Does European Glory Beckon?

Club in crisis is normally a phrase bandied around with the words “Arsenal” and “No trophies for five years”. More legal action over the farce that is Liverpool has emerged this morning, NESV are apparently going to sue Hicks / Gillett using the Trade Descriptions Act. They thought they had bought themselves a football club, not a shambolic mess.

Anyway, to Arsenal and the resumption of the Champions League this week sees Eduardo return to The Emirates, sporting the colours of his new employers Shaktar Donetsk. Of the three other teams in the group, the Ukranians are the strongest. There was an interesting piece on Football Focus this weekend which highlighted the similarities between the two clubs, albeit Shaktar benefitted from the investment made by Rinat Akhmetov in the late 1990s.

Both sides are in a strong enough position to progress to the next round and whilst these games are not dead rubbers, two defeats would not be enough to sink either campaign. It would just make things a little harder in the next round. Arsenal are being touted as having a better chance of winning the European Champions League than domestic honours. That was before the weekend’s results which showed the folly of making sure that the red carpet wove its way through London’s streets to Stamford Bridge. The Premier League has yet to see a quarter of its programme completed, ensuring incredulity when stating that anyone is already out of the title race. A run of thirty unbeaten games would see the trophy flung to any corner of the country.

European glory is a different matter. Once the group stage is negotiated, so much relies on the luck of the draw. Even then, a tough route to the final is pretty much guaranteed. Internazionale disposed of Chelsea, Barcelona, CSKA Moscow and Bayern to win. The year before, Barcelona beat Chelsea, Lyon and Bayern before dumping on Cristiano Ronaldo from a great height. There is rarely an easy ride.

Winning the trophy has been tantalisingly close for Arsenal. Despite losing to Barcelona with one hand on the cup, The Invincibles had the best missed opportunity. Had Chelsea been beaten, surely they would have safely negotiated a path to immortality in Arsenal eyes with Monaco and Porto poor by comparison to recent semi-finalists.

Can this vintage go one better than their predecessors? There are positive signs for the squad. Firstly, the number of players returning from injury is far greater than previous seasons. Normally at this stage of the season, we wonder where Wenger will get a squad from. That does not guarantee the cycle which starts again in March will not recur this season.

However, the squad has more depth than previous seasons and of the traditional English opponents, the only team which you would genuinely suggest has a good chance of beating Arsenal is Chelsea. United are without doubt weaker, riven by internal dispute and unable to win at the moment. Spurs. Well, perhaps Arsene could field the Carling Cup team for the away leg…

Against the continental sides, there are strong opponents, the Spanish sides whilst the re-emergence of Bayern last season points to improvements elsewhere. It is in these ties that the ‘winning mentality’ demanded by Cesc, emphasised as already existing by Arsene will need to come to the fore. Sloppy mistakes have been costly in the past against Barcelona; an inability to hold onto the lead in the Camp Nou to the interval crucial in the eventual outcome. Had the defence held firm, the opportunity to sneak another on the break would surely have presented itself?

Ball retention appears to be better than this season than before; efficiency in front of goal has likewise improved although it felt at times on Saturday as though there were bad habits returning. Defensively, there is more of an attacking threat with the absence of Vermaelen not noticeably diminshing the goal returns. Chamakh’s aerial ability offers more options than before whilst a fully fit Nicklas Bendtner can also provide the variety that successful teams require. No more can complacency creep into an opponents game once the ball goes wide for a decent cross is as likely in the air as along the ground. Obviously that requires delivering but the options are there.

There is much to be hopeful about this coming season and the air of negativity is baffling. Understandable as the disappointments of losing to Chelsea and West Brom were, the win over Birmingham has not erased them. Indeed the criticism of Chamakh is frankly appalling. So what is he emphasised the contact? There was contact made; Dann is being more dishonest and deceitful than anything that Chamakh is alledged to have done by continually denying contact which was proven by the television replays. This is a time to get behind the team not cower behind the headlines.

’til Tomorrow.

Arsenal Win Despite Wilshere’s Folly

Arsenal 2 – 1 Birmingham City

0 – 1 Zigic (33)
1 – 1 Nasri (41 pen)
2 – 1 Chamakh (47)

Jack Wilshere sent off (90)

A fixture in which the attention of the media is always drawn with an eye cast into the past ended with a red card for a dangerous tackle in the dying minutes. In the current climate and with Arsene having been one of a number of vocal critics of bad challenges, it was somewhat inevitable that an Arsenal player would the culprit although Jack Wilshere might not have been the only one to have received his marching orders on a crisp Autumnal afternoon.

There was no denial from anyone connected with the club that the colour of the card was merited; it was a stupid challenge on many levels. Fortunately Zigic avoided serious injury so the parallels with Martin Taylor miss the point. Wilshere is rightly condemned for the recklessness, studs showing and leaping into the challenge, scissoring his opponent, Zigic’s standing leg ending between Wilshere’s thighs.

Taking a step back from the actual challenge itself, ire rises as much for the needlessness of the tackle, the match was into injury time and with all due respect to Birmingham, more likely than not, possession would have been won back relatively cheaply. Wilshere’s frustration with his own heavy first touch indicates that his energies need to be channelled, especially as he was up until that point, a head and shoulders winner of Man of the Match.

The incident has overshadowed a victory which saw Arsenal retrieve a quarter of the points deficit which had arisen from the three previous Premier League fixtures, capitalising on slovenly defending by Manchester United and a spirited Aston Villa performance against Chelsea. Pivotal in rebuilding some of the confidence in the Arsenal squad which must have seeped away in that recent run; demanded ahead of a tough fixture list in the next seven days in both domestic and european competitions.

It was a scrappy victory. Not necessarily in the performance, more in that Arsenal failed to kill off Birmingham City, converting chances became an issue as passes were chosen instead of shooting, indicative of confidence levels not being at their peak.

Amid drizzling rain, Arsenal dominated the early stages probing the visitors defence with Wilshere a driving force of ingenuity. The youngster and Chamakh exchanged passes outside the box, the Moroccan freed to cut inside and shoot, Carr blocking when a disguised shot to the near post would have seen the deadlock broken before the five minute mark had been passed. Abou Diaby meanwhile seemed intent on waging a one-man war on the Birmingham goal yet none had the required accuracy.

That came as the first quarter of the match trundled by. Nasri’s free kick was met by the head of Sebastien Squillaci, the net bulging as a result. The Assistant Referee’s flag curtailed celebrations. If that had been from relatively unexpected quarters, Gael Clichy was a foot away from a totally unexpected goal. The foot being the left one upon which he was anchored to the turf, his right utterly unreliable in the shot, skewing wide of Foster’s post.

The visitors posed litle threat. Emmanuel Eboue created their best opening in this phase of the match, forcing Lukasz Fabianski into action with a wayward header from a Larsson. A similar scenario resulted in the deadlock being broken. Zigic held a significant height advantage over Djourou, a definitive one over Clichy; neither was close enough to put the striker under pressure as he rose to guide his header across Fabianski into the bottom corner. Bowyer came close to doubling that advantage but he and Fahey combined only to send the ball into the crowd from close range. A fatal wound, the second would have been.

Audible groans filled the stadium as Arsenal found themselves chasing a deficit once more. It took less than ten minutes to recover. Chamakh flew through the air with an ease that had the Air France pilots overhead casting envious glances, the Moroccan emphasising the foolhardy nature of Dann’s outstretched leg which made contact with the striker. The Birmingham defender sought to distract from the stupidity of his challenge by claiming a dive yet contact was made so no dive occurred. Chastisement of Chamakh misses that crucial point.

Nasri despatched the penalty with a calmness which belied his reticence to do so at the Stadium of Light a month before. Within minutes of the restart, Chamakh was once more a thorn in the visitors defence’s side, pirouetting through Carr’s air challenge, before landing and controlling the ball around Foster, slotting home despite pressure. A wonderful finish, fitting reward for his previously frustrated efforts.

Birmingham wilted, visibly as Arsenal rose into the ascendency. Diaby, Arshavin and Wilshere all went within varying degrees of increasing the margin of victory. Eboue can consider himself fortunate to have not received a red card for a scissor challenge whilst Roger Johnson inexplicably avoided a similar fate to Wilshere following a stray elbow into Chamakh’s head. With an eye on upcoming fixtures, Nicklas Bendtner entered the fray and almost put the result beyond doubt, narrowly failing to meet Rosicky’s cross. The Czech and Nasri tested Foster before the final whistle, the Birmingham goalkeeper just about passing muster.

With the ten men holding on for a few more moments, Fabianski sought to add more evidence to repairing his reputation with a brave sortee deep into his area to quell the final danger from the visitors. He had a relatively quiet afternoon, not at fault for the goal conceded but his handling is significantly better, a sign of his improving confidence. There is a long way to go before he convinces everyone that he is a possibly long term solution and one mistake could well undo the good of recent weeks. For now though, he deserves the praise for his performance.

Chamakh has made a very good start to his Arsenal career, continuing to become more acquainted with the English game every week. He led the line superbly, recognised in his ovation when leaving the pitch. Likewise, the cameo from Bendtner offers something more for upcoming fixtures whilst the return to the bench of Walcott and Gibbs merely signals the strength in depth that Wenger has at his disposal once everyone is fit.

’til Tomorrow.

Birmingham City Preview: Three Points Please

Premier League football returns with the visit of Birmingham City to The Emirates this afternoon. The visitors, with a young David Seaman in goal, contrived to play their part in the worst football match I have ever seen in my life when they visited Highbury in November 1985. The goalless draw, if my jaundiced memory serves correctly, had one shot on target the whole match. It was a truly abject performance by both sides.

It is tempting to be almost dismissive of today’s visitors, assume the match to be a home banker – they have not won a League match at Arsenal since 1957 – but that would suggest that the lessons of West Brom have not been learned. Actually whether we, the supporters, learn the lessons does not matter; the players are the ones who need to take heed of their mistakes. The right noises have been made in that respect but then they always are. If nothing else, Wenger has pulled together a squad of polite young men who (generally) know how to behave in public. Or at least, aren’t (for the most part) stupid enough to get caught by the paps.

Having speculated about what toll the international break would take on the squad, we found that players did not need to be away from the club to suffer, Laurent Koscielny the latest with back-knack.  Wenger’s choices are pretty much made for him as far as the defence goes. Vermaelen’s continued absence, combined with that of Koscielny, means that Johan Djourou is going to partner Sebastien Squillaci. Before the announcement of Koscielny’s injury, I had pencilled Kieran Gibbs in as a starter for this afternoon but that would possibly be too many changes. Having said that, there are times when the defence can play like a group of strangers so perhaps three changes out of five would not be that disruptive.

Much has been made in the last couple of days over Danny Murphy’s comments about dangerous tackles with the usual suspects trying to hide their own culpability by pointing to the actions of others. The lame defences of Pulis and Allardyce are similar to a the self-seeking drink driver who believes that he should not be chastised for his actions because others do similar or worse. Absolutely pathetic.

With the history of Eduardo’s suffering at the hands of Martin Taylor, focus will naturally turn to this afternoon’s encounter. Neither player is with either club any longer so it is a media-contrived scenario to some extent. That said, Brimingham will not come to play an expansive passing game; it is simply not their style even with a fully fit squad. The midfield will be combative and have numbers to try to suppress the Arsenal passing game. It is the sort of match where the vision of Robert Pires would be useful, Wenger noting that the Frenchman will not be re-signed in the manner of Sol Campbell, squad and financial limitations the key reason.

Instead, we will be treated to the further adventures of Jack Wilshere. The youngster observed that this is a match which Arsenal must heed the lessons of the last, painful, home defeat:

Teams come to Arsenal and hope to catch us on the counter-attack. It worked that day [against West Brom] and we have to learn from that. We have to show we can deal with that and get a result on Saturday. It [the West Brom defeat] was just one of those days where we started slowly and we got punished.

Start slowly today and history may repeat itself. Midfield is where Arsene has his biggest dilemma. Does he go with Diaby, allowing the Frenchman to roam freely further forward in support of Marouane Chamakh or with Denilson, pushing Wilshere further forward? Personally, I would go with the latter, Nasri and Arshavin on the flanks give an attacking quartet that is more than capable of breaching the massed ranks of the visitors defence.

There is an argument that Denilson and Song is putting too much emphasis on the defensive side of the game yet the pair are capable of pushing forward at the appropriate moments but their biggest strength is ball retention, passing short and keeping possession, making Birmingham do more running than they might normally expect to do.

Wenger will have options on the bench in the form of Rosicky, Walcott and Bendtner, allowing the latter stages of the game to become more focussed on attack if necessary. He will also have one eye on upcoming fixtures against Shaktar and Manchester City. Had this been the clash before an international break, perhaps Walcott or Bendtner would have started but it seems unlikely today.

The afternoon is important for Lukasz Fabianski. He has done little wrong in his performances in Manuel Almunia’s absence and needs another good match to put pressure on the Spaniard as the automatic choice. Whilst Almunia’s nightmare against West Brom can be explained in part by his injury, having Wenger caught between keeping  Fabianski or reverting to the Spaniard is not detrimental; if the players think that there is competition, it keeps them on their toes and produces a little extra in their performance or so the theory goes.

My guess at this afternoon’s line-up is:

Fabianski; Eboue, Djourou, Squillaci, Clichy; Denilson, Wilshere, Song; Arshavin, Chamakh, Nasri

Wenger’s 800th match in charge at Arsenal needs only one outcome: a home win. The scoreline does not matter overly as long as the home side manage more than that of the visitors. Having dropped eight points in their last three games, taking three keeps them in touch with those above, especially as they all have emminently winnable games as Chelsea and Manchester City travel to Aston Villa and Blackpool respectively whilst West Brom will no doubt prove how much of a fluke result their win at The Emirates really was by being thumped at Old Trafford.

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

Proper Football Returns But Is It In The Players Heads?

No Darius this week, moving homes has taken its toll on his internet access, the only bright spot being Mr La-Di-Da’s local pub has a wi-fi. I remember the days when a pool table was thought to be seen as a sign of a pub going upmarket. The times, they are a-changing.

For all of the good news that has emerged recently on injuries, Arsene dropped the odd bombshell or two yesterday. Nicklas Bendtner, Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott will be back in the squad for tomorrow’s encounter with Birmingham City whilst Cesc, Vermaelen, Sagna and Almunia will all be in contention for the visit to Eastlands next weekend, or the trip to St James’ Park (or whatever the hell it is called now) in the Carling Cup. Entirely negative was Arsene’s observation that Robin van Persie is now missing throughout this month, sometime in November being the best estimate. Football is littered with wasted talent, lack of application being a common theme. When it is injury which robs a hugely talented player of a strong career, there is something more desperately saddening about it all.

The absence of Cesc is disappointing, especially as in the immediate aftermath of the defeat at Stamford Bridge he noted that had the game been the following Tuesday, he would have been fit. However, given how disrupted the past six months of his Arsenal career have been, better to be safe than sorry.

Cesc has called for ‘a winning mentality’ to emerge, interpreted as ‘win or I’m off’ in some quarters. His Scott Walker moment came in a radio interview recently when he said he had no regrets about the summer’s transfer shenanigans. The strength of Arsenal’s position in this affair – sure to emerge in 2011 once more – is emphasised by Fabregas’ comments,

When I spoke to Wenger he told me no – he was very emphatic, that the transfer was impossible.

Whilst there is no doubt that Barcelona will try again and again, Fabregas should also be in no doubt that he is going nowhere unless it suits Wenger and Arsenal. Samir Nasri indicated his willingness to take on the central role in the captain’s absence whilst the emergence of Jack Wilshere this season at a level ahead of expectations highlight the strength in depth that the club has.

Fabregas’ body language has been interpreted as wanting to be elsewhere but in what has been almost a cameo thus far this season, his effort cannot be faulted. The Spaniard observed,

It wasn’t to be and that’s that, though in my head I keep thinking it could have been a good opportunity.

‘But here (at Arsenal) I have everything. I’m still happy. I’m very comfortable here, I like the club, lead the team, play football. We just need to start winning titles because we have a wealth of quality. A winning mentality is missing.

It is a criticism levelled frequently at the players but does them some disservice. None of them appear to enjoy losing and all want to win a trophy. Tired as it may be to some but you cannot win if most of your first choice XI is missing for months on end.  That is nothing to do with mentality and everything to do with fitness and luck, in equal measure.

Anyway, a chance of returning to winning ways is at hand and the players should grasp it firmly. ’til Tomorrow.

 

Ramsey Returns Along With Others

Happily the Chilean miners have all been safely returned to their families but Sky News coverage left me thinking it could have been, well, a bit more showbiz, if you like, a touch more like their election coverage. Instead of ’33 of 33′ being shown, perhaps a box with ‘Net Gains’, blue for positives, red for negatives. And Peter Snow could have brought out the ‘Swingometer’, leaping around the set telling us about the percentage swings on the rescue capsule, “a central path to be furrowed, a 7% swing to the right and it’s the mother of all headaches for the man inside as the capsule hits the wall”.

Anyway, onto the world of Arsenal which as it happens is shaping up rather nicely for once following an international break. Injuries suffered are more than outweighed by those on the verge of comebacks. Perhaps the most heartwarming is that of Aaron Ramsey. Having suffered a physical assault courtesy of the trademarked Stoke City – I kid you not when I tell you that one of their community schemes is called “Kickz” – method of football, Ramsey is back on the training pitches,

I think I’m on track, the target is November time. I’m just doing my pre-season work now, trying to get a bit of spring back in my right leg, but apart from that all is going well so far. I’ve been doing strengthening exercises for a long time now and I’m starting to feel the benefits. I’m now outside training with the fitness coach and I feel good.

I’m doing a little bit of ball work around mannequins and it feels great to be back outside, kicking the ball around again. I hate being in the gym. That’s the worst bit about this. It’s much better to be out in the air with a ball or even just running, I don’t mind that. I just want to be out of the building.

I hope they turned the lights off as the electricity bill will eat into this year’s profit. His return ought to be a time of celebration and will no doubt bring forth a slew of apologetic and remorseful stories about that lovely little Ryan Shawcross, cast as the villain in this scenario by us nasty Arsenal fans who really should know that he isn’t that sort of lad.

Arsene gave a cautionary note,

You never know what the psychological impact on your future game will be. Some players are never the same any more. They lose that freedom to go into the challenges.

The club has witnessed this aspect before with Eduardo, understandably reticent initially with challenges. It is a bit hard to turn around to a player and question their mentality in those circumstances. When a child falls off a bike, you tell them to get back on, what’s the worst that can happen? You fall off again. It’s a bit different with players, “Go on, get stuck into them, what’s the worst that can happen?” is not much of a motivational speech at the best of times. When the unsaid part is that someone’s career might be over, it is a demotivating to the nth degree.

Elsewhere, Manuel Almunia is doing his level best to be fit for Saturday. It is a problem for Wenger. Fabianski has done little wrong in the past two games, suggesting that some of his problem has been flitting in and out of the side. For Almunia, it is like history is repeating itself, except this time he is being usurped. One man who did little to further his cause was Vito Mannone, his performance for Italy’s Under-21s in the week suggesting that he was ill-advised to criticise those who are ahead of him in the goalkeeping queue at Arsenal.

I suspect Fabianksi will keep his place irrespective of Almunia’s physical state. The defence needs some stability behind them and it would be crushing for the Pole’s confidence to be dropped especially as he has worked hard to eradicate the memories of last season. That said, he like all of them, is one mistake from being tarred, feathered, hung, drawn and quartered and hoisted upon Traitor’s Gate.

’til Tomorrow.

The Wait For The Walking Wounded Begins

So the international break is over, the wait begins for tales of walking wounded to emerge. Ahead of the tales of woe though, Arsene received a boost in the shape of Nicklas Bendtner. The Dane has not played this season, his participation in the World Cup last summer through a programme of medical supervision ensured that his groin-knack was so bad that he has thus far been unable to play for his club.

Bendtner though is confident – never a shortcoming on his part – that he is fully fit,

I am sure that I will be involved in the Arsenal game on Saturday, which I am looking so much forward to after my long injury break. I actually believed that I would have to play a couple of reserve games to be completely match fit, but after training with the Arsenal staff and physical trainer, I am probably in the best physical shape ever.

Last week I was training with my team-mates for five days, and then we had the weekend off, and I had no trouble at all training.

Training is fine and dandy but matches are entirely different. His return does give Wenger options, namely being able to rest Marouane Chamakh or alter tactics if the need requires. With the imminent return of others – Robin van Persie being the latest to return to training – some semblance of a full squad being available is starting. On the back of three games without a win in the Premier League, perhaps the autumnal wobble has arrived and departed.

A few of the players, notably Johan Djourou, have sounded a warning that the title race is far from over. That is true with only seven games played, media trumpets heralding the Chelsea procession to another title are premature. However, it is also going to require an improvement on the part of Arsenal’s performances before anyone outside of the club – and a few in the stands as well -  takes the title charge seriously.

This is a hectic time. Progress in the Carling Cup means that there is pretty much two games a week between now and Christmas. Recovery by those absent to this point becomes crucial to enable full rotation of personnel to suit the opposition in the various tournaments. The mix of fixtures post-Champions League encounters makes these recoveries crucial.

According to reports this morning, Bendtner might well be joined by Cesc and Walcott on the bench on Saturday although the latter may be more realistically fit for the trip to Eastlands in ten days. It gives the squad an altogether stronger look. The return of Thomas Vermaelen will bolster the defence and leaves Wenger with the headache of whom to drop. Neither Squillaci or Koscielny has been outstandingly poor which would have made that choice simple. Squillaci possesses the experience desperately required at times although that should not detract from the impressive start Koscielny has made to his Arsenal career, far better than the naysayers would have had you believe was possible.

Of course, that assumes that Vermaelen does return to fitness any time soon, so notoriously unreliable have ‘return dates’ proven to be in the past.

’til Tomorrow.

 

 

 

10 Arsenal Players Undervalued By England

As England prepare to take on the might of Montenegro (The Sun Says, “They’re OK, they fought with us in the wars!“) this evening, chance to reflect on those who have donned the Arsenal shirt and been woefully underappreciated by England:

10. Steve Bould

Oh, come on. 2 caps. Surely not? Having been part of the most consistently mean defence in the top flight, Bobby Robson continually overlooked Bould, preferring the likes of Butcher, Walker and Wright as England continued to qualify well and woefully underperform at Finals. Bould was certainly the equal of Butcher and better than the other pair. Yet his contribution to the Arsenal team was devalued outside of the club. His call-up came in 1994, arguably England’s nadir over the past thirty years, when Graham Taylor simply could not get anyone to perform. The defence bolstered by Bould played Greece and Norway without conceding, winning 5-0 in the first before a goalless draw against the Norwegians.

9. Nigel Winterburn

There are those who would argue that Stuart Pearce thoroughly deserved his place in the side yet Winterburn was equally consistent and probably deserved more than his brace of caps. He got off to a promising start, a substitute in England’s goalless draw against Italy in 1989. Quite what Winterburn did to merit being excluded from the England set-up until 1993 is beyond me, especially since the vastly over-rated Tony Dorigo was regularly included. It’s tempting to suggest that Winterburn might have done better than Pearce in that penalty shootout in 1990 but the memories of his feeble effort in the 1988 Littlewoods Cup Final preclude me from doing so. His final appearance was in the US Cup in 1993, a 1-2 defeat to Germany.

8. Peter Simpson

A toss-up as to whose omission was more startling; Simpson or Sammels. The latter is unfashionable to rate but in the late 1960s and having been capped by England at junior levels, he surely merited some caps at the senior level. But I’ll plump for Simpson on this occasion.

A stalwart for Arsenal, Simpson managed to get called into the England squad by Sir Alf Ramsey prior to Mexico 1970. Unsurprisingly given the talent that the manager had avaialble to him, the Arsenal player was never capped. Given the paucity of performances following the quarter-final defeat to Germany, it is totally surprising that he was never given the opportunity to prove himself at the highest level. Perhaps Arsenal players were not considered good enough, surprising that from 1968 to 1972, there were three losing finals, a league title, FA Cup and Fairs Cup along the way. But then in those days, being called into the squad was recognition of your talent rather than being a media-orchestrated campaign. And a cap? That meant the world.

7. Malcolm MacDonald

Scoring five goals in one match – still a record – and then scoring in a 2-0 win over West Germany (reigning World Champions at the time) ought to have cemented MacDonald’s place in the England line-up. That night in 1975, Cyprus the victims, was the pinnacle of his England career, which ended four months later in Portugal as England failed to qualify for the 1976 European Championships. All of this before he signed for Arsenal. His record of a goal every other game whilst at the club was not deemed good enough, despite being arguably the best in the country at the time, before the injury which ultimately ended his career struck. England’s appalling record in tournaments from 1972 to 1978 makes it all the more baffling as to why he didn’t earn more call-ups in his prime.

6. Charlie George

Hardly surprising that George did not earn more caps. 1970s football as far as England was concerned, was the dark ages for the maverick. Like kindred spirits, Frank Worthington, Stan Bowles and Alan Hudson, his was distrusted by Ramsey and Revie. His solitary call-up for the full team came in a 1976 friendly against the Republic of Ireland. He failed to score and was exiled with a speed that proved to be Revie’s template. Falling out with the manager was deemed to be justification for his previous omissions but his appearance came when he was past his prime.

5. Paul Davis

When he first broke into the team, Davis was rated highly, capped at Under-21 level, touted as a future international. It never happened. Partly because he was an undemonstrative midfielder, integral to Graham’s team, overshadowed by higher scoring individuals. His passing was exemplary – the Denilson of his era – and better than some who appeared for their country. The suspicion remains that breaking Glenn Cockerill’s jaw cost him more than the fine and subsequent nine-match ban.

4. Lee Dixon

A small gripe on this one. Dixon was capped 22 times for his country but it was nowhere near enough. Without a shadow of a doubt, Dixon was the most consistent right back in the top flight during his time at Arsenal. Far superior than Paul Parker, he could not match the versatility offered although Parker’s ability as a centre back was over-rated. More swashbuckling that Gary Stevens, the only reason for his lack of caps in comparison is that his face did not fit. Sitting next to Adrian Chiles has since rectified that problem.

3. Alan Sunderland

Forever etched into the minds of Arsenal supporters for the 1979 FA Cup Final, Sunderland arrived at the club from Wolves with a burgeoning reputation carved over 150 appearances. He enhanced that during seven years but never got international recognition primarily due to Arsenal’s dubious league performances preceding and during his time. His one appearance came amid a much derided tour of Australia, a 2-1 victory in Melbourne scant reward for his efforts.

2. Reg Lewis

Sometimes, just sometimes, you have to put down the lack of international appearances to a player being born at the wrong time. The Second World War denied him football in his prime. Despite this, Lewis scored 118 goals in 176 games for Arsenal but it was a time of arrogance for the nation, a time when they believed they ruled the world, a time when England could travel the globe and beat one and all. These beliefs would be shattered during three short years, starting in Belo Horizonte in 1950. It just so happened that it was the time of Mortensen and co, revered England internationals hence Lewis’ failure to gain a solitary cap.

1. George Armstrong

Wingless wonders? 1966 proved Ramsey right; 1970 hinted that he might not have lost the plot but subsequent events surely merited Armstrong’s inclusion, particularly with the traditional England centre forward emerging. It is simply baffling that such a hard working and talented player did not receive international recognition. Utterly baffling.

’til Tomorrow.