More transfer stuff: £8m bid for Samba & Arshavin commits.

Morning Gooners,

Still loads of transfer 'news' flying about in the press. It seems that as Wenger has stated he is ready to spend some cash, we are being treated to even more transfer links than before. I don't mind it too much myself, without the mix of possibility and obvious bollocks the summer would just be boring.

Here's a few from the last couple of days:

GERVINHO: The Brazilian turned Ivory Coast star is moving into the last year of his contract at Lille and has stated that he would like to play in Champions League which will have no effect on a transfer as Lille have qualified but he has also said he would like to play in England. With Eden Hazard committing (verbally at least) to the French club they may well let him go and reported choices include us, Spuds, Scousers and Newcastle, that's where the Champions League wish comes in. It could have legs to this story but only time will tell.

STUART DOWNING: Downing looks ready to leave Villa in search for Champions League football. Personally I don't see him fitting into our system very well so unless we switch to a solid 4-4-2 next year I don't know how many games he'd get, saying that, it's my understanding that we have sent scouts to watch him closely on several occasions. If he could choose, I'm sure he'd pick us but whether or not Wenger opens an invite to him remains to be seen.

CHRISTOPHER SAMBA: The 27 year old Blackburn defender is reportedly the subject of an £8m bid. Samba was close to joining us in January and Wenger has been following him for a while. A solid, no nonsense centre back could be what we need but will he really want to come to a club where he will be fourth choice? If Samba sees it as a challenge he wants to accept, this deal could well be possible.

KARIM BENZEMA: A couple of days ago, Benzema was apparently Arsene Wenger's number one transfer target, now mainstream press has gone quite on the story. It's probably due to the fact that Benzema himself has come out and said he expects to be playing at Real next year, more importantly, he wants to be playing there. Unless something changes such as Mourinho telling him he's unwanted I think we can assume this saga is over.

RADAMEL FALCAO: Porto's star striker has been playing tough with his current club and refusing to sign a new contract. He currently has two years left but it seems it would still take a bid of around £25m to secure his services. No comment has been made about him from the Arsenal camp but he has been scouted by Arsene's team. As always, a player with this kind of price tag would be a massive change of habit for Le Boss so until I see or hear something solid, this will remain just a rumour.

ANDREI ARSHAVIN: AA23 has come out and said he intends to be an Arsenal player at the start of next season. This is good news as far as I'm concerned. Yes he frustrates the living hell out of anyone and everyone connected with the club but considering he joint top of the league's assist table he can't be all bad. He is currently training with Zenit in an attempt to remain fit for Russia's upcoming games which lead to theories he would sign for them over the summer.

CESC FABREGAS: AC Milan have said they will not be bidding for our captain because he is too expensive. Nothing to do with the fact that he would laugh in your face whilst rejecting you? No? oh OK.

CARLOS VELA: Vela has been told by Wenger he expects him back at the start of pre-season ready to go. This apparently means that he's not going to be sold in the summer. Personally I think that if a half decent offer comes in for him, well take it to help fund our own transfer activity.


Moving away from rumours and speculation, Arsenal have secured the signatures of two Barcelona youngsters Jon Toral and Hector Bellerin on 5 year contracts. I am assuming that Arsenal are waiting for the results of their DNA tests before announcing it on Arsenal.com. Bellerin has already started talking about how he will return to Barca one day, it's sad that we're going to have to relive the Fabregas saga with Barca in ten years time but if the young men can produce the talent and ability whilst wearing the Arsenal shirt that Fabregas has we will certainly enjoy it while it lasts.

Obviously all eyes are now on the Champions League final, hopefully this time next year we will be getting all nervous and excited before Arsenal take to the pitch in the top game of European club football. Personally I'm really looking forward to Messi making Evra look like the royal tit that he his.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Transfer rumour latest - Benzema to Nasri

Morning Gooners,

I love and hate the summer in equal measures. I love the hustle and bustle of the press pushing as hard as they can with any transfer link story they can put together and laughing at the most ridiculous of them. I hate reading quotes that have obviously been picked apart to make a story, I hate having no football for these two and a half short months and I hate the frustration caused by Arsene's transfer habits. However, this summer I've found something else I hate, I am hating the fact that thanks to Arsene admitting he needs to change his transfer policy and his recent quotes such as "very active" I now find myself looking twice at almost every story and thinking to myself "That could actually be true, it may happen".

We will know nothing for sure until we see a picture of a new signing on Arsenal.com but here's a round up of the past couple of days rumours:

I'll start with the big one KARIM BENZEMA: Rumours have been fuelled by Arsene Wenger's recent comments which half been published in the Sun (Therefore taken with a pinch of salt) and then picked up by everyone else who then rushed it to print. Arsene reportedly said

"Signing him does not seem impossible. He's a player that I like."

"He's intelligent in his movement, he is capable of combining well with others and making a difference, and of doing individual moves as well."

"So, for me, he's a player who's at the top level in the world"

If Benznema is to wear an Arsenal shirt next season it will not show as big a change from Wenger's policy as some think. He is young, talented and struggling to make his true mark at his current club, sound familiar? a certain Thierry Henry springs to mind. Whether this is true or not, the possibility of it excites me.

RICARD ALVAREZ: Mixed reports here. Some said that a deal has been done and we will announce his signing when the transfer window opens. Newer reports are now saying that Alvarez actually still has 3 years left on his contract at his current club and will cost us up to £15m.

CARL JENKINSON: This signing has now been confirmed........ by the Finnish FA. They announced that Carl was an Arsenal new signing and have received permission from Arsene Wenger for him to play. Jenkinson has said he cannot talk about anything until everything is made public. It seems this is a completed deal but don't expect Arsenal to announce it until July 1st as this is when his deal with Charlton expires.

GAEL CLICHY: Reports linking him with a move away are becoming more frequent with many linking him to Inter Milan. There has been no official comment from either club, the player or an agent and unfortunately when a story gets this much press, no comment from anyone normally means something is happening.

NIK BENDTNER: Our shy Dane seems to have let his dad do all the talking even going as far as pointing reporters back to his dad's comments. Bendtner will leave this summer if we get an offer the board see as acceptable. The latest club sniffing around is Bayern Munich.

ALEX SONG: Inter Milan again seem to be looking at our players. Song has been reported to be high on the Italians shopping list as they prepare a £15m offer - NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN - Moving on.

SAMIR NASRI: I'll start with this..... EVRA IS A KNOB...... there we go. Evra has come out saying:

"Each year it is a guarantee of a title. I have been at Manchester for five years now & I can't remember how many trophies I have won. 13? 15? So, 'Petit Prince', if you want to become King you know where you have to go."

Will players from other teams please stop talking about our players. Annoyance aside There is a real threat that Nasri could leave. We could get a pretty pocket of cash for him and only has two years of his contract left. It's understood that contract negotiations are ongoing but if Samir does not sign soon Wenger may look to cash in. But not to Utd.

That's the main updates floating about at the moment but as the transfer window still isn't even open, don't expect any new faces on Arsenal.com just yet.

Til next time,
Goonerfish.

In, Out, In Out, Change it all about - Arsenal Hokey Cokey,

Morning Gooners,



2010/11 is finally over and soon may it be forgotten.

As soon as the game finished at Craven Cottage and Wenger could finally say goodbye to the end of an awful second half of the season and start to think of the future. Arsene Wenger knows that many of his squad are just not good enough and changes in his playing squad have now become inevitably necessary.

The following are my thoughts on what could happen during the summer and to some extent what I think must happen. I have no secret evidence or inside sources, I am simply putting together what I have seen, read or heard together and sharing my opinion on them.

I'll break it down into positions:

GOALKEEPERS:

OUT
Almunia surely has played his last game for the club. The hardest thing for Arsene will be finding a club to take him. I'd expect to see Vito Mannone go out on loan again too, hopefully to a Premiership side but more likely to the Championship again.

IN
This all depends on Jens Lemahnn. If Mental Lemon stays on for another year, which I think he may well do - albeit in a player/coach role - I don't think we will sign another keeper. If Jens either leaves or moves into a completely coaching role then I would expect Wenger to bring in a third keeper but he will be just that, a THIRD keeper. Szczesny and Fabianski will start the season as our number 1 and 2.

DEFENDERS:

OUT
The biggest name likely to find himself a casualty here is Gael Clichy. With his contract quickly running out, if the king of interception does not sign a new contract quickly he could find himself on the way out. A number of clubs have reported their interest including Real Madrid and Liverpool but reports are suggesting that a deal with Inter Milan is very close and could be agreed within the next couple of weeks.

Eboue could/should be following him. He has proven himself a liability for a title chasing team and his mistakes cannot be afforded next year.

The only other defender that could possibly feel the axe is Squillaci. His failure this year is not completely his fault. Squillaci is our fourth choice CB, TV, Djourou and Kos are all ahead of him in the pecking order and I don't think Wenger expected to have to play him as often as he has.

IN
This will be dependent on who (if anyone) leaves. I invite you to argue but in my opinion we do not need a big name centre back. I have always said you need three decent CB's and an 'OK if needed CB'. I will be happy going into next season with TV, Djourou and Koscielny as our main defenders with Squillaci's replacement as fourth choice.

A big shout for our fourth CB is Mamadou Sakho. Currently playing in France for PSG, Sakho has just been named France's young player of the year. Wenger has monitored his progress for a few years an he would be able to push Kos and Djourou to improve while fighting to partner Vermaelen. Some parties are saying a deal has been done already and will be announced after PSG play in the Emirates cup but I doubt that although PSG's inclusion could be an opportunity for bigwigs to thrash out a deal while everyone is in London.

If Clichy parts company with Arsenal then Wenger will have to look for a top left back. Kieran Gibbs is a very good back up but he is not yet ready to be our first choice. If you look at our rivals, their left backs are Evra and Cashly, we need someone of that calibre, nothing short. The fans choice seems to be Everton's Leighton Baines and I would be very happy with that but he will be very expensive, more than that though there has been no talk among channels that are worth listening to about there being any real interest.

We have already agreed a deal to bring full back Carl Jenkinson in from Charlton for around £1m.

MIDFIELD:

OUT
Denilson has made his position with the club very clear. He wants out. He has said that he has spoken with Arsene Wenger who has agreed to let him go this summer. I think this will be done quite early and I don't think it will be for a large fee, Wenger has a habit of feeling sorry for players and making it as easy as possible for players to move on.

Rosicky is another favourite to leave Ashburton Grove but I'm worried that if we let too many people go then we will be leaving our squad very light in the case of an inevitable injury.

I also suppose there is the little matter of Cesc Fabregas potentially popping off to Spain and playing the rest of his career in a Barcelona shirt. If I had to make an educated guess, I feel Cesc will still be with us next year. His actions towards the end of the season are not those of someone expecting to leave and his love for our club is real, however saying that, if Barca come in with a big bid and we accept, Cesc will take his chance to play for his boyhood club and if he does he should go with the supporters thanks for what he has done for our club during the time he's been here.

For those of you who are desperately wanting Diaby to be among those leaving, don't hold your breath. Diaby is a favourite with Wenger and although I will only whisper this very, very quietly, I actually think Diaby will be a player that grows into a consistent talent for us next year as players like Flamini and Song have done for us in the past.

IN
If Fabregas leaves a replacement will need to be found and although this is cheating, Nasri will come in to that central role and as we saw at the start of this season, he will make it his own.

Eden Hazard has been linked very heavily with a move this year however, after comments on Monday it seems very unlikely that he will move this year so we will have to wait for him. Hazard's Team mate Gervinho on the other hands looks more and more likely as a target. Wenger has expressed admiration for him in the past, he's young, has bags of skill and flair and as he's about to fall into the last year of his contract so he'll be available for around £9m which for his talent is very cheap. The downfall of any possible deal is that Man City seem to be interested too and if it becomes a bidding war, we will lose miserably.

A likely looking deal is a move for Ricardo Alvarez who currently plays for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina. Alvarez is 6'3", well built, pacey and has a great shot on him. I saw first reports on Friday evening that a deal has been done and he will be announced as our first summer signing in the coming weeks but as always, don't believe anything until it's formally announced by Arsenal.

One area we definitely need to fill is the defensive midfielder role. Alex Song has been excellent on the whole this season but lately he has started to play like a man who knows he will not be replaced. In our current squad if Song is fit, he plays despite form and he knows it. Scott Parker seems to be favourite for this role and with the Hammer's relegation his price will have dropped and he would add much needed experience to our squad as well as a winner's attitude which could easily spread into our current players.

FORWARDS

OUT
We have an obvious excess of strikers at our club and they cannot all play. Nik Bendtner's father has come out and said that his son is "100% open" to finding a new club. Personally I think he will go, I also think that wherever he goes he will clear 15 goals next year. Bendtner is a very good player but does not fit our style of play and despite Wenger's best efforts is not a winger.

Carlos Vela has had chance after chance so turn his promise into performances but has failed. If a striker cannot get into the starting line-up at West Brom, how can he expect to start for a team challenging for titles and trophies? If someone comes in with an offer, he will go.

IN
Two questions need to be asked. What formation will we be playing? If we stick with our current formation then we do not need to over invest. RVP and Chamakh can battle for that solo spot up front with possibly a youngster as backup. If we are playing 4-4-2 then we will need another 'proper' striker who can pick up 20 goals a season. RVP can play the role in the hole fantastically but will need an out and out striker to help him and there lies the second question, is Chamakh that man? If he can rediscover his early season form and maintain it then hell yeah, he's the man and we will need to bring someone in to come off the bench when needed. If not then we need a new striker to partner RVP while using Chamakh as our effective super sub. Theo could well make the move into the centre next year but we will have to wait and see.

The biggest named linked with a move in is Karim Benzema. I just don't see this happening, he will cost £25m and despite Wenger admitting that he needs to spend, but such a big chunk of change being spent on one player when he clearly needs 3 or 4 brought in is unlikely. If this happens at all, it will be a deadline day special.

So, there we go. I obviously haven't covered every player that has been linked with us but I have tried to cover those that seem to have some realism to them.

I expect a busy summer from Wenger but it will still be adjustment rather than major surgery. Wenger has spent so long building this Arsenal squad that to suddenly destroy it by changing half of it would be madness. We would spend another two years in transition as our new players melded with the old ones so we would be no better off.

In my opinion we do not need an influx of big name signings, we need maybe 3 players brought in who are 27 years old or over and have experience of winning things. Players who can come on if we concede a goal while winning a tight game and calm others down and help us see the game out. Players such as Giggs (Oops, forgot I'm not allowed to mention his name) for Man Utd or Vieira for City.

Who would you guys like to see come in (Be realistic now, it's not Football Manager)

Lets hope Wenger acts quickly, a summer of rumour and waiting for something to happen will not be fun and will frustrate the hell out of many Gooners.

Till Next Time,
Goonerfish.

3rd is a must, Ladies win FA Cup & Jack to get summer off

Morning Gooners,


Here we go boys and girls, after 10 months of ups and downs we find ourselves at on the last day of the season.

This year we finish off at Craven Cottage against Mark Hughes' Fulham. It may not be for the title but we still have something to play for today so I'm hoping the players decide to turn up hungry and committed to getting the three points that could see us jump back above Man city to finish in third.

Fulham don't really have anything to play for so won't have any extra motivation, however, neither do Bolton which is where City travel to today. Here are the possible outcomes from today's games:

1 - Arsenal win, City win = City finish 3rd
2 - Arsenal win, City draw = Arsenal finish 3rd
3 - Arsenal win, City lose = Arsenal finish 3rd
4 - Arsenal draw, City lose = Arsenal finish 3rd
5 - Both teams draw = City finish 3rd
6 - City win = City finish 3rd

In my opinion, finishing 3rd is a must for our team, we are already set to finish with less points than last year but that is almost acceptable considering that almost everyone will be finishing with less points but finishing in 3rd last year means it is the minimum we should expect this year, anything else is simply moving backwards.

Arsenal Have won the FA Cup!!! - Arsenal Ladies beat Bristol Academy yesterday to lift the FA Cup. Goals from  Kim Little and Julie Fleeting in the first half hour secured a 2-0 win. A massive 13'885 people turned up to watch the game live and it was broadcast live on Sky which shows signs that the Women's game is starting to receive some of the credit it deserves. Well done ladies.

An early report today in the Mirror today has claimed 'an exclusive' that both Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll will be left out of the England U21 squad for the European Championships this summer. This is good news for both Arsenal and Liverpool. As we have learnt from the world cup last year, players that have an extended run in a competitive during the summer will suffer during the following season, just look at Cesc and Torres, both played in the final and have both had severely below par seasons.

If called up I am sure that Jack would say yes, and so he should, but if he is not called into the squad in the first place the decision in taken out of his hands so he doesn't have to upset Arsene Wenger by giving his all for his country in the summer and I am sure that Wenger himself has been putting the pressure on England to not select his young superstar.

I will leave you all now to enjoy match day for the last time this year. I will personally be cheering on Blackpool to survive. Blackpool are my choice for two reasons, firstly, the Premier League is a better place with Ian Holloway in it and secondly I have a pound a point bet with a Man Utd fan at work so every point saved with save a little more humiliation for me.

I'll see you after the game with a whole load of gibberish including a season review but for now, enjoy final day.

Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Farewell Denilson & other ins and outs.

Evening Gooners,


So, it begins. The clear out many Arsenal fans have expected and in a lot of cases wished long and hard for seems that it will start - but will by no means end - with our little 'Deni' Denilson. The Brazilian youngster has had his interview published in The Sun today in which he has talked about his desire to to play his football away from Ashburton Grove. He said:

“This has been the worst season of my life and I am so upset, so frustrated. I am a winner and I came here to win trophies but I’ve been here for five years and won nothing."

“A footballer’s career is over very quickly so it is time for me to move on. This is not a sudden decision. I made up my mind eight months ago. I was fed up of coming home and feeling down but I haven’t said anything until now because I did not want to disrupt the team during the season and I haven’t caused a big scene. I’ve simply been to see Arsene Wenger and told him how I felt and he’s agreed to let me go"

He went on to say some nice things about the club:

“I know some people will think I am crazy. They are right. It is a great club with a great organisation, a great manager and so many talented players"

Than on his future in the game:

“Yes, I make a good living at Arsenal but other things in life are important. I need a fresh challenge and although I know I’m taking a big gamble I am ready to take that risk.”

“I can't see myself returning in a Chelsea shirt, or Liverpool or Manchester City – and definitely not Tottenham. I think my future will be in Spain or Italy.”

I had to giggle at the last bit, you're right Deni, you won't end up playing for Chelsea, Liverpool or City, because as much as it hurts, I don't think you'd get in their teams. In all honesty I think the Italian league would suit Denilson down to the ground and I think he has the attributes to do really well. Some quotes flying about have provoked many fans to be quite hostile to Denilson but please remember, he has been a good servant to our club during his time here but more importantly, it's been printed in the Sun so before you make assumptions or judgements, find and read the whole interview, not just what the journalists have selected to print. Good luck to you Denilson, wherever you may end up.


Transfers filled a big bit of Arsene's press conference on Friday (considering it was a pre match conference I was surprised not to hear Fulham's name mentioned once. In fact apart from injury news, no one even made reference to the game). The two players that got mentioned were Arshavin and of course Cesc Fabregas. When asked if Cesc would be moving, Arsene replied by saying he would fight to keep him which one journalist tries to twist instantly by asking "Why? Do you think you will have to fight to keep him?". Wenger seemed both adamant and confident that Cesc Fabregas will still be Arsenal captain next year however, when he was answering questions about Arshavin, the strongest response was that he expects AA to be at Arsenal come August. Personally I would like to see him stay as despite his lazy appearance I think he still has a lot to offer the team but I have a feeling that if a decent offer comes in (by decent I mean the same as we paid for him) we will accept it and he will leave.


Of course, we can't have all the talk about people leaving. As is now becoming the norm, we seem to have a multitude of new players being linked with a move to our wonderful club. Recent players that possibly have some weight behind the rumours include Lille attacker Gervinho. The Ivory Coast front man only has a year left on his contract this summer and is reportedly available for around £9m which is the kind of money Arsene will not mind spending.  I remember watching Gervinho at the World Cup in the summer and being impressed. He would be a good addition to our squad with his flair, skill and attacking attitude and I for one would be very happy to see him week in, week out next year.


Gervinho's team mate Eden Hazard has also been greatly linked with us and Arsenal have first refusal on the player. If there is no offer accepted from another club, I do not expect us to sign him this year, however if the other teams such as Liverpool have a formal offer accepted Arsene Wenger will have a decision to make. I can see one or the other moving to London but I would say that Lille would be reluctant to let both men go and after their qualification for the Champions league I don't think Hazard will be in a rush to leave just yet.


A player possibly returning to Arsenal next year is our highly rated, scarily hyped up Japanese wonder kid Ryo Miyaychi. He has experienced a very successful spell in Holland and Wenger has confirmed that he will be with the team during pre-season where he will be accessed and a decision made whether to push for a work permit or not. It will be good to see how he shapes up with the rest of the squad and personally I look forward to seeing him in person during our pre season games.


After reading all that we still need to remember that the season isn't even over yet, let  alone the transfer window being open and as we know Arsene and Arsenal are never the quickest in the market so don't expect movement too early.


Till next time,
Goonerfish.

Champions League possibilities, Clear Out? & Shares.

Morning Gooners,


I'm more relaxed today I promise.

I'm writing this just after Man City jumped above us into third and the thought of having to qualify for the Champions League next year is sinking in and in all honesty at the moment, I'm OK with it, actually, I'll rephrase that, I've accepted it.

With City only needing to match our result against Fulham when they visit the Reebok on Sunday most Arsenal fans are already looking ahead to who we could face in the two legged play off. Good news is that Arsenal will be seeded which means we will not be drawn against a 'big' team. If all the seeded teams win in the 3rd qualifying rounds then Arsenal will play either Udinese, Dynami Kiev, Twente, Kazan or Standard Leige (Team info taken from @jamiedalton82 on twitter). It not as if we have to play the mighty Young Boys.

I'll look more at what we COULD have to do once the season is over, for all we know, the players may actually decide to turn up and win our game at Fulham with Owen Coyle getting his boys to do us a favour and we won't have to think about anything other than who will be in our group when the competition really starts.

Other news floating about at the moment is mainly - unsurprisingly - transfer related. Lots of players being mentioned as joining but the worrying thing is the amount of stories linking our players with a move away from the club. Sagna, Clichy, Fabregas, Wilshere, Arshavin, Nasri and Van Persie have all been linked with moves away from London in recent weeks and Wilshere is the only player to come out and put the record straight letting us know he's going absolutely nowhere. Sagna and Van Persie are reported targets for Real as is Clichy who is also getting attention from several other clubs. You may not have read this anywhere, I've searched high and low for some contacts, had to make some dodgy deals with journalists and sold some body parts for this exclusive........ Barcelona are interested in signing Cesc!! I know, shocking news, I just never saw that coming. Arshavin is being linked with a move back to Russia and Nasri is supposed to be considering a big money move to Bayern. I'd love to say this is all rubbish, and most of it is but I honestly think we will see a lot of movement in the market this summer so right now, I'm not ruling anything out but again, same as our Champions League fate, I'll look at it more once the season is over.

Silent Stan has now completed the purchase of his shares however at the same time our favourite fat man Usmanov is still buying up single shares here and there. He has purchased a further 8 shares which confirms that he has zero intention to sell to Kronke which in all honesty could be a good thing, it'll mean that Kronke cannot get to a point where shareholders HAVE to sell so our club will not be run by a single person and also fans who have participated in the ShareSave scheme can keep their little part of the club.

It's been short and sweet today. We're at a weird point now where I just wish the season was over so we could concentrate on summer trade and look forward to fighting next year.

Till next time,
Goonerfish

Don't forget, if you so wish, you can follow me on twitter for more random gibberish on all things Arsenal.

Arsenal's 12th man? - My Arse!

Morning Gooners,


Ok, first of all I will point out that I know I will get a load of abuse for this next blog and that's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Here's mine.

I don't live in London so usually average about 6 - 8 games a year at the Emirates and I feel privileged every time I am there. This year - more towards the end - I have witnessed something that quite honestly annoys the hell out of me and whilst at the Villa game on Sunday this 'thing' reached it's pinnacle. This 'thing' annoys me more than Wenger's 'reluctance' to spend, more than our rate of injuries, more than more than our trophy drought and more than the press' opinion of the over hyped grassmonkey Gareth Bale...... OK, maybe not that much, but still quite a lot.

This 'thing' that has annoyed me is all around the stadium, in every corner, on every level, it's us, the fans. OK, I'll rephrase that it's SOME fans, a small minority but the number in this group is growing. The attitude that seems to be slowly filling our stadium is worrying to say the least and it shows no sign of stopping.

I know that supporting a football club is tough, it's full of more disappointments than championships but before we come crashing down on the players for not being good enough, losing faith, lacking effort, having the wrong attitude and seemingly giving up before the game has finished  we need to take a good long hard look at ourselves.

I will use the Villa game as my example for these arguments. Can we really slate our players for lacking effort when the crowd can't pull together more than a dozen verses of 'We love you Arsenal' and about the same number of 'Arsenal, Arsenal' chants during the entire game. The away fans have put us to shame on every occasion I've attended this year and from talking to other fans, it's the norm. We outnumber them 19/1 how are they consistently so much louder than us?

How can we accuse our players of not being good enough when we can't show our support for them during a game? It took less than five minutes of the game for the crowd around me to go crazy shouting abuse, and I mean proper abuse, when a player misplaced a pass. Surely we have more patience than that..... don't we?

How can we scream at our players for giving up before the game has finished when the ground is less than half full by the time the final whistle goes? People were leaving the ground on Sunday 15 minutes before time. 15 MINUTES!!! There was a steady of stream of people leaving as soon as there was 10 minutes left. I know it's a pain in the arse queuing for the tube after a game but come on people, seriously, don't tell the players they're useless for giving up before the final whistle then leave 10 minutes before the final whistle! Here is a picture I took of a corner of the stand just after the full time whistle went:

Lets not also forget that the players were participating in a lap of appreciation after the game. If you were in Cesc Fabregas' boots at the final home game of the season and this is the crowd applauding you then why on God's green Earth would you not want to go to Barca? If he leaves I guarantee part of it will be because he feels let down by the support (Although he'd never say it publicly). Even before the game the amount of tickets still available was astonishing, especially for the last game of the season.

Finally, we cannot abuse players about attitude when half way through the second half we were singing "six percent, your having a laugh" in reference to next years price raise. FFS people, people are moaning about losing the values of our club, one of our biggest values has always been class, Sunday's chants were far from classy, now I don't like the raise either but there is a time and a place like the Q&A coming up or even during the marches/protests that took place before the game (although I didn't witness any). During the game surely our job as the team's 12th man is to support the team. We have the best away record in the league this year and one of the worst home records of recent history, there has to be a reason for that.

Now again, I want to point out that this rant does not apply to all fans, but the number is growing rapidly and If we want the team to succeed we need to help them do it by showing support in our own stadium rather than looking for the first excuse to slate everybody.

Arsenal is our club and we should support our club through thick or thin, in an over dramatic comparison, if your child was under performing would you continually remind them of their faults and shout abuse at them or would you support them and try to bring the best out of them? If Arsenal is still a family then why do the same rules not apply? I am not saying that our players have been faultless because we all know they haven't but just like our stars, we need to look at our own performance to see where we can improve.

I want to end on a good note though, my faith in Gooners was somewhat restored by the 25'000 or so that did stay behind after the game and applauded the players. Even after the disappointment of this season and the extreme disappointment of the Villa game itself, Gooners saluted our players and even managed a rendition of 'We love you Arsenal' showing that our love for our club will prevail all.

We have one last game to get through this season and now face the very real possibility of finishing fourth so for those going to the Fulham game I'm sure as always our away support will be superb but for everyone else lets take the summer to think about why we love Arsenal and come back next year and prove ourselves as the best fans in the country.

Till next time,

Goonerfish.