Title Dream Ends With A Whimper

Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Arsenal

1 – 0 Rose (9)
2 – 0 Bale (47)
2 – 1 Bendtner (85)

The title dream for another season ended last night at White Hart Lane, mathematically still possible but realistically it is over. Substantial possession, better statistical analysis count for nothing if the end product is not there, a point emphasised by Arsene as the first half failing. A night of bitter consolation, Robin van Persie’s return to the season showing what might have been had the Dutchman not been injured in a meaningless international friendly.

As one key player displayed his skills, the defensive qualities of Thomas Vermaelen are going to be sorely missed, his withdrawal leaves Wenger with the pairing of Campbell and Silvestre for the remaining matches this season. We know that Arsenal suffer more injuries than others; we also suffer more injuries to key players than anyone else.

It was a match that turned almost from kick-off. Sol Campbell almost silenced the neanderthals before the second minute had passed, his kneed effort from an early corner stopped on the line. Within eight minutes, it was an opportunity gone that Arsenal would regret. Almunia punched a corner and a good distance was achieved but the ball fell relatively central on the pitch. Rose’s shot was described by Arsene as ‘one in a million’ and it flew into the net.

It is a bittersweet goal to analyse, testing the line between admiration and criticism. Rose showed good technique to volley and promptly contributed nothing for the remainder of the first half, substituted at half time. If you are going to make one contribution in a match, make it telling.

Almunia was at fault on two counts; electing to punch in the first place, he arrived ahead of any other player and was not under such pressure that the cross could not be caught and secondly, his recovery to get back in position was not as quick as it should have been. Whilst the unexpected nature of the shot would have taken him by surprise, anticipation is key goalkeeping attribute and the unexpected should be expected.

The remainder of the half was played largely at Arsenal’s control yet clear opportunities were not plentiful. In fact beyond a Bendtner header midway through the first forty-five minutes, I am struggling to remember a clear chance which was created. This was the fundamental problem with last night’s performance; a lot of endeavour without the incisive passing required. The absence of Cesc was crucial last night, the Spaniard’s guile sorely missed.

Spurs doubled their advantage with the second half barely under way, the goal a comedy of defending errors. Bale was allowed to stroll unchecked across the Arsenal penalty area, received the pass and duly scored. It is hard to know where to begin with the errors. Silvestre failed to keep tabs on Bale, Clichy looking across the line should have reacted quicker when he saw Bale unmarked. The offside trap failed to be sprung because Sagna failed to keep in line with the other defenders. Who is at fault? All of them.

Walcott’s introduction for Sagna saw Eboue drop to right back. It is hard to say if Walcott was solely the catalyst for the increased threat or whether it was more urgency in the performance, required to retrieve the deficit. Within minutes, Walcott found Bendtner whose shot went across the goal unchecked.

van Persie’s introduction with twenty minutes go was definitely a catalyst for more purposeful attacking. Gomes has been a much-maligned goalkeeper; last night he chose to have the final quarter of his life. Twice he denied van Persie, a volley and freekick. Campbell saw a header turned onto the bar by the goalkeeper whilst Rosicky beat him only to see his shot miss the the far post.

The goal finally came. van Persie fed Walcott on the right and his cross was met by Bendtner, slotting home into an empty net. Yet the equaliser would not come, van Persie forced another save from Gomes but Tottenham held out.

Overall, it was a game that Arsenal did not deserve to lose but for an hour or so, they created precious few chances and can scarcely claim with any validity, that they deserved the win that was needed. The title challenge is over in all but name. Chelsea will win the title this season, a silver lining I suppose is that it stops Manchester United winning four in a row.

Of more concern is where Arsenal go from here. Back to winning ways at Wigan is the immediate requirement. Second place is the obvious target, it would be a tangible improvement on last season. The Mancunian derby this weekend offers the chance to leapfrog  United should they lose.

Post match, Arsene commented:

I would not like to go into any individual criticism tonight. We lost a game we couldn’t afford to lose in the title race and that shows that we are not mature enough because if you want to win the League, this kind of game you cannot lose.

It is apparent that he was disappointed with some performances but his options are limited. There is a strong case for giving Bartley his Premier League debut on Sunday or perhaps moving Sagna into the centre of the defence alongside Campbell. Silvestre will probably not be at the club next season and we need to start planning for the coming seasons, ensuring that our fifth choice centre back is going to have at least some experience. van Persie will no doubt be on the bench and I fail to see any rationale in rushing him back, only to have his hamstring or something tweak through playing too soon.

The disappointment of the evening is blurring the edges of some performances. Campbell, Clichy and Sagna defended well last night, the second goal aside for the latter duo. Bendtner, I thought, worked hard and got his deserved reward with a goal. van Persie adds the cutting edge to the attack and with him supporting – or a player of his ilk – Bendtner will score a substantial number of goals in a season.

Rosicky prompted well but has a tendency to follow Alex Hleb at times and look for a pass when perhaps taking the chance to shoot might provide reward. Confidence is a major factor in football. Flitting in and out of the side perhaps affects this but as with his performance in the Camp Nou, that little bit extra is required from an experienced international.

Nasri and Diaby were equally disappointing; neither took the game by the scruff of the neck as they had to in Cesc’s absence. Both are capable of far better performances than last night and both need to become more consistent.

It was a shattering evening. Chelsea might lose at Tottenham this weekend and they might lose at Liverpool but to expect them to do so by sufficient margins to enable the goal difference gap to be overcome is a step too far as it is hard to see how they will drop points at home to Stoke and Wigan.

’til Tomorrow.

Anything Other Than A Victory Will Not Be Good Enough

Focus returns to the pitch. Manchester United’s draw at Ewood Park at the weekend presents Arsenal with the opportunity to leapfrog them into second place, with the crucial points difference to hand given their superior goal difference. Chelsea remain on top and anything less than a victory at White Hart Lane will make the task of overhauling them all but impossible.

It has been several seasons since ‘Lasagne-gate’ when both teams had something riding on the outcome of this fixture. Tottenham need the points if they are to realise their Champions League dreams. Both clubs go into the match on the back of defeats although for Tottenham the immediacy of their FA Cup exit presents the bigger problem. It followed a crushing defeat at Sunderland, one which could have been considerably worse than the 1-3 reverse they suffered.

In the interim, only the bluster of Harry Redknapp has bolstered them, how they will always overtake us next season because they have a better squad. You would think that they would have learned the lessons of the past twenty years to know that football is not played on paper. Tottenham have traded on the goodwill of the media for the last few seasons in this respect, playing football the ‘correct’ way was seen as their sole preserve. Now Arsenal has usurped that label from them and a squad written off at the start of the season is almost uncatchable by the local rivals. A win tonight sees the word ‘almost’ disappear from that sentence.

It is an irrelevant side issue though. All Arsenal is focussed on is winning. The return of Robin van Persie at a time when key players have been falling like flies is a boost to the squad’s morale, as Nicklas Bendtner recently observed. According to Wenger, the Dutchman is not ready to start but he is fit, requiring a game or two to get his match sharpness back. High praise has been coming van Persie’s way, his manager believing that the player was showing that he was one of the best in the world before injury curtailed his involvement.

No doubt there is truth in that, van Persie is still high in the top scoring lists for the Premier League despite missing half of the games, testament to his adaptation to the central striking role. With Cesc out, his return is timely. Nicklas Bendtner has performed well in recent matches, perhaps showing the best goal return, form-wise, of his career, confirming his potential for future seasons. He has to continue to deliver this evening. I am sure that Wenger would like to bring van Persie on with the three points already loaded onto the team bus, ready for the short trip home.

In midfield though, Alex Song will still be missing. His absence has underlined his importance to the side, emphasising his work in midfield, providing a barrier for the defence, more in terms of intercepting passes than the crunching tackles expected of a defensive midfielder. This is the ‘new face’ of the defensive work in the centre of the park. Arsene has moved on from clattering, preferring his midfielders to prompt with quick possession and short passes to the creative players. This is part of the reason that Denilson is underrated by some. He has work to do to improve his tracking back but positioning is equally as important in this side.

In the centre of defence, Sol Campbell returns to White Hart Lane and a torrent of abuse, no doubt, small minds, small words and weasel excuses from the Tottenham hierarchy for such behaviour. Given that it was nearly a decade ago that Campbell moved to win honours, you would have thought that they would have got over it by now, especially since none of his performances in derby matches or for Portsmouth has given any indication that he is affected by it, on the pitch at least.

Other than that, I doubt that there will be too many changes to the side which lost in Barcelona. The only other one that I can see Wenger making is Emmanuel Eboue in for Walcott, to add a bit of steel into the midfield. However, there is a loss of striking options if that change is made but caution will probably prevail.

The starting line-up I would expect to see is:

Almunia; Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy; Denilson, Nasri, Diaby; Rosicky, Bendtner, Eboue

If matters do not go immediately to plan, Wenger has options on the bench to correct this, certainly in the forward and midfield areas of the pitch. As much as anything, the squad has shown mental strength this season and they must tap that reservoir once more, overcoming injury and disappointment to keep the title challenge alive.

Arsene said yesterday:

To win the championship, anything other than a victory will not be good enough. So we go there with that intention: to win the game. We don’t go there to draw. A point is not good enough for us to reach our target.

Win it is then. Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.

Arsenal For Sale, Players For Sale – A Long Summer Ahead

The news that Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith is looking to dispose of her Arsenal shares comes as little surprise. The ruthless manner in which she was marginalised, despite being a major shareholder, left an inevitable conclusion that she would sell at some point in time, irrespective of the convenience of timing for the club. No-one knows her financial status and neither should we presume that this is a reason for disposing of the shareholding.

With the season almost over, she is seeking to maximise the value of her holding. Reports suggest she has no intention of selling to Kroenke. I doubt the matter is as black and white as they would suggest. ‘Silent Stan’ has a history of deferred payment for purchases of shares and this may be the decisive factor as far as LBS is concerned. Perhaps she is looking to protect the club by selling to someone else, to prevent a takeover bid by either or it may be that she has tried to sell to either him or Usmanov without success already.

If either purchases her shares, the price for the club is inflated by £80 – £100m, the differential between the average £8.5k per share that they have paid and the highest price of £10.5k per share that Kroenke has paid. If Usmanov buys, Kroenke will no doubt hold out for the £10.5k whilst seeking to avoid manditorially paying that amount in a formal offer.

The days when leveraged takeovers are going to be ‘welcomed’ are long over. Liverpool and Manchester United have put paid to that being an acceptable methodology. The farcical ownership of both clubs has highlighted the inherent dangers of this type of deal. Revised lending from banks and bonds ought to have made it certain that any takeover via debt would be opposed.

Any supporter who believes that there will be a large and sustained influx of cash from this method of purchase is deluding themselves; player purchases are funded by sales and if the experience of Liverpool, United and to a certain extent, Aston Villa, not all of the funds recouped are available to be reinvested.

The examples set by the Glazers, Hicks / Gillett and Lerner provide lessons, mainly on how not to manage your investment from a supporters perspective, that any potential Arsenal buyer would do well to heed. The secretive nature of the trio is something that should not be replicated. Irrespective of the owner’s viewpoint, transparency or more importantly the absence of it, is the biggest bugbear.

Whilst there are complaints about the club keeping matters of transfers quiet – and other issues such as sponsorship – the PLC status has allowed visibility of financial reports. Few can argue that we were not aware of the implications of the new stadium beforehand, even if there were those who still refuse to accept that the cost of the stadium prevented hundreds of millions being invested in the transfer market.

Ahead of the Tottenham game, this might well be a welcomed diversion for Wenger. It deflects attention away from the players for 24 hours at least. No squad member should be affected by it but the ‘privacy’ it allows the players can only be welcomed.

There is no confirmation of Robin van Persie being in the squad, perhaps that will come from Arsene today. His return would certainly be a boost, and according to the player whose position in the starting XI is most threatened, the Dutchman would be welcomed back. Nicklas Bendtner commented:

When you play for a top club you want top competition and that is what we have here.It will be great to have him back. He had a nasty injury and he has been working really hard in training to get back and if we can have him available for the last games – obviously being out for that long takes a bit of time – but if we can have him available it is a boost for us.

It makes a pleasant change when the squad show a collective spirit, especially with the player considered to be most at risk of losing his place is speaking. Too often, the media is filled with stories from dissatisfied players, normally from other clubs, who think there ability is better than it actually is.

There was a stat I saw yesterday somewhere that showed Arsenal were averaging 3.2 goals a game in the matches van Persie played and 1.8 in his absence. That does not take into account the fixtures nor that RvP has missed more games than he has played, missing around 30 games in total.

The disparity in those figures is one of the reasons that there has been an increase in the view that Eduardo should be sold. The implication is that his lack of goalscoring form is the key to that drop. Yet Eduardo has barely been able to string two matches together in the starting line-up. Forwards thrive on playing regularly, their goalscoring ratio increases the more games they play typically.

It is too easy to write him off but considering the fitness issues, I would argue he is a good squad member to have around, able to score internationally when he plays which indicates that if you put him centrally in the team, the form of a couple of years ago is going to return. Whether it is to the same extent is another matter, something that only time will tell.

Arsenal supporters wanting to sell players is one thing. The media trying is quite another. Following the frenzied reporting of goalkeepers being tracked – come on, surely there is another one they can link us to other than Sebastian Frey – and centre backs coming in, all driven by Arsene’s comments post-Barcelona, we have seen Fabregas going to Manchester City, Eboue to Roma and now Sagna to Internazionale.

Wenger threw down the bread and like pigeons, the media has swarmed to feed on the crumbs. Like pigeons, most are losing their legs upon which they stand, rotted by the crap they spew.

Thankfully there is a match on the horizon to distract from this. ’til Tomorrow

Early Tottenham Thoughts

A decent weekend for Arsenal as Manchester United unexpectedly dropped points at Blackburn. That result gives Arsenal a little warning as Ewood Park has been a bit of a graveyard this season for the top six with only Manchester City coming away with maximum points. It is much the same as the visit to St Andrews, a win was entirely possible yet a draw the result as with the other sides.

The outcome of the next two fixtures for Chelsea and Arsenal will go a long way to deciding the eventual resting place of the title. No matter what hopes we have of Jack Wilshere scoring the winning goal for Bolton at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, anything but a convincing home victory will be a surprise. Bolton are probably safe from relegation and have other fixtures where they will be targetting the required points to ensure their Premier League survival.

It seems unlikely that they would field a reserve side but with upcoming fixtures at Stoke and at home to Portsmouth, Owen Coyle may decide that tomorrow is as good a time as any to rest some players. Scoring goals is their problem, none in the last three at Everton or home to Villa and Manchester United. Having been trounced 4-0 at The Reebok by Chelsea earlier in the season, the latter’s visit to White Hart Lane at the weekend assumes greater importance for Arsenal.

Chelsea has the title to lose. Arsenal can only win their last five games and hope for the best. That is very much the attitude of the players, Nicklas Bendtner the latest to reaffirm that position.

White Hart Lane sees two teams come into the game on the back of defeats in cup competitions. It is a question of who reacts the better. Arsenal has had a week to get over the defeat in the Nou Camp and may benefit from that rest, mentally as well as physically. Three points takes Arsenal 2nd, one ahead of Manchester United. With their goal difference being vastly superior, the points advantage will be crucial in finishing above them. Tottenham seem set for Europe next season with 6th place set for a Europa League spot following Manchester United’s Carling Cup win and more likely, 7th as well should Chelsea win the FA Cup by the 500 goal margin that the media expects them to. Even if Portsmouth do triumph, their dubious finanicial standing may preclude them from taking their place in the Europa League.

Tottenham, of course, want 4th spot but that seems unlikely. Their game in hand over Manchester City is this week; they have the tougher run-in and have to go to Eastlands for their penultimate game. Defeat tomorrow may be the pin which totally deflates the balloon.

Robin van Persie is being pencilled in for a return by the media, presumably based on the comments in Colin Lewin’s recent interview as opposed to anything tangible from the manager.

Even if van Persie makes the squad, and that must surely be debatable, he is going to be warming the bench, presumably Arsene would be hoping that the match can be won before sending the Dutchman into the fray. Alex Song and Sol Campbell are the two whom the manager will be placing more reliance on returning.

It will presumably be Campbell’s last North London derby, age catching up with his career. However, Wenger has told the defender to take it one game at a time with regard to a new contract but there is merit in retaining him, irrespective of others, for the Carling Cup next season. This would allow Wenger to have experience at the heart of the defence whilst ‘blooding’ those younger and inexperienced centre backs such as Bartley and, should he return from loan, Nordtveit.

’til Tomorrow.

Whilst Man City Provide The Comedy, Sol Gives Arsene Food For Thought

This morning brought forth the first mention in less than a week over the future of Cesc Fabregas, apparently to be the subject of a £50m bid from Manchester City. Apparently, they have not been “put off” by the initial soundings made over any offer for the player’s services. Presumably those soundings were much more polite than any private thoughts may have been on the matter. Still, nothing like a good laugh to start the day.

Wenger invited such speculation by mentioning that he will be dipping into the carrier bag of used fivers stashed behind the pot plant in Ivan Gazidis’ office. It will be a summer where he will hope to get his business completed early, before national squads meet up for the World Cup. Transfer windows around international competitions tend to be a sellers market, clubs hoping that their saleable assets perform well to inflate their values.

For Wenger this is the problem. Players such as Villa – even if he were to perform admirably – will not increase their values greatly. €40m – €50m will always be his price unless there is a bidding war. With the price bracket that Wenger tends to buy in, the increase tends to be more marked, a €5m becomes a €10m player on the back of a good tournament.

You notice that the currency is Euros; quite simply, I cannot think of many English players whom Wenger would consider technically adept enough to sign. The members of the England squad diminish that number further. Of the international players from overseas who ply their trade in the Premier League, their price will already be overinflated as it is so the manager is within his rights to look further afield for comparable or perhaps better, individuals.

Sol Campbell has spoken in the aftermath of the defeat in Barcelona, offering the view that the Champions League tie should be viewed as the benchmark for this Arsenal squad. Being one of the few squad members to have won the title, his colleagues would do well to listen to his belief, something he hopes they will do.

The hunger and desire Campbell speaks of is assumed to be shared, it is a mental requirement for champions. The likes of van Persie, Clichy, Bendtner and Cesc have always spoken of this desire, the remainder you assume have it as well. The ability to learn from the defeat will be the key. Being on the receiving end of the constant Barcelona pressure – as Real Madrid were last night – gave the midfield and attack the level to which they have to raise their game, starting at White Hart Lane.

Comparing this team to The Invincibles as the media likes to, is a pointless exercise. The Champions of 2004 were at the peak of their powers whilst the current squad are not on that level yet. Even so, they are challenging for the title, the outcome of which will be decided in a little over 500 minutes of football.

Campbell raised an interesting issue. He said:

You’ve got to respect football in every way. You’ve got to go for the League Cup; you’ve got to go for the FA Cup, you’ve got to go for all competitions because you never know which one is going to come your way.

I agree with Campbell in one respect. The first trophy the players win will break the mental barrier, prove to themselves that they are winners. Wenger strives to maintain a balance. The League and FA Cups are used to blood younger players and keep squad members fresh, preparing them for Premier League action when called upon.

That policy has not borne fruit in those competitions and with the League Cup in particular, it is hard to see that it will. The mentality of the top six teams has changed in recent seasons. Manchester City, United, Villa, Tottenham and Chelsea have all reverted to fielding strong line-ups from the quarter finals onwards. It means that Arsenal’s talented younger players learn from playing seasoned professionals. Yet the squad as a whole could learn from winning a trophy, irrespective of its value.

That said, if the youngsters start in the League Cup, over time there is a probability that they will gain reward, assuming of course that this taste of first team football does not lead to them moving to another club, Fran Merida may be a prime example of that this summer.

There is a balance to be struck and Wenger has to bear in mind the injury risks for players, particularly in the junior competition which coincides with the group phase of the Champions League. The stats I noted last week show that Arsenal suffer a significantly higher number of injuries than their close rivals, missing players who arguably could make a difference in the key competitions.

It is a matter of priorities, the decisions for which Wenger is paid his salary. His obvious targets are the Premier and Champions Leagues, two competitions which are extremely difficult to win due to the consistency required in the former, the quality of opposition in the latter. There should be no suggestion that either be sacrificed for the sake of another trophy. It hints of desperation and defeatism to suggest that they should be. The question is whether Arsene can continue to give the lesser tournaments the lesser attention.

’til Tomorrow.

Footballing Clichy’s From Gael & Bacary

A quiet weekend, one where Arsene must hope that the unlikely occurs with Blackburn beating Manchester United at Ewood Park. Some may draw comfort from their recent match with Chelsea where the points were shared but don’t hold your breath too much as (a) United tend to do well there, (b) Chelsea battered Blackburn, especially in the first half and (c) Fat Sam wouldn’t want to upset his drinking buddy. Oh and United have won seven of the last eight meetings between the two sides. But this season has shown little sign of ending its ability to spring surprises so we shall see.

Arsene gave the media some transfer fodder this week following the defeat at Barcelona and it was duly lapped up with around a dozen centre backs already linked to the club. Some pundits went further, Glenn Hoddle telling everyone that Arsene could go for David Villa which he may do but is rather like me saying that I may go for a curry tonight. A nice to have but not one you would bet your shirt on especially as Valencia’s financial position is improved since the raft of stories linking him to every major club in England and Spain last summer. The Chamakh transfer seems to be the worst kept secret in football, even more so than the Real Madrid getting a new manager next season, which is saying something.

Gael Clichy jumped onto one of Arsene’s favourite hobby horses, the winter break.

I don’t want to hide behind anything but when you are having two weeks off during Christmas you have time to recover, but we are playing game after game every three days and so of course you are going to get injuries.

The Premier League believes it to be unworkable, the football calendar too crowded for this to be manageable. Which is bureaucratic bullshit. Spain has a similarly sized top flight and manages to incorporate a Christmas shutdown so there is no reason for this not to happen. Oh hold on, they don’t have any equivalent to the Carling Cup.

Well, perhaps the Premier League needs to put pressure on the Football League to have this competition over, done and dusted by the end of November, allowing all fixtures to be rescheduled before the festive holidays. Such is the paucity of competition it is not hard for this to happen, the majority of clubs competing in the Quarter Finals can be guessed before the first round kicks off. Move the FA Cup to a midweek competition after the Winter Break and there is the solution since asking the Premier League clubs to vote for a reduction in their number to 18 is like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas.

A glance at the injury list in the two weeks over Christmas and New Year shows how the break might benefit Arsenal in particular. The list of players who go missing at that particular point in the season indicates just how damaging it can be. William Gallas (2), Denilson (2), Arshavin, Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Song, Adebayor and van Persie have all reported injuries at that time of year. More relevant is the number of strains which account for twice as many absences than any other category and 60% overall. Quite simply, the players display the wear and tear at this hectic time of year and that cannot be acceptable.

Critics of such changes point out that the squad system should accommodate such eventualities but this would require thirty or forty players to be available for selection, something the Premier League will not allow since they are limiting squad sizes through regulations. A vicious circle for managers and little wonder that all of the top coaches want such a break.

Bacary Sagna believes there is an absence of a Plan B at times:

Sometimes I think we play too much. We just want to do that and do not think about what is good for us – sometimes we just need to cut out the football, stop playing for a bit and just consider what will help us achieve what we want

There is an element of truth in that but it is too simplistic a view to take overall, although Sagna was talking to the media and it is quite understandable why he kept it on a basic level given the inability of some of them to understand anything vaguely tactical. This has been one aspect that has changed this season, the ability to mix the game between short and long passing.

Too often the long pass in the English game is derided, no distinction given between an intended longer ball and the hopeful punt. Derision, based in the nightmarish influence of Charles Hughes, is a powerful inhibitor yet international class players need this ability. Arsenal players possess it and Arsene holds no aversion to it being used in the right circumstances. Intelligent players know when this situation is at hand and should not be fearful of taking this route.

The truth is that Arsenal are getting used to having an outlet for such a pass. Adebayor for the first season and a half was not providing such an option but did so in his prolific season. Circumstances though mean it is not always possible for such an option, little point in the long pass that requires Arshavin, Nasri or Walcott to outjump the typically English centre back from a static jump. Using this option requires thought from the players, something they are more than capable of. Perhaps it is a confidence issue, more comfort required in retaining possession, the bedrock of the current formation.

’til Tomorrow.

Stone Cold Friday: Keeping Your Eye On The Ball

Never one to be invisible in the cold moments, where’er ye go Darius is here to push it along…

In recent times I’ve formed a habit of taking a back seat after any Arsenal defeat and letting the waters run dry. Part of this is shaped and conditioned by my day job, which dictates that emotion has little place in decision-making, especially following key events that shape the direction of play. I work in the financial markets and more often than not, a disproportionate amount of noise follows certain key events. The markets run riot with volatility as speculators try to hedge their bets to make quick hay out of any sunshine or thunderstorm the events throw at them.

Experience teaches you that this distortion quickly passes and life does actually move on in a predictable direction once the noise and excitement dies down.

Whenever Arsenal loses or even draws a game they should have won, I get a sense of déjà vu as the noise-makers and doom-mongers sharpen their forked tongues and unleash the customary venomous tirade. They remind me of the twisted and demented father who wills on their child to fail so that they get the opportunity to tell the mother ”I told you so, this sprog is utterly useless”.

I get the sense that a lot of the myopic knee-jerk reaction that follows any Arsenal setback is symptomatic of a footballing ‘fast food, give it to me now‘ culture, where the loss of bragging rights and the humiliation of being taunted by rival fans throws perspective right out of the 8th floor window along with the baby and the bath tub.

What the two-legged tie with Barcelona taught us is that we have a benchmark to aspire to. The Catalans have been at it longer than we have, so it’s certainly no shame exiting the competition to the best club in the world at the moment.

The question for me is how we then bridge the distance between reality and the aspiration of being the best. The answer seems quite straightforward – to keep doing what we’re doing. We have to build on what we’ve achieved so far by grabbing the remaining 15 points in the EPL for starters. There’s no better place than at White Hart Lane to get back on the horse and ride.

New faces are almost certain at London Colney in the summer, with noises that estate agents in Hertfordshire are already clamouring for the signature of a certain Moroccan. A lot has been made about Arsenal’s alleged refusal to spend the big profits they wax lyrical about, to get new players. I would argue that this again is a distortion of the reality.

There was little, if any, movement in the January transfer market as players sought to fight for regular football at their existing clubs ahead of the World cup. There’s also the small matter of a reality check in the football world as the days of ’big money, cheque book’ management are well and truly over.

What people forget is that Arsenal has already invested a significant amount of money to shore up current player contracts and keep the core of this squad together for the future. Doing that is the first and most important task when building on what we’ve achieved. As and when the club finds suitable and affordable reinforcements, they will be added to the current squad, but not at the cost of bankrupting the club.

For those who are shouting for the head of Arsene Wenger to be put on a stick and publicly displayed outside Holloway Road tube station, the fact that at least 17 out of the current squad recently signed long term contracts makes it unlikely that Wenger is going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

This current Arsenal squad is on its way to being the greatest squad we have ever had. Many have said it on here, and it has been echoed by readers who have followed the Arsenal for over 50 years and have seen many a squad come and go. This is not the time to give up on this squad, especially for the sake of saving face and minimizing the taunting from rival fans when the team hits an obstacle in their development.

We will of course continue to hear screams about the need to get world class players into Arsenal. I would suggest though, that the Arsenal scouting infrastructure is better placed to make such decisions and implement them. We have to bear in mind that we will never be able to afford some players and the wages they demand, so a modicum of perspective as well as the ability to manage our expectations as fans is called for.

Besides, in Cesc Fabregas, we already have the 6th most valuable player in the world (according to transfermarkt.co.uk). That’s a good enough start considering we’ll never be able to afford the 5 in front of him (Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Iniesta and Kaka) who all play for either Barcelona or Real Madrid. And no; I didn’t leave Rooney out by mistake – the people who matter actually know that Fabregas is way more valuable and talented.

We all want Arsenal to do the best and I’m sure the players want to also do their best. It’s easy to forget that this is a journey and sometimes we have to take a pit stop and recharge our batteries for the journey ahead.

Barcelona has reminded us what we need to aim for in terms of excellence, and I’m confident the team will have learnt from that experience. My sense is that the quarter final tie of the Champions League this season was a watershed in the development of this team and even if you tried, it’s impossible to buy the experience they gained.

We’ve had a disproportionate amount of injuries through the season. The fact that we’re 3 points behind the pace with a shout at the EPL title speaks volumes of the strength and character of Arsenal.

Why walk when you can run, eh? ’til Tomorrow