of idiosyncratic micro management and overall cohesion being achieved we’ve successfully fragmented as the Premiership, the FA, the Football League, the county FAs and kids’ leagues all run themselves in general disarray. Addressing these issues isn’t simple but surely there is a lot to learn, though probably not ideal to blindly imitate, from the Dutch blueprint that has seen sustained enjoyment in the game from grassroots right through to the elite level.

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Robin van Persie has picked up the PFA Player of the Year award for 2011-12, with the accolade being presented at a ceremony in London on Sunday night.

The Arsenal attacker is the top goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 27 strikes, and has inspired the Gunners’ to turn their campaign round after a slow start.

“If other people are saying it, it is special, but it is even more special if your opponents are saying it,” the Netherlands international beamed when picking up the award.

“It is very special because you are playing against them week in week out and every single player does everything to win and in the end if they make up their minds that I’m the best player it is a big honour.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham full-back Kyle Walker has picked up the Young Player of the Year Award.

The young defender has had an excellent campaign by making the Spurs right-back jersey his own and breaking into the England international set-up.

Finally, a Premier League XI was selected, with four Manchester City players making the grade.

Team in full:

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Joe Hart (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Leighton Baines (Everton), David Silva (Manchester City) Scott Parker (Tottenham) Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Tottenham), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Robin van Persie (Arsenal).

By Gareth McKnight

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Big-spending Chinese Premier League side Shanghai Shenhua are ready to make a bid to sign Manchester United striker Michael Owen, according to The Sun.

The Asian outfit have just appointed big-name signing Nicolas Anelka as their new head coach, and are eager to raid the Premier League for more stars this summer.

Shenhua are believed to have offered Didier Drogba £240,000 a week to move to China, and Owen would certainly be offered a lucrative contract, giving him the possibility of one last big pay day.

The former England international has had a torrid season, with most of it on the sidelines due to injury and being out-of-favour with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Owen’s contract expires this summer, and it is highly likely that the forward will be allowed to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Arsenal have reportedly entered the race to sign Borussia Dortmund’s highly rated Japanese winger according to The Sun.

The Asian superstar has been a revelation at Signal Iduna Park over the last number of seasons, and has been a major player in Jurgen Klopp’s side that have won back-to-back Bundesliga titles.

Despite his importance to the German champions, Kagawa has rejected a new contract and has spoken of his desire to move to England this summer.

With only a year left on his current deal and the player refusing to extend, Dortmund have admitted that they may well have to part company with Kagawa when the transfer window reopens to avoid him leaving on a free transfer.

The Gunners are thought be have been impressed with Kagawa when they faced Dortmund in this season’s Champions League, and are preparing a cut-price £5 million bid due to the attacker’s fragile contract situation.

Despite this, Manchester United are thought to be keen to bring Kagawa to Old Trafford this summer, and the Premier League giants could be set for a transfer battle.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Portugal claimed a dramatic 3-2 victory over Denmark in Group B of Euro 2012 on Wednesday night.

The Iberian nation powered into a dominant lead when Pepe and Helder Postiga struck to give them a 2-0 advantage.

However, a Nicklas Bendtner header on the stroke of half-time gave the Scandinavians hope, and the Arsenal forward struck again in the second 45 to square things up.

Despite this, Portuguese substitute Silvestre Varela rifled home in the last ten minutes to give his side a crucial three points.

Paulo Bento was happy that his men won the match, but feels that the game should have been killed off earlier.

“We deserved the victory, but we suffered too much, considering what we did in the first half” Bento told reporters after the game.

“We defended well in the first half, showing some good organisation, and there was a period in which we could have scored twice more but Denmark ended up scoring with the only chance they had.

“In the second half, our plan was to make it 3-1 and not see it out at 2-1. A minute before Denmark’s equalised, we could have killed off the game.

“Then our players’ character and personality emerged. They have been working in an extraordinary way,” he concluded.

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Portugal take on Netherlands in their final Group B fixture.

By Gareth McKnight

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Liverpool attacker Craig Bellamy is a summer transfer target for former club Cardiff City, as the Welsh side look to reap the benefits of a new owner, according to The Daily Mail.

The Welsh side were recently purchased by a wealthy Malaysian owner, who has announced an ambitious £100 million investment plan to get the side up to the Premier League.

Bellamy’s future at Anfield is currently up in the air after Brendan Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish as the Merseyside club’s head coach, with the Northern Irishman keen to sign his own players this summer.

The Wales international was born in Cardiff and played the 2010-11 season with the side on loan, bagging 11 goals in 35 appearances.

The move would be a massively popular one with the Bluebirds fans should it happen, and would show real intent to make it to the top-flight by Cardiff after a number of close misses.

Bellamy looks set for inclusion in Stuart Pearce’s Team GB squad that will compete in the London Olympics this summer.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Roberto Mancini has admitted that Arsenal striker Robin van Persie will not be moving to Manchester City.

The Netherlands international has confessed that he will not be signing a new contract at the Emirates Stadium, and with one year left on his current deal Arsene Wenger is considering selling the Dutch maestro.

City, along with Manchester United and Juventus, have been linked with a summer move for Van Persie but the Italian trainer has now revealed that it is unlikely that the forward will be moving to the Etihad Stadium.

“Van Persie? No, I don’t think he will come here,” The Sun report Mancini as saying.

Meanwhile, Mirror Football state that Arsene Wenger has gained new hope in keeping his captain at the club, after the PFA Player of the Year was impressed with Arsenal’s ambition in the transfer market this summer.

Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud have already been added to the Gunners’ squad, with a deal for Santi Cazorla also close to completion.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Arsene Wenger has spoken out for the first time since the Robin van Persie outburst and insists that Arsenal are ambitious, although concedes that the club will continue to operate within its means. The French manager says that the 15 consecutive years in the Champions League has highlighted their level of consistency within the Premier League and has reiterated that Arsenal remain committed to winning trophies, as Europe is not the only priority.

Elsewhere in the news Manchester United suffer injury blow as Chris Smalling breaks his metatarsal; Michael Laudrup has suggested he would not force Joe Allen to stay at Swansea City, while Everton close in on Steven Pienaar.

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Headlines

Chris Smalling faces up to 10 weeks on the sidelines after having an operation to fix his broken metatarsal – [Guardian]

Luka Modric is likely to face disciplinary action after going awol, ahead of Spurs’ trip to the US – [Daily Mail]

David Moyes has revealed that Everton are close to securing a £5m deal to bring Steven Pienaar back to Goodison on a permanent basis – [Daily Mail]

Manchester United remains confident of landing Robin van Persie but must meet the £10m difference in the club’s valuation – [Daily Telegraph]

Liverpool consider offering Charlie Adam to Fulham in order to tempt them to part with Clint Dempsey – [Daily Mail]

Daniel Sturridge is indebted to Stuart Pearce for keeping his Olympic dream alive as he looks to battle back from his illness – [Daily Telegraph]

Aaron Ramsey believes he has more to offer club and country – [Daily Mail]

The FA are looking at redrawing their specifications to help convince the West Brom technical director to take the role, in light of Southgate’s decision to quit on Friday – [Mirror]

Vincent Kompany is set to give Manchester City a huge boost by committing to a long term deal at the Etihad Stadium – [Sun]

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Chelsea had an impromptu training session on the tarmac at the airport after their plane was delayed in Seattle – [Sun]

PLEASE NOTE – click on the news sources to view the original article

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So Mission Impossible was a step too far for Arsenal. But they can leave Germany once more with their heads held high as they came away from their Champion’s League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich with a creditable 1-1 draw from the Allianz Arena.

The Gunners were without question an outstanding second best for 180 minutes against the world’s most dominant football team. And this fact is no shame.

The first half saw the team drop off Bayern in order to shut out space for their midfielders in front of the back four. They allowed David Alaba and Philipp Lahm to push on forwards, enabling them to try to space in dangerous pockets behind Arsenal’s full-backs. Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker had to be at their most alert to close off any opportunities while it was the job of Mikel Arteta and Alex-Oxlade-Chamberlain to track their midfield runners. They held out resolutely for the first 45 minutes but created precious little in terms of goal-scoring opportunities.

They looked to press on more positively in the second half and, but for a swift equaliser from Lukas Podolski, the tie looked to be dead and buried after Bastian Schweinsteiger ran unmarked into the centre of Arsenal’s penalty area to knock in unchallenged.

Coming and achieving a repeat of last year’s performance was always unlikely against a Munich side which has dropped just four points in the Bundesliga all season. But the way the Gunners battled should be the most heart-warming factor to take from the performance. In particular, the current form of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gives Arsenal and England much to be positive about. One powerful, jinking run in the first half displayed his confidence and his technical ability whilst his positional awareness throughout the entire match demonstrated his growing capability in this relatively new-found deep midfield position for him.

However, if you allow the morning’s papers to tell the story for you then Mesut Ozil is to blame for Arsenal’s elimination.

As the side were so intent on keeping the scoreline close, and clearly not playing in a manner that would coincide with the natural strengths of his game, it makes it increasingly difficult to understand and accept some of the criticism of Arsenal’s record signing. He isn’t on top of his game currently, anyone can acknowledge this. He is clearly adept in a side that are in the ascendency but his game struggles when his side need extra defensive support. AVB lookalike and perennial gob-shite Neil Ashton of the Daily Mail used the passing statistics of Bayern’s Thiago, Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben as a stick to beat him with. But is there any surprise he fell so short of the players in a team who enjoyed 67 per cent of possession and completed well in excess of double the amount of passes the Gunners put together?

Sure, Ozil struggled to have an impact. Pep Guardiola pinpointed his abilities prior to kick-off as one of his side’s biggest focuses in Bayern’s pre-match preparation saying how, “I do not want to see Ozil control the game.” Coming up against a side who not only excel in their attacking style, but also in preventing opposition players performing to their capabilities meant that if he was to have a positive impact the team would have to approach the game in a way that would benefit him. Playing out on the wide right and being forced to play a defensive wide-midfield role was never going to. Couple this with the fact that he played the best part of 30 minutes with a hamstring problem, which is now destined to keep him out for “at least a few weeks”, and I think a below par performance can be forgiven.

He’s struggled already this against away at Liverpool and at home against Borussia Dortmund, both teams who looked to harass Arsenal high up the field. When teams hassle him out of possession, he finds it hard to adapt. But it is down to Ozil, Arsene Wenger and his team-mates to overcome this. It has nothing to do with his price tag and everything to do with the adaptation of the player and the team.

Right now he is an easy target. But to focus solely on Mesut Ozil’s performance in the grand scheme of events last night is professional negligence on the part of any journalist who has attempted to. It’s almost as though they have yet to realise the greatness of this Bayern Munich side and have yet to accept what Ozil does and doesn’t do well. He didn’t choose his price tag. The only influence he had on it were three years of consistently high-class performances for the world’s biggest club. That and the redefinition of the word ‘assist’.

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Ozil was bought for the big occasions. To lift Arsenal once again into the pantheon of Europe’s footballing elite. But to pin so many hopes on one man is unfair when the evidence of the two-legged tie versus Munich shows that the club just isn’t yet there. Ozil’s hamstring injury was Arsenal’s biggest loss last night. Those who claim it may be a blessing in disguise are severely short-sighted. His form may be questionable but his quality certainly isn’t.

Arsenal may not be able to take too much from the overall quality of their performance in Munich but they can once again, as on many occasions this season, take heart from their once-questioned abilities when they have their backs to the walls. The rest of March promises to shape the remainder of their league season and they may have to be at their obstinate best to keep their dreams of a first league title in 10 years alive.

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