Arsenal's total football was exhilarating at Anfield last night - the flair, the skills, the kinship, the style... Arsene Wenger is a maestro who should be treasured by the English game. From the vastly improved Almunia to the startlingly talented Aliadiere, the reserve Gunners were stratospheric. Compare the style of these Arsenal second-stringers with O'Shea, Fletcher, Smith, Sylvestre, Bardsley, Rossi, Park, Kuszczak etc - no comparison.
In an age when so much on offer in the Premiership is dross, it is criminal that there are high-level machinations against the principled entertainers of Arsenal. Don't get me wrong, Arsenal utilise their power in a similar manner to any other big club. David Dein is currently Chairman of the G14(18) and, historically, Arsenal have always maximised their leverage in the domestic game. But the new power structures in the England are determinedly anti-Gunner. We believe that Wenger/ Dein are aware of the hidden agenda against their team but that they choose to attempt to rise above the tawdry world of cartelised corruption.
For legal reasons we must take care in our individualisation of particular fixed events and, consequently, we are limited to talking in general terms on this blog with respect to specific manipulations. Notwithstanding this proviso, we believe that Arsenal have been denied 13 points in season 2006/07 via a variety of manipulations against their interests. Arsenal would lie 2 points behind Man U with an easier second half of the campaign ahead if their events had been clean.
Looking at the domestic cup competitions - Arsenal have been randomly drawn against WBA (a), Everton (a), Liverpool (a), Tottenham (h/a), Liverpool (a) and Bolton (h) which is a bit more challenging than Wycombe, Macclesfield and Nottingham Forest, for example.
Although it is admirable to maintain your strategy despite criminal perturbations, Arsenal need to become more creatively proactive in their dealings with the new power pyramid or face a future where they are effectively chasing the Premiership title with a built-in handicap. It's just like horseracing really!
