http://arsenal-mania.com/feeds The Arsenal Website For Arsenal Fans 2011-09-04T14:46:01Z http://arsenal-mania.com http://static.arsenal-mania.com/favicon.ico text/html 2011-09-03T09:30:22Z http://arsenal-mania.com Antonio Gramsci http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110431/The-Charles-Atlas-course-with-DYNAMIC-TENSION.html When I was a child, I was an avid consumer of comic books (long before the intellectual-sounding appellation "graphic novel" was invented) and I was always amused by the advert on the back cover. It would invariably be for one of the most horrible products on earth, and the worst of the worst was for the society-building colony of "sea monkeys" who would begin life as a powder in a packet and end it as...well, in theory, it would be a monkey-like water-dwelling king (wearing a crown, no less) surrounded by his subjects, who would have built large structures in the bottom of your aquarium that resembled Incan ruins. From my understanding, the actual sea monkey colony were a sort of krill that floated around passively and possessed no carpentry skills whatsoever. text/html 2011-09-01T21:33:39Z http://arsenal-mania.com Zee Ko http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110430/Wengerball.html Having started supporting the Arsenal shortly after Arsene Wenger's arrival at Highbury, this writer has known no other brand of football. While the focus as always has been on pretty football triangles on the pitch, the barren run of trophyless seasons have slightly dampened the enthusiasm of the average Arsenal fan. text/html 2011-09-01T12:30:00Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110428/Arsenal-finally-showing-some-ambition.html All hope for this season is not lost. It's a shame it took an 8-2 defeat to provoke this, but at last we have spent some money on some new players, with a transfer window deadline day to remember. text/html 2011-09-01T10:07:08Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110429/Wenger-The-man-who-turned-down-greatness.html Ten years ago a 6-1 demolition by Manchester United at Old Trafford was followed by a title win there the following season. We got our own back, big time, and have been paying for it ever since. Sir Alex Ferguson was all set to retire at the end of 2001/02, and more than the double itself or the unbeaten season that followed shortly after, that would have been the best thing for Arsenal Football Club. text/html 2011-08-31T12:59:26Z http://arsenal-mania.com The Brain http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110427/How-the-end-of-the-window-will-shape-our-system.html For Manchester United, the result was merely a confirmation of what we already knew; that you shouldn't doubt Sir Alex Ferguson's team building and his ability to recast a side. Even so, his young team had a bit to answer and they did, in utterly ruthless fashion destroying Arsenal by 8-2. For Arsenal, the defeat is seen by some as a watershed. It's not the end of ArsEne Wenger - and it's not the moment the club loses it's grip on the top four places - because he's the one keeping them afloat. But it could signal an end to some of the "Wengerisms" that fans have recently began to question. In the lead up to the last days of Tony Blair's reign, dissatisfaction was becoming increasing vocal and people tired of the "Blairisms"; the spin, the overwhelming focus on style over substance and while it's not the same with Wenger, it's obvious some changes need to be made to win back fans and not an upheaval at the top which happened with Blair replaced by Gordon Brown. text/html 2011-08-30T13:39:57Z http://arsenal-mania.com Antonio Gramsci http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110426/Absolutely-nothing.html I don't really know what to say when you've taken a really terrible punch or stream of verbal abuse or maybe even just indifference from someone you love, especially if you've taken it repeatedly, and especially if the person doing the hurting acts as though you've no right to feel hurt at all. What to say? text/html 2011-08-28T10:01:50Z http://arsenal-mania.com Zee Ko http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110425/Wingless-wonders.html Any Arsenal fan worth his or her salt can probably tell you that the Arsenal team of late is looking a little bit imbalanced. text/html 2011-08-26T22:51:31Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110424/Campbell-offered-Arsenal-coaching-role.html Former Gunner Sol Campbell has reportedly been offered a coaching role at Arsenal, according to The Guardian. text/html 2011-08-25T12:55:51Z http://arsenal-mania.com Zee Ko http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110423/Wengerball.html Having started supporting the Arsenal shortly after Arsene Wenger's arrival at Highbury, this writer has known no other brand of football. While the focus as always has been on pretty football triangles on the pitch, the barren run of trophyless seasons have slightly dampened the enthusiasm of the average Arsenal fan. text/html 2011-08-25T12:10:29Z http://arsenal-mania.com Joel Che http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110422/To-those-players-who-still-want-to-play-for-Arsenal.html While Arsenal's obituary is being written and a storm gathers (at least in text and print) over the Emirates, Arsène Wenger and the board, it turns out we have rudely forgotten those who are left and want to be there. As the talk has been about those who are not there - the ones that have left and the ones that are not signed - those with Arsenal shirts seem to have been dismissed as no-hopers. text/html 2011-08-24T22:29:58Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110421/Champions-League-football-can-attract-big-names-if-Wenger-wants-them.html We'll never really know what's going on inside Wenger's head, and selling Samir Nasri on the day of one of our most season-defining games for years was a risky move, but now let's hope some serious business in the transfer market can begin. text/html 2011-08-22T13:10:30Z http://arsenal-mania.com Joel Che http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110420/An-essay-Seven-ideas-for-Arsenal.html Last year was a watershed season for me. I did not watch the last few games even when there was a lot a stake. It is sad when you know your team is going to screw it up before they actually do. It is heartbreaking when you know they can do better. text/html 2011-08-22T06:30:28Z http://arsenal-mania.com Antonio Gramsci http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110419/The-killer-is.html With the assumption that you saw the Arsenal v Liverpool match, and that you saw the same things the rest of us did, I'll spare you an armchair analysis or a recounting of the horror show that was a 2-0 loss to a decidedly unambitious bunch of visitors. text/html 2011-08-20T00:58:55Z http://arsenal-mania.com Asser Ghozlan http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110418/Respect-is-a-two-way-street.html When David Dein speaks, we listen. Or at least most of us listen, most, not all, but most of the time. A man of not many words, he knows his stuff, be it financially as by trade or be it all things football and Arsenal in particular. A real visionary, a real Arsenal man, and the catalyst, the spark, behind our emergence as a great power during the mid 1990s. That did of course go hand in hand due to his perceptive appointment and formidable friendship, partnership, and alliance with one Arsène Wenger. text/html 2011-08-19T16:49:52Z http://arsenal-mania.com Zee Ko http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110417/Wengerball.html Having started supporting the Arsenal shortly after Arsene Wenger's arrival at Highbury, this writer has known no other brand of football. While the focus as always has been on pretty football triangles on the pitch, the barren run of trophyless seasons have slightly dampened the enthusiasm of the average Arsenal fan. text/html 2011-08-17T19:35:16Z http://arsenal-mania.com Antonio Gramsci http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110416/I-dont-care-mon-frere.html I wanted my feelings about this "deal" to be my own, not influenced by the words of the manager, the player, the agent, the pundits, the players of the other team, or anyone else. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but read the excellent post-mortem by Helen Trantum, which I feel did sum up the "saga" in a precise manner. text/html 2011-08-17T15:01:44Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110415/Wenger-has-to-stop-talking.html Can someone, somewhere, please, please, please shut Wenger up? It's one thing having to watch his distinctly average team play the slowest and most boring football in the country, but why does he have to embarrass himself further off the pitch? text/html 2011-08-16T21:41:15Z http://arsenal-mania.com Helen Trantum http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110414/Novelty.html So Fabregas has flown the nest, and there is a feeling (in this house at least) that now the cuckoo has gone, the rest of the baby birds might spread their wings a little. In the same way that Fabregas blossomed when the old guard left the club, tonight is the perfect platform for our younger players to step up, and prove that Wenger's trust in them is deserved. text/html 2011-08-16T14:53:12Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110412/Villas-Bias---comments-that-Wenger-would-not-get-away-with.html Do these comments sound familiar to you? Do they perhaps sound like the frustrated sulky French manager that the media loves to hate? text/html 2011-08-15T14:30:00Z http://arsenal-mania.com Paul Williams http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110413/Agent-Provocateur.html And so it ends. Our worst fears come true and this morning we've all been treated to the sight of Cesc Fabregas kissing the badge. The Barcelona badge. Regular readers will know that I thought Cesc was a gonner last summer- his body language appeared to indicate that his heart was no longer in it. Last summer though, he was persuaded by his manager to give it one last go. Or, if you prefer, told that he had a rather lucrative contract to honour. I think it's fair to say that, like Thierry Henry before him, the one last push didn't quite work out for him. Or us. And so there is a inevitability to his departure. text/html 2011-08-15T11:25:00Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110411/Cesc-Fabregas---Arsenal-legend-or-not.html It's finally happened, and although it's something of a relief to be done with the whole saga, this is a sad day for Arsenal. text/html 2011-08-14T18:50:25Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110410/Young-provides-the-spark-that-Arsenal-and-Chelsea-are-missing.html Arsenal and Chelsea needed a fast and tricky winger more than United did this summer, but somehow both missed out on Ashley Young, one of the best in the business. I now suspect the Arsenal fan from Hertfordshire will be the difference for United this season. text/html 2011-08-14T10:25:00Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110409/Poor-show-Arsenal.html What a nasty way to start the season. Despite an air of pessimism in the Arsenal world recently, I think the prospect of forgetting all our woes and enjoying an actual game of football was one that was actually giving gooners something to be excited about at last. text/html 2011-08-12T14:44:07Z http://arsenal-mania.com Mark Brus http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110408/Eboue-has-disappeared.html Forget Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri - Emmanuel Eboue looks to be on his way out of Arsenal, with the official site refusing to acknowledge his existence in the squad numbers for this season. text/html 2011-08-12T07:33:06Z http://arsenal-mania.com Helen Trantum http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3110407/Head-v-heart.html Signed for pennies, (soon to be) sold for pounds, and with plenty of good memories in between. One of my favourite ever players at the Arsenal, with fire and passion as well as quality, who single handedly won us game after game at his peak, and scored *that* goal against *them* from up the road. And yet, and yet. The events of this summer have tarnished my memories of a player I thought would write himself into Arsenal history as a legend, as "Cesc Fabregas, AFC".