Stone Cold Friday: Learning To Mix The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

If cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you make too much money, Darius is his way of telling you that I’m a skiving bugger who is taking today off.…

I was intrigued when watching the Barcelona v Internazionale second leg semi-final tie this past Wednesday. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and was surprised by how Barcelona let Jose Mourinho’s warriors suffocate them.

If we’re to believe the statistics, Arsenal actually played better and more engaging games in both ties against the Catalans than the men from Milan did. But here is the cruel thing, Inter get to spare Real Madrid’s blushes after stopping the pending humiliation of Carles Puyol and his team lifting the European Cup under the very noses of the natives at the Bernabeu.

I found myself asking – ”what is it about Internazionale that is so ugly yet so admirable?”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fully paid, card carrying member of the ’Give me beautiful football every day of the week and twice on Sunday’ society, and ordinarily, I would find Mourinho’s tactics distasteful at the best of times.

Yet as I watched his 10 men battle and gallantly execute the job they went to Barcelona to do, I was left admiring a character trait that I feel we sometimes miss at Arsenal.

Inter didn’t go to the Nou Camp to play football; far from that. They went to stop Barcelona getting to the final. Perhaps that’s the subtle difference in tactics that seems to elude the Arsenal at key moments when the good, the bad and the downright ugly have to be brought together in the spirit of pragmatism.

Mourinho captured his team’s determination by simply saying that when the chips are down, they’re prepared to leave blood and not just skin on the pitch.

One of the hallmarks of any great team is its ability to learn, innovate and adapt. It would be extremely vain, even arrogant of Arsenal to assume that we have nothing to learn from the teams around us. On Wednesday night, I found myself wishing that we had more of that ’you’re only getting past me over my dead body’ attitude that the Inter side showed.

One thing to say though is that there is a subtle difference between Arsenal and the Italian champions. Apart from Wesley Sneijder, all the Inter players were over 26 and had a hell of a lot more mileage than the core of the Arsenal team. That perhaps counts for the experience and nous displayed by Inter that in recent times seems to elude us at key moments.

My sense is that we have to accept that inconsistency is a by-product of youth, and we can hope that the learning curve of our players is a very short one if you take into account the individual and collective experience they already have under their belt.

The more difficult dilemma is that of getting the balance between Barcelona’s lethal and entertaining attacking instinct, and the pragmatism and defensive nous that Inter displayed in abundance. But isn’t that always the case in life? If you could pick this and that from here or there and marry them together, oh what a perfect life it would be.

It was clear to see from Wednesday’s game and tactics that when we played the Catalans, we gave them too much respect and the horse had bolted by the time reality checked in on our part and we tried to shut the stable door. Wenger is intelligent enough to know that he has to do something to improve our defensive fortunes. We can’t hope for example, to win any title by letting in nearly 40 goals in the season.

The manager avers that he will sign 3 players with his usual health warning of – “if we can find the right player”. That’s perhaps code for ”Chamakh is already on his way, I’ll need a goal keeper and there’s just room for one more in defence”.

Reinforcements are of course needed, but I feel the more important thing is that the squad builds on the gains made this season. Some of the core players who have come into the fore in the last couple of seasons – Diaby, Denilson, Song, Bendtner, Walcott just to name a few – have to step their game up and continue to prove that the faith the manager has shown in them, even putting his reputation on the line, is not misplaced.

The missing ingredient for me is a mental one and not necessarily technical or physical. Internazionale showed on Wednesday that it’s not just about being technically good enough; it’s about fighting like your life depended on the game. We already have players who have this mental strength, but we have to do it more often and more consistently.

It’s not acceptable for example, to be 2 nil up with 10 minutes to go and throw that lead away, let alone lose the match. It’s moments of madness like those which easily undermines the stellar effort the team has put in for most part of the season.

Wenger is not short of advice from hacks, pundits and wannabe football managers masquerading as disgruntled Arsenal fans when it comes to transfer targets. Everyone is convinced they know who exactly needs to come into Arsenal to bring the experience they say we still need. My sense is that if these folks were that good, they’d be managers themselves instead of arm chair idealists.

I believe what’s more important is that the squad who start the season acknowledge that the solutions are for most part within them. They must build on the gains made in the last few years, and cut out the Keystone cops episodes that have dogged the team in their moments of insanity.

For now, the team owe the fans a ’feel good pick me up’ moment, and spanking Blackburn Rovers isn’t a bad idea at all to lift the spirits.

Keep the faith people.

’til Tomorrow.

Fabianski Thinks He Can Be But Does Wenger See Him As Number One?

A new day with more reports of unrest with the leader, key individuals sniping from the background but enough about the Labour Party, let’s talk Arsenal. No, wait, I was. Andrey Arshavin is criticised this morning for comments that nobody knows if, where or when they were made, the Russian newspaper which is the source has form in concocting them. So perhaps we’ll give them the same wide berth that is applied to Cesc’s comments which are not dissimilar in nature.

Elsewhere, a plethora of goalkeepers including the hardy perennial Sebastian Frey, are being linked with the club. People seem to favour signing Hart from Manchester City but with their problems in that area, such a signing seems unlikely. Maybe Arsène should just sign Frey so that the back pages can then erupt in a welter of “Scoop” headlines, accompanied by “We told you first in 2003, this would happen” and raging against them, “But we told you in 2002!“, “2000” or “We told you when he was an embryo!“.

The current first choice, Lukasz Fabianski, has admitted to mistakes:

I am glad to have the chance to play. The boss shows he believes in me and I just want to take the opportunities and show I am good enough. Every supporter has the right to give their opinion. I’m not stupid and I realise that incidents like the one at Wigan make other things appear less significant and that these are the things people remember. I have no problem with it.

This season has been difficult for me. I’ve only been playing every few weeks or so and it’s hard for any player who isn’t playing regularly. Two games a week is much better for anyone, of course. But I didn’t feel apprehensive for the Wigan game. I felt quite well, it was just that one incident that is hard to explain.

It is not that difficult, try a lapse in concentration. Unfortunately, the position of goalkeeper does not allow for that to happen in the eyes of supporters. One mistake generally equals a goal conceded. Most people are tolerant of goalkeepers if clean sheets are not being kept provided that the errors that lead to goals are a generic defensive error. An error-prone goalkeeper? No hope.

The Pole went on:

This is the life of a keeper, though – some love it, some hate it but you just have to be strong with it. One day you can be the hero and the next people say you are the worst around. You just have to manage yourself in a good way and keep believing in yourself, keep working and fighting. If you keep believing in a keeper then he will believe in himself and when he plays regularly you can see the benefits over a few weeks.

There is a truth in his words and in terms of playing time, the theory is that consistency comes from regular games. In Fabianski’s case, experience is a must. He has to believe in himself and Wenger has shown some ‘trust’ in him, retaining him in the side ahead of Mannone whose form earlier this season suggested that he could quite easily drop into the side in place of Almunia. Yet the Italian was not as safe as is being reported now with similar criticisms surfacing as his spell in the first team came to a close, the balancing item being his youth.

Fabianski is further into his career yet has not shown the consistency required to give confidence that he should be Number One. At this moment in time, Arsène needs a goalkeeper to restore confidence throughout the defence and I am unconvinced that Fabianski can do that.

If the Pole seeks any solace, goalkeeping has proved to be Wenger’s Achilles Heel. If you look at the signings he has made over the year, a number of them have been promising but arguably, the only one who made the grade was Lehmann, hardly a spring Chicken when he joined and perhaps staying a season too long. Richard Wright failed dismally to live up to his reputation whilst Manninger showed immense promise that never materialised in the long term.

It is a position where experience counts and any younger player is going to make mistakes, the crucial aspect will be tolerance of that. That is not something that will readily be given and no matter whom Wenger signs, errors will soon become the brickbats with which they are hit.

’til Tomorrow.

Calls For Experience So Will Wenger Buy Youth?

The usual media stirrings are beginning in full flow with everyone up for grabs or on their way out. Except, it seems, Cesc Fàbregas who is apparently now earning a high salary having been underpaid (Yea Gods) by Premier League standards. The squad is apparently to be augmented by Pepe Reina, Jack Rodwell and a whole host of others. Arsène is being given advice from everyone about who to sign, including former players.

Martin Keown believes that the squad needs to supplemented with experience:

Arsenal need to buy in a sprinkling of proven quality players and introduce them alongside the current players, and they will drag them over the line. It’s very important that you have these people in the squad. They are people who have been there and done it. They are people who you can look up to and rely on to show that quality. When you have a squad full of youngsters you get inconsistency and you are never quite sure how they’ll perform.

Well from that little observation, inconsistently is the answer. But Keown was not on a downer:

If you look at the age of the team this year then I think they have over-achieved. They are all very young but we can’t keep saying that forever.

Perhaps we might if Arsene has found the Elixir of Youth or plans on signing Peter Pan. The experience line was central to Sol Campbell‘s view:

The main thing is you have got to get the right balance. There is a fantastic amount of talent here and we just have to believe we can win a major trophy – and you also need a bit of the rub of the green now and again…I am sure that, once everything comes together, there will be no stopping Arsenal winning trophies season after season. You have to truly believe in your skill and trust that you can do something. Wherever we finish, we will have to build on it and keep on going

It is a misnomer to consistently point to the youth as the reason for this season’s failure to win the title. A number of the younger players have over 100 appearances which begs the question as to when is a player considered experienced? Some of this side were in the 2007/08 team which came close to being champions. Do we say that five seasons is experienced? Three? Eight? Any of those limits applies to players who have yet to reach 25 years of age.

The additional point is whom to sign? Does Wenger only go for players who have won trophies or simply those who have been around the block? Arguably, the latter may be more experience in terms of matches played but have no experience of winning anything so where is the benefit is the latter phase of a season. They know no more than Denilson about silverware in that respect.

It is a tough balance for Wenger to strike. Holding back youngsters is the pain he has been unable to suffer through financial constraints yet now the opposite seems to hold true. Both the manager and the chairman have opined that there is cash so the only rationale for not spending is that he cannot find a player who improves the squad within his budget, something which seems highly unlikely.

Goalkeeper, central defence, central midfield and striker are the areas Wenger is told to improve. Certainly the former two need bodies added, the first as an improvement on current players, the latter because Vermaelen might be the only centre back at the club come June with contracts expiring.

Bringing in experienced players does not have to ‘kill’ the chances of youth; it brings about opportunity for them to develop on loan, away from the spotlight that is shone more brightly on Arsenal than a lot of other clubs. Naturally gifted players will make the first team, only needing to be patient for their chance to play, an opportunity which will come quickly if this season’s injury problems are anything to go by.

With all of this to consider, why would Wenger look to improve the squad with younger players as some suggest? Rodwell and Hart are two names which spring immediately to mind but neither is experienced, barely three seasons worth of starts between them. Looking around the Premier League, there is a paucity of English players who fulfil the technical and experience requirements put forward. Arsène will no doubt be scouring the globe to the dismay of the media; that’s their problem and they can get over it.

If a player is good enough, he is old enough as the saying goes. It is a truism Arsène has been intent on proving but come this summer, there seems little point in buying youth as the experience will be missing; the frailties exposed this season will still be there, perhaps to a lesser degree but evident nonetheless. Perhaps the time has come to allow the youngsters to grow behind the scenes, coming into the first team a year later than has been normal, better prepared for the domestic requirements.

That is no admission that ‘Project Youth‘ has failed; far from it. The club has remained in the top four, challenged for the title twice in the past four seasons, confounded critics in the process and gained others along the way. Perhaps though, it needs a breather whilst Arsène works out a way for them to gain the necessary experience, allowing the club to become largely self-sustaining, a prelude to The Good Life.

’til Tomorrow.

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Arsène’s Squad It All Wrong. But Why?

Arsène observed on Friday:

There is no room to move. Is 25 enough given the injuries? It is an artificial rule that I don’t like.

On the face of it, this seems a reasonable observation, his doubts emphasised when considering how the current campaign has unravelled through injuries to key players.

The official Premier League stateement at the time the rule change was implemented read:

From next season, clubs must include eight home-grown players out of a squad of 25.‬‪ A home-grown player will be defined as one who, irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).‬‪

Effectively, the Premier League is asking the clubs to replicate the restrictions placed on international and european competition, despite there being more fixtures to endure. On the face of it, it is a restrictive practice, forcing managers into an untenable position when faced with even a mild injury crisis.

Looking at Arsenal, should the current squad remain unchanged, this will be the list submitted next season:

Manuel Almunia, Vito Mannone, Lukasz Fabianski; Sol Campbell, Mikaël Silvestre, William Gallas, Bakari Sagna, Emmanuel Eboué, Gaël Clichy, Thomas Vermaelen, Johan Djourou, Kerrea Gilbert, Philippe Senderos; Tomáš Rosický, Abou Diaby, Cesc Fàbregas, Samir Nasri, Alexandre Song, Denílson; Andrey Arshavin, Eduardo, Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Jay Simpson

The observant among you will have noticed something immediately amiss with that squad. In fact, there are several things wrong.

Firstly, key players are missing. We’ll come back to them in a minute. Secondly, the chances of that squad being unchanged are nil, especially with Campbell, Silvestre, Gallas and Senderos all out of contract in the summer. Some will leave through their own volition, others at Arsène’s behest. The final thing that is wrong? There are only 24 names so Wenger cannot even comply with the basic letter of the new rule.

There two nuances which Wenger chose to ignore that are rather more revealing. Again from the Premier League statement, the first becomes clear:

Clubs will be able to supplement their squads with unlimited additional players under the age of 21 on 1st January in the year in which the season commences.

In other words, your squad size can be as big as you like but 25 of the players must be over 21. Arsenal do not comply with that now or next season. They are not old enough. To emphasise that point, the following players, if they remain at the club, augment the twenty five:

Carlos Vela, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, Mark Randall, Armand Traoré, Fran Mérida, Wojciech Szczesny, Nacer Barazite, Gavin Hoyte, Henri Lansbury, Rhys Murphy, Craig Eastmond, Aaron Ramsey, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Sanchez Watt

All are under twenty-one years of age in January 2010 and therefore do not need to be part of the initial twenty-five names. Far from being a restriction, the squad system is rather playing into Wenger’s hands. Of this list, age becomes an issue for 2011/12 when the first five will all be over 21 by 1st January 2011. Even this is not a particular issue just yet.

Wenger has to decide who will make the grade, perhaps being more ruthless than the benevolence shown thus far. Of the initial 24 players, question marks exist over those out of contract whilst the futures of Almunia, Fabianski and Gilbert are open to immediate speculation. Realistically, at the start of 2010/11 season, Wenger has space for five players, assuming two of the out of contract players leave, accompanied by two of the other three. Far from having no room to move, he has space to play with. More to the point, the critics of “Project Youth” are now in a position where they have to admit that the theory is actually the only way in which the top clubs can survive and maintain their placings.

The second aspect not mentioned by the manager is that the squad can be changed after the January window closes so for example, had Ramsey’s injury occurred in November, his name could be dropped from the squad list to accommodate another.

So why is Wenger choosing to cast doubt on the ruling? He has been burned by injuries this time, no doubt and would perhaps like more than 25 experienced players. Yet there is more ‘political’ motive that springs immediately to mind.

Post-Barcelona, the manager alluded to signing a new central defender in the summer. Add into that the comments of Peter Hill-Wood concerning the funding available and the speculation has spun way beyond his control, a fact acknowledged on Friday (again) when Wenger observed that all of the rumours of interest in players was incorrect. Quite simply, he is trying to regain control of the maelstrom around the club this summer. He knows the Fabregas stories will crescendo with the shrill squawkings of the Spanish media and this before he looks at the views of the multitude of Arsenal blogs.

Exponentially, expectations of signings increase with every defeat suffered, no matter how cruel the manner in which the loss may have occurred. An avalanche started and Wenger is seeking to divert it away from the current squad as the scattergun approach of critics looks dangerously like creating another atmosphere which saw Emmanuel Eboué abused by his own supporters. A repeat of events that the manager cannot allow to happen.

He also faces public questioning of his dealings in the market, not just from the blogs but in the national press. Whilst those opinions should not drive his views, they add into the atmosphere surrounding the club. The progress of this season cannot be lost in a wave of acrimony through the summer as ‘expected’ arrivals do not materialise.

’til Tomorrow

City Lucky To Get Nil In Bore Draw

Arsenal 0 – 0 Manchester City

The worst match I ever saw at Highbury was a goalless draw one autumnal Saturday when Birmingham City were the visitors in the early 1980s. Actually, I may have seen worse but this morning that is the fixture which immediately came to mind. David Seaman was in goal that day and it is far to say that he had nothing to do that afternoon as huff met puff and nothing actually happened. Well, not much anyway.

Manchester City arrived at The Emirates with a game plan. Unfortunately for Arsenal, nobody was nimble enough to let the air out of the fleet of coaches that the richest club in the world hired to park outside of their penalty area. Still, the City Board will no doubt be pleased that they have been able to drive them off the pitch without having to call a Kwik Fit fitter to get them moving. Arsenal is just sooooo middle class these days that we cannot even be relied upon to nick the wheels.

In truth, the complaints about the visitors tactics are misplaced. City needed to come away with a point having lost last weekend and duly did so; at this stage of their season, the result will always be of more importance than the performance. And, to a certain extent, the same held true for Arsenal, needing to halt a run of three successive defeats in all competitions.

There is not much to write about the match, ninety minutes that passed in a breeze of uneventful activity. Given was tested notably by Nasri and Diaby, the latter bringing a save from the Irishman which ended the goalkeeper’s afternoon with a shoulder injury. Robin van Persie’s delightfully curled free kick inched past the upright in the closest effort to a goal which could be mustered as Arsenal struggled to find a way past Given’s replacement, the Faroe Islands national team ‘keeper.

At the other end, City posed no threat at all. What little service their forwards had was snuffed out by the defence with relative ease. The afternoon may just have been what Fabianski wanted following last weekend, the biggest test was trying to complete The Guardian crossword using only the characters in The Godfather.

Wenger said afterwards:

You could see that the effects of recent defeats were in our heads. It was like we were forbidden to lose today and we just blindly throw everything forward because we knew we couldn’t afford to lose the game.

Understandable though it is, the outcome was disappointing.

For all of City’s spoiling tactics, there was enough guile in the Arsenal team to have made more of the situation. Confidence has taken a huge knock, rapid exits from the Champions League and the title race has created a chasm of disappointment into which some minds have fallen. The players need to pick themselves up and regroup once more, knowing that two wins creates a feel good factor at the end of the season.

That might be the last thing on their minds at the moment and I am sure that some are already looking forward to a South African adventure. There are still matters at hand which need to be resolved before then and the visit to Blackburn is the most immediate. The returning players, including Arshavin, can breathe new life into the dying embers of this season and let us hope that they do for the greatest shame would be that this season drift into mediocrity.

And look, a whole post-match blog without mentioning Him…oh, bugger.

’til Tomorrow.

Manchester City Preview: Time To Confound The Critics Once More

Manchester City arrive at The Emirates in a key fixture for both sides. city need the points in the race for fourth, Arsenal to ensure third place. More than that, Arsenal need to win following consecutive league defeats something that has always happened this season. Each time two Premier League defeats on the trot have happened, the next game – at home each time – has been won by Arsenal, with a clean sheet for good measure. More please, Sir.

All of the pre-match talk is coming from the visitors, bouyed by their derby…no, wait, they lost so presumably they think they are better than Arsenal, even if the Premier League table defies their logic. Having won the previous two encounters this season, scoring seven in the process, City’s attack will fancy their chances against a back four which has let in nine in the last three games, the makeshift nature emphasised by that statistic.

It is a return for five of the visitors’ squad, perhaps more emotional for Vieira, Toure and Him. Sorry, that was almost a Dom DeLuise moment there. The reception the three get will be marked in its difference; Vieira and Toure should be accorded the respect due for their endeavours in an Arsenal shirt, He is going to be jeered for the mark He made on Robin van Persie’s head and that goal celebration.

The lack of respect shown then will no doubt be reciprocated to Him, despite any requests to the contrary. I do not think it will motivate Him anymore than He will already be for the match. He feels there is a point to prove, so He will try to prove it. Definitely a Dom DeLuise blog this morning.

Arsenal welcome back Song and Eduardo to the squad for the match, the former likely to start, the latter a substitute. Robin van Persie should be part of an attacking trio alongside Bendtner and Walcott. Midfield requires some defensive nous to be applied, particularly on the right with Bellamy, Johnson and Tevez favouring that attacking channel. With Denilson absent, Emmanuel Eboue would be my choice, supporting Bacary Sagna at full back and Walcott in attack.

Defence though is Wenger’s problem. The back five collectively needs to put in a good performance following the debacle at Wigan. Manuel Almunia is missing once more which gives Fabianski another start, a point to prove to everyone and restore the good faith from the supporters, that the manager has given him. Wenger’s comments in the press conference yesterday though were backhanded. Fabianski is going to be a ‘great goalkeeper’ but his compatriot is a ‘future Arsenal No. 1′.

Lukasz Fabianski is apparently reading The Godfather to improve his English. I was not aware that Mario Puzo was a seer but no doubt he had the current Arsenal goalkeepers in mind with the children in the Corleone family. Fabianski is a ringer for Sonny, all headstrong and charging out of his area; Szczesny is Michael, Arsène‘s favoured goalkeeping son which just leaves Manuel to fill the role of Fredo. Manonne was a threat but he now sleeps with the fish.

Wenger also spoke of the summer months, Campbell will be spoken to – hopefully more about a coaching role than a permanent first team place – whilst talks are still ongoing with William Gallas. That a new deal has yet to be signed is not a particularly good sign, reminiscent of Flamini’s departure as is the absence through injury at the end of the season, but the centre back is entitled to take his time and compare the deal with other offers. That the door has not been entirely closed to staying is a positive also. Having lost control of the transfer speculation, Arsène sought to regain the higher ground by telling the assembled hacks that the Brothers Grimm were better storytellers and probably more accurate in their guesses about whom Arsenal will sign this summer.

Back to this afternoon. The starting line-up I would expect to see is:

Fabianski; Sagna, Campbell, Silvestre, Clichy; Eboue, Song, Nasri; Walcott, Bendtner, van Persie

That assumes all fitness tests are passed and no adverse reactions suffered to those conducted yesterday. It is a key fixture, one Arsenal need to win for confidence as much as the points. Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it.

’til Tomorrow.

Time To Summon Some Spirit And Strength

When things go quiet in the club, you know that the PR people are actually doing their job properly. Of course that means that the media are starved of stories and therefore some daft tales take centre stage. It seems that Juventus are looking to do what Barcelona and Real Madrid have failed to in the past and take the club en masse to Turin with Robin van Persie and Bacary Sagna just the start of a trickle to the Europa League next season. Failing to win the title will apparently mean that Melo and Buffon will make their Arsenal debuts ten years after being first linked with a possible transfer to the club.

Of course, what could the players actually have said this week? What could they have offered following the consecutive Premier League defeats that would have made the situation any better? Frankly nothing. The squad has talked quite a lot in the past about focus and ability, the time to deliver, etc., but this past ten days such words would have meant little since the actions did not deliver.

Tomorrow’s match with Manchester City is key for both clubs. An Arsenal win combined with a Spurs defeat sees 3rd place confirmed and 2nd out of sight, a classic case of mixed emotions although for the first time since 2005-06 that would mean automatic qualification for the group stages of the Champions League next season. That combination would suit Manchester City in their attempt to qualify for Europe’s premier cup competition, not improving their situation whilst not making it any worse.

A City win tomorrow increases nervousness around Arsenal, with the gap between the two reduced to six points and a game in hand for the chasing pack. Failure to finish in the top three would class this season, overall, as no improvement on last in cold statistical terms. Fourth in the Premier League, fourth again. The players simply cannot let that happen for until the current spate of injuries, few could put forward any cogent arguments that this season had not been a step in the right direction compared to last. Not the finished article but a giant stride forward nonetheless. Third cements that argument.

Tomorrow is about showing the spirit which was evident earlier in the season, when the results went against the side in matches against the other top four sides, adversity brought out the best in terms of effort and application. Winning at this end of the season does not have to be pretty unless it is a meaningless match. Whilst key players are missing and with their physical absence, the mental strength is not there as well.

It is in these situations where Campbell and Silvestre should step up as senior pro’s. The former has shown the mental strength necessary as well as defying the years with his performances; the latter is well, the latter. They need to kick some strength into the rest. Little wonder that Arsène will be hoping Alex Song passes a fitness test. That and the appearance of Robin van Persie at kick-off would give the Arsenal team a more confident feel about it, from the stands anyway.

’til Tomorrow.