Momentum Lost

So after 3 wins back to back we've faltered again. After a resounding performance against an under par Borussia Dortmund to ensure our passage into the next round of thee Champions League we then beat West Brom and Southampton albeit in very nervy games. I finally thought we were starting to click into out rhythm but sadly not.

Stoke has ever been a happy hunting ground for us which agitates me more than I can really put into words because behind the usual suspects I detest Stoke so much and their brand of rugby. They shouldn't even be allowed to play that style of "the beautiful game" in my opinion but there you go. We were 1 down after just 20 seconds to Crouch of all people. A complete fuck up in the defence gifted the lanky ex-tottenham wanker the easiest goal of his career.

Things went from bad to worse to even worse as we went 2 and then 3 down. Aside from Cazorla and Ramsey getting much needed goals the rest of the match was just irrelevant. Defensively I don't think I've seen a worse performance all season and I can't believe I'm writing this again. Mertesacker alone is a completely different player to a rested Koscielny. He doesn't seem to function with anyone other than him. I said at the start of the season our defensive frailties and the managers absolutely inexcusable decision to not bring in other defenders when it was painfully obvious we needed them was always to be our undoing. 

I'm getting totally fed up by this now. It's pathetic. The season started with so much hope and now here we are. Sitting behind West Ham and Southampton 3 points off the top four when and failing poorly. Poor old Sanchez must be wondering what the fuck he's doing here. He left Barcelona for this. It was so obvious how disappointed he was yesterday and he is absolutely shattered. The manager said he needs a rest and midweek is the chance to do it.

Our next 4 games are: Galatasary, Newcastle, Liverpool and QPR. Gala aside we should see those games as all winnable with Liverpool somehow playing even worse than we are at the moment but I fear that we will be in trouble in all of those games. 

We need to make it to January in with a chance of making top four but at the moment that seems very questionable. I'm starting to feel that this is the beginning of the end for Wenger despite the fact that I love the man for what he's done. His job rests on the results and his signings until February. The only crumb of comfort is that Chelsea have finally lost this season so we still have our ageing invincible season to cling on to.

FA Cup Winners 2014

Nine years is a long time. Regardless of how you look at it. In 2005 I was in my first year of secondary school, this year I've graduated from University. In that time period I've watched the club I love come agonisingly close to winning another trophy, pretty much every trophy under the sun. The Champions League final in 2006 which sadly I don't think I'll ever get over. Countless title challenges, League Cup finals. But yesterday all of that became utterly irrelevant.

I stood watching the game tick by having gone two down within ten minutes, seen Santi Cazorla pull one back through a sensational free kick and then Koscielny pivot and fire between the keepers legs. I had the horrible feeling we'd go to penalties and once again hope would be dashed in the cruelest possible way in football. We spurred chance after chance and everyone was fearing the worst. Then, as if written, the man who has changed his career and the clubs fortune so many times this season popped up in the right place at the right time. 

Some neat link up play saw Giroud side on to the goal being hassled by a defender before backheeling it to Ramsey who, right on cue, poked it home sending Wembley, the Emirates and thousands of pubs, bars and supporters clubs around the world into absolute pandemonium. It was a moment I doubt many people who were fortunate enough to experience with other fans will ever forget. The moment was almost coupled with one of pure agony when Fabianki came tearing out of his goal and was easily rounded by Aluko, whose shot seemed to travel forever and I thought was destined to bumble into the bottom corner but bobbled harmlessly wide.

From there we held the ball well and did our job and the outpouring of emotion on the final whistle was something to behold. At the Emirates where I was, there were scenes of joy from the young to had never seen Arsenal win a trophy to the old who had seen many. The girl behind me was in floods of tears, people piled onto the pitch and for myself personally a moment I'd waited for from the day I was 12 years old was one of pure ecstasy.

Watching the team lift the trophy one by one was brilliant but nothing compared to the deafening cheer Arsene Wenger got as he himself lifted old cup. The man who had brought every single player in that team to the club and who has been at the butt of criticism from fans within our ranks and of course those from other clubs, deserved every moment of happiness. As did the players who earned it. It was a day for everyone connected to the club to revel in and enjoy. 

There will be time for reflection this season in due course but for now this is the time for the players, the staff, the manager and most of all every single fan like myself to enjoy and celebrate. For the 250,000 (yes that is a quarter of a million) strong that took to the streets of London today for the parade, soak it up and remember every moment. I tried to find one photo to sum the day up nicely but couldn't so here are three. Till my next post, enjoy being FA Cup Winners 2014!

Wenger's last chance?

It's been a while since the season ended in fantastic style for us gooners, pipping our rivals to the final Champions League space on the last day. But as many have pointed out, we aren't a club that should be content with 4th and as the rumour mill has started we've been linked with everyone under the sun. I'll deal with these links at a later date but this summer is of vital importance for Arsène Wenger. After a difficult season the pressure is on and with one year left on his contract his actions this summer could dictate whether we start the 2014/15 season looking for a new manager. 

The spotlight is on Wenger after it was revealed by himself and the board that we have money to spend and a lot of it. The reported £70m war chest according to various papers. With the fans demanding the money be invested in top quality players Wenger must be very careful about how he spends this money. If he barely invests at all he has shot himself in the foot if we fail to compete next season and there is no reason to suggest why continuing with the same squad would make any difference to our standings. If we invests very little then once again he is in the same boat. If he invests all of it and we finish 4th again, he at least has the defence of he invested the money he was given.

Now of course spending £70m on any old player is not the way to go about building a team that can challenge, it needs to invested in the best quality players in the positions we need. What those positions are I will leave for another post. Along with who we have been linked with. At the moment there is very little point speculating whilst the media are in a post-season frenzy, once things have calmed down I will do another potential ins and outs similar to last season.

So this is a pivotal summer for our manager as he has the pressure heaped on him from all angles, but managers get paid to deal with the pressure so we can only wait and see what his course of action is. Until next time.