I must say I’m warming to the idea. The last month hasn’t been great. Post-May the future might be a bit murky. But the now, and the coming months don’t look too bad to me. Truth is they’re quite exciting.

And just what have we got look to forward to, besides the presaged pain, humiliation and eventual grave?

Well, the trifling matter of the Champions League second round. Surely we’re not so decadent that we can’t get excited about the world’s biggest club competition. They say it’s going to be our last chance to dine at Europe’s top table for a while, so let’s go mental. Let’s gorge, belch and fart like it really is the last time, and take doggy bags as well.

But spare a thought for our compatriots who didn’t get this far. They’re outside, forlorn, looking in with their faces pressed against the window. It would be cold not to give them a wave.

We’re still in the FA Cup too. It might not have the prestige of old, but it’s a competition that conjures all kinds of powerful memories and still has the power to transport us. If we can avoid replays, a decent run could galvanise our slowly swelling ranks.

And though the league is suddenly looking tough, fourth spot is most definitely within reach. With a bit of luck we’ll have the personnel and form to handle the schedule, and make sure we put on a decent spread for any guests to the grove between now and May. We’ll also have a bulging hamper to pack for away days:

Francis Coquelin should return this week. In the next ten days or so, Arteta, Gibbs and Sagna will be getting there. And in around a fortnight we’ll see Wilshere and Jenkinson in full training. I understand that not all those names inspire euphoria among Arsenal fans, but at least four are important to our first team, and the others are the back up we haven’t had since November.

I should have been conditioned against feeling upbeat about injuries long ago, but something struck me this month – I’ve been getting quite bored. That’s to say, where’s the bloody football gone? Fixture-wise, it’s the quietest January for a good few years, and the quietest month of the season so far. At a measly one match a week our players have had plenty of time to recuperate between games – to the point where I’d guess they’re in better shape now than a month ago.

The scarcity of Arsenal action isn’t ideal for shivery addicts like you and me, but it’s good news for our assault on the home straight. In recent years we’ve looked capable battling through January, started to flag by March and collapsed face down on the tarmac like the teenagers in the Long Walk come April. Call me a dreamer, but I’d like to think that we’ve got that collapsing malarkey out of our system this season.

It’s hard to gauge the atmosphere at the club, but in a week of reports of internal recrimination at the training ground I’m picking up bristling, angry vibes rather than defeatism. Anger’s something we can use. One famous Gooner called anger “an energy”.

And there’s more good news. I think we can say that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has what it takes. Obviously, he does tend to burn quite fitfully, and he could probably make life easier for his full-back, but he has the time and personality to work on what doesn’t yet come naturally. After wondering how he might cope with real Premier League action, Arsène must be thrilled by that performance.

I’m convinced he would not have been able to put in that kind of show against a side like ManU until now. Like most of you I’ve been watching him every chance I’ve had, partly because there was so little footage of his season in League One, and also because a couple of Charlton fans I know had really put him down when we got him.

What I saw in his u21 games was a player with a compulsion to take players on. He was devastating once he had a feel for his opponents, but also, I figured, lacking nuance and variety. He was terrifying against Israel and Iceland. Belgium were ready for him though, and pinned him to the touchline. He had a wretched evening. His teammates didn’t offer much support, and couldn’t get into the game, but I’m quite glad they didn’t. I think he needed matches in which his opponent was smart and prepared.

It leads on back to my Charlton supporting friends. They’d formed their opinion of AOC when Southampton visited the Valley in March 2011. All eyes were on this lauded 17-year-old, but he laboured for an hour with no joy before getting subbed off. So here’s the important part – in one of those England Twitter chats a whole half-year later, he named Charlton’s full-back in that match, Fede Bessone, as his toughest opponent to date.

There was something faintly thrilling about it. Obviously it means he remembered, and if he remembered then he was honest with himself and learned something from it.

What we know now is that he’s a first team contender. I’m sure it opens up all kinds of permutations and tactical possibilities, and gives opponents something different to plan for. But it’s also worth bearing in mind that his performance last weekend was fuelled in part by adrenaline. He was also a surprise – there’s no way Slur Alex would have been prepared for him,

So it wouldn’t be fair to expect to see that kind of level every week. Some manager down the line will come up with a plan to stop him, and he’s going to lose form at some point. But for AOC’s part, the signs are that he’s prepared to learn from the hiccups and keep improving.

Just a reminder to get your daily dose of Arsenal On This Day which tomorrow (27th January) ventures back to 1894. Yes, 1894 BC. That’s 1894 Before Consolsbob. ’til Tomorrow.

Fast forward two decades and the intrusions of the media are more frequent, immediate and from a wider variety of sources. The pundit culture has left more top players sitting on the sofa offering their views on what is wrong. Even the President of Rwanda knows where the blame lies and being a politician, it isn’t with him. Often their observations are no more insightful than those of the ordinary fan – sometimes less so – but sometimes it seems more hyper-critical; sales and hits are king.

There is nothing wrong with airing their views but too often because they have been heroes too much importance is attached to them. Let us be honest, are any of them genuine Arsenal fans? I would perhaps place more emphasis in that respect on the words of Charlie George, for example. However, their views are no less valid, just no more perceptive than you or I.

For Wenger, these interventions are tiresome. Privately, if he reads it all, he must wonder how these people are not top managers given that they know so much. Goodness knows what he thinks of Arsenal supporters; I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess after Sunday.

But it plays into his hands. This is an easy win in terms of galvanising the squad. A team meeting followed by training ground interventions by the manager; surely this will awaken the giant from its slumber. Mikel Arteta should be more positive than most, the new boy untainted by the cynicism of the Arsenal support. His words this morning surely reflect those of the whole squad,

All the players are supportive of Wenger — there are no divisions. When we’ve had bad results the fans get upset with the manager but that’s normal in football. Wenger has done so much for the club that he deserves the confidence of the fans.

Arteta is probably not aware of the scars which last season’s collapse; not fully at least. You wonder if those are resurfacing in some who were here last year or is that counter-acted by the return to training of Gibbs and Sagna or the knowledge that Jack Wilshere is not far behind.

Too many presume that the current run will continue to the season’s end. Surely that is too much presumption. What is undeniable is the wobble that took place following defeat at Eastlands. The victories over Aston Villa and QPR were unconvincing which with hindsight was a warning of the lethargy that manifested at Craven Cottage.

Defeat at Swansea was fallout from that; the win over Leeds with less than half the normal starting line-up in place may have helped individually but collectively, there was still uncertainty which showed in the defensive errors. What do the players do about this run? At this moment in time, a series of scrappy wins would do more good than a resounding thumping of Aston Villa in isolation.

With fourth place the target, back to winning ways immediately is required. Bolton and Blackburn have something to fight for and cannot be construed as easy matches; Sunderland too are on a comparative high following Martin O’Neill’s appointment, beating Manchester City whilst arguably unlucky to lose at Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane. That’s before the North London Derby. How the world would look different were that to arrive on the back of five consecutive victories.

Football is a fluid environment, luck changing from one week to the next. Gary Player observed that the harder he worked, the luckier he became. If Arsenal’s players are working hard on the training pitch and in the ninety minutes, matters will change. As soon as possible though, Footballing Gods.

Still, if you think the current situation is bad, it could be worse as Arsenal On This Day reminds you.

’til Tomorrow.

His absence from the first team has apparently cost him £9.3m in lost wages, bonuses and fines. What are they paying him to induce this, enough money that he can afford to lose such staggering sums. Crucially, their posturing is likely to lead to the first team case of ‘sporting reasons’ for breach of contract. Telling him that he will rot in the reserves unless a deal suits the club is no bad thing until a lawyer gets involved.

One thing that this underlines is the gap between Arsenal and Manchester City financially. Not that this will be Arsène’s problem, he is receiving covetous glances from the Spanish capital. Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Real is seemingly in its death throes and the Arsenal manager is the one that Florentino Perez wants to replace him. Or Señor A.N. Other.

Perez has long had a soft spot for Wenger, approaching him when times are not at their best. He has history in this and has long made clear his admiration for the Frenchman. As with his last offer to Arsène, the clouds are gathering, planting seeds in the manager’s mind as he faces abuse. The last time a Madrid offer emerged came immediately after an AGM a few years back, when the jibe about Silvestre being a ‘granddad’ ruffled feathers.

Whether there is any truth in this, no-one knows. The timing is purely coincidental, I’m sure, it could not possibly be as a result of Sunday? Some have offered the view that the departure of the Frenchman would be no bad thing. Arsenal would, so the logic goes, be free of the financial chains he places on them. Except the chains would still remain. A new manager might well spend the residue of the TPA at the bank but what then?

There seems to be a misguided theory that more money will be injected into the club by KSE. That seems at odds with their other strategies in the sporting empire and counterintuitive; Arsenal’s selling point was always self-sufficiency. Usmanov is no different, attracted to Arsenal by the great profit potential in the share values and dividends. Self-sufficiency comes at a price.

This is before you address the issue of whether or where the squad strengthening should take place.

One who is determined to contribute to rendering the strengthening part irrelevant is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. You suspect it will be a while before the club allow him to talk to the mainstream media with the fallout from that substitution fresh in everyone’s minds. Alarm bells might also be ringing over the endorsement of sorts from Fabio Capello,

I have been impressed with him. He is a good player, who has a lot of quality and is playing at a really high level.

He will be a really interesting player for the next friendly games before the Euros.

It sounds worringly as if the paucity of English talent may manifest itself in the form of a place at the doomed Euro2012 campaign. A strong sense of deja vu with Theo Walcott’s ill-fated trip to Germany six years ago. The weight of expectation at Arsenal on Oxlade-Chamberlain’s shoulders is growing in direct proportion with desperation for change.

The youngster has definite promise and cannot be faulted for his application. The output though is inconsistent, the test is not how well he performed against United but how well he plays in coming matches. My concern with, for want of a better word, the hype is that once performance levels drop he will be subjected to the same derision heaped upon Theo Walcott.

Fundamentally, a swathe of the support is not going to give him time. Only their heroes get that, the rest suffer the slings and arrows of disrespect depending upon which way the wind is blowing. That is just wrong.

By all means be critical of a performance after the match but abusing players or managers? I do not understand it, particularly during a match when surely the word support is an absolute must. The world has changed if that is not the case and not necessarily for the better.

’til Tomorrow

Reading the back pages, you sense that some are revelling in the mayhem whilst others think that we are all idiots. The latter is possibly a hangover from being the chairman’s pet paper, David Woods in this morning’s Daily Star observes,

Centre-half Thomas Vermaelen is believed to have been angry to learn late on, with no briefing from Wenger, he was having to play left-back, after three weeks out with a calf strain.

Seriously, that is a direct lift from their website. I mean did Woods not realise that Vermaelen had played a dozen or so games in the position before being out. Does he really believe that it was a shock.  The village idiot is now employed gainfully.

As you know, I’ve been trawling through newspaper archives and my own scrapbooks for Arsenal On This Day but rarely have I come across such shoddy journalism.

It beggars belief but by the same token pretty much sets the tone for the morning. Robin van Persie’s declaration of loyalty and frustration is delivered in staccato form by The Sun, as if  Hill-Wood and Gazidis have donned hoods and are threatening to kill him unless he delivers a message of support for the manager.

The same thread carries across the media from tabloid to broadsheet, each emphasising the same thing; Arsène has the support of the squad, van Persie is loyal and it’s all the fault of Andrey Arshavin.

Reportedly – and given the veracity of some of the column inches this morning, a healthy dose of cynicism should be applied – the players held a clear-the-air team meeting in the aftermath of the defeat on Sunday. Many of these have been held down the years during Wenger’s reign, the players seeking to put right the wrongs on the pitch. At this, reportedly, Arshavin has been held to blame.

It strikes me as too convenient. Gary Neville accused the Russian of being disinterested, that comment interwoven with the displeasure displayed on Sunday appears to be the foundation of this all. Too many in society though seek out a cheap scapegoat, convenient because it allows a polarisation of dissent onto one subject but more often than not a deflection of individual failings onto another.

Let us not beat about the bush. If there was no injury then the manager got Oxlade-Chamberlain’s substitution wrong on Sunday. He admitted as much in the post-match press conference and we go from there. It is not a signal that he is losing the plot, God Knows there is enough evidence to suggest he has not.

That – and pinpointing Arshavin as the sole cause of the winning goal – is to ignore a simple fact: football is a collective game. One minute can lose a match with a goal. Ninety minutes in which you score less than your opponents tends to be more damaging in that respect.

Arsenal had their opportunities and failed to score. Robin van Persie arguably missed an easier chance than the one he did convert. And what of the defenders culpabilities in the first goal? Song had a distinctly average game and was as much to blame as Arshavin in the winner. Collective responsibility.

Much finger pointing is happening, as much a legacy of the season as one match.  It has been a poor campaign, the summer was not handled well and lessons must be learned from that with a recurrence this year entirely possible. The manager did not replace the players who departed quickly enough, arguably before Cesc left a replacement should have been signed or at the very least announced within a week of departure. That is an ideal world; we do not live in one and no-one on any internet board or forum knows exactly what went on, why the carnage was allowed to occur in the manner that it did.

One thing is for certain. There is no confidence in anything Arsenal any more. The reaction displayed firmly underlines that there is no sense of “We’re all in this together“. Which is hardly surprising when you view the state of world at the moment and the impact of wretched political and economic decisions on society.

The word support does not mean blind adulation; healthy and constructive criticism is actually a good thing, contrary to the opinion of some. At this moment, there is nothing healthy or constructive about much of the criticism being shown. Bowels are turning to water and a feeling of doom is being spread.

And the arguments go round and round. It’s a vicious circle, the only solution for which is apparently to spend. And sell, of course. In fact have the sort of firesale and panic buy for which derision was heaped in the summer.

’til Tomorrow.

0 – 1 Valencia (45)
1 – 1 van Persie (70)
1 – 2 Welbeck (81)

It is a sign of the times at Arsenal; a chorus of boos in the stadium over substitutions mirroring the contempt online. A small but vocal minority. The criticism over the withdrawal of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was vindicated to some extent – it is indefensible to boo a player before they have come on – with Arsène admitting in his post-match press conference that he got this one wrong. That he got the withdrawal of Johan Djourou correct thirty minutes earlier is overlooked.

In the end, the defeat was down to more than one substitution. As per usual, Arsenal spurned chances and were emminently culpable in both goals. Ferguson reacted to the defensive wanderings of Rafael during van Persie’s equaliser and Arshavin’s introduction, to load the right side of the United attack with attacking midfielders, exploiting the defensive weaknesses already exposed. Valencia would do so once more, his foraging run down the right produced a pass to Welbeck to slot home, nine minutes from the end.

The match had started slugglishly, neither side sparked into life immediately from kick-off. The much begged start for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain arrived and the youngster did not disappoint. Like the second half substitute Yennaris, his performance hinted at a readiness for first team football. Oxlade-Chamberlain is further down the preparatory road than his defensive counterpart and his route to the starting line-up less congested.

The parrys and thrusts of the opening exchanges brought no clear chances until Giggs drew a sharp save from Szczesny. When Jones was removed from the action with a knee injury, you sensed that the battle might swing in Arsenal’s favour; surely with three first choice centre backs missing from their opponents, the hosts could impose themselves on the game?

Such dominance never arrived, at least not in the first half. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s raids on the right gave Evra pause for thought, two former Southampton players combining when Walcott fired high and wide of the goal. When it seemed Arsenal would take control United pounced on the counter-attack, only to be denied by excellent covering work by Koscielny. The Frenchman might have been favourite to make way for Mertesacker when he signed but surely the question is now who partners him in the centre?

Nani tested Szczesny as the half drew to a close, the interval bringing to an end the wretched torment inflicted on Djourou by the Portuguese winger. It was a match where the central defender was shown how difficult full backs sometimes find their ninety minutes.

It is not entirely the Swiss internationals fault. Arsenal’s forwards are notoriously poor at tracking back on the left, the right hand side yesterday was little better. Oxlade-Chamberlain might have curbed Evra’s attacking instincts but he was noticeably absent on a few occasions when his defensive backing might have been productive.

The opening goal came as the referee pursed his lips to blow for the interval. Vermaelen’s clearance fell to Giggs whose cross was unerringly accurate for Valencia as he drifted in unmarked. His header guided away from Szczesny’s reach and into the net. It was a goal of collective culpability from Arsenal’s point of view; Vermaelen might have done better with clearance initially whilst someone might have been advised to mark Valencia.

After the changes at the interval, Arsenal came out sparkier than the trudge to the tunnel fifteen minutes previously. Immediately the opportunity for an equaliser arrived. Rosicky led a counter-attack which ended with van Persie firing wide the type of chance so normally converted with aplomb. Ramsey shot high, Evra appeared to use a hand to stop Rosicky. The chances for Arsenal were coming more rapidly as this half progressed.

Koscielny burst forward and with composure played Oxlade-Chamberlain into space, the youngsters effort skewed wide of the post.

And when Arsenal were complacent, United almost punished them; Mertesacker recovering in time to clear off the line after Welbeck had sprinted clear of him to beat Szczesny to the ball.

Once more Arsenal regrouped and forged into attack, this time with venom. Oxlade-Chamberlain rampaged on the right and found van Persie, whose snap effort was early enough to evade the dive of Lindegaard in the United goal. A deserved equaliser, setting the scene for a late win as in 2007.

Indeed that happened but this time the roles reversed with Welbeck’s late goal. Evans cleared off the line as the final whistle beckoned but the wind had been taken from Arsenal sails by Welbeck.

Post-match, Wenger took responsibility for the defeat and exonerated his captain for his apparent dissent over the substitution. The crowd are entitled to their view and Wenger did not seek to hide from that. Opinions are accepted as being part of football, publicly at least. I do not understand heckling Arshavin; he has not been in good form previously but there were signs that he might be coming back to such. Encouragement would be the way to produce this; support not derision. No-one will convince me that the reaction to him yesterday was anything but counter-productive.

Defeat means more hard work lies ahead. We keep telling ourselves that Tottenham and Chelsea have difficult matches ahead, that they will drop points. The problem is that Arsenal need to pick them up and take advantage, something that has failed to happen thus far. Consecutive defeats in the last three games are unsettling, of that there is no argument. Each further defeat is detrimental to Champions League qualification.

Yet the season is not over, there are returning players to come back, players who can make a difference. Would the signing of new players prior to yesterday have affected the outcome? You simply cannot prove the answer either way, attempting to do so merely delusions of an unknown truth.

The danger is that the defeats collectively are damaging to long term confidence. Tin helmets may be required for those who have not lost hope for the barrage of last week is set to crescendo this.

On a more pleasant note, don’t forget to check this morning’s Arsenal On This Day. It’s a winner…’til Tomorrow.

The contrary nature of football, of human beings, offers the solutions. Even with a team that was hopelessly out of form, Arsenal beat the soon-to-be-crowned Champions in the corresponding fixture last season. It was a stronger line-up, granted, but then so was the one fielded by United that day, compared with the expected starting XI today. Motivation is no problem, even before you take into account the feelings of revenge, stung personal and professional pride from earlier this season. As much as they might seek to play down such emotions, it is unnatural for them not to surface.

At his press conference, Arsène considered not playing Champions League football to be a “disaster” from a personal and professional point of view. I can understand his view that the opposition in other competitions is not of such high a standard and it is not. You expect every avenue to be explored in pursuit of that goal and to be honest, those who believe he is not doing so are fools. He might not be pursuing a course of action that coincides with your viewpoint but to claim he is doing nothing opens yourself to ridicule. Whether it is right or not, history will be the judge.

So to this afternoon. United are once more challenging for the title despite, once more, having a team that we are told is sub-standard, not a patch on previous ones forged by Sir Alex Ferguson during his reign. If this side is not up to par, it says much for the current state of football that despite all of the billions invested in playing squads, they are are still the second best in the country.

It serves to emphasize the gap between the two clubs and managers. Both have their strengths and weakness, have made undeniable and significant changes to the English game during the Premier League era. Yet only one of them has been able to forge consistent title-winning teams. Arsène has been bridesmaid more often than the centre of attention. It is hard, maybe impossible, to quantify why there is this difference in the silverware. Talent-wise, Arsenal have more often than had the better squad yet United have nabbed the trophies. Ferguson has been able to more readily identify and gel a winning mentality into his charges. How and why is unproven, subjected to conjecture but it leaves a sense that Wenger’s reign is how Revie must have felt when it came to his Leeds days. Except without the darker elements that pervaded those squads.

The ability to dominate teams at home has underpinned their success. Barring none, the home record in the Premier League is impressive. Claims of refereeing bias often overlook the reason for it; sustained attacking on the opposition area creates pressure on the referee who, in situations where a decision is required, will more often than not believe that the defender has erred due to mental and physical duress. Equally at the other end, borderline decisions are likely to be seen as an act of desperation to gain. It is not a conspiracy of United supporting officials, one where the Mancunian clubs have exploited human weakness.

Injury news for today is better for Arsenal. Thomas Vermaelen and Thierry Henry passed fitness tests yesterday which barring adverse reactions this morning, mean they will take their respective places in the squad. Even if there is a reaction, last weekend’s defeat at Swansea means that copious quantities of painkillers are likely to be injected into the Belgian in the hope of giving some stability to the defence. Wojciech Szczesny has been exceptional in his progress this season but culpability in goals conceded at Craven Cottage and Liberty Stadium identify him as not quite the finished product. Having a stronger defence helps that along the way.

Swansea identified a more natural replacement for Arteta and it is not Yossi Benayoun. The Israeli has always seemed to me to be more of a replacement for Arshavin or Walcott, in the wider midfield role. Tomas Rosicky has more technique in that passing role. Possession, Arsène is being surrendered as the team moves more directly in style which is at odds with the received wisdom that Arsenal are not a team transiting from one formula to another. Whether Rosicky can entirely compensate for the Spaniard is debatable, Arteta brings a steadiness to the central area of the pitch.

Otherwise, the team picks itself such are the paucity of options due to injuries and internationals:

Szczesny; Djourou, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen (Miquel); Song, Ramsey, Rosicky; Walcott, van Persie, Arshavin

A win is essential. For too long we have been talking of taking advantage when Spurs slip up. They did last weekend, so did we. The gap widened as a result. Chelsea dropped points but have increased the gap between themselves and Arsenal. If that continues to happen, forget fourth. That as much as playing Manchester United ought to motivate the players. And motivated Arsenal players are capable of winning this fixture.

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

It is unusual to praise the press but The Mirror deserve some for putting the Q&A from Arsène’s Print Media Press Conference onto their site; you can easily see the context of the quotes selectively chosen and wilfully misinterpreted by both journalist and headline writer. The media’s hypocrisy was so wonderfully exposed,

If Pires once dived against Portsmouth, OK? For six months it was a story in the newspapers. Dyer dived on Sunday and nobody said a word. You cannot say it is exactly the same and it doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t matter when Dyer dives, why does it matter when Pires dives?

There is no argument against that, Pires brought forth a publicity-driven campaign for players to be punished for diving. There was no campaign to improve journalistic standards, no carrot for this stick. Football gets the journalists it deserves and vice versa.

The extent of that hypocrisy is apparent on The Mirror site where the comments regarding referees are utterly misrepresented. There is no conspiracy against Arsenal amongst officials which, for me at least, undermines a considerable portion of the theory that has long been held where Manchester United supporting referees are conspiring to prevent Arsenal success. Nonsense, according to the manager, they are simply rubbish. Well, they don’t get their decisions right as often as they get the big ones wrong which has been in Arsenal’s case, very costly.

On the transfer activity this Winter, the manager was defensive and I am not quite sure how else we should expect him to be. There is a groundswell of opinion that some new faces need to come in; Wenger was not of that view,

You’re resisted so far moving into the market. Are you convinced the squad is strong enough to finish fourth – or better?
Our squad is strong enough, yes [to finish 4th]. If the players come back we are strong enough. If we do not have the players back we will struggle.

Why not tempted to sign a left back on loan, you’ve looked short there?
Football is not a supermarket where you go in there and say: ‘give me a left-back please, and a right-back and a centre-back.’ We have to find the players better to what we have. When Vermaelen plays left-back, finding a better left-back for me is difficult. Vermaelen has missed two games, maybe another game Sunday.

But if you don’t sign cover it could cost you more in the long run. Is that not a concern?
You cannot every time buy a player when you have an injury, where do you finish? England is bankrupt, the whole of Europe is bankrupt and everyone continues to spend like nothing happened.

Some of the arguments are disingenuous. Whilst some are naively proclaiming that every injury needs money spent on a replacement, Arsène is open to a similar accusation with an expectation that the squad will remain strong enough over the remainder of the season. History is most definitely against him on that one. Equally though, what else is he expected to say? Positive comments about signings bring forth a slew of speculation and raised expectations on the terraces; this morning he finds himself chastised for his views on the state of football club finances. We know clubs are bankrupt, they have been so for decades. Despite this, there is no sign of the transfer market abating as Arsenal – either through the manager or board – proclaim. Quite simply, football is not subject to the same strictures of normal economic theory.

The transfer market is changing though with different clubs having financial muscle. Arsenal are a commendable club for managing themselves well off the pitch but there is rarely recognition of the opposite, rarely do Arsenal see their predictions of doom come true and certainly never at the level of the game that they occupy. As much as football needs to adjust its view of itself as a whole, Arsenal need to change their view of the opposition; they are not going bust. They teeter, the stumble but they do not tip over into the abyss.

But vocal sections of the support need to stop spending every penny before it is earned. And when it is earned, recognise that contract enhancements and fees come from the same pot as the transfer spend. So when you mightily proclaim that we have not spent Adebayor’s transfer fee, just recognise that you are utterly wrong.

As for Financial Fair Play, I’d rather pin my hopes on the tail of the donkey than the regulations having any impact. A more toothless sop you will never see.

The most contemptuous question received the answer it deserved,

Is [fourth place] a realistic prospect. It looks as if it could be a bad scenario after Sunday?
It could be as well a good one. In the press you are now educated to see everything in black. And I am not sure it has no consequences on your spirit, be careful! You are not the only people.

But it’s our job to also reflect the fans and that’s what we’re doing.
You reflect the fans’ fear but you create it as well.

Don’t forget to read today’s part of Arsenal history, Arsenal On This Day.

’til Tomorrow.

Chances are you won’t know much of what I’m going to talk about here, but that’s OK, neither do I. I’m going to see if I can write a whole post on what I don’t know about the club. Because speculating about Arsenal’s inner workings is like trying to complete a join the dots puzzle with most of the dots missing. That doesn’t stop people having a go, and in their creativity they end up with outlandish ideas like…I don’t know, komodo dragons in Stetsons.

We get detailed assessments of personnel and strategy grounded in nothing firmer than whimsy and hearsay. Soon it becomes truth, and before long the club has to come out and refute suggestions as far-fetched and damaging as the one that Arsène Wenger is taking a cut of club profits.

Where to start?

The medical centre is as good a place as any. To hear it from some it’s an abattoir, medieval torture chamber and Victorian surgical theatre all in one. Club doctors and rehab specialists, ankle deep in human parts, spend their days playing a deranged, real life version of the board game, Operation – if Abou Diaby’s nose flashes then they miss a turn jabbing at his legs and have to go and see if Kieran Gibbs’ feet could do with a new coating of leeches.

Then there’s the coaching staff. At least these people mean well, but since they’re a bunch of new age flower children they see football only in the most ethereal concepts. Defensive coaches order the back four to navigate the pitch by star constellations and send each other energies rather than voiced instructions. Youngsters are given no guidance, for, you see, nobody’s got the smarts to set these little hoods straight. They tried reiki and now they’re fresh out of ideas.

This summer two new and very young faces appeared on the Arsenal site in the Coaching Staff section. Their roles are so specialised they were immediately eyed with contempt – James Collins is a performance nutritionist, but his job has got nothing on Ben Knapper for narrowness. He’s a Football Analyst, whose job is to watch games on TV and make videos for the manager. “You what? So they’re paying students to watch the telly, no wonder we couldn’t afford to give Almunia a pay rise.”

Now back to Diaby. There’s this suspicion that he’s happy with his predicament. When you hear stuff like that you wonder about the lengths you’ll have to go to make Arsenal fans sympathise with their own players. How about we break a part of your anatomy to stop you doing the thing you were born to do?

In most cases I think it would be the wrist.

And every time it looks like you might be able to do it again – whoops, there’s another setback. “So what’s that now, thirty injuries in six years? Time’s not on your side sonny – you were once the next big thing, but you’ve lost most of your career already because of some wannabe hard-man who doesn’t even play the game any more. Oh, did I forget? Leave the club you sponge.”

On to Pat Rice. YW dealt succinctly with the fabricated rumours about him yesterday. What do you know about his relationship with the manager, or where his responsibilities lie? Whatever his strengths, they’re clearly enough to make him a valued figure at the club for almost half a century.

He gave insightful and frank accounts of our performances against Udinese in his surprisingly broad Ulster accent back at the start of the season. All to the amazement of those who thought he only had one word in his vocabulary. I wish the word had been “now”.

But the one thing, more than any other, that gets fans’ knickers in a twist is the club’s silence on transfer matters. It was always this way of course, but at a time when so many people think Arsenal owes them something, the prudent decision to keep schtum is treated as a personal insult, like getting blanked by an old friend.

And this gives rise to yet more toxic accusations. For starters, I have no idea what happened in the summer – noticing a pattern yet? – but I’m convinced it bears no resemblance to the narrative that we’re supposed to accept by people who are no wiser.

When it came to recruitment we’re supposed to believe this chauvinistic idea of a bunch of greenhorns getting the run around from shrewd and swarthy old-worlders. Problem there is that nobody has seen Gazidis in action. And nobody knows who was in last summer’s twenty-strong team, other than Richard Law, what they were doing and how much experience they had in their roles.

This is where David Dein comes in. In the past he was always the man in the photo with the new signing, and I don’t think you can ignore the impact of those photos on people who are desperate to see new faces at the club. Never mind that it’s a different game now, under new constraints. In the years since he’s been gone his status has been raised to something a little above demigod. There’s a reason the club hasn’t built a statue for him – it’s about idolatry, whole thoroughfares to the stadium would be clogged with a sea of prostrate worshippers. Kick off would have to be delayed every fortnight.

Finally, my least favourite football topic, and one of the most contentious – all I can say is , “Shut up, you do not know how much individual players earn. You might think you do, and you might make educated guesstimates, but ultimately you’re bullsh*tting. So shut up.”

Really, most of this stems from an absence of trust in the club. If the team had just won a trophy nobody would be prodding around in the dark, trying to find weaknesses. Where they are is unclear, but I’m sure some fans’ energies could be better spent elsewhere – provided their wrists have healed.

Don’t forget to check out this morning’s Arsenal On This Day, another delve into the past. Some very murky days coming in the next few weeks. ’til Tomorrow.

Marouane Chamakh has stated that Arsène’s confidence in him is the reason that he wants to stay at Arsenal. It has been a tough time for the Moroccan, replaced in the side by Robin van Persie and his goalscoring touch deserting him as he drops in and out of the side. Mainly out and the in part of that will not be happening unless he rediscovers how to score; the football equivalent of M.C. Escher’s Ascending and Descending.

It is a curious situation though. Chamakh would have known that van Persie was Arsenal’s first choice striker. I wonder if he looked at it and thought (a) I could score for fun in England and (b) van Persie won’t be fit for much of a season anyway so worst case, I’ll play for half a season. It has not worked out that way and must be soul-destroying to know that your career is stalling because of an exceptional talent.

That is not unique to Arsenal; if you look at Barcelona, there is a paucity of talent on the bench to fulfil the Messi role. United don’t have exceptional cover for Rooney whilst look at how badly Didier Drogba’s deputy at Chelsea is faring; Fernando Torres can barely buy a goal which on his salary is hugely surprising.

Transfer speculation is not unique to Chamakh at Arsenal. There is a huge demand for it with much desperation for change, a scattergun approach being adopted in instances where targetted solutions are needed. A defender who can play at left back would be helpful, a back-up forward for the time when Henry has gone would be nice. The sour taste left in many mouth’s after the summer’s shambolic finale has become increasingly bitter.

Arsène stands accused of being stubborn. Of course he is, that is why he is a successful manager; the history of the game is littered with equally stubborn men who takes their clubs to the top of the footballing tree. They had a vision, followed it to the exclusion of all others.

An interesting comparison is continually made with the workings at Old Trafford. Ferguson has seen numerous assistants sit beside him on the bench;  only Pat Rice has been the gatekeeper at Arsenal in that time. This, the theory goes, is a reason for failure now; no new ideas.

That misses two key points. Firstly, why was this not an issue when trophies were being won? There was little change in philosophy during this time, a gradual evolution. A successful path was trodden and I understand that short-term pain is not going to cause an instant diversion. How long you tread that path depends on the manager. Ultimately, it is his decisions upon which the club’s performance is based to a large extent. He ingrains the style of play for the players to interpret on the pitch; the choice of those players is his. Second and third in command have to make their input but someone has to make the decision.

The second key aspect of the flawed theory is that invariably Ferguson’s assistants have all had managerial aspirations of their own. Kidd, Smith, Quieroz, McClaren; all managers in their own right, some before but mostly after Old Trafford. That might make them more forthright in their opinions yet it does not make their input necessarily any greater than that of Rice’s at Arsenal.

To some extent, Arsenal’s Assistant Manager’s have been more coaching focussed from the 1960s. Sexton, Howe, Foley, Rice. All tactically astute – and bear no heed to the derogatory reputations some have acquired – but only Sexton was a managerial success and even that was qualified. Whether that is coincidence, I don’t know. As Assistant’s go, Bertie Mee certainly chose men who would add strength to his weaknesses, covering the coaching matters on the training pitch.

Does that mean that Pat Rice is the wrong man for Arsène? No, my view is that the trophy drought has brought matters to the surface. Departing players are replaced and still nothing is won. Therefore change something else until the right formula is found. Change for change’s sake is not always the best philosophy but neither should the notion that a change of backroom staff might freshen up ideas. If you spend time cocooned with people who share the same ideology, new variants on themes are sometimes hard to come by.

Pat Rice however, is being tagged as a scapegoat and for someone who has served Arsenal admirably over the decades, that is unacceptable. The manner of discussion regarding this issue reflects the general attitude in some quarters towards any discourse of the club. Very much a line that follows “I am right and if you disagree, your points are irrelevant because you are a plastic“. The same people who complain readily when fire is met with fire…

Over on Arsenal On This Day acknowledges a better day many decades ago. An equally successful era that too came to an end. Arsenal rebuilt after that; it took time and there were dark days before the light.

’til Tomorrow.

Which means the highly improbable departure of Andrey Arshavin to Lazio definitely won’t be happening before the weekend. With Gervinho on international duty, even the most fervent Arshavin detractors will admit that there is insufficient cover to replace the Russian.

There are calls for young Oxlade-Chamberlain to be given a place in the starting line-up and whilst there is merit in the idea, there is too much risk attached to this notion. The youngster is full of promise and I would like to see more him in action for Arsenal. But there is a clamour for a top four finish; is it fair to put the weight of expectations onto such callow shoulders? Those who demand this are often the same who chastise the manager for the youthful policy. It is very much a chicken and egg situation; we think he’s good enough but won’t know until the risk is taken but are not in a position to take the risk even though we want the rewards.

Injury may force Wenger’s hand on this but for the moment, if – and it is a big IF – Arshavin is to leave, I doubt it will be until the summer. Indeed, I suspect that this is not on the agenda until the contracts for Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott are resolved. Even then, a player described by the manager as ‘efficient’ recently hardly seems a candidate for an imminent departure.

Finances are top of the agenda at the moment, or more importantly how much has Arsène got to spend and why won’t  he spend it. Confidante Antony Kastrinakis now of The Sun fame believes Wenger will shun the opportunity to fritter any of the transfer war chest accumulated. The basis for this is a strong sense of deja vu, a rerun of the Old Trafford massacre. That is what they want; the noxious nostrils of mediahounds have the scent of blood and they will do their utmost to get it.

It is purely speculation of course. None of us knows what is happening behind the scenes; that is the Arsenal way. The silence allows a stench of supposition to permeate, entrenching views. Come the end of this month, I am unconvinced that there will be additions. I am not convinced that Arsène believes they are necessary with all of the injured returning to fitness in the coming weeks. The real issue how many of them can sustain their return with the club’s history pockmarked with niggles and strains following prolonged absences.

The manager’s cause is not helped by the words of his Chairman. In his pet paper – one that is not averse to turning and biting the hand that feeds, PHW is no Barbara Woodhouse – he has re-iterated the financial planning that has gone on with what-if modelling omitting Champions League cash.

Whimsey observed also that Arsenal were “hanging on in there” in the race for a top four spot. Honest yes but I am sure that the manager is thinking that with friends like that, who needs enemies? Observations that it would be nice if we qualified every year are misinterpreted as a lack of ambition but are in fact, his use of the English language, the old school way, rather than being as he would see it, gauche. It just does not help though.

Change is being demanded; change of attitudes, change of players, change of leaders. Change is seen as the panacea to all of the Arsenal ills. Some change is needed somewhere but be careful what you wish for. The changes you least want are the ones that often happen.

Chances to close gaps have been spurned and frankly, Arsenal cannot afford to waste any opportunities which may arise with the fixtures of coming weeks, not just their own but those of rivals.

Over on the ACLF sister site Arsenal On This Day is a cheery venture to 1960, if you feel at all despondent.

’til Tomorrow.