Phil Brown’s Dirty Tactics Fire Blanks at the Emirates

It took 60 minutes for Phil Brown’s side to realize that they have been defeated at the Emirates Stadium. From the beginning of the game, the Tigers threw themselves into the game with little regard for how much they would be able to keep up with this high level of play.

They made it clear that they would fight tooth and nail for the three points. But that’s where tooth and nail became too literal for football’s standards. The tactics were obvious: direct play, closing down all around the field, and Craig Fagan alone on the front-line.

Now, there is nothing wrong in being more direct, or making harder tackles than usual; it has actually been proven to be the right step in neutralizing technically superior teams. But the Hull City players were trying to come up with a new definition for the word DIRECT (adjective in this case).

Steven Hunt attempted to push Manuel Almunia’s buttons with a couple of improvised provocations. Sparks started to fly as the Arsenal goalkeeper responded to one of Hunt’s challenges. Referee Steve Bennett, however, kept thing under control with a few strict words to both of them.

But the match almost got completely out of hand when just before the end of the first half, Arsenal won a controversial free-kick 10 meters away from the arc of the penalty area.

As referee Steve Bennett was trying to affirm his decision of awarding the free kick, the strangest of things happened. Seeing Samir Nasri walk slowly toward him, Richard Garcia identified and seized his chance. He crumbled on the ground as soon as he felt the slightest touch by Nasri.

And that’s when it started to look really odd.

As if stung by bees, at least five Hull players reacted violently. Led by Steven Hunt and Nick Barmby (who was substituted on break), the Tigers jumped forward at Samir Nasri to seek justice.

Nasri stumbled backwards, some Arsenal players rushed in to help him, and then the melee unleashed. It took a full five minutes for Bennett to reinstate control of the game. What was strange in this situation was that Hunt saw the whole incident happening just before his eyes and nevertheless impulsively dashed forward.

Bennett summoned Nasri and Barmby, showing them the yellow card.

As the game progressed the fog around Fagan’s role started to disperse as well.

He created practically nothing for the duration of the entire match with the exception of a few well-performed simulations. It was obvious that the reason why Phil Brown had chosen to field Fagan instead of the much more powerful and adept in the air Daniel Cousin was because of the striker’s highly developed artistic talents.

And it almost gave result, when in the 56th minute Fagan fell on the ground, claiming that he was held by a surprisingly well-performing-on-the-night Mikael Silvestre. The Arsenal defenders were surprised to see referee Steve Bennett point towards the spot, repeatedly pulling his shirt in response to their astonished expressions.

Higher powers were at work on that night though and justice was served.

Manuel Almunia guessed the direction of Giovanni’s shot and parried the ball, only for it to land on the head of oncoming Hunt, who along with a couple of his team-mates made final attempts to net the ball, but miserably failed to do so.

That defined the turning point of the match and from there on, there was only one team: Arsenal. With two more goals, the match was pushed into formality—3-0.

Nevertheless, the result was not the most important thing this Saturday night.

It was the resoluteness and intelligence the Arsenal players showed to deal with a very tough opponent, especially at a period of time when their captain, Cesc Fabregas, was missing.

As for Phil Brown and his side, they gave it all—maybe even more than that. That is football.

Arsenal: Old Faces Seen at the Training Ground; Sol Campbell Back?

One of Arsenal’s most successful centre backs, and a significant part of the “Invincibles” team, Sol Campbell, has been seen at the Arsenal training grounds.

Back when Arsenal completed their last trophy conquest, Sol managed to blend in perfectly with the Arsenal squad, forming a solid partnership with Kolo Toure who is now at Manchester City.

Campbell, 35, was released by his last team, Notts County, by mutual consent of both him and the club, and is now free to pursue a new contract. His presence at the Emirates, however, should not be read much into, according to Arsene Wenger:

"I don't know about that yet," said Wenger. "I haven't thought about it.

"At the moment we have four centre backs and we will always have four. If one would go I would consider it but at the moment we have four. There is no need to sign anyone else.

"I love Sol Campbell and the fact he came back here and wanted to practice with us shows that he loves the Club as well.

“You never say never in this kind of situations. He can still do a job in the Premier League especially now he is fit but at the moment we have no need to sign anybody."

However vague the situation is, a certain question arises: Can Sol Campbell help the team, or at least, can his tons of experience help in some way for some of the youngsters to improve themselves if he is re-signed by Arsene?

With the presences of the new summer acquisition Thomas Vermaelen, the ever-solid William Gallas, and second picks Philippe Senderos and Mikael Silvestre, one might begin to wonder whether Sol is really needed at the moment. Another defender, Johan Djourou, may be out until the end of March, which only puts more emphasis on the question.

One thing is certain; Sol would love to come back to Arsenal. It’s an entirely different thing, however, whether he will fit into the squad at present time.

So, here comes your opinion.

Do you think he will come as a plus to the current squad?

Time to Look Ahead: Arsenal’s Youngsters May Provide Needed Moral Boost

Flowers may not seem to be blossoming for the Gunners at present times. Two losses in a row in the Premier League—one against a supposedly inferior team. Understandably, the spirits of the team have been lowered. Nobody wanted to record a defeat, especially two, that’s for sure.

But all is not lost. While Arsenal is currently trailing 11 points from the leaders Chelsea, there is still hope as a significant part of Chelsea’s team is to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations in January. Same goes for a lot of other teams.

Nevertheless, the source of hope and uplift may come from the most unexpected places. The youngsters at Arsenal, ironically, can be the ones to provide the team with a significant moral boost.

Players like Carlos Vela, Jack Wilshere, Sanchez Watt, Armand Traore, Fran Merida, Jack Wilshere, and Vito Mannone are more motivated than ever to prove themselves.

The injury epidemic at Arsenal brings them one step closer to their dreamed first-team participation.

And what better motivation than seeing what you want just in front of you, only an arm’s reach away; and the only thing you have to do is just reach and grab it.

Just recently, after the match against Chelsea, Wenger announced that the youngsters will get their chance to prove themselves.

On Wednesday, Arsenal is playing Manchester City in the Carling Cup. A good performance by either of the aforementioned players can put pressure on the first-team starters to perform better.

Eduardo is one of those players; undoubtedly, he feels Carlos Vela breathing down his neck. This may prove beneficial to him. Even if it does not work, it is a good chance for Vela to apply for a regular first-team place, in case he provides several good performances, of course—a chance he will definitely have in the coming weeks before Niklas Bedntner returns from injury.

Similar is the situation on the left-back position. Personally, I was tad surprised to see Kieran Gibbs being chosen over Armand Traore during the last year. I have always considered Traore to be the more progressed player. But this still is beneficial for the team. Competition will always raise the bar for its participants.

With Clichy out for another two weeks, and Gibbs out for a significantly longer period of time, it is a golden opportunity for Armand Traore—an opportunity which he surely has waited for a long time.

Another positive sign can be found even in the much tormented and problematic front-line of Arsenal.

The absence of Van Persie is certainly a big blow for the Gunners, and Eduardo’s current form does not help as well. But here’s where two relatively new faces will see their chances.

Carlos Vela has been talked about a lot, ever since the time he spent loan spells at Salamanca and Osasuna, where he gained invaluable experience and was often involved with the first team. Now, he is prepared for Premier League football. His fitness is top notch, and he is more eager than ever to prove himself.

Recently, he stated at the Arsenal website:

"I really want to improve on last season," he said. "I want to score more goals than last season and play more and the main aim for the team is to win something."

After an injury-stricken beginning of the season, the hunger for improvement for Carlos Vela is there. There is only one way for him: up. And what better than that for the team.

Another new face that may become involved in Arsenal’s attack, and most likely will be seen in the game against Manchester City, is Sanchez Watt.

I have always been an admirer of the youngster’s skills. Skills he demonstrated during the team’s preseason preparation. He is tall, technically apt, and reads the game very well.

He recently signed a new contract with Arsenal which proves that he has what it takes to remain at the club.

"This is a contract that gives me more time to prove myself and hopefully I will," he said.

"I want to get a few first-team chances, even just getting in the squad because you know you're improving if you're getting on the bench because there are a lot of players in the team.”

He is still quite young and is ever-improving, but if he is able to grasp his chance against Manchester City, he can be a contender for a first-team spot, or he can provide some pressure on the first-team starters, and maybe push them to improve their form.

Vito Mannone is a young player who has already proved himself to a degree. Now that he has tasted first-team football, the motivation to come back will be even stronger. He is a more than decent goal keeper who could become the next big thing, but at the moment, his drive to get into the first team can be beneficial for the first team.

Even in an injury-stricken squad like the current one of Arsenal, the youngster can provide Wenger with a headache or two. But that is only if they perform well.

They will have their chances, as Wenger said. It’s up to them.

And at times like this, their determination to prove themselves is exactly what the team needs. Ironically, the source of problems that the age has caused for Arsenal can be the source of hope and inspiration as well.

Good luck, young Gunners.

Arsenal: UEFA’s Newly Considered Regulations in Favor of Gunners’ Policy

Arsenal’s ruling body and manager received a huge boost for their confidence after the announcement of the UEFA administration that they will work towards accepting new regulations which would restrict the financial freedom of some clubs. By introducing the Financial Fair Play concept, they are hoping to retain the integrity of football.

Among the points being put into consideration were that clubs would be forbidden to repeatedly spend more than their income; a limit would be put on the players’ wages and on transfer fees as well; also the clubs would be expected to fulfill their commitments, whatever they might be, on a timely basis.

UEFA’s new theoretical, for now, regulations would attempt to curb the financial chaos that some clubs are creating by spending a lot more than their income. These are clubs usually owned by very rich people who ignore the actual turnover of the club and take all financial issues in their own capable hands.

Clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and others would have to adapt and are expected to strongly feel the ramifications of this rule.

Arsenal, however, has already embarked on the road of a financially self-sustaining club and it is certainly in a significantly more favorable position than most of its rivals.

Speaking on the Arsenal website, Arsene Wenger shared his thoughts on UEFA’s intentions:

“We can be only stronger, because at the moment we fight with teams who do not respect that [Financial Fair Play],” said Wenger.

“I do not know how much time it will take to get that rule in place, but we will adapt.

“Whether the rule changes or not, it does not influence the way we behave.
It can only influence the way some other clubs behave, who do not live completely within these rules.

“But I believe we will dominate even without a change of rules.”

It is certainly a welcome decision by the Arsenal manager and board. But to really be able to comprehend how teams would be affected by such decision by UEFA, we will need numbers.

How much have the clubs really spend? Is it that much?

In the past years, here’s how much the major players have spent in the transfer market:

Chelsea, under their billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, has spent around £600 million since he took over in 2003. Real Madrid has spent an even more staggering £673 million since 2003.

The two titans rocking the financial world of football are followed by the new member in the club of billionaire-owned football clubs, Manchester City, with the sum of around £185 million (£120 million spending during this year’s summer transfer window and around £65 million more from the previous years).

If you compare that with Arsenal’s measly £60 million since 2004—a sum which still remains unreachable for the majority of clubs out there—you would begin to understand why UEFA is attempting to take such measures.

Since the invasion of billionaire owners began, the world of football has been split into two. On the one side, there are the supporters of—let’s call it—the-brutal-law-of-nature financial policy in which the small one is eaten by the big one; policy signified by the big spending of the clubs, with the help of their billionaires’ unending resources.

On the other side, there are people like Pele and the current UEFA president Michele Platini, who believe that football is much more than a business and have more than once come out with their annoyance and disapproval for the unreasonably big spending of some clubs.

Pele once said for the L'Osservatore Romano, “All I know is that it is not fair or democratic,”

"It is the big one eating the small one. Maybe it is normal, but it is dangerous for football.”

It makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? Where is the whole thing going with this transfer-fee funfair going out of control? To top it, the inflation of money amongst economic crisis certainly doesn’t help those numbers too.

So, in the end, someone has decided to act. UEFA is considering the new rules, and they have made the first steps in keeping the integrity of football in tact.

For some it may be a step backwards, but for others, this could mean the beginning of a long process of reincarnation of football in its purest form.

One thing that cannot be denied is that UEFA’s drive to make the football clubs financially self-sustaining would improve the financial health of football. Eyes can be turned away from foreign desirable players and turned towards the clubs’ own youth divisions.

The rule could help the development of more players from the youth ranks. What better than seeing more world-class players emerging on the field, and not only a handful of great players?

One thing is certain: A change like that can bring the end of the billionaires’ reign in football, and the clubs that have not been bought by ones would benefit the most.

Arsenal: Can Manchester City Result Provide the Wake-Up Call?

Just when you thought Arsenal are on their way to materialize their dream, they are thumped hard on their bottom once again. In a closer encounter than the result suggests, Arsenal lost their second match of this season’s campaign.

Goals were scored by Micah Richards, Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Shaun Wright-Phillips for Manchester City, putting the match beyond doubt. A mild consolation was provided for the Gunners, in the form of two goals, by Robin Van Persie and the returning Tomas Rosicky.

Despite the surprisingly positive start of the season, this match further fuelled the doubt s that there are problems yet to be solved in Wenger’s side. What was even more worrying on the day was that the Arsenal manager allowed himself to be tactically outplayed by his counterpart.

His recently discovered 4-3-3 formation seemed worryingly ineffective. While, the reasons for that cannot be fully credited to the fine work of the opposition. It was more than obvious that Arsene would look for domination on the wings, placing the tall and imposing players, Nicklas Bendtner and Abou Diaby, there.

They are not known for their speed, and that was Wenger’s first mistake. Micah Richards outplayed the slower Diaby and neutralized him. On the left side, the Danish striker was also struggling to create chances for his team. Eduardo was left on the bench, when it was obvious that a faster player would do a lot more damage on the wings. Wenger did not see that soon enough.

Another mistake Wenger made, was when he decided to use the team’s most creative player on the right side of the midfield. Why was that needed?

Cesc Fabregas, provided with the right helping hand, can dictate the tempo of the game from midfield. So why place him on the right side and, subsequently, isolate him from the game?

He had a lot less to do there. Alex Song was preoccupied by giving a helping hand to the defence, and Denilson barely had what can be called a decent game.

The midfield looked unimaginative and dull.

Something that could not be said when Andrey Arshavin was playing. Fabregas has the quality to change that, but on that day his strength was not used by Wenger. And that was mistake number two by Wenger.

Now, while a result of 4-1 might indicate a dominating game for the winning side, it was far from that. The two sides were not that far away from each other in terms of quality.

The difference lay in defence.

The recently criticized side of Mark Hughes for their lack of defensive resources may have proved their critics wrong. The partnership at the back between ex-Gunner Kolo Toure and recent purchase Joleon Lescott looked as stable as a rock. They easily neutralized all attacks from the air. On the other side of the field, their colleagues dressed in red and white looked shakier than ever.

The impression of Thomas Vemaelen and William Gallas collaborating well, that they managed to create so far, was stripped of its substantiality after this game. They were too far apart from each other, could not communicate well, and allowed the oppositional attacking players to out jump them far too many times.

As if to not stay behind the lone man restricted by the two posts, Almunia, also had a terrible game. He could have saved half of the four goals that he conceded. The first one would not have even gone in, if it was not for diving Almunia’s back to bounce the rebounded off the post ball inside the net.

But it’s easy to be critical of the goal keeper when the defence has not been playing well. Almunia will share the responsibly of this loss with the rest of the team.

One thing was made certain: Arsenal still have a lot more work to do to materialize their dream. It’s far too early in the season to discount them from the title race, but conceding four goals cannot be called top quality too.

We are asking ourselves the question: what went wrong in Manchester? Is Wenger going to ask himself the same question and benefit from the answer?

Time will tell.

Player of the week

William Gallas — He did what was required of him. Obviously, he is closing the peak of his form. Against Celtic he showed some great concentration, and tackled with precision. In the second match of the week, despite the two goals that Arsenal conceeded, Gallas almost completely neutralized United's forward Wayne Rooney.

The Greatest Comebacks in the U.S. Open History, Part Two

This is the second part of The Greates Comebacks in the U.S. Open History.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario – Steffi Graf: 1994, US Open final

It only took 22 minutes for Steffi Graf to snatch the first set from Vicario, 1-6. But how wrong would she have been if she thought it was going to be an easy game.

Vicario fought back in the second set and at the result 4-3, having executed a half-volley saw Steffi Graf suffer some kind of injury while attempting to reach the ball. Nevertheless, Steffi continued to battle on with a slight pain in her lower back. Later, she claimed that the injury only bothered her for a couple of games.

Arantxa took the second set 7-6.

In the final third set, Graf’s main weapon started to fail. She netted a few forehands and made some unprovoked errors. Eventually, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario fought to snatch the win, took the final set 6-4, defeating Graf. It was her first US Open title. She said after the game, “It was the happiest day of my life and the biggest win,”

About the injury that Stefi seemed to suffer from during the match she said, “Well, I know she had a back problem. When I won the second set, I knew everything was different, but I thought she was still playing a good match.”

Steffi Graf, nonetheless, had no excuses for her defeat, “I just couldn’t stay with this level. That’s all”


Steffi Graf – Monica Seles: 1995, US Open final

The 1995 US Open witnessed one of the most memorable women’s singles tennis match in the history of the tournament. Two years after she was stabbed on court, Monica Seles was back in top form and was battling it out with Steffi Graf for the US Open title.

In a very dramatic, full of tension and jam-packed with great tennis match, Graf was able to turn the odds around in her favour winning 7-6, 0-6, 6-3.

In the first set, Monica Seles failed to capitalise on a set point and lost the tiebreak 6-8. In second though, it only took her 27 minutes to neutralize Graf’s tennis and tie the score.

However, Graf had a different opinion. At 1-1 games in the final set, Monica failed to take a break point leaving Graf to take full advantage of that, winning 6-3. The great comeback secured Graf’s fourth US Open title.

Andre Agassi – James Blake: 2005, US Open quarter-final

35-year-old Andre Agassi had a younger opponent, much stronger than him. James Blake’s hard-hitting shots and serves were enough to show the aging Agassi that he meant business, taking the first two sets 6-3, 6-3.

He couldn’t have imagined what would happen next.

In the third set, Agassi broke to tie the games, 3-3. He kept serve for 4-3 and then in the eighth game was when the turning point of the match developed.

Agassi fought to reach a break point, but failed to push further and deuce had to be played. Blake managed to take three advantages, but failed to capitalise on all of them. His nerves betrayed him and with three double faults from his serve, he surrendered the game and eventually the set, 6-3 to Andre Agassi.

The aging American made the turnaround complete and secured his progression to the semi-final, beating 25-year-old Blake 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6. Great comeback by Andre Agassi.

Justine Henin-Hardene – Jennifer Capriati: 2003, US Open semi-final

John McEnroe described the match as the greatest ever to have been played in the history of the US Open. And it is easy to see why.

The match proceeded more than three hours and stretched to midnight. It finished at 12:27am.

The first set went to Capriati, 6-4.

In the second set, Henin-Hardene trailed by 3-5 games but recovered, winning the set in the tiebreak 7-5.

In the third set, she trailed once again by 2-5, but miraculously fought back to reach the tiebreak and eventually win one of the most exciting matches ever to be played in tennis. Throughout the match, Jennifer Capriate had 11 opportunities to finish the match off, but a resolute Justine Henin-Hardene refused to give up.

Later that evening, the Belgian tennis player was treated for muscle cramps and dehydration in order to play in the final the next day.

She defeated her country-woman Kim Clijisters in straight sets and was crowned US Open champion. But nobody would have a slightest degree of doubt which match was the real final in the 2003 US Open championship.

Andre Agassi – Marcos Baghdatis: 2003, US Open second round

“You are not guaranteed these moments,” Agassi said after the game, “and to feel it out there is something I can keep in me forever.”

It was one of the last games of the tennis all-time great Andre Agassi. The 36-year-old once again stunned the millions of tennis fans around the world.

Cheered by a crowd of 23,700, Agassi strolled on to take the first two sets from his 21-year-old opponent. Contradictory to the expectations that Agassi would crumble physically first, it was Baghdatis’s feet that locked up. He had to receive help from his trainer. Falling on his wrist in the first set did not make things easier for him. But did he quit?

Through amazing will-power Marcos Baghdatis fought through a deficit of 0-4 games in the fourth set, and tied the sets at 2-2. Agassi’s wife Steffi Gras now looked worried on the stands.

But it was the old school’s calm and calculated tennis that was in favour tonight. Eventually, Andre Agassi won the final set 7-5 to record one of the most exciting games of the US Open men’s singles history.

He was later greeted by a crowd of fans in his locker room. In the next round he was to meat Benjamin Becker, which would later be looked backed on as his last game in tennis.

The Greates Comebacks of the U.S. Open History, Part One

The time has come again, folks. One of the biggest four tournaments in modern tennis is about to resume on August 31st.

Once again, we will cheer for our favourite tennis heroes. Once again, we will watch some out-of-this-planet tennis. Once again, we will witness the great potential of the human mind and body.

Throughout the years, the US Open has been a stage on which legendary tennis players like Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg, Andre Agassi, Stefan Edberg and many more have attempted to eradicate to the word impossible from the dictionary.

They have been a great threat to that word, but nevertheless it still remains in the dictionary (but it has begun its transformation to its opposite—possible).

Tennis is not only an ordinary game of two players, two rackets, a net, and a ball. Tennis is much more than that; it is a reflection of the human strength and the unending potential of the human body and mind— the two reasons for which we have seen countless of comebacks in tennis.

The US Open has also had its fair share of great comebacks. But which ones were the greatest? Well, let’s look into it.

Here are the greatest comebacks in the US Open since the day the tournament was created from its predecessor, the US National Championship, in 1968.

Ilie Nastase – Arthur Ashe: 1972, US Open Final

It was one of the first comebacks since the tournament was created and it was one of the most dramatic ones ever. In front of a record number of attendance, 14,696, Romanian Ilie Nastase and American Arthur Ashe faced each other to decide which path the fourth US Open trophy will embark on.

The first set went to Ashe 6-3, but then Nastase tied the game, taking the second set with 6-3. The third was taken, once again, by the American.

In the fourth, Ilie Nastase trailed by two to one sets and 1-3 games at serving game. Eventually, he managed to turn it around and won it by six games to four.

The fifth and final set once again went to the Romanian, but not before he trailed again due to a break by Ashe. Ilie Nastase completed his first US Open triumph in one of the most dramatic comebacks up to date.

Manuel Orantes – Guilermo Villas: 1975, US Open Semi-final

In the year when night tennis was introduced, the battle between the two was the one to make the perfect advertisement of it.

It was probably the greatest comeback ever to occur in the world of tennis. The Spaniard Manuel Orantes quickly lost the first two sets by 4-6, 1-6, but he managed to recover for the third and won it 6-2.

But it was in the fourth set when it was meant for people to suffer heart attacks. Orantes trailed by 0-5 games but, unbelievably, made a terrific comeback to win it 7-5: striking performance by Manuel Orantes. In the finals set he was able to finish off Villas, winning 6-4.

He later continued on his quest and beat defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final.

Pamela Shriver - Martina Navratilova: 1982, US Open Quarter-final

Pam Shriver caused the big upset by beating reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, and her partner in the women’s doubles, Martina Navratilova. She managed to come back from 1-6 to take the remaining two sets 7-6, 6-2.

Unfortunately for Pam Shrivers, beating the top-seeded challenger could not help her win the US Open. Still, the match is considered to be one of the greatest in the US Open women’s singles.

Stefan Edberg – Michael Chang: 1992, US Open Semi-final

The match between Stefan Edberg and Michael Chang is believed to be the longest match in the history of the US Open. It lasted for over five hours— five hours and 26 minutes to be exact. And what a test of endurance it was.

Edberg’s perfect execution of serve-volley and Chang’s perfect returns and passing contributed to one of the closest games ever in tennis.

In the first set, Chang took the lead with five games to two, but Edberg did not give up and fought back to earn a tiebreak. Eventually, he lost the tiebreak and the first set went to Michael Chang.

In second set, strangely enough, the script was the opposite of the one in the first set. Edberg took the lead with 4-0 only to see Chang come back to lock the game into a tiebreak again. Nevertheless, it was still Edberg that won the tiebreak.

The third set went to Stefan Edberg, 7-5. In the fourth, the Swede missed the chance to end the match and allowed Chang to push the game into a final fifth set.

It is when the battle for endurance became most obvious. Both were physically tired, the battle was led in the minds of the players.

Stefan Edberg emerged victorious, defeating the mentally exhausted Michael Chang with 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.

Lady Luck Smiles At Arsenal in the Champions League Group Stage Draw

Arsenal got lucky in the Champions League Group Stages draw on Thursday. They managed to avoid dangerous teams from the second seed such as Real Madrid, Lyon, Internazionale Milano, Juventus and Porto.

Incredible luck was with the Gunners and it saw them get relatively easy opponents in their group. They were drawn in group H and received as opponents Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, Greeks Olympiacos, and Belgian club Standard Liege.

Group H
1. Arsenal
2. AZ
3. Olympiacos
4. Standard Liege

Arsenal will resume their quest for European silverware on September 16, when they will travel to meet Belgian team Standard Liege.

Here is how the other groups turned out:

Goup A
1. Bayern
2. Juventus
3. Bordeaux
4. Maccabi Haifa

Group B
1. Manchester United
2. CSKA Moskva
3. Besiktas
4. Wolfsburg

Group C
1. Milan
2. Real Madrid
3. Marseille
4. Zurich

Group D
1.Chelsea
2. Porto
3. Atletico
4. APOEL

Group E
1. Liverpool
2. Lyon
3. Fiorentina
4. Debrecen

Group F
1. Barcelona
2. Internazionale
3. Dynamo Kyiv
4. Rubin

Group G
1. Sevilla
2. Rangers
3. Stuttgart
4. Unirea Urziceni

Sun Tzu's Six Must-Know Rules for Every Football Manager

Sun Tzu was Chinese military commander who lived in the years before the Common Era (it is argued exactly when). He has been considered to have profoundly influenced the development of military strategy. His book The Art of War was a source of inspiration for many military commanders, and in nowadays is a must-know for any military strategist.

But what’s that got to do with football?

Football has been used, throughout the ages (as yearly as 4000 BC) as a game to serve different pagan believes and also it has been used by the Romans and Chinese as a kind of military training. It was considered to be a game that keeps the body and mind fit for the time they would be put to use—war time.

If we look into many of the tactics used by the managers around the world in nowadays football, we would probably notice a lot of striking similarities with Sun Tzu’s strategies for war.

Let’s not keep you waiting. I’ll let Mr. Tzu do the talking with his book The Art of War:

“You have to believe in yourself.”

It is probably the most obvious thing of all. No win would come to a team without a solid amount of self-confidence and belief in their own abilities. There are plenty of teams out there that have all that is needed to be a great team, but they are found wanting when it concerns those vital attributes.

That exact thought of Sun Tzu could easily replace the “You will never walk alone” slogan Liverpool’s crest. They are the team that have proved that this phrase of Sun Tzu is right recipe for victory more than once.

“Invincibility lies in the defence; the possibility of victory in the attack.”

I doubt if there is a football manager in the world that does not know this rule.

If your team has a good defence, they will concede fewer goals; if your team has a good attack, more goals will be scored by it. But it is the balance that most work to achieve. Being a good defensive team will not bring glory in modern football.

Ask the many Italian football clubs that concentrate their efforts toward defensive style of play. Ask technically-inclined teams that have plenty of attacking power, but also have failed to meet the necessary defensive requirements.

“Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy.”

The essence of football is to outplay the other team tactically. It is the path to victory in football. We have seen many times how less talented teams have taken it all and have beaten stronger teams by using the right tactics and strategy.

A football team is much like an army. The correct executions of the general’s strategy, the manager in this case, would lead to victory. The best teams know how to adapt their game to that of the opposition.

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.”

Rule number one when it comes to life, not only football. The surest way to defeat is by not knowing the opposition or yourself. The football team must know their own weaknesses, weak spots, thus where to attack and what to protect themselves from; they must know their strengths and apply them in the most appropriate way.

If a football team is weak in the air, then it is better for them not to cross the ball and keep it on the ground or to attempt to close in the opposition’s wingers.

If a football team lacks technical players then they should attempt to neutralise the oppositional technical players and be more physical. We have also seen this rule work to the advantage of weaker teams many times.


“To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”

Only a selected few even attempt to try their hands at this. Even though a “fight” cannot be avoided in modern football due to its strict schedules, the resistance of the opposition can be broken even before the start of the particular match.

Sir Alex Ferguson may be considered to be the typical example of the application of this rule works. Not once we have seen him play mind games with other managers. His attempts to disrupt the opposition’s flow have worked on many occasions.

“All war is deception”

This rule is embedded into most of the tactics that the football managers use on the field. The constant swapping of positions of the players, the tricks of the players, the deceptive passes are all an inseparable part of modern football.


Six quotes from Sun Tzu; six rules; and the similarities do not end here.

Football is just a reflection of life, or of what it has been before. People like Sun Tzu and others who have found ways to improve the different aspects of life have also improved exactly that—more than one, different, aspect of life. Football has not been left behind.

Sun Tzu, with his book The Art of War, have given the world not only the basic strategies for successful warfare, but he has also given the modern football managers the formula for success. Sun Tzu would have been a great football manager.

Man of the Week

Thomas Vermaelen made a great debut in the English Premier League, scoring his first goal for Arsenal against Everton. A follow-up solid performance on Parkhead against Celtic in the Champions League play-off round are enough to secure him the Man of the Week label.

Decide Already; Is Arsenal Capable of Winning the League or Not?

The Premier League has started. There were some surprising results as well as there were some expected results. Interestingly enough, there was one match that contained both of those things.

It was as surprising for some; expected for others. Arsenal won by 6-1 as guests to Everton. Now, the result might have been unexpected by some due to summer problems that Arsenal supposedly had.

The pundits talked and wrote millions of words; they gave thousands of opinions, explained, discussed and argued how Arsenal is about to fall apart or how they are still found wanting. The club was labelled as the fourth-place-to-give-away team this season. They have been considered as title rivals by very few.

In contrast to another team from the Premier League—Manchester City, which was also hugely debated throughout the summer, spent mind-blowing sums of money to buy players; Arsenal sold two of theirs and brought only one.

For some, that signalled the capitulation of the London club; it signalled the transformation of the club from a top European football club to a mediocre one, annually fighting for a place for the European tournaments; it signalled its inability to contest with the big teams.

They were dismissed as title contenders even before the season started. But let me ask why?

If the answer of this question is because they will get a lot of injured players sometime along this season, then I will ask you how you know that.

A lot of people have learnt that history does not lie. Arsenal has not won anything for four years now. Wouldn’t a statement saying that they will fail for another year be considered as a safe bet?

The truth is that it is exactly that.

It is a safe bet; it is safe because it has already happened in the not-so-distant past; it is still fresh in our minds; nothing has been changed, and failure for Arsenal expected to happen again.

But let me try to disrupt that up-to-date notion.

During the previous couple of years, Arsenal has been labelled as a young team without the needed experience to adequately compete in the tournaments. Well, four years of drought have passed. Aren’t the players who were considered green two years ago more experienced now? Have footballers like Denilson, Alexandre Song, Gael Clichy, and Abou Diaby matured since then?

Logically, the answer must be yes.

So, why are then Arsenal being dismissed from the title chase when the same team, only more inexperienced, finished with 84 points two years ago (82 points is usually enough to win the title in most of the cases)?

Some will say because Mathieu Flamini was in that team then, and Aliaksandr Hleb. But Song and Denilson have matured, and Andrey Arshavin cannot be disputed as an adequate replacement for Hleb.

If you remember, it was the year when just before the season Arsenal lost their captain and legendary player Thierry Henry. What were the pundits saying then? Did they expect such a performance by the Gunners? No, they didn’t.

Pundits have argued that Arsenal do not have the needed depth to challenge for the title. While this may be true, there was another team that lacked depth, and still was able to win the title—Manchester United.

Many will remember the period of the last season when Sir Alex Ferguson had to use youngsters like Jonny Evans, Rafael Da Silva and versatile players like John O’Shea, when his first-team starters Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic were either injured or suspended. But still Manchester United won the title in the end.

So why is Arsenal being dismissed? That’s a team who has the same manager who took them to three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and all that happened not so long ago.

One thing should be remembered. This is football. Sometimes it defies logic, whatever that logic it might be.

The “invincibles” were not the “invincibles” before they became such.

Who could have known that Arsenal would complete a season undefeated.

Surely, the football pundits had not expected that. But it happened.

A new season of the Premier League has started. Twenty teams will battle for one title. No-one should be dismissed, especially a club that has won it in the not-so-distant past.

An Open Letter to Arsenal's Critics from Arsenal's Players

Dear critics of Arsenal,

We are writing to you to apologize for our inappropriate behaviour in our march against Everton on Goodison Park. You must know that we respect you opinions very much, and we hold your rash criticism close to our heart, just in case we need it.

Our team captain Cesc Fabregas conducted a meeting in order to reflect on our terrible performance; we asked ourselves the question you are probably asking yourselves now: Why, oh, why did we win with a five-goal margin, away from home, against a side that finished fifth last season?

After a long discussion, we were able to come up with a few explanations of our own that we would like to supply to you. We hope that by doing so you will forgive us and understand that we have nothing against you; we love you, and we need you criticism.

Firstly, that little Samba-dancing Brazilian kid, Denilson, has never really listened to us. He is a kind of a quite rebel. We never would have thought that he would act against your most respected opinions dear critics. By the time we saw him preparing to shoot,we understood he would rebel. Before we attempted to stop him, the ball was already in.

It was Van Persie’s mistake really. He should have known better than to assist that rebel.

Secondly, we forgot that we had signed that Belgian ex-captain of Ajax, Thomas Vermaelen thus we also forgot to tell him that you wanted us to submit to your most-respected opinions. We should have lost, we know that, but unfortunately Vermaelen did not.

Theo Walcott was burdened with the task to tell that to the new guy, but he got injured and could not make it to the game. In Van Persie’s words, “I did not know he was there; I wanted the ball to go out, but the new guy jumped out of nowhere and scored.”

We felt so bad to have a two goal lead away from home. We were shocked and we would have never consciously thought that our ex-captain William Gallas would nod the ball in behind Howard. He later explained that he was still dazed by the second goal that we had scored earlier and because of that was playing on automatic mode.

We are so sorry.

At half time, we reminded ourselves that we were to start the season badly because that would make you, dear critics of Arsenal, feel good and all-powerful for identifying the quality that we possess. We love you so much.

We are very young, and we are still learning. Give us a chance to explain how it all happened and you will see that it was not really our fault.

It was that manager of ours.

He told us to constantly swap positions to confuse the opposition, and that the new formation, 4-3-3, or something, would work if we did that. Most of us are young, and we were confused, so did what we were told to do.

Leading 3-0 in the second half, we realised we had made an irreversible mistake. With great regret, we decided to see the rest of the game through, as the result was irreparable already.

We finished the match off with two goals by our captain, who by the way is leaving for Barcelona soon, and one by that injury-prone guy—Eduardo.

Once again, we are very sorry that we won by 6-1.

We did not mean to disappoint your expectations of us. We will try to make it up to you, dear critics.

Please proceed with your criticism; we will keep in touch with you.

Sincerely,
The Arsenal’s players

Everton-Arsenal: A Preview of the Opening Day Match

We have waited a long time for this. The Premier League football, along with its excitement and a world of its own, resume on Saturday, after a long, long summer break of drought, to start yet another season—2009/2010.

Arsenal has the difficult task of meeting last season fifth-place-finishers Everton. The match has a special value to it as a good start will boost the confidence of either of the teams.

Let’s look into both sides just before the sparks start flying on Saturday.

Arsenal is once again tormented by injures, but that does not quite surprise anyone. Tomas Rosicky, having sustained a hamstring injury, will be unavailable for the game. Players that will keep him company tomorrow are also Theo Walcott (back problem), Abou Diaby (groin injury), Samir Nasri (broken fibula), Johan Djourou (knee problem), and Lukasz Fabiansky (knee problem).

Although, many important players will still be missing, Arsene Wenger will count on the rest of his squad, which will include last season’s surprise-package Andrey Arshavin and team-captain Cesc Fabregas, to see off the first challenge of the season. They will receive the more than qualified help of Dutch forward Robin van Persie and the towering Nicklas Bedntner.

Fortunately for the Gunners, Everton are also experiencing problems with injured personnel. Everton manager David Moyes will be void of the services of Spanish play-maker Mikel Arteta, who is out due to ruptured cruciate ligament, Phil Jagieka (anterior cruciate ligament), Victor Anichebe (knee injury), Yakubu (Achilles injury), and Jo (ankle injury).

So, things look pretty even when it comes to the number of important players missing from the first team squads.

Arsene Wenger will probably use the dynamic formation 4-3-3 against the most-probable and more reserved 4-5-1 by David Moyes, which could easily turn out to be something else due to the absence of key players.

Some key battles that could decide the outcome of the match may form between Bakary Sagna and Steven Pienaar, Tony Hibbert and Andrey Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas and Maroune Fellaini.

Arsene Wenger has opted not to use young starlet Jack Wilshere in an attempt to take some heat off him. Speaking for the Arsenal’s website, he said:

“Tomorrow no because he is not in the squad but during the season, yes [he will be involved],”

“On one side people say ‘you are too young, you do not have enough experience’. On the other people say ‘why do you not play people who are 17 and win the league?” said the Professor.

”We are already very young and Jack Wilshere will play a part in our season, but not the whole season. He is 17 years old.
This is the eighth time that the sides meet in the opening day of the Premier League. The Gunners have lost only once to their counterparts on the opening day.”

Most notable goal scorers in the Arsenal side include Robin van Persie, who has netter four goals against Everton, and Eduardo who is shortly behind with two.

Everton has met Arsenal 176 times recording 54 wins, 85 defeats and 37 draws. The last win recorded by Everton on the opening day of the English Premier League was in 1970, when Everton beat Arsenal by 1-0 at Highbury.

The big question is can Everton sustain their form from last season in which they managed to record 15 clean sheets in their last 22 matches.

It remains to be seen.

It has arrived, folks. The Premier League football is knocking on your door. Open it. Tomorrow it all starts again.

Arsenal is meeting Everton on Goodison Park at 17:30 UK time. The first match of this season is to be played at 12:45 between Chelsea and Hull City.

Four Things We Learned Form Arsenal’s Defeat at the Mestaia

“The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain”— the phrase proved to be right (well, almost, if we consider the “plain” to be the football field) last night at the friendly match between Arsenal and Valencia. The rain poured relentlessly over the heads of footballers and fans.

But we are not going to talk about the rain; we are going to talk about Arsene Wenger’s experiments; and we are going to ask ourselves this question: What did we really learn from that match.

Arsenal lost that game, their last of the pre-season preparation, with the convincingly sounding result of 2-0.

Nevertheless, that is not the important part here.

It was a result in a friendly— a match that is used to test the side that you have at your disposal, and to prepare your players for the new season.

That was exactly what Arsene Wenger did. In the first half he fielded a much familiar to everyone side, although in a much unfamiliar formation.

And that is the first thing we learnt.

1) The Formation

The formation that Wenger is very likely to use this season is 4-3-3. We saw him using it almost all the matches in the pre-season so far.

One of the distinguishing marks of this formation, and it is quite interesting as well, is that Nicklas Bendtner, who is the towering striker in the Arsenal squad, will be used on the right side of the attack (he played there in every pre-season friendly so far).

Moreover, Robin van Persie could be used in the centre, battling out his first-team spot with Eduardo. An interesting though is what will happen if both of them are on the field; rarely have we seen it. On the left, Arshavin and Nasri, when he gets well, could be used.

Furthermore, placing Van Persie on the left, could release the spot in the centre for either Eduardo or Bendtner.

Another interesting distinction in that formation is the variety of the midfielder combinations that Wenger could use.

Cesc Fabregas is definitely a first-team starter, but who will partner him in the centre of the park is entirely different issue.

Rotation among Denilson, Song, Diaby, Nasri, Rosicky, and Wilshere could be used by the Professor, and we have seen that in some pre-season games of Arsenal this year.


2) The Centre-back Partnership

At the back, the choices are more clearly highlighted. There are four backs, among which Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas are the clear favourites for first team spot.

Another thing, we learnt from the game against Valencia was that Silvestre and Djourou are not the best possible choice for the back-two in the centre.

During the second half we saw them missing a hefty number of cutting through balls, going in exactly between them. A lot of the troubles for Arsenal originated from there.

In addition, Johan Djourou has a slight problem with his positioning. Fortunately for him, he also posses the pace to correct the mistakes he is making. He is stable in the air, and has some pretty impressive tackling skills.

It seems like it is only a matter of time to see him improve more.

3) The Left side

Another thing that we learnt was that Keiran Gibbs and Armand Traore, who are both left-backs, can play at the same time. How did that happen?

Traore remained on the left side of the defence and Kierran Gibbs took the more forward position in front of him.

That small trick looks like an adequate solution to keep on using Andrei Arshavin on a more forward position in the 4-3-3 formation. It remains to be seen if he young talented left-backs can improve to challenge for even more first-team football.

4) The Goalkeeper

Finally, we learnt that Manuel Almunia will have to compete for his first-team spot with Lukasz Fabianski.

The 24-year-old keeper showed great reflexes to save a couple of solid shots toward his goal and made a terrific diving save to deny David Villa’s penalty shot.

He only let a goal near the end of the match when it was clear that he had sustained some kind of injury on his leg. Almunia is in for a run for his spot this season.

To conclude, Arsenal’s loss against Valencia may be looked on as a negative by some, but it also can be looked on as a concluded test to determine Arsenal’s strengths and weaknesses.

Now, Arsene Wenger knows what to do, what is missing, and how to use to the maximum of the available resources.

The Battle of Britain Initiates: Arsenal gets Celtic in the Champion's League

The draw for the Champion’s League play-off round has been made. Arsenal will face the Scottish side Celtic to decide who will proceed to the group stages of the tournament.

Earlier this season, Arsenal had the chance to test themselves against another Scottish side in the Emirates Cup; this time they are facing Rangers’ fierce rivals- Celtic, but they will be playing for much higher stakes.

The sides have never met before in an official match.

Here are some statistics of both clubs:

Celtic

Domestic achievements: 42 times winner of the Scottish Premier League, 34 times winner of the Scottish Cup, 14 times winner of the Scottish League Cup

International achievements: one time winner of the European Cup – 1967

Manager: Tony Mowbray

Last season’s standings in the Scottish League: 2nd

Last season’s top goal scorer: Scott McDonald – 16 goals

Key players: Gary Caldwell, Scott Brown

Average age of the squad: 26.23 years

Arsenal

Domestic achievements: 13 times winner of the FA Premier League, 10 times winner of the FA Cup, two times winner of the League Cup, 12 times winner of the FA Community Shield.

International achievements: one time winners of European Winners’ Cup – 1994, one time winners of Inner-Cities Fair Cup – 1970.

Manager: Arsene Wenger

Last season’s standings in the FA Premier League: 4th

Last season’s top goal scorer: Robin van Persie – 11

Key players: Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie

Average age of the squad: 22.8 years


The matches will be played on August 18, when Arsenal is travelling to Glasgow, and on August 26 is hosting Celtic at the Emirates Stadium.

Kolo Toure: There are no Leaders at Arsenal

A week ago, Kolo Toure decided to join the quickly progressing side of Manchester City.

Giving his reasons for leaving, he stated:
“I came to Man City because when you look at Arsenal you see all the great players have left the club and are now in the past”

“Look at what has happened there. Thierry Henry has gone, Patrick Vieira has gone, Ray Parlour has gone.”

“These were the players that brought success to Arsenal and I believed it was right at this stage of my career to also move on.”

“We lost too many leaders at Arsenal. When we were winning the league title the spirit was fantastic, we were like a band of brothers.”
One of the main reasons he pointed out for leaving Arsenal was that City were doing what Arsenal should be doing; but it’s not:

“The best teams are at the top only because they have the best players and to get those players you have to spend a lot of money,” he said.

“You can't be successful in football without money. This is the football business. City have a project to build a big team and so it is natural it is going to cost money”

But if we look into what Toure said, we will find that there is another side of the story.

Kolo Toure has been at the club for eight years. He has experienced the influence of ex-captains of Arsenal such as Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Tony Adams, William Gallas and Cesc Fabregas.

Surely, he must have solid grounds on which to compare the leadership of the different footballers.

Undoubtedly, at the moment, there is no one even close to possessing the leadership qualities of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira; leaders like them are rare for any club.

But if we look into the current Arsenal team we will find plenty of players with adequate leadership qualities.

Tomas Rosicky, for example, has been out of the action for a year and a half, and he has returned to once again challenge his football goals.

Isn’t that the spirit of a leader - to never give up in the face of hardship?

There is another man at Arsenal that can serve as an even more adequate answer to this question – that man is Eduardo.

Few would have recovered psychologically after a career-threatening injury like his.

I will never forget the look on the players’ faces when they witnessed the consequences of Martin Taylor’s brutal tackle on the short Croatian striker.

Eduardo is back now, after more than a year out, ready to challenge again. Isn’t that another inspiration for the young Gunners?

Maybe what Toure really meant was that Arsenal lacked a leader who can motivate them on the field in difficult moments.

There is a player fits those requirements too – that player is Andrei Arshavin.

We have seen him to single-handedly turn around matches with his skill. His sheer presence is assuring to his team-mates. We have seen the positive effects of his presence in more than one match.

The same could be said about the young play-maker, and current captain of Arsenal: Cesc Fabregas.

Every year he matures more and more. He has begun his transformation as a leader, and every year he is getting even better at the job.

What about another Arsenal player - Thomas Vermaelen?

The new Arsenal signing was a captain of Ajax for the 08/09 season. He has proved that he has the leadership qualities and organisational skills needed by Arsenal.
So what did Toure really meant by saying that Arsenal had lost its leaders?

Did he mean that at Manchester City there are leaders like Henry, Vieira and Adams? (He moved there, didn’t he?)

I doubt it very much.

The real reason for his decision to leave, and it is not surprising, is money. As he clearly pointed out in his statement, the most successful teams are the teams who have the sufficient resources.

Maybe he is right about that. We see a confirmation of his statement every year.
Many players that have served a team for a long period of time, that have given a team their loyalty to a team, eventually leave to seek for greener pastures.

Thierry Henry also left; when he was at almost the same age as Toure too. He knew his career was nearing its end. He wanted to taste something different; but he never, at any time, showed disrespect towards Arsenal. For that reason, he remains in the hearts of the fans.

Kolo Toure is right about one thing.

Traditions are giving way to a more effective, but also more ruthless way: the way of monetary system.

Money rules the world – football included.

The Arsenal fans cannot be angry with their last “invincible” for stating his opinion. They should not forget that he has given eight of his best years in football at Arsenal, and is entitled to his opinion.

Although, many would not agree with his opinion, including me; I wish him good luck at his new team, and with his career.

He will be remembered as one of the “invincibles” and as an influential player who has given a lot to Arsenal.

With his departure, Arsenal enters a new period: the post-“invincibles” period. A period of new success? Only time will show.

A tribute to Jesse Owens: The athlete Who Defied the Nazi Ideology

In history, men existed who with their way of life have inspired many others to act for something better.

Some used words, other actions, but all simply did not quit even when facing enormous obstacles in they way. The American athlete Jesse Owens was one of those men.

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens was born on 12 September, 1913, in the family of Henry and Emma Owens. In the early years of his life he suffered from health problems.

In fact, he almost died while suffering from a recurrent pneumonia. His mother helped him to overcome his illness and get back to his feet.

It was a difficult time for Jesse. His family was poor and as many other black people at that time in America, they were also mistreated. His father, Henry Owens, was only skilled in farming and had difficulty finding another job which made things even worse for the family.

Jesse’s all other brothers had to work hard too in order to get by.

After his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, Jesse Owens became involved in athletics for the first time. His coach at his high school, Charles Riley, encouraged him to take up running to improve his health and to make his lungs stronger.

Jesse, intially, declined the offer because he had to work after school, but later when Riley suggested that he come one hour earlier to school to train, Jesse agreed to do it.

Gradually, he fell in love with running and began to transform into a champion on the track.

His success on the red track brought him many scholarships but Owens decided to reject them. He told his coach that he couldn’t bear living well while other members of his family lived in hunger. He took several jobs during that time to support himself.

On May 25, 1935, Jesse Owens competed at the Big Ten College Track-and-Field Championships in Michigan. He broke three world records and tied a forth.

What was even more impressive was that he did all of that while having an injury in his back.

Jesse Owens was starting to become one of the most popular athletes in America at that time. But the real success came when he competed at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Adolf Hitler was the head of the government of Germany and the Olympics were then organised by the Nazis to show the revival of their country after the First World War.

The Nazi ideologies had engulfed the whole of Germany and were dominating the atmosphere of the Olympics.

Adolf Hitler intended to use these Olympics as a podium to sell his ideology to the world; the ideology that a “supreme” race exists.

However, he had hugely underestimated one of the participants.

Jesse Owens, being one of the few black athletes at the Olympics, dealt a heavy blow to that Nazi ideology by winning four gold medals – in 100 m, 200 m, 400 m relay, and the long jump.

In fact, Adolf Hitler was so deeply disappointed that his German athletes did not win all of the events that he refused to shake the hand of the man causing the turmoil. His real feelings were later revealed in the memoirs of one his ministers, Albert Speer:

“Each of the German victories and there were a surprising number of these made him happy, but he was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvellous colored American runner, Jesse Owens.”

“People whose antecedents came from the jungle were primitive, Hitler said with a shrug; their physiques were stronger than those of civilized whites and hence should be excluded from future games” (Inside the Third Reich, p.73)

Jesse Owens was hardly affected by Hitler’s feelings though.

He broke two more Olympic records and tied another. He succeeded in winning the hearts of the 110,000 people in the Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and they cheered for him during his races. After the games, people sought him to ask for his autograph.

Even after this great defying act in Berlin, Owens’s battles for equality did not end.

He was appalled by the unfair way by which the black people were treated in his own country. He later became a philanthropist, giving speeches in India and East Asia, which he visited as a messenger of goodwill.

Jesse Owens died on March 30, 1980 from lung cancer.

Jesse Owens was a man who had a dream.

That dream was of equality and of love; love towards the fellow human being. He lived that dream which was directly opposed to that one of the Nazis. And he came out on top triumphing over their ideology in the heart of the Nazi’s country then.

He had a dream that every man wishes to have, but not every man has the courage to follow. Jesse Owens was an American athlete but he was also much more that that.

He was a representative of humanity.

“May his light shine forever as a symbol
for all who run for the freedom of sport,
for the spirit of humanity,
for the memory of Jesse Owens.” (Charles Chigna)

Arsenal Snatches the Emirates Cup After Vintage Display

In front of an almost full Emirates Stadium, Arsenal and Scottish side Rangers played the last match of the Emirates Cup, to decide who the winner would be.

Despite being backed by a lively and vociferous crowd, Rangers were not able to oppose Arsenal and eventually suffered a heavy defeat: 0-3.

There was good mood on the stands as the weather was shiny and clear in contrast with Saturday’s rainy weather.

Again, Arsene Wenger went on with the experiments with the squad.

Eboue was back to his old position on the right side of the defence, Gallas and Silvestre partnered in the centre, and the left-side was Clichy’s.

Eduardo was leading the attack with Wilshere on the right and Arshavin on the left.

The match started and it was not long before the first opportunity of the match arose.

Receiving a pass from Fabregas in the box, Arshavin skilfully worked the ball and returned it to Fabregas. The Spaniard, though, fell down on the ground, and out of nowhere yesterday’s man of the match, Jack Wilshere, appeared. His shot slid beneath the diving goal keeper Allan McGregor.

Two minutes after the match has started it was 1-0 Arsenal.

Stunned, the Ranger fans did not quite down though, and went on loudly supporting their team.

Nine minutes later, they received another blow.

Fran Merida produced a through pass to Eduardo, who got it under his control, and coolly directed it towards the right lower corner of the Ranger’s keeper. The ball bounced off the post and rolled in.

From there on it was only Arsenal until the end of the first half, with Rangers threatening only once in the 27th minute when Silvestre intercepted a cross by Davis to send the ball a foot off Almunia’s goal.

Just before the half time whistle, the fans were reminded of a player from the past, by a player for the future.

Jack Wilshere dealt with two Ranger players before he chipped the ball exquisitely toward the goal. McGregor stretched to save his team.

It was like watching Bergkamp!

On the half time, both managers decided to bring in new faces.

Clichy and Gallas gave way for Denilson and Traore for the Gunners. Thompson, Lafferty and Beasly from the guests were replaced by McCulloch, Novo and Miller.

With a complete change in personnel at the back, and an improved motivation by Rangers, Arsenal started to experience difficulties.

First, Almunia was able to deflect a cross by Novo, but the ball fell to the feet of Steven Davis. It seemed as if he would score, but Song’s tackle parried the shot at the last moment.

A couple of more attacks passed fruitlessly for Rangers, when in the 62th minute they missed their golden chance.

On the counter attack, Davis was set free by Song’s mistimed tackle. After a spectacular save by Almunia and one more unsuccessful attempt by Ranger’s strikers, the danger was gone.

Then, Wenger made another three substitutions; young talents Watt and Ramsey came on for Arshavin and Eduardo.

But there was one man on fire on the field. 17-year-old Wilshere continued to terrorise with his dribbling and passes.

With the help of his ex-reserve team-mates he scored his second of the match. Twenty minutes from time, Watt battled out for the ball, won it and passed it to Ramsey on the edge of the box.

Ramsey’s cross connected with Wilshere who sent the ball into the top right corner. 3-0 to Arsenal.

Later, Tomas Rosicky was introduced into the game, taking the captain’s brand off the replaced Cesc Fabregas.

Rangers had one more chance to score a goal, unfortunately for them, unsuccessful.

The final result was meant to be 3-0.

The two goals that Jack Wilshere scored were enough to grant his second man of the match award in two days, and to draw the attention of the England manager Fabio Capello, who was watching the game.

Arsenal continues to prepare for the start of the new season. For now, it all seems to go well for Wenger’s team.

They are meeting Valencia six days from now in their last game of their pre-season preparation.

Arsenal Overcome Ateltico Madrid in a Narrow Win

Having said goodbye to the prestigious pre-season tournament Audi Cup, the football fans were happy to say “hello” to another as much prestigious tournament as its counterpart: the Emirates Cup.

In this rainy Saturday, the opening day of the Cup, Arsenal took on Atletico Madrid in the second game of the tournament.

Rangers defeated Paris Saint Germain in the first game of the tournament with 1 goal to 0.

There was plenty of enthusiasm on the stands of the Emirates Stadium as the Arsenal fans were eager to remind themselves of the drama that is to be expected during the new season.

The match started with one minute of applause for the football legend, Sir Bobby Robson, who passed away on Friday.

The first half saw the ball being passed along mostly in the centre of the field.

Emmanuel Eboue was part of the attacking trio in the formation that Wenger had chosen to use once again: 4-3-3. He started on the right side of the attack, but eventually swapped positions with Bendtner.

In the centre was today’s captain of the Arsenal team: Robin van Persie.

He attempted a few through passes, spectacular back-heel passes, and a few extraordinary dribbles.

However, the first half finished without something really interesting developing.

The second half was a completely different picture though.

Armand Traore, returned-from-injury Tomas Rosicky, and Emmanuel Eboue were replaced by Gael Clichy, Fran Merida, and Jack Wilshere, all of whom were taking part in their first game of this year’s pre-season.

It is exactly because of the latter player that the problems for Atletico’s defence significantly multiplied. The 17-year-old Wilshere, once again proved that he has what it takes to be a part of the first team.

His movement down the right flank and his cutting inside toward the centre was a constant menace to Atletico’s defence. His razor sharp passes tore the opposition into shreds, only chance lacking for his team-mates to materialize those passes.

Atletico answered by substituting one of their most threatening players, Sergio Aguero, with German Pacheco.

With twenty five minutes to go, Wenger decided to bring in the heavy cavalry.

Arshavin, Fabregas, and Eduardo came on, replacing Van Persie, Ramsey, and Bendtner.

It was near the end of the match when the drama was bound to unveil.

As it started pouring over the Emirates, Atletico began to look increasingly threatening with their attacks.

First, Juardo fired a shot from 25 yards to make life miserable for Arsenal’s keeper Mannone. The ball bounced of his hands, fortunately for him, only to pass inches from his left-side post.

Two minutes later, again Juardo found Maxi Rodriges, who was unlucky to see his shot parried by Vito Mannone.

Arsenal looked like they were on their way to crumble. But were they?

As the speakers announced man of the match award to Jack Wilshere, hardly would the announcer have known that another Arsenal player will decide the match.

Fabregas crossed the ball to Arshavin, who with a volley from eight yards sent the ball underneath Sergio Asenjo and in the net. 1-0 to Arsenal.

The fans were ecstatic. The match was over for them. But they were wrong.

Atletico still had a knife up their sleeve.

Substitute German Pacheco applied for a first team spot at Atletico after coolly finishing an attack for his team, with only 2 minutes to go until the end of the match. 1-1.

As the supporters started leaving the stadium the unbelievable happened.

It was again the short Russian play maker, Andrey Arshavin, who took advantage of a mistake in Atletico’s defence.

He nudged the ball aside from rushing keeper Asenjo before he was able to reach it, and from, practically, a zero angle sent the ball into the net.

It was a win that took Arsenal to the top of the tournament’s table, with five points, one ahead of Rangers, who beat PSG 1-0 earlier this day.

Arsenal is meeting Rangers on Sunday to decide who will be the winner of the Emirates Cup this year.

Why Trophies Will Follow at Arsenal

During the past four years the fans of Arsenal have become disgruntled by the way the board has behaved after not winning any trophies. The board of Arsenal has acted as they aim for something completely different than winning some much wanted by the fans trophies.

And the cold truth, and no secret to all, is that they aim for profit.

Arsenal is a business.

Even after countless statements made by the chairman Peter Hill-Wood, in which he explains how he loves the club, it is still run as a business.

Let me point out some of the things that become evident when we examine how the club has been run for the past few years.

Firstly, it has become not as important to win trophies to make a healthy profit. In a way this is an understandable tactic employed by the board since there is a global crisis going on in the world economics.

It has worked well so far and because of it Arsenal are in a stable financial position, not to mention that the club is still waiting to capitalise on its residential development of the old stadium at Highbury Square.

In addition, Arsenal has not been able to compete financially with teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City of recent due to the reason that Arsenal has not received an outside influx of resources.

So the choices that were set before Arsenal were either to give in to those teams and concentrate on the long run, or allow a take-over and an influx of money from outside, which would have probably brightened the picture but only in short term.

The reason I say this is because we never know the next idea that may come to the mind of a billionaire.

Can you count on them for supporting a club forever?

Another thing that comes to mind is the sensible approach of the club in the transfer market. It has also been a trademark of Arsenal’s for the past few years.

The most notable signings that signify this approach are exemplified by those of Eduardo for the sum of 7.5m, Andrey Arshavin for around 14m, Samir Nasri – 12.7m, and Bakary Sagna – 6.1m. They are good players bought for a considerably small amount of money.

So how can that way of management of the club bring trophies to the club in the future?

If we compare the spending to teams like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, and others it seems like Arsenal are only aiming to preserve a stable financial position. That would certainly leave the importance of winning trophies on a lower step in the ladder of priorities.

I cannot agree with that.

If you look at the big picture the truth is that Arsenal has also been going through a change of personnel on the field.

The last trophy that it won was the F.A. Cup in 2005, when the “invincibles” have already started to fall apart.

Since then the team has undergone a deep transformation. Only Kolo Toure has remained from the side that was the “invincibles”. But the manager is the same; the financial situation is getting better despite claims that it’s bad.

So, it could be said it is completely normal for Arsenal to go through a trophy-less period after it faces a change of generations and players. The reason I called the transformation a change of generations if that when you look into Wenger’s decisions in the transfer marker you will see the only player that he didn’t want to lose from the team and still lost was Flamini. The others were above 28 years of age.

But now Arsene Wenger, with a little help from the board, has built a new team. Although there are still more holes to be filled, the transformation is looking close to completion now.

The big plus is that so far no players have left the team for this year. With one or two more “sensible” signings we will be looking at a perfectly capable team of winning the Premier League and pretty much everything else.

Even though fans will remember those years as years of famine in terms of trophies, it cannot be denied that Arsenal has made progress.

You only have to look at the results in the strongest competition in Europe, Champion’s League, to consent.

Arsenal is getting stronger and the building of the team is near completion.

So why doubt them. Trophies are coming for sure.

There is a considerable amount of truth in what Arsene Wenger said: “We have to keep the belief and the trophies will come naturally.”

At Arsenal, Robin Van Persie has Undergone a Significant Transformation

A month ago, Robin Van Perise dispersed all doubt that he was leaving Arsenal, when he signed a new five-year contract to keep him at the club until 2014.

The skilful Dutch forward turned down offers from clubs like Chelsea, Juventus, Manchester City and their city rivals Manchester United.

Before signing the contract, Robin Van Persie had set a number in his mind, that number was the wage he felt he deserved - £80k.

However, he agreed to sign a new contract with a wage of £70k per week.

Surely, this is a sign that the player does not want to leave and is fully committed and happy to stay at the London club.

The thing is that a club like Arsenal really needs a player with his skills and not only that, but it has also come to need the personality of Robin Van Persie, a personality that has gone through a significant transformation since he joined the club.

Back in 2004, he was signed from Feyenord for the convenient sum of £2.75m.

In his first season at Arsenal it became evident that Arsene Wenger has signed a player with extraordinary talent. Unfortunately, like in many other cases, his talent was accompanied with some negative sides.

One of the most obvious problems was his selfishness on the field.

In a team like Arsenal where the team effort is put first, such individual displays are not usually the best solution to maximize the effectiveness of the attack. Van Persie’s failure to comply with that rule did him no favor in the beginning of his career at Arsenal.

On top of that, it became evident that Van Persie was an injury-prone player. He suffered a number of injuries throughout his years at Arsenal which put him aside from the action for a long period of time.

He also had difficulties with keeping his discipline in tact, resulting in a dismissal against Southampton in his first season at the London club.

To make things worse, Robin also experienced difficulties outside of the football field. He was arrested in 2005 upon suspicion of rape of a Dutch beauty queen. He was eventually released from jail, with case being closed due to insufficient police evidence.

In contrast to all the problems he had, Van Persie has undoubtedly transformed for the good to become a different player and man.

It cannot be denied that he has benefited from the good influence of the people in the club, of Arsene Wenger, of ex-captain Thierry Henry, and of his countryman Dennis Bergkamp.

A solid proof for his positive development can be found in the examination of his statistics on the pitch.

Van Persie’s performances on the field last season made up his most successful season for Arsenal so far. He became the club’s leading goal scorer, winning the fan’s Player of the Season award.

He managed to score 11 goals in 28 matches, remaining uninjured for most of the season. It is a sure sign that Wenger has found an effective way to deal with Van Persie’s proneness to injuries.

Nevertheless, the most significant highlight of his transformation has to be the change of his style of play.

On the field during the last season, Van Persie was not the same selfish player who had joined the team in 2004. He combined with his teammates, did not hold the ball for unnecessary long periods of time, and contributed a lot the team’s build-up play.

Eventually, Van Persie finished the season with 11 assists, a number of assists which was only surpassed by the team’s play maker ¬– Francesc Fabregas.

Another big transformation that Van Persie has undergone was his change of attitude towards the club. He has fallen in love with Arsenal and he has had not fear of openly expressing this love.

He recently stated that he had signed the new contract because he felt he had received the respect he deserved from the club. After signing the contract, Robin spoke in the club’s website:

“My heart is with Arsenal and I just can’t picture myself in a different shirt. I just can’t see it now because I love this Club so much. If you look at the last five years, look at the steps I have made every season, if you look at the support the Boss and the whole Club gave me, the fans gave me, my team mates gave me – this is the right decision.”

Those are words spoken like a true Gunner.

Undoubtedly, there is a lot more yet to be seen from the Dutch technician but there is one thing for sure. Robin Van Persie has embarked on his long road to becoming an Arsenal legend.