Goldi Poldi Halelujah

es gibt einen Fußballgott!

So, Lukas Podolski smashed his duck at the mugsmashers. For all of us this goal had a sense of being overdue, not necessarily for the German, but because it was the first Arsenal goal full-stop this term. The "seven years no trophies" jibe was about to be reincarnated as the "x hours no goals" klaxon. He clearly enjoyed the goal as his own first strike but also as the release valve on the pressure cooker that was building in the absence of last season's talisman after two scoreless draws.

What A Difference A Year Makes

from the road

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

Ground: Anfield            2 September 2012

Referee:  Howard Webb

Liverpool 0-2          Arsenal           

                                          Podolski [31]

                                          Cazorla [67]

Owing to a pretty grueling work travel schedule, prior to Sunday’s match I had not seen a full ninety minutes of Arsenal football in this nascent 2012-13 league campaign, nor have I made it to the Factory as a consequence.  But if I can’t get my drinks off of Liam or Jack Keane, I’ll more than happily take them off of Jack Bradley from his own lower level bar. Not only did the racket of his blender suggest some delicious frozen rum drinks, it nicely obliterated the grating noises that permanently flow from Stewart Robson’s gobby mouth.

With that fuckwit providing the ‘color’ commentary and Howard Webb governing proceedings, Ted, Jack, and I set about taking in this season’s visit to Anfield with some trepidation. The customary atmosphere was lacking. There was the usual air of injustice from the home support at any perceived slight by the opponent [perhaps why they staunchly defend a guy like Luis Suarez?] but outside of that the Scousers had little to shout about. We were looking dead solid and it was nice to see the emergence of synchronized movements on defense in this Arsenal side.  In other words we had some seriously decent team shape. Over the past years I have grown accustomed to the team weaving patterns on attack, but it was beautiful to see the team move in unison when they didn’t have the ball to thwart the opponent.

Déjà Vu? Not Really.

“We are in a much stronger position now because last summer we lost Nasri and Fabregas, and on top of that we lost Diaby and Wilshere [to injury]. So we lost four players at the start of last season and that is not the case this time. “ August 12, 2012

Given Wilshere’s continued absence and the departures from the first team just days after that comment, a challenge could certainly be made about Arsene Wenger's appraisal going into this season.  Even without thinking of the potential loss of Walcott, considering Sagna’s recovery, we are currently down four players that would normally fill a spot in the starting eleven.

To boot, we have merely one point more than this stage last season, and the same number of goals scored. None. Cesc was already gone, Nasri left right after our second match, and we had not yet made the last gasp trolley dash to fill out the squad. We lost our top player and another who the season prior had his best period in an Arsenal shirt before upping sticks for more dosh. So being winless after 2 matches and shorn of this summer's version of the players in those roles above, does Wenger really have a leg to stand on with that statement?

What Does History Remember?

This piece was originally published here on The Arsenal Collective, but it's a fitting preview for what should prove a very exciting season ahead.

"History will not remember who played the best football but who won the trophy."

I have to say, over the last several years as a Gooner, I’ve heard or read reasoning to that effect countless times. It’s nigh on impossible to go more than a week without being reminded by a hack journalist or by a rival supporter of the time passed since the last time the Arsenal lifted a trophy.

In the 2007-2008 Premier League season, from August to February there was one team head and shoulders above the rest in England. We lost our first game to Middlesbrough in December of that season, and would only lose twice more, to Chelsea and United, in the run-in. Half the Premiership XI wore red shirts with white sleeves that season. There were matches where our midfield swarmed opponents in the same manner Barcelona regularly do today.

Cry Havoc, And Let Slip The Ox Of War

Oxlade-Chamberlain sets up the equalizer against United

In typical fashion, when the Arsenal were begging for experience during the 2011 summer transfer window, and about to ship off  the likes of Fabregas and Nasri, Wenger went out and splashed cash on a teenager. However much potential he had, the arrival of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was greeted with mixed feelings from the supporters.

His introduction to the Premier League came at the rather sharp end of the humbling 8-2 defeat to the reigning champions at Old Trafford, a substitute appearance questioned at the time for the potential impact to his confidence. It proved a needless worry. He made impressive subsequent debuts as a starter in the Carling Cup and the Champions League group stage, opening his scoring account with a well-taken goal in each match. He would continue in the first XI in the cups, with some inconsistent showings that still had enough quality to get the attention of the English media. Good showings at England U21 level boosted the reputation of the burgeoning talent now known as The Ox.