16.5 Things We Learnt This Week « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade
16.5 Things We Learnt This Week
By Sammy The Snake
Hello Arsenal diehards, Untold readers, and even stat fans! Uncle Sammy is here to show you the positive side of life as an Arsenal supporter. What a difference a week makes! Last week this time, I was handing my resignation to Tony… This week, for some odd reason, the birds start singing again, and I’m starting to remember the joy of being an Arsenal supporter.
As all of you might have noticed, Untold is probably the only blog not to have a “5 reasons for…” or “7 things Arsenal should…”, among other “Numerical I know best” articles spreading the web. I strongly feel that Untold is falling behind on this sensationalism, and am afraid that if we do not resort to such dirty tricks to obtain clicks, Untold will lose its audience.
To put matters straight, I would like to offer my bit of sensational journalism, blended in with a dose ofhonest-to-Godreality, by providing you 16.5 things we learnt this week:
1. AOC is A-OK! The boy can play some nice footie, and has the nerves of steel. I would have probably sh!t my pants if I was thrown in the deep end of Champions League for only my 2nd game. I don’t know about you, but I love Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and his self confidence, this boy has a great future in Red & White colours.
2. You can buy a club for a zillion dollars, you can buy ordinary players at over-the-top prices, you can pay your players unimaginable sums of money week in week out (more on that later), and you can cook the books by sponsoring your own club/stadium for insane amounts, but you can never buy class. Never!
3. Attending CL game at Emirates: So many Pounds (insert number on your own amount depending on your ticketing source). Beer at the game: Some more Pounds (depending on how many beers you can gulp down between the two halves). RVP’s 100th Arsenal goal: Priceless!
4. ManU is in crisis and their defensive calamity is only getting worse in each game. Sir Alex’s team is leaking goals like the titanic, and the attack is dead without Shrek. The media may not be saying it, but ManU defense is just as vulnerable as any other team, including ours. If the media wanted to pick on them, the way they pick on Arsenal, they would be crying crisis, new players not able to fill the shoes of the old guards, etc… On the back of two weak results against two very weak sides, the media are keeping their traps shut! Hmmmm, I wonder why?
5. The Arsenal faithful are getting to really like Mr. Arteta. Another rough gem unearthed by Mr. Wenger? Oh, wait, according to the media, Arteta must be useless since he was signed on the last day of transfer! Yes, the value of a player can only be determined by the timing of their transfer, not their showing on the pitch. Oh, God, I’m so confused now!
6. The deep crisis at Stamford Bridge has no end in sight. The new manager has lost the dressing room due to his age… I really like Boas, and I am not against young people, but isn’t he old enough to coach 9 year olds? How can he play the father figure role for the players when they are up to 10 years older than him (isn’t Lampard 40?)? Why does he insist on calling some of his players “Uncle”? The results have turned south for Chelski, and he could only bring Lampard out of the Chelsea museum to cash a single point against the Spanish opposition. Crisis, I tell you, crisis!
7. Injuries have no intention of letting go of Arsenal players. On that note, get well soon, Jack!
8. Our German defensive wall, Per Mertesacker, is nothing like the pundits were telling us. He is sharp, reads the game very well, and wins the ball without fouls (do you remember his committing a foul?!). And the man loves Arsenal, and he showed it by saying “I waited a year to join Arsenal”. A pretty nice addition to the team, don’t you think?
9. Both Song & Gervinho have learnt to go through a game without duly receiving their red cards. Amen to that!
10. Tevez is a spoilt brat, and all those paying him 220,000 Pounds a week for refusing to play are egomaniacs who have lost the plot on their way to their vanity project.
11. Cesc seems to be enjoying life in Barcelona so far, nice to see the boy reach his dream. They say he has a telepathic connection with Messi, which must be really nice… For Barca fans!
12. Wenger enjoys the game a lot more from the stands! May be he should try it more often, as I’m really starting to worry for the old man’s health during some games.
13. Liverpool are in crisis! All that money on that Carroll fellow, and look at his showing on the field. The Kenny effect is starting to lose its shine. I’m not sure if this is something we learnt this week or the week before, but it’s nice to say it any way! (Actually might I interject as editor here. We have learned this week that the previous American owners are suing Liverpool in the English courts for $1bn. We don’t know the details yet, but this does mean that Liverpool are struggling to get any bank finance for anything – and will do until the case is over – Tony)
14. The good people of Untold are a bunch of cool cucumbers! They were the only ones talking sense during last week’s senseless hysteria after the B’Burn game. It’s nice to know people that don’t lose perspective, even in the worst of times.
15. Mancini is slowly but surely losing the plot!
16. Santos is better than we all imagined. He may still need more time, but he seemed very composed slotting his first goal for Arsenal.
16.5 Finally, we learnt this week that losing 4-3 to B’Burn with 2 own goals is not, repeat not, the end of the world.
Keep it real my fellow Gooners, and keep it loud when we meet Sp#rs at the weekend!
Sammy The Snake
Untold Arsenal on Twitter @UntoldArsenal
Untold Arsenal on Facebook here
——————————-
Latest Stories
——————————-
Untold Arsenal – the (fairly) complete index
——————————————–