Season Review: Part I

This marks the beginning of the review of a pretty disappointing season for Arsenal. From challenging on four fronts to fourth spot in your domestic league, it has been a lackluster end to a very bright start. Mind you we had played extremely well for the until that Cup Final defeat. The highs of the season have always been followed by lower lows.

The first part of the review will concentrate on the journey of our goalkeepers. From Almunia to Fabianski to Szczesny to Lehmann, our keepers have had a tough ride.

Hero:

Wojciech Szczesny

When a player who is 4th choice at the start of the season finds himself being 1st choice at Arsenal despite being only 21, you know he’s done something extraordinary. No one expected him to play for Arsenal at least this season. But now that he’s done it, the demand for a top-quality goalkeeper seems to have vanished. The fact is, we’ve got one now.

Villian:

Arsene Wenger

I know he’s not a keeper. But the way he treated Almunia is far worse than his display against West Brom. Almunia never had the quality to succeed at Arsenal but despite that, Wenger continued with him in goal. Last summer, he tried to sign Schwarzer which was quite a public affair. But it failed and it was Almunia who was supposed to be our 1st choice for the whole season. And if it was not for Szczesny to put some outstanding displays, we might have been in a much worse situation. Sorry Arsene,you got that completely wrong.

Highlights:

Szczesny’s performance against Barcelona at the Emirates.

Awesome. That’s what I felt for Szczesny. Remember he was playing for the first-time in Europe. Against Barcelona. Against the likes of Villa, Messi and Iniesta. I’m damn sure without him(i.e. with Almunia), we’d have lost the match.

Lowlights:

Almunia’s performances home and away against West Brom. He cost us 5 points in those 2 matches alone.

The one at home looked to have ended Almunia’s career at Arsenal. But so is Arsenal’s luck that our top 3 keepers got injured and we were back to square-one with Almunia having to play against West Brom again. He had a brilliant game against Barca just a week ago, but that didn’t stop him from coming off his line and intentionally making himself look like a real joker.

Most Memorable moment:

Szczesny cutting through Gareth Bale’s legs to clear the ball. Not one Arsenal fan can forget that. The derby at White Hart Lane. The Pole just scissored Bale’s legs and even winked after that. Maybe that’s why we all love him so much.

Wish For Next Season:

Szczesny to be in goal with Fabianski as backup.

Both Szczesny and Fabianski have shown they’ve got the mettle to play at the highest level. There’s no doubt who should be first choice among these two but not giving Fabianski even a place on the bench would be somewhat unacceptable.

That’s all about our keepers. Next up is the defence.

That’s my verdict on our keepers. What’s yours?

REVEALED! Cesc-Wenger Conversation This Summer

As usual, the Fabregas-to-Barcelona rumours are starting to erupt from nowhere again as the season comes to a close. Last year saw most Arsenal fans worried about the possibility of their talisman, Cesc Fabregas leaving for greener pasture. A conversation took place between him and Wenger in what was, for Cesc, the best he’s ever had in his life. Arsene persuaded him to stay for at least another summer. Here’s something similar that’d happen again this summer…

Cesc(enters): Arsene, did you call me?

AW: Yes of course.There are rumours suggesting that you’ve already agreed a personal deal with Barca.

Cesc: Yes I have.

AW:But why?

Cesc: Pique texted that he wanted a rematch of the Skipping competition we two used to have in our childhoods.

AW:And…

Cesc: C’mon boss, that was one competition I used to win. Here at Arsenal, no one plays that game and we also don’t win any trophies.

AW(angrily):What are you talking about? I hold the Emirates Cup every year for the same sake.

Cesc: But there are no quality players here…

AW:Wait a minute, you forgot Deni. And Bendtner.And your countryman Almunia.

Cesc: I can’t stand this much competition for places.How can I replace Denilson or Diaby?

AW: The truth is, you really can’t. Have a ever seen Deni’s 2 yard screamer. You and Xavi can only dream of such a goal. 

Cesc: Yes it’s true!Whenever I try that, it goes straight into the keeper’s hands. Kudos to Deni!

AW:At Barca, you won’t get as good a player as him. So why do you wanna go?

Cesc:Puyol wants the Barca shirt he put on me back.

AW:By the way, you looked good in that one.

Cesc:I sure did.

Cesc:I even looked at our new away kit. Good enough reason to leave huh?

AW:Yeah at least I don’t have to wear it. Any other reason?

Cesc:At least Barca’s rivals don’t do better than ours. Tottenham beat us at home and even did better in the Champions League.

AW:I’m sorry about that.But what can you do about a team comprising of apes?

Cesc: Also I think other Arsenal players abuse me in French.

AW(shocked):You haven’t learned French yet???

Cesc:We are an English team so why should I?

AW:Oh Cesc! You can counter-abuse them in Spanish.

Cesc: Almunia translates it when I do so.

AW(fuming):That Spanish traitor.

Cesc:What about the hair-cuts of some players…

AW:Namely…

Cesc:Song, Sagna ,Chamakh…

AW:What about Puyol’s?

Cesc:Oh about that! I had a fight with him when I was 6 and his hair never recovered from it.

AW:What if you leave and Puyol does the same to you.

Cesc:I didn’t think about that.I also broke Iniesta’s G.I.Joe.Even stole Messi’s Barney.Now I understand why Barca players wanted me to sign for them.

It’s a conspiracy.They want everything back.I love my hair.I still play with Barney.I’m staying at Arsenal.I’m staying.

AW:I knew you would.

Cesc:But what about trophies?

AW:The Emirates Cup has even worse teams this year.

Cesc:Yesssss!This was the best conversation of my life Arsene.You acted like a father-figure and saved me from that devil team.

AW:Any time.

Cesc:Thank you Arsene. I love you.

AW:It’s my pleasure.

Cesc leaves happily…

AW(to himself):Poor boy! Told him the same thing last year and he stayed. Nasri was right.Cesc has a poor poor memory.

And that’s how Cesc will again stay at Arsenal this year.

*This post is completely meant for fun and should not at all be taken seriously.*

Emirates is our Own Shawshank

Yesterday I got to watch The Shawshank Redemption for the first time. I was completely blown away by the humanly emotions of the movie. One of the best movies I’ve ever seen and certainly worthy of the no.1 ranking it has got. From the acting,script,screenplay,and everything technical you think about a movie, it’s got all of it. Along with it, it’s emotional. And that’s what this article is.

Thinking about the movie, I was amazed by the strikingly similar conditions of the Shawshank prison and our own Emirates. It’s almost as if our stadium is like a jail for our players. The statistics show that our away form has been excellent but it’s our home form that’s let us down.  On our travels, our players play as if they’ve been freed from the ever-so-frustrated-Emirates crowd. They play like FREE MEN. No fear of losing the ball, no fear of wasting an opportunity and certainly no fear of shooting from distance. Bolton and Tottenham are prime examples of Arsenal taking long shots at the goal.

That's how our Players HOPE to Feel At The Emirates

The Emirates is like a prison. The players get booed when they try to open the opposition’s defence and fail by our own fans. The fans take no responsibility for the team’s result and think they’re at the ground to be entertained. Surely they’ll be entertained but that is not their prime job. The job is to support the team. It is not to get frustrated when things don’t go our way.  It is to make the players feel at home. That’s because when they’ll do that, there’ll be no FEAR. Lets just say the next time a Denilson or a Almunia steps on the pitch and hear thousands of fans singing his name. Almunia would never make a horrendous error and Denilson will do more for Arsenal than a backward or a sideward pass. They won’t become great all of a sudden, but their confidence will boost up. And imagine what’d happen if the whole team is cheered up like this.

Hey! I DO see Light at the End of The Tunnel

Even our manager has become a victim of this. He’s become increasingly frustrated on the touch-line and is feeling the pressure of the fans along with that of media. I’ve always seen Arsene as a calm and composed man who always knew what he was doing. But now he seems a lost man. Only if the Emirates crowd could find the old Arsene back. Maybe some old Wenger chants during the Invincible era will do the trick.

I can only HOPE that such a thing happens as ”hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”. At this moment in time, we seriously need some hope to reignite our season. The season, to remind you, is far from over. I hope to finish 2nd. Hope that every player gets his confidence back. Hope that Arsene Wenger gets back to the old Arsene we all used to love. I HOPE!!!