Tag Archive for Szczesny

Title Winners Feel The Shirt

May 30, 2013 Arsenal 6 comments

“It wasn’t the fact that we qualified for the CL, it was the fact that we kicked them out and we went in… AGAIN” – I love this quote from Thierry Henry. It shows passion, it shows that he knows what it means to wear the red and white of Arsenal.

Thierry Henry as we all know is a true Arsenal legend, not just because of what he achieved on the pitch for Arsenal but also because of his passion for the club. He is an Arsenal man and as Bob Wilson famously said “once an Arsenal man, always an Arsenal man”. Not all of our ex-players show the same passion for Arsenal as Thierry does. In fact, in recent years I don’t think a lot of our team showed that they knew what it meant to play for Arsenal. Read more

Forgo Sanogo, Summer’s A No Go

May 18, 2013 Arsenal 29 comments

Say that title five times really fast. Social media exploded yesterday with the news that Arsenal are close to signing Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre on a free transfer. In true Arsenal style we are set to sign a relatively unknown player from France and in true Arsenal style a section of supporters have blown a gasket over what they perceive to be a poor signing.

This summer promised to be a close season of quality, big name signings so I could understand the reaction to this news if it was August, as the last time we commented on a player joining before the season had ended it was Podolski and his reputation was/is huge, but it’s not, it’s May. An argument can be put together that Arsenal’s squad, based on February onwards’ form, doesn’t need enhancing too much but I’m not going to make that argument.

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Wenger Still Has Fire In His Belly

April 25, 2013 Arsenal, Guest Bloggers 14 comments

On NLIR today I am delighted to welcome Martijn Stolze (@hahostolze) . Martijn is a Dutch history student with a love for Britain and has been a Gooner since 1997. Martijn has written an extremely emotive piece and I’m sure you’re going to love it. Grab a beverage and strap in for an epic ride.Take it away Martijn…..

You can’t blame Arsène Wenger if over the last two or three seasons he has looked glum, burnt out and tired. You can’t blame him if he has felt despondent and absolutely lost. This is a man whose love for Arsenal FC is absolute and unequivocal.  But also a man who has seen his hard work, on one of his finest generations, fail and falter at the last hurdle too many times, and seen the lure of money and glory rip apart the teams he set about to mould in his image. A man who was on par with the greatest manager in PL history when the influx of money set the PL alight. Yet during recent weeks Arsène Wenger seems a man repossessed. The fire in his belly that drove his incessant desire for perfection, for better, for prettier, seems to be roaring at its fullest again. And just when we needed it.

Very few things are as harsh on a person as their position in history. In the last few days the glory of Sir Alex Ferguson has been sung by all those who love him, need to suck up to him or those who respect the man’s achievements. Looking through the Guardian’s review of the titles he won it makes it very obvious that the only man who consistently got close to his all conquering teams was Arsène Wenger. But Arsène Wenger is not a man en vogue today. He is not popular. His legacy isn’t being remembered the way it should. Not even with some of the fans of the club he has helped into one of the biggest and most valuable in footballing history. That has got to sting. I know it stings me. Read more

Why Ramsey Is My Player Of The Season

April 23, 2013 Arsenal, Guest Bloggers 63 comments

Today I welcome a man who blogs for NLIR almost as much as I do. I’m delighted to have him and you’re going to love his writing, put your proverbial hands together for Mr Billy Dunmore (@EducatedGooner)  Take it away Billy…..

The subject of Aaron Ramsey has been blogged to death this year, but I felt unashamedly compelled to justify why I think that the young Welshman deserves the title of Arsenal’s player of the season. I expect many will disagree, many may even disregard this view, but I hope that some readers will appreciate where I’m coming from, whether they end up agreeing or not…

Firstly, I’d like to state that within the constraints of conventional parameters with which we measure how well a player has performed throughout the season, I understand why most fans will most likely opt to choose a player such as Santi Cazorla. I won’t attempt to argue against Santi as the probable popular choice for our player of the season, but rather I will put forward the reasons why Ramsey will almost definitely be my choice. At the end of the day, the way you judge my opinion is up to you, but I respectfully ask that you read on with an open mind and don’t assume that I am blind to the achievements and performances of other players in the squad, because I’m not. Read more

Arsenal or Ajax tickets – Is it any better on the continent?

March 28, 2013 Arsenal, Premier League 7 comments

I’ve chatted with a few buddies recently about ticket prices and arguing until I’m blue in the face that Arsenal do not have the most expensive tickets in the EPL. The two chaps I spoke with are not Arsenal fans, one is a Liverpool fan and the other is a Bristol Rovers fan (I live in Bristol these days).

The Liverpool fan hasn’t been to an away game for over 10 years and maybe makes it to Anfield about 4 times a year, once for the Merseyside derby and the other times for what we Gooners know as category C fixtures.

The Rovers fan however goes to every home game and 80% of away games with The Gas. He has never been to the Emirates although he has said he would love to but can’t justify the cost especially when him and a few other mates hop around Europe a few times a year catching games in other leagues in countries like Belgium, Czech Republic, Holland, Portugal, Austria and Denmark or any league where you can name at least one “decent” team for less than the price of day in London. Read more

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