Silly season in full swing...

The real season is over so the silly season can now start!

Unlike previous summers, the big players have hit the ground running, with deals aplenty. The most significant so far, is Man City signing Gareth Barry.

Once Barry's agent had leaked the rubbish that Barry wanted to go to Arsenal, it was no surprise that one of the big spenders jumped in. It might have been Liverpool, but it turned out it was Man City who ended up paying £12 million for a 28 year old with a year left on his contract. Rafa Benitez was aiming to pay around £8 million, and with no other takers this might have been possible. In the end, the agent and Aston Villa must be happy with that fee, and Gareth "I want to play Champions League football" Barry has ended up at Eastlands. Apparently, Man City have Tevez, Eto'o and Kolo Toure in their sights.

The other saga is Kaka, who, I understand, is on his way to Real Madrid once his father, sorry, his agent, gets himself a pay day as well.

In terms of Arsenal, there is not much to report. The usual unreliable websites have started their unsubstantiated rumours that roundly get circulated and then turned into a story but at the moment there is nothing concrete to report. We shouldn't be surprised because that is how Arsenal do business. Sport.co.uk is reporting that we have signed the Ajax defender Vermaelen, and its no surprise that various blogs have taken the story and run with it. It might be true, but to be honest, sport.co.uk have not previously been reliable. They tend to run with anything that sniffs of a story and routinely link us with every player under the sun.

It seems to me, several of the big clubs will be spending a lot of the summer fending off interest from Spain. Man U will be fighting a determined Real Madrid to hold onto Ronaldo, Liverpool will be doing the same with Xabi Alonso, and Arsenal, if we believe the rumours are in danger of losing Fabregas and Adebayor to Barca and Milan/Chelsea respectively.

Predictably, Chelsea have been linked with several players including Ribery, Pato, Adebayor, as well as Kaka, not to mention Glen Johnson.

Interestingly, the rumour mill has not enswirled 'available' players like Roque Santa Cruz but we wait with baited breath.

So, dear gunners fans, hold your breath for an interesting summer, but remember to take everything you read with a gigantic pinch of salt.

Arsenal...the season that was.

So the season is over for Arsenal, a few days to take stock, think about the whole season, not just the last few weeks and decide what's needed to take Arsenal back to where we all believe they should be.

And so I present my own personal review of the season, its ups and downs, and I'm sure you won't agree with all of it!

Player of the Season

William Gallas

What! I hear you cry. After losing the captaincy he has been our most consistent performer all season and you can even make a case for his injury being the single most contributory factor to us losing those key games at the end of the season.

Game of the Season

Liverpool 4 Arsenal 4

The obvious choice would have been a game that we had won, and there are contenders for that. Beating Man U at home was a great victory. However, the game at Anfield was full of excitement, goals, and with Liverpool needing to win, had the edge to it which provided extra tension. It also heralded the arrival of Andrey Arshavin who contributed 4 goals.

Most Disappointing Player of the Season

Emmanuel Adebayor

I write this as an Adebayor fan. For me, he has all the natural attributes in the world, and has enormous potential, if only he had Carlos Tevez's attitude! If he gets his head right and rediscovers his hunger, he can be a great player for Arsenal. Unfortunately, due in part to injury, but mostly the perceived courtship with AC Milan last summer, he lost the love of the fans and underperformed this season. He is the biggest disappointment because he can be so much better.

Signing of the Season

Andrey Arshavin

Samir Nasri was also a good signing but Arshavin's acquisition demonstrated the recognition by the board and manager that experience was needed and what a difference he has and will make. Especially next season when he will play Champions league.

Ivan Gazidis

I think he has been the most important signing for the club in general. He has galvanised the board, taken some of the pressure off Wenger by lightening his load, and been isntrumental in bringing the likes of Arshavin to the club. I like the way he supports the manager but is clear about his own ideas without undermining important figures in the club. I look forward to what he can bring in the summer.

Performance of the Season

Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2

People easily forget this match, but after going behind, the Arsenal team dug in and beat Chelsea in their own patch. No one expected that type of performance, and we thought it was a new dawn. Unfortunately, the erratic results continued and the team couldn't build on great results like this, and by the time consistency was found, the title was well out of reach.

Arsene Wenger's Moment of the Season

Arsenal 2 Man U 1

Despite all the criticism, there are many moments that the manager will be proud of. Beating Villareal, will certainly rank high among them but the victory at the Emirates over Man U will have given him the most pleasure. After all the criticism his young side received, to outplay the current champions and long term rivals was no mean feat. Arsenal hadn't beaten Man U so easily for a long while and in part this was vindication for Wenger's tranfer policy. It didn't unfortunately materialise into a title challenge.

Arsene Wenger Blunder of the Season

Arshavin absence FA Cup semi final

I am sure that when Arsene Wenger looks back on the season, this will be his biggest regret. If Arsenal had beaten Chelsea then they would have faced Everton in the final and had a real chance of some silverware this season. With Arshavin cup-tied for the champions league, this was the sort of game he was purchased for. Of course there have been other mistakes:Nasri given a withdrawn role in midfield with Cesc pushed forward when surely the other way around makes more sense. I would not put the failure to sign a defensive midfielder as a blunder. Clearly, this is what Arsenal need, but we know he tried and failed to sign Inler and Yaya Toure and I admire his belief that if you sign a player who isn't a youngster, he should be good enough to play for the first team. In other words, Wenger won't sign a player he intends to use as a squad player. If the right player is not available then it is better to sign no one.

Final Team Report

I would give the team a solid 7/10 this season. Collectively there have been achievements: the semi finals of FA Cup and Champions league, and finishing 4th, are reasonable achievements for a club of Arsenal's spending capabilities. If you consider Villa, Everton and Spurs, all of whom finished way below us, they all spent significantly more money, all have supposed 'great' managers and yet Arsene Wenger comes in for massive criticism. The reason is because Arsenal supporters look upwards towards the summit nowadays because of Wenger's amazing successes. And we must do the same for the next season. There have been mistakes along the way, and people forget the disastrous injuries that Arsenal suffered. Walcott, Fabregas, Adebayor, Gallas, Eduardo and Rosicky, to name but a few, all were out with long term injuries, and key players were missing at critical parts of the season, Gallas who I have already mentioned for example.

There are reasons to be optimistic: Almunia seems to be a solid keeper now, Song and Denilson have improved and most importantly, the board and manager seem to recognise what is needed, and what is missing. I am hopeful they will sign experienced players in defence and midfield. Fabregas, Nasri, Van Persie, Adebayor and Arshavin should all go from strength to strength.

Star for next season

There are so many who could potentially star in the premiership. Arshavin, Nasri, Fabregas, dare I say it, Eduardo or Rosicky and even Walcott could make an impact next season. I suspect though that Arshavin will drive the team forward, and I hope another star for us will be a new signing. I also have a funny feeling about Nicklas Bentdner. But don't quote me on that!

Realistic Aims for Next Season

Title Challenge/Trophy

We keep saying it, but Arsenal need to win a trophy. I personally think they need another title challenge. I look at Chelsea and see an ageing team, Man U may well lose Ronaldo this seaon which will be difficult to recover from, and I think Liverpool have had a purple patch of a season but are not as good as they think they are. They are still heavily dependent on two players. Don't be surprised if they fall to a disappointing third. If Arsenal get in the right players, I think a title challenge is not beyond them. I think winning the title might be a step too far, but challenging is definitely attainable. Last season we finished 4 points off the leaders and really should have won the title. A trophy would be nice, but being in the final shake-up as long as possible is what Arsenal need. Look at Liverpool this season, they won nothing but no one would say their season has been a failure.

Have a great summer, and the blog will go on, with the silly season almost upon us!

Arsene v angry shareholders. Who's right?

Following the shareholders meeting last week, Arsene Wenger has been suddenly flooded with support from all quarters. The written press now are rushing to his defence proclaiming his greatness and chastising those supporters who have criticised him so vehemently. Gone are those certain ex-players insisting that he needs to radically change his transfer policy, to be replaced by apparently different ex-players amazed at the attacks he has received and reminding us what he has achieved. Is this hypocrisy? Did the critical shareholders get it so wrong? Let's weigh up both sides.

In the blue corner, we have the critics. They make the case that the team is no nearer to challenging the title, that Arsene Wenger has misplaced his faith in some of his young players, and that he didn't replace the players that moved on. Some even argue that Wenger has outlived his managership, and the club needs a fresh direction under new stewardship.

In the red corner, we have the Wengerphiles. They argue that he has achieved miracles with a limited budget, has produced a top four team consistently with a young group of players assembled with a minimal net outlay. He has been strangled by boardroom instability and lack of funds and Arsenal would be where Tottenham are if it weren't for Wenger. This voice has been the strongest recently once a flirtation with Real Madrid was brought to light.

The problem with all this is that they are both right. Wenger, has, according to the board, had money to spend. He has had the opportunity to replace players, and add to the squad, and he has historically bought players with potential, with a few exceptions. That is his philosophy. It has previously worked brilliantly, but some would argue that perhaps it needs revision. He has also kept faith and defended players that most would regard as not good enough, and seems to view the team's overall performance differently to the rest of us. For example he refers to Arsenal as being in the top four in Europe. He doesn't mention that Arsenal met not team of note on the way to that semifinal. The board has also not done Wenger any favours. They were unbelievably slow to replaced David Dein, they have said that money is available should Wenger want it, which is actually not the same as handing him a transfer fund to do with it as he pleases. Wenger is a victim of his own success. He achieved the almost impossible by playing heavenly football, winning titles, all on a relative shoestring budget. Unfortunately, in doing this, he cranked up Arsenal supporters expectations and is now seeing the downside of that.

Having said that, some of the critics have been frankly shameful. Myles Palmer is a case in point. I won't quote him directly because I don't want to dignify his remarks and his website is widely read and easily found. These so-called Arsenal fans have remarkable amnesia, equalled only by their lack of loyalty. They conveniently forget that Wenger has been instrumental in transforming the image, the profile, the infrastructure and the stadium in which the club plays its football. Incidentally, he won't leave this summer, but eventually he will either through the end of his contract or through retirement and then the board will face their biggest challenge yet.

On balance, and I'm sure the board and Wenger acknowledge this, changes need to be made, particularly in terms of recruitment of players. All clubs with a track record of youth development do it within an environment of experienced players, and I think that has been recognised. As for Arsene Wenger's critics, if you call yourselves Arsenal supporters, you don't know what that means, I don't care about the rest of them.

Team of the Season

A quick post of my team of the season. I won't bother justifying selections exhaustively as this is so subjective.

So without further ado:



Schwarzer

Johnson
Vidic
Hangeland
Clichy

Ronaldo
Gerrard
Alonso
Arshavin

Torres
Rooney

Subs:
Evra, Lescott, Ferdinand, Cahill, Ireland, Anelka

Manager: David Moyes

Comments as always, welcome!

The Dust Settles

So, Manchester United crossed the line efficiently on the weekend rather than spectacularly. Arsenal restored some pride in their performance at Old Trafford and they can thank their opposition for playing largely within themselves, but it should still restore some much needed confidence.

For all Arsenal's good play at times, the Manchester United defence was rarely stretched, although they did play rather defensively which makes it difficult to create chances. Diaby played in his familiar position and looked better than he has done recently, Denilson did well, as did Cesc who again was played where he is more comfortable. I would have liked to have seen Adebayor in the lone striker role, because I think he plays it better than RVP who I think needs a partner up front. Arshavin was slightly subdued but I think we have seen enough of him to believe that he is going to be one of our most direct and exciting players for next season.

That leads me on to thinking about the summer and next season. We can look back on this season after it has finished, but we have seen enough as Arsenal fans to be filled with questions, and we look forward to seeing how they are answered.

There is much uncertainty surrounding the club at the moment both on the pitch and in the boardroom. This summer could see upheaval on both levels. The ownsership of the club might come to a head, which could have an impact on potential summer signings. I would like the protagonists to fight it out sooner rather than later, so as to give plenty of time for any changes to take effect on the squad. Put simply, if a takeover is going to mean more transfer funds, then get it over with so Arsene Wenger can spend it!

Speaking of transfers, the futures of Adebayor, RVP and even Gael Clichy seem to be in question. We wonder about new arrivals, and we have been promised experienced players by the manager who in my opinion has come in for some shameful criticism recently. I have said it before on this blog and I am not at all bothered to repeat it. He has done and continues to take this club to places it almost has no right to go. For such a young team to finish comfortably in 4th, and be in the semi finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League is no mean feat. They finished above teams with much more experienced players bought for far more money. Martin O'Neill for example, often lauded as a great manager, spent a fortune on players in the summer, and his team finished behind this Arsenal team who effectively lost key players in the summer.

Of course we judge ourselves by the top of the table and not who is below. I think Arsenal can only push on from here. The young players are very experienced, they will get better next season, we hope Eduardo and Rosicky will come back into the team and play more regularly that will strengthen the experience in the team not to mention new additions in the summer we expect. If those new additions are the right players and of the quality of Arshavin and Nasri then we have reason to be optimistic.

Assessing our rivals, I would say that Chelsea are the team most likely to fall back. They have an ageing team, they are likely to lose Drogba, and their manager, depending on who they bring in in the summer, I believe they are most vulnerable from the other top teams. Liverpool are an interesting case in point to give Arsenal hope. Last year they finished below Arsenal (who incidentally finished only 4 points behind the eventual champions) in 4th, they only really added Rieira to their squad but they leapfrogged Chelsea and really put up a fight for the title. This should give Arsenal fans some encouragement. This squad is actually quite big, despite what the press say, it needs reinforcements in key positions, but with the right ones, I think Arsenal could do great things.

Catching Man U next season and winning the league is probably too ambitious. But I think giving them a run for their money and finishing second will please most Arsenal fans and vindicate the manager. Winning the league quite honestly is dreamland, but not impossible.

Media Rubbish

I thought of doing a weekly look at the nonsense in the written press, there is usually a wide range to choose from. Unsuprisingly, today's offering is from the Daily Mail.

They claim Arsene Wenger has a transfer kitty of £13 million.

My dear fellow Gooners. That is complete drivel. Congratulations to the Daily Mail for its contribution to this column!

What now?

It's a reasonable question isn't it?

Heavy defeats to two of our supposed rivals, and save for Arshavin's brilliant performance and uncharacteristic errors by the Liverpool defence, it could have been worse. We all knew that the key games, starting with the FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea, would define our season. Our season has well and truly been defined.

In a way, the home defeat against Chelsea epitomises this Arsenal team, and I think of all the defeats, hurts the most. This may be surprising because it is the game that had the least riding on it, but the signs in that game are the most worrying. This was Arsenal in a nutshell. Started well, looked exciting, seemed to have Chelsea worried, created chances, but ultimately lacked the class that was glaringly present in two of Chelsea's goals. I want to make a small comment on Bendtner. Often criticised, and I am the first to admit that I am not his biggest fan, but he came on against Chelsea and I have to give him credit. We were down and out and he never stopped running. He took the game to Chelsea and did what none of our players managed, he intimidated Chelsea physically. He scored a great goal, muscling out Essien no less to head home. He was the only silver lining in a very black cloud.

That aside, Chelsea were ruthless. They didn't deserve the margin of victory and you could argue that on the balance of play, they didn't even deserve a victory, but win they did. They won because when it mattered, they possessed the composure and clinical finishing that was needed. Chelsea were everything Arsenal weren't. Efficient and solid without being spectacular.

Where do Arsenal go from here? Some people are talking about a total overhaul, we are already being linked with players left right and centre. Predictably, pundits are arguing that Arsenal need a centreback and a defensive midfielder.

I would argue, as I have already on this blog, that Arsenal need certain characters. Someone needs to be on the pitch who will kick the players who aren't performing up the behind. Someone is needed who will lead by example, show fighting spirit and intimidate the opposition, not by skill necessarily, but by strength of will. In short, Arsenal desperately need a leader.

Many of the Arsenal players are fantastic on their day, the problem is that they are confidence players. I often hear Arsene Wenger talk about not halting the development of the youngsters by making too many signings. Well, that makes no sense to me. Firstly, what gives the youngsters the divine right to play for one of the four biggest clubs in the Premiership? If our midfield was being patrolled by world class players I would understand that arguement. But I don't see why Diaby, Denilson and Song should have their development protected? They aren't exactly setting the Premiership alight, in fact, some healthy competition is likely to improve them. Not to mention the fact that an experienced midfielder might actually teach the youngsters a thing or to.

Don't get me wrong, I think Diaby has great potential, the problem is that he is never played in the same position twice, and has no role model at the club, that can't be good for his development.

Adebayor is another enigma. Wenger has to find some way to get him in the mood because he has enormous potential but the wrong attitude. Last year he was hungry, this year he is bloated. I have faith in him to develop into a top class centre forward, the question is whether he would do this at Arsenal. You can bet that Rafa Benitez or Alex Ferguson would not accept his attitude to the game.

So, where do we go from here. I would urge Arsenal as I have already said to buy leaders. Arsenal lack a spine and that's exactly what they need. The loss of Gallas, arguably our best player this season, was deeply felt, a physical imposing centreback surely is a priority. The talented young midfielders desperately need to be led, as much as the back four desperately need some protection. As others have said, a physical, intimidating midfielder is required, and as Fletcher demonstrated, he doesn't have to be supertalented, or a perfect technician, but I worry that Wenger won't see it that way.

So that brings us to the manager. Many so-called Arsenal fans have laid the blame squarely at his feet and insisted he leave. We don't know many things about the last few years. We don't know how much he really has had to spend, and I wonder where the club would be if he wasn't manager. He isn't stupid, he probably invests too much faith in his young players, but he believes that in this day of financially driven transfers the way to keep players leaving for the money is to groom them early to fall in love with the club.

I think we need to find a happy medium. There are some exciting young players at Arsenal, not as many though as we think. I would question how many of them will be top class. That aside, young players need guidance on as well as off the pitch, so if Wenger really believes in them then he should bring in some old heads to steady the ship, show the youngsters the ropes, and in a few years those youngsters might replace their masters. You never know, Arsenal might just win some trophies along the way.....

You Aren't Arsenal Fans

After yesterday's press conference, the media headlines were predictably diverse and misleading. One headline would declare that Wenger sticks to his guns and defends his youth policy, and another would say that Wenger admits he has to buy experience.

Anyone who thinks Arsene Wenger is going to turn around with three games left in the season and declare that his young squad isn't good enough and needs an overhaul, is dreaming. He will say exactly what those players need to hear right now, that is his priority. The team has taken a big hit and their season is effectively over, and the post mortems can start at the end of the season, but not now. Of course we expect the gutter press to start predicting doom and gloom, but Arsenal fans should know better, much better.

Firstly, let's acknowledge that Arsene Wenger has made mistakes this season. There is no doubt about that. He should have played Arshavin against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final, he says Arsenal got to the last four in the Champions league, when we all know it's because we didn't play anyone decent until then. Let's face it, if we had met any of the English teams or Barca in hte quarters, the likelihood is that we would have gone out. I know Arsene tried to sign a defensive midfielder last summer, Inler, Alonso and Toure were almost acquired, and I respect his belief that he should aim to buy players who will push for the first team, not squad players. He implied yesterday that he will only acquire players who will enhance the squad and will likely buy experienced players not youngsters.
Here is the quote:

"We will try of course to bring in one or two players to strengthen the squad but we have plenty of strikers....And if we buy, it certainly won't be players who lack experience. We have enough of those.

Isn't that what Arsenal fans want to hear?

Either way, even if he is saying things you don't want to hear, what he says may not be want he intends. He has the current players that have a few matches left to play this season in mind. Even if that were not the case, I am angry.

I am angry because when I survey the websites and blogs I see more and more calls for Wenger to leave or be sacked. Some of them disgusting and rude in their expression.

Can I just say to those blog writers or responders to blogs:

YOU ARE NOT ARSENAL FANS

You may think you are. But you aren't. You just want to support a winning team. You don't want to support Arsenal. If you thought about how much Arsene Wenger has done for this club, if you bothered to consider where the club would be now without him, if you could see the way the club is run, the training ground, the lifestyles of the players, the culture of the club, you would realise it is mostly down to that man. Cast you eyes at Aston Villa, Tottenham and Man City who have spent much more than Arsenal, have very good managers in post, and still can't get close to us. More importantly, have you thought who could possibly take over?

So all those who are calling for Wengers' head, we don't need your support, we don't want you at the ground, you belong in the Newcastle or Real Madrid boardroom, or writing a tedious column for the Daily Rag.

You are not Arsenal supporters.