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If you are a member of the mighty Goonerverse – and if you are not but still reading this, I must congratulate you on your impeccable taste  – you are invited to choose your own single memory of Andrey Arshavin that best summarizes his time at the Arsenal. Maybe the drop-off-the-shoulder sauntering and impossible angle finish for his first Arsenal goal against Blackburn? The fulsome foursome against Liverpool at Anfield? The inch-perfect cross created out of virtually no space on the left wing, with defenders breathing down his neck, in a muddy Sunderland ground to set Henry up for his final goal for Arsenal? The leisurely perambulations in those days when the quicksilver touches would draw frustrations from his teammates and he would cut a forlorn figure, who would then become tragi-comic as his attempts at defensive tracking back would start disappearing even before they materialize, like a mid-winter ray of sunlight in a foggy St. Petersburg day? The impish smile and the finger-at-the-lips celebration after scoring goals? The torrent of boos raining down as the little Russian came on to substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who was terrorizing the AC Milan defense as we were trying to overturn a 4-0 away deficit by scoring three and pushing for the fourth?  The magnificent winner against Liverpool again at Anfield as we came back from 0-1 down to beat them 1-2?

My favorite is the winning goal against Barcelona in what I think was our best ever performance at the Emirates (February 2011): 2-1 against one of the best ever sides in history of club football with Messi-Xavi-Iniesta-Villa-Pedro-Busquets all at the peak of their abilities and the team capable of playing what Arsène used to call “video game football”. Not just the goal itself which was a fine piece of counter-attacking football that Arshavin finished with a perfectly placed curler on the bottom corner that wrong-footed Victor Valdez – for the second time that evening as you may recall, with Robin scoring a near-post nearly impossible equalizer earlier – but also the celebratory run after the goal. Arshavin with his jersey covering his face, revealing an undershirt that had the image of himself celebrating a goal in his less atypical fashion, finger to his lips. It was a piece of weird and funny performance art – like a sip of a chilled drink immediately after a slice of such delicious football – that made a sly, ironic nod to his poor performances for a few weeks coming into the match.

That inconsistency, especially in the last two years — part of which was spent going back on loan to Zenit before making the return final a year later — of his Arsenal career, have most likely colored our collective memory of Arshavin with more than a tinge of apathy or even frustration. But joining Arsenal from his boyhood club Zenit Saint Petersburg on the winter transfer deadline day, he had started his time in north London with both verve and output, helping us to secure a Champions League spot at the end of 2008-2009 season the likelihood of which had looked to be in trouble especially with Cesc was sidelined for nearly half of the season after we had already started it without super Tomáš Rosický out for the entire season. That Anfield hattrick+ was the highlight, but the overall quality of his performance was enough to earn him the second spot in Arsenal’s Player of the Season award, just behind Robin. Given that he only played a little less than half of the season that was a memorable achievement.

Despite quite a few more sparkling performances for us especially in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons he never really recaptured the consistency and creativity of those first few months. Some had observed that Russia’s failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup may have had weighed heavily on him. It didn’t help his cause that the team went through a significant transition as the band of effervescent young Turks who had originally welcomed him dispersed for one reason or another – greener pastures, injuries, indiscipline – and the fanbase started losing patience with the players much more easily as a way of expressing their loss of trust in the club. After those fallow years the arrival of creative talents like Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil, coupled with the old favorite Rosický’s reemerging influence at the autumn of his career, and three successful cup runs meant that Andrey Arshavin’s little sojourn in the sunshine and warmth (You don’t believe me? Just ask him…) of London unhappily coincided with some of our least memorable years in recent history.  31 goals and 41 assists in altogether 143 appearances for Arsenal is a return many players would have been proud of — a goal or assist in every other match – but the feeling remains that the promise of his potential never was quite fulfilled.

His kerfuffle with Russian fans after the 2010 World Cup qualifying failure and again after the group stage exit at 2012 Euro (where he himself had played well enough to be named the best midfielder of the tournament by UEFA) hints at probably not feeling at ease with his career at that time. Before coming to Arsenal he had enjoyed a decent amount of success with Zenit, winning the Russian league and then UEFA Cup. He had never played for any team other than Zenit – let alone anywhere outside Russia – when he joined Arsenal at a mature age of 27. Maybe he never felt fully settled or connected with the club. And his involvement with us ended disappointingly – especially for a player of his abilities – with only 11 appearances in all of 2012-13 before he left permanently for back home, rejoining Zenit.

On the other hand, while in London he earned a certain amount of media following not only because of his footballing abilities, but also because of his amusing, sometimes absurd, public musings on diverse topics that are related to football only by the virtue of him being a footballer. So by that appearance the inconsistency with his footballing career may haven’t had bothered him that much. It may be wisdom, it may be lack of seriousness, those may be one and the same, or not… As often is the case with talents like his that are more mercurial in nature, maybe this sense of mild disappointment is just a reflection of our own unreasonable expectations. 

16 February 2011, Arshavin – who was no longer a regular starter with Jack, Cesc, Nasri, Theo and Robin all were fit to start and his own form being inconsistent over the last few months – came off the bench at 68 minutes to replace Song as Arsenal, still 1-0 down from David Villa’s first-half goal, after withstanding a few Messi moments but staying resilient and starting to impress themselves on the game thanks largely to a virtuosic performance by a 19 year old Wilshere, went looking for at least an equalizer. Arshavin moved to the left, and had a hand in Robin’s goal as from his pass Clichy lofted the ball into the box looking to find Robin who finished from that impossible angle. Then at the 83rd minute a classic Arsenal counter-attack sprang from the edge of the box:

Bendtner (who just replaced Theo a little earlier) to Jack to Cesc to Nasri. Robin makes a run into the box and all eyes are on him. Nasri hesitates cleverly waiting for more movements, Arshavin makes an unmarked late run into the edge of the box with his hands raised to draw attention to himself, Barca defenders and Valdez instinctively fearing another bit of magic from Robin concentrated more on him, exploiting that uncertainty Nasri makes a perfect pass, Valdez is still covering his right side, onrushing Arshavin places a perfect right foot curling finish to the bottom left corner of Victor Valdez’s goal. With Bendtner joining in Arshavin’s celebratory run, Arshavin lifts his jersey covering his face, with his undershirt showing an image of him celebrating goal as he typically does…

A great game of football culminating in an excellent goal of the kind that typified Arsène’s footballing philosophy, the joy and release of winning a match of that magnitude mixed with the laughs at a clever bit of silliness, all the talented young footballers we had been waiting to become the world-beaters we all felt that they could be were fit and playing together (not to forget super Tom Rosický coming back from injury as well and on the bench) and it felt that Arshavin too after this goal would find his mojo back and we were on the verge of achieving something memorable. Something more memorable than that result itself…something less transient, more graspable, more tangible…

But football is transient. Nothing but transient. It gets so much under our skin because it reflects life in that paradox of achieving the greatness only momentarily while striving for some kind of permanent glory which is but an expression of our hunger for immortality.   

I am quite certain Andrey Arshavin, looking back at his footballing career and the jumble of memories that it must have produced, will always find the pure magic and drama of that February evening something to smile back on.

At least, I hope so…

82 Drinks to “Not quite his zenith, but inimitable anyway…”

  1. 1
    OsakaMatt says:

    Great piece Dr F 👍

  2. 2
    bathgooner says:

    Simply superb, Dr F.

    I watched that game in a bar in Vail with my daughter. We were surrounded by a group of Chavs and a group of Barca fans and not a single other Gooner. A few arguments ensued but what a memorable evening. I had however forgotten or overlooked the celebration.

    https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/arsenals-russian-midfielder-andrey-arshavin-celebrates-news-photo/496476236

    Simply superb!

  3. 3
    bt8 says:

    Proudly on the medal stand.

    Fight the power.

  4. 4
    bt8 says:

    Great memories, Dr. F. There is no doubt Arshavin was a genius of attacking football, with special qualities all his own. Much of his magic derived from those regular trips to his barber from St. Petersburgh, of course. Can’t recall if Arshavin made regular trips back to Russia to cut his hair or if he imported his barber to London for the duration of his stay, but never did anybody get more publicly for a mediocre haircut.

  5. 5
    Countryman100 says:

    Lovely piece Dr F. I have many happy memories of our mercurial Russian. I was there for that first goal against Blackburn. For some reason I was in the Clock End, about half way up the lower terrace. As you say, he dipped his shoulder, scampered round the full back and just twatted it into the roof of the net. Everybody turned to each other and said “we’ve bought a world beater!”. Of course you are probably right that he will be remembered for that winner against Barca, that night when I swear I floated up the Hornsey Road a foot off the ground. What was so impressive was the way he hit that pass from Nasri, which must have traveled twenty yards, first time, thus wrong- footing Victor Valdez. If he had taken a touch I’m sure the goalie would have saved it.

    Our little Russian also prompted a great terrace chant. Adebayour had moved to Manchester City and was making a right pain of himself. So at the Emptihad some genius came up with this (later partially recycled for Torreira).

    He’s five foot four
    He’s five foot four
    We’ve got Arshavin
    Fuck Adebayour

    Happy memories.

  6. 6
    Uplympian says:

    An excellent summation of the the mercurial wizard Dr F. I’m in entire agreement that goal he scored v Barcelona was the most memorable of the period, it was tucked away with aplomb.
    When looking back to some 10 years or so, the team comprised a mixture of truly wonderful players mixed in with some average Joe’s – a team that nearly made it but ultimately never managed the consistency required to become “winners”.

  7. 7
    bathgooner says:

    Uply @6, for about 5 years we seemed to be just 2 top players away from being top team again but never signed them. It was a very frustrating time, even without the leg shattering injuries though I’d have that quality back in a heartbeat.

  8. 8
    bt8 says:

    One of the mysteries surrounding Arshavin near the start of his time at Arsenal was the correct way to pronounce his name, with the main possibilities being with the accent either on the first or the second syllable. Eventually the consensus seemed to arrive at the latter, quite likely guided by the chant cited above by C100, which would not hold together if you tried to put the accent anywhere else but on the second syllable. Maybe that’s even the right way to say it in Russian. I’m not sure how you would say Fuck Adebayor, on the other hand.

  9. 9
    'desi'gner gooner says:

    A big and warm hello to everyone…

    I am a bit late in discovering the new site and have a lot of catch up reading to do! Well it has been abnormal times and what not but it is an absolute joy to be here and read this fantastic piece from Dr. F and read the comments from familiar names.

    Agree completely with Dr. F about that goal from Arshavin against Barcelona. That was indeed our finest performance in the Emirates era against perhaps the best team for many a decade. That Barca team was frighteningly good. I remember watching us in that game (Jack in particular) and thinking that this team could go on to great heights. I also remember the events of the second leg and how we were robbed by inept refereeing which I have to admit was a curiously common occurrence in matches involving Barca during the time. Even with 10men we could have been through if the TGSTEL had dived to toe poke a fantastic Wilshere pass in the dying moments. I still get the blues thinking about that game.

    Coming back to our Russian – my second favorite goal from him was a goal he scored at Old Trafford. I have vague memories of the goal. It was from a good 25-30 yards out and came a couple of minutes after he was blatantly fouled by an opposition player and the referee didn’t even give a foul let alone a yellow card. He was being kicked regularly in the game but this one foul made him particularly furious (which was a rarity for the Russian). Moments later he hit this absolute screamer of a shot and scored a goal out of nowhere.

    Dr. F has chronicled Arshavin’s time with us in fine detail. I remember being frustrated with him towards the end of his time with the club because of his lack of hunger and also a visible drop in fitness. I really miss the technical brilliance of those Arsenal teams though. I hope Arteta brings it back soon.

    That goal by Arshavin against Barcelona will always remain a source of joy and a reminder that football at it’s finest is pure art as Arsene used to say somewhat differently.

  10. 10
    bathgooner says:

    Welcome to the new bar desi’. It’s good to see you. Haste ye back!

  11. 11
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Thanks everyone for the kind words! It was good to revisit those days back through the lens of memory. As you all have alluded to, the football was mostly great but the team frustratingly missing a few pieces of the puzzle to truly make their mark.

    Desi, welcome back! You have a few months of excellent quality Arsenal reading materials to catch up to. I remember the ManU match you refer to. We lost. Most refereeing decisions went against us, this being Old Trafford in those days …

  12. 12
  13. 13
    scruzgooner says:

    dr. faustus, a great read. i was so afraid nasri was going to try to push it through to the skunk, when here comes arshaaaaaviinnnn!!! i also was an avid fan of the question and answer section of his website. he was a funny dude.

    bt8@8, you pronounce it just as it reads. fuck adebayor.

    welcome back, desi!!

  14. 14
  15. 15
    Pangloss says:

    bt8@8 When my Dad first arrived in the UK he lodged with a family that I had always believed were Russian, but I have recently learned were Lithuanian, I digress, at all events, they were Russian speaking. He told me that with Russian words, the stress is on the final syllable of the stem, if a suffix is added, the stress remains, so with Ivan the stress is on the “an”, his son Ivanov still accents the “an” and so does his daughter-in-law Ivanovna. I surmise that in Andrey’s case, the stem is the bisyllable Ar-shav and “in” is some kind of suffix.

  16. 16
    Pangloss says:

    Sorry, I am forgetting my manners.

    Good stuff Dr F. Since Oxonne won’t authorise a Sports channel subscription, I owe what I saw of Arsenal before the last few years to Match of the Day and have few, if any, memories of Andrey Arshavin. Your purple prose thus described events rather than serving as a reminder.

    It’s my loss and the above article makes me feel it all the more keenly.

    Thank you.

  17. 17
    TTG says:

    Dr. F
    When I learnt you were composing an homage to Arshavin I was delighted and expectant and that optimism was completely justified . You capture the essence of the little Russian so well and I agree with the majority that among many great moments that sublime finish on a great night against Barca was his greatest .
    I have heard tell that Wenger was rather coerced into his signing and it was a very difficult transaction that only just squeaked through on deadline day. I remember his first words to Sky ‘ I am Gooner’, a message the Gooner nation were delighted to hear.
    He was a frustrating player and apart from Paul Merson , possibly the most unfit ( at times) I’ve ever seen in red and white . But I enjoyed his goals and his flair although one can’t help thinking a more dedicated player with his skill could have helped us achieve so much more .
    And on a current note we are back in business with a 6-0 win over Charlton with Eddie Nketiah getting a hat-trick . A ‘ mid- season’ friendly in June!

  18. 18
    scruzgooner says:

    highlights of the friendly now on pravda…

  19. 19
    bt8 says:

    Ar-SHAV-in it is then, if I followed you correctly Pangloss. The commentators didn’t do as well with some other foreign players’ names I could think of, if I thought long enough, but in general Spanish language names seem to be a big obstacle to some of them.

  20. 20
    Pangloss says:

    bt8, I think you follow me correctly. Of course, my old man might have been talking out of his bottom, or I may have mis-remembered. There are at least a couple of Russian tennis players whose names UK commentators fail to stress correctly, which always sets my teeth on edge; I feel it should be Maria SharAPova and Anna KournIKova.

  21. 21
    bt8 says:

    Dr. F., Dave would have been proud of the zenith pun in your title. 🙂

    Having now been twice to Pravda and back, I’d say Laca had our goal of the match but Auba and Willock also came up with very classy finishes. Nelson and AMN also could have scored. Eddie, with his fox in the box-like positioning, should have scored his three goals, but most critically, did exactly that. Leno got a couple of decent saves. The Emirates got some echoing practice. What more could you want?

  22. 22
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Thanks bt8/bath/Countryman/Pangloss/Uply/scruz/Matt/TTG..

    bt8: If I recall correctly, it was the barber who used to fly over to London whenever the haircut was due. I wonder what the visa application looked like. 😂

    Saw the highlights. Auba-Laca-Eddie-Saka-Gabbi-Pepe-Reiss is really a wonderful collection of attacking players from which multiple combinations can be chosen across the forward line. Looking forward to a barnstorming finish to the season!

  23. 23
    North Bank Ned says:

    I must congratulate you, Dr F, on such a well-crafted and insightful portrait of Arshavin. We saw much that was good about the little fellow, but the greatest of him with declining regularity. As bt8 says, the Guv’nor would have been proud of your headline, not just because it is artful but also because it is correct. Arshavin’s zenith was probably the 2008 Euros. He was instrumental in taking Russia, the worst-ranked country in the tournament apart from the hosts Switzerland and Austria, to the semi-finals where it took Xavi and the rest of an outstanding Spanish team beat them.

  24. 24
    North Bank Ned says:

    A belated welcome back, ‘desi’gner gooner. Good to see you, again.

  25. 25
    North Bank Ned says:

    scruz@18: Now we can hear what the players say to each other during closed-door games, I am struck by how much it is the same things as we do/did on the pitch. It is rather endearing in its way. Feet of clay all round.

    I also wonder if the absence of crowd noise to give emotional cues is going to change the way players perform (literally no playing to the crowd) and how we, as spectators on our couches, perceive matches are unfolding.

  26. 26
    ATG says:

    Up the Arse!

  27. 27
    scruzgooner says:

    ned@25, agreed. watched hertha/dortmund a bit yesterday, and they piped nothing in. was cool to hear the calls of the players so clearly. it was a boring game, though. it wouldn’t have been made more interesting with crowd noise!

  28. 28
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Thanks a lot Ned for the kind words.
    Pep is one “vocal” manager. I think in the silence hearing his manic instructions will be fun. Arteta too is not shy …

  29. 29
    Countryman100 says:

    Desi it’s great to see you back in the bar. Can I ask how you discovered the new blog? Happy back drinking!

  30. 30
    OsakaMatt says:

    Hello Desi, long time no hear
    and it’s good to see you back in
    the bar.

  31. 31
    OsakaMatt says:

    Loved the Barcelona goal and
    all four at Anfield but my own
    favourite Arshavin goal was in
    Sept 2011 at home to
    Swansea. Vorm just passed the
    ball out straight to Arshavin and
    he rounded the keeper for a
    simple finish. It was the winner
    in a dire 1-0 early season win.
    But it was also the first game
    at The Emirates for my then
    13 year old son. Happy to start
    with a win, thanks Andrei 😀

  32. 32
    bt8 says:

    Welcome back, desi. Cracker of of first drink back in the bar. 🙂

  33. 33
    Noosa Gooner says:

    Nice article Dr F – thanks. This site is a worthy successor to the original – I reckon the Guvnor would appreciate it too.
    UTA.

  34. 34
    Countryman100 says:

    Now Noosa Gooner. Welcome back!

  35. 35
    BtM says:

    A very enjoyable read, Dr F. I have to agree with all of those who remember the Barcelona goal most fondly. I can’t think of that goal without remembering my visit to Camp Nou for the return match, Robin’s second yellow awarded by the Swiss Cuckoo Clock maker (as Holc called him at the time) and TGSTEL’s injury time miss. I don’t think Arshavin played that night, did he?

    C100, I was at the Emptihad for the game you mention. I was surprised to see most of our fans under the stand before kick off rehearsing “He’s 5 feet 4”. You may remember that the song really got under Ade’s skin that day and he almost crippled RvP and then sprinted the length of the field to celebrate in front of us when he scored – cue another chorus of “He’s 5 feet 4”!

  36. 36
  37. 37
    North Bank Ned says:

    The Guardian preview, if that is the right word, seemed a fair summary, bt8. However, looking at the remaining fixtures, I can’t see a single opponent that won’t be fighting desperately for points either to stay up or to get a place in Europe. I hope the observation that Arteta had got us winning tight games proves prophetic for the rest of the season.

  38. 38
    North Bank Ned says:

    The monks have unearthed the oddball fact that Pep has only managed more games against one club than he has against us. That club is unsurprisingly Real Madrid. His overall record against us is worryingly good: P17 W11 D3 L3. GF 40 GA 17. We last beat him seven games ago, in the FA Cup Semi-final in April 2017. We have yet to beat him in the Premier League. Only five managers have beaten him more than twice: Klopp (9 times), Mourinho (6) and Pochettino, Solskjaer and AW (all 3).

  39. 39
    OsakaMatt says:

    Not a happy oddball fact that
    Ned. On the other hand, perhaps
    we’re due a win 😀

  40. 40
    depressedgooner says:

    Great memories there, I’ll always remember our little Meerkat with nothing but fondness, he was a joy to watch and read 🙂

    Always be an Arsenal legend just for that game, long live Arshavin the gooner.

  41. 41
    North Bank Ned says:

    Indeed, OM. As we average a goal a game against him, a one-nil-to-the-arsenal would be in order.

  42. 42
    North Bank Ned says:

    The interview between Steve Round and Trillium Rose, a US golf instructor, that Arseblog highlighted is worth listening to in full if you have an hour to spare.

    Lots of golf chat, but also some fascinating inside insights about how the club works under Arteta.

  43. 43
    gedo says:

    Ah, that build-up and goal vs. Barca was something I’ll never forget. I think TGSTEL almost gave the ball back with his pass back to the middle just out of the reach of the opponent. From there pure magic. The supporters lost their minds in the glory and provided a wall of sound I have rarely heard coming through my television speakers.

  44. 44
    scruzgooner says:

    certainly that was nasri, gedo, not nearly-headless nick with the pass to arshavin?

    and yes, the sound was glorious. oh, to have been there.

  45. 45
    gedo says:

    Scruz, Barca were applying heavy pressure in our own half and Nick (playing on the right wing) toe poked a short pass through the middle of the pitch to Jack which was just out of the reach of a Barca player. The guy just missed picking off the pass and I gasped as it happened thinking we were going to cock it up. This pass started the build-up and from there it was Jack to Cesc to Nasri and you know the rest…..

  46. 46
    scruzgooner says:

    ah, thanks. i will have to rewatch…any excuse!

  47. 47
    Doctor Faustus says:

    gedo/scruz : yes, Bendy had started the counter attack in our half. He had replaced Theo a few minutes back … I did include his contribution to the goal, if you look at the italicized paragraph 🙂

  48. 48
    bt8 says:

    At least the commentator seems to utter “Bendtner” at the start of the break. Probably easier to say in a pinch than “the greatest striker that ever lived”?

  49. 49
    bt8 says:

    SZCZ a bit happier about it than Pep, it would appear.

  50. 50
    Doctor Faustus says:

    If you can spare 25 odd minutes, watch this little interview of Ryan Huddart on his time in Arsenal academy and around the fringes of the first team. Comments about Arsene, Szczesny, Brady, Arteta, Cech, Iwobi, Jack … and shows what makes the club special.

    Video: Ryan Huddart on Wenger, Cech, Szczesny, Arteta and more

  51. 51
    scruzgooner says:

    and damn the ref for the skunk’s red card in the return leg. we should have moved on through barca that year. damn him all to hell…

  52. 52
    North Bank Ned says:

    Well in for the half-ton Dr F.

  53. 53
    TTG says:

    Sadly after the thrashing of Charlton we found Brentford too good for us today going down 3-2 at home. Lest anyone fantasises we can win at the Emptihad . It was clearly an experimental side but we fielded most of our stars at some point.

  54. 54
    bathgooner says:

    There’s a minimalist report on Arseblog News which doesn’t sound as if we were up to the mark throughout. However at this point, game time is game time and it’s better to go to the Shitteh game with our feet firmly on the ground than our heads in the clouds.

  55. 55
    scruzgooner says:

    per the highlights it looked like we, at least, were playing half-speed. which is what we should be doing. brentford looked more interested…as they needed to be. having watched a number of german games (including the first part of today’s bayern-frankfurt dfb pokal game) actual games look much faster than that.

    i’ll be behind the couch on the 17th, if you need me, though.

  56. 56
    North Bank Ned says:

    Brentford scored three pretty good goals, although some off-the-pace defending set them all up.

    Interesting to see the additional lines marked on the pitch parallel to the touchline and stretching from one penalty area to the other. Take those and the way the turf was cut in bands across the pitch, and you pretty much have the Guardiola map of the pitch for positional play marked out.

  57. 57
    bt8 says:

    Losing at home to Brentford. Not good. Luiz, Laca and AMN all caught in possession creating the chances Brentford took to leave us gasping in the dust. 🙁

  58. 58
    North Bank Ned says:

    Anthony Taylor will ref our game against Man City. We’ve only lost five of our 34 games when he has been wielding the whistle, though that is the same number as City in the 25 games of theirs he has ref’ed. The one game between us and them he took charge of was a draw.

  59. 59
    bt8 says:

    The season hasn’t even resumed and we already have a highlight:

    Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli has been suspended for one match by the Football Association over a post on social media about coronavirus.

    Alli, 24, put a video on Snapchat in February in which he joked about the outbreak and appeared to mock an Asian man.

    The England international has also been fined £50,000 and ordered to undertake an education course.

  60. 60
    OsakaMatt says:

    Taylor is mediocre I think,
    though that still makes him
    slightly better than many of
    his PL colleagues

  61. 61
    OsakaMatt says:

    Ned,
    The way Alli was playing this
    season I think the FA have
    done the Spuds a favour!

    Money seems high and number of
    games low for his racist stupidity.
    Just my opinion of course.

  62. 62
    North Bank Ned says:

    OM: Your @61 more for bt8 than me, I assume, but I don’t disagree with what you say. The neighbours have also copped a break in getting Kane back from injury.

  63. 63
    North Bank Ned says:

    The latest training video on the club’s site shows the main training pitch at Colney also marked out with the Guardiola positional grid (see my @56). A clear indication to my mind of how Arteta plans to build out from the back, attack and press — lots of short passing, overloads on one side of the pitch and then a switch to the opponent’s weak side.

  64. 64
  65. 65
    OsakaMatt says:

    @62
    oh yes, that was for bt8.

    Agree with you @63, MA has actually
    had some time now to work with the
    players for a bit and I’m expecting
    several changes.
    But possibly not so evident in the
    first game as we’ll be under pressure
    a lot of the time.

  66. 66
    bt8 says:

    You are probably right, Matt. Have we reached the stage where fining a star player only a paltry sum like £50,000 can be interpreted as an act of indulgence by the FA?

  67. 67
    bt8 says:

    “paltry” not paltry.

  68. 68
    bt8 says:

    Sperz on the other hand are not not poultry (the second not is intentional). Fully grillable poultry, I should add.

  69. 69
    North Bank Ned says:

    In the US, you can always annoy a Spurs supporter with a rousing cheer of ‘Go, Chickens!’

  70. 70
    scruzgooner says:

    i just say “a chicken on a basketball” if i see a spurs shirt. it reduces my desire to yell “shit” at them really loudly.

  71. 71
    OsakaMatt says:

    4 days to go.
    I am actually looking forward
    to Man Shitty away, which I
    haven’t for about 5 or 6
    seasons now

  72. 72
    bathgooner says:

    Matt @71, you’re a braver man than me, Gunga Din. (Am I still allowed to say that?)

  73. 73
    North Bank Ned says:

    A Saturday morning puzzler: In the light of our current Covid-19-induced financial situation, was the club prescient in pulling Aaron Ramsey’s contract offer or did it let the wrong £350,000-a-week playmaker go?

  74. 74
    OsakaMatt says:

    Given what’s happened at
    Juventus I think we made the
    right decision on Aaron though
    at completely the wrong time –
    should have been 6 months
    earlier.

  75. 75
    North Bank Ned says:

    You can close the doors but you can’t keep the fans away…

  76. 76
    North Bank Ned says:

    And a pitch invasion by a a spectator at a behind-closed-doors game between Barca and Mallorca?

    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53041780

    Strange times.

  77. 77
    North Bank Ned says:

    I had never realised before that our little Russian had studied fashion design, and according the club has a degree in it.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1135595/Arshavin-Dont-tell-new-Arsenal-team-mates-I-design-womens-clothes.html

    http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/players/andrey-arshavin/trivia

  78. 78
    New Day Rising says:

    Hi All.
    Used to follow the old Goonerholic blog and occasionally log thr odd comment about the Arsenal and also witter on about music. Delighted to stumble across this new blog and see so many names I remember..
    Will never forget the Arshavin goal against Barcelona. Ran around the room igoing crazy n much the same manner as when Alan Sunderland grabbed the winner in ’79…

  79. 79
    bt8 says:

    Hey there NDR. It’s great to hear from you!

  80. 80
    New Day Rising says:

    Hi Bt8,
    Good to be back…looking at the above my typing has not get any better though !
    Here’s hoping for an upset against Citeh.

  81. 81
    scruzgooner says:

    welcome back, ndr! it’s gonna be an interesting one to watch, whether from behind the couch or no. btw, preview of the game will be up monday or tuesday.

  82. 82
    ATG says:

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>