Morning, before I start blabbing on about Arsenal (or professional football generally) I just wanted to say my Sunday league team, Dinamo Megahorse, beat top of the league York Medics yesterday, 2-1 away. I can’t feel my legs anymore, and we played like Manchester City at home in the Manchester derby with 10 men behind the ball. We won with the last kick of the game as well, final whistle went as we were celebrating. I love football sometimes. I don’t think I’ve ever run as much in my life, their right wing was a tricksy little shit.
The only thing that let Sunday down was the terrible, terrible scheduling that led to Blackburn v West Brom as the only match of the day, I don’t want to be watching that awful shit. I mean I did, and it was, but still. I had the added bonus of seeing Robinson and Gamst Pedersen keeping a clean sheet for the fantasy team but I’ll be honest, now that Big Sam has gone to milk cows, Morton doesn’t seem to take all the free kicks and throw ins anymore. How’s he going to earn me a shit tonne of bonus points and assists now? I don’t think I like this little bald fella they’ve put in charge, and it’s not often I’ll bemoan the lack of Allardycian (prickish?) tactics in a team.
Robin Van Persie though, AMIRITE? He seems to have come back into top form pretty quickly. It’s actually exciting seeing Arsenal line up with him up front, not just because of his goals, but the way he brings in the sides and the midfield with his play. With RVP fully fit, anything could happen. There were a few dark days when we only had Arshavin up front, or Bendtner leading the line – don’t get me wrong, despite their critics they are both fine players, but neither of them comes close the RVP. Can you imagine where he would rank had it not been for his continuous injury record? 6 goals in 3 games, I only hope that form continues.
Alex Song deserves another mention. Despite a few wobbles in the early part of the season which resulted in the weekly ritual of shouting “GET BACK SONG, GET BACK”, Song has improved again this season. He started as a “best fit” in the DM role, but has since made it his own. His ability to use the ball and distribute it well often starts our attacks, and enables the players in front of him to launch attacks. There was a slight tendency to panic and clear at the start of the season that wasn’t present last year, but Song as since become part of an excellent midfield trio with Wilshere and Fabregas. Everyone knows the Spanish Jesus’s talents, inside out, but Wilshere is slowly forming an excellent partnership with both Fab and Song. Again, he provides to Arsenals midfield something we’ve lacked for a while, someone in the middle who takes the ball, makes space and passes it. With Song And Wilshere behind Fabregas, there is always someone in front of the back four, there is always someone to receive the ball (Jack in particular always shouting for it, always in space) and there is always someone to move forward with it.
The importance of the middle three cannot be over estimated, as the heart of the team they dictate the flow and pace of the game, able to dictate the tempo as they please. Would Diaby get into the middle three at the moment? Doubtful. Denilson is a bit part player, competent, but not as good. Solid cover, little else at this moment.
Anybody read or hear the stuff said by Andy Gray / Richard ‘Monkey’ Keys? Regardless of your opinions regarding females in refereeing (or indeed, assistant refereeing), some of the stuff they said was just plain hilarious. Cavemen in the extreme, it was just plain funny. Andy Gray is particularly terrible at understanding the rules of football – using terms such as “daylight between the players” (not in the rules), “wait for the offside player to touch the ball” (not in the rules) and most hilariously “the referee should apply common sense there” (no he fucking shouldn’t, he should apply the fucking rules). Seriously, for a man who doesn’t understand the offside law, to then berate a woman who appears to understand it very well, purely because she’s a woman…. well, it writes itself doesn’t it.
And finally, news abounds that Arsenal are very close to sealing the Oxlade-Chmaberlain deal with Southampton. Apparently he better than Walcott, stronger and more technical certainly… could be exciting times for the young lad and Arsenal. Sanchez Watt didn’t do much for Leeds, JET bagged an assist after playing right mid for Cardiff and both Ramsey/Lansbury were in the stands after they didn’t sign to Cardiff/Norwich in time to play. Kyle Bartley played, held together a makeshift back four for Sheffield United (average age 21) but lost 2-1. The plaudits that lad is picking up from opposition fans, most often “he kept them in it” are really really mouthwatering.
Kieran (@kieran_delaney)
