Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal: Gunners Daring to Dream

Wenger the Optmist

 

*cleans off cobwebs from blog…sends Spiderman away*

After taking a self-induced sabbatical blogging leave like Pep Guardiola due to official duty, I’m back to doing what I love, as the Gunners are odds on to face a daring trip to the feared Allianz Arena with one foot away from the UEFA Champions League.

The weekend was a classic case of what might have been as the team that vanquished Arsenal from the FA Cup, Blackburn Rovers, struggled to get anything out of a fixture against Millwall in last weekend’s quarterfinal match. To top it all off, they would face this season’s FA Cup surprise package, Wigan Athletic, if they manage to get past Millwall in the replay.

Manchester City on the other hand, awaits the winner of the Manchester United and Chelsea replay coming up in Stamford Bridge pretty soon.

Despite the glooms of the FA Cup, Liverpool gave me and many Arsenal fans out there reasons to smile as the unbeaten, unstoppable and red-hot Tottenham (*yawns*) activated the world-famous self-destruct button to allow the Reds grab all three points.

As Arseblog rightly stated, Hugo Lloris was invoked by the spirit of Manuel Almunia’s ghost, and trust me, that was a pleasurable sight watching Stewart Downing blasting the ball through that bloke’s legs to an unguarded net.

From an Arsenal perspective, Wenger must be gnashing his teeth in his failure to get Ajax’s Jan Vertonghen when he had the chance. For what it’s worth, Vertonghen was available when he opted for a calamity like Andre Santos before he was snapped up by Spurs.

Oh well, that’s football – you sign some, you lose out on some.

The investigations made after the alleged missile thrown at Gareth Bale in the last North London Derby has gained some ground, as Thomas Flint, an Arsenal fan, will appear in court after hurling a banana at Bale.

In football, a few players have their lookalikes – Fabio most certainly looks like Rafael, Petr Cech looks like James Blunt, Sami Khedira looks like Milan Baros and Gareth Bale looks like a _____ (fill in the gap).

However, tossing a fruit at the bloke was a poor piece of judgment from Mr. Flint, as the banana was best suited to be in his belly rather than being hurled at a professional player. We really need to kick racism out of football, like the way Abou Diaby kicked ________ in the 2007 Carling Cup final. *coughs*

With the football world firmly focused on tonight’s Champions League fixture between Barcelona and AC Milan, many would hope not to see any mysterious penalties or red cards for the visitors but Arsenal fans on the other hand, will be anxiously waiting for their team to put up one hell of a show against Bayern Munich in Bavaria.

If it’s any consolation, Arsenal lost miserably at home to Inter Milan a few seasons ago but a Thierry Henry-inspired hat-trick saw the Gunners run away with an historic 5-1 victory in San Siro. Unfortunately, we have Olivier Giroud, not that goal-crazy, highly technical, classy, swaggerlicious French legend with a bronze statue in our ranks.

Igweeeeeeeee!!!!!

For reasons best known to Frankenstein, Lord Voldemort and the Biker Mice from Mars, Arsenal’s stalwart, Arsene Wenger, has stated that his team can beat Bayern Munich,

“There have been a few wins by Arsenal in the Champions League that we are all very proud of. We just have to convince ourselves that we can do it in Munich as well.

“Yes, the chance is small, but the chance makes the impossible possible.

“That would be a great credit for our team if we do it. We have to try to achieve it.”

As a thoroughbred Arsenal supporter, I’ve seen my club defy the odds in European football – the amazing run to the 2006 Champions League final that saw the Gunners oust juggernauts like Real Madrid and Juventus, the Thierry Henry-inspired away victories in Italy against AS Roma and Inter Milan, the exhilarating 2-1 win over Barcelona, the enthralling first half performance that saw the Gunners sweep three past AC Milan and the list goes on.

Arsene Wenger has urged his team to attack Bayern Munich and he also stated that a positive mindset is vital for the 90 minutes. The bookmakers have harshly tipped Arsenal at 40/1 to get a good result from Munich but scoring three unreplied goals against this imperious Bayern Munich side in the Allianz Arena, a ground where they hardly concede goals, will certainly be too much to ask.

As expected, a few Gunners have given their takes on Wednesday’s fixture and Gervinho believes that a miracle could still happen at Munich, even if it would be a miracle if he plays. -_______-

It’s okay to have faith though, even if it could be on a futile affair as well.

Elsewhere, a prominent member of the Bayern hierarchy, Uli Hoeness, revealed that the club tried to sign Arsene Wenger, but the manager remained faithful to his team unlike from French money-seeking mercenaries, Spanish home-sicklers, a Cameroonian with hairstyle no different from a tarantula and that bow-legged Dutch disciple that sold out for 30 pieces of silver.

An extensive match preview will be published tomorrow.

As I always say,

Sayonara.

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Arsene Wenger on the Hot Seat as Arsenal’s Crisis Intensifies

 

 

Can he still change this around?

For every thoroughbred Arsenal fan out there, this is certainly one of the lowest points of being a fan of the team we love and support with undying faith. Everyone concerned with the club had a tumultuous summer with its captain jumping ship to seek greener pastures elsewhere. The new kids on the block did their bit to adjust to life in North London and the Gunners began the campaign well, with three clean sheets in their first four Premier League games.

Fast forward to December and the Gunners are in shambles. Two of its key players, Theo Walcott and Bacary Sagna are having serious issues with their contracts and all directions currently point to the exit door, which will be a big blow to the Gunners. Sagna can be ranked among one of the best right backs in the business, while Walcott’s output on the pitch is unrivaled, as he currently leads the club’s scoring charts.

With Manchester United among others on the prowl for the Englishman, I won’t surprised if Arsenal buckles and sells him off to the highest bidder. The last time I checked, Arsenal is all about the profits.

There are also issues with some of the club’s playing personnel, that are more than happy to get their paychecks at the end of each week, instead of giving their all on the pitch. Arsenal currently employs ineffectual employees like Sebastien Squillaci, Marouane Chamakh, Johan Djourou and the rest of the lot that earn more than they play but when it comes to giving deserved pay to those that are worth it, it suddenly becomes an issue.

Robin van Persie had smashed in close to 50 goals in his last one and half seasons or so with Arsenal, and he single-handedly guaranteed Champions League football for the Gunners with 30 Premier League goals in the last campaign. With his past injury record and age slowly creeping in on his side, he had hoped to get one final bumper deal from the club he claimed he loved, but Arsenal could come up with a paltry offer of £130,000 per week.

Van Persie would have still been on everyone’s good books if he secured a move abroad, but he chose to join Arsenal’s rivals, Manchester United, and he currently earns £235,000 per week, which was three times his last deal at the Emirates. Yet Arsenal chooses to pay Chamakh £60,000 per week (same with a more productive Giroud) and Squillaci £50,000 per week.

If the club joined their combined funds of £110,000 per week to van Persie’s standing £80,000 per week contract, he would have still being Arsenal’s captain. To top it all off, after making claims that they were going to make him sit out for the remainder of his contract, the Arsenal hierarchy sold him for £24m, an amount we can produce from our coffers without blinking twice.

I might be opening old wounds with the van Persie saga, but the Gunners have failed to replace the Flying Dutchman with a proven goalscorer of repute. The media Vultures did their bit to link the Gunners with many forwards, but Wenger opted for Ligue 1′s top goalscorer last season, Olivier Giroud.

I must say that Arsenal struck a great bargain with Giroud. He’s a strong, well-built lad with a frame that makes him a thorn in the flesh of opposition Premier League defenders. However, Giroud wasn’t meant to support van Persie, not replace him.

In van Persie’s absence, the Gunners have struggled for goals this season and when they’ve had their chances, inept forwards like Gervinho pop up and spurn the clear cut chances. Here’s a friendly reminder.

That miss against Bradford was just a tip of the iceberg in Gervinho’s appalling season thus far. The Ivorian cost the Gunners £11m from LOSC Lille Metropole, and one has to ponder on the kind of talent Ligue 1 produces. For every Gervinho, there’s a Hazard and for every Chamakh, there’s a Drogba.

I’m sure you get my drift.

For all the excellent passing play and orgasmic football Arsenal entices its fans with, football is a game graded by results and the club has been found wanting on this front.

The club was paired in a Champions League group with French champions, Montpellier Herault SC, Greek Champions, Olympiakos Piraeus, and German heavyweights, Schalke 04. The Gunners were expected to sweep through the group with ease but a return of three wins, a draw and two defeats saw the Gunners finish Group B as runner-up.

This means that the Gunners could face a European superpower in the Knockout Phase in February, and the Champions League adventure could come to an abrupt end yet again. The worrying issue is that the Gunners might not make it to Europe’s elite competition next season, judging from their inconsistent showings in the Premier League.

Arsenal had a very realistic chance of ending its trophy drought when they took onto the pitch in Valley Parade to play a Fourth-tier Bradford side 65 places below them in the English football rankings. Even with the strength of the Arsenal squad on display, it took a late Thomas Vermaelen equalizer to bring the game into extra time. We all know how the game climaxed so there’s no point taking you down memory lane.

There were protests after the Swansea game but the last AST Forum with the Arsenal hierarchy didn’t go down well. The AST can’t fathom why the club’s reserves are under-utilized and they want the boss to wipe the dust off Arsenal’s cheque book this January to get some quality players into the team. For fuck’s sake, Klass-Jan Huntelaar is available for a knock-down price of £6m.

Heed to these words from AST spokesman, Tim Payton,

“The AST believe a shake-up is needed. We would like to see younger blood added to the board, and they also need to exercise more control and direction over Arsene’s strategy.

“One man cannot direct all transfer targets, wages, coaching methods and manage the team. It’s too much for one man.”

This is certainly the lowest point in Arsene Wenger’s 16-year stint at the club. The fans have dealt with the regular disappointments of the past, but just like the way S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury lied to the Avengers, revealing the blood-stained cards of Agent Coulson, which gave them the right push to fight Loki in the hit movie, the Avengers, the humiliating loss to Bradford was the push Arsenal needed to act.

The fans want Wenger’s head on a plate but the manager, as always, has the backing of the Board. There has been some talk about Pep Guardiola expressing his interest, rather tentatively, in Wenger’s job, but I’ll take it with a pinch of salt. There’s also side talk of some players losing their faith in the manager but ex-Gunner, Martin Keown, thinks otherwise, as he has urged everyone to keep the faith.

I’m no AKB (Arsene Knows Best) but sacking Arsene Wenger right now will not be in the club’s best interests. What I’d rather say is that this is certainly a pivotal season for Wenger and his position as manager will definitely be reassessed at the end of the season.

If Arsenal buys some quality players during the winter transfer window, get to the Champions League semis only to lose to Barcelona courtesy of a Vermaelen red card and late Lionel Messi penalty, finish the Premier League in fourth place and win the FA Cup, we all know that it would be more than enough to make Wenger save his job.

I’m certainly no soothsayer, but I really love what Wenger has done for the club. It would be a shame if everything go down the drain because of his undying faith in useless, yes, useless players like Gervinho, Chamakh and the rest of the lot in their mold.

A win against Reading will go a long way in picking up the pieces.

Till then, keep calm and love Arsenal.

Sayonara.

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Wenger Douses Contract Flames and Andre Santos Charged

Arsene Wenger is Arsene-al.

He’s currently the club’s longest serving manager as he has already notched up over 900 matches in 16 amazing years. The first nine years were filled with fond memories as he brought Arsenal out of the gallows, revolutionized the club and topped it all of with an intricate style of football that saw his sides win trophies after trophies.

Premier League titles, FA Cups, you name it. Monsieur Wenger has been there and has definitely done that. However, the UEFA Champions League has eluded the French gaffer as his side continues to have doses of bad luck, injuries, suspensions and shameful officiating, with the most recent being that foolish act in the Barcelona – Arsenal clash two seasons ago.

The last seven years of Arsene Wenger’s tenure has failed to reap fruit and the way players exit the club freely has changed the outlook of this team, as it’s now labelled as the new Walmart of football.

Players that have gone through Wenger’s alchemy move on to seek greener pastures but the boss continues to rebuild because Arsenal is like the mythical creature, Hydra – you take one head off, another pops up.

The latest instalment of the Arsenal Player Sales Chronicles was the bewildering exit of Alex Song to Barcelona, and it caused mixed emotions at the club.

Some were happy to see Song leave because they felt that he wasn’t doing his “primary job” well, disrupting the team’s harmony and the funds would be used to finance the acquisition of a new holding midfielder. Other weren’t happy because Song was a player that just hit his prime and his output to the team last season was very encouraging, which gave this faction a hope for the future with a gem like Song in the club.

However, Song’s departure didn’t go down well with a senior player in the form of Bacary Sagna, that was quick to voice his frustrations on the matter. This bit of info made the media Vultures speculate that Sagna was next in line to leave the club, but Wenger has intervened on the situation,

“That he was disappointed that Song left, I can understand, but when you look at the number of players we have in midfield, you can understand that as well.

He’s close to Diaby as well. So when you have Arteta, Diaby, Cazorla and Song, one can’t play”

I fall in the ranks of the Arsenal faithful that was disappointed with the sale of Song, but seeing Abou Diaby’s renaissance gave me some peace of mind. As expected, Diaby is already in the treatment room but I know that there are able deputies that can hold the fort till he’s fully fit.

Francis Coquelin can get a chance to strut his stuff as the enforcer, allowing Mikel Arteta to return to his box-to-box role. There’s also the much-maligned Aaron Ramsey that can put in an efficient shift in Diaby’s absence.

In the Premier League, one manager stands out for not just being outstanding, but for his tactical proficiency, influence, pink face and gum eating escapades. Sir Alex Ferguson is managing Arsenal’s fiercest rivals after Tottenham, but the commitment he has shown to Manchester United is unrivalled.

Speaking of commitment, the Arsenal hierarchy has decided to take a step forward by offering Arsene Wenger a new contract but the manager has invoked the spirit of Robin van Judas Iscariot, as he was quick to cool down contract talks,

“I have two years to go. What is important for me is Southampton (on Saturday) and I think I’ve shown my commitment in the past.

I’m an Arsenal man and I think I’ve always shown that. I have to consider if I do well or not…if I don’t do well, I’ll consider my future”

In his time at Arsenal, Wenger has been linked to coaching roles in Spain, but he has remained steadfast at Arsenal, doing what he does best. With his bumper contract expiring at 2014, I’m pretty sure that Wenger would take time to think through, before putting pen to paper.

As he rightly said, should Arsenal fail to win any trophy till 2014 (God forbid!), that would make it 10 years of the trophy drought. Wenger will also be 65 years old as well, so he’ll have to consider his health and other factors to know if he can continue to cope with the rigors of the Premier League.

Whatever happens, I’ll always be there for my club, with or without Arsene Wenger.

Moving on to some off the field shenanigans, the cuddly Brazilian maverick, Andre Santos, was arrested last month for practising Grand Theft Auto in reality. The police chums had stated that the leftback was speeding at 130 mph with his Maserati.

He was charged this week with dangerous driving and he is due to appear in Hendon Magistrates’ Court on September 27. It is believed that Andre Santos could face a two-year jail term if he’s convicted.

With a club as disciplined as Arsenal, this act could have further ramifications for the Brazilian. Every one hopes that it turns out good because serving a jail term while playing for a prestigious club like Arsenal will paint a very bad image.

A preview for the Southampton game comes up tomorrow.

Sayonara.

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Long Term Plans for Arsene Wenger and Interesting Stats on Andre Santos

“Sure, someone will come out victorious, headed to the final to face off against Liverpool, hoping to salvage something from a year of disappointment. But the road there will be a painful 90 minutes of downright terrible football.”

These words were culled from a nice post tagged “Chelsea vs. Tottenham: Why the FA Cup Semifinal Is Going to Bore You to Death“.

I wasn’t “bored to death” after the second FA Cup semifinal clash between Chelsea and Tottenham. Instead, I witnessed a collection of goals ranging from sheer power (Didier Drogba), classy precision (Ramires the Great Lizard), consummate ease (Gareth the Chimp) and good technique (Frank Lampback of Notre Dame).

The turning point of the match will undoubtedly be the fictitious goal that was supposedly scored by Juan Mata. Replays clearly showed that the ball didn’t cross the line but I’ll let you know when I give two fledgling f*cks.

It was the Chicken on a Basketball that lost, remember?

At some point next month, Wembley will host the final clash between King Kenny Dalglish’s Red Army and Roberto di Matteo’s Blue Goons. I’ll have to give it to the Italian, Andres Villas-Boa Constrictor wouldn’t have reached this far in my opinion.

Moving over to the world of Arsenal, there will be a match against Wigan Athletic tonight, but a few things have dominated the headlines here and there.

Starting from the top, the Arsenal hierarchy is keen on keeping Arsene Wenger for the long term:

“For him to stay longer than that (2014) would be perfect. I can’t think of ­anybody better to run the team. He has shown how much rubbish people were talking earlier this season. We had a terrible run of ­injuries and that obviously had an effect.”

“He has a young squad, with some excellent young players. He is building a young team with a great future and I am sure he would love to see them develop. I would want him to stay as long as he is happy here. He has been with us 15 years and has done a ­magnificent job.

“I want him to stay for the long-term and I see no ­reason at all why he should want to go.”

Arsene Wenger represents vision, principles and continuity. On the 30^th of September, 1996, he took on a job that he has been with till date making him one of the longest serving managers in club football history. He marked his Arsenal start with a 2-0 win against Blackburn and he ended his first season in third place. He also welcomed Patrick Vieira to the club and the lanky holding midfielder spent the best part of nine magical years serving Arsenal making 279 appearances and scoring 28 league goals.

In Wenger’s second season in charge, he achieved the unthinkable with a League and Cup double despite being 12 points behind Manchester United at the turn of the year. The double winning squad had a water-tight rock solid defense in an all-English affair led by Tony Adams. He was supported by Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown was somewhere in the mix.

Wenger also had the great David Seaman as the custodian between the sticks and the midfield was blessed with Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira while Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka did the business upfront.

In the turn of the new millennium, Manchester United became a dominant force and Arsenal had to settle for second place but Wenger came close to glory in the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in a penalty loss to Galatasaray (2000) while Liverpool had the upper hand in the FA Cup final of 2001.

Wenger’s squad had a fresh outlook with the injection of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Fredrik Ljungberg and Sol Campbell. Arsenal overthrew Manchester United in the sweetest possible way in the 2001/02 double winning season with a win at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season.

Manchester United exerted their revenge the next season but Wenger’s class of 2004 achieved immortality by being the first team to go through an entire season unbeaten.

After the FA Cup triumph of 2005, the trophy well has dried up quicker than the wells in the Sahara. Like a mirage in such regions, Arsenal fans have witnessed cups pass by like Oases only to hit hard by the harsh realities of losing cup finals.

Arsene Wenger has been pushed to the limit this season and was faced with adversity. The Frenchman has proved his mettle and will certainly be the manager to bring the glory days back to Arsenal.

This season, the Gunners experienced a shambolic Summer filled up with the disappointments of the exits of key players coupled with that humiliating defeat to Manchester United. Autumn saw the Gunners surge up the table only to allow the injury chills of the Winter affect their early performances of 2012.

Spring has been in full bloom as the Gunners are currently in pole position for a third place finish.

Andre Santos arrived in Arsenal on the transfer deadline as Gael Clichy’s replacement. To be honest, I had no bloody idea about his abilities because there was no way I would take out time to watch the Turkish Superliga.

I’ve had my fair glimpses of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas in the Champions League and that was it. However, I still have fond memories of Arsenal’s 5-2 win over Fenerbahce in their turf. Aaron Ramsey broke his Champions League duck and the calamitous Mikael Silvestre followed Pascal Cygan’s footsteps to register a brilliant own goal.

Andre Santos was a breath of fresh air as he marauded Arsenal’s left wing with more attacking verve than Gael Clichy offered. He has even scored the same amount of goals in just a few months with what Clichy managed in his entire Arsenal career.

However, the Brazilian’s defensive contribution to the club has been a bit suspect. He has been caught high up the field in some occasions, doesn’t track back too well and he has been very sloppy at times. #

A great Arsenal blogger called Maverick Gooner took out time to create a brilliant statistical analysis on Andre Santos defensive capabilities. In the analysis, Andre Santos was compared with his own team-mate Kieran Gibbs, as well as left-backs from the remaining three top-four teams, Patrice Evra, Gael Clichy and Benoit Assou-Ekoto.

From the first table in the article, it was shown that Andre Santos has started the least number of games and played the least amount of time. However, this was caused by the ankle injury he suffered in the tail end of 2011 and it sidelined him for the best part of three months.

The second table in the article showed Andre Santos’ involvement and success rates in duels and interceptions made. He wasn’t far off from Kieran Gibbs but he was way ahead the other three left backs in the aforementioned list.

He has certainly been a good signing for the Gunners and I truly hope that his injury woes are now behind him. Arsenal has been reaping the rewards of a fit Theo van Persie, I hope Andre Santos follows suit.

Sayonara.

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A Plea for Video Technology and Andre Santos’ Take on the Balotelli Incident

Song...You Lucky Bastard!

This is actually one of those boring Saturdays were you’ll hardly find any Arsenal match preview in the million and one blogs out there because there’s no game to look forward too. While we wait till Monday to play a Wigan side high on confidence, we’ll be faced with the gruelling task of watching two derbies in Wembley.

The high-spending King Kenny and his Red Goons are set to take on the shrewd David Moyes and his Blue dogged Army. The Scot was in familiar surroundings in 2009 when his Everton side needed the drama of a penalty shoot-out to knock Manchester United out.

Arsenal took on Chelsea in the other semifinal but the antics of Lukasz Fabianski late on will never be forgotten in a long while. Truthfully speaking, it wasn’t half as bad as his howler against FC Porto a year later. He’s still a decent goalie nonetheless.

Today’s other semi will see those Sp*rs take on Chelsea in what promises to be another dull encounter. I’ve watched both sides play twice this season and I dozed off watching both games. I think I’ll be better suited playing my Football Manager 2012 this time.

However, Chelsea’s interim boss, Roberto di Matteo, has been on the spotlight recently, calling for an overhaul of the FA’s disciplinary procedures following Chelsea’s failure to get Branislav Ivanovic off a violent conduct charge.

Di Matteo criticized the FA for finding Ivanovic guilty of striking the Wigan midfielder Shaun Maloney during Saturday’s Premier League game at Stamford Bridge. Video evidence was used after the game and the Serb was issued with a three-match ban.

These are the same guys that surprisingly became “blind” when Mario Balotelli almost snapped Alex Song’s leg like a twig with a horror studs-up challenge. Had Song’s leg been planted firmly on the ground, we might have had another Abou Diaby, Eduardo da Silva or Aaron Ramsey.

Di Matteo also wondered why such technology hasn’t been used in reviewing goals and has called for consistency in decision-making. Arsene Wenger on the other hand, has called for video technology to be introduced in the Premier League to help referees make correct decisions.

Wenger believes that video technology will help the referees, rather than question their authority. Skeptics believe that the introduction of this technology would slow down the game but Wenger has denied that it would be the case.

However, football’s Mouamar Gaddafi, Sepp Blatter has backed the introduction of goal-line technology and that he’ll “die” if he saw another World Cup goal-line blunder such as Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal for England.

Arseblogger made an interesting quote in his post tagged “More on Refs and Vids“

“I’m expecting smashed femurs, busted knee-caps, roundhouse kicks to the face like a common Patrick Swayze, karate chops to the neck and a flurry of kidney punches, only for a red card to be shown to the man who gets a second yellow for kicking the ball away. Hey, I’m just adapting to what I’ve seen from Atkinson and other officials this week.”

The match officials and FA have shown more inconsistency than Abou Diaby ability not to get injured, and as expected, they’ve incurred the rage of Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal’s boss is no stranger to engagement with officials, as he has been given a three-match ban plus a fine in the UEFA Champions League for an off-the-field involvement with a referee while the Sporting CP is facing a cheaper fine for the putrid racial acts performed by their fans on You-Know-Who.

Still sticking with that horrific incident that took place last week Sunday, Andre Santos has stated that his actions on the pitch were a consequence of Balotelli’s behaviour throughout the game.Within minutes of taking onto the pitch, Andre Santos earned himself a booking after an infringement on the Italian Mohican.  There was still time for the Brazilian left back to give gestures with the forward.

Speaking to some Brazilian media vultures, Andre Santos said:

“In the first half Balotelli almost broke Song’s leg, than he harshly tackled Sagna. Someone had to be hard on him, put him in his place. Someone had to say something to him because he was doing what he wanted, and that’s not how things work.”

“I was watching from the bench. When I was on the pitch I’d have the job to mark him, and that’s what I did. It’s part of the game.”

These quotes have clearly shown that this present Arsenal lot is a close-knit bunch. From that game of the season contender against Tottenham, Arsene Wenger’s men have worked their skins off for each other on the pitch and they have been justly rewarded by amassing 27 points from a possible 30.

When I think of the amount of distance Gervinho had to make up to cover up for Kieran Gibbs against Aston Villa, or the way the team rallied around their captain when he had that bust-up with Tim Krul. When I think of the countless tackles, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky have made or how Robin van Persie slaved to win the ball back in the build up to Arsenal’s third goal against Wolves.

For the first time in a long while, this is one summer I’m looking forward too.

A summer were Arsenal’s finest will represent their nations in European National Football’s elite competition, a summer where Arsene Wenger has promised not to splurge yet we may expect the likes of Lukas Podolski, Jan Vertonghen and Yann M’Vila and a summer where our deadwood will finally be shipped out to free our wage bill.

Most importantly, this is a summer where Arsenal’s squad will be together because these men are on a mission to end the club’s trophy drought as one collective unit.

I just hope that Theo van Persie contracts will be sorted out as well as worthy pay rises for Alex Song, Wojciech Szczesny and others that duly deserve it.

Here’s to Arsenal’s Samba boy, Andre Santos.

I love that gay.

Sayonara.

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