Ahead of the Big Game at the Weekend..... A "What if ".......

Charybdis. If you value your health ..... don't read this.

Some of our younger bloggers may not know that Sir Alex Ferguson almost became Arsenal manager before Mr Graham. The Don Howe era had come to a sticky end with Steve Burtenshaw acting as caretaker manager, therefore Ferguson who was the hot young manager following his superb job at Aberdeen was approached by Arsenal and according to him, turned them down after lengthy negotiations.

Ahead of the Big Game at the Weekend..... A "What if ".......

Charybdis. If you value your health ..... don't read this.

Some of our younger bloggers may not know that Sir Alex Ferguson almost became Arsenal manager before Mr Graham. The Don Howe era had come to a sticky end with Steve Burtenshaw acting as caretaker manager, therefore Ferguson who was the hot young manager following his superb job at Aberdeen was approached by Arsenal and according to him, turned them down after lengthy negotiations.

I might be clutching at straws a little, but there's a small amount of evidence to suggest that our best results against Manchester United in recent times come during difficult periods.

Now is certainly one of those periods. After we looked like recovering a season that looked lost as soon as it started, we are now being shown up for our weaknesses again, with the recent defeat to Swansea feeling like another of many 'final straw' moments that we've experienced in recent seasons; another on the long list of new lows.

The Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, who was the captain of the famous Invincibles and scored the penalty that won Arsenal their last trophy in 2005, has been speaking about why he decided to work for Man City rather than Arsenal when he retired from playing last summer. He was generally reviled by Arsenal fans when [.

Well, what an incredibly frustrating ninety minutes that was. Upbeat start, good goal, cavalier flicks, lucky equaliser, chances, chances, CHANCES, saves, saves, more ruddy saves and Wolves rode their luck to a first point against Arsenal in the Premier League era. You couldn't fault the team's effort, apart from a slight easing off in the first half, and I agree with Arsene when he says that we would have won this game 19 times out of 20.

Arsenal travel to the Etihad stadium on Sunday hoping to carry on Chel$ea's for-once good work. Man City's defeat on Monday laid to rest to all comparisons with the Invincibles, and we should be able to continue on our recent good form. 22 points from the last 24, that's not a stat to be dismissed [.

People frequenting this small online settlement will be well-aware that I get jittery as fuck when big games come along. Arsenal have proved themselves to be flaccid and impotent on many occasions in the past; slipping, sliding, making elementary mistakes and prompting the inception of cringe-worthy wordplay jokes, perennially fuelling my jitters in the process.

Manchester United and Arsenal, from 1997 to 2005, undoubtedly engaged in the era-defining rivalry in English football. In order to be classified as a great sporting rivalry the protagonists must move beyond the feudalistic; the edge and the aggro, and be ultimately characterised by supreme competition and a bountiful supply of dramatic and heart-stopping moments.

Manchester United and Arsenal, from 1997 to 2005, undoubtedly engaged in the era-defining rivalry in English football. In order to be classified as a great sporting rivalry the protagonists must move beyond the feudalistic; the edge and the aggro, and be ultimately characterised by supreme competition and a bountiful supply of dramatic and heart-stopping moments.

I would like to start by congratulating Manchester City FC for producing a resounding victory for football.

By losing to Chelsea last night in the match amusingly referred to by someone on Twitter as "El Cashico," they have helped demonstrate to the world just how amazing Arsenal's achievement in going a season unbeaten really was.

I would like to start by congratulating Manchester City FC for producing a resounding victory for football.

By losing to Chelsea last night in the match amusingly referred to by someone on Twitter as "El Cashico," they have helped demonstrate to the world just how amazing Arsenal's achievement in going a season unbeaten really was.

Morning all.

Last night Chelsea beat Man City. Not with iron bars, sadly. If it were up to me teams I didn't like (which is all of them) would be sent onto the pitch carrying clubs and planks with nails sticking out of them and told to have at each other. The team with most men left standing at the end gets the three points.

Over the past few years Arsenal have had some exceptional players. For all the bemoaning of the lack of trophies, there has remained a bountiful supply of top talent strutting their stuff at the Emirates Cesc Fabregas remains the best young midfielder in Europe, one we kept for seven years, and we have more that could be labelled 'amongst the best in their position, or for their age' the likes of Vermaelen, Van Persie and Wilshere can certainly be counted in those categories, with others knocking on the door.

This season has been special for many reasons, one of which is the chance to watch Manchester City emulate the great Arsenal "Invincibles" and get through the season undefeated. The second reason has been the insane results, the 8-2 Red Devils win over the Gooners being the highlight. The third reason and focus of this article is how some Premiership players have embraced the "Big Hair".

Kolo Touré doesn't want his team to lose focus on the day-to-day battle if his current club is going to match the unbeaten Arsenal season in 2003-04.

Touré, who was part of the team that knocked Arsenal out of the Carling Cup on Tuesday, had this to say about going unbeaten.

"We started very well but now we just need to forget about it.

By Azeem Banatwalla

Andre Villas-Boas's visage has leapt across many extremes over the last month and a half. From quiet confidence to near-childish defiance, and more recently, after falling at home to Arsenal and Liverpool, a mix of anger and worry.

Praise continues to come in for Sir Alex Ferguson, and Mark Lawrenson writes of why we will never get a manager of his kind again.
Sir Alex Ferguson is a one-off and we will never get a manager of his kind again.
Ferguson has built six different and successful Manchester United teams.

David said moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
And, by jove, the Lord was with David.
Unfortunately Goliaths have got a bit more sophisticated in the 400 years since King James authorised his version of the bible.

Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has warned Olympiakos that breaking the Gunners' long-standing unbeaten streak at home will be an uphill task for the Greek giants.

Arsene Wenger has led the Gunners through a brilliant spell during which they have gone undefeated at home during the Group Stage since 2003 and Ramsey believes that the squad can take tremendous confidence from playing at the Emirates.

Written by Total Arsenal

Due to a recent spell of bad results in the Premier League and the relentless complaining of our fans, we are now looking for a new Manager.

During the reign of Arsène Wenger, Arsenal won three League Championships, Four FA Cups, achieved the cult-status of the Invincibles for a 49-games spell of not getting beat, reached the CL final, played in the CL for 14 consecutive seasons, played a brand of football envied all over the world, and moved successfully to a brand new stadium, whilst keeping the club in a healthy financial position.

Written by Total Arsenal

Due to a recent spell of bad results in the Premier League and the relentless complaining of our fans, we are now looking for a new Manager.

During the reign of Arsène Wenger, Arsenal won three League Championships, Four FA Cups, achieved the cult-status of the Invincibles for a 49-games spell of not getting beat, reached the CL final, played in the CL for 14 consecutive seasons, played a brand of football envied all over the world, and moved successfully to a brand new stadium, whilst keeping the club in a healthy financial position.

Written by Herb'sArmy

For most of us on AA, it is impossible to separate our emotions from our club, the two are intrinsically linked. It's probably fair to say that whilst both games caused a lot of pain, the Blackburn game probably wounded us deeper than the one at OT, if only because of the expectation.

Imagine a time when Arsenal had a decent back four –

HA.

No, not ‘The Invincibles" – they were a pale shadow of the 1998/99 quartet that stood as a brick wall. In front of Seaman roamed Adams, Dixon, Keown and Winterburn – together they allowed a miserly 17 goals, thirteen less than the next best record that season.

Written by FatGingerGooner

So the dust has settled on a couple of dreadful Arsenal away results, and equally dreadful defensive displays. Obviously, I'm talking about the 8-2 and 4-3 defeats. There have been a lot of people coming out of the woodwork in recent days, using these results as ammunition to have a pop at the manager and also to give their opinion on the direction this club needs to go.

Good afternoon, readers. It's been a while...

Sorry for the recent lack of inactivity. Generally, life has thrown me some rather challenging obstacles lately and in turn, I've had to deal with them accordingly. Everything seems to be back on track now, and it seems that normal service can finally resume, once again.

The season starts here. The Boss said so? No, the season started at Newcastle and we have one point out of nine, that's right, one out of nine. Our worst start since Alex James took a drag from his Woodbine prior to walking onto the Highbury turf (perhaps).

Thankfully much has changed since OT and quite frankly it needed to.

The season starts here. The Boss said so? No, the season started at Newcastle and we have one point out of nine, that's right, one out of nine. Our worst start since Alex James took a drag from his Woodbine prior to walking onto the Highbury turf (perhaps).

Thankfully much has changed since OT and quite frankly it needed to.

Just a short second post today as all eyes will be on the TD, with supporters frantically F5ing every source of news they can find.

Who knows how much of a spur the 8:2 ‘humiliation' was to the powers that be at Arsenal, but one thing is for sure, the 3 signings that have followed in quick succession have at last shown that we are serious about producing a team that can compete with the best this season.

As Cesc Fabregas was unveiled at the Nou Camp as a Barcelona player, the former Arsenal captain had words of thanks for Arsene Wenger.

The Spaniard initially left Barca for the Gunners in 2003 to seek first-team football, and quickly established himself as one of the team's most important players, even in his opening season when the Invincibles were looking to retain their title, not once did he look out of place.

There may be a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the future of midfielder Samir Nasri but in the meantime he's still at Arsenal and believes the Gunners can repeat the unforgettable achievement of the Invincibles. Answering ...

Something that I have given a lot of though to recently is the reasons for our failure to win anything in the past six years and I feel one large factor has been our lack of a strong British spine in the side. Take Arsene's double winning sides and the invincibles, they all had this British spine in the squad and this is what we have lost in the past few seasons.

Written by dandan

Winning they say is everything, forget the beautiful game it counts for nothing if you don't win something.

I was pondering this when watching a TV documentary on Murray Walker this week, a man whom I was lucky enough to meet as he, our respective wives and I cruised en-route to Australia.

OK, this is a bit of a risk.

Chin up, deep breath, clench buttocks: here we go... no, hang on a minute – unclench buttocks (it's making me want to wee a little). That's better. Now, for real this time, here we go:

The EPL Player of the Year for the 2011/12 season will be...

Andrey Arshavin.

Arsenal misses out on a golden opportunity to recruit the class of the 2004 Invincibles. Patrick Vieira retires and is absorbed within the Man City ranks as football development executive.

Vieira would have been an inspiration to an Arsenal team that has struggled with self belief and a six year drought after he left.

We all know about John Arne Riise's traction engine of a left foot, but that's not what really interests me. I watched enough Brazil games growing up to know that having a left back who can belt the ball at or beyond the speed of light is not as useful as it is fun. So while we can be sure Riise will bust a net or two with a thunderbolt at some point, this is the cherry on top of the cake, not the cake itself.

We all know about John Arne Riise's traction engine of a left foot, but that's not what really interests me. I watched enough Brazil games growing up to know that having a left back who can belt the ball at or beyond the speed of light is not as useful as it is fun. So while we can be sure Riise will bust a net or two with a thunderbolt at some point, this is the cherry on top of the cake, not the cake itself.

I know I am no Arsenal fan, and actually like any true fan of bitter rival club, I do derive immense joy from watching the gunners suffer, especially that horror fortnight they had in Feb/March, to quote the effervescent Barney Stinson,

‘It was Legen.......wait for it........ dary!!

Fans in the background will cheer him as one of their own now

Let's start with the obvious. Gael Clichy has moved on from Arsenal Football Club. His departure was confirmed yesterday and Manchester City are his current employers. That concludes his 8 years association with us and he becomes the last of the Invincibles to leave the club.

Well, the first meaningful transfer news of the season and to be frank, it's not exactly a positive piece of news. Our very own Gael Clichy, the last of the Invincibles, has left Arsenal today to join Manchester City on a 4 year contract.

Bye.

Although Clichy had a pretty mediocre last couple of seasons at Arsenal, he was nevertheless a pretty good left back for us who mitigated the pain of seeing Cashley stab us in the back and join Chelsea, performing quite well after Cole left and helping us avoid the need of buying another left-back.

Some transfer rumours are pure fabrication, some are speculation and a very few have genuine substance having said that, it is unwise to dismiss all the current stories surrounding Arsenal players when they stall over signing new contracts and are a year away from leaving on a free.

Make no mistake, Cesc wants to go to Barca and Clichy and Nasri are looking elsewhere for big money (and possibly the notion that they may be more likely to win trophies).