HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD - ON ARSENAL!

A really great letter from my good friend in Western Australia, Dave Todd of David Todd Photography

What is happening?? Major problems. 

In the last week I have been on many ‘Arsenal blog sites’  just looking for something positive, but everyone is so annoyed & frustrated. 

For me it seems Wenger & the players on the pitch all have a similar mindset.

When a player gets tapped it’s all handbags and complaining. Get on with it. How many times does one of our midfielders stop play & shout when a tackle is made?

Every person in the land can see how Arsenal currently play, it is so telegraphed & predictable, goalie to centre back to full back , back and forth side to side. Yes we always have 60-70% of possession which amounts to stuff all if we don’t score a goal. Other teams love to give us all this possession, then they pick us off. We are too one dimensional, very little midfield imagination, we are still trying to thread the ball along the floor through six defenders at RVP’s feet. 

AS ARSENAL LOSE AGAIN - I AM BEGINNING TO DOUBT MY SANITY

The football season is thankfully nearly over but what concerns me most is that there will be another one along very soon. It is a time for reflection and for the first time I am starting to doubt my sanity by bothering to get enthused as I anxiously await the next game.

I gave up watching England ages ago ... although I did try to become enthused during the World Cup but now it looks like Arsenal are going to be devoid of my support because I simply find them too frustrating to watch. I have been an ardent supporter of the Gunners for as long as I can remember. I went to my first game in 1958 when they beat West Bromwich Albion at Highbury 4-3. That day, Jackie Henderson scored twice for Arsenal, David Herd once and WBA put the other through their own net.  After that I didn't get to Highbury again until 1963-64 when my mate John Cochrane and I became old enough to go on our own. Previously my cousin Harry had taken me to Spurs but I was angry when, at the age of 11 my mother would not let me go to see them play Moscow Torpedo because it was a school night. Then, during the amazing 'double' season of 1960-61 I went with another cousin, Pete, and his mates during the days when we would need to queue at the schoolboys' entrance. However, my support for Arsenal never left me as I watched them suffer in the mid positions of the old First Division league table. On the night that Arsenal won the League Championship, ironically at Tottenham as the first stage of their 1970-71 'double' - I was unable to get in the ground and spent the evening with a girlfriend moping in a coffee bar in Tottenham High Road. 

FOOTBALL NEEDS TO RETURN TO GRASS ROOTS

If like me, you were sickened by the recent Wayne Rooney debacle then you might like to consider my proposal for bringing some sanity back to the English game. Although I enjoy watching some of the continental talent that has enhanced our ailing game, the money that is now being coughed-up in wages and transfer fees for players, some of whom barely ever grace the field of play, has now extended beyond saturation point and has become obscene. Professional footballers in the top flight now compare with bankers for their selfish greed. I think it would be wonderful if we could put an end to this scandalous financial destruction of our national game to return to the standards of the past when footballers were admired for their talent, and not for the cars or their sexual conquests nor for the size of their bulging wallets.  

It says a great deal about the development of the game in our country that no English players have been included in the 23 short listed by FIFA as contenders to win the Ballon D’Or award. This should not surprise anyone because so little has been done to promote young English talent due to the dominance of foreign born players in the professional game. When it comes to senior English players; Rooney, Terry, Lampard, Walcott etc, although talented, rarely express their skills with the same consistency as Messi, Fabregas, Iniesta, Lahm, Xavi, Villa and dare I say, the precocious Ronaldo.Can anyone name more than one or two young English players that are likely to become world class? It is a crying shame because out their somewhere there will be players with the raw natural talent to succeed in the game if only the opportunities and resources were there to find and encourage them. If youngsters could be nurtured from the moment they start school, then we might be able, in time, to produce an English national side that could compete with the best. However before this can ever happen we must rid education of this misdirected belief that to be competitive is unhealthy and also find teachers that are qualified coaches. Perhaps this is the fundamental reason that Britain has ceased to be competitive in so many spheres, not just in sport?

WIGAN PUTS PAY TO ARSENAL'S LAST DITCH CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE

Wigan Athletic 3 Arsenal 2

After the midweek defeat at White Hart Lane had all but destroyed any slim hope of Arsenal pressuring Chelsea for the Premiership title, certainly no doubts remained after the visitors self-destructed at the DW Stadium this afternoon. Arsenal's injury torn side included 19-year old Craig Eastmond, a player not even officially listed as a member of the first team squad. The youngster defended well although Van Persie, was surprisingly left on the bench. When this season ends with the Arsenal trophy cabinet empty once more, some of Wenger's team selections are likely to be called into question. The Arsenal faithful who followed their team to Lancashire will be wondering why the Dutchman was not introduced until the closing minutes after he had contributed so much in so little time against Spurs. By then it was too late and Arsenal had cheaply thrown away a two goal lead to a resilient home side that was fighting for survival in the top flight. 

The flowing nature of the game promised to produce plenty of goals as both teams capitalised on the other's poor defensive work and misplaced passes. Wigan should have capitalised early after Fabrianski failed to intercept a ball that flew dangerously across his six yard box. The Pole, called in to replace Almunia who Arsenal claimed has a knee injury, lacked confidence and looked poor.This merely highlighted Wenger's need to buy a reliable 'keeper. Moments later Arsenal were awarded a free kick just beyond the Wigan penalty area. Clichy, who has scored only once, was an unlikely candidate to take the kick and the defender's effort went lifelessly into Kirkland's hands. The visitors had a worthy call for a penalty after a Wigan defender appeared to strike the ball with his hand but referee Lee Mason failed to react and Bendtner should have done better with a strange half volley that Kirkland and a defender jointly scrambled away.

ARSENAL FAILS IN CHAMPIONSHIP HURDLE

Arsenal went to White Hart Lane full of hope last night for the famous north London derby and should have been favourites to take all three points to dislodge Manchester United from second slot in the Premiership. But, the fixture failed to live up to expectations and Arsenal were sluggish and second rate to a Spurs side who were out to impress. Spurs had not beaten Arsenal for 10 years in a league fixture but they earned their just desert by robbing the visitors of any slim snippet of a chance to pressure Chelsea for the title. But Arsenal could have taken the lead in the opening minutes when Campbell, returning to the expected boos from the home supporters at his former hunting ground, had his effort blocked on the line by Benoit Assou-Ekotto. This was the closest Arsenal came to hitting the target during a first half that witnessed their usual precision passing falling short of the mark and by losing most of 50-50 challenges to a Spurs team that looked far more prepared for the challenge.