Before I get started on today’s post I just want to thank everyone for their kind words on yesterday’s season launch post. The enthusiastic support I received for my plans for the season were most appreciated and although my beard received mixed reviews, I’m really excited about the potential of this blog going forward. I won’t add anymore just now because I’ll probably have a teary…
Anyway, it’s Tuesday again and that of course means another Guest Post. I’ll speak about today’s post in more detail in just a moment but before then it’s a very quick Arsenal news round-up:
- Philippe Senderos’ move to Everton has been confirmed by the Swiss Football Federation. It was inevitable and although I’ll speak a bit more about the impact of this move when it is confirmed by Arsenal.com, in short it means we have to (repeat x 10) sign another centre-back. Interesting times await.
- Tomas Rosicky thinks we’re in a stronger position than last season despite the exits of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure. He would say that, the cheeky little devil, but in many respects I agree with him.
- Meanwhile, Bacary Sagna has been speaking about how much of a boost it is to have Rosicky back. Can you feel the love? I can. It feels good.
- Bordeaux’s president has confirmed that Arsenal have made a €7 million bid for Marouane Chamakh and that he will not be selling him unless the bid is at least doubled. In my opinion €14 million+ for a player of Chamakh’s reputation is simply not worth it considering the attacking options we currently have and I’d be very surprised (and disappointed) to see us go much higher than the original bid.
And that’s really it – onto Guest Post Tuesdays.
Today’s guest post comes from regular reader The Next RVP who lives in Milton Keynes in the UK. He’s undoubtedly the youngest guest poster I’ve had on the blog so far but displays a very reasonable and rational (and positive!) view of Arsenal’s current situation in his article entitled ‘In Arsene We Trust’.
Anyway, I’m off to run around at football training in my new ‘Djourou 20’ Arsenal home kit complete with shorts and socks. I hope you enjoy and if The Next RVP inspires you to get out your pen (or laptop) and write an article then make sure you follow the details at the end of the post to get in touch with me. Cheers.
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In Arsene We Trust by The Next RVP
Victoria Concordia Crescit, which is Latin for “victory comes with harmony”, is the long standing motto that is embedded into the history of Arsenal. The motto goes hand-in-hand with the club’s current playing style, which was introduced by Arsene Wenger back in 1996. When he joined the club as a relatively unknown manager with two stints in Japan and France under his belt, I doubt many of us saw the prosperity he’d bring to Arsenal.
Wenger turned things around at the club with a brand new training regime and a new style of play. His new style of play brought fluidity, movement and grace to each and every attack – something that Arsenal supporters hadn’t seen before. And although there were doubters and those who claimed that “passing the ball into the net” wasn’t efficient, most of us were happy with the more than occasional with the success it brought. It made “1-0 to the arsenal” an almost forgotten theme; with Wenger’s football 1-0 just wasn’t enough.
The Frenchman made an array of signings early on in his career (such as Henry, Viera, Overmars, and Petit) which laid the foundation for his success. The smart signings continued and slowly so did the trophies, starting off with the double (Premiership and FA Cup) in 97/98 and another double back in the season of 01/02, made famous by Sylvain Wiltord’s winner at Old Trafford and Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg’s FA Cup belters against Chelsea.
Wenger lifted the FA Cup again in 02/03 before delivering, in my opinion, what deserves to be viewed as the pinnacle in English football; a 38-game unbeaten season with ‘The Invincibles’. Only one other team (Preston North End, way back in 1883) had accomplished the feat but in completely different times in a completely different type of competition.
Maybe it was Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s injury time missed penalty, or beating Chelsea twice, or thumping Liverpool 4-2, or Arsenal clinching the title at Spurs, but the magic that still shrouds that unforgettable season will never be forgotten. “In Arsene we trust” and at that point – more than ever before – we all did.
Since then however, things have slowly gone slowly downhill. Arsenal had reached the top and had to come down to earth at some point. The unbeaten streak came to a halt at 49 games against Manchester United and defeat was a bitter taste that rudely greeted us all. All was not lost though as Arsenal once again lifted the FA Cup in 2005 – but with Vieira’s match- winning penalty came the end of an era.
During the following off-season we saw the departure of Vieira to Juventus for a fraction of what he was actually worth. Henry followed in 2007 and with those two losses went the leadership quality that Arsenal so desperately need. Since then there has been the silverware drought with Arsenal coming agonizingly close on a number of occasions, but never quite close enough. Increasing numbers of fans have turned against the club and become tired with one transition season after another. And some have begun to trust Arsene less than ever before.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel and we must realize that it is unfair to heap the blame on one man’s shoulders. When clubs come calling with more money than us the departure of top players is inevitable. Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor – just to name a few – left for the sort of money that our club just cannot give.
However, as with every year since Wenger took over there comes a crop of promising new youngsters and this season is no different. I strongly believe that this year could be the year and it’s time to repay Arsene for all he’s done in the past by putting our trust in him again.
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Got a great idea for an article? If you want to write for Guest Post Tuesdays on the Arsenal FC Blog then be sure to get in touch with me via Facebook or Twitter. Just let me know your idea and we’ll take it from there.
Have your say on or The Next RVP’s guest post by leaving a comment.
Exactly.
Believe in The Badge. Believe in the Red & White. Believe in Arsene. Believe in the squad.
Special things await in the coming season.
🙂
Good article. Wenger has done good, no brilliantly since arriving at Arsenal, but what of the last 4 seasons?? we’re not even a top 3 club anymore, and Wengers stubbornness in the transfer market is becoming a liability. Dont get me wrong here, I think he’s a top manager, and never want to see him leave, but between him and the board they need to start thinking about the football again and not making money. Flamini could have been kept and is still missed massively, and even with Nasri injured there is no real transfer activity. Why did we buy Silvestre!? we have a few players returning from injury, but they will still be prone for the coming season, so in order for Wenger to restore our trust he needs to strengthen before the end of August.
No, Wenger did not do good. Superman does good. Wenger has done well.
Flamini for all his talk about staying had he received a contract earlier ultimately chose not to sign the contract presented to him and left. He could have signed it and stayed on if he really wanted to, but did not.
Good article although, i would say Wenger has had a good career so far at the Arsenal. Unfortunately when i consider the team he partly created after the first four seasons, to what it is now, my opinion changes to a fair career. He obviously knows what the formular is for winning the prem but i believe because of financial restrictions based on the repayment of the new stadium, he is prevented from doing this more often. Also, most very young players seem to enjoy performing for Wenger until they start to really mature. After this point their heads get turned by larger spending clubs, then for one reason or another they leave. Some how Arsenal FC must solve this problem if they want the tree to bare fruit at a faster rate. Being a hammer and a supporter of good football, i have witnessed this from my team for the past 25 years.
Senderos departure from the club has again created more questions about whether or not Wenger will strengthen the CB position especially as there is a little doubt over the fitness of Varmaelen. The team is full of potential but I feel Wenger needs to realise the importance of an old strong experience head. To be honnest im sure he does……its just the money. If he was managing Chelski or Man U he would have wan it all.
Lastly before i go off to work, can a chelsea player SC be allowed to grace the Emerates turf.
yeah well i just heard KALOU is close to commin to Emirates PPL!
Good post young goons!! You should know that i completely agree with you.One strong point for my reason is the astonishing potential of Wilshere and Ramsey (Especially Wilshere)during the Emirates cup, they are really a bright future for Arsenal and even this coming season I would really recommand to move Theo forward and have Wilshere on his place, Franckly, I was really impressed, not with his two goals but the way he moves on the field, his pace,touch and his versatilty from sides to sides.
Rosicky has also been phenomenal,now I can genuinely say that HE IS BACK.To me, we really have a promising season ahead of us, a completely different Arsenal team and MUCH MUCH stronger than last year.People and these other pundits who criticise AW must know that he is not stupid and he knows what he is doing.
I wouldnt go for Kalou mate!!
Sagna-Gallas-Vermalen-Clichy
———-Song(or a new one)——-
Wilshere–Fab——-Rosicky
——-Theo–RVP
Arshavin is also my best on Rosicky’s place
sorry, its SK. New sec reprired
Radads, not a bad lineup. A little early for Rosicky though and MF a little light weight.
Great piece here. It only confirms my hope in Wenger and the little boys. Surely, it’s only unfair to heap blame on to the man who has done so much for Arsenal. It’s not his wish that the club hasnt been doing well and that the boys he so much nurtured are looking for greener pastures. It’s his fault that he makes great players who are eventually tamed by big money-bags. Kudos prof. Wenger! In you I trust. Really. My advice to all those big mouths, gerater things are coming next season. Dont say I never told you.
with the return of Rosicky and Eduado i dont think the sale of Adebayo will affect the team much.
I thing bringing Patrick Viera back to the team to join the young lards will also be a boost to the boiz and his experience both as an older player and a former Gunner will inspire the team as a whole. Frankly the sky is the limit for us this season,watching the boiz play in our preseason matches, you wud see a great improvemet in their play and one can only hope they will get better, blend and bond better than the previous 4seasons.
Personally i wud appreciate the team has players who can take long range shots like Arshavin and Rosicky to be doing that more often.we should continue with our wounderful style of football which is very entertaining but this time around with goals to crown it all.
Arsenal has what it takes to win the throphies this season.lets “just do it”. GUNNERS LETS GO THERE!!!!
HI PEEPS WHAT I MEANT TO SAY IN MY EARLIER POST WAS THAT THE SALE OF ADEBAYO WONT AFFECT US THE TEAM MUCH…OK
Next RVP,
Can’t agree with you that Viera was sold “for a fraction of his true value” I think we got the best out of him while he was at Arsenal, since his departure he has done very little and played an increasingly peripheral role at both clubs.
Much as I admired him when he was an Arsenal stalwart, I cannot but think that to re-sign him now is a mistake. He has certainly lost some pace and his overall fitness is suspect. I can foresee a series of red and yellow cards heading his way if he attempts the strong-arm tactics he previously utilised.
http://www.sport.es/vivo/recursos/fotos/foto_380/foto_380266_CAS.jpg
Arsene wants to take this present crop of young stars to these big boyz level.
this pix is from a sister gooner site
Lets face it, we desparately need a strong and exprienced DM as witnessed in a 2 – 1 win over ATH MAD. How i wish mello was a Gunner.
Arsene Wenger is a man who intelligence should not be questionned. He is educated beyond belief and calculated in every aspect.
This summer has seen the sale of two players who were surplus to requirements at Arsenal. Adebayor was a bad influence in the team, wanted to leave and after his display in the Champions League, showed the world that he wasn’t a replacement for Thierry in any shape or form, but had reached his peak. Adebayor had not been a fans favourite and he’s not be of the quality of a striker you’d expect at Arsenal. Although, the player did have potential, which is why he was brought to the club, the player himself failed to realise it. In the summer of 2008, we had no offers for Adebayor from major clubs, despite rumours of interest from Milan and Barcelona. The reported fees of £20m were never discussed with Arsenal.
However, the exertions of last summer and the threat of leaving, showed Arsene that Adebayor had the character not wanted by an Arsenal player. The player stayed for one season after, and this was a great decision by Arsene. It allowed him time to bring in a replacement in Arshavin and groom him into the team, readying him for a big role this season. In addition, Adebayor moved this year for £25m – a higher value than previously mentioned and after a season where he showed the world his level.
Then, we have Kolo Toure, who after 9 years at the club, felt it was time to move on. He spoke to Arsene in September last season and then again in January – he also handed a transfer request in Jan and was in the last year of his contract. The player post January 2008 had failed to regain the form that made him first choice, following a bout of malaria, and when a £16m bid came in, Arsene was keen to move the Ivorian on. But not at the expense of the team – Thomas Vermaelen having been brought in first.
Arsene managed to remove two players whom he was happy to see go and replace them with two players who can help Arsenal get better. And by doing this, profiting from these sales, allowing other areas to be strengthened.
If you have read Arsene views about the market and about the economic cycle, then his manner in the transfer market makes even more sense. We see clubs like Man United, Man City, Chelsea and Real Madrid spent > £25m on one player. Yes, they can do that, but all these clubs do not operate within their own means. 5 years ago when we bought Van Persie for £2.5m or even 3 years ago when we bought Sagna for £7m – these are the figures we will operate in. We have the same income this season as we did last, as we did the season before – we can’t sudden break the bank and splash high values on players – high values that are reflective of an abnormal market – we still have our debts to pay.
This is why you will see players like Felipe Melo out of our grasp – he is certainly not worth the £21.8m + a player that Juventus paid for him. He was only worth £7m last season. We are not in the position to compete with teams like Juventus for players like Melo or United for players like Hargreaves. With big sums of money comes big wages.
But we are in a position to strengthen where necessary and if the right player comes along, Arsene will buy – players like Eduardo, Sagna, Vela, Denilson, Cesc are brilliant players whom have been the current crop of unearth gems. If we do indeed require a defensive midfielder, then Arsene will be sure to get one. But if he doesn’t – it is because the team we have is good enough. We may look from the outside and say Cana, we should have signed him, but comparing like to like, Denilson are Song are actually better – Arsene sees them in training and on the football pitch and is clear that Cana would not be a good addition to the squad.
In the recent years, we came very close the season before last, we’ve been thwarted by injuries – and yes on a relatively small squad in terms of big name players, it does take it’s toll. See where we were before Eduardo broke his ankle, see how we were doing before Rosicky was out for 18 months. See how we performed when Cesc and Theo return and see how we performed when Arshavin joined.
Injuries have been our major issue in the last four seasons, not the manager.
Get behind Arsene, support our manager and he will yet again prove why is by far the greatest acquisition we, as a club, have ever had.
Dont know about this comment on the timing of the sale of Vieira
As I recall Pat had a season and a half of poor quality and injury before we said bye – bye
Does anyone remember the humiliating dive he performed at Anfield ?
And then there was his outstanding performance on his return to H’bury with Juve lol
No Mr Weber on reflection I think the timing was fine – a great servant to the club but nothing lasts forever
About vieira folks, only reason i said about his pricing ws because the season before Real madrid valued him at 30 million-he went for 13 million, im sure we could have squeezed a bit more out of juventus
Good stuff next RVP.
Iam sure that this season is going to be our’s EMIRATES CUP should be the beginning.a silver ware after 4 years its going to be something special. COME ON GUNNERS
“IN ARSENE WE TRUST”
mid hardman required de rossi wud be perfect but wont happen as he wont leave italy, scott parker would be next choice and would be a huge player for us but i doubt our manager rates the guy even tho hes the best in PL at wot he does
kalou??????????are you for real? we already hav eboue and this guy at his best would be another attacking player of which we hav enough.the only att players we should be looking at ae the big game proven goalscorers i.e villa huntleaar, otherwise lets just go ahead with wot wev got and use the money we wer ginna waste (8m kalou and 6m chamakh) to sign ONE quality midfielder AND ONE CB with the necessary leadership qualities that makes us hard to beat next season…its only when we stop shipping soft goals that you over-excitable sorts can legitimately start talkin bout mounting a serious PL challenge
the absense of a move for these 2 vital players will result in a huge dogfight for fourth again this season with city,everton,villa and even the scum down the road snapping at our heels and any1 who thinks wilshere,ramsey,merida etc are ready for that sort of challenge need to wake up
Let’s be proud of supporting the only great club where heart still matters more than money! The future looks bright and I think that if we only sign a proper central defender (Silvestre has been nothing short of a disaster for this club) we have a much greater chance of winning this season than we had the last one. However, I’d rather stay silverware-less than conforming to the businesslike “fotball” of Man Money and Real Madrid! Honestly.
In Wenger we trust and in Song I trust!
i doubt the level of trust i have on him, after all his decision failed to win something…
Thank you, Next RVP. A v. pleasant read.
It has been argued that Arsene Wenger is a victim of his own success. Who would have thought when the almost unknown and strangely ‘un-manager-like’ Frenchman arrived at Highbury that Arsenal would be winning the Double the following season – and then again a few seasons later? That they’d break all manner of domestic records including the longest run of unbeaten league matches?
But Arsene Wenger has never done this by spending large on superstar names. As is well known, up until Arshavin, Wenger’s record transfer was 13 million for Sylvain Wiltord. While other clubs, especially ALL the other so called Top 4, have lashed out increasingly obscene and bank-breaking amounts to ‘buy’ their success, Arsene Wenger has refused to be drawn into this ‘loadsamoney’ rivalry and commented often that it is potentially dangerous and bad for football in the long term.
Of course having attracted literally millions of new fans worldwide they now all expect Arsenal to keep winning trophies. And when your rivals are enticing all the top talent with enormous wages and giant transfer fees the job’s always going to be harder – but I say keep going Arsene, we’re almost there – and if Arsenal should win, say, The Premier League this season – it may well be hailed as the greatest win in the history of the English League.
very good post.we got quality.just wait and see
Ah I feel all warm and fuzzy. I really hope Rosicky delivers a full season similar to the way RVP stayed mostly healthy last season. *knock on wood*
And I know I’m a bit late but well done Spanish on the blog. I’m quite excited to be able to read the blog seven days a week. And keep the Pau Gasol beard. It’s quality.
Mywat if a picture could paint a thousand words.
Capuchi cant agree with all you say although you do make yr some good points. Ade did score over 40 goals in the last two seasons and why choose last season as his level. Thierry took some time to settle and we were lucky enough to see his peak and it was not at 23-24. Sobin the Gunner, what happends if Arsenal finish 4th again,with nothing to show, do you still trust. Im not criticizing your loyalty, im just asking. Shambo, again your comments are spot on. ALL ARSENAL IS MISSING R 2 QUALITY EXPERIENCE PLAYERS. A COMBATIVE DM AND CB. It should not cost much more than 15mil.
Jebo yr club is like a wife,… can sometimes be a pain in the backside but you can never leave her. Hey Nonny Mouse, its true what you say but i would like to know when will Wenger be able to get and keep happy a group of players like that again. Study that picture carefully from MYWAY.
this one is also a very good one if we get Vierra.I must admit that I fully trust Song as a CDM, i know that most of you guys wouldnt agree with me as some say here that he is a light weight, but I trully beleive that he’s got something to show us this season, except for the fact that he’s going to Angola for the CAN.
Deni is the one I consider as a light weight despite of his stat.
SAGNA-GALLAS-VERMALEN-CLICHY
——–SONG (VIERRA)—-
ARSHAVIN—–FAB——ROSICKY
———THEO–RVP
Arshavin can be anywhere
Hi gooners, in my opinion Arsene Wenger is the best coach in the world, his achievement is beyond description. None in the world can achieve with the source Arsene had, not even Sir Alex Ferguson.
@ C-Bass – Pau Gasol is an absolute champion. It’s an honour for my beard (which is now gone) to be compared to him. Excellent stuff.
wots goin on wit this blog the last few days????wheres everybody at?
maybe its testament to le boss’s inactivity in the transfer market….every1 bar a dozen must be past caring…and the person with the most insightful topics for conversation is a hammer….no offence icehammer,enjor ur posts…wud u mind sendin scott parker our way please pal
c’mon fellow gunners where u at
I cant believe that some people call the Emirates Cup a silver ware and the begining of “something great”.
@ shambo – What do you mean? All the regulars have been around!
I think I know what you mean though – we’re all just waiting for something really interesting to happen.
guy,
i trsst in wenger. he is the big boss, the best damn thing to happen to arsenal.
but he should not try to sign someone like chamakh. if a striket, then only huntelaar or play arshavin behind rvp.
senderos, nordtveit(loan), toure are gone. we have vermaelen, song, djourou, toure and silvestre. i think that 5 center backs are enought. song will play dm and fullback aswell. if silvestre goes, then we should go for a world class cb. a dm should come. we have fabregas, denilson, ramsey, diaby, song. ramsey won’t play that much. diaby or denilson will be loaned out. so we should go for a world class dm like de rossi, toulalan, v.bommel, m.diarra or our pat.
@ RPB The Next RVP – I live in the next town to you – Northampton and am 16, how old are you! To think that a blogger is close to me is real good. Hope we can maybe meet up sometime to watch a game or soemthing. Post was great and very true. I do sometimes doubt AW, but he knows better than me. He takes training. He knows what we need. I think he is a bit stubborn and not always get what we need but he knows! Hopefully he can do what is needed and get Arsenal a trophy. Then we get our fans back on side and see Arsenal as a massive force once again. Admittedly, a trophy isnt what should bring our fans back, but bring the current fans closer and happier.
@ jay jay
im only here for the summer, i grew up here, but moved to NY a few years back, still consider this home tho
@ jay jay & RBP-The Next RVP
Get a room guys!
Don’t forget the #1 stadium in the world has been built, using Arsenal FC funds.
You can’t expect the club to fork out tens of millions of pounds each season with such a high amount of debt to repay. Such irresponsibility is one of the reasons the world is in such fiscal disarray.
Arsene’s transfer spendings are both highly strategic and contextually responsible. To those externally, the sale of Adebayor and Toure, two experienced and somewhat “World Class” (although that certain tag is used everywhere these days) players would seem like certain suicide with out similar valued replacements.
However, Arsene values squad harmony, morale and confidence. He knows that with these two (and Eboue to follow) gone, the above mentioned attributes will significantly increase.
Remember, a team full of champions, does not make a champion team. Something Citeh fans will soon discover.
I am not sure if i get the tone. I agree with a lot of statements made in this article. SUch as the one about Vieira. Arsene does sometimes get it worong. But that is a given with any manager. But I think that as you pointed out earlier that Arsenal is a club with a rgid structure built on strong ethics. And that is true. And that is why i think that there is no other manager for Arsenal FC thatn Arsene WEnger. He has such a good ability to balance the books. And is the only manager to do so. Right now he is in a profit.
Arsene Wenger is one of the major reasons why we have the Emirates stadium. He is the reason why we will be financially stable over the next 15 years
Nice post next r.v.p , with d performances squad in pre season it show dis season trophies are coming in . In Arsene we trust
Shane, you sound like my financial account. He never mensions winning things either.
Youngsters have been seen to cramble under pressure and this has shown to the numerous we were supposed to stand up and be counted but never did he is a good manager but his ego gets the better of him.
Most of us are just now learning that our crll phones can bee attacked.
So this is not just a fertile ground for advertisers buut hackker also.
I am sure there will be some incentives to switch but overall the price will be
a barrier to entry, but not to the early adopter crowd.
Turing deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science,
” British Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said. For some green hand, it requires more to set up this Hootoo IP camera.