Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 9, 2012, 4:14 am
Fabio Capello’s England reign is over; let the revisionism begin. Chastised in the past twenty-four hours for not having full command of the English language, the Italian may be surprised to see that Harry Redknapp is his media-annointed successor. This is the same Redknapp you will recall, who ...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 8, 2012, 7:15 am
Later post today, a morning where the crapometer hit maximum splatter. Yeah, the sigh I exhaled was as heavy as that sentence sounds. It’s just as well that this week has been about hopes for the future. Hope from the win over Blackburn, Robin van Persie hopes Theo Walcott will be a twenty goal a...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 7, 2012, 5:13 am
The transfer wheels are turning this morning or perhaps its just the cogs grinding out of the cold snap, ready to crank up as the season draws to its conclusion. Over the years we have had many players who were constantly linked with the club but never arrived; current squeeze is Eden Hazard. He pr...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 6, 2012, 5:16 am
Chelsea’s inability to defend means that the gap to fifth has closed this weekend; OK United had help from their friends but frankly that is of no consequence to Arsenal save that it prevented three points going to West London. It is hard to decide which is the best result in tonight’s match; a...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 5, 2012, 4:56 am
Arsenal 7 – 1 Blackburn Rovers 1 – 0 van Persie (2) 1 – 1 Pedersen (31) 2 – 1 van Persie (28) 3 – 1 Oxlade-Chamberlain (40) 4 – 1 Arteta (51) 5 – 1 Oxlade-Chamberlain (54) 6 – 1 van Persie (62) 7 – 1 Henry (90) Sent off: Givet (42) Arsenal delivered their first Premier Le...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 4, 2012, 3:35 am
Blackburn arrive at The Emirates for the early kick-off, both sides in desperate need of a win for entirely different reasons. It seems barely credible that Steve Kean is still in charge of the Lancastrians given the criticism of his tenure by supporters; perhaps it is because the Rovers fans have n...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 3, 2012, 4:13 am
Pleasures and wayward distractions prevent Big Al’s normal weekly contribution, his family fearing for his sanity when he came home with 60,000 white permanent marker pens and a plan to buy a Sea King helicopter to transport them all to The Emirates tomorrow. Apparently it’s off some bloke he me...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 2, 2012, 4:47 am
Bolton Wanderers 0 – 0 Arsenal Arsenal halted their recent torpid run of results in the Premier League with a point that brought them no closer to the top four but bucked the recent trend of making it further away. Newcastle leapfrogged into fifth but such is the fluidity of the current season, b...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Feb 1, 2012, 1:51 am
Arsenal travel to The Reebok Stadium this evening looking for an end to the recent run of dismal Premier League results and performances. No points during the month of January for the first time during Wenger’s reign is probably in keeping with the tortuous season so far; almost as if the football...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Jan 31, 2012, 5:02 am
It’s a day where excitement will be barely contained; transfer deadline day is here, Sky Sports News understands is an even more derogatory term than normal. Their reporters though are in trouble as their major source is in the midst of a media lockdown. ‘Appy ‘Arry being unable to talk via th...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Jan 30, 2012, 5:15 am
Arsenal 3 – 2 Aston Villa 0 – 1 Dunne (33) 0 – 2 Bent (45) 1 – 2 van Persie (54 pen) 2 – 2 Walcott (57) 3 – 2 van Persie (61 pen) Three goals in seven minutes gave Arsenal a deserved victory, recovering a deficit that was the result of defending as weak and insipid as the beer prof...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Jan 29, 2012, 3:55 am
The FA Cup sparked into life yesterday with Newcastle United, Hull City and Manchester United all falling in shock results. Arsenal will seek to avoid joining that trio by beating Aston Villa at The Emirates this afternoon. Some of the build-up has been quite comical; Alex McLeish has short-term mem...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Jan 28, 2012, 3:29 am
When you are down on your luck, the footballing gods waste no time in putting their size 11s in as Arsène found this week. Jack Wilshere had adopted a talismanic status, the saviour of the season; it seems unlikely that he will be that. That the manager offered nothing more has been taken as a sign...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Jan 26, 2012, 5:43 pm
I hate saying it, but you should hear them in the confessional. You would never imagine. Did you know that they…I’ll let Big Al explain this one. I must say I’m warming to the idea. The last month hasn’t been great. Post-May the future might be a bit murky. But the now, and the coming month...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Jan 26, 2012, 4:20 am
A favourite tactic of George Graham’s was to build a siege mentality when he believed that his players had been slighted by the press; it happened quite frequently and invariably forged as much of a team mentality as the infamous lunchtime drinking sessions. Fast forward two decades and the intru...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Nov 2, 2011, 5:42 am
Arsenal 0 – 0 Marseille Arsenal’s progress to the knockout phase stalled last night, put on ice for three weeks at least. Marseille’s improvement in form since the sides first met a fortnight ago combined with a tired performance by the hosts to produce a stalemate in North London. Qualific...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Nov 1, 2011, 2:00 am
I’m proud of them. That they have faced adversity and have shown a real class and spirit in fighting through it. - Stan Kroenke, 31st October 2011 If his utterances at the recent AGM were unspectacular, Stan made up for it with that one sentence. What was said behind closed doors should remain t...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 31, 2011, 5:23 am
The fixtures are coming thick and fast at the moment although a lull looms with the international break kicking in after the visit of West Brom to The Emirates. It is a headache for Arsène when those encounters will not include a Carling Cup tie, a match where he will automatically rest most, if no...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 30, 2011, 1:30 am
Chelsea 3 – 5 Arsenal 1 – 0 Lampard (14) 1 – 1 van Persie (36) 2 – 1 Terry (45) 2 – 2 Santos (48) 2 – 3 Walcott (55) 3 – 3 Mata (80) 3 – 4 van Persie (85) 3 – 5 van Persie (90) As if being drawn to the surface by a corkscrew, the season is twisting out of the bottle to unl...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 29, 2011, 1:30 am
Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge this lunchtime for a test of their credentials. Quite what they are is unclear, mixed messages coming from the interpretations of Arsène’s Churchillian AGM speech and other ramblings from directors. Len Shackleton is still right after all these years. According t...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 28, 2011, 1:30 am
“And if I just would like to achieve one thing today it is: trust us, this team has qualities, this team will fight. And if you help us to do that I think we will have a successful season” – Arsène Wenger at yesterday’s AGM. Late in the game against Stoke, Gervinho carried the ball deep ...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 27, 2011, 3:56 am
Thomas Vermaelen declared himself fit to face Chelsea following his substitution on Tuesday night, creating  a nice defensive headache for Le Boss ahead of the weekend. Vermaelen would probably have deemed himself fit even if his leg were hanging by a thread, so sick he must be of seeing the Arsena...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 26, 2011, 4:38 am
Carling Cup 4th Round Arsenal 2 – 1 Bolton Wanderers 0 – 1 Muamba (47) 1 – 1 Arshavin (53) 2 – 1 Park (56) Two quick-fire goals took Arsenal into the Carling Cup quarter-finals in front of more people than the combined total of the night’s three other ties. It is Arsenal, it must be a...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 25, 2011, 3:35 am
Bolton arrive at The Emirates this evening for a Carling Cup tie that proves that Fifa and Uefa are not the only deliquents when it comes to the fixture list. The impact and influence of television is not limited to these shores; Uefa play Europa League matches on a Thursday because they destroyed t...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 24, 2011, 4:28 am
Arsenal 3 – 1 Stoke City 1 – 0 Gervinho (27) 1 – 1 Crouch (34) 2 – 1 van Persie (73) 3 – 1 van Persie (82) Arsenal’s season is gradually getting back on track, victory over Stoke City yesterday afternoon moved the club to within striking distance of the top four. Two points behind free...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 23, 2011, 4:12 am
Stoke City arrive at The Emirates on a high with their throwback style of football taking them to the top of their Europa League group. If that were not enough in this curio of a season, an Arsenal win will take them above Stoke in the table, to within striking distance of a top four that was deemed...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 22, 2011, 1:00 am
Ahead of the expected bruising encounter with Stoke City on Sunday, the Olympic Football Tournament has taken a battering from Arsène at his pre-match press conference. According to the manager, I think it’s good if Great Britain does well at the Olympic Games but we have to find a common sensib...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 21, 2011, 1:31 am
As much as I love the smell of Napalm in the mornings, I do like a Friday when I get a lie-in. Here’s Big Al weaving his lyrical magic… Other than the victory itself, two remarkable things happened during the win over Sunderland. Tomas Rosicky transported us back to late-2007 with a heartening ...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 20, 2011, 4:19 am
Olympique Marseille 0 – 1 Arsenal 0 – 1 Ramsey (90) You’ve no idea how hard it was to avoid a headline of “Euro Stars head home happy from the south of France“. But no incentive was offered so no product placement occurred… Arsenal moved to the top of their Champions League group wit...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 19, 2011, 3:56 am
English football’s navel must be very interesting since so much time is spent contemplating it. Whether it be the ill-advised appeal against Wayne Rooney’s recent red card or the folly of abandoning relegation and promotion, there is much to see in the bloated belly. It is hard to see why the L...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 18, 2011, 4:00 am
Ahead of the trip to Marseilles, Arsène was interviewed on French radio about the season and summer past. Most of his comments appear to have been grist to the mill but some will light the blue touch paper under those who are looking for any reason to criticise the Arsenal manager. A regular criti...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 17, 2011, 3:48 am
Arsenal 2 – 1 Sunderland 1 – 0 van Persie (21 seconds) 1 – 1 Larsson (31 minutes) 2 – 1 van Persie (83) Arsenal moved into tenth, their highest Premier League position since the opening day draw with Newcastle. On a day when he had used his programme notes to quash speculation – or at ...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 16, 2011, 4:07 am
Sunderland arrive at The Emirates this afternoon knowing that their first win in the league at Arsenal since 1983 will take them above their hosts in the table. Ordinarily that would be a sign that things are going extremely well on Wearside; now it means Arsenal are in a tailspin. Arsenal meanwhile...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 15, 2011, 2:46 am
If Steve Bruce thinks that Arsène has done the bosses of teams at the foot of the table a favour by diverting attention, the Arsenal manager is probably grateful to Ian Ayre for daring to broach the last taboo in English football’s rampant commercialism. The Liverpool MD / CEO / Chief Dogsbody ob...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 14, 2011, 1:00 am
Hey guys. Woah, Big Al, huh? All right! Well, see ya later. At the moment millions of Arsenal fans are going through something akin to the Clockwork Orange’s Ludovico Technique, only this experiment’s being conducted by the doctor from Human Centipede. Are your limbs restrained and eyeballs sit...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 13, 2011, 1:00 am
Club football returns to the fore, Arsenal awaiting the return of the players to assess injuries. The return to fitness of a large percentage of the club’s central defenders is partially offset by the news that Tomas Rosicky is already doubtful for the weekend’s clash with Sunderland thanks to a...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 12, 2011, 1:00 am
The last of this occasional series for this international break sees us take a small leap forward from yesterday’s Liverpool match. This time a 1 – 0 win at Hillsborough in January 1988. A midweek Littlewoods Cup tie en route to the final, a trophy that Luton would wrench from Arsenal’s grip....
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 11, 2011, 1:00 am
A change of pace this morning, a look back to the past in an occasional series that will intersperse the international breaks to come. A brief ... watch for that and a rare sighting of Vladimir Petrovic in an Arsenal shirt. The Premier League era would have loved him. Looking back, little has cha...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 10, 2011, 4:23 am
A musical quality about the final Monday of this international break, Apparently Nothing transpiring in the world of Arsenal. Well, nothing apparently may not be entirely true. The club is, according to reports, squaring up, going toe-to-toe with Chelsea in order to sign a 15 year old striker from ...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 9, 2011, 4:19 am
Sunday morning in the international break carries a touch of indifference about it. A touch? Utter might be a better description. It is a day when there is no hiding the bad news, or news that is negative about the club. Not that the employees can particularly do anything about it. The current edit...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 8, 2011, 1:00 am
Club cap’n, Consolsbob, is here with his view on matters Arsenal… This has been a bloody awful season so far for Arsenal fans. Defeat on the pitch, an intensifying civil war between fans, another injury crisis and the conviction amongst many that the team cannot deliver. Add in continued uncert...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 7, 2011, 1:00 am
No Big Al this morning so it’s just mee. Where to begin? Well, it seems to be about communication. What’s being said and more to the point, what’s not being spoken of but has crossed someone’s mind. On the pitch, the ability to communicate is being lost. Understandably, with so many Per-mut...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 6, 2011, 3:16 am
You have no idea how strong the urge to title this post with a Dexy’s moment was, “Jackie Wilshere Says”. In my mind’s eye, the football lyrics are already forming and it would require deepest apologies to Kevin Rowland for destroying Dexy’s last decent moment. Another day perhaps. On a d...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 5, 2011, 4:04 am
As the conclusion to the Euro2012 qualifying campaign draws near, once more Fabio Capello’s future is under scrutiny. Not because his a failure in his role, more that his contract is near its end and inevitably the media want a John Bull, larger than life character in situ. Whether that person is ...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 4, 2011, 4:17 am
... ’t even go there, conceding eight is an unusual outcome for any team in any league. This time around the defeat at White Hart ... Life on Mars. The point is that Arsenal has no God-given right to success. Those employed by the club must work hard to ... hypocrisy surrounding Arsenal. The...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 3, 2011, 4:27 am
Tottenham Hotspur 2 – 1 Arsenal 1 – 0 van der Vaart (40) 1 – 1 Ramsey (51) 2 – 1 Walker (71) Arsenal fell to their fourth Premier League defeat of the season, the magic number as far as champions are concerned. No team, the received wisdom tells us, can lose more than four games in a sea...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 2, 2011, 3:21 am
Arsenal travel to White Hart Lane as underdogs for the first time in many years. Tottenham have never beaten Arsenal during October in the Premier League era, an Arsenal win and two draws in that time. Underdogs. Underdogs? It is not hard to see why Arsenal have been labelled as such with Tottenham...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Oct 1, 2011, 2:51 am
The NLD is firmly on the horizon, clearly in view and ready for action. It comes against a backdrop of Arsenal’s financial results, Stan Kroenke speaking for the first time about his ownership and speculation about the future of his captain this January and next summer. The latter will be the stor...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Sep 30, 2011, 1:00 am
The Magnificent Malochi is here for another ivory-tickling sermon In December 2007 one of our plucky young Carling cup sides overcame Blackburn Rovers in the quarter final. It was a breathless scrap in the Lancashire mud on a bitter night against an experienced Mark Hughes team. You’ll probably r...
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Yogis W. posted an article on A Cultured Left Foot - Sep 29, 2011, 1:33 am
Arsenal 2 – 1 Olimpiacos 1 – 0 Oxlade – Chamberlain (17) 2 – 0 Santos (20) 2 – 1 Fuster (27) Arsenal stuttered to victory over their Greek opponents, ready to be sacrificial lambs at a White Hart Lane slaughter this weekend. Oh, don’t get bent out of shape, Beasley is a Tiny Tot. It ...
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