Epic?

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Good morning from me, I hope all is well in the sunshine of this February day. Arsenal vs Liverpool. It’s going to be massive. So dust off that hangover and start getting excited.

First up though, Ray Parlour was in the press talking about Arsenal’s finances. He dropped this little pearler into his Daily Mail column.

‘I understand why supporters are frustrated at the lack of trophies, but there has been an awful lot going on inside the club during that time. I know for a fact Arsene didn’t have a lot of money to spend. It all went into the stadium, trying to pay it off as quickly as they can.’

Now there Ray, this looks like a bit of creative revisionism going on here. Sure, when we moved, Arsenal were broke. We had to defer the Robin Van Persie transfer because we were strapped for cash. However, reading Ray rewriting history feels a bit PR to me.

Firstly, Arsenal are tied into a long term mortgage. So we can’t pay off the stadium early. That’s a total nonsense statement from the off. Secondly, we didn’t have to play the skint card through that period. Stan could have invested some of his billions in the club to give us a cash boost, but he didn’t. Why? Because it didn’t suit him to. The sustainable model simply meant that his investment was worth more when the new commercials dropped.

We’ve also always had a pretty large wage bill. Wages correlate to league position in the main. So while Wenger has done a good job over the years, he hasn’t exactly performed miracles. He’s spent less on transfers, but he’s spent a shedload of cash on wages. So much so, he cleared £500k a week off our books last summer by shifting deadwood that didn’t play.

Someone made an interesting point about transfers. Whilst the manager hasn’t had cash like City, he has had funds, he just hasn’t spent it particularly well. The summer we missed out on Chelsea, Arsene opted instead to spend £24m on a teenager from league one and Gervinho. One went on to be twice player of the year for Chelsea, the other two… well, one is in Italy after being a total flop, the other is still trying to make his mark.

Point is, Arsenal can’t plead poverty. We’ve just been impoverished compared to Chelsea and City. During that same time, Ferguson, using sustainable funds, more than matched them. So whilst money is important, it’s not the only factor that drives success.

Onto today. Liverpool. It’s going to be a tough game. I’m not hugely confident if I’m honest. Their two strikers are going to be a nightmare and I fear that away from home, they might turn it on.

Still, we’ve both had a week off. Both teams will be energised and well drilled. So the encounter doesn’t have any excuses wrapped around it. The better team will win. On paper, that’s us. How that plays out in reality is another story. Brendan Rodgers has injected a new belief into that Liverpool side. Today is a cup final for his boys. If they lose, they’re out of the title race. If they win, they close the gap and they’ll get a boost of momentum.

For Arsenal, a loss and the next 3 weeks start to look depressing. Win and it could be the start of something glorious. It’s a massive game for both side and the game has epic written all over it!

Right, see you in the comments, enjoy the game!

1,831 Responses to “Epic?”

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  10. Dissenter

    That was not a free kick by any stretch. Michael Oliver is an idiot.
    That said, horrific defending.
    An Giroud! surely he should be shooting from that chance.

  13. Craigy

    Now we got giroud chasing the ball, not good! I’m confident we’ll shut these scouse cunts up, including Michael fuckstick owen

  17. DaleDaGooner

    No offside there? And he stops the game to give a stupid non foul? Then Giroud can’t control a lovely pass?

  22. Craigy

    Why does wenger always do this, oxo has one of the best performances in an arsenal shirt in the middle, what does wenger do, shunt him out on the right, he’s bang out of order

  40. Sensible old man

    N5- where the fuck did I say ‘I hope we lose’ – I said being realistic we will lose 3-1 – and I’m being proved right. TWO NIL DOWN IN NINE MINUTES MY FUCKING PREDICITON OF 3-1 IS LOOKING LIKE A GOOD RESULT NOW! LETS HOPE IT AINT FUCKING 8-2!!!!!!

  52. Craigy

    Now we have to endure this commentary from this utter cunt, and what more where chasing the ge with giroud ha ha, not to say he want score, but it’s not good is it! Wel done wenger! Gambled our season once again

  53. N5

    Old man, I didn’t say we wouldn’t lose either, but I can’t for the life of me ever find a post from you complimenting anything on the team you “support”. You are always moaning and negative even when we’re winning.

  68. TT

    need to wake up. their defence is suspect and we have not once put them under pressure for real.

    cant help thinking he boutched the team selection.

  96. Arsene's Nurse

    Good lord they are cutting us to absolute shreds. They could score double figures here. We look shell shocked.

  101. Wenger Plastic Bottle

    lol peoples comments like Wenger did his homework against Liverpool. I can imagine old boy Gerard bossing midfield. So predictable. Giroud fuck off!

  121. hackneylad

    I am not watching this shit! I am sick and tired of this club bottling it at every opportunity!

    WE can never win the big games against the big teams!

    The players are like lost children adidos!

  133. andy1886

    Where the fuck was Kos?? He’s been fuckin nowhere today, at least Mert got back, where the fuck was the frenchman??

  143. Arsene's Nurse

    Wow, Ozil gives the ball away again and they score. I’ve never seen something like this before. Season over. 4-0.