Florentino Perez is a F*cking Idiot

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The Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has come out yet again to talk about Mesut Ozil, in an attempt to deflect any responsibility of selling the player with the highest assist rate in Europe.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Sami Khedira, Joachim Low amongst other high profile names in football have expressed their surprise and dismay at Ozil being allowed to leave Real Madrid. Even the Real Madrid fans were upset; reportedly chanting that Ozil was not for sale during Gareth Bale’s unveiling at the Bernabeu.

So after talking about Ozil’s personal life (classy) he’s now come out and said:

“The player asked to leave and nobody here should be upset about it. He couldn’t handle the pressure at Madrid,”

Okay Perez, let’s go through your statement shall we?

He had (and still has) the highest number of assists in Europe. He has played in the Champions League, World Cup and European Championships. He’s won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and been in the Euro 2012 Team of the Year and had the most assist in the 2013 World Cup.

I would be inclined to ask what the hell are they smoking over there at the Bernabeu?

If that wasn’t ridiculous enough, Perez had this to say about Jose Mourinho:

“He’s a coach who gave Madrid a lot, we’ve taken a real stride forward because of him, especially in Europe.

“I like him and he did great things for the club. His values and way of seeing things is the right one.”

Right, so this was the Jose Mourinho that caused loads of friction in the board room, dropped Real Madrid favourite Iker Casillas and had issues with some of the big names at the club such as Jose Mourinho and even Ronaldo towards the end of his Real Madrid reign. He also engineered a move away from Madrid so he could join Chelsea.

Seriously, Perez is one massive c*nt.

Why Thierry Henry Is The Greatest Player To Ever Grace The Game

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There are only two things in this world I will never understand; If there is a God, then why does he let bad things happen? And how did Thierry Henry never win the World Player of the Year Award?

My Arsenal bias aside, for me, Thierry Henry is one of the most underrated players ever to play the game and one of the greatest ever as far as I’m concerned.

In terms of pure goalscoring at the top level, Thierry is near on untouchable. He smashed Arsenal’s goalscoring record set by the great Ian Wright, and has won every major international honour going and every league title in every league he’s played in. He’s also won The Champions League, countless FA Cups, Copa del Reys, and even a UEFA Super Cup and Fifa World Club Cup to boot.

Added to that, he’s France’s all time top goalscorer, third in the list of all time Premier League goalscorers (only behind Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole) and the highest scoring foreigner to play in England. He’s also got a shed load of personal awards and accolades, and was voted the greatest foreign player ever to play in the Premier League.

And his goalscoring record for Arsenal is bordering on the unbelievable. His first season in England (the one where players need to “settle” into the league) he notched up 26 goals in all competitions. After that, he scored 22, 32, 32, 39, 30, 33 and 12 in the next 7 campaigns.

On paper then, Henry’s record is flawless.

But it’s not just records where the king excels. His recent comeback to Arsenal has been an emotional roller coaster for Arsenal fans, and something of a fairytale for supporters and the man himself.

Fernando Torres, a man with 18 games and 0 goals (I believe, I can’t be bothered to check) was bought for £50 million only a year ago. Thierry Henry, a man who has been away from England for 6 years has had a total playing time of 96 minutes, and scored 3 goals – 2 of them dramatic match winners.

Have legends like Zidane, Maradona or Pele managed to do this? The simple answer is no.

And besides all that, it is Thierry’s level of consistency at the highest level which makes him the greatest for me. He has played 17 seasons at the top top level – for Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal and Barcelona – and raked up 316 goals in 4 of the best leagues in Europe. This gives him an average of 19 goals per season, which is hugely impressive in itself. Take the goals per season average just for the Arsenal and Barcelona campaigns then the average is even more impressive, giving exactly 25 goals per season. And that includes his injury-ravaged final seasons at both clubs.

You have players like Messi, Maradona, Ronaldo, Pele, Zidane, Platini, Best, etc. who could be considered the greatest ever but have any of them maintained a 17 year consistency like Thierry Henry?

And Henry has lit up so many matches and given the fans so many special moments it’s hard to count how many there have been.

My final argument for Henry being the greatest is that he won the league several times, was part of the team that went unbeaten a whole season and won other honours with Arsenal. Arsenal are a fantastic side with a beautiful history, but it’s not unreasonable to say we are not one of the most, how can I put this, naturally biggest football clubs. We are competing at the top level because of Arsene Wenger but we don’t have the bottomless pit of money other teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and others have.

So in that sense, Thierry’s accomplishments are even more outstanding. He didn’t join a massive club when he arrived so to do all he has done is all the more impressive. He didn’t achieve his honours and records with a team such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United.

I’m not saying players like Messi, Ronaldinho, Zidane and Ronaldo aren’t great, but it is much easier to achieve honours and accolades with a more prestigious football club with the infrastructure to bring in the worlds best players.

You might think I’m crazy, but Thierry Henry is not just the king of Arsenal, but he is the king of football.

Cue the abuse!

Last Minute Edit: I’ve also just checked and of the all-time greatest goalscorers Thierry Henry has the best goals to goals per game ratio, at 0.68, compared to the next best of Alan Shearer who’s record is 0.59 goals per game.

A Tough Night in Marseille (w/ Player Ratings)

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Marseille (1) – (2) Arsenal
Walcott 65′, Ramsey 84′
Stade Velodrome, Marseille
Champions League Group Stage

Arsenal did well to win the game and get through what was a tough night in Marseille.

I haven’t seen much of Marseille but from what they showed last night, they’re a very physical side. They go into challenges 110% and I did think some of the “tackles” they made were well over the top, especially for Europe. The incident when Mathieu Flamini was literally thrown to the ground was unbelievable and how the referee didn’t blow for that was amazing. The referee on the whole was okay, but in trying to “let the game flow” failed to pick up on some blatant fouls.

For large portions of the game, Marseille were the better team, without really threatening until the second half. We huffed and we puffed but couldn’t get our rhythm going and it was one of those nights where we had to dig in deep to get a result, and that’s exactly what we did.

The home side did well to keep us at bay and they were compact, quick and strong into the challenges. We struggled to impose ourselves on the game in an attacking sense and on 65 minutes Theo Walcott scored what was a really fantastic goal. Gibbs linked well with Wilshere on the left hand side, sent in a decent cross which Morel failed to clear. The ball seemed to take an eternity to come down but Theo blasted the ball first time into the top corner of the net.

What a volley!

After that, the game opened up and we managed to force a couple of good saves from Mandanda, in particular a shot from Gibbs after a delightful back-heel assist from Mesut Ozil.

On 84 minutes Aaron Ramsey, the man of the moment, surged through the middle of the Marseille midfield and rifled a hard shot low into the net to double our lead and kill off the tie.

But a minute into injury time, Ramsey clipped Andre Ayew in the penalty area and his brother Jordan stepped up and scored a late consolation goal. Replays showed they Ramsey actually nicked the ball first and that Andre Ayew threw himself to the ground without any contact. But Marseille were good at “buying freekicks” all the way through the match so it was hardly a surprise the referee “fell” for it (excuse the pun).

OVerall, it was a very professional performance and a massive 3 points. In a group with Marseille, Napoli and Dortmund, it is vital to get 3 points in the bag if we want to progress to the knockout stages, and in terms of that it is job done.

Bring on Higuain and Napoli in 2 weeks time.

Player Ratings:

Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10
Wasn’t called upon much during the first half but had to make a few important saves in the second and did very well. Looked really solid and very assured at the back. Also came out and collected some crosses with ease. Had no chance with the penalty.

Bacary Sagna: 7/10
Very solid and supported Theo well on the right hand side. Delivered some good crosses and gave as good as he got to a big, physical Marseille side.

Laurent Koscielny: 7/10
Did well against Gignac and restricted the big forwards influence. Made a rash challange early on in the game but was solid for the rest of the game.

Per Mertesacker: 8/10
Had to withstand a lot of pressure from Marseille throughout the game but coped well. Organised the defence well and made some very important tackles and interceptions. Almost scored one of the worst own goals of all time.

Kieran Gibbs: 9/10
Outstanding. Up and down the left hand side all night and created the chance for Theo to score the opener. Almost got on the scoresheet himself and was unlucky not to score after being crowded out by 3 Marseille players. Positionally excellent all night, typified by the awesome goal-line clearance after the Mertesacker and Szczesny mix up.

Mathieu Flamini: 6/10
Seemed a little off the pace but moved the ball around well and organised the team when required. Will be a very important player for us if we continue to struggle with injuries.

Jack Wilshere: 7/10
Full of running, and linked up the midfield and attack well. Popped up everywhere on the pitch and did well against a strong Marseille midfield.

Aaron Ramsey: 8/10
Another assured and excellent performance from the man of the moment. Scored a massively important goal with 5 minutes to go to seal the 3 points. Linked up well with Ozil, Wilshere and Theo and made some excellent tackles. Deserved his goal and he is in the form of his life.

Mesut Ozil: 5/10
Struggled to get into the game as Marseille were quick, powerful and controlled the tempo. Laid off a exquisite back-heel for Gibbs but could impose himself on the game. Struggled with the physical approach from Marseille.

Theo Walcott: 6/10
The enigma that is Theo Walcott. He had the beating of Morel in the first 15 minutes but then was ineffective for the next 50 minutes. He misplaced passes and wasn’t making any kind of positive impact. Then on 65 minutes he smashes in a volley of the highest quality. Excellent goal and one of such importance.

Olivier Giroud: 7/10
Did well to even compete with the power of Marseille’s midfield and defence. Only had on real chance to score which was a header from a corner which he really should have got on target. Linked up play well considering and caused a nuisance up front.

The Positives From Theo Walcott’s Performance Against Sunderland

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The game on Saturday had many talking points – the performances of Ozil and Ramsey, the defending by Koscielny, and the chances missed by Theo.

In the first half, Mesut Ozil played a quite simply sublime through ball into the path of Theo, who shot straight at the goalkeeper. He also had a headed chance (but we know heading isn’t his strength) and two other good opportunities.

It’s an old cliche but at least he is making the right runs and getting into positions to score. While the ball from Ozil was beautiful, it can only be made if Theo makes the right runs.

And in terms of taking chances, we know Theo has improved his finishing greatly over the last 4/5 seasons and you could put Saturday down to a bad day.

If you’ve ever watched Real Madrid with Ozil in the team (or any YouTube clip with Ozil’s assists) you will see that Ronaldo misses a lot of chances. He is a great player, someone who scores a ridiculous amount of goals (in a 2 team league though, it must be mentioned) but he also takes a ridiculous amount of shots.

If you look at the Goals to Shots ratio of the world’s top forwards, then you will see that it is not as impressive as you would think:

Lionel Messi – 27.9%
Cristiano Ronaldo – 12.8 %
Radamel Falcao – 28.6%
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 20.4%
Robin van Persie – 21.4%
Edinson Cavani – 22.1%
Luis Suarez – 12.4%

And if you watch this YouTube video of Ozil’s assists, you will see that the German playmaker literally puts chances on a plate for Ronaldo with an impressive amount of tap ins from close range.

So Theo isn’t as wasteful as people think. His shots to goals ratio last season was actually 23%.

Mesut Özil Makes The Difference But Laurent Koscielny Is A Liability

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Sunderland (1) – (3) Arsenal
Giroud 11′, Ramsey 67′, 76′
The Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Barclays Premier League

An away game against struggling Sunderland was the scene for Mesut Özil’s Arsenal debut, after signing from Real Madrid for a club record fee of £42.3 million.

And it didn’t take him long to make an impression. On 11 minutes, he cooly controlled a ball over the top with his first touch and laid on a great chance for Giroud with his second, and the Frenchman duly obliged by slotting in at the near post.

Özil was particularly unplayable in the first 45 minutes, creating 4/5 excellent chances for his new club – some of which Theo Walcott really should have scored. We were dominant in the first half and Walcott’s wastefulness in front of goal looked to have dearly cost Arsenal just after the break.

On 48 minutes, Koscielny – not for the first time this season – panicked in the box and brought down Adam Johnson for a stonewall penalty. Craig Gardiner dispatched the penalty and the sides were all square.

The Mertesacker/Koscielny partnership was excellent in the final 10 games of last season but at times this season the Frenchman has been erratic at the back. He’s already conceded two penalties this season, and had a red card to boot. Whether he’s lost some confidence or he’s just out of form, it is worrying as better teams than Sunderland won’t let us get away with these fundamental mistakes. Vermaelen is close to full fitness and Arsene has to make a decision whether he should drop Koscielny until he gets his form back.

If the first half was all about Özil, then the second was all about Ramsey. After Sunderland equalised they had a dominant spell in the game where they looked much more likely to score. Fortunately for us, with a bit of luck (which we don’t usually get) and some last ditch defending, we managed to keep the home side at bay and then Ramsey popped up with a massive goal.

A cross from Jenkinson (who I’ve said for a long time is better than Sagna at crossing) found Ramsey on the edge of the box who smashed a low volley into net – a goal of superb technique and great significance at that point in the match. After that, Sunderland’s heads dropped and after some smart interplay with Giroud gave Ramsey his second goal which was well deserved.

Ramsey has really come on leaps and bounds over the last 18 months and is a massive player for us now. Giroud is in a strong vain of form at the moment and Özil adds that touch of class to the team. Would Arsenal have taken all 3 points without Özil in the team yesterday? It’s hard to say but we’ve seen Arsenal of old struggle with games of this type – and at times we did struggle. It would be nice to believe that having a world class player like Özil gave us that extra confidence and determination to get us over the line against Sunderland. Typically when we’ve seen Arsenal struggle in games it has ended in a draw or even worse, a defeat.

But yesterday, we fought hard and managed to take home all 3 points.