The Goon Blog

Well, to be honest with you im not at all angry so im not going to have an angry rant, im just going to write about how i feel as a fan of Arsenal Football Club.

I think today has epitomised how much we miss a sharp Cesc, this season he has been poor. Im not having a go at him because he is a great player, i think he is fatigued physically and mentally, i know it is only November but he has hardly had a summer break. He has been playing nearly every game since he was 17-18, he is now 21 and after 4 years of solid football it will catch up at some point. His passing is inacurate, he still sees the passes but is getting them a fraction wrong and sadly his passing is the catalyst for all our play, we are not a one man team but i think we are more a one man team than most teams. Giving that he is also the hardest working player of our team, its no wonder he is absolutley shattered, when Milner ran that ball into the corner flag most Arsenal players stood off, Cesc ran from halfway down the pitch to muscle the ball off him and then run with it. The guy is a legend, he is doing his utmost but his body just isnt letting him play his best at the moment.

I’m not going to moan at the defence, i feel for much of the game they did ok, it could so easily have been 4-0 Villa, Almunia saved a penalty that i feel was debatable, and maybe Gallas should have done a little better for the second. I think Clichy could have also done a little better, but the guy is short, Silvestre should have dealt with the ball in anyway.

Bendtner is suffering a crisis of confidence, he is 20 and playing the lone role, that is not ideal, especially against a team that will sit behind the ball. I feel this is where the mistake was made today, but hindsight is a wonderfull thing, i hope he wont leave the club because i feel he has great talent and i do like his attitude, the arrognace he has is a good thing. I feel he is just too young to do the lone striker role, Diaby should have helped him and sadly he didn’t today.

Now to where we went wrong in my opinion. Against Man Utd we went with the 4-5-1, fair enough our two best strikers were missing and against a team that was going to attack us it was a wise move, shutting down the other teams creativity and stopping them getting a head of steam. It worked.

Today we were playing a team that would not attack with the same force, we played a team that would sit behind the ball, defend and attack when they can. They wanted to draw us out and get us on the counter attack, in effect wait for the opportunity to kill. It worked for them.

I think if we had the extra threat of Vela getting in behind with his pace and trickiness we would have won the game, Diaby did not support the demoralised Bendtner who worked but never got any chances at all. You cant shoot a gun without the ammo, the only real moment of class was in the first 15 minutes when a spectacular pass was hit to get Theo in behind the defence and cut the ball back….to nobody. I think it was either Denilson or Fabregas that hit the pass, i couldnt really see clearly as the stream was not the greatest.

This is normally the time when the anti-Wenger brigade come out strong in their ever growing numbers, i ask them to believe in the club, this club has not always been a force in the league, yes we are the longest surviving side in the top flight of English football but we have not always been a great team. We are going through a lull and to be honest with you i was a bit too young to remember the real tough days, Arsenal are my team for life and i will support them non stop. The team will not get better without us, think of the Derby fans last season, think how they felt, we must be in heaven compared to them.

You might reply ‘yes but we have high standards, we have set the bar high’; yes we have but maybe it is time to lower that a bit, i still believe we will win something this season. I think something like that could make this team reach their real potential, it could be the making of them.

We have to keep supporting them, how would you like to be booed by the population of the Emirates Stadium? it would be demoralising to say the least, i know you pay for your ticket but you buy it to support your team, you are wasting your money if you are going to boo them.

I urge you, keep belief. Let the gloryhunters spout off their shit but let the true fans have their say without shooting them down, this isnt pro or anti Wenger, this is an Arsenal blogger, an Arsenal fan talking about Arsenal.

Im Arsenal through and through and whatever the results il still support them, Well played Villa, it was a fantastic performance and you were worthy winners. The true Gooners will admit that and im only too happy to congratulate you on the win.

I Love Arsenal.