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It was a constant source of bemusement to me throughout the World Cup that Da Boss, or whatever his name is, consistently refused to play the one mid-fielder who knew which way was forward. Yes, as an Gooner I am all too aware of the irony of that comment, but it doesn't make it untrue. It's not being overly myopic to suggest that had Cesc not been brought on, we would probably had the penalty thing. Actually as a mostly neutral, I quite hoped we might, but you can't argue with a psychic octopus.

During what was laughably considered to be a 'summing up' of the pundits after the match, I was struck by the hypocrisy in exactly the same way as Arseblogger. Having read his blog the next day I realised this and wasn't sure whether being that much in agreement with him was worrisome. After all some of his posts have been a tad existential. But in the end I decided it was a marker of great insight and intelligence, though not quite sure how. Anyway, the pundits were pants.

It was inevitable that being with a bunch of classless Barca types for so long, the Cesc to Barca thing was going to come to a head one way or another. What is surprising is that there is a fair chance that when everyone in Madrid has sobered up, they might decide that actually hijacking the national celebration to make a point for Barca, is a bit insulting to Real Madrid. Talk about your own back yard! Either way the shirt stunt was nothing but that. To quote from Forest Gump "Stupid is as stupid does". I think we have our proof gentlemen.

Still Barca have now very generously given us a time extension so we can realise that s** off is Catalan for 'we're ready to deal'. Amazing, what are the odds we should ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=300 So we hear (yawn) from another Barca numpty that Cesc is all but at Barca and it's just a matter of time. Boy, has Cesc got those idiots fooled.

Let's be honest, if Spain could put out the Barca team it'd save them a lot of problems and practice time which they could then devote to their Playstations or playing cards. I suspect that this is their ultimate plan and to hear that Messi is applying for Spanish nationality some time soon. Then there is the embarrassing issue of Cesc. Clearly the difference when he came on as a sub against Paraguay, but regrettably still an Arsenal player. So to get a game what does he have to do? Start talking about how much he wants to play for Barca in the hope he gets more playing time at the World Cup of course. Hasn't worked so good yet, but there are two more matches to go, so who knows.

Think about it. When did the rumours start? Just before the World Cup. And all we have actually heard from Cesc since was how much he loves Arsenal and he that had never said that he would definitely be leaving. Genius. He can now blame Arsenal when he doesn't go to Barca this summer and which doesn't queer the pitch for joining them at some time in the future. The boy's an evil genius, he could have quite a future as a politician when he hangs up his boots! Come join me in denial, the weather's lovely...

Turns out Theo had a lucky escape not being selected for the shambles that became the English World Cup squad. Maybe Arsène had a quiet word in Fabio's shell-like concerning the availability of Young Jack in Fab's future plans and having prescience far in advance of normal men, saw the way the wind was blowing and got Theo excluded. It's a thought. Either way Theo gets to have another chance and what with Messi getting a back-hander to big him up, he now becomes the player England should have taken as he would have made all the difference. Pure gold for the boy as long as he doesn't actually h ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=299 Or at least he doesn't have the full double-helix. And how can we tell? He's not shooting his mouth off at every possible opportunity!

No-one could fail to notice that Barca players, staff, and the hombre who checks tickets on the gate have been running off at the mouth pretty much non-stop. Now I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but the similarities between what has been said may to some look like a PR script. Not that the wonderful Barca would stoop so low as to tap anyone up. No I couldn't possibly suggest that.

What we haven't heard or seen is Cesc look into the camera and say he wants to leave Arsenal. I don't doubt for one minute that he wants to play sit on the bench for Barca, and he may have thought that now was the time it could happen. But that's the point of this, timing. The only comments on timing have come from those arrogant gits at Barca. I'm thinking Cesc is testing the water and then stepping back to see what happens.

I have to say if that is what is happening then I am disappointed in him. This last season has seen him emerge as nearly the finished article, not because of Barca, but because of Arsenal. I think he should give us a couple more seasons playing at that level before running out on us.

But why might he have decided now is the time to cut and run? Sadly there are a number of negatives which may have played on his mind. We were told unequivocally that Arsenal would win a trophy last year, and we didn't. Whether Arsène made Cesc that sort of promise we can only guess, but he made it to us and it didn't happen. I can't be the only one who wishes Le Prof would be more circumspect with his use of words at times, including his promises of top, top players.

It has also occurred to me that Cesc saw what happened to Eduardo, he saw what happened to Rambo and did the math. Whilst neanderthals continue to be lauded by other neanderthals for b ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=298 I wouldn't mind quite so much if we had failed at the wire having given all and come up short. As it is, there is still a risk of finishing behind the Spuds which is as far away from being acceptable as the likelihood of Fat Sam being awarded slimmer of the year by Weightwatchers.

Four matches ago we were still in with a slimmish shout for the title. Now we're looking over our shoulders and trying not to break sweat at the possibility of being beaten to third place by our perennial loser neighbours. How did we get to this?

I've been a stalwart supporter of Arsène, but now I have to admit that the experiment has reached it's conclusion and the end of term report has to be written up. Is it possible to win the English Premiere League with a bunch of highly talented players who also happen to be small in stature. I had hoped the answer was yes, but I think the neanderthals have won. Being skillful ain't enough, you have to have attitude as well. An attitude that says you mess with me or my team, there are consequences, and not just a manager who will complain about referees to the press at the end.

They don't necessarily have to be man mountains, but they do have to have attitude, something it looks like Jack Wilshere has, but many of the current team don't. What do they show from time to time is petulance and that's not the same thing. Petulance means you do something stupid and get red carded. Attitude means you offer a measured response which may be a yellow since you're an Arsenal player, and judging by the last match will be judged on a different criteria to the opposition. But to use one of the neanderthal's phrases, lets your opponent know he's in a game.

I wish it were different, but in the English game you can get away with being 'robust', 'committed' and all the other euphemisms. Fat Sam and his ilk don't have to worry whether their brand of football would work in Europe, because they are never going t ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=297 Just to be clear, by 'Us' I mean Gooners, not the club. So far as I am concerned we can never be too successful and I would dearly love the opportunity to test that particular hypothesis.

Looking back after what has been a deeply disappointing few weeks for the club and therefore Gooners everywhere, the extremes of opinion in our support have virtually gone to war with each other. The 'Arsène Out' brigade berate the 'Arsène Knows Best' contingent for being myopic and the AKB's suggest the AO's should try supporting another football club, or even the Spuds.

Now allowing for the fact that the Internet gives a meeting point for the disaffected in a way unique in the history of our club, just by joining together their voice is louder, more focused. Equally because of the stridency of the disaffected those feeling loyalty is above all considerations are inclined to fight back. My experience is that not surprisingly, the vast majority of Gooners are somewhere in between the two viewpoints.

I understand the frustration of the AO's, although I'm not so worried as the media about the length of time we have gone without silverware. But Gooners used to be renowned for their pragmatism and humour, and in the past have needed both in large measure. Look back at some of the teams we have put out in the past! We need these characteristics again right now so that we can get behind what we have, whilst still being concerned for better in the future. Pragmatically it's all very well to sack the manager or demand high quality players be bought in, that can be done on the Internet. IN the real world it's a little different. Our players shouldn't have to earn our support, they should get it because they play for Arsenal, our team. Somewhere it's got arse about face and an attitude of entitlement has got lodged in Gooners maybe because of the success under Arsène.

I think the current general attitude is tha ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=296 After going two goals down I feared it would become embarrassing, but there were aspects of the final result that give some cause for thinking this tie is not over yet. And blind unthinking optimism isn't one of them.

First off, Barca had fifteen men on the pitch in the first half. Don't argue, I'm pretty certain of that. I have never seen an Arsenal team so out-played, out-muscled and out-desired, yes, but out-played no. It was fantastic to watch in a train wreck kind of way, and for all that we can do that to other teams in the Prem, it showed how much we still have to learn. Guardiola said afterwards that it was the best he had ever seen Barca play. Now actually that perversely gives us some hope. If that's the best they have, and they still couldn't win, then what if they don't play the best they can next week?

What definitely wasn't working was that until Theo came on, we didn't have sufficient pace on the wing to worry them. So as a consequence their wingback's were forever bombing down the wings and giving us all kinds of problems. It their defence can have doubt in it's corporate mind that they will be punished if they go too gung-ho then it's going to help our cause. So how about we have Theo and Vela on the wings for next Tuesday? Personally I don't think Theo's strength is crossing, apart from anything else, the rest of the team can't seem to keep up when he switches the after-burners on. So why not play him on the left and let him cut in on his right foot and try some shooting. It's not as if we don't have proof of it's effectiveness.

Something else that gives us some hope is that Barca are not going to just defend. Guardiola has already said as much. So two away goals isn't so much of a deal. If we are going to have any chance of going through, we are going to have to match them goal for goal. I'm guessing the minimum they will score is two, so it's either penalties or we score more away goals. Their defence i ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=295 And as we gallop down the home straight, our task is very easy .... to outline.

All we have to do is win all our last games and by as many goals as possible. Simples.

Having stated the bleeding obvious, can we do it? Despite what many have said, we don't have that easy a run-in, we've just played the other big four (insert current tabloid number of choice here). There is a realistic chance of actually dropping points, but to be honest the thing that concerns me more is that we continue to manage to miss a large number of goal opportunities per game. Some of them sitters. Now this is what intelligent people call a 'concern'. It's not a moan because the fact we are in with a good shout at this moment in the season is nothing short of remarkable and I'm loving it. Just wish our strikers would strike more.

As long as we have a defence which plays together, we shouldn't have a problem next game, and there are a number of ghosts that need well and truly sorting to boot. Kinda help if Bendtner was available because it's obvious to anyone that Eduardo hasn't been the same since that tackle and the effects seem to be lingering. All that utter nonsense about the dive in the Champions League certainly didn't help the poor guy. There are some players who have had to work damn hard to get where they are and have put up with a lot. There are other players who you suspect would have developed better character if they had needed to overcome a few difficulties. You know, the one's who don't drive their cars too well? Make up your own list.

Anyways, Eduardo has come through a lot and is currently a shadow of the striker he was, and I for one want him to triumph more than any other player. If Bendtner is out then maybe this game is the one, but it's easy to underestimate how much mental toughness it's going to take. The only player I maybe want to succeed as much would be Theo, who's main impairment s ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=294 As any fule kno, we are still in with a decent shout for two major trophies after this weeks exertions. And we're playing football like what it should be played. And it's pretty jolly good on the eye too.

Obviously there are any number of teams which cannot hope to play the style we managed during the week, we have one coming up this weekend for starters. But don't you suspect that even our closest neighbours would like to play the way we do? Just in passing, 'Arry, get a grip. The only chance you have of getting closer to us is if your new stadium is built closer than your current one, before you manage to bankrupt the club. You have been warned Spuds fans, he has previous in that regard. A lot of previous. Still I suppose it's a bit like someone standing on a tall building and saying they were closer to the sun. Yes they are closer, but there's still an awful long way to go to get within touching distance.

Even though we're getting toward the 'squeaky bum' part of the season, I find myself in a pretty good frame of mind. We have survived a tricky CL tie by making it look profoundly easy, albeit aided and abetted somewhat by Porto. None the less an inspiring display by Nasri and the man who's taken over the banjo duties from Adebarndoor. Well Nik, if you want the rest of us to believe that you're right and we're just not seeing the big picture man, tune up the banjo and look for some bovine behind. Judging by the amount of BS emanating from that giant of an oompa loompa oop t'North, there's gotta be something to target. Just make sure you wear something suitable.

Don't know about you, but I have a sneaking feeling Cesc doesn't particularly like interviews. In his latest on ATVO his answers tended toward the succinct, finishing with this pearl.

ATVO - "If Arsenal win something this season... you'll be captain, you'll lift the trophy. What will that mean to you?"

Cesc - "I ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=293 As it happens I'm not about to go off on one and castigate Stoke or any of their players apart from saying that lack of intent is no excuse, and on a football pitch as anywhere else in life you need to be responsible for your actions. And that means accept whatever consequences there are. Shawcross does have previous and having broken two opponents legs by the age of 22 says something about the way he plays. He has to consider that as he alone is responsible for his actions and consider whether he wants a repeat with another career-threatening injury for an opponent or whether he should moderate his style of play somewhat.

As a balance to some of the hysteria being vented by Gooners, let's remember why Nasri wasn't able to play at the start of the season. And that was due to another Arsenal player. So it happens. It's convenient to think that it's because it's Arsenal, but it's not quite that simple. But it does tend to happen more to talented and technically-gifted players more. It's as well that Rooney is built like a brick outhouse or I'm sure he'd be injured more than he is.

However it has happened three times in four years in competitive games for Arsenal players. Yes other player's do get legs broken, but not as often as Arsenal players do. That's a fact. So when Arsenal's opponents cross the white line does a red haze fall? I'm not so sure that it's purely to do with it being Arsenal. I think it's as much a symptom of the deeper malaise that grips the English game.

Now I am proud of being English, born in a country that is as dogged as it is and has in it's psyche the 'Bulldog Spirit'. Historically it's got us through a lot of difficult times when we've needed to dig in and ignore the odds. It's a national characteristic that could as easily be assigned to Brits, but since this is about football, I'll focus on England. Trouble is this trait no longer works to our advantage in footb ..]]> http://blogs.goonerville.com/blog/LGS_blog.php?id=292