Pray for Fabrice Muamba

I write this as a football fan and a human being. There are very few moments in football, when probably all the fans in the world think in unison. When every fan in the stadium hopes for the same result. When, irrespective of what jersey you wear and which player you celebrate, we all come together hoping for the same. 
On saturday, at White Hart Lane, we witnessed one such event, where a completely fit player suddenly collapsed, not moving at all and seemingly not breathing either. In no time at all, Fabrice Muamba was surrounded by paramedics and concerned colleagues. It's a sight nobody ever wants to see. A sight that sent shivers down millions of peoples spines, within minutes 30,000 yelling, screaming fans were silenced, all praying for the same result, that Fabrice Muamba would move or show some sign of encouragement. He was taken off the field straight to the ambulance and the match was abandoned. I hear that Tottenham fans chanted Muamba's name as he was carried off. In the ambulance, he started breathing again and is 'critically ill' now, in a hospital in London. I'm an Arsenal fan, and Tottenham are our rivals. However, I congratulate every Tottenham fan who chanted Muamba's name, for showing respect and sporting spirit. It's a quality that should be admired and is much needed in football fans today.
It was a terrible scene to witness, Van der Vaart's face said it all. Fabrice Muamba has always been described as a warm person, it was touching to read about his early life, when he fled his country as a refugee and came to England, to become the spectacular football player he is. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for him then, and kudos to him for achieving what he has today. Clearly, he's a fighter. Great article about his early life, "Fabrice Muamba: The refugee who has made football his home" by Daniel Taylor on guardian.co.uk. 
Here is what disgusted me, I came across a video today titled, "Loser spazzes out between a match". I was shocked at the ignorance and the heartlessness shown by some fans. The racial abuse that was directed at him is unbelievable. It's time football picked up a zero tolerance policy against racism. These are moments when everyone, irrespective of the team they support, where they come from, what color is their skin and other such insignificant comparisons come together to support a fellow human being. Not only when such a moment takes place, but even otherwise, racism should not be tolerated. Even by fellow fans. If you are one such fan, I'd like to tell you, that even the team you support would be ashamed to have you as their fan. It's time to grow up. We are all passionate about our teams and football, but we should know where to draw a line. I hope such fans will realize their mistake and change their outlook.
Fabrice Muamba is now in the intensive care unit in a hospital and the next 24 hours are critical for his life. I urge you to pray for him and his family, irrespective of which team you support, where you come from, what race you belong to and what is the color of your skin. Here is a human being who needs all the good wishes possible right now, that's the least you can do for him right now.
As I said, he's a fighter, I'm sure we'll see him back in no time. I wait for the day he will play football again. Till then, keep the faith. He will be back, mark my words. Let's all pray for him in the meantime.

Our good wishes are with him

  

Theo Walcott. How the world's got him wrong.

I'm sure that you have read many a post on how Theo Walcott has not progressed in the past four years. I'm sure you thought that too, I did think that. I thought Theo wasn't all that good, he could just run fast couldn't he?
It seemed like he played the game on sunday to shut the world up. Theo did everything people say he couldn't do. And he did it well.

Proving people wrong

Theo started the game badly, so did Arsenal, he seemed to be all over the place initially. As the game picked up, he did too. Theo was booed in the first half, Arsenal fans wanted him replaced at the break. Here is what I think, Theo did not do badly in the first half. Yes, statistics do not support what I'm saying. But Theo's movement was so brilliant that it was creating all the time in the world for Bacary Sagna to whip in crosses. And Bac was crossing like a legend. If you thought Bacary Sagna had a good half, Theo deserves some of the credit. But most people did not see this. It must have been a major hit for his confidence when he went in during half time. Do you know one person who did recognize his silent contribution? Arsene Wenger. Had Wenger subbed him during the break it would have shattered his confidence. But Wenger stuck with him.


Now before we go on to what he did in the second half, let's recall an incident during the match. Theo received the ball, with space in front of him, nobody between him and the goal. But rather than running at the goal, he passed the ball to Robin, who was being marked by three Spurs players. Why did he do that? The answer is, he sometimes makes the wrong decisions. Why? Because the fans have criticized him so much, he has lost confidence, this was a result of lack of confidence because of impatient fans, me included. This did not show he does not have a 'footballing brain', it showed that what the fans say gets to him sometimes. He is a quality player. But he's young, and he needs the fans behind his back to support him.


Moving on to the second half. Theo played like a legend.


He sprinted more than three quarters of the pitch to score Arsenal's fourth goal on Sunday. Check the pitch, I'm pretty sure he left a scorch mark on it. He showed startling pace, the desire to get there and a finish Thierry Henry would stand up and applaud. Does this sound like a player with no 'footballing brain'? No. For his second goal, he showed brilliant control and a calm mind in front of goal to put the ball in the net. Sounds like a perfectly good player to me. Maybe the fans need to give him a little space. He proved the world wrong in the second half, attracting praise from Redknapp himself.


Theo Walcott is a good player, I made a mistake in judging him badly. It took him just 45 minutes to show me I'm wrong, give him time and space and he will show us why Arsene Wenger and Robin Van Persie rate him so highly. That ought to be enough for the fans. When he gets the ball, let's roar in support, and when he loses the ball, let's believe he's going to get it back and prove his skill.


After Sunday's game, I'm going to think twice before I criticize Theo again, and I hope you will too.


Keep the faith. There's always more to things than what we see initially.

Two nil and you fu*ked it up.

He Scores When He Wants

Arsenal were coming of the back of two horrible defeats. Out of the FA cup against Sunderland, and a disastrous night in Milan. So, we were looking at one of the most important games of the season. Tottenham at home, unfamiliarly above us, and many have concluded that they have been the superior team this season. Well, all that was about to change.
Every pundit and journalist said that Arsenal has not been strong enough, that they won't be able to beat Tottenham. Well, all that was about to change.
Everyone predicted another collapse that would see us lose out on champions league spot. All that was about to change.
I think Wenger shocked everyone when we saw Chamberlain and Gervinho on the bench, with Benayoun and Rosicky getting the starts. And the criticism started, people already concluded Wenger had gotten it wrong. Anyways, that was how it was, and we kicked off possibly the most important game of the season.
Arsenal had the worst possible start, and conceded a silly goal in the fourth minute. I must admit I thought it was going to be 'one of those days.' But the players didn't think so, they picked it up, raised the tempo and played their game. Not much later Arsenal were playing like they had the good start. Clever movement, quick passing, threatening corners and crosses. And, unbeatable, unquestionable energy. Rosicky seemed to have the time of his life, making everything happen. Arsenal came close to scoring, they were banging on the doors and Spurs tried to hit us on the break. And then Bale's dive won them a penalty. Adebayor out of all people converted the penalty. I thought this would take the steam out of Arsenal, they needed to regroup I thought. Again, I was wrong. Arsenal played with the same tempo and energy. Nothing was going Spur's way apart from the two goals. Arsenal were losing by two goals at home, but the player's body language did not show that. Rosicky and Benayoun did more that just justify Wenger's faith in them,  Van Persie was too hot to handle and Theo's movement was making ample space for Sagna to exploit. The energy just did not seem to fade! And in the 40th minute, Sagna scored a beautiful header. All the passion and energy seemed to have paid off, this showed how much Sagna wanted this. There was only one place where this ball could have gone, and that was the back of the net. This gave the players even more belief, and three minutes later Van Persie curled the ball into the net perfectly, forcing Gary Neville to call Van Persie's left foot a wand. It really is a wonder, it was a magnificent strike and it bought us back in the game. It was only half time, Arsenal went in the superior side.
Now, this is where I thought Arsenal won the game. After the break Spurs made two substitutions. This showed that Arsenal's passion, want, energy and class had clearly gotten into the heads on the Spurs players. Sandro and Van der vaart were not sent in to achieve something, they were sent on a rescue mission. It showed that mentally they had lost the game. Arsenal started the way they had left off, and soon the best player on the pitch, Rosicky got the goal from close range. This goal again showed how much these players wanted this, it reeked passion and commitment. The way Arsenal players charged at the goal was simply brilliant. Even after that, the attacks kept coming. Van Persie put the ball in for Walcott and he scored with the touch of an angel, chipping the ball into the net (Walcott haters, watch the finish again). 4-2. Arsenal still wanted more. The players were on fire. Nothing could stop them. Walcott again had the space and finished beautifully again. The determination, passion and grit that this player showed was unbelievable after being booed in the first half. 5-2. After this, the Spurs players looked lost, the didn't know why they were on the pitch. The game wasn't over, but they had been taught a footballing lesson. Arsenal players showed them what class is.
I've always maintained that these players have talent and technique. However,  they did not beat Spurs because of clever tactics or superior technique, they beat them through sheer passion and energy. The 'supposedly' weaker team came from behind to score 5 goals. The Arsenal players had walked out of the tunnel with their heads held high and there was no way in hell they were going back with their heads down. Yesterday, these players played with the belief that they deserved to win, with the belief that they are good enough, with the belief that they can beat any team. The game was won before it started, in the minds of the players this was the only way it could end, and they made it happen. Yesterday, you could put any team on the planet against Arsenal and they would have been brushed aside. Not because of superior skill, but because of unmatchable passion and belief. This is a brilliant team, they just need to play every game with such passion. Yesterday Arsenal beat Spurs in every area of the pitch. Modric, Adebayor and Bale were nowhere to be found. The Arsenal players played like they owned the pitch, and all the other players on it. 
This game will always be remembered. Let me underline what yesterday taught us, ARSENE KNOWS, his faith paid off yesterday, he knows what he's doing, let him do it. And, Theo Walcott is an amazing player, but the fans have ruined his confidence, let's get behind him, and he'll rip apart opponents. Even in the first half, his movement was brilliant, he let Sagna create an impact. Give him the due credit.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, this team is closer to success than it seems, the only thing lacking is belief, we saw yesterday what this team can do when they believe they can do it. Let's get behind this team and make them believe that they can. If they play the same way at Anfield, Arsenal will push aside Liverpool, if they play this way against Milan, they'll brush aside Milan, maybe by a 5 goal margin? Who knows.

Passion

The players gave us a match to remember yesterday, let's make sure that we give them the support they deserve and will remember. The players seem to believe now, it's the fans turn now. The played are going to be charged up for Anfield, thats the way it should be.
As always, keep the faith. Arsene knows.
To Anfield then.     

Andrei Arshavin. And what he said.

Andrei Arshavin, leaves behind memories.

Arsenal have always had amazing, exciting players. But when Arshavin arrived in 2009, be brought with himself something extra. He ran at defenders with the ball at his feet, rather than threading the ball through like we're used to seeing. He brought a good change. As seasons passed by, the number of games he played per season started falling. However his impact was very very visible. In the 2010-11 season he scored 10 goals and had 17 assists to his name. Unbelievable. He scored 4 goals at Anfield. Again unbelievable. 
However, from the beginning of this season he didn't seem the same. Arshavin seemed disinterested, lethargic and lost the ball often. Right from the television pundits to football 'fans' who didn't know squat about football seemed to criticize him. Wenger gave him numerous chances on the left wing, but time and again he did not make the required impact. Attracting further ridicule.
All this was fine, a player does go through bad times. You don't think so? Look around for a certain spaniard who seems to have forgotten where the net is. But, what was not fine was what he said a few days ago when apparently in the midst of the entire team he proclaimed he wasn't interested anymore and wanted to leave. I personally hate the fact that he was loaned out at a time when the team needs experience and quality the most. Arshavin is both. Having him on the bench was a safe bet, maybe he would find form again. But if he really did say all that, I have no doubt that his time was up at Arsenal. No matter who the player, once he isn't interested anymore, all hell on earth can not make him do well. I still believe he's quality, maybe going back to Zenit will help him find form and he can come fact to Arsenal and give his best again. Even though he's a good player, he was turning into a negative influence in the dressing room, such a player has to go. 
It's sad that Arsenal have lost a quality player, but he sealed his own fate when he said he wasn't interested. Maybe he was turning into a negative influence in the dressing room that put other players off. 
If he does not return, this will be a sad end. An end that such a player does not deserve. Hopefully he will return, and run at defenders again. After all we will be going to Anfield next season also.
On another note, there are very things that p*ss me off, but right on top of that list is Adebayor telling Arsenal what to do. Hopefully we will answer on the pitch. For the past 15 years Spurs have been behind us, and this year isn't over yet. 
Keep the faith.