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Ramsey adds a directness to that but also fits in well as a ball playing midfielder. Likewise, we sometimes play a fast counterattacking game. Ramsey’s pace and fitness seem very useful there and his recent improvements in his decision-making have benefited the team in those situations. Not only can Ramsey adapt to the style of play but the position too. Whilst Wenger gets slated for playing Ramsey on the wing in big games away from home earlier in the season he was my MOTM against City away and at home to Chelsea

So how about the rest of the defence? In Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker we have two of the best defenders individually in the league, but as a unit they are even more impressive. The way they complement each other is very good. Mertesacker is the leader, the cool head, who reads the game excellently and uses his height to good advantage on corners and his periscope legs to make impossible tackles. Koscielny has the pace, one of the best last-ditch tackles in the world, the ability to win the ball back off anyone and has man marked players like Aguero, Torres and Rooney into insignificance. Both of them have decent ballplaying skills, which puts a slight onus on getting the ball to the midfielders, rather than playing the long ball Vermaelen likes to do. This fits our system better, even if it at times does put the midfielders under pressure from harrying opponents. The two not only fit well together in the theory but also in the actual working of the game. In fact to me it seems almost like the combination of Campbell and

Giroud also sometimes seems to lack the confidence to take on chances. Too often he plays the wall for players like Cazorla, bouncing balls back, where I feel he should take on chances himself. None the less, when he does try, he seems to do ok. 16 goals in a stop-start first season is very impressive, especially for a player who I think can develop a lot with the right coaching and environment. I myself am most certainly not one of those who consider him a weak part of the team, and whilst I am not convinced that having him as first choice centre forward would be enough to win us the league, as a second choice rotation striker

Other movements often associated with Gooners and representing the opinions of Gooners include the Black Scarf Movement. I myself have to admit that until recently I was not aware of exactly the role they fulfil, but I am now. And I must admit that personally, some of their ideas on football are excellent. However they do not fully conform to mine and as such I would not want to be associated with them. That is something personal but essentially part of my ability to choose my own opinion. If the BSM were to be considered representatives of Gooners (as they have been, by media, especially around the time of their marches or other protests) I would hate to be lumped in with them, no matter how valid some of their points are. In fact, they don’t represent Gooners any

Arsenal, and basically represent the creative future in midfield. So why is one of them almost universally loved and the other often scorned, underrated and even underappreciated by his own country. Yet to me, both are equally good and equally necessary for the future success of the club. And for a long time many were convinced that the one who is now not rated, was actually the better player, the bigger talent. So, Wilshere vs Ramsey, the battle in midfield and in the hearts and minds of fans. Can we effectively use both of them? Will Ramsey win back the love of the fickle fans who get on his back? Will both of them recover from losing a year of playing time and experience due to injury? And will they both turn their massive potential into something real and

Arsenal right now, with Arteta, we have someone who does all of that, in one role, and does it very well. This facilitates our playing a 4-3-3, like Barcelona, with an extra midfielder to do both defensive and attacking roles (Diaby or Ramsey or, when fit, Wilshere) rather

Arsenal teams of the last decade? Probably the Invincibles first, the 2001-2002 team second and then the 2007-2008 team, right? And what did these teams have in common? Well, the first two teams brought success to the hallowed halls of Highbury, and the third team very nearly won the league where others were vastly outspending us. But all of them, to me, were teams with similar core

The Gooners are not unlike that either. Call me too much of a fan but I feel Gooners as a whole are relatively similar to the club and its current principles. This whole story is difficult to write without generalization so bear with me. I feel that clubs and their identities can be found in their fans too. The jokes we make about how current MCFC fans were Chelsea fans five years ago aren’t that far off the mark for me. Sure you can be a fan of any club and live anywhere in the world. But regional identities matter. In earlier an earlier article the great @thesquidboylike talked about how different

Not only is the Arsenal Academy nowadays recognises as amongst the best in England and indeed Europe, Arsenal’s scouting network, system and approach are second to absolutely none. In fact, whenever other clubs are linked to players, I can see Wenger sitting in his chair, reading the news, going ‘pah, we scouted him four years ago. He runs ok for twenty minutes, but tires very quickly. Good luck signing him!’. It is also important to realise that these things are gonna help is immensely in the long run. What it also reminds me off, is how close we got to doing things right. Arsenal missed out on Cristiano Ronaldo because Ferguson trumped us, but we had longer standing interest. We missed out on Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi who we had deals to sign, but fell through in the paperwork stage.

kind of sparkle to the club’s prestige. We won’t see him bust a gut, sadly, like that amazing run he did to score his fourth at Anfield, but as an experienced, well liked (with RvP out of the picture, that is) and very intelligent part of the squad, I bet many of our youngsters can learn a lot from him. Indeed, I always get the feeling players like Wilshere love playing with Arshavin, because he does understand their genius. Perhaps his effort and his wages are too far apart for Wenger, the board