A Gooner to be proud of - AlexFortyNine

Football is not high up most Londoners agenda right now and with good reason. The events of the last few days that have seen gangs of feral chav youths rioting and looting various parts of the country have been truly appalling. Football needs to be put in its place and it fades into insignificance in the context of the events of recent days.

The Gooner who writes this blog is out doing his bit tonight, he is Alex Louka, aka AlexFortyNine on Twitter. He is part of a group of individuals from the Enfield community who are out in force in order to protect their local area from more of this mindless wanton violence. Alex and this group of lads have been out in Enfield and making citizens arrests of these feral scum, 26 so far I think.

His family shop was looted and he is out doing his bit, I am proud that people are out doing this kind of heroic work this evening, it is simply fantastic that more and more people are standing up to the putrid scum whose behaviour is threatening to undermine the rule of law in our country for no good reason. There are many other tales of similar heroism from elsewhere in London, the Sikhs in Southall, the Turkish in North London, the Millwall fans on Eltham High Street and on and on.

It seems to me that the left wing tree hugging approach does not work with the these youths, cuddling them and offering them help is not the way to go, they are not normal people with feelings and guilt, they are scum who only care for themselves and their own sick pleasure. I hope something good can come out of this disaster and well done AlexFortyNine, keep up the Sterling work, thanks to people like you many of us are having some of our faith in our fellow man restored.

Nothing learnt and a shambolic squad

It's hard to add much more than the Arseblogger after last night's defeat to Benfica. There is no need for despair but there if nothing is done, then we are certainly in big trouble for the season ahead. A lot hasn't changed and obviously that's where a lot of the frustration comes from, this is very understandable so in my opinion.

Even with a few key men out the first choice eleven did a decent job. Gervinho looks a steal, incisive and penetrating with most that he does. Gibbs played neatly and got forward well. Szczesny led the defence well. RVP scored again and got injured again. We deserved the one nil half time lead.

The problem came with the depth in our squad, some are just not good enough while others are very very raw. This is a massive concern because given the length and intensity of our season ahead, these guys need to come into the side and pick up points for us on a fairly regular basis. Can anyone seriously say that they feel Chamakh is going to bang in 15-20 goals or that Squillaci is going to come in to keep several clean sheets?

We are less than a week away from the season's opener at Newcastle and frankly our squad is a complete shambles. We have two key men who look like leaving (Cesc, Nasri). We have a striker on his way out (Bendtner) when our reserve centre forward looks as potent as a stoned Franny Jeffers (Chamakh). We have a real lack of strength in depth in the centre back position with some struggling for form temporarily (Djourou) and others more permanently (Squillaci). We also have several injuries and several of these are in very injury prone individuals (Vermaelen, Theo, Gibbs).

If nothing happens in the next week then it will speak volumes. There will simply be no excuse for the lack of action in the transfer market. We need to get rid of Cesc and Nasri, we must then replace them with some real quality. On top of this we need a centre back and we must sort out the forward situation. I really hope the club has something up its sleeve. Arsene needs to change or he will fall on his sword, he must stop worrying about a million here or there, we need a strong balanced squad for the long hard season ahead. Sort it out Arsene.

The need for a proper British spine

Something that I have given a lot of though to recently is the reasons for our failure to win anything in the past six years and I feel one large factor has been our lack of a strong British spine in the side. Take Arsene's double winning sides and the invincibles, they all had this British spine in the squad and this is what we have lost in the past few seasons. The reason for the importance of this British spine shall be explained.

Firstly I have nothing against foreign players, this is no tabloid rant of xenophobic drivel. However it is ludicrous to forget the importance of team spirit, leadership and togetherness. It is imperative if one is going to be successful to have a squad without divisions, a squad that gets on well together socially and that all speak the same language fluently, a squad that understands what Arsenal Football club represents and a squad of players that above all wants to die fighting for the club that they love.

In recent years we have seen too many players represent our club who do not have the right mentality to be Arsenal footballers, players who do not give their all on the field every week. We have also seen too many first team players become uncommitted to the football club. These factors combined with the lack of leadership from the club captain have seen our ship become rather rudderless. Gallas was an appalling captain, Cesc has been no leader, the handing of the captain's armband to the uncommitted Nasri was an insult to our football club. Players who do not want to play for our football club should not be made club captain and should not be kept at our football club, no matter how good they think they are.

The future of our football club is better off in the hands of players like Jack Wilshere than Cesc Fabregas. We need more players who love the club and who support the club. Players like this are far less likely to ever be tempted away by the big foreign clubs, they are also far less likely to be tempted to run their contracts down and shaft the club they support. Carl Jenkinson is a Gooner and one thing one knows is that he will always put his heart and soul into every single game he plays for us.

Players brought up at the club from a young age and who have the club's mentality instilled in them are far less likely to ever want to leave for big money elsewhere, they will be far more loyal and dedicated to the cause. Part of the reason for Alex Ferguson's success is that he has kept hold of his great players on the whole, the likes of Scholes, Giggs and Keane never wanted out. Generally British players do not want to play abroad, unfortunately many of our great foreign players have wanted to go to Italy or Spain in their prime.

It is also important that the foreign players we bring in around this core of British talent have this Arsenal ethos instilled in them, they must know that a lack of commitment is not acceptable, a larger British core would instill this in our squad and when combined with our technical excellence it would have the potential to be truly unstoppable. The players brought in must be of the right character and sort.

It is to Arsene's great credit that he has revolutionised our youth system and we are seeing a generation of committed British talent developing at the club. We have seen Jack Wilshere become a first choice starter in the last year, Ramsey can do the same, Gibbs can too provided he can stay fit. There are some other fine fighters waiting in the wings in the form of Frimpong, Bartley when back from his loan, Lansbury, Jenkinson and Afobe. It would be great for the long term future of the club if as many of these homegrown British players can make it as possible, they are not going to start pining for a return to their homeland at a later date, Arsenal is their home.

We have some truly excellent and highly committed foreign players who also give nothing short of 100% every time that they put on their Arsenal shirt. The likes of RVP, Vermaelen, Sagna, Song and Szczesny always give their all and fight for every scrap. We must weed out the uncommitted, keep this core of committed foreign talent, combine it with our homegrown fighters and then make the right additions to this group, then we have a chance. If we do not do this and persist with some of the uncommitted players who simply do not have the right attitude for Arsenal FC, then the rot will persist and the failure will continue.

Pathetic Barca continue to insult Cesc

It does not surprise me that Barcelona FC are continuing to take the piss with their courting of Cesc Fabregas. Their first offer was reported to be about 25 million pounds, and now after yet more public tapping up and mincing, their second offer has gone up to only 30million pounds which included numerous hypothetical add-ons:

“Barcelona are offering extra payments which are dependent on all sorts of fantastical things, but we are not interested in that. We want them to pay what he is worth.”

Barcelona FC have yet again been told to stick their pathetic and insulting offer. If I were Cesc then I would feel rather humiliated that the very same club had just paid over 30 million Euros for another player with nothing like Cesc's track record. Barca are also unable to even match Cesc's Arsenal wages. Consider Barca's 30million offer in the context with Ashley Young (20million), Dowding (20million) and Henderson (20million: it is an insult. What a bunch of bankrupt tossers.

We face Udinese in the CL qualifying, not an easy prospect by any means, though it certainly does help that they have lost several of their best players this summer. A 19-man squad travels to Benfica for the friendly tonight and there are some rather interesting absentees. Cesc and Nasri appear to be absent for the obvious reasons, as are Eboue and Bendtner, Vela may be on his way too. It is ominous that are injuries are racking up so early; Gibbs, Kos, Diaby, Jack and Theo are already out. It is encouraging to see Jenkinson, Frimpong, Miguel and Lansbury included.

This makes the introduction of reinforcements even more imperative, our squad is looking thin. Arsene apparently understands our frustration and thinks something is going to happen soon:

“We hope to give you some good news soon. Next week, something might happen.”

Time is running out. I'd be highly surprised if new signings are not made soon, but if they are not then it is hard to see our current squad proving to be strong enough for the challenges ahead. Now is not the time for haggling or penny pinching. We have money and must spend, it is as simple as that. It is Arsene's last chance saloon.

Reflecting on the angry small babies

Another day often gives one just a bit more perspective and after personally I think those that booed the team on Sunday are looking even more stupid that they did yesterday, time and perspective will do these fools no favours. Arseblogger hit the nail very firmly on the head this morning, there simply is no decent justification for such behaviour.

Some excellent points were made on the blog yesterday by readers. The impact that such pathetic booing can have on player retention was a very salient one. The negative atmosphere at home games is now part of a kind of vicious cycle, the players can't be looking forward to the lack of 'support' from certain sections of the crowd, it really cannot be helping us get results at the Emirates. Of note our away record was considerably better than our home one last season. The 'Gooner in Exile' makes some great points that I would urge you all to read.

One thing I cannot stand is this consumerist attitude of some so called Arsenal 'supporters', they seem to think that paying for tickets means they can come along, whinge, offer very little support and a 'right' to boo the team at pre season games. Frankly we'd be better off with empty seats than having these morons dragging us down. If you don't want to pay the price you are paying then simply don't, it is a free world, but don't come to games if you are not going to get behind the team. Arsenal needs supporters, not just paying spectators who see themselves as entitled consumers. Thinking you have a divine 'right' to boo is a very selfish, short sighted and depressing attitude to have in life.

There are certainly some situations when booing can be justified, for example if a particular player has shafted the club, or if there are clearly players out there not putting in the effort. For example if anyone deserved a booing at the weekend it was Samir Nasri. However booing a team that has given their all is not productive in my eyes. If people have a problem with the management then they would be better off protesting in other ways, but we saw at the end of last season that this bunch of angry small men was pretty tiny, still their boos can be quite loud despite their small minority status.

In conclusion just to reiterate some of the points I have had to repeat over and over again, there was simply no justification for the booing yesterday, it was stupid, divisive and can only be negative for the club we love. That is not to say that we cannot discuss certain problems that the club currently faces with key players on the verge of leaving and in need of significant reinforcements. The manager has to change his approach, we all know this, but for God's sake let's give him the chance to do this and then judge him. If we start to crucify him and his players before the season has started we could be the catalyst for our own demise.

The Arsenal Squad 2011 - stronger or shambles?

Goalkeepers: Szczesny, Fabianski, Mannone

Verdict: Top No1 and reasonable backup.

Fullbacks: Santos, Sagna, Gibbs, Jenkinson

Verdict: Santos needs to prove he can defend and if Gibbs can stay fit then looking strong at left back, Jenkinson is raw but can be a decent backup to Sagna.

Centre Backs: Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Djourou, Miguel, Squillaci (unfortunately)

Verdict: Vastly better than last season, the arrival of the experienced German international is a potentially good move but there doubts over his pace, Vermaelen can hopefully stay fit and if this is the case we should be more robust defensively.

Midfielders: Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Benayoun, Song, Diaby, Frimpong, Coquelin

Verdict: Fantastic in terms of young talent but there is an obvious lack of experienced combative players who can stay fit, that is my huge concern, because we look too small and lightweight at times and should not rely on Jack and Aaron, they are young developing talents.

Wingers: Gervinho, Walcott, Arshavin, Miyaichi, Oxlade

Verdict: Gervinho appears to have the potential to more than replace the erratic Nasri, the youngsters add a bit of depth in wide areas. The form or lack of it from our small Russian has been a concern for some time, in my opinion he has to play more centrally and cannot cut it on the wing. Walcott needs to step up this season. Overall we have more pace and more width in the squad though.

Forwards: RVP, Park, Chamakh, Afobe

Verdict: Excellent to have RVP fit (for the moment) and Park promises to be a useful addition. I am deeply concerned with our ability to score goals beyond RVP though, Chamakh is looking dead on his feet and there is no other quality top notch striker to lead the line after RVP. I am amazed that we have let Bendtner go out on loan when is clearly our second best striker after RVP. Why not convince him to stay?

Overall I am much happier than I was a week ago. The defence is stronger, we have more pace and width in the squad, and we have no one who is not committed to the cause now that Cesc and Nasri have gone. I am most concerned with our striker situation, with Bendtner going we have very little quality backup to RVP, Chamakh looks drained of all confidence, a lot of pressure is going to be on the new South Korean Park and it is asking a lot of him in his first season. I also have concerns about the midfield as we are looking very reliant on our younger squad members, we really could have done with one M'Vila type of addition.

However serious questions need to be asked as to why things were left so late in the day when so much of this business could have been done earlier in the day. Most seriously for me, our wage structure needs to be completely revamped, it overpays lesser squad members and is not competitive in terms of the top salaries. We absolutely must have a competitive wage structure. Players like Mata have slipped through the net because of our wage structure and this cannot be allowed to continue in future years. It is time to rethink, restructure or die. Come on you Gunners!

The booing shambles

It is not often that I have been ashamed to be an Arsenal fan, but sadly today was one of those days. It wasn't to do with the team, the manager, the result, it was the quite pathetic behaviour and attitude of a group of so called 'Arsenal fans' who booed their players in a pre season friendly match.

The behaviour of these fans is already being exploited by various arsenal-hating sections of the media, it is simply completely unproductive, it is deeply harmful to the football club that these morons claim to support.

Pre season matches are generally boring affairs, they have been for as long as I can remember, so people expecting a fully committed high tempo encounter are deluded, players are simply getting some fitness and are going to try to avoid injuries in these meaningless games. Pre season results just don't matter either, and anyway today the first team won their match.

I despair at people getting such ridiculously disproportionate rage and booing their own players for getting a draw in a meaningless friendly, it really is hard to find the words. It doesn't help the players, it doesn't help the club, it only helps our competitors.

I know we have some issues at the moment, after all I have been pointing them out for months. We need a centre back, we need another centre forward with chamakh struggling, the black clouds of nasri and cesc still hang overhead. Still it is bloody obvious that the club is trying to sort all these issues out before the season gets underway.

Some people need to go back to basics and learn what being a proper 'supporter' is all about. Some people have become so self destructive that they are being eaten up by the negativity from within, they appear dour joyless sorts who do little to actually get behind the team that they claim to support. Being a supporter is not like buying a ticket for the cinema, sitting back and watching exactly what you want, making no positive contribution and then whining if everything is not just as you had wished. It is about supporting your team through thick and thin, helping them recover from setbacks and not digging holes deeper.

Maybe this will all pass, but at the moment my enthusiasm for going to games is severely dwindling, I want to sit alongside people who will support the team, through the good times and the bad. The booers are a disgrace to Arsenal football club and if you were on of them, would you kindly rethink your attitude or keep well away from the Emirates in the future.