Arsenal Win Is A Sign O’ The Times

Arsenal 2 – 1 Sunderland

1 – 0 van Persie (21 seconds)
1 – 1 Larsson (31 minutes)
2 – 1 van Persie (83)

Arsenal moved into tenth, their highest Premier League position since the opening day draw with Newcastle. On a day when he had used his programme notes to quash speculation – or at attempt to – about his future, Robin van Persie was lauded as the matchwinner, his talents being recognised. The Dutchman believes his fitness levels are the best they have been for years; yesterday he proved his value to the team.

From the kick-off, Arsenal sought to impose themselves on the match and erase the demons from their psyche. They did so with startling directness. Rosicky dipped the ball into Gervinho’s path, the Ivorian strode toward the area, passed inside to van Persie as the Sunderland defence parted like the Red Sea and drilled the ball unerringly past Mignolet.

One-Nil To The Arsenal inside the opening minute and a team that thrives on controlling possession, maintaining pressure on their opponents, was given the perfect platform from which to build. That they never quite took it was down to a mixture of good and bad fortune allied to outstanding football.

Within fifteen minutes, van Persie could – perhaps should - have completed a hat-trick. An audacious chip over the stranded Sunderland ‘keeper has brought comparisons with Dennis Bergkamp, no doubt pleasing to the Dutch ear. Deafness might be better with a drive that missed the far post with the accuracy we came to expect of John Jensen.

Gervinho proved to be a livewire in this hazy spell for Arsenal as their rampaging start threatened to overwhelm the visitors. Having played a part in van Persie’s opener, Arsenal’s summer signing drilled a shot wide before the frailties which have blighted the season thus far.

van Persie’s clumsy challenge gave away a freekick in the Arsenal half. From that, the defence scrambled the ball away, Arteta leading with his arm to clatter Cattermole succeeded only in handling in a dangerous position. Larsson returned to haunt Arsenal with a superb and unstoppable freekick which arced into the far corner with such pace that Szczesny’s dive was in vain.

Within minutes, the wobbles had returned to the Arsenal defence, the Pole almost gifted Sunderland an unexpected lead when he charged unnecessarily out of his area, missed his challenge and was mightily grateful to Alex Song’s dilligence in carrying out his defensive duties.

Redemption would come minutes before the break. Arsenal’s defence was stretched once more, Cattermole three yards from goal aimed his header toward an unguarded net only to see the arms of Szczesny reach and make a fabulous save to deny the Wearsiders.

On such moments are reputations built. The watching Lukasz Fabianski must be wondering where it all went wrong for him. Had those moments been his, the wanderings of a madman would have been remembered not the blinding save.

The second half began much as the first with Arsenal in the ascendancy. Kieran Gibbs withdrew with less than ten minutes played and Andre Santos replaced him. How serious the youngsters stomach injury is remains to be seen but if it is a long-term absence, he could be forgiven for feeling cursed.

But it was a familiar story. Aside from Mignolet scrambling van Persie’s effort away on the hour mark, I cannot remember a clear cut opening being forged despite the monopoly of possession Arsenal enjoyed.

Wenger though has options. This time Andrey Arshavin was introduced to the fray and he brought a shining light to the proceedings, his scurrying run and mazy dribble through the visitors defence deserved more than the effort which screwed wide.

But on cue, van Persie came up with a captain’s performance. For a team that relies upon the technical proficiency of its players, Arsenal are hopeless at set-pieces. van Persie, Arteta, even Walcott were clueless at the concept of getting the ball over the wall and then dipping under the bar. A difficult technique to master, let alone deliver on a consistent basis, granted but…

When it mattered, when the team needed it, van Persie got it right. His finish seven minutes from time was every bit as excellent as Larsson’s had been nearly an hour earlier. Mignolet was stranded as ball lifted, dipped and curled into the net, a sense of relief tangible as the net rippled.

The victory was much needed. It is not the dawning of a new era just yet, defeating a team in as poor form as Sunderland does not mean global domination is just around the corner. But as Arsène pointed out, this is the fifth consecutive home win; by the time we visit Stamford Bridge in a fortnight’s time, that could be eight in all competitions. That is the beginning of a run. Throw in an away result or two and by the end of November, a head of steam can be built.

But that is to get too far ahead. This season, if nothing else, has shown how transient form is, how unpredictable Arsenal are. It is a sign o’ the times that the talk is of how Szczesny saved the win not how van Persie could have settled the outcome before fifteen minutes was on the clock. That outlook may change over time and perhaps we’ll look back at the Pole’s moment of glory as the moment a season kickstarted into action. Until then, enjoying a win will suffice.

’til Tomorrow.

Sunderland Preview: Weary Side Must Lift Themselves To Victory

Sunderland arrive at The Emirates this afternoon knowing that their first win in the league at Arsenal since 1983 will take them above their hosts in the table. Ordinarily that would be a sign that things are going extremely well on Wearside; now it means Arsenal are in a tailspin. Arsenal meanwhile will be looking for the win that takes them into the top half of the table.

Wenger and his men can look forward to this afternoon though. 2011-12 might not have been the classic season that we all hoped for when the last finished but they have yet to concede a goal in the Premier League fixture directly following international football. Positives can be found anywhere if you look hard enough.

Per Mertesacker is being hailed as a defensive saviour by his manager, not in being the reason why goals will not be leaked so heavily but because he has leadership skills. In doing so, Wenger highlighted his weakness that brings out his strength. According to the manager, the German is making up for his lack of pace with his reading of the game; an excess of seventy international caps suggests that there is a lot more truth in that than Mertesacker’s critics want you to believe.

Whether he will live up to the comparisons with Tony Adams that the headline writers want you to think Wenger made – it was the tiniest comparison, not a full-blown statement of intent – is another matter. It would help if he had a consistent defensive partner alongside him. This afternoon it looks like Laurent Koscielny will resume his duties but with Thomas Vermaelen already back on the training pitch, Wenger appears to be reaching a point where he must confront his demons; who will be the first choice pairing? We presume that it will be the longest surnamed duo but that is not necessarily the case. Much will depend on the communication issue being solved and to some extent Vermaelen curbing his spirit of adventure. Mertesacker does not have the pace to cover the Belgian with forays forward and to be honest, I am not sure that buccaneering style from centre back is appropriate this season. Form, it seems, may yet be the deciding factor.

Whatever that outcome, it will be a good three months before Wenger is able to field his first choice back four. Bacary Sagna is apparently feeling low mentally following his distressing injury at White Hart Lane. The responsibility of filling his shoes falls to Carl Jenkinson in the short-term at least. If as many expect, the youngster will be exposed by the callowness of his youth, Laurent Koscielny rather than Coquelin seems to be the next option, at once solving the centre back issue. For me it is a sign of the callowness of some of the support that Jenkinson is almost having failure wished upon him so that the egotistical “I told you so” can be uttered. How low have Arsenal sunk?

Sunderland – and Arsenal, for that matter – will be deprived of seeing Nicklas Bendtner return to The Emirates. The Premier League rule that loan signings cannot play against their parent club is ludicrous. Apparently the fear that someone may not try as hard is greater than the knowledge that most loanees have a point to prove and would therefore play out of their skin to prove it. Utterly ridiculous. Instead it seems Conor Wickham will get the chance to show if Wenger was right to rate him so highly and wrong to let Sunderland nip in with a not insignificant £10m bid.

Forwards are an issue at Arsenal. Despite scoring on international duty, Marouane Chamakh is being linked with a move away from Arsenal. Wenger did not deny this one as he did the Fabianski rumour, giving it air of believability. In that instant, Bendtner can consider himself unlucky to have been deemed surplus to requirements. Perhaps this season away will prove that he should lead the line with van Persie dropping slightly further back as Dennis Bergkamp recently suggested. More likely than that would be Theo Walcott moving to the centre, utilising his pace to the quick-thinking brain of van Persie’s skills: Wright and Bergkamp of this decade anyone?

It would help to accommodate the clamour of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s inclusion in the starting line-up. I can see that happening this afternoon if Wenger decides to rotate ahead of the clash with Marseille but not for any other reason. The youngster is in good form, that is undeniable but the manager is well aware of the dangers of overplaying youth and AOC may well have to make do with a run in the Carling Cup side with occasional Premier and Champions Leagues outings.

For this afternoon, I expect the side to be:

Szczesny; Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Song, Ramsey, Arteta; Walcott, van Persie, Gervinho

Options are there for Wenger with Benayoun to replace either of the wide players, likewise Arshavin. Those choices become more difficult in coming weeks as Diaby and Djourou become available – the latter may step into the fray instead of Koscielny this afternoon if the Frenchman has had any reaction to his injury – which is how it should be at a club of Arsenal’s stature. At least two players for every position; if they are at Arsenal it is up to them to show whether or not they are good enough to be here. Let’s be honest, if a player is not motivated at Arsenal, they will not be motivated anywhere and Arsene would be well advised to spend some of the £50m that is burning a hole in the media’s pocket.

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

The Return Of Arsenal, Petit Pain & More

If Steve Bruce thinks that Arsène has done the bosses of teams at the foot of the table a favour by diverting attention, the Arsenal manager is probably grateful to Ian Ayre for daring to broach the last taboo in English football’s rampant commercialism. The Liverpool MD / CEO / Chief Dogsbody observed that the bigger clubs should receive a bigger piece of the overseas broadcasting rights since they have the most fans and it is they, not the football itself, which generates the revenue.

A grey area, one not helped by research which suggests that Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea would receive a bigger slice of the pie than Liverpool. I would suggest that it is not necessarily this which has brought the widespread revulsion at the idea but more that once the cartel for overseas goes, domestic rights will soon follow. And, in the end, is this not why the Premier League was formed? So that the rich got richer, the poor stayed the same? Those who drove the idea through back in the early ’90s have indeed left a wonderful legacy for the game.

In the meantime, before football’s bloated gut explodes, we can enjoy the return of club football. I wondered if I was inhabiting a parallel universe this week, injuries suffered on international duty healed before the weekend. Players returned to fitness in the break. Even Robin van Persie stayed fit. The Dutchman had to tempt fate by claiming that he had not been this “fit for years“; I don’t like to point this out but I’ve always had the view that the November international break was the killer as far as his injuries go. I could be wrong but that’s the way it feels – maybe I’m just amazed that he has got through this past fortnight without mischief.

At his press conference yesterday, Arsène set about killing off a few myths. The first is that he is not interested in the England job – another reason for Steve Bruce to happy as his spectacularly average managerial record makes him the perfect candidate as Capello’s successor – although I would disagree with Wenger’s assertion that the job should go to an Englishman. That was about the only area of sanity that the Coalition government’s response to the DCMS Inquiry; the FA must improve the standard of coaching in this country. Until that happens, the England job should go to the best candidate rather than the best of a bad lot.

Wenger has more pressing concerns to deal with, such as getting his Arsenal team working and winning. According to Emmanuel Petit, the club has dug its own grave,

Once the club used to let players go when they had reached the end of their careers, the likes of Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira, Pires or myself. Now they’re losing Fabregas and Nasri when they’re at the top of their game. If you continue to sell your best players, the club is dead

It is interesting that Petit believes his career was at an end when he left Arsenal since my memory – failing as it is – is that he went to Barcelona. Is he saying that was a mistake? I certainly don’t recall the ponytail wailing and bemoaning his ill-fortune at the time, even if he was Marc Overmars Jimmy Five-Bellies.

Petit will not get any argument from anyone that those sales were badly handled – the timing, not the fees – and the club would in the same situation, react differently throughout the Summer. I read recently that Dick Law is to try to open talks with the representatives of Vermaelen and Walcott, both have debts of loyalty to repay as the club has stood by them in difficult times with injuries. If he is going to talk to those of van Persie, I would suggest that he gets them trussed up as if they were Hannibal Lector because they might just eat Mr Law alive.

But the past is what it is. The time has surely come for people to stop wallowing in the sale of those two players, to look forward rather than bemoaning the mistakes of months gone by. We cannot change them, no matter how much we would like to; until January, this is it. The squad is what it is and injuries will heal to make the playing side stronger. Bright spots are beginning to shine through the cloud – recovery from injury, form of younger players coming, promising indicators from new signings – and there is the opportunity to put together a run of consistency.

It’s got to happen, it must, simply must, if the atmosphere around the club is to change. There are promising players in the squad, one of whom is garnering a lot of praise. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is on a rich run of form, rightly praised for his goals and overall performances for both club and country. There is a danger of expectations rising beyond their natural level in such cases and Wenger is right to ask for some promising youngsters to be moved stage left, away from the spotlight’s gaze.

Having seen the glare that confronts Jack Wilshere, the Arsenal manager is conscious that he has another player already being viewed as a potential saviour for club and country. The brickbats that dogged Theo Walcott wait in the undergrowth to pounce on anyone who treads the same inconsistent path, how dare they not play at the top of their game when they are still learning it?

That’s it for today, back with a Sunderland preview in the morning. ’til Tomorrow.

One Of Us Speaks: Increments of Aggravation

Hey guys. Woah, Big Al, huh? All right! Well, see ya later.

At the moment millions of Arsenal fans are going through something akin to the Clockwork Orange’s Ludovico Technique, only this experiment’s being conducted by the doctor from Human Centipede. Are your limbs restrained and eyeballs sitting moistly? Then we’ll begin.

It’s a tricky session today. Below are some items and images for you to assimilate. We’ll start with the most bearable:

1) Arsenal sits 15th in the table. Not a single away win this season. We’ve been without Vermaelen for most of the campaign so far; Jack Wilshere hasn’t played a minute of competitive football, and Sagna just broke his leg. We had to leave him there, prone by the touchline, coated in the spittle of the pasty-faced, malnourished drones that scrape out a putrid existence downwind from that bulging white and blue fungus.

And you know, that filth’s going to erupt if they’re above us come May.

2) The big decisions do not go our way in 2011-12, just like they didn’t last season. A table has been drawn up to show where we’d be if those incorruptible gents in black did their flipping jobs properly. Go on, take that table all the way to Soho Square; they’ll listen to what you’ve got to say I’m sure, and then we‘ll all be able to celebrate our conjectural second place.

3) We flopped with late bids to sign just about every mid-range European midfielder with a trace of imagination and craft, and were rushed into a raft of signings who probably wear their jerseys to bed and still gaze into the mirror with astonishment, thinking, “Blimey, I play for Arsenal, I do!”

OK, OK, that one’ a bit harsh.

4) We can’t afford to compete at the top any more and nobody cares. Manchester City have evolved from rich muggins, paying big for our scrap, to predatory loan sharks: “OK Arsenal you’re still a bit short this year? Never mind then, we’ll just take that RvP off your hands and call it even.” We’re just going to have to wait for these bastards to get bored of watching us jig for pennies.

Oh, you were holding out for Financial Fair Play, were you? You thought they’d make it watertight, eh? Forget it buster. By the time it actually kicks in Man City and Chelsea will have picked up enough momentum to break that tether – don’t think UEFA are going to do anything about the Etihad sponsorship deal.

5) But you’re not allowed to look away, damn it, keep watching. Because they can’t wait to heap the misery on, and you can’t get the hell away from it. Tune in to a match with zero Arsenal interest, like Scotland against Spain, and you get Gary Lineker moistening his new Clark Gable moustache and urging Mikel Arteta to talk him off by slandering his new teammates and manager.

6) Oh, and what’s this? It’s only the Manchester United match for you to enjoy again. Look, it’s Wayne Rooney’s celebrating yet another goal against his favourite opponent. Let’s have another close up of his jug ears, puffy cheeks and tiny little eyes contorted with ecstasy.

Right, that’s quite enough of that!

Off the pitch we seem to have the strange honour of epitomising both football’s past and its future, but not its present. In fact the here and now has us a bit befuddled. After all, this is a time in which Adebayor can claim the moral high ground over us without irony. We’re sort of scratching our heads, trying to take in the sheer craziness of everything around us – the ever-rising wages and transfer fees, the humungous sponsorship deals that we can only dream of.

And when you look at our glitzy shell of a stadium you have to admire the shabby elegance of our situation. Sitting in this magnificent, unchristened cruise-liner – a grand monument to an Arsenal that never actually happened, because the game had already “done changed” before we moved in, and might not change back in our favour any time soon.

Anyway, I’m no realist, so don’t know all, and am not sure what’s going to happen to us. But I do know this team will start to mesh. If the players that we’ve recruited aren’t world-beaters, then it shouldn’t be much to worry about. They all look competent if unspectacular, but didn’t exactly cost the earth, and our manager has a good record when it comes to coaxing latent talent to the surface.

In Coquelin, AOC and Frimpong we have youngsters who compare well to any that have broken into senior team under Wenger, but when they get there they find themselves in a group battling through a severe crisis of confidence. Still, it’s certainly a more experienced team than we’ve known in recent years, and it’s the older hands who are going to steady this ship.

And what do we get out of it? For the time being any joy you might derive probably won’t be from vicarious achievement, because there isn’t much to be had beyond the small victories.

Rather it’s in memories, friendship, togetherness and those shared moments of pain and joy. In the flesh it’s the heart-stopping roar of thousands of like-minded people joining in celebration and belting out songs. It’s in giving hell to the villains, who won’t be mentioned by name here. They think we’re doing it for them – wrong; it’s for us. It’s for our own unity.

There’s a lot of satisfaction these days in following the careers of the youngsters; watching them find their feet for the u18s, seeing them turn pro, vie for places in our first team squad and become stars.

And the rest of the time it’s the laughs, even if a lot of that’s been from gallows humour recently, and sharing the fun with people from all over the world.

’til Tomorrow

International Injuries For Arsenal & Government Interference

Club football returns to the fore, Arsenal awaiting the return of the players to assess injuries. The return to fitness of a large percentage of the club’s central defenders is partially offset by the news that Tomas Rosicky is already doubtful for the weekend’s clash with Sunderland thanks to a groin injury picked up on international duty.

Those who are fit return with renewed confidence if their nations will be participating in Euro2012 or an optimism that the play-offs still hold out hope that next Summer means eastern European climes rather than Sidmouth Bay. Those going to the latter are just relieved they were not in the squads that failed…

Against this backdrop, the British Government has set itself onto a collision path with the Premier League in its response to the DCMS Report into Football Governance.

In its response, there are many laudable aims that the coalition want football to embrace. Some the Football Association are already attempting to make headway in, for example prejudices of almost every kind. The lack of success in some areas is countered by success in others. Largely, success depends on whether they are tapping into a populist vein.

Nobody argues that the FA requires reform; even the FA agree. Previously there has been too much protectionism over personal fiefdoms for progress to be made but slowly, reform is edging through the organisation. There is a balance required between the professional and amateur games; the past is littered with frequent battles over whose whims are more important. The profile of the professionals lead them to believe they are kings whilst the rest pointedly tell them they would not exist without the Popular Front.

It is always amusing – and inevitably serious – when governments of any persuasion tells a business to get its house in order; “don’t do as we do, do as we say” the mantra from the morally bankrupt. The response contains the usual suspects, ranging from club licensing to the iniquitous behaviour of agents onwards to doping. Some of the suggestions are workable, implementable and ought to be in place already. Some won’t; football is just not going to embrace some key issues.

One aspect that the clubs will bridle against is supporter representation on the club’s Board of Directors. Personally I think this is the only way to go. As excellent an idea as Fanshare is, in the modern era the reality is that such schemes rely on the benevolence of major shareholders.

Arsenal prove the problems. KSE will not sell shares to the scheme whilst Usmanov is aggressively trying to buy shares. In this scenario, Fanshare loses out. Direct representation on the Board circumvents that issue. It allows a voice to be heard and there are many excellent people involved in supporters groups who can add value to the process. It also brings a focus to supporters groups, driving home the message of a unified front being presented, the real issues get addressed directly and opinions on the team remain outside the purview of the groups, remaining opinions not policies.

Some clubs may take this route but not many. It will be an interesting time to see whether the government has the balls to make this policy or platitudes.

More conflict between the two parties is inevitable. Plans to make it mandatory – in a voluntary way – for players to be released for national team duty at all age groups must surely fail. With senior teams, it is right and proper that in a properly managed fixture list the players should be allowed to represent their countries. Why not? It is a personal honour in a team sport.

Except that Uefa, their ilk and Fifa are patently ill-prepared to create such a fixture list. Friendlies before domestic seasons start? Friendlies within six weeks of a tournament finishing in the Summer? Not the actions of organisations which have one iota of care for players well-being despite their protestations to the contrary.

Not that clubs are blameless, endlessly changing tournament formats to create more games and consequently more revenue. England’s World Cup 2018 bid foundered on an inability to understand football politics, an unwillingness to practice dark arts, all of which is fine. An ill-fitting sanctimony, no matter how well suited to subsequent events it is – Ricardo Teixera the latest Fifa bad boy to be investigated for corruption – does not help.

Britain’s politicians would be better advised to assist the FA in persuading Uefa that a mandatory top flight of 18 teams without increasing international fixture dates, is a better route forward than braying from the sidelines, occupying a higher ledge in the gutter than football’s lawmakers.

Too frequently players are picking up strains through over-use. This is not just the sole domain of internationals, Arsenal have culpability in Jack Wilshere missing most of this season. Making appearances at junior levels mandatory though, shows scant regard for the physiological well-being of maturing youths. Those changes can bring on strains and muscular problems without the mismanagement of the football authorities.

And this is before we get into arguments over who picks up the cost through wages and investments. Indeed, you might not be wrong in thinking that such issues make it more likely that clubs will dismiss international football altogether in the none too distant future. However, the Minister for Sport, Hugh Robertson, believes it will help England win the World Cup. I am not sure how making the clubs run themselves properly will improve the lack of technical ability in the native players…

’til Tomorrow.

Matches To Remember No 9: Sheffield Wednesday, Hillsborough, January 1988

The last of this occasional series for this international break sees us take a small leap forward from yesterday’s Liverpool match. This time a 1 – 0 win at Hillsborough in January 1988. A midweek Littlewoods Cup tie en route to the final, a trophy that Luton would wrench from Arsenal’s grip.

Another train, another fortune to BR for positively poxy service. A buffet that sold out of beer, well done to Green for coming back with two slabs of lager. It turned out to be fortuitous as no sooner had the lad returned to the table than the steward announced that they had sold out of beer. Phew, glad he got in there before that happened; it was a long enough journey as it was returning to deepest Surrey at 5am, just in time to get ready to go to work. Jumping into a taxi at Sheffield’s main station, responding to the question “Where to?”, with “Follow that cab”. To be dropped at a staunchly Wednesday-ite pub on a hill above Hillsborough. Interesting times.

The match itself was a comfortable win. Nigel Winterburn enjoyed a moment in the sun, scoring the winner on this evening, missing a penalty that would have surely put Arsenal into an unassailable lead at Wembley. The fickleness of fates.

The Leppings Lane End has since become infamous; it was just a horrible piece of terracing, reminding me of the narrow strand that was at Goodison Park before that became all-seater.

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Wednesday proved to be generous hosts that season. When Arsenal had reliquinshed their grip on the trophy, the first league match after Wembley was another trip to Hillsborough. Wednesday raced into an early three goal lead, inside half an hour if memory serves. Paul Merson reduced the deficit before the interval before he and Alan Smith scored twice to make that journey home rather more enjoyable than it should really have been.

It was a rare occasion when a draw was greeted as a victory. There is one other draw in this series, one similar feeling of elation. But you’ll have to wait for that until the next international break.

’til Tomorrow.

Matches To Remember: No. 10 Liverpool, Highbury, September 1984

A change of pace this morning, a look back to the past in an occasional series that will intersperse the international breaks to come. A brief post on a match – not decisive in a League Title or a Cup Final, they are covered in enough detail elsewhere. These are games that for whatever reason have stayed in the ACLF memory.

To kick off, a visit of Liverpool to Highbury in September 1984, a win that took Arsenal to the top of the table. This one, more than anything, was particularly enjoyable as at the time the part of the West Country in which I was living had a large Liverpool supporting contingent. How luxurious the journey home was as the post-match gloating kicked in. Hard to believe that £20 in those days was enough to get me to the game, a terrace ticket, a programme with enough to be fed and watered. Not hard to believe that the train fare took around half of that!

It was, I think, the first season of the Jumbotron screens at Highbury or their predecessors at least, although now I type it, I wonder if I am twelve months too early. The North Bank tea bar had been, ahem, modernised that summer. An antiquated concept now, the food has little improved. But if we so chose to do, we could walk in and have a beer on terraces. The beer has little improved as well.

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Unfortunately, Brian Talbot’s brace which were decisive, have eluded efforts to be tracked down on the interweb. Anyone who has links to them, please pass them on for they were a couple of crackers.

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Tony Woodcock’s has turned up, 1’15 into this video. It’s worth watch for that and a rare sighting of Vladimir Petrovic in an Arsenal shirt. The Premier League era would have loved him.

Looking back, little has changed in English football. As now, several teams could win the title. As then, many will drop away before a dominant side emerges. Liverpool were the predecessors of Manchester United, seemingly set to reign. Murkier waters laid ahead with the Heysel Tragedy nine months away.

This was a typical Arsenal team. Hard working with a smattering of flair and seemingly destined for silverware. Like many Arsenal teams before and after, they flattered to deceive. Despite topping the league, they faltered as the season’s ran from Autumn through to Spring. Ten defeats in 22 games seems vaguely familiar.  Even without a ban on English teams, Arsenal would have pushed qualifying for the UEFA Cup the following season. A 2-2 draw on the final day of the season meant that the team dropped from 5th to 7th.

Cup runs promised much and delivered even less. Oxford ended any interest in the League Cup with a 3-2 win at The Manor Ground. As a stadium, it left much to be desired. Indeed, calling it a stadium is an insult to the word but that is another story. The FA Cup? One of the upsets that Arsenal were on the wrong end of. York City. Arsenal fans helped to clear the pitch, we were thankful as it was a long way to go in deep midwinter.

Steve Williams conceded a penalty that Keith Houchen converted. It added £500k to Williams’ transfer fee and an embarassing start to his Arsenal career. Still, Houchen made up for it by scoring for Coventry in the 1987 Cup win over Tottenham.

’til Tomorrow.