My Heart Bleeds For Arsenal...

I am one out of millions of Arsenal fans who are currently in painful quiescence. My heart bleeds for Arsenal not because of our streak of poor results, especially when it matters most, but because our wounds are largely self inflicted. It beats and bites me that Arsenal has gone six years without a single trophy. Could there be a better assassin assassinating Arsenal than Arsene? In football, your pedigree is as good as your last result; I wish it were about the last result for Arsenal. Six years without a sniff at even the community shield...I need a break! Arsenal is a big club in the class of Man U, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool and the rest yet Arsene Wenger’s philosophy of “cosmebabyish” football has drained Arsenal of every iota of ambition. What can you ever achieve in life without ambition? When you see Arsenal players on the pitch, it is so obvious that they lack the hunger to do that extra thing that would always make the difference when the going gets tough.

Added to lack of ambition is the obvious plummet in quality. In the hey days of Arsenal, when Arsenal combined football athleticism with flair, no Man U or Chelsea player could be so inflicted with “oral diarrhea” to look Arsenal in the eye and declare “I will beat you silly”. No longer! They said it last weekend; they did it once again on Saturday in the FA Cup quarters.  Since Arsene started considering the turf at the other side of the Nou Camp fence greener than the one at the Emirates, he foolhardily abandoned a brand of football that produced results for him and Arsenal, with silverwares to boot, and started pursuing Barcelona with their so called sexy football. Has he ever beaten Barca in this game? The last time it happened, even Wenger and his players were so thunder shocked, they were shaking their heads in absolute disbelief!

In Wenger’s illicit romance with a brand of game that is not his and can never be his, he pretends to forget that the football culture in Spain and the one in England are not the same. The system in Spain encourages sexy football but in a physical environment like England, you need more than flair to survive. If you are in doubt, watch the glorious 2003/2004 Arsenal team that went the whole season unbeaten and the current Arsenal squad, you cannot help but weep for what Arsene has done to Arsenal in the last six years. Yet, a clueless board has gone dining while Rome burns. Now, it is becoming clearer why people like Dein left Arsenal. In deed, where there is no vision a club perishes. How has the mighty fallen!

Apart from running after a brand of football he does not fully understand, at least to the point of producing results, like Barca does, Wenger’s declining touch in transforming young players to gem stones has continued to show. Gone are the days when certain starters like Viera, Henry, Pires, Campbell, Toure would be transformed under two years into world beaters under the tutelage of Arsene. The difference between now and then is that something terribly and fundamentally wrong has gone wrong with Arsene’s abilities at talent spotting, grooming and deployment. The last of his product is Cesc Fabregas and the young man is already tired of the charade currently going on in Arsenal. All the stars that made Arsene’s hey days at Arsenal have been equally frustrated out of the Emirates. The so-called rookies in Arsenal are obviously stunted by both dearth in talent depth, poor grooming and lack of ambition as induced by a systemic complacency duly professed by Arsene and irresponsibly certified by a snoring board.  

They say Wenger makes tons and tons of money for Arsenal. At what and at whose expense? It even gets super ridiculous when some Arsenal fans, especially the Nigerian genre, join the “wishy washy” debate of how much profit Arsene has raked in for Arsenal. Is Wenger now an investment manager or a football manager? I am so heartbroken that it is so difficult for Arsenal fans to see through the antics of Wenger...”keep buying rookies and blame their inexperience for an obvious decline in managerial quality.” Arsene Wenger is actually on a rollercoaster downhill and he is poised to take Arsenal down with him. What is happening to Arsene is what is called “the law of diminishing returns”. Wenger of all people should understand this better than some of us; at least, I don’t have a Masters in Economics! If there is still some honour left in Wenger, he should kindly resign NOW, at least, for the sake of millions of Arsenal fans who will never benefit a dime from the ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ profits he claims to be making for Arsenal. I do not think a club like Man U would allow Sir Ferguson with all his loads of success at Old Trafford (something Wenger, not Arsenal, can only dream of) to stay longer than a minute if after three years, Man U keeps telling tales instead of showing trophies. 

One more thing before this ink runs dry is that Arsene Wenger has refused to accept his mistakes instead chooses to revel in buck passing foolhardiness. He blames everyone but himself for his woes. Nobody succeeds with that kind of attitude. The worst harm you can ever do to yourself is to explain away failure. For Arsene, its either a certain Buscaca ruined his team even when they fail to fire one single shot at goal or that a certain Stoke team is too physical for his frail boys as if football has become volleyball or that the pitch at Wembley is too slippery as if Birmingham players played on a different pitch or ... it just goes on and on annoyingly. Unfortunately, many Arsenal fans have bought into this laid back approach to life. It might just suffice to advise that such mentality should be left behind at the turnstiles of Emirates Staduim...dare take it into town and you would definitely get beaten blue black! 

What is the way forward? The earlier the sleeping board members at the Emirates wake up from their suffocating slumber, hand an ambition-less Wenger a golden handshake and recruit a hungry hand to run the club, the better for all Arsenal fans. A stitch now would save Arsenal from “Arsenic” assassins from within. A word is enough for the wise!!!

•Echezona Asuzu

echesuzu@yahoo.com

Jens Lehman Rejoining Arsenal?

Jens Lehmann is close in rejoining Arsenal and resuming competition for top spot with Manuel Almunia, five years after the German left the club.

Lehman played nearly 200 games for Arsenal.

The 41 year-old, who played for Arsenal 199 times between 2003 and 2008, has been out of football since leaving Stuttgart in 2010 but has been called upon to help the club cope with the current goalkeeping crisis.
With goalkeepers Wojciech Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone injured the German is expected to go straight into the squad for Saturday’s trip to West Brom.
This could mean that he is understudy to Manuel Almunia, a position he is unlikely to accept happily. The former German international had a competitive on-field relationship with the Spaniard who eventually took his position as number one. The two also had a hostile relationship away from football, with Almunia once saying of Lehman: "I know he hates me"

Lehmann won the Premier League and FA Cup with Arsenal but became the first man to ever be sent off in a Champions League final in 2006, which Arsenal lost 2-1 to Barcelona.

Arsenal Need To Stop Messi...

Fired-up Arsene Wenger today spelt out out what it would mean for his Arsenal side to overcome mighty Barcelona in the Nou Camp tonight.
“If you speak to any player, they would give their lives to win this game,” the Arsenal boss said with intensity.
The Gunners hold a 2-1 first leg advantage in their bid to secure the prize of a Champions League last eight place and the tournament’s most notable scalp.
But that will require a superhuman effort on an even greater level than their famous Emirates victory two weeks ago against Barca’s team of all talents, none more brilliant and lethal than Argentinian star Lionel Messi. Halting him would go a long way to fulfilling Arsenal’s ambitions.

But strangulation is not in the nature of Wenger or his team and their natural desire to express their attacking style promises another classic contest.
If the prospect doesn’t heighten anticipation, check your pulse.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola has already stirred the pot by suggesting new Arsenal whizz kid Jack Wilshere would only be good enough to make the Catalans’ second string, though some would regard that as a compliment.

Wenger’s big decision surrounds the fitness of Dutch striker Robin van Persie, the feeling being the game has come too soon for his return from injury.
The Arsenal boss hinted as much when he said: “We will not take a gamble in a game of this importance, so he will have to be fit or not fit. I would like him to play. But I will only play him if he is 100% fit.”
Barcelona are without their first-choice central defenders tonight as captain Carles Puyol has failed to recover from a knee injury while Gerard Pique is suspended.
Midfielder Sergio Busquets is set to drop back to help out in defence, meaning former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano should get a rare start.

Arsene Wenger Finally Gets A Trophy Eventually Barclays Manager of The Month

ARSENE WENGER has finally got his hands on a trophy - February's Barclays Manager of the Month award.

The Arsenal boss, who is seeking his first piece of major club silverware since 2005, yesterday won his first monthly manager gong since December 2007.

And Wenger, 61, who is second on the all-time list of winners with 11 manager's awards, joked: "I must have had some bad months."

Wenger, whose side face Sunderland today added: "It's quite strange when you have just lost a cup final that you get Manager of the Month! "But we are on a good run in the Premier League. We are in the best position for years and now we want to finish the job."

TOP MANAGER OF THE MONTH WINNERS - 25 Alex Ferguson; 11 Arsene Wenger; 8 David Moyes; 7 Martin O'Neill; 6 Bobby Robson, Harry Redknapp; 5 Rafa Benitez, Kevin Keegan; 4 Sam Allardyce, Roy Hodgson, Joe Kinnear.

Liverpool Stunning Victory Over Their Rivals Manchester United

Liverpool's resounding victory over Manchester United yesterday has finally persuaded club owner John Henry to give Kenny Dalglish the manager's job on a full-time basis.

The decision to offer Dalglish the post will be cheered by all Liverpool fans, already celebrating a stunning 3-1 victory over their fiercest rivals.

Liverpool outfought, out thought and outclassed title chasing United at Anfield, with Dutchman Dirk Kuyt grabbing a hat-trick to condemn the Red Devils to their second successive Premier League defeat.

They remain top of the table, but are only three points clear of Arsenal, who have a game in hand.

Luiz Figo, Ronaldo, Robinho, Ronaldhinho, Thiery Henry and etc

Different player ...with one thing and common ,they have fun...when they play

Arsenal and Manchester City Get Through For Next FA Cup Match

(Reuters) - Arsenal returned to form with a 5-0 drubbing of Leyton Orient and Manchester City eased past Aston Villa 3-0 to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Nicklas Bendtner fired a hat-trick as Arsenal recovered from their League Cup final loss to Birmingham City in a one-sided fifth-round replay against Orient to set up a titanic quarter-final against Manchester United.
The Gunners' victory was never in doubt after Marouane Chamakh and Bendtner put Arsenal 2-0 up and Arsene Wenger's side bounced back emphatically from Sunday's shock defeat by Birmningham.
Manchester City also reached the last eight with an easy win over much-changed Aston Villa team and they face Championship side Reading who beat Premier League Everton on Tuesday.

"It was important we came back from Sunday's defeat with a win," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told reporters.
"We are having a fine run apart from Sunday's defeat which came under special circumstances. But we played very well tonight."
The Gunners, held to a 1-1 draw by third tier Orient in the first game, were looking for a rapid response after Sunday's painful 2-1 loss when they conceded a last-minute goal to Birmingham after a mix-up between goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and defender Laurent Koscielny.
But there were no mistakes at the Emirates where the crowd were subdued until Arsenal took control of the game.
Chamakh settled nerves with a well-taken side-footed goal, his first since November, after seven minutes before Bendtner headed the second, Arsenal's 100th of the season in all competitions.
Orient, who scored in the last minute to take the tie to a replay, had chances in the opening stages with Dean Cox almost cancelling out Arsenal's opener after 14 minutes.
But despite a spirited performance from the visitors, Arsenal were too sharp and had too much guile, and that included 19-year-old midfielder Conor Henderson who had a fine debut.
Bendtner's second just before halftime exposed the gulf in class between the teams when he beat off defenders before firing a curling shot past goalkeeper Jamie Jones.
Jones had no chance of saving his 62nd-minute penalty either before Gael Clichy wrapped up the win with an angled left-foot drive 15 minutes from time.
EARLY GRIP
Manchester City took an early grip at Eastlands with Yaya Toure opening the scoring after Villa failed to clear a corner in the fifth minute.

Ferguson Was Unhappy With The Referee?

Ferguson was unhappy with Atkinson both for awarding Chelsea's matchwinning and for not sending off David Luiz moments earlier when he appeared to foul Wayne Rooney - himself the beneficiary of some lenient refereeing at the weekend. Ferguson said: "The penalty kick was so soft. Deary me. But we played very well. It was a great performance by us. We didn't deserve that. "That's three years in a row (at Stamford Bridge) referees' decisions have changed the game." On the Luiz decision, he added: "It was incredible. Even before that he'd done Chicharito off the ball. He'd done him late. Nothing done, the referee's in front of it. "He does Rooney clear as day, (the referee is) six yards from it, he doesn't do anything. That changed the game. "These are decisions that change the game. And he's going to be refereeing every week. "But I'm proud of the players. They've endured a lot of decisions against them but they've come through it, they've done their best. They've created good chances. "They didn't deserve that." Asked if Chelsea were back in the title race, he added: "If they get decisions like tonight then it can change everything. "They got a lot of decisions tonight that surprised me." Carlo Ancelotti admitted Luiz had perhaps been fortunate. "There was a lot of intensity and it was not easy for the referee to decide every time," he said. "David Luiz could be lucky but there was a lot going on on the pitch so the referee decided he didn't see this." The Chelsea boss is now hoping this performance can spur on his team as they look to get back into the battle at the top. "It was a good performance and we are still alive," he said. "We played well, it was a very difficult game and we found a fantastic opponent but the team played really well to still go forward when we are losing 1-0. "We kept going with strength, intensity and power in our performance. "It was really good but if you don't play well, you cannot beat Man United." The victory leaves Chelsea 12 points behind United with a game in hand. "This improves our table, but we don't have to look at that, just stay focused on our other games," he said. "Our next game is on Monday so we prepare for that. "It's far to Manchester United, but our performance was important, there are a lot of matches and we are ready to play at our best." Frank Lampard admitted the title was still a long way off despiet the victory. Asked if Chelsea, 12 points back with a game in hand, were now firmly back in the title race, Lampard told Sky Sports 2: "I don't know about firmly back in it, it's still a lot of points. "But all we could do today was win the game, try to show a signal that we're trying to get back in it and close that gap. "We did that today but there's still a long way to go. Man United are deservedly top but we've got some fight as we showed tonight."