When Saturday Comes…..

On Saturday I am going to be making the (roughly) 7 hour round trip to the Emirates Stadium from West Yorkshire in order to watch a group of 20-30 something men kick an inflatable piece of leather in between some sticks!

Madness, some might say, but for me this is the completion of a childhood dream.

The first time i watched Arsenal on the TV was during the 1993/4 European Cup Winners Cup winning run, and I knew they were the team for me. That’s right people, I was a glory supporter! But seriously, with future club legends such as John Jensen, David Hillier and Eddie McGoldrick wearing the red and white, what wasn’t to love!?

From that day forward, even through all the grief suffered at the hands of adolescent Leeds supporters (you know the thugs that you see in the news now, imagine them as kids!), it has been my dream to watch Arsenal in the flesh, and on Saturday 1st December, at 3pm, my dream will finally come true. For that one afternoon I will forget about all the clubs current ‘issues’ and this group of finally tuned athletes will be forever etched in my memory the same way that the team of Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Adams, Bould, Davis, Morrow, Merson, Selley, Smith and Campbell are.

My question to you this morning, and for some of you oldies this may be a tad difficult, but can you remember when you first fell in love with the Gooners, and what was it that set them apart for you?

And on a side note, is there anything that I MUST experience on my first trip to the Emirates (apart from a win, of course!)?

Written by slimgingergooner

Was Arsenal leaving Highbury a mistake?

In the 1940’s many of us Avenell Road boys used to play football using the Avenell Road gate into Highbury as a goal.

We played with rag footballs (made by my Mum) and each of us took on the name of one of our heroes (I was Jimmy Logie), it was a great time in my life, we were so very poor monetarily but so very rich in friends, family and of course – football.

Due to a job change my family had to move from Avenell Road to Oldershaw Road, N7 (long since been demolished) and I was so distraught that I threatened to leave home and stay with my Granddad in Stavordale Road, N5, but I had second thoughts when my Dad agreed.

Being an Avenell Road boy my heart will always belong on the street where I was born, I estimate that I attended close to 1,000 games at Highbury (including reserve games) so it’s no wonder that I was upset, but understanding of our reasons, when the club decided to move to Ashburton Grove.

I always believed that our familiarity with the snugness of Highbury worked in our favour and by the same token it created big tactical issues for our opposition – this caused me to think that the sheer size of the Ashburton Grove pitch would not be suitable to the style of football that we were accustomed to playing. However looking back over our record in the first twenty seasons of the EPL some very surprising facts emerge – the Emirates has proven to be a more solid fortress than our fabled home at Highbury.

These are the statistics for home games at The Emirates vs Highbury:

We score more goals per game 2.03 vs 1.97

We have fewer goals per game scored against .79 vs .83

We have won a higher % of games 65.79% vs 62.50%

We have lost a lower % of games 11.40% vs 13.24%

We have tied fewer games 22.81% vs 24.26%

We have more points per game 2.20 vs 2.12

We have a higher % of points won 73.40% vs 70.6%

Here are the statistics for our away games, while we have been at The Emirates:

We score more goals per game 1.78 vs 1.38

We have more goals per game scored against 1.28 vs .94

We have won a higher % of games 44.74% vs 43.75%

We have lost a lower % of games 28.07% vs 29.41%

We have tied more games 27.19% vs 26.84%

We have more points per game 1.62 vs 1.61

We have a higher % of points won 54.10% vs 53.6%

The move to the Emirates has proven to be the right decision in almost every aspect with the notable exception of goals scored against in away games and the recent lack of silverware. Looking at the data I can only conclude that while we showed improvement we did not improve at a rate high enough to be consistently ahead of our opposition.

Was leaving Highbury a mistake?

Not in GunnerN5’s opinion.

Arsenal – testing your loyalty

I’m hoping the long gap between games isn’t causing the players to lose focus as badly as it has me – although it is a concern after our last performance!

This is just a bit of interactive fun to fill the time before we take on city tomorrow.

One object of the exercise is to test whether your loyalty to Arsenal might just possibly cloud your judgement in matters concerning by far the greatest team the world has ever seen……..

Try to answer the following questions honestly. It may be that your choices would be the same either way – but I doubt it.

So are you a dyed in the wool Arsenal supporter (in which case you lied in some answers) or are you one of the new breed of fan who prefers to stay seated, doesn’t sing and thinks the ref is a jolly good chap

Feel free to debate the questions and your choices in Comments, or maybe you can suggest similar questions that could have had you battling with your Arsenal conscience.

Written by Rasp

Simply the Best: Georgie Boy and Watson. Two Authentic Heroes. MU Pre-Match

For today’s introduction we are going back into the mists of time, when men were men and not floppy overcooked strings of spaghetti like Busquets, Nani and Pepe.

England were World Champions and Man Utd had recently won the European Cup. For the younger reader who has grown up in the Sky era, there can be no understanding of the excitement and national pride that both events stirred. Unlike today, all English football fans wanted MU to beat a brilliant Benfica team at Wembley, the scene of our only WC triumph just 2 years before. The following year (Sept ’69) when MU came to Highbury the side had already changed following the retirement of Sir Matt Busby, with younger blood joining Bobby Charlton etc.

At that time George Best was 23 years old, he had already played 300 games for MU and was the most famous footballer in the World. Moore, Charlton and Stiles may have been the faces of England’s WC victory but George was The Man. At a time when football was confined to newspaper  back pages, Best was front page headline news, top 10 songs were written about him, kids aped his clothes, copied his hair style, he was a friend of the Beatles, always had a super-model on his arm etc etc. But above all, he was a complete footballer, he was coming to Highbury and so was I.

A 60,000 crowd  in the same Highbury that was limited to under 40k a few years later. The North Bank was packed and swaying. An old man reminiscing is interminably dull so I will cut this short· Mclintock heads out a high ball to the edge of the area, Best leaps off the ground and sends a scissor kick volley flying past Bob Wilson. At first, there was stunned silence around Highbury followed by huge applause, we had witnessed a genius displaying his genius – what can be better on a football pitch? We drew 2-2 and I recall Stroller Graham scoring one for us.

George Best is the best player I have ever seen play live and I have seen Maradona, Cruyff, Van Basten, Gullit, TH, DB  (4 Dutchmen TA ) etc etc  No-one could lift a crowd in the way he did, and he was a brilliant bloke to boot.

A young Best at what looks like Highbury (West Stand?)

Manchester United have always been a glamour club and their arrival at the Emirates guarantees tension and excitement, this fixture remains a highlight of  any season. Sadly, Ferguson’s MU are a pale shadow of the entertaining sides of their past; the cheating, spitting, vituperative Rooney being the emblem of their play. Yes, they thrashed a reserve AFC earlier in the season (a total freak result ), and today we could have problems due to our injury nightmare but the belief remains that a full strength Arsenal would beat this MU team with some ease.

However, we do NOT have a full strength team and are unlikely to see one for some time. Have we enough to win today? Certainly, if the players give their all and work as a team. There are fears about how our “FB’s” will cope with MU’s strength on the flanks;  the midfielders must concentrate and assist them.

My Team:

It would be brave to start with Oxlade-Chamberlain – his last outing at OT was hardly a success!

Famous Gooner: Today is all about courage, the ability to step forward when all you want to do is go home and play with the wife. One Gooner who has lived a life requiring a level of courage few of us can imagine is Michael Watson.

Having beaten Nigel Benn, Watson fought and lost to Chris Eubank for the WBO Middleweight title (1991, what great times for fans of British boxing), receiving a life-threatening injury which resulted in 6 brain operations and 40 days in a coma.  To go from being at the top of his profession with a healthy, immensely strong body to being  totally immobile must have been devastating. There followed a year in hospital during which time he couldn’t move, hear or speak, Watson spent the next 6 years in a wheelchair.  But Michael didn’t give up, he fought is disabilities and in 2003 even managed to complete the London Marathon (over the course of 6 days), being welcomed over the finish line by Eubanks and his neurosurgeon.

Not long out of hospital (1992) Michael was invited onto the hallowed grass at his beloved Highbury and at half-time was pushed in his wheel-chair to all sides of the ground – it was a highly emotional moment both for him and the fans who rose to greet him. I was there that day and am not ashamed to say shed a tear for an incredibly brave man and a true Gooner. In 2004, Watson was awarded an MBE for his charity work for Brain and Spinal Research.

Watson, wearing the Red & White he always wore in the Ring

Watson doesn’t find excuses when the odds are stacked against him. Can today’s Arsenal team win?  Ask Michael.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

Where is the respect?

The world of football has changed in so many ways since first I clambered up the steps at Highbury and looked down in awe at the scene before me; an oblong of green set at the bottom of a man made bowl, the concrete sides towering above it. There it was the home of my schoolboy dreams, the canvass on which I had for all my growing years drawn  in my mind’s eye the daring deeds which I, “Roy of the Arsenal” had performed heroically, defeating all and sundry with magical skills and wondrous last minute goals.

It had not been easy being a gooner, raised in a family of spuds and living  many miles from the ground despite having been born In Walthamstow. Indeed in those days I don’t remember being called gooners, we were the Gunners and proud of it.

But in the fullness of time a gooner I became, the umbilical cord of that born again experience, when first I discovered the team that played with the cannon on its chest, still keeps me joined some sixty years later to the wonderful club that has meant so much to me over the years.

Still from those far off days, it is the humour I remember from watching the Arse, the banter with the oppositions supporters was, pointed, cutting and at times downright hilarious . We had the morons of course, but they were few and far between and usually dealt with by the crowd itself.

The days of the football hooligans that led to all seated stadia lay well in the future, these were the days when we didn’t win anything but still the humour remained, It was a scouser who I first heard tell an Arsenal player “he was as much use as a chocolate teapot” and another as “useful as a third tit on a nun”.

Arsenal fans at King’s Cross to catch the special trains to Huddersfield for the FA Cup semi final against Grimbsy, 21st March 1936. Arsenal won 1-0

So where I wonder did the hatred come from, the obscene chants that are classed by many as funny these days. Even our refined, cultured, intelligent manager is bombarded on a weekly basis by brainless choirs regurgitating accusations  far too vile and scurrilous for repetition on any blog with aspirations to quality.

Tribalism is fine, it helps the common cause and binds the supporters together in a collective quest to play their part in motivating and driving the team onwards and upwards, supports them through tough times and rejoices in their success.

But why the sectarianism, racism and the vitriol poured on rival supporters, particularly in our case the spuds and Chavs

Yes I know there are those that will say football grounds are not the home of knitting circles. But where is the respect for the skills of opposing players, who if the truth was told, we would love to see in our shirt, and the supporters who had they been born, like us in different places would in all likelihood support some other team.

I have never been to the Emirates, but read constantly the comments of those that do, that we don’t support or cheer our team enough, maybe, and here I can only surmise, maybe the trend to abuse more than support, and attrition rather than respect, is what keeps the much derided corporate customers embarrassed and quiet.

Writen by dandan

Sit down and shut up ……

The game is underway, the action has reached a point of let’s be honest, boredom. The Emirates crowd is hushed awaiting some excitement, it doesn’t come, a player makes a mistake, groans cascade down towards the pitch, a young man stands up and with arms aloft sings “Arsenal, Arsenal Arsenal” at the top of his voice. What is the usual response? Shut up and sit down”. and then a steward will arrive and threaten him with expulsion.

You may say this is a worst case scenario but we have all seen it –  show some passion and unless it is a big, big game (Barca), few will join in. Why have the grounds (not just the Grove) become so sterile?

Primarily, I blame the seats. Anyone who saw the tragic results of overcrowding, poor policing and violence which led to the need for the Taylor report understands the need for better stewarding and control., but in my opinion the decision to turn grounds all-seater has been a two edged sword; Yes, the days of violence and fear on the terraces have disappeared; Yes, the chance of someone urinating on your leg have been reduced and Yes, it is easier to get back to your mates after a half-time pie, but at what cost? Seating dampens  physical, emotional expression.

Football has always been a sport for all ages and in the past as one got older one moved to the East or West Stands, there was seating aplenty but the passionate singing remained on the terraces.

An example from elsewhere. Go to a rock concert, feel the difference in emotion between sitting and standing – and it is not just about dancing.  For the performer it is the same, try sitting and singing on stage – almost impossible. Standing makes the expression of an emotion simpler.

Whilst accepting that something had to be done to prevent the violence on the terraces, the solutions found in the ’80′s should not be rigidly enforced today. Apart from the usual miscreants (Leeds, Cardiff, Millwall etc) football fans do not fight each other. Those that do, do so away from the ground which has nothing to do with football.

If clubs want atmosphere at the grounds then there has to be a standing section behind the goals. With the advent of CCTV and better stewarding, the grounds will remain safe.

A direct result of seating was an increase in the cost of attending a match, which has led to change in the social demographics . No longer can a family man on a less than average income take his children to all the matches. The game has become a wealthier man’s sport. And along with that comes different behavioural patterns, amongst which are  a heightened sense of individualism and a reluctance to enter into “mob” behaviour i.e. rather than joining in the lad standing singing, he is told to “sit down and shut up”.

A few other causes …

1. The Bloody DJ. Where did the idea come from that we need a DJ’s inanities to create an atmosphere? Do I need to hear Status bloody Quo singing Rocking all over the World after a victory to be able to celebrate?

2. Mobile phones. All grounds should be phone free. I am sick of hearing the man sitting next to me discussing work issues/women problems/ what is for dinner during a game. I am also sick of people on the bloody phone looking askant when someone tries to start a chant, as if to say “Can’t you see I am making an important phone call?”

3. The inabilty of friends to sit/stand together.

4. The loss of connection between the players and the fans. Can you remember those halcyon Highbury days when during warm up we sang all the players names and they all responded? What happened?  Today there is absolutely no contact apart from when a sub warms up and he may clap his hands above his head. All clubs should enforce their players to go to all sides of the ground and wave to the fans prior to or/& post the game, especially at away fixtures.

5. Allow alcohol onto the terraces (contentious I know). It is possible at all other sporting events, why not football?. Are football fans to be treated like children because of a few lads who cannot handle their booze?

6. Find a better transport solution. Perhaps then fans would stay to the end of the 90 minutes  - it shames me to see a half empty stadium at the final whistle.

Rant over.

Written by Big Raddy

Project Youth – Fact or Fiction?

Written by Illybongani

Much has been said about the perceived success (or lack of it), of Wenger’s ‘Project Youth’, particularly since the move to the Emirates. Arsenal Football Club are now seen as standard bearers in the development of young professional footballers. But is this accolade warranted or is it a misnomer?

Let’s look at some facts and make our own minds up.

Prior to the move away from Highbury, Arsène Wenger’s blueprint for success was pretty much orthodox, a high quality team of experienced internationals added to pre-season with one or two further experienced internationals, often French or African. Added to this mix was the occasional high potential youngster, like Fabregas or Anelka.

By anyone’s standards this was successful. Two Doubles and an unbeaten season will be the benchmark we measure ourselves by, and indeed others measure us by, for the foreseeable future.

Then we moved to a new stadium. History shows that this is more often than not a particularly difficult time for the club involved. Look at Coventry, Southampton, Leicester amongst others as examples. Then came a global recession that could not have been anticipated by the Board. A truly perilous position to be in. Therefore we had to cut our cloth accordingly.

We will probably never know the restrictions placed on our expenditure by the move. The Board continued to spout rhetoric that there was money for Arsene if he wanted it. This money never really materialised, instead Arsène went down the line of importing more and more youngsters both from home and around the world. ‘Project Youth’ had truly begun.

However, it was only because of  a catalogue of injuries that became to be the norm season after season that these youngsters were thrown into the mix. Well, that is the perception of most people – but how many kids have we actually moved through the production line and out the other end?

In the early years of Arsène’s tenure, Ashley Cole was probably the only player to be given his debut and to be guaranteed a place in the side. In the last few years there have been more but many of those have been purchased (and stolen) from other clubs. However, you could argue that they have been given the opportunity to learn ‘the Arsenal Way’ before being given their opportunity.

The only ‘true’ Arsenal-bred youngsters grown from embryo to finished article at Hale End have been Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Emmanual Frimpong. Given time, Henri Lansbury may be added to this list. Does this make the ‘project’ successful? Certainly not along the lines of Barcelona, but then who has produced as many, in quantity and quality, as them? But that group may well be the core of the England (or Ghana!) side over the next 5 years – and in anyone’s book, that must be deemed a success.

Other players, thought at one time to be the next big thing, have come and gone – JET, Traore, Merida, Barazite, Aliadiere, Bentley to name but a few. These players and many like them have attracted transfer fees in the region of £80m (boosted by Cesc) since our move to the Emirates. Does that give further credence to the success of the ‘project’ or the further evidence that far too many have not met the standard at Arsenal?

An examination of the current youth set up shows a number of ‘next big things’. The question is, will they be a Fabregas or will they be a Bentley? And if they end up a Bentley, does that make them a failure?

Happy Arseday To You: A New Annual Celebration for Gooners Worldwide

Ladies and Gentle Arses I have a proposition.

One of the finest things about supporting the world’s greatest football team is that it makes us part of a vast tribe of like-minded people.

Whenever I see a stranger walking along the street wearing Arsenal regalia I feel a surge of pride and pleasure.

And even though I will probably never exchange a word with that passer-by, I know that I have a bond with them: they will have shared my joys and sorrows; they will have cheered when I cheered, wept when I wept.

And this bond goes worldwide.

Britain once had an empire on which the sun never set. The same can now be said of Arsenal’s support. When the Aussie Gooners are going to bed under their red-and-white duvets, the Californian ones are waking up and pouring coffee into their cannon-embossed mugs.

So it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to devote one day a year to celebrating our international kinship.

We might call it Arseday.

And on Arseday we might do the following:

• Every Arsenal supporter would wear something with the club colours and emblem. If you have strict uniform rules at work – for example if you’re a policeman, a barrister or a bishop (don’t laugh – the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, is an ardent Gooner) – then an Arsenal pin or tie may be appropriate, even a pair of Gunners undies or socks.
• Supporters should endeavour to meet with like-minded people (other supporters) for a social gathering.
• Where possible the social event will include a fund-raising element to generate funds for Arsenal’s chosen charity of the year (for example, an Arsenal quiz night, a screening of the Invincibles season highlights or of the full game at Anfield from 1989 or the 1971 Cup Final).
• All present will raise a toast to: “The Arsenal: By Far the Greatest Team the World Has Ever Seen.”
• Maybe we could even send ‘Happy Arseday’ cards to each other!

I love the idea that on Arseday you would be on the lookout wherever you went for others wearing their Arsenal regalia. You would be able to give them a knowing nod and share a moment of togetherness, without anyone else having the faintest idea what on earth was going on.

The next big question (and I’m sure you’re ahead of me here) concerns which date should be chosen for Arseday.

There are some simple options, like the first or last day of the season, but I’m sure that we Gooners can come up with something better. Here are some possibilities:

• December 11^th: the day, in 1886, when Dial Square (who would go on to become the Arsenal) played their first game.
• September 2^nd: it was on this day in 1893 that the newly named Woolwich Arsenal played their first match as a professional club.
• September 6^th: In 1913, this was the day we played our first game at Highbury.
• December 25^th: in 1886, the first time the word Arsenal was used in our club’s name (it was changed from Dial Square to Royal Arsenal).
• January 19^th: Herbert Chapman’s birthday.
• October 22^nd: Arsene Wenger’s birthday.
• May 26^th: the date, in 1989, when we clinched the most dramatic league title of them all.
• May 8^th: the day we completed our first Double, by winning the FA Cup in 1971.
• St Totteringham’s Day. The day on which it ceases to become mathematically possible for Sp*rs to finish above us in the league.

Some have obvious problems: December 25^th has already been claimed by someone else; St Tott’s day (hard though this is to credit) is not actually guaranteed to happen every single year; any dates in May run the risk of being overtaken by the drama of the business end of the season; and using AW’s birthday is all well and good – but what happens when he retires?

Perhaps we should have a poll to see which date works best?

Anyway, there it is: a modest proposal. What does anyone think? Is it a waste of time or would it actually be quite nice to have one day a year where we just celebrate being Arsenal?

Would the Arsenal blog world get behind the idea?

Over to you…

RockyLives

Arsenal – The Times of our Lives?

Written by Red Arse

Have you ever wished you could go back in time to see the Gunners of an earlier era?

Now for those scientifically inclined, I know it is not possible to go back in time, and we could have an interesting chat as to why that is, but let’s just dream that it is possible for a moment!

What would be your choice? Would you go back in a ‘time machine’ to the beginning, in 1886, to see history unfold, to see how the Arsenal got up and running and to witness our founding?

Who were these ordinary/extraordinary working guys from the Woolwich firm, ‘Royal Arsenal’ who founded our club? We were nicknamed: The Gunners: because the firm was an armaments factory. The guns (cannons) that we are associated with since and which are on display outside the Arsenal Museum and the Emirates, were made here, and would have been used on ships of that era.

We were originally called “Dial Square” from the designation of one of the armament workshops. Then at Christmas time in 1886, the name was changed to “Royal Arsenal”. We were also, for a time, known as “Woolwich Reds” and “Woolwich Arsenal” until finally we became Arsenal Football Club, in 1914, and were henceforth always referred to as “The Arsenal”.

Wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall, so as to hear the machinations over the move from Woolwich, in South London, to Highbury, in North London, and our subsequent political elevation to the old First Division, courtesy of Sir Henry Norris, much to the chagrin of the cockerel lovers?

If that is not to your taste, how about the 1930’s which, under Herbert Chapman, began with a famous 2:0 FA Cup Final win over Huddersfield? That was the start of a sublimely successful era with some of the all time great footballers of that or any other era playing for us. Our cup winning team, that day in 1930, included Cliff Bastin, and Joe Hulme, celebrated wingers of contrasting but complementary styles, with both possessing deadly accurate crossing ability and blistering shots.

How about watching the Jack Wilshere/Liam Brady of those years; Alex James was a footballing genius, if there ever was one, despite wearing the longest baggiest shorts ever designed to embarrass mankind?  Other names to leap out of that team line up were Lambert Jack, and Hapgood. It would have been a joy to be there and witness the start of one of our most successful periods.

Another FA Cup Final victory came along in 1936 with many of the same names cropping up along with that of one of our all time best forwards, Ted Drake, who scored in the 1:0 Cup Final win over Sheffield United.

The decade was full of League titles too, commencing in 1931 and encompassing 1933, 1935 and 1938. Who would not have wanted to see that period through the eyes of those who lived through it?

Or, perhaps, you would prefer to experience the next key period for trophy success in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s when under manager Tom Whittaker we won titles in 1948 and 1953, together with another FA Cup win in 1950. From what I have heard of this era, following on from WW2, it was still a desolate time for many, and the football must have been a desperately needed opiate to make up for the post war drudgery.

The first Arsenal “Double” year of 1970/71 through to the current season is a period many of you were fortunate enough to witness first hand.

But would you not want to go back and again experience the excitement and euphoria of the trophy winning George Graham era?

In 1987, we won the old League Cup under George, and then in 1989 came that fabulous last minute, Mickey Thomas goal that won us the old First Division title, before we went on to win it again in 1991, followed by the League Cup and FA Cup double in 1993, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1994 with an Alan Smith special.

We all know that George’s teams, though remarkably successful, could not hold a candle to Arsene’s entertainingly skilful little ball players, and their style still leaves many shuddering at the thought of going back to it. But isn’t that what many fans are now calling out for. “Sod the style”, they say, “we want trophies” they yell. Well, first go back and look and remind yourselves what you might be letting us all in for!

Over the 40 years from 1970 until today, it has been possible to bask in the glory of the teams and see the brilliance of wonderful or charismatic players like Charlie George, Frank McLintock, George ‘the Stroller’ Graham, Denis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and all the others, as we won FA Cups, League and Premier League titles and Doubles.

There are so many other times, games and players you might like to go back and experience first hand, not least during the changes that happened in professional football as a result of our own George Eastham’s successful court battle over players’ salaries.

Known for his short arms and deep pockets, how did his team-mates of the time, Joe Baker, Geoff Strong, Geordie Armstrong and Alan Skirton react? Did they play better as a result?

Yes, if a time machine was available, I would simply be unable to resist going back to see the stars and events that surrounded our wonderful club from its foundation in the 19^th century.

There is such a wealth of history about Arsenal and you and I are all part of it!

So, how about you? What era would you go back to? What players would you like to see? And why?

Arsenal – Cannon Fodder?

Aura and Grrrr

Written by mickydidit89

I think we, The Arsenal, need a new Aura.

Now, we are not Chavs, so we will not simply pop out to Harrods and buy the most expensive one available. No, because remember we have Class, and while that is something quite tricky to define, we all know that we have the stuff in abundance. As a club it does have much to do with breeding, but also about the way in which we conduct ourselves. However, I believe during different eras of our long and proud history, we have donned more than one type of Aura. We have moved on from the greased back “we’ve got bigger shorts than you”  Chapman years, through to the nine pints of Lager “what are you looking at” Graham era, and this begs the question as to  what type of Aura are we sporting now. Well, I happen to believe that it has become slightly too shiny, and most definitely a little too slippers-and-cigars comfortable. I think we need a little more Grrr about the house, and a little less “no, after you sir”.

“Well Micky, all this Arsenal and class bollocks. So you really do think you are above the rest of us then?”. “ Well, errr, yes actually”, but what is this based on? Thinking about the class thing, at Highbury we had The Marble Halls for example. Is the fact that the other lot have mere concrete and lino floors good enough reason to look down on them. I happen to think it is, but then I have a thing about flooring materials. The Halls kind of dealt with the Class bit in a physical way, which enabled us to flirt with Grrr, whilst always having the Posh bit to fall back on. Now we have gone all Carpets and Diamond Clubs we need more than ever to counter balance this with some unique Arsenal style of Grrr.

It is time to roughen the edges of our Aura.

Now many here will remember the marching band before kick off at Highbury. I do understand that this idea is dated. I also remember them trying to introduce Majorettes and thinking “no, this is all wrong”. So, what’s to be done? Firstly, it has to be bye bye to that bloody Dinnasorous thing. What kind of soppy message does that send out. Hardly a call to arms is it.

So, here it is, my brilliant suggestion, and I did not need to look far to realize the answer was right before me.  Cannons. We are The Gunners and proudly have the Cannon on our crest. So how about four 24-pounder Howitzer Cannons (these boys are VERY VERY loud) positioned at the four corners of the pitch. We fire them off as the teams hit the field, then every time we score. Believe me, we will get used to it, the opposition on the other hand will be needing clean shorts.

Now I realize that The Lunatic Fringe of Islington Council Health and Safety Department will be less than impressed, but you know what, sod ‘em.

What do you reckon?