Why it was important to finish 4th

first of all, it enabled us to finish above those muppets. Yet again. Even with their greatest ever points tally.

but finishing 4th, and consequently gaining entry into Europe's elite competition, holds more importance than that. More so than any of the previous 16 seasons.

I'm not pleased at settling for 4th, I've stated many times I would love us to go all out for the FA Cup. I grew up in a time where Arsenal were consistently in the latter stages of that competition, and getting knocked out by lower league opposition seemed somewhat ridiculous.

But here we are. We have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The past two seasons have been horrible. Unbearable to watch at times. I've even made plans on matchdays just so I don't have to see us struggle and be downhearted at what I'm seeing. This summer though, is crucial. We have the upper hand over the top teams - continuity. And by all accounts, we have the means to improve. Really improve. The calibre of players we are being linked to, and all the noises coming out of the club, signals a change in tactic from all involved at the club. Arsene Wenger has certainly rediscovered his winning streak, as shown by dropping his No.1 and captain, working to brilliant effect. If you've seen him on the touchline this season, can you honestly say he likes finishing fourth?

None of us do. But can you imagine what finishing in 5th place would have done? Once we are out of the top 4, it is going to be very hard to get back into it. Just look at Liverpool, not long ago they ran Man Utd very close to the title 4 years ago.

We now have a springboard to use to challenge at the very top. It feels like finally, we are coming out of our transition. In that transition, we have maintained a top 4 position. That cannot be overlooked. Wenger is a genius for guiding us to that.

This summer feels different. We have no dark clouds hanging above us, the only key players who will leave (Thomas Vermaelen and Bacary Sagna) are on our say so. Which feels bloody good.

The players should be proud of their achievements in the past few months, but should not rest at that. Time to kick on, and make up some ground on those 3 teams above. All 3 teams above us, incidentally, who will have new managers in charge. How they get on is a lottery as far as I'm concerned.

Definitely looking forward to who we bring in. I genuinely feel we will sign someone with a huge 'wow' factor, someone along the lines of a Santi Cazorla type playmaker.

Finishing in the top 4 keeps us ticking over very nicely, and provides the perfect springboard for the season ahead. Times are changing at Arsenal, and certainly for the better.

Let's learn from previous mistakes and get our business done early.

Plenty of reason to be optimistic

Hello all.

It has been a while since I've done this. A mix of moving house, changing work and probably most damning, the lack of enthusiasm to write about the red and white half of North London.

We started last season poorly, recovered quite well in the middle part before slowly dragging ourselves over the finishing line. We finished third. Tottenham finished fourth. A very important outcome giving eventual Champions League winners Chelsea effectively wiped out the fourth place spot. Job done. A huge result that we may look back on in years to come as defining.

I think people over look the importance of finishing in the Champions League. Finishing outside of the top 4 represents many things: a reduction of income, a hit in prestige and the loss of key players. Now, you could argue we lose key players despite finishing in the Champions League places, and that is fairly evident. We've lost Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas over the years. This year, we've lost Robin van Persie and Alex Song. But it is this year, that something feels different. Different in the fact we've brought in quality, in quantity. We've signed Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and most impressively, Santi Cazorla. We got these guys in before letting Alex Song and Robin van Persie leave. Would this have been achievable had we failed to beat West Brom at the end of last season? Highly, highly unlikely.

My last point about achieving a top 4 finish is that it represents a tough cycle. Ask Liverpool fans. They are finding it harder than ever to get back into the top 4, after so many years of playing in the Champions League. Is players like Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll worth the exclusion of Champions League football at the expense of a Carling Cup? Whilst winning the league is the dream, hell even an FA Cup here or there would be nice, Champions League football in the requirement.

So Arsenal are in the Champions League. Again. Because of that, we've negated the loss of Robin van Persie in my opinion. Yes, he scored a lot of goals last season. He scored the majority of our goals. But, a club like Arsenal are always going to create chances. Not once did I agree we were a one man team. It wasn't as if Robin van Persie beat 10 men on his own and slotted past the keeper 30 odd times last season. He scored the odd wonder goal, and we all appreciated that. Robin van Persie was brilliant, because we made him brilliant. From the fans chanting his name week in week out, to the boss who put so much faith into him and to the players who created for him. How many assists did Theo Walcott rack up, to allow the Dutchman to finish off the simplest of moves? Robin van Persie is now no longer an Arsenal player. I don't wish him the best, but I also don't wish him an injury or anything of the like. He's nothing to me now.

Between Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, we've replaced our former captain. I'm particularly excited to see how the towering Frenchman gets on. He looks a classy, yet powerful hitman. I expect him to hit the net 10+ times this season. He had a chance to score the winner versus Sunderland at the weekend, but missed. Scores, and he's a hero. Football really is a fine line. Who is to say van Persie would of scored that? Because he scored every single chance presented to him last season? I'm sure the AC Milan game at home confirmed that. Lukas Podolski is an explosive player we just cannot write off. It will take him a while to get to grips with our game, but he is very reminiscent of van Persie. Once Arsene Wenger has trained him, Podolski will be an absolute success. Of that I am sure.

First day of the season is a funny time of year. We judge so quickly. Swansea are en route to win the league, and QPR are doomed to relegation already. The midfielder from Swansea, Michu, is already been talked about as a bargain. He may very well be an excellent signing, but those two goals might be the only goals he scores this season. Time will tell.

Arsenal drew with Sunderland. A rugged Sunderland hell bent on not attacking. Huge crisis? Well, we didn't lose. We didn't concede. Two positives right there. And positives from individual players. Gervinho sparkled in parts, Abou Diaby showed glimpses and Santi Cazorla looks like an outrageously gifted player.

This team isn't ready yet. A lack of pre season is the reason for that I guess. Combinations and understandings are still to be formed. But the potential is there. With news of the impending arrival of Nuri Sahin on loan from Real Madrid, hopefully with an option to buy, we have the hallmarks of a quality squad. A squad of technically amazing footballers. The one thing I was downhearted about last season, was that our wow factor was missing. Our passing and movement, one touch interplay seemed lacking at times. Now, we hopefully return to that with freshness and purpose.

I am once again optimistic of the season ahead. I don't think we will win the league, but I don't think we will be far away. As for the Champions League, who knows? It could be our year.

With lots of transfer activity to happen between now and September, the feel good factor should reappear for the Arsenal.

Bring on the season ahead.

Thanks for reading.

An apology to Arsene Wenger

I've been meaning to write this post the past week, but work schedule etc has hampered that. If truth be told, I haven't had the motivation to write about the Arsenal pre the Tottenham, and I don't know whether that makes me a bad supporter or not, but I really hate being negative.

Thankfully, due to current form, I have nothing to be negative about. And that is down to one man, Arsene Wenger. Humble pie time, and I hold my hands up and admit I started to question him after the Sunderland defeat in the FA Cup. I thought he lost his aura amongst the players, that like the last previous seasons, he fails to motivate the players when it really matters. Well, he has proved me completely wrong. And I couldn't be more delighted for him. Barring the last 5 years, I've grown up supporting Arsenal during a time when it was easy to. We won a lot of trophies, and played absolute outstanding football. The man behind all of that: Arsene Wenger.

Unlike others, I'm happy to admit I'm wrong. I don't know why I questioned him, I've long been a huge huge fan of his and although I still feel this will be his last contract with us, he has earned the time to have a few bad periods. Just where would we be without him? Who else is competing with the megabucks of City and Chelsea with just a fraction of the money. The others, who like Wenger are very stubborn, will use last Summer as a stick to beat him with. He's gone on record to say it was a nightmare of a summer, losing two huge players, but what he has done since then is remarkable. During January I think we had something like 32 full backs injured, which understandably contributed to our wobble in form. He stood by his injured players, hoping we would cope without them. We didn't. Should he have got in a couple of full backs? Well, no. During January I wasn't part of the clamour for him signing a defender. I didn't think we were desperate for a Wayne Bridge-esque signing. As it happened, we had to make do with makeshift defenders playing out of position. Since then, we have seen Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna come back to some sterling form. What would happen to those guys if we signed another defender? It would of been an unnecessary use of money in my opinion.

I fear Arsene Wenger does not get enough praise. It's bemusing to read/hear in the media how the Arsenal fans have lost patience with the manager. That's a minority. And it's the fans who think we have a divine right to win everything in our path. Well we don't, football isn't like that. You can't really put a price on what Arsene has brought to this football club.

I will always remember this season. Maybe for all the wrong reasons, but there have been some great moments too. The season of comebacks. And Arsene Wenger has had a brilliant comeback. 2-0 down against Tottenham, we managed to go into halftime drawing 2-2. That first half Theo Walcott had a shocker. Many calls were for him to be taken off. Wenger persisted. And Theo produced a devastating second half performance. We won 5-2 that game by the way.

So to Arsene Wenger, I am sorry. I never should have questioned you, and nor should any other Arsenal fans. With one or two quality signings next season, along with keeping star players, there is absolutely no reason why we can't challenge for the title.

And Arsene Wenger is the man to mastermind that challenge.

Our run at the San Siro set to continue

Well, that's the beauty of the Champions League, isn't it? Isn't it, people of Manchester?

We've drawn Italian giants AC Milan in the next round. Could of been easier, but also could of been harder. Two fantastic ties await and I for one am excited. The San Siro is a marvelous stadium, and the players should thrive on playing there. We also get a memorable European night at the Emirates Stadium, adding to it's new history.

Our last two games at the San Siro have been very memorable. a 5-1 win against AC rivals Inter, a game where Thierry Henry ran riot, and a 2-0 win over AC a few seasons back where I truly developed a love for Cesc Fabregas. You compete in the Champions League to play in these games. Every team who is left in the competition aren't here by luck, they've deserved it over the 6 games.

What we've got is another test for our team. Travelling to Milan will be brilliant, and I'm really confident of winning the tie. They have Robinho, who never really cut it at Madrid or Man City, Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has never really done it on the big stage and ageing players such as Gattuso. The two players I'd look out for are Alex Pato and Kevin Prince-Boateng. Good players, but not high level quality you'd have to admit.

Will be very jealous of the gooners who get to travel to the game, Milan truly is a brilliant city.

Back to things domestic...

We face a second test of the season, travelling to the Eastlands to face Man City. I feel we are playing this game at a perfect time. A combination of a Man City rocky patch, and our increase in form has raised expectations a little. After the Manc derby, I really feared playing this game. Since then, we've looked better with each passing game, and more than capable of winning this game.

I'd expect the same team that faced Everton, with the back four staying the same. They are going to have to be at their best, as we all know how good Man City are attacking wise. One change I could see happening is Yossi Benayoun replacing Gervinho, just to solidify the team up a little and won't leave us to open to attack. Bringing Gervinho on in the last 20 minutes could also prove to be a masterstroke.

Looking at the TV schedule and it seems Sky have finally got it right. A Super Sunday; QPR vs Man Utd, Aston Villa vs Liverpool and the main event, Man City vs Arsenal.

Bring it on. Enjoy your weekend.

A memorable day produces a memorable scoreline

and a memorable goal by a Dutchman very on form. Sounds all a bit familiar doesn't it?

1-0 to the Arsenal was the score, on a day where we celebrated our 125th anniversary. Watching the celebrations, with legends like Charlie George and Frank McLintock taking to the pitch highlights how every step Arsenal take requires bags of class.

If truth be told, I was slightly concerned that the occasion might overshadow the game, but thankfully two moments of brilliant, creating one goal, sealed three points. Alex Song's pass was out of this world. Deserving of a finish. And Robin van Persie came up with the goods. Watch the goal over and over again and admire the technique. I play football, well I try to, and skill like that just cannot be taught. Absolutely world class. The legends watching on from the stand will be waiting for the day Robin van Persie joins them as one of the elite Arsenal players. He is just that good.

It raised more digs from the media etc over being a one man team. This really pisses me off and is disrespectful, if not hypocritical. Remember the Arsenal who played glorious football yet had no end product? The Arsenal who walked the ball into the back of the net, who had no cutting edge? Well right now we are creating chances for van Persie and he is finishing them off with aplomb. Are Barcelona, rightly considered the best on the planet, a one man team due to the exploits off Lionel Messi? Not at all. The 10 players supporting Messi provide him the base to perform on. And van Persie is our very own Lionel Messi.

Important? Of course. Carrying this team? I wouldn't say so.

The midfield triumvate of Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey display a potent mix in the middle of the park. The understanding between the three is absolutely outstanding, and the injured Jack Wilshere faces a real fight to win his place back. And that statement right there shows just how well the three of them are playing right now. They are dominating games which is what I love to see.

We lined up with four centre backs playing across the back four, and for a minute I thought I had missed the part where Tony Pulis became the new Arsenal manager. I jest of course. Injuries forced that move, and you'd have to say the strength in depth is a real bonus this year.

The main worry is upfront. van Persie is performing miracles at the moment, and his replacements aren't up to the task. I am bewildered by the form of Maraoune Chamakh. Something has happened. His confidence has been shot to pieces, and he needs a run of games for his form to return. Sadly that shouldn't be at Arsenal, and I wouldn't bet on him leaving in January on an initial loan move, most likely back to Bordeaux. Still, least he didn't cost £35 million. or £50 million. Ahem.

I'd love us to sign Lukas Podolski in the January window. In World Cups and Euro Championships he is a real explosive player, a match winner. It hasn't quite happened for him at club level, but we have a special man in charge who gets the best out of attacking players. And with Mario Gotze supplying him, I'm sure he will do fine for us ;-).

Everything is looking rosy for Arsenal, we are back in the top four and deservedly so. Honestly, do not underestimate the recovery we have shown. Absolutely outstanding but the hard work doesn't stop here. In fact, this is just the start for a team with the right balance.

Our special neighbours who have enjoyed their best start in a long time, find themselves ahead of us by 2 points and a game in hand. Amazing huh?

Oh, did I mention we suffered our worst start to the season in a long long time? My bad.

I think young Jacky Wilshere will be the winner of his bet against the Tottenham fans.

A chance for the forgotten boys

Tonight we have a very tough game against league leaders Man City.

I have no idea of the team we will face, but even if it is a back up team full of fringe players, such is Man Citys strength in depth, the quality will be very high.

The likes of Yossi Benayoun, Maraoune Chamakh and Ju Young Park will get their chance to stake a claim for a first team place, whilst youngsters such as Emmanuel Frimpong, Francis Coquelin and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be using this chance as a catalyst for more first team action.

Buoyed on by the home crowd, tonight we should see a hungry team with a lot to prove. This is by far our biggest test in this competition this season, and hopefully we can come out on top. After last seasons disappointment, I would like us to win this trophy. It would represent some sort of turnaround, exorcising the demons of Wembley earlier in the year.

Two players I'm looking forward to seeing are Ju Young Park, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Two exciting players who have the ability to be match winners.

This season, whilst not going gung-ho for the cup, the big clubs are treating this competition with a lot of respect, mixing youth with experience. Arsene Wenger has followed the same route so expect the likes of Andrey Arshavin and Gervinho to play their part.

An exciting encounter awaits tonight, and I have a good feeling we will win.

2-1 to the mighty Gooners, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain running the show.

Enjoy folks.

Putting things into perspective

Morning guys

Football has taken a back seat this weekend past, and quite rightly too. The shocking death of Wales manager Gary Speed has left me devastated, reading the tributes has left tears in my eyes. It's strange how someone you never know can affect you.

A bright young manager, Premier League league legend Gary Speed had a prosperous managerial career ahead of him. I watched him on Football Focus, which was screened live, just under 24 hours before he took his own life. He looked well, full of life and for not for one minute did I think he was contemplating any thoughts of suicide.

Which is why suicide and/or depression is a touchy subject. In sport, you can be on top of your game, yet something is beating you inside. The only way out is death. An awful feeling. I've read on Twitter people speculating about his family life. Well I'm sorry, but show some fucking respect. A young man has died, let's mourn that first and foremost.

I know when a leading figure dies that the tributes come in, I have to say I've been taken aback by a man clearly loved by many. I watched the Swansea game and during the one minute silence, the crowd broke out in applause, which chants of ''One Gary Speed'' ringing around the ground. A very lovely, moving tribute.

As it happens, this tragic death will raise awareness of suicide and depression in sport. It's sad that it has taken a high profile death, but everyone needs to realise this is an important case, and not one to be brushed aside lightly. It affects all manner of people.

If you are in this battle, I hope you find a positive solution.

A draw between Fulham means little right now, much more is at stake than a point against a spirited side.

RIP Gary Speed, you will be sorely missed by so so many.