Lets Do It For Aaron..

Indian Education system is quiet idealistic in its approach and quiet philosophical as well, if I can say so. I learnt it long back in school that everything happens for good. Every action has a tinge of positivity in it, which is in turn, is elementary to the existence of everything in this world. Aaron Ramsey was at the receiving end of a horrendous tackle in the game against Stoke and he’ll have to pay for someone else’s crime by sitting on the sidelines for months to come. But something pleasant has come out of it, pardon me for saying this, but the Ramsey’ incident has brought in more positive for the team than previously thought. The ‘Ramsey Effect’ is here for everyone to see, & its repercussions are far telling than any seen/heard/felt before. 11G explains..

Watching the game LIVE on the tube, I felt anything but helpless seeing the young Welshman gasping for thin air as he went down on the turf. Tears rolling down Fabregas’ eyes conveyed the grim picture better than any words could. Birmingham was still fresh in my mind and I was praying for this to have a different ending. The game was at a stalemate then, with a victory the least Arsenal needed, to stay in the hunt for the title. What happened next, as they say, is history. The ‘RE’ had just begun to cast its spell mind you.

The team came out roaring & ended up bagging all 3 points on offer. The Delaps & Co. were nowhere to be seen. It was all Rosicky, Fabregas, Vermaelen then on. Sol Campbell was instrumental in the final quarter of the game with lunging tackles a many. His experience did play a big part in the way this team reacted and this is what experience does when the chips are down. Experience is the best teacher to clear self-doubts, & who better than the big Sol in this regard. The guy has made his presence felt alright. This Arsenal team has looked different after that rather tragic evening. The Ramsey incident has galvanised this outfit and the difference is there to be seen. Before the game began, entire focus was on how to counter Delap’s hand-grenades, rather than outscore them on the contrary. I have said this time & again that ruthlessness apart, our team has all the other ingredients to achieve glory. What several team meetings & innumerable other training regimes couldn’t, the Ramsey injury brought out in totality. Arsenal won the game against our bogey team Stoke, & won it rather convincingly with a 2-goal cushion.

This was followed up with an emotional victory against Burnley. Hoardings courtesy the Arsenal faithful, in the pre-match warm up told the story; “Get Well Soon Aaron”. It reminded one & all, of the tragic mishap that possibly jeopardised a talent as prodigious as Ramsey’, for a long long time to come (As if we needed a reminder, it was fresh as a daisy in our minds, isn’t fellas?). Wenger saying he didn’t believe in co-incidents after various Gunners suffered horrific injuries in the past seasons, did justify his love for Don Vito ‘Godfather’ Corleone. But his words made total sense nonetheless. 3 players in 4 years ain’t no co-incident, and there is definite & foreseeable pattern to it. A pattern which is dreadful at it’s very off-set. After all how many other clubs have had a similar fate? None.

We responded commendably against Burnley even though we lost Cescy within half an hour mark. With our talismatic captain not around, it was Walcott’s turn to step up his game. He had things to prove to the British press and boy did he do that in some style or what!?

The dream run continued against Porto which looked jaded & so-not the side which defeated Arsenal in the first leg, even though that defeat was more a result of Fabianski’s horror show than a dismal performance by the entire team. Arsenal attacked them from the word go and Porto players were running for cover, helter shelter. The Nasris and Arshavins were all over the Portuguese side. Nasri scored a peach of a goal, arguably the best in the Champion’s league this season, & Niklas Bendtner finally grabbed one hat-trick, out of the possible two he missed against Burnley few days back.

Hull City were up next. We took time dispatching them, but dispatch them we did. A late strike from the now resurgent Dane bagged us another 3 in the kitty.

Next team to fall victim of the ‘Ramsey effect’ were fellow London rivals, West Ham (pardon my wit for referring them as rivals in the first place!). Again, things were going against the script with Vermaelen shown red for a rather flimsy tackle. Likes of Vidic & Terry get away with those week-in & week-out. The word that ref’s have things against the team from N5, got reiterated all over again following that incident. Denilson’s early opener did give us a slender lead for most parts, but we needed another to assure maximum returns. A late Cesc Fabregas penalty did exactly that. His 18’th goal of an irresistible season so far. Phew!

Given the way my Arsenal have performed over the past fortnight or so, post the Ramsey conundrum i.e., I now feel more than confident than ever, looking up to the Catalans as they get themselves ready for a visit to the Emirates later this month. I duly feel we’ll give them a taste of their own medicine & won’t submit like apes before them, like Manure did last season. On paper, we are weak when compared ‘personnel-to-personnel’, but when it comes to technique & positional sense, they don’t come any better than the Arsenal. Likes of Arshavin, Nasri, Rosicky, Fabregas, et al are all accomplished & proved masters of the one-touch exponent, which the Barca faithful pride themselves for. Cesc, especially, will have a point to make to his childhood team & prove that his decision to ditch them early was indeed a fruitful one!

The league is still anyone’s to grab, with Manure & Chavs very much in the reckoning. Despite our relatively easier run-in, all games here-on are a ‘must win’. Not to forget, we face Man Arabs and Tiny Tots, who are both vying for the coveted 4^th spot, before the season bids adieu as well. Both should be feisty affairs alright. If we are to become champions of England after a gap of 5 years, the team will have to rise to the occasion on every single outing. But with this team, & the mental fortitude that they now inherit, I’m backing them to do just that. Whatever be the outcome, I am more proud being a Gooner than I was a fortnight ago. Guess it’s the ‘Ramsey Effect’ catching up on me as well! Keep Gunning everyone..

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Note: Originally Published for Desi Gunner

Arsenal FC

Football is awash with statistics. Goals for and goals against, average points per game and territorial advantages. I will start with 2.10. That is Arsenal’s average points per game this season. After 29 games, Arsenal has 19 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses. Our record against Manchester United and Chelsea stands at: played 7, won 0, drawn 1, lost 6, scored 2, and conceded 14.

Michael J. Parker, a regular contributor to CNN World Sport, teams up with 11G & shares his views on the above. Follow him on Twiiter @Mickeygooner

5, is the number of players who have been out with broken or fractured bones for arsenal in the past 4 seasons. 210. That is the number of successful passes made by goalkeeper Manuel Almunia this season. More than weekend striker opponent Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink’s who has completed only 198.

After a roller-coaster season, Arsenal find’s itself in 3′rd place in the Premier league, having scored 66 goals with 184 shots on target.

These are all numbers that while interesting, mostly don’t convey the true story of our season. But one number does, and that is the one I want to discuss. And that is the number 15.

15 Minutes. That’s the time it took Arsene Wenger to send a car to meet Aaron Ramsey’s mother to drive her to see her son after his horrific injury. Arsenal are a team that has gone through more trauma than any other in the Premier league. From 3 career threatening leg-breaks on the pitch, to 2 broken shoulders for Theo Walcott, to being written off as mere Europa League hopefuls and coping with a litany of nearly moments and heartbreaking losses. From a team of 22 year olds, we have seen growth, maturity and resolution. Nobody can doubt that Arsene Wenger has discovered steel in North London, and has built a side that when push comes to shove, will fight until the end.

After all that was said by pundits, bloggers, fans and reporters, the old adage that critics don’t decide titles rings truer now than ever before. On paper, and maybe after you crunch the numbers, Arsenal look weaker than our rivals, but titles are not won on paper. Arsenal still have points to prove, but have certainly silenced many of their vocal critics.

Arsenal have progressed past Porto to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and are 2 points from 1st place in the Premier League with 9 games left to play.

After having failed to beat Chelsea and United, Arsenal are in a position to trump them both to the title. The Gunners will look to dial the pressure up on their rivals against the Tigers at the weekend. Hull City is Arsenal’s stepping stone to the history, and let’s hope that they take all 3 points this Saturday. Go Gunners..

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Mad-e-Bye-Whore

There are some people in this world who never change even if they are no good.

Featured Specimen:- Emmanuel Mad-e-Bye-Whore. After all his ‘Milan is Bootylicious‘ and ‘Barca are a great team‘ rhetoric, he still has the guts to hit back@Lord Wenger over his controversial transfer to Manchester Arabs. Meanwhile reports are all over the place that RvP might come back sooner than expected. Thanks to a Serbian housewife. Positivity is the name of the game@11Gunners as it is@Arsenal, so lets start on a positive note..

RvP will be back..

RvP is set to try unorthodox ways to recover faster. The Dutchman will have placenta rubbed into the damaged area by a Serbian housewife, Mariana Kovacevic – who has a reputation for drastically speeding up the recovery times of those she treats. She successfully healed a former Feyenoord team-mate Danzo Lazovic who was expected to take five weeks to recover, instead , recovered in just 1 week.

“She is vague about her methods but I know that she first massages you for a long time with placenta fluid,” Van Persie said. “I am going to give it a try.

“It can’t do any harm and if it helps, it helps. I’ve been in contact with Arsenal’s chief physio about it. The club has allowed me to have this treatment done.”

Well, if this does help him to recover faster. then who knows he might even be able to play against ‘Man-So-Shitty‘, leave alone Chelsea. We hope that this does work but I wont comment anything on this until I see the result. Best of luck to RvP. Hope he gets an opportunity to get back at that mercenary from Togo sooner than expected.

Talking of that ‘good-for-nothing’ Adeba’Whore’, he has raised his ugly head again. Someone should drill some manners into this idiot. He bytes to ‘Daily Mail’ were:

“I was told that I must leave, even though I didn’t want to. If I had stayed there, I don’t think I would have even played.”

“I did feel hurt. After that, I had no choice. I can’t go into the crowd with them and start shouting, so I thought the best response would be to score.”

Adebayor said of the Van Persie clash:

“I regret it but we’re all human beings. Even Barack Obama will make mistakes.”

He keeps saying that he was pushed out from the club and he never wanted to leave. Gimme a break. He always wanted to leave after that 30-goal season he had. He used to feel that ‘Milan is Bootylicious and Barca are a great team to play’ every now and then. Generally clubs tap players. In his case the player used to tap the clubs. And any of this does not give him a license to stamp onto a player and threaten his career. And more so when the player has been a former team mate and more importantly a friend. This shows that he  is not only a bad footballer but he is a bad human being as well.

He deserves the ‘love‘ being showered upon him by Arsenal Fans. BTW adebayor is gonna get a taste of what it feels like getting a footballing lesson from the best players of ‘The Beautiful Game’ in England. He is a ‘good-for-nothing’ money hungry mercenary and as he himself said that he plays for money. He is ‘Mad-e-Bye-Whore‘ no doubt.

Ramsey to follow Giggs and Fabregas..

There is some good news as well amidst this gloomy injury to RvP and Adebayor’s mean sound bytes. Aarron Ramsey played exceedingly well against Scotland. He ran the show and scored a brilliant goal as Wales thumped Scotland 3-0. Former Wales Captain is the next one to praise him after Man Utd legend Giggs did the same a few days back. Giggs said that he might take up his mantle in the Wales team and is a candidate for the Wales armband in future. Gary Speed followed it up with

“He is very special and lovely to watch, just a fantastic footballer. He reminded me of Cesc Fabregas, especially when he went through for his goal. If anyone can nurture a talent, it is Arsene and, in that respect, Ramsey is very, very lucky.”

Indeed, he is lucky to have Wenger around him. Wales star David Edwards followed it up with:

“Aaron is not 19 until Christmas time so he’s going to be a great player,” said Edwards. “He’s going to be one of the best in Europe when he gets into his prime. They say he’s a little bit like Cesc Fabregas was at his age.

“I played against him last week and he was probably Arsenal’s best player. He ran the show. He’s got such a mature head for a lad of his age. He brings the best out of everyone. The way we played does give him a little bit more space and when he gets in there he’s deadly.

“He can go on to be as good as Fabregas, definitely. When Fabregas got into the team he was 16 or 17 and Aaron is only 18. Cesc Fabregas is one of the best midfielders in the world and it’s a big comparison to make. But Aaron has got little touches like Fabregas has, and when I played against him last week, for Wolves, he really did run the show and I thought – dare I say – he was better than Fabregas in that game.

“Everyone knows Aaron is going to be a great player if he can keep his feet on the floor. I think he can because he has a very mature head on his shoulders for such a young age so he’s going to be a top player. He oozes class and confidence and when you watch him on the ball he never seems rushed and he is just a joy to watch.”

All this comparison with Giggs or Fabregas could put him under pressure of expectations. But, with Wenger around, we don’t need to worry, do we?? Lets us know about your thoughts on  this interlull..

Meanwhile, Congrats to Eduardo Da Silva, Aaron Ramsey, Thomas Vermaelen, Andrei Arshavin, and Vito Mannone, who had all recieved MAN OF THE MATCH for their national teams this week.

The Mickey Mouse Cup!

Ex-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho called it the Mickey Mouse Cup, and it is here yet again. He believed that it was not something to fight for and it should be taken in a light manner in the name of promotion of THE BEAUTIFUL GAME. But there was a big gulf between his deeds and words, as we all know that by now. Arsenal is the only club who seriously considers it the Mickey Mouse Cup and leaves the kids to play with it. An 11gunners curtain raiser of the Mickey thingy..

Wenger believes and firmly so, that Carling Cup is an opportunity for youngsters to step up and show their true self. He is very particular about giving youngsters a go in this tournament even if it is at the penultimate stage of the competition. I still remember that night when Arsenal kids were playing against Chelsea men. They have given Chelsea a run for their money on 2 occasions in near past in Carling Cup and it is the experience which has got Chelsea through each time, not a superior technique as Chelsea fans might like to say. Drogba drilled in goals like a Butcher and did celebrate thanksgiving at the expense of Arsenal youngsters. I hope that Chelsea managers can sleep with the sin they committed against The Beautiful Game itself by not allowing their youngster a chance to prove their mettle. They will pay for it and the FIFA sanction against any player purchase for 2 windows in a row will take care of that.

Arsenal youngsters won a double last season and this competition will provide them a n opportunity to showcase the reason behind their ‘DOUBLE’ triumph last season. The men to watch in this campaign are

Jack Packs A Punch!

Jack Wilshere: The spotlight will certainly be on this gem from N5. He did show his caliber in The Emirates Cup by winning 2 continuous MOM awards. He captured the imagination of whole of England and people pressed for his inclusion in World Cup campaign in South Africa.Wenger even compared him to Rooney at his age. But Wenger has decided to tread carefully with him. He wants to ease him to the pressure cooker scenario. Wenger said

“I believe last year he paid a little bit of a price physically for a very demanding start,” said Wenger. “This year we feel that he is strong, more mature, and I’m sure that he will show that.

“It’s difficult to treat them [young English players] completely the same because you want to speed up a little bit their progress, but physically I will still treat him like anybody else because most people once they get to 19 years of age – 19 or 20 without big injures – they are over-used. A big injury can always happen because you get over-use of the players.”

“You cannot predict that too much, because for a player like Aaron Ramsey you know what can happen because he’s now physically ready,” said Wenger.

“I believe you do not know what will happen throughout the season so for Jack the most objective target is to improve. There are some areas where he can improve and that is most important that you work on everything.”

I might be a bit presumptuous but I believe that when Fabregas finally leaves after 4-5 years for his home land Barca, Wilshere will be the one who will step in to provide a soul to Arsenal mid field.

A 'Vela' Good Fella!

Carlos Vela: This Mexican kid is special and he has already had a taste of 1s team football in Spain. This kid is just waiting to explode Big Time. He is that time bomb which is ticking to explode when the right time comes. This tournament might provide that triggering device needed for him to explode.

Hey Ram!

Aaron Ramsey: This guy is special. He is the only guy for whom Wenger did not shy from being a party in a bidding war. And he succeeded for a change. Wenger has never been comfortable when drawn to a bidding war even for a proven performer like Xabi Alonso. We beat the Red Devils to bag him and that too in a melodramatic way. Man U had declared that they had secured his signatures on the dotted lines but Wenger pulled a rabbit out of his hat and Man U had egg all over their place. He took him away from them right under their nose and he was intelligent enough to come to Arsenal than go to United and polish Giggs & Co.’s shoes for ages. Kudos to him as well. He came into limelight in the earlier edition of this tournament.

He made his name when he helped Cardiff City in a series of Giant Killing that season and ended up at Arsenal. He spent 1 year picking up valuable first-team experience and honing his raw skills on the training pitches at London Colney. He did show his true potential in this tournament last year as well with Arsenal and this season might be the one when he comes off age. He believes that we can win this tournament, come what may. He said that

“To come here from Cardiff was a big step up in terms of everything,” he told Arsenal.com. “I had to get used to everything, but I’m settled now and I feel like one of the lads. I’m not a kid in the dressing room anymore, I really feel part of it.

“My awareness is better and my touch has improved, one and two touch. I maybe don’t give the ball away as much as I used to, but all of that comes with experience and hopefully I can continue improving and start playing League games as well.

“I want to play every game and put pressure on the manager. I don’t just want to be the guy who starts in the Carling Cup. I’m still only 18, but I’m like every other player – I want to start every game and do well for Arsenal.”

“No matter who it is against or who is in the team for us, we play the same way in every game and our mentality is always the same,” he said. “We prepare in the right way and treat every game the same.

“Of course it’s a competition we can win, even if the boss fields a young team. We can win any competition. No matter what the side is, we have the same mentality to win every game and to win every competition if we can.”

Burnley ended our run last season but this season might just be the final hurdle before he explodes in a big way.

A Cultured Left Foot!

Armand Traore: He spent last season on loan at Portsmouth and did make 28 appearances with them. Wenger has been highly impressed by him after his return and so much so that he is ready to use him at he left midfield position even though left back is his preferred position. If he does force his way through at this position then he sure is a special talent as we all know that to do so he will have to play better that Clichy and Gibbs. In this case he might even become the best left back on planet. Wenger had nothing but words of appreciation for him. He said that

“He can be a big surprise because he has improved a lot,” claimed Wenger. “Technically, tactically, and mentally he is a lot more mature.”

“He does not get his chance at the moment because he’s a left-back,” said the manager. “We have Clichy, we have Gibbs, and we have Traore, so it’s very difficult for him to get a chance.

“But I use him as well now in left-midfield because he has huge power and pace, a good cross, and he’s a finisher as well.”

He might well turn out to be that ‘UTILITY PLAYER’ we desperately need. May God be with him. Amen

Second Coming?

Philippe Senderos: He is not a new player and it was this tournament which brought him to light some years ago. It is true that Wenger was looking to sell him before the start of the season. But now when he has decided to stay or forced to stay, he has the opportunity to reignite that love he had with Arsenal. It was he who helped us through a series of clean sheets in the Champions League when we reached the finals to be played at Paris. He has come back from Milan which is an academy of defensive football and he sure is a changed player now after spending quality time with legends like Nesta, Maldini & Co. This might well be his second chance to stake a place in this jubilant Arsenal side. Very few people get a second chance and he is one of them. Wenger has words of encouragement for him. He said that

“I don’t believe he is starting his career with us again because we know how good he is but it is a new start let’s say,” remarked Wenger.

“We have already seen his quality and he is still very young for a centre back. He’s 24 years-old and he has the future in front of him. The best 10 years are now coming for him.

“Philippe is an intelligent boy with a very good attitude and you don’t ever question that.

“His position at the moment is that we have four centre backs and he is one of the four because Djourou is out for nearly the season. In this job you have always to be ready and the day you get the chance you can do well. If you are not ready, everybody will say he is not good enough to play for Arsenal Football Club.

“Now he is back with us so we will just give him a chance.”

Others like Sanchez,  Barazite, Coquelin and Randall have already shown flashes of what they can do with the reserve side. And do we need to talk about Gibbs who replaced Clichy effortlessly last season when when Gibbs was down with injury. To shepherd this young batch we have Mikael Silvestre. He has a lot of experience of his own he can be the  ‘calming influence’ that these youngsters need on the pitch.

So, let the games begin..