O Captain, My Captain

we've got the best player in the league

It’s hard to believe there were doubts about Robin Van Persie’s credentials as a leader when you look back over the season he is having. Even as a longtime admirer of his playing ability I have to admit that he continues to impress in this regard. Amy Lawrence sums it up rather nicely in her piece for The Guardian. No disrespect to Henry or Fabregas as players but they don’t have a patch on RVP as a captain. He arrived with questions over his temperament and survived questions of his durability and we are now seeing the man, who grew up loving the club he now plays for [see him as a kid in the Arsenal kit on Stuart MacFarlane’s Flickr], emerge as a leader to rival Vieira and Adams. He inspires this Arsenal side. His technical ability was never in doubt. In fact, the likes of Bergkamp, Henry, Van Basten, and Cruyff have testified glowingly on behalf of his footballing skill.

Walking In A Bergkamp Wonderland

that goal against Newcastle

The only thing missing from this drawing is the brick that Nikos Dabizas shat right after that indelible flick and turn from Dennis Bergkamp. To add insult to injury he was muscled off the ball by the Dutchman, who then gave Shay Given the eyes to the near post and passed it into the far corner cool as you like.

Suuuuuuuuper, Super Lob...

Take A Bow Son

This was the year that Robert Pires announced himself to the Premier League properly, with a masterful season that got him the Football Writer's Association's Player of the Year Award and the likes of Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Ljungberg, and Adams to bow to him while he accepted his league winner's medal on crutches. A bad knee injury in the spring ended his season and World Cup hopes but he was a revelation to the Arsenal that year and would become a key figure in one of the most lethal left sided attacks in the top flight for several seasons to come.

This is the lob against Villa--- incredibly deft first touch with the outside of his right boot to flick the ball over and inside his marker, then with the second touch a wonderful side-footed half-volley over Peter Schmeichel  to secure a vital three points away from home. A truly superb football player and the type of legend you want desperately back at the club in some capacity behind the scenes. Hypercool, super Robert Pires.

Follow @11cannons

Well That Was A Bit Special

from the road

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

Ashburton Grove

Referee: Mike Dean

Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham Hotspur   26 February 2012
Sagna [40]                                    Saha [4]
Van Persie [43]                              Adebayor [31 pen]
Rosicky [51]
Walcott [65, 68]

For various reasons I have missed the last 3 matches down at the pub. Before Sunday, the title of my latest entry has been kind of mocking me. Ok, not kind of. Remorselessly fucking mocking me. Never give up. Right.  After each cup defeat I was sorely tempted to post something to address the irony of my conclusion in that previous report to the subsequent performances [or lack thereof].

Knowing that I would in all likelihood be unable to view this North London Derby didn’t help the pre-match tension, I have to say. With Mike Dean in charge and Phil Dowd between the two managers, there was even less optimism. 7amkickoff noted beforehand that we have never won a NLD with Dean in charge.

Never Give Up

from the factory floor

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

Stadium of Light

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal    11 February 2012

McClean [70]                Ramsey [75]
                                          Henry [90]

There are times when football is pure entertainment, at others a necessary distraction. After the work week leading up to this match, and the last performance versus Blackburn, I was hoping for both.  It seems every available preview made a significant point about the 120 minutes Sunderland played in midweek while we were rested. Nevertheless, I found myself continuing the Star Wars theme from the roll call for this trip to the Stadium of Light. My first thought upon arrival at the Factory was "I have a bad feeling about this." 

First of all, not having a midweek game for a set of about 15 players who have featured almost every match up to this point is not the same as being rested. Second, if any manager knows how to conserve resources, get behind the ball, and counter attack it's Martin O'Neill. Third, our team doesn't need the kind of complacency that we showed based on the assumption that the opponent will be tired. And fourth, there is a much more glamorous tie on the midweek horizon where a trip to the San Siro awaits. This does not a cocktail for a winning Arsenal performance make.