Immediately after my last update, I played quite a few more matches with the Arsenal, but never got around to writing about them. A fair amount of time has passed since then, so I once more ask for your understanding if this missive comes off as rather lacking on details and a wee bit rushed. I want to get through them as soon as possible so I can get back to playing. I’ve got the urge back.

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Birmingham vs. Arsenal – Premier League
5th December 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Gabby

Goals – Adebayor (14, 26), Veloso (19)

I stuck with the 4-2-2-2 again and got another good clean sheet and a great result away from home. The job was done early on, and the league run continues.

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Arsenal vs. Panathinaikos – Champions League, Group Stage
9th December 2009
English starters: 9 – Foster, Gibbs, Hoyte, Lescott, Jagielka, Cattermole, Walcott, Gabby

Goals – Adebayor (35, 71, 74, 85)

With qualification to the knockout stages long since assured, this was another chance to have fun with the more attacking formation, and bring in a couple of fringe players. A dominant performance, with Adebayor really stealing the show, as he knocked home four.

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Fulham vs. Arsenal – Premier League
12th December 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Wilshere

Goals – Young (17), Veloso (26), Adebayor (pen 45)

After the little 4-2-2-2 jaunt of recent weeks I decided to switch back to my more tried and tested 4-2-3-1 for this game.

The eventual outcome was much the same however, with our attacking players proving too strong for Fulham, and wrapping up another away win before half time.

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Arsenal vs. Everton – Premier League
20th December 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Gabby

Goals – Adebayor (39), Clichy (47)

Another comfortable win. Adebayor rose well to score a header in the first half – his 25th of the season. It was man of the match Clichy who stole the show though, darting in at the back post early in the second half to prod home a rare goal for the French fullback.

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Arsenal vs. Everton – Premier League
23rd December 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Jagielka, Taylor, Wilshere, Gabby, Sturridge

Goals – Sturridge (7), Veloso (48), Galletti (61)

Injuries to Young and Walcott meant a shift in my attacking line, with Sturridge making a rare start up front with Adebayor as I reverted back to 4-2-2-2. The young Englishman didn’t take long to open the scoring either, as he linked up well with his strike partner.

Veloso added a second with a deflected shot from outside the area, before the visitors pulled one back and made for a nervy last half an hour. We held on in the end for another three points, but it was the tightest game for a while.

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Anyway, that’s brought you up to speed. Sorry for the brevity again, but next up are trips to Old Trafford and White Hart Lane, so I’ll be sure to give a more in-depth update on those.

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Everton vs. Arsenal – League Cup, 4th Round
11th November 2009
English starters: 9 – Hoyte, Taylor, Lescott, Gibbs, Cattermole, Baxter, Randall, Wilshere, Sturridge

Goals – Guerreiro (42), Dawson (70)

Only Lescott and Wilshere remained from my first-choice eleven, and despite having a few experienced heads elsewhere on the pitch, we weren’t good enough against a full-strength Everton side. In fact, as you can see from the stats, we were comprehensively outplayed.

Arteta used his guile to get past Gibbs on the left and weight a perfect ball across for Guerreiro to smash home the first – the Toffees Polish summer signing drifting through a stationary defence.

We made a slightly better fist of it second half, but all hope of a comeback ended when Taylor was sent off and we conceded a second soon after. Guerreiro turned provider with a corner, and Dawson prodded in.

Oh well. Can’t say I’m too upset.
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Portsmouth vs. Arsenal – Premier League
21st November 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Wilshere

Goals – Young (7), Adebayor (18, pen 21), Defoe (24), Utaka (60), Fabregas (78)

The big names were all back after the international fixtures, and picked up where they left off in the league. 3-0 up after 21 minutes and the contest looked over, but credit to Pompey, they took their chances and made a game of it.

Young opened the scoring with a close range header after some lovely build-up play, while Adebayor scored a carbon copy about ten minutes later. The Togolese grabbed a second from the spot, after a driving run from midfield by Young was halted by a rash tackle in the box.

We took our foot off the gas after that and were almost punished for it. Defoe scored an absolute peach to make it 3-1, receiving the ball with his back to goal outside the box, turning, and then lofting a perfectly weighted chip over Foster. Pompey kept pressing and got another in the second half when our defence switched off at a corner and Utaka rose majestically to put it away.

Thankfully, that was just the wake-up call we needed, and we ensured we’d be leaving Fratton Park with all three points thanks to a goal from our captain. Man of the match Adebayor drove into the area, taking three defenders with him, before pulling it back for Fabregas to slot home.

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PSV vs. Arsenal – Champions League, Group Stage
24th November 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Cattermole, Walcott, Young, Gabby

Goals – Culina (13), Lescott (21), Afellay (30), Young (32), Adebayor (45+1, 47, 74)

As I mentioned I might last time, with qualification to the next round already assured, I shifted my formation a bit for this game. I dropped the AMC role and Wilshere, and instead played Gabby up front alongside Adebayor, making a 4-2-2-2 formation. See below.

Things didn’t start particularly well, as we fell behind twice early on. We were caught out by a smart cross, before Lescott went up the other end and did the same, but and then failed to properly clear a few minutes later as they scored a second.

Once more, Young replied almost immediately, curling a free kick into the top corner to make it 2-2. After that, it was all Arsenal. Adebayor gave us the lead for the first time in first half stoppage time, linking up well with Gabby, and then got two more after the break, both also set up by his new strike partner.

The two up front worked well then. We did seem a little more rushed in the midfield without the extra man, but not too much, and Adebayor was doing well enough in dropping a bit deeper to receive the ball. The defence conceded two bad goals for the third game in a row, but as long as the attack continues getting goals, I’m not overly concerned.

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Arsenal vs. Reading – Premier League
29th November 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Gabby

Goals – Gabby (14, 79)

I was pleased enough with the 4-2-2-2 formation in the last fixture away to a side as decent as PSV, that I decided to try it again against lowly Reading in the league. The results were once again fairly encouraging.

The extra man upfront paid off with the first goal, as Gabby was on hand to finish after an Adebayor shot was blocked by the keeper. Although we dominated after that, we failed to get a second, and with Adebayor having a quiet afternoon bar his hand in the goal, I took him off and switched back to 4-2-3-1 for the last 15 minutes or so. The Reading defence were slow to adapt to the change, and we took advantage, with some good link up play resulting in a second for Gabby, rising high to nod home a Clichy cross.

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While 4-2-2-2 has been successful in these past couple of games, I don’t think I’m ready just yet to abandon my traditional 4-2-3-1. I think I’ll keep it in my locker for the games against the middling sides, but I’m not confident enough to try it out in the big games just yet. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that it’s a system that seems to make effective use of my players.

Having said all that, next up is relegation threatened Birmingham, followed by another meaningless Champions League fixture, so perhaps I’ll be sticking with it for a couple more games!

When I first started supporting the Gooners in the early nineties, we, like every team in the country, were predominately made up of British players, with the odd foreigner like Anders Limpar or John “Shoot!” Jensen thrown in for good measure. The arrival of Bergkamp and then Wenger heralded the start of the internationalisation of the team, but even then we still had a defence that was homegrown. Once the old guard made way we were left with the odd local boy like Ashley Cole or Sol Campbell, and while most supporters wouldn’t openly criticise Wenger for a lack of Englishness, most would remark that it would be nice to have one or two more at the club.

I can understand that sentiment, but I absolutely don’t share it. There is an obvious disconnect between fans and the superstar players of today, but even more so when it comes to those from around these parts. I don’t really like any of the players who represent the national team these days (with the exception of young Theo, who seems a fine upstanding sort), and I wouldn’t paticularly want to see any of them joining my club. Give me Cesc, Almunia and Van Persie.

Which makes me all the sadder that those three players will have to be moving on to new Football Manager pastures sooner rather than later. I might be building a new identity for the team, but it’s not necessarily one I feel any connection to.

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Middlesbrough vs. Arsenal – Premier League
24th October 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Wilshere

That 100% record is no more. Typically, it would be at somewhere like Middlesbrough.

A grim day for anyone hoping for entertainment would have been much worse were it not for a late flurry of activity in the last 15 minutes, when my players woke up and realised there was a game to be played. Yes, despite what seems to be a high number of shots, there was very little activity of any description for most of the afternoon.

After a run of league games where we won but looked far from convincing, things finally caught up with us. I could only hope this would be the spur needed to get us back to our early season form.

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Sunderland vs. Arsenal – Premier League
31st October 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Wilshere

Goals – Chimbonda (OG 10), Adebayor (31), Young (34), Bangoura (62)

I may have found a nemesis in the shape of Roy Keane. At least off the pitch, as his Sunderland team didn’t put up much of a fight on it. In the pre-match press, Keane tried to stir things up, claiming we hadn’t a chance of winning the title. The doubts crept in to a couple of the players who swallowed Keano’s tripe. So I responded in kind, saying that I didn’t think he could keep Sunderland (16th at the time) from being relegated this year.

What fun! Ex-Spurs scum Chimbonda put past his own keeper early on when he couldn’t react quick enough to a cross, and then Adebayor and Young gave us an unassailable 3-0 lead going into the break as Sunderland proved themselves inept at the back.

They pulled one back in the second half, but never looked like getting another, and then had Anton Ferdinand sent off towards the end.

I had another dig at Keane after the game. A couple of my players thought I was being unprofessional, but what do I care? Who can resist?

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Manager of the month for the third time running, and, for the first time since taking over, the board are now something more than just satisfied with my performance. They’re actually pleased!

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Krylja Sovetov vs. Arsenal – Champions League, Group Stage
4th November 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Lescott, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Young

Goals – Fabregas (32), Walcott (90+2)

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it yet, but the reason I’ve not been playing Veloso in any European games is because the little blighter is cup tied; a fact I was unaware of when I signed him. It’s my own fault. Turns out he played for Sporting in the UEFA/Europa Cup qualifying in the summer. Ah well, I would have bought him anyway.

Without him I’ve reverted to pushing Jagilka back into the middle of the park (with Cattermole playing in some fixtures). He did an admirable job and allowed his partner Fabregas to get forward and score our first with a low drive from the edge of the box. Walcott wrapped it up in the dying seconds and secured our progression to the next round of the competition with two games to spare, allowing for a bit of experimentation in those fixtures. I’m thinking perhaps going with the 4-2-2-2 formation suggested by Colin in the comments a little while back.

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Arsenal vs. Newcastle – Premier League
7th November 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Wilshere

Goals – Young (55), Gabby (90+1)

Our little round robin with the teams of the north-east finished with us comfortably beating a Newcastle side boasting the £6 million Huntelaar.

Great running from Wilshere and a wonderful pass to pick out Young lead to our first, and it was plain sailing from there, with the Geordies never really threatening. Gabby came off the bench and had a simple finish in stoppage time to bring his tally for the season to five in eleven appearances. Not too shabby, considering he hasn’t started too many of those on the pitch.

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Sitting pretty at the top with an eight point lead. Not somewhere I expected to be at this stage. Only conceding three goals thus far is a very nice bonus as well.

We’re now in the middle of November and here’s how the table looks:

Next up the youngsters continue the League Cup defence, with a fourth round tie away to Everton.

But I HAVE been on a good run lately.

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Arsenal vs. Chelsea – Premier League
26th September 2009
English starters: 5 – Foster, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere

Goals – Gabby (65)

Much like the Liverpool game, this was a tight game and one we probably didn’t deserve to win. Win we did though, care of a Gabby header at a corner. He was on replacing a woeful Adebayor, and it’s nice to have a genuinely great replacement ready to come off the bench.

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Panathinaikos vs. Arsenal – Champions League, Group Stage
16th September 2009
English starters: 5 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere

Goals – Adebayor (16), Wilshere (25), Lescott (78)

European progress continued apace with a very decent away performance. Adebayor scored a contender for goal of the season, as he picked up the ball just inside the opposition half, legged it down the right wing to the byline, before cutting back inside, beating two defenders, and rifling it home.

Wilshere pounced on a fumble from the keeper to make it two soon after, before Lescott grabbed his first goal for the club with a strong header.

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Arsenal vs. Man City – Premier League
4th October 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Young

Goals – Sagna (22), Lescott (29), Robinho (89)

While Man City haven’t been afraid to splash the cash in this game (spending about £70 millions this summer and over £100 million the year before), they haven’t so far gone down the Galacticos route. Their biggest outlay thus far has been about £16 million on Anotoliy Tymoschuk from Zenit. Hardly a marquee name to pull in the punters. However, they finished a creditable 6th last year and are currently threatening the Champions League places again, so they’re doing something right.

This was a much tighter affair than I would have liked. Although we took a commanding lead in the first half through two of our defenders (two in two for Lescott!), Man City came out all guns blazing in the second half, and it was remarkable that we managed to hold on until the dying minutes before conceding. Another three points I was very happy to take.

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Wigan vs. Arsenal – Premier League
7th October 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Randall, Gabby

Goals – Young (47)

We dominated the game, but didn’t create very many clear cut chances. Luckily, we took one of the only ones we did make, and Wigan couldn’t do likewise. ‘Nuff said.

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Bolton vs. Arsenal – Premier League
17th October 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Young, Young, Gabby

Goals – Adebayor (pen 83)

It looked like we were about to drop our first points in the league this season as a drab game drew to an end. Walcott found himself alone in the box though, and before he could get his shot away was scythed down and Adebayor converted the resulting penalty.

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Arsenal vs. Krylja Sovetov – Champions League, Group Stage
20th October 2009
English starters: 9 – Foster, Lescott, Gibbs, Jagielka, Cattermole, Walcott, Wilshere, Young, Gabby

Goals – Gabby (25), Wilshere (31)

Who are ya? Rotated in a few fringe players and still had enough to see these Russian upstarts off comfortably. One win away from the knock-out stages.

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There, hope that wasn’t too painful. Things are still going very well as you can see, although recent league results have been quite tight – too many one goal margins.

Next up we travel to the north east for a couple of games against Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

So far, it’s not happened.

Don’t get me wrong, Gabby is still very much a part of my plans. He’s played a handful of games this season already and looked good. It’s just that at this early stage in his Arsenal career he’s perhaps not going to be as central as originally envisioned.

At the start of the season I mused upon how best to accommodate the twin talents of Adebayor and Gabby in my starting eleven. Last year I had played 4-2-3-1 with Adebayor up front on his own, supported by a bevy of attacking players. The season as a whole might not have been an overwhelming success, but Adebayor was. I had no desire to sell the big Togolese striker just yet, so it looked like a change of formation was needed.

However, when this campaign kicked off, Gabby was injured, so I stuck with the old formation, and enjoyed great success. When it comes to attacking players to support the lone striker, my options this year are even stronger, and it’s shown. We’ve won all our games in the league so far, and made it safely through to the Champions League proper.

Now that Gabby is back to full fitness, it’s hard to see how he’s going to fit into the side. I don’t want to change a formation that seems to be paying dividends, or replace an in form striker.

So for now the young Englishman is just going to have to bide his time. He’ll still get plenty of match time this season, as I’ll rotate the frontmen to an extent, but it will be Adebayor who gets the most games. I could use Gabby out on the right, but similarly, he’s not going to dislodge Walcott from that position in all honesty.

With that sorted then, here is my starting line-up as I see it with everyone fit. Comments would be greatly appreciated!

Let’s get on to the games and see how this team (or as close as I can get it to – Veloso got injured for a start) has been fairing.

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Arsenal vs. Aston Villa – Premier League
12th September 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Taylor, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Young

Goals – Adebayor (5), Fabregas (7), Young (16), Modric (34), Wilshere (56)

Ah, fate! Yes, Ashley Young made his Arsenal debut against the team he’d just left, and made things doubly as painful for the Villans by running the show. He got down the left side early on to cross for Adebayor to score a header, and then after Fabregas had put in a rebound a couple of minutes later, he got his name on the scoresheet too. Pouncing on a slip in the defence he raced through and cooly slotted over Brad Friedel.

Luka Modric, a £23 million acquisition from Spurs in the summer, pulled one back for Aston Villa before the break, but the game was already won. Wilshere, at all of 5′7”, got another headed goal in the second half to wrap up a great performance all round.

And Michael Owen, Villa’s new talisman/albatross? A 6.0 rating, no shots on goal and an injury. Hmm.

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Arsenal vs. PSV – Champions League, Group Stage
16th September 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Taylor, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Young

Goals – Adebayor (8), (34), (pen 59), Walcott (24), Altidore (39)

The form continued into Europe. Even the spacing of the goals was similar. Adebayor repaid the faith with a well deserved hat-trick, and Walcott showed a poacher’s touch with a neat finish.

Great start to the European campaign.

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Liverpool vs. Arsenal – Premier League
19th September 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Taylor, Lescott, Jagielka, Bullard, Wilshere, Young

Goals – Van Persie (pen 90)

Liverpool may have won the Community Shield but I’ll take three points at Anfield over that any day.

Not that we necessarily deserved it. We really missed the injured Walcott. In a very tight game, it was Van Persie’s last minute spot kick that proved the difference. The Dutchman came on to replace a very poor Adebayor at half time, and while he didn’t do all that much better, he had enough composure when it mattered.

What made it all the sweeter is that it was dyed-in-the-wool-scouser Stevie G who gave away the penalty with a desperate lunge on Fabregas.

Everything’s coming up Arsenal!

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Watford vs. Arsenal – League Cup, 3rd Round
12th September 2009
English starters: 8 – Taylor, Gibbs, Hoyte, Lescott, Wilshere, Young, Randall, Sturridge

Goals – Wilshere (41), Sturridge (54), Priskin (72)

With things going well elsewhere thus far, it’s fair to say that defending our League Cup title is not top of our priorities right now, so it was a good chance to blood a few youngsters. Hoyte and Gibbs were back in the full-back positions, while Randall took the AMC position behind new signing Sturridge.

We played well enough without ever excelling. Sturridge’s performance was the most encouraging thing to take away from the proceedings. Watford threatened to force extra time towards the end, but we held on.

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No complaints so far then. Next up is Chelsea!

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Arsenal vs. Braga – Champions League, Best Placed 3rd Qualify Phase, 1st Leg
12th August 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Bullard

Goals – Adebayor (4), Bullard (29), Agbonlahor (57), (90)

It looks like there are going to be quite a few goals in this team this year.

The same line-up as in the Community Shield started brightly, Adebayor scoring early on. Bullard got a second on the half hour mark as things became very one sided.

Ade had a bit of a knock at half time, so Agbonlahor came on in the second half and scored his first Arsenal goals.

I managed to work out that this was indeed the only tie I would have to play in qualifying this season, so things were set up nicely for the second leg.

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Arsenal vs. Tottenham – Premier League
15th August 2009
English starters: 7 – Foster, Lescott, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Agbonlahor

Goals – Wilshere (4)

With Adebayor still nursing an injury, Agbonlahor made his full debut, but it was another young Englishman replacing a veteran (in this case Bullard) who made all the headlines.

Jack Wilshere will have to work hard to top days like this. Scoring the only goal in the 4th minute of a North London derby on the opening day of the season, and then picking up the man of the match award. It was a beauty as well, as the winger turned his man on the corner of the box and then, despite running away from goal, angled in a precise low, near-post finish.

The only other noticeable piece of action all day was Srna’s late sending off, although even before than, Tottenham never looked like threatening.

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Arsenal vs. West Ham – Premier League
22nd August 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere

Goals – Adebayor (8), Rosicky (78)

Van Persie’s injury in the previous game meant a start for Carlos Vela on the left and Wilshere continuing in the AMC role. Veloso had finally signed by this time, so he made his start in the middle of the park alongside Fabregas, while Jagielka moved back into defence to partner Taylor, and Lescott slotted into the left-back role.

It was another comfortable win. Wilshere linked up with Adebayor, who opened the scoring early again, and the late substitute Rosicky took advantage of West Ham having to chase the game, as he found plenty of space in the box and a lovely cross-field ball from Fabregas to wrap up the points.

Two London derbies and two wins = a happy start to the season all round.

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Braga vs. Arsenal – Champions League, Best Placed 3rd Qualify Phase, 2nd Leg
26th August 2009
English starters: 10 – Foster, Lescott, Taylor, Gibbs, Hoyte, Jagielka, Walcott, Bullard, Wilshere, Agbonlahor

Goals – Meyong (80)

As we were all but through after the first leg, I went with an almost all English side, Fabregas being the only foreigner. The encouraging thing to note is, that with the exception of Gibbs and Hoyte (and maybe Bullard and Wilshere to a lesser extent), all of these players are prominent first team players, or will prove to be.

Having said that, this wasn’t the greatest performance. Agbonlahor (OK, I’m officially starting this here – he’ll forthwith be known as Gabby) got injured in the 20th minute and is out for about a month, while, despite dominating possession and shots, we ended up losing.

We are through to the competition proper though! This is such a massive relief. God knows what would have happened if we’d missed out two years in a row.

Anyway, we’ve drawn PSV, Panathinaikos, and some Russian team called Krylja Sovetov in Group F. Eminently winnable, that.

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Plymouth vs. Arsenal – Premier League
29th August 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Jagielka, Walcott, Wilshere, Bullard

Goals – Bullard (19), Adebayor (32), (38), (59), Jagielka (42)

Plymouth won the playoffs last season after finishing 4th in the Championship, gaining promotion alongside Birmingham and Reading. Even at this early stage of the season though, it’s looking like it’s going to be a short-lived stay. After this result they are rock bottom of the table, with zero points, and zero goals.

This was never really a contest. The home team sat back from the very start, inviting wave upon wave of pressure, which we were only to happy to supply. Adebayor even found the time to miss a penalty.

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I’ve finished August top of the league with a game in hand, and as manager of the month. Equally as exciting, Ashley Young has finally joined the Arsenal! It took £35 million to convince Aston Villa to part with him in the end, but it’s finally done. I’ll ruminate on how he’s going to fit into my long-term plans and the team this year next time.

Miguel Veloso is in.

In the end, I couldn’t get Sporting Lisbon to go any lower than £19.25 million, so not only is he my first foreign purchase, he’s also the most expensive player in the club’s history (although that may be about to change, as I’m still on the trail of Ashley Young). I recouped that money, however, by shifting a few more fringe players. Alexandre Song and Philippe Senderos (remember him?) have gone to Newcastle for £5 million and £6.5 million respectively, while it was with a heavy heart that I saw Eduardo leave for Valencia for £11.25 million. He’d only been a bit part player last year, and there’s really no long-term future for him under this regime.

Pre-season friendlies went better than last season’s, and Mark Randall, a young English attacking midfielder, was particularly impressive, scoring five goals in three games. He doesn’t really have the stats to suggest he will ever amount to anything in the long-term, but I figure he’s at least earnt a chance to train with the first team this year and maybe pick-up a few more starts here and there.

Anyway, those friendly results consisted of 6-0 and 4-0 wins against Boreham Wood and Club Brugge, a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, 3-0 wins against Barnet and my Thai feeder club, BEC, before finishing things off with an epic 4-4 draw against Getafe. In that one the youngsters had a bit of nightmare in the first half, going down 3-1. I brought on a couple of the big guns in the second half and we quickly came back and grabbed a 4-3 lead, only to concede a last minute equaliser.

With the friendlies out of the way it was time for the start of the season and the biggest glorified friendly of all – the Community Shield.

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Arsenal vs. Liverpool – Community Shield
9th August 2009
English starters: 6 – Foster, Lescott, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott, Bullard

Goals – Torres (7), Keane (16), Van Persie (45), Gerrard (47), Fabregas (84)

Veloso hadn’t arrived by this point, so Jagielka kept his place as the holding midfielder and Lescott made his debut partnering Taylor at the back. Apart from that it was a similar line-up to the one that I’d put out last season. The formation remained the same as well, 4-2-3-1. I’ll discuss my formation in a bit more depth next time, and how best to adapt it to suit my players this year, but for now, it was business as usual.

Some shoddy defending all round allowed Torres to steal in and meet a cross early on, before Keane found himself with too much time to turn and pick his shot a little while afterwards.

It was a very open game, and finely poised at half time, as Van Persie got his reward for some persistent play, charging down a clearance, getting a lucky bounce and coolly slotting past Reina. We were back in the tie, but it didn’t last very long, as Gerrard walloped a wonderful free kick into the top corner from 35 yards soon after the break.

We did ensure the last few minutes were tight though. Fabregas drove his team on, meeting a headed clearance on the volley just outside the box, and sweeping the ball home.

It wasn’t enough in the end. But then, no one remembers who wins this thing.

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In the Champions League qualifying meanwhile, we’ve been drawn against Braga. Easy enough on paper, and definitely less of a headache than last year’s Atletico calamity, but I’m confused. We play them in what’s called the ‘Best Placed Third Qualifying Phase’. What the hell is that, and does it involve playing another knockout afterwards? I suppose we’ll find out.

First, those unlucky few who are leaving behind the hallowed turf of the Emirates.

Owen was the first to be shifted, and Aston Villa the poor club to have taken him on. I thought his wages might be a sticking point, but he’s actually come out of it with a very slight pay rise. I recouped an absurd £7.5 million for him, almost twice what he cost. I am annoyed though, because I had been negotiating for other Villa players that I wanted to sign (see below) and offered Owen up as part of a swap deal (along with other players), but when the deal was accepted by both clubs, it would always collapse as Michael decided he didn’t want to go. I’d imagine becoming a makeweight in a deal for a younger, better player than yourself can be quite humiliating for a former Balon D’Or winner.

Silvestre was next to go (£3.5 million to Racing Santander), and Gallas soon followed (£8.5 million to Milan), as the restructuring of the defence began in earnest. I thought about hanging on to Gallas for one more year, but there are no shortage of decent English defenders in this game it seems, and it allowed me to replace him as captain with Fabregas (Jagielka as vice-captain) without the risk of upsetting him and his allies in the side. (Yes, I’m a coward).

My two reserve goalies were also out, as Fabianski and Mannone both moved to Italy – Udinese and Genoa respectively.

The other big departure was Samir Nasri, who went up north to Liverpool for £16 million. He never really convinced last season, and there are other up and coming options for the left wing.

Other than that, a few youngsters were let go and a few farmed out on loan. In total I’ve brought in £42.5 million, and that, coupled with the extra £15.75 million later made available by the board, gave me a new total of about £130 million to spend. Tasty.

So who’s in?

Ben Foster completed his move from Man U at the start of the window for £10.5 million, and will shift Almunia to the bench. I’ve snapped up another young keeper on the advice of a commenter (sorry, I’ve forgotten who!), Alex Smithies, who had been released by Huddersfield, and, I’ve been assured, has great things in his future.

Another free transfer was completed as Daniel Sturridge, stalling on a new Man City deal, decided to pitch up at his boyhood club instead. The fans were pleased, and he’ll definitely get a decent run in the League Cup at the very least this year, where he may be joined by Fabian Delph, the attacking midfielder from Leeds, who has arrived for £2 million.

The biggest signing so far has been Gabriel Agbonlahor for £17 million. I will want to throw him into the team from the off, but I can’t realistically drop Adebayor, so a change of formation to something employing two strikers might be called for.

With the departure of Silvestre and Gallas, a big name centre back was need, and Joleon Lescott fit the bill, as Everton were finally persuaded to part with him for £14 million. I think I have very good options at the back now, with Taylor, Jagielka and Lescott, and promising full backs in the shape of Kieran Gibbs, Gavin Hoyte and Kerrea Gilbert coming through.

I’ve spent £43.5 million, but I have my sights set on one or two other major signings. Ashley Young is key amongst them. Villa, however, are playing hardball. I’ve offered up to £25 million for him and they’ve come back demanding more than double that. I have the money to spend, but I don’t want to be taken for a ride, so I’ll see if I can get them under £30 million.

Another player I’m considering is someone who may prove controversial. Miguel Veloso. Definitely not English. Doesn’t even speak English. But hear me out.

While I am trying to build an all English team, there is nothing in my (self-imposed) rules to say I can’t buy the odd foreign player along the way. My target is five English starters in every game this season, so if I can sign Veloso and still maintain that, then why not? I’ve started tentative negotiations with his club, Sporting Lisbon, and it looks like he’ll be available for £17 million or thereabouts, and while he will have to leave a couple of years down the line, I’ll probably make a profit on him when he does.

Personally I’m torn though. He would almost certainly prove to be a key player in my team, and would provide a good defensive base in midfield around which to begin bedding in some English youngsters, but at the same time, he would be denying an English player a chance to make that position his own. Then again, the only current English holding midfielders in the side are Cattermole and Jagielka, one of whom is almost certainly not up to the job, and the other is better suited to playing at the back. I’ve made a move for Jack Rodwell of Everton, but even if he comes he won’t be ready for the first team from the off, and it’s a similar position for a promising young DMC from my youth set-up, James Dunne.

It’s been a while since I handed over a decision to you wonderfully decisive people, so I thought I’d settle this one with a poll.

Should I sign Miguel Veloso?(online poll)

Putting aside the individual performances of my players and my new signings, and focusing on the bigger picture, it’s quite apparent that a failure to reach the Champions League proper and a fourth place finish in the league is just not good enough for a team like Arsenal. My job status at the end of the season was ‘Insecure’.

However, the board seem to be keeping faith with me, seeing as how they’ve just offered me a new two year deal. I’ve received a pay rise as well. I did think about trying to negotiate, seeing how much I could squeeze out of them, for my own amusement if nothing else, but reasoned that that’s probably not something a man in my position should be doing.

The board also seem to have lowered their expectations for the coming year. They expect me to qualify for the Champions League at most. They’re even willing to give me a generous transfer budget of £72 million.

So my status at the club seems to be secure in the short term at least. Now it’s time to assess the squad in preparation for any summer wheeling and dealing. I’ll start with my new boys.

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Phil Jagielka – By far the most successful of my signings, but then he was always likely to be. He was an ever-present, starting the season in the back four, but then playing the latter half as a holding player in the midfield. He proved equally adept at either and finished the year with a solid 7.01 rating. In the long term I’ll hopefully move him back into defence, but that all depends on whether I can find the right balance in the middle of the park without him.

Steven Taylor – My most expensive signing. He’ll definitely be here for the long-term, and this was a solid enough first year. Will partner Jagielka soon if all goes to plan.

Lee Cattermole – Although he’s still young, I’m starting to think he may not be cut out for football at this level. He played 20 or so games as a holding midfielder, averaging 6.89, but too many uninspiring performances resulted in him sitting out the latter half of the season and watching Jagielka come in and do his job better. Still, at 21 he’s young enough to be given more time, and even if he never quite becomes the finished article, he’s a useful squad player to have.

Michael Owen – An utter disappointment from start to finish. Unable or unwilling to adapt his game to suit the team’s style, and I wasn’t prepared to change everything else to accommodate him. In retrospect, this was never going to work, but the chances are that (if someone will match his wages) I’ll sell him for more than I signed him. Managed 5 goals in 16 league appearances, and won’t be missed.

Jose Baxter – The young Everton recruit got some decent experience under his belt this year, making 8 league appearances and being involved with the first team a great deal. With little options on the right wing, found himself as the only backup when Walcott was out.

Nathan Delfouneso – Spent the season on loan at Colchester United, where the 18 year old striker made 13 appearances and scored 4 goals. I’ll farm him out this year as well in all likelihood.

Mark Beevers – On loan at Wolves, but didn’t set the world alight.

John Bostock – Although he cost £4.3 million, he’s still only 17, and so wasn’t involved this year. Next year he’ll hopefully pick up some more experience on loan.

Jimmy Bullard – My only January signing, and for a while looked to be the best bit of business I’d done all season. Started his Arsenal career at full pelt, slotting into the troublesome AMC position and popping up with some vital goals. Unfortunately fell away towards the end of the season and began to find himself out of the team more often than not. At 30 years old, he was never going to be a long term solution anyway, but he’s another useful player to have around, and his presence does wonders for team spirit. Worth the £2 million he cost for that alone.

Overall, a mixed bag from the new signings.. Only Jagielka and Taylor can claim to be first choice starters at this point, although that’s not altogether surprising.

Walcott has been the other English ever present, and he’s been immense. His pace has proven to be one of the biggest tools in my armoury this season, and he has chipped in with 7 goals and 8 assists in the league.

As for the rest of the team, the standouts have been the usual suspects. Adebayor got 21 league goals and really led the line well, while Fabregas was, as expected, the lynchpin of my midfield. I dread the day when I have to replace either of them.

I’m going to try and bring in Agbonlahor this summer and build on his pace to create an immense all-round striking talent, but I can still foresee Adebayor being the main man up front for next season.

When it comes to other English players, I might make one other major signing, probably in the defence department. Perhaps ship out Gallas and try to get hold of someone like Richards or Lescott. Ben Foster is already on board, as negotiated earlier in the season, so that’s another spot filled as we aim for a minimum of five Englishmen starting every game next year.

I’m still mulling things over currently. I’ll update you on the summer’s comings and going in the next post. Meanwhile, feel free to comment with suggestions!

Middlesbrough vs. Arsenal– FA Cup Final
30th May 2009
English starters: 4 – Gibbs, Taylor, Jagielka, Walcott

Goals – Walcott (48), Van Persie (67), Pogatetz (OG 90+2)

The media predicted a close game, but in the end it was very comfortable indeed.

I started with a mostly unchanged line-up, only dropping Vela for Nasri in the AMC role. Middlesbrough, as you can see, started with a very defensive formation and never really looked to attack at all.

The first half saw few chances, although Nasri almost opened the scoring very early on, as his header sailed just millimetres past the post in the 7th minute. Walcott continued his season long torment of left-backs, as he beat Arsenal old boy, Justin Hoyte, time and again. In the 28th minute he played a wonderfully tempting ball across the six yard box, but there was no one following in to get on the end of it. Typical Arsenal.

In the half-time team talk I geed up the lads and had a quite word in the ears of both Walcott and Van Persie, encouraging them to think that they could win this one for us. Turns out management is as easy as that, as within three minutes of the restart, Walcott had put us in front.

Receiving the ball from Jagielka on the edge of the box, he burst into the area on the outside of his defender, before cracking a shot past the keeper at the near post from a prohibitive angle.

From that point on it was all Arsenal. Adebayor almost added a second soon afterwards, forcing a smart save from Brad Jones, before Van Persie essentially wrapped up the match with a sumptuous free kick scored from the edge of the D on 67 minutes.

Middlesbrough didn’t create anything of note until the 85th minute, when Julio Arca snapped off a hopeful effort in the box after a scramble, only to see it fly high and wide. Things got worse for Boro as they conceded a third in injury time. Walcott again caused havoc out wide, sent over a low ball to the near post, and Pogatetz, under pressure from Adebayor, scrambled it into his own net.

The final whistle went and the Arsenal fans began celebrating the second cup double in the club’s history, while also revelling in the knowledge that the team has also drawn level with Manchester United on eleven FA Cup triumphs.

Will it all be enough for me though? Thoughts on that, as well as an assessment of the squad, in the next post.