Despair

I started to write about the game but I said to myself... Nothing can help the pain I bear. Nothing.

Gooners....Do you feel lucky

The only thing that has not changed from the last 5 seasons is everything. Like clockwork, the usual arsenal players are dropping like flies. For the 3rd season in a row, the manager has let go a striker knowing very well that his pride RVP is as good as RIP. In goal, we bravely proclaim the names Almunia and Fabianski. Ohhhh, I can see the rest of the epl wonder where the goals against arsenal will come from. Got a clue for you, the scorer doesnt have to be in your uniform.
In defense, its voulez vous from the edges coming inside with a refreshing belgian in the middle to defrenchize the wine, or is it the whine. Some may ask, am I really a gooner draging our business in the streets like a 25 cent hooker.
Do I have a choice? Oh yes I do. I could talk about how we named a 20 man team, 5 short of the required, with 8 homegrown players, none of whom are english. They were namely Cesc, bendtner, djorou, vela, song, traore, clichy, and mannone. Many others did not have to be named because they are under 21 years old. I could go on about how we are on track to pay off the Emirates loan in 5 years without even depending on the real estate sales from highbury. I could extend the bragging to the junior team that now consists of the likes of JET, Nordveit, Frimpong, Sunu, talent knocking on the first team door and bound to make a statement in the carling cup.
I simply wish the game of football was played to decide who has the most homegrown talent, or who is paying off their debt in record time. I am pressed to see after a game of football, the game being decided by how many youngsters are knocking on the door. I do know that regardless of a winner, there is sometimes a discussion on who played better, fairer and who deserved to win. Arsenal is known for good play and I value that. We however simply need to realize that the ultimate decider is goals for and against. As we head to 'Stoke-lite' this weekend, I would like to know if as a gooner you feel lucky? I do know that we will be bridesmaids by January.

Wenger days are numbered...They better be

72 hours to anfield, the Arsenal injury list reads like its January 5th. We cannot even depend on Rafa to screw it up at anfield, he has a new Car named Inter to screw up. Instead its Hodgson, the man that can make wine out of sea water at the helm with bigger guns than he cares admit. Defensively, arsenal are in the worst shape probably since the 60s. We have lost without replacement Gallas, Slyvestre (just kidding), Campbell, Senderos (was he still at emirates), No song, no djorou and a work in progress in Koscielny.

As unbelivable as snow in Mali, Alumnia and Fabianski are still on the payroll. Denilson is still discussed and Diaby is favored to feature this campaign. I have one message for all dear gooners, you can kiss this season goodbye. We will be out of the running in all competitions by January. Cesc will show wenger the daily mail paper from August with Xavi's words on arsenal and pray the professor does not talk him out of seeking to end his misery at the emirates
Gazidis will have one obvious choice. Fire himself because the board will not allow him to fire Wenger. The wengerites will point to the new stadium, youth policy and champions league qualification all years of Wenger's reign.

What happened to wining? What happened to respect? Jagielka just snubbed a move to arsenal. Are we wigan without rugby for a jagielka to say thanks but no thanks. When did we get that low in respect. What happened to the days when teams lost to arsenal in the tunnel before the game? Remember Viera putting the fear of God into Roy Keane. Now a team like legia warsaw can put 3 goals past us in one half only. Its preseason they say... Bullcrap. You play to win the game....helloooooo. You compete even if it is a backyard scrimmage.

Wenger has distinguished himself as an offensive wizard and a hopeless defensive coach. He does not even know what a good keeper looks like. Blondie and flappianski are his picks and both are shakier than cafeteria jelly. This is his last year in the contract and surely the trophy drought will extend to 6 years. There would be no point extending his contract but we all know the board has enjoyed the profits he has made them at the expense of legitimate challenging for honors. He should do us a favor and save us from him by resigning after this campaign. He has taken us as far as he can. It is going to be an agonizing season that will hopefully wake up the blind wengerites. He has to go for real.

Do unto TW14 as you did TH14.

I was in the process of writing an article on Wenger's use of Theo Walcott when the news revealed that Capello had left Theo out of the world cup. Some say its good for him, he needs to reset and regain his game. I for one say, bull*****, his game has never left him, his deployment has been awful.
When Theo was shining at Southampton, he was known for speed and most importantly his impeccable timing of his runs. He was played as a striker and he blossomed.

Since his move to Arsenal, he has been used mostly as a winger, and in a super sub role. That is a mistake, just as it was for Thierry Henry's Juventus days as a winger. Worse still for Walcott, he has been deployed as a winger on a team that is awful in the air. Even further worse, as a winger, Theo plays on a team that even if he cut back the ball, his teammates are reluctant to take a shot. They prefer to walk the ball into the net against real men with mortgages to pay. The result is 18 goals and 20 assists for a Theo who scored in every other game for Southampton and 100 goals in a season for his secondary school.

Despite being played outside his element in the guise that he is learning defensive duties and buffing up physically, Theo has managed to show us on several occasions why he is so special. For one, he is not only an arsenal forward but when he is playing, he is an extra defender just by his presence. Teams have to respect him and usually hold a defender back to accommodate his threat. Ask Jermaine Jenas if you don't know what am talking about.

Secondly, the run against Liverpool twice, the run against Milan, against barcelona are only possible through special talent. Theo best moment was not recorded on video and happened while training with the England squad 1 year ago. The English players who witnessed it testify that Theo blazed through the entire defense in a fashion they had never seen before. David Beckham was present and the boyish grin on his face as he recounted Theo's move told me he saw something very very special.

With that said here is my plea to Wenger. Your plans for Theo should be as follows. Play 442 and have Theo play behind the main striker. The main striker should be able to hold the ball, that is, he cannot be Bendtner. Let Walcott roam around the line freely. Do not assign Walcott defensive duties because his very presence forces the opposing team to be defensive. Remember what you did for henry when you rescued him from the wing, remember? Do unto TW14 as you did TH14.

Flappy Fabianski

A picture is worth a thousand words. Ewood park, May 3rd 2010, Arsenal keeper Fabianski sits inside his goal with his legs criss crossed apple sauce, after being muscled into letting in Blackburn’s winning goal. Next to him is the most precious piece of leather occupying what has now become it’s familiar location for Arsenal fans. Imagine that. He sits there, a grown man, playing in a competitive sport. A physically competitive sport I say, am not talking golf, yet he sits there criss crossed like a little … you can finish the sentence.

On his face, Fabianski wears bemusement like Ochio Cinco in a ‘hot pink’mink coat. Picture a child that has been told Santa Claus aka Father Christmas is not real. That was Fabianski's look of disbelief. On the sidelines, Big Sam shows controlled elation at his tactics, his counterpart Mr. Wenger customarily thrusts forward both hands at the referee in complaint. On the pitch there is visibly no eye contact from Fabianski’s teammates to him, the look of despair is a euphemistic observation of the Arsenal players.

A great deal was at stake here as victory would have clinched the 3rd champions league spot for Arsenal, frog leaping the qualification stage straight to group stages. The plot thickened further given that Arsenal faced the unthinkable prospect of losing third Champions league spot to
their arch rivals tottenham, after having already lost the head to head game at white hart lane 3 weeks earlier. On that occasion, his senior Alumnia managed a 2 inch vertical in an attempt to keep out what has turned out to be the EPL goal of the season. A handicapped keeper would have done better, but I digress.

You have to watch the video closely to truly understand the nature of the man Wenger employed to be our last line of defense. Before I get too hard on Fabianski, let me get hard on him. Part of being a professional competitor is to study your opponent. Big Sam was singing “Ring de alarm” all prior week as to how he was going to rough up the squeaky clean boys from
North London. Perhaps Wenger advised his players to beware of strong arm tactics, maybe he didn’t. As a professional, you earn your money by being prepared for every situation no matter what. (For definition of professional, see Ryan Giggs)

Fabianski would have had my respect if in the process of being bullied to conceding the goal, he had broken several teeth, broken as many ribs, punched into a coma, buried his cleets into any or several or even all of those fouling Blackburn players. As an Arsenal fan, I would have wore the loss with pride, and bragged to other teams to “send dem come” if you want to see some “bloodclot” bleeding up in this place. But he sat, inside the territory he was supposed to protect, legs criss crossed apple sauce, and nowhere in the battle zone in front of him was a sign of a struggle. None, not even one bleeding gunner.

Where Van Gundy dangled precariously on Alonzo Mouning's ankle, no Arsenal player dared to get dirty when they had to. Where Henry saw the necessity to palm the ball twice and cross for Gallas to score their way to the world cup, 7 arsenal defenders not counting Fabianski were outmuscled by two, Samba & Dunn (Roberts does not count). I have the proof, see below.



And you ask why I am a frustrated Arsenal fan? Just look at this mess. A picture is worth a thousand words.

RANDOM break from Arse/ne/nal talk

Now that the European football seasons are over,it has come as a blessing in disguise for the Kenyan league. They started a floodlight-midweek game that is catching on as the new weekday chill out spot at Nyayo stadium. Numbers have risen considerably and I bet by the end of the year local football will be able to get extra streams of income from increased gate collections,sale of jerseys...all that and a bag of chips.
The fact that Kenya now has two citizens in the UCL has also helped to take the sport to the next level,if only the bungling officials can get their act right,more players will have a chance at the big leagues.

At an even deeper local level,Mwimuto Wailers FC from Kabete/Kikuyu constituency is making strides in engaging the youth in sports and helping in community projects. Under the sponsorship of local residents,they have been able to attain an unofficial academy status because they have engaged all age-groups and been able to register them in all relevant competitions eg Safaricom Sakata Ball and Copa Coca Cola.
Follow them here and any feedback in any-form is appreciated
http://www.facebook.com/ngugik#!/group.php?gid=316578446957&ref=ts

On the Other Hand. Listen to Wildfire by Tarrus Riley on the Major and Minor Riddim. Might be the riddim of the year in my own humble opinion

Kris Boyd

As another frustrated arsenal fan, I'm beginning to wonder if Wenger is gonna sign another player. The world cup is a few weeks away and so far nothing constructive has happened at Arsenal whilst other big clubs are making their moves. Sadly it looks like our inspirational captain cesc is on his way out and all i know is the money we get from him will most probably be used to renovate highbury square or the VIP lounges! To my point, its time to make a move wenger and Rangers striker Kris Boyd is avail on a free transfer, the all time Spl leading scorer. I think a bentner switch for boyd would make our attacking options more lethal than Lethal weapon 3! Since we have Chamahk now who's aerial prowess is good a camel footed bentner is unnecessary What you all think?

Will Mour Cool the ever Real Hotseat?

The magic number today is 24. That's the number of managers that have occupied the Managerial seat at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium since Sir Alex Ferguson took the respective seat at Old Trafford. 16 since Wenger took over at Arsenal. This is including the two Don Fabio spells.

So why is Mour's accession to the Galacticos throne inevitable?

To have conquered Portuguese, English and Italian football in so short a time indicates a mighty talent, and now Spain beckons. José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is expectedly set to join Real Madrid. His club football track record has been exceptional. The Portuguese tactician has won six league titles and two Champions League crowns in the 10 years he has been a manager. His brilliant planning and organization, as well as an inspirational quality has prompted Real President Florentino Pérez to run straight to his doorstep. Massimo Moratti, the Internazionale president, has all but accepted defeat in his attempts to keep José Mourinho at San Siro. Mourinho is contracted to the Nerazzurri until June 2012 but can exercise a clause in his deal to depart this summer.

"I want to become the only coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs. I'm not leaving Inter, I'm leaving Italy," Mourinho said after Inter's 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich. "The Champions League I won at Porto was my last game there and this time it will almost certainly be my last game for Inter," he added. He has given his clubs what they craved and will now have the chance to manage Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká.

Love him or hate him, Jose has managed to prolong his 15 minutes. He can put his money where his mouth is. Some Inter fans are upset with him for the timing of his comments wishing to leave amidst their stunning treble success and feel he has stolen the limelight from the team. So will he Cool the ever Real Hotseat? Is he going to slowdown the managerial revolving door? Only time will tell. But my money is on 'the special one'......but what do I know, I'm just a frustrated Arsenal fan.

Is it Chamakh or "Sham-Work" by Wenger

You may already have noticed from my posts that I am not a wengerite. I watched the 2008 FA cup semi-final against chelsea, I watched Eboue go crazy at white hart lane with no retribution, and also watched Denilson still keep his place in the second half at liverpool this past season. I cannot be a wengerite.

Let's talk "sham".... I mean Chamakh. Don't get me wrong, Chamakh will get his goals. Everybody does at Arsenal, even the novice would with the chances we create. But here is where I depart with the cheerful majority.
Wenger had the chance to sign him for the past season but opted to roll the dice and we paid for it dearly. Chamakh was the signing we needed in the last campaign. Correction, any extra striker that can play alone was what we needed.

What does Wenger do? He mortgages another year of his players lives in his rigid ploy to prove himself to everyone. But is Chamakh what we need? I think not and this is why. If you watched Inter in their win against Bayern, was there any moment where there was less than 6 Inter players defending in the box. Just once, and that was the start of the second half and it almost cost them. Mourniho will never push all players forward. Infact, the reason Sully Muntari was on the bench is he pushed forward in an earlier game against Jose's direction. Straight bench, Jose don't play.

Wenger on the other hand encourages all players to push forward. Am fine with that. It just means we will always be thin at the back and Wenger adds a little sweetener to the defensive dilemma by employing blondimunia and flappyianski. This means that Arsenal, like Barca will always concede goals. But Arsenal unlike Barca is not successful because we do not have the firepower upfront to finish off games like we did during the TH14 days.

So how is Chamakh a solution to this problem at Arsenal? He is not. Someone convince me that Chamakh faced with the same opportunity as Inter's Diego Milito for the second goal, would have turned the defender out and scored? Bendtner has never gone past a defender. Who will do Milito's work for Arsenal and who will do that work when our Milito is injured, whoever he is? We need a game changer upfront, one that can grab the game by its privates and shake it in Arsenal's favor. But what do I know, I am just a frustrated arsenal fan.

Why HE will never spend big(or prove me wrong this summer)

For a long time AW has been frugal in the market while maintaining a fringe position of staying in all competitions, imagine if one day he wakes up and breaks bank.
These are the repercussions :If he ends up winning a championship,he will be so dissapointed at winning it against his own frugal principals.

On the Other Hand I don't think he will ever give his detractors the satisfaction of,"see I told you you could win something if you actually spend."

Oh,and apparently some Italian and German Club opted to ignore and kick out other clubs to continue playing the UCL by themselves until one of them wins.

Macca Redeemed

The minute the FA appointed Steve McLaren for the England Job, he was under the microscope. He had been on the FA payroll for the last five years but had only worked on a part-time basis around matches and never from the FA's Soho Square headquarters. I felt a bit sorry for Mclaren. I think poor Steve was doomed from the start. He was tainted by having worked with Sven for so long, and it is widely known that he was not first choice for the position. After the debacle over Luiz Felipe Scolari, the nature of his appointment earned him the nickname "Second Choice Steve"

McClaren assumed control of the national team on 1 August 2006. The media did not give him any time to develop a team. He hired public relations guru Max Clifford to manage his relationship with the media. Following England's defeat to Portugal in the quarter-finals he took a two-week break in Mauritius during which he admitted to growing impatient at the prospect of becoming national coach. They hounded, questioned and undermined every decision that he made as manager. For him to keep his job, there were unrealistic targets that he had to achieve. He could not ever lose a game, and those he won would have had to be utterly convining 6 nils.

No one doubts that Macca is a good manager. But he's known for his role as second fiddle role rather than the man who took Boro to UEFA Cup Final. Who can forget that 2005-2006 season where they were losing on aggregate in the second legs of both the quarter and semi-final ties against FC Basel and FC Steaua Bucureşti respectively. After McClaren substituted defenders with attackers Boro produced two spectacular four goal comebacks in both ties to reach the final. Steve McClaren's final game in charge at Middlesbrough before he took over as England coach ended in misery as Sevilla deservedly won the Uefa Cup.

The qualifying rounds for the 2008 Euro Tourney was going to be his first and final test. The results of other matches in England's qualification group meant that England would qualify if undefeated in their final group match against Croatia. The match was played at Wembley on 21 November 2007 and England lost 3–2; coupled with Russia's victory over Andorra, this meant that England would not be at Euro 2008. It was the first time in 14 years that England had not qualified for a major tournament, and the first time in 24 years that they had not qualified for the European Championships.

McClaren was removed from the post of England coach along with his assistant manager Terry Venables. McClaren's tenure was the shortest of any England manager to date, spanning just 18 games in 16 months. On 14 December 2007, it was announced his post had been taken up by Fabio Capello commencing from 7 January 2008.

REDEMPTION

Steve McClaren made a surprise return to football in the Netherlands with FC Twente in 2008. In 2009, McClaren gave Twente a second good start to a season, even taking the team to the top of the league during October. Twente stayed top throughout November and December. In October 2009, McClaren signed a one-year contract extension with Twente. in 2010 Twente withstood immense pressure from Martin Jol's Ajax (Yup, the Jol fron the Lane) during the second half of the season and trumped the Amsterdam side by one point difference on the last day of the league to claim the title.

Earlier this month McClaren left the Dutch champions to take over as manager of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg; he is the first Englishman to manage a German football club.
Hats off Macca. You have totally redeemed yourself.

Diego Ribas da Cuhna; Cesc's replacement

Cesc will return to Barcelona, it is inevitable. Who out there can attempt to fill his shoes right away? I feel it is Diego, the man that should have been playing side by side with Cesc if Wenger had the balls to play ball. Vision, Diego has in abundance. Pace, better than Cesc. He is also a dead ball specialist and scored 38 goals in 84 appearances for Werder Bremen. He has champions league experience scoring some great goals. He is only 25 yrs, has played for brazil even though he is 100% Italian.

Why is Arsenal a good fit for him? Diego thrives on movement, the quick one two's that are a signature of Wenger's style. Diego is rotting in Juventus, a team whose style does not fit him. Juve's game lacks pace and the offense is centered around Del Piero who is in the twilight of his great career. Diego will give arsenal pace in the creative mid position, and more importantly, his dead ball abilities will give Arsenal a new avenue for goals. Currently, our team won't shoot from distance, will not score from corner kicks and has even abandoned the counter attack that the great arsenal teams were known for.

Latest news from Juve suggest Diego is on his way to Athletico Madrid in exchange for former gunner Jose Reyes. Yes, the Reyes that was run out of the EPL by that nasty Gary Neville foul that was totally ignored by the Referee. Imagine the stupidity of that deal. What will Reyes do better than Diego? If Wenger pulled off this deal for Diego, I assure arsenal fans that the samba will get a North London remix....featuring Rihanna and Eboue. But I am just a stupid fan and Wenger is a god so what do I know.

Musically Speaking.

Probably Alex Song or Eboue are playing "If you wanna go" By Freddie McGregor in true spirit of the current circumstances. Or maybe Wenger dedicated "Just Like a prayer" by Madonna to Fabregas........

what's that swoosh sound coming out of North London

Where are my manners. My first blog should have started with me thanking waweru wa mwaura for allowing me to contribute to his site. I guess he was tired of my daily arsenal text rants every morning at 8 am and figured he would be spared them if he let me blog. Wrong... The only thing that will quiet me is if the Emirates delivers glory, and that quiet time will last only as long as it takes me to get over the subsequent hangover...not very long.

You can measure noise in primarily two units of measure; sound power if you use a reverbertory chamber or sound pressure if it is an anechoic chamber. If, let me correct myself, when Cesc's move to Barcelona is announced, the noise that will emanate from North London and the arsenal world over will be immeasurable in either units. We will need a new unit of measure to properly document the event. I propose a new unit of measure named an "arsene".

To allow relative measurement, we will need to estimate the amount of noise that would comprise of an 'arsene' before the cesc move occurs. Failure to do so risks us branding the total noise caused by Cesc's move to Barcelona one sound arsene, thereby guaranteeing any other such event being a fraction of an arsene. We all know its hard enough to count in whole numbers, we don't need fractions.

I am therefore going to suggest that we assign one sound arsene to the total amount of noise that resulted from Terry's slip and penalty miss that cost Chelsea a champions league trophy. That being said, this whole Cesc saga reminds me of presidential candidate Ross Perot's warning to America about ratifying NAFTA. He warned that if the US signed the deal, the accompanying swoosh sound will be the sound of jobs leaving the country. Boy was he right. So monsieur Wenger, when you do accept that check from Camp Nou for our beloved magician, the resulting 3 arsene sound heard will be the entire integrity of Arsenal heading for the hills. We will truly have become Arsenal Financial club, not Football club, just like they taught you in Economics class.

FABulous Rumours

The end of another barren season brings about a very active gossip community that rivals the legendary women and their good ol gossip mongering. Most worrying as has always been,is the rumor that Cesc is going back to the blaugrana. I would really love to see that for dramatic purposes.
Why?
Probably AW will be forced to go on a shopping spree that would bring in more options and then.................................somebody see where am headed? Continue that line of thought.

On the Other Hand.........Jay-Z feat Mr Hudson- Forever Young.....should be Arsenal's Theme but watch out could degenerate to Forever Almost winning a TROPHY.

Burn Down the Emirates.... move back to Highbury, and bring back 'the Dein'

Arsene Wenger's imagination and ideas, and David Dein's reality clout to make them happen were the ideal partnership. After all it was Dein that brought him to Highbury from..... Yeah! that one.
Dein's contacts in the football world is not be underestimated, and that is where Gazidis is at major disadvantage. I reckon a lot of players that Arsene failed to get in the past years would have stood a better chance had Dein been on board. But we'll never know.

Dein had been the director of Arsenal from 1983 until he was forced off the board almost 3 years ago, ironically enough, it was mainly due to his dealings with Stan Kroenke, who he introduced to the club and helped broker the sale of 9.9% of the ITV shares in the club that the American thus purchased. When the club decided they wanted a new stadium, Dein adviced them that a sugar daddy was needed too. Someone with billions of dollars to invest in the club to keep them competitive throughout the transition phase. This is when he was quickly hurried off the round table.

If Wenger would just come out and say that the club does not have any money, and we will always, or atleast in the next six to ten years, be a selling club. I think a lot of fans would respect him more.

Arsene Wenger is over 60. I have proof

From the moment it became clear to me that Wenger's replacement for Henry was Adebayor, I smelt the coffee despite a full blown sinus infection while standing in a mortuary with no refrigeration. I held out calling foul and for the first months of that 2007 campaign, I like many arsenal fans worldwide was pouring champaign as Arsenal danced their way to the top of EPL. But Adebayor was steadily breaking the offside record and at the same time clearly being very wasteful in front of goal. I quickly realized my suspicions that Adebayor is no Henry and the quality of service at Arsenal was worthy of a more clinical finisher. With a chance to go 6 points clear the top of the league at St. Andrew's, the break and subsequent collapse materialize. Gallas the only one to notice the significance of the moment stages his memorable sit down and reflect at center pitch act. For Wenger, the moment passes him like spoilt french toast. Instead his post match interview starts with that dreaded word, the word that promises glory when the team has failed to secure it on the pitch. That word, "mathematically..." is uttered.
Worse still he chastises the captain's breakdown at St. Andrew's, the man who had only scored the equalizer against Man-u, the only goal against chelsea, that crucial goal before half time against Bolton, the go ahead at wigan, in other words the man who knew a little bit about crucial moments. Coffee please.
For the remainder of the campaign, Wenger insists that Arsenal had a chance to win the league when clearly it was all but over on February 13th at St. Andrew's. Arsenal go trophyless for the 3rd year in a row and enter a summer where we lose Hleb & Flamini and Adebayor announces his love affair for both AC Milan and Beyonce. In exchange Wenger signs Nasri, Ramsey, bischoff, no striker, and snatches Silvestre from the Man City medical table. Coffee please, classic roast, silly investment sighted.
Two summers in a row without re-investment in the team quickly shows in the 2008 campaign as arsenal earns 4 loses in the league before December 2008. By January transfer window, Arsene is the only man left in the arsenal world that does not see a need to sign a new player even with cesc injured. More shaky performances in January force Wenger's hand but he waits untill the midnight hour to force the Arsharvin move, a move only made possible after the little Russian pays back Zenit his bonus from his own pocket. Are you kidding me? Coffee, 85 degrees, no cream.
By now we have been seasoned to the 70th minute substitution every game regardless of the needs on the pitch. But wenger had more in stock and it all welled up at the FA semi final versus chelsea at wembley where wenger picked a team that did not feature Arsharvin. This was in the absence of Cesc and with Arshavin cuptied in Europe. Of course Drogba did his business, and fabianski gave us a preview of his soon to be 2009 form. In a meaningless midweek league game against Liverpool, Wenger fields the team that should have played the FA semi final. That game yields the famous yell, "Arshavinnnnnn...Four" , but we all know that Benayoun had the last say that evening in another coffee waiter, extra caffeine moment for me.
No trophy 4th season in a row, Wenger dives into summer pool and emerges with Vermaelen but as the window closes, we watch Kolo Toure and Adebayor exit with no replacement. RVP goes down and I am left feeling that if there was a credit swap product to hedge our losses in case of an RVP injury, I would buy it. Wenger on the other hand despite being the educated economist has no back up plan for RVP and has never had one for Cesc. Now I want my coffee to confuse more and more with redbull.
As I type, the maestro of the Gunner team, Gunner philosophy and flair is closer to abandoning his mentor to go back to his boyhood barcelona team. He is tired of the experiment, tired of wasting his threaded passes to misfiring players, tired of working for goals only to be nullified by a goal keeping crew that everyone but Wenger knows is not good enough. He watches Pedro, maxwell, bojan, messi win trophies while wenger is still holding the wrench and tweaking an engine that is out of any adjustable margin. Let's face it, Chamakh is coming to arsenal because its a free transfer and not because he is the talent worthy of Cesc's assists. How do I know Wenger is over 60? Cesc woke up, walked up to him, faced him and said please let me go. That's how I know.

Barca Love Fest Over?

Barcelona 1 - 0 Inter Milan (agg 2 - 3)

Mourinho made sure tonight he will never manage Barca by the way he celebrated. He showed to other teams how to stop this Barca machine. Say whatever you want about Lucio or Samuel, they defended like lions tonight, Internazionale are in the final because of those two.

Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan produced a defensive masterclass to reach the Champions League final at the expense of holders Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Protecting a first-leg 3-1 lead, Inter were forced to play more than an hour a man short.

Barca commanded a 76% ball possession. Thank god this result has happened, the ridiculous love-fest in the media might die down a bit now. They're good, but they were never that good. Truth is in the last three semi-finals Barcelona were toothless against United, Chelsea and Inter. They weren't defensive masterclasses, just professional performances by better sides. Barcelona are just a better version of Arsenal, a neat and skilful side that will cut you apart unless you play intelligently and diligently against them.

Some will say that Mourinho's tactics were ANTI-FOOTBALL. Defending with 10 men, diving, time-wasting. Jose is not naive like for example Wenger to attack Barca and leave themselves open for Messi to run at them, the only thing Messi did over 180mins was that cross for Bojan to head wide.

Well done Inter, finally into a final for the first time since 72.
Maybe a treble for the Nerazzurri

Ne confondez pas le prix avec la valeur de la chose, Monsieur Wenger

I’d like to make point that I hope is not lost on the board and manager. Players like Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor and even Fabregas might not have their heads turned so readily if the Club showed more commitment to achieving success. Part of this involves paying top players what they’re worth. We don’t want to see half the team on contracts in excess of £100,000-a-week, but you do need to pay key players close to what they would receive elsewhere otherwise you risk losing them. Another way for a club to announce its ambition is to sign top-draw players.

Many reasons have been given for Arsenal’s end of season capitulation: bad luck, injuries , inexperience, limited resources… The truth is, no single factor was to blame.The reason we failed to gain silverware this season was due to our inconsistency, you cannot say we dont have a talented squad because when our players do perform, they perform at a great standard, but its getting them to perform consistently which has been a key factor to us being trophy-less. There is cause for optimism. The team has sparkled enough to indicate the makings of something special, and, if the manager can strengthen with a few choice additions, a vintage year could be just around the corner.

What is absolutely essential, however, is that the manager keeps hold of his best players. To lose key men at a time when the team clearly needs strengthening would be absolutely criminal – suicidal when you think that our main rivals are likely to spend lavishly once more. The persistent news reports suggesting Fabregas may be off in the summer are thus extremely unsettling. Even if the manager can buy players with the potential to better than the ones he is losing, it is unlikely they will be able to adapt quickly enough to make next season a victorious one.

Almost FC....formerly Arsenal FC

So another season draws to an end, and barring a miracle it will again have yielded no trophies for arguably the most fluid and stylish team in the league. That's obviously disappointing for everyone involved with Arsenal: the players, the manager, the club, and us fans. But it's worth remembering the expectations most of us had back in August. No one doubted the promise of Wenger's young and talented squad. But likewise, many fans had doubts the team had the strength to conquer Europe and secure the league title. Most of us were prepared for another "transitional season" - another step towards long-term domination.

As we all know, there are three aspects to strength in football: the technical, the physical, and the psychological. On the technical side the players were undeniably strong. Wenger's talent for finding gifted footballers and developing them into world stars has never been in doubt, and most of his current crop had already shown their technical talents in the previous season or two. On the physical side the squad appeared a little light-weight compared to some teams, mainly because of a lack of height. But as we've seen in the past, they were still more than capable of competing with the more combative sides.
But psychologically many fans, myself included, had lingering doubts. We hoped the team's technical brilliance would give them the necessary momentum and carry them to glory. Sadly that hasn't happened. I'm sure Wenger expected Gallas, Silvestre, Almunia and Campbell later on in the season to guide the team through the tough times. But those individuals failed to deliver to the necessary degree, and it's that lack of stable and experienced leadership which has led to inconsistent displays, an erosion in morale, and frustration boiling over.

That's a contentious point, and some fans bristle at the thought of some of our young stars being described as unseasoned. They argue that age doesn't necessarily equate to maturity, and cite Fabregas as a prime example. I used to share that opinion in the age and experience debate, but our performances over the past few months have changed my mind. None of our current players have consistently organized and rallied the team like earlier Arsenal captains under Wenger's reign. Some, like Gallas and Fabregas have salvaged a few games with moments of individual grit and brilliance. But none have established themselves as an indisputable leader of the team.

Yes, we've had more than our fair share of challenges: horrible injuries, poor refereeing decisions, and cynical tactics from some opponents. But earlier Wenger teams always had a couple of veterans marshalling and guiding the rest of the players. Right now we're lacking in that department.

Let's look at our more seasoned players right now: Sagna, Clichy, Eboue, Song, Vermealen, Fabregas, Van Persie, Arshavin and Gallas. All of them are fantastic players, but right now none of them have the leadership abilities of Adams, Vierra or Henry at their peak. The first three will never get to that level: Gallas and Van Persie are too erratic and volatile, and Song and Arshavin are too quiet and passive. Vermealen and Fabregas will almost certainly become the leaders the team needs. But both require another year or two to fully find their voices.

Notice how I haven't included Nasri, Walcott, Diaby, Bendtner in the list of future Arsenal leaders? Well, that brings up a painful consequence of our recent lack of psychological strength. To find players like that Wenger needs to dive into the transfer market. While he's there I suspect he'll also be looking for cover in central defence, another area that has recently proven to be a vulnerability. The club certainly has the money and the scouting network to find suitable players, and with the appeal of playing for a top European side it shouldn't be too difficult to lure in some top players. Hopefully Wenger can also bring in at least one experienced leader who can provide some extra guidance.

Obviously, there are still plenty of reasons to be optimistic. With so much young talent in the ranks and a phenomenal coach providing expert guidance we'll see a continuation of great football and satisfying results. But we fans need to accept that next season will likely mark a continuation of the now famous "transitional period" at Arsenal, especially if we fail to acquire one or two strong veterans or key members of the current squad don't step up. But it's only a matter of time before things turn around at the Grove. The trophies will come, but we must be patient and have faith.