The Return

Top of the Morning to y’all

YES. FINALLY, AM BACK

Am back to doing the second most fulfilling thing in the world to me-second only to loving my beautiful architect- Writing about the Arsenal for y’all has brought me so much joy and fulfilment that being away all these weeks has made me realise how much writing on my blog means to me and I have missed every moment of it.

Yes thanks for asking National Service camp went well and am on the second stage now which will run for the next 10 months but be rest assured am gonna be writing for y’all throughout even in the off season - am dreading that though- I resumed at my new job last week and that's going on fine as well thank you.

On to Arsenal matters and what a turnaround we have witness in the past two months, breaking records and breaking rivals along the way. It was like a dark cloud hovering over the team just suddenly blew away with the cold winter winds and spring signalled a new dawn for the team and apart from the occasional frustrating games such as QPR and Wigan, 28 points from a possible 36 is championship winning form in any regard and on hind sight, I wonder what would have been if we had started the season better or had the full complement of our squad at the start of the season or at least our full backs in January we’d probably be still in the mix for the trophy by now.

Over the weeks, I have watched as the team grind out results both from losing positions and when they are not playing well. Games against Sp*ds, Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle jump to mind and as much as we are proud of the victories, it has definitely not been a coincidence. I had a chat with fellow Arsenal blogger @goonerdave66 of 1nildown2oneup.tumblr.com about our remarkable turn around and he pointed out the return of Sagna has been a major influence. I quite agree and the return of Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos as well has been immense. Although they are not the ones that score the goals, they have given the team the balance it lacked in the period they were away injured by providing specialist duties in their areas of the pitch. Prior to the AC Milan game at the San Siro, Thomas Vermaelen had previously played the last 10 games in the left back position before he was moved to the center back to accommodate Gibbs and despite being one of the best central defenders in Europe, his performance was not up to scratch on the night. Such is the effect of playing players out of position for too long.

Theo Walcott has also been a factor in our good run of form. Maybe I love the guy too much (no homo) but since that second half show against Sp*ds, he has really evolved his game and as much as we would miss him for the remainder of the season, am sure he would even be better next season. Aaron Ramsey has come under a lot of fire recently and it really is dis heartening to see people criticise the lad. For God’s sake he is only 21 and believe it or not he made his 100^th Arsenal appearance on Saturday against Chelsea. I don’t believe a player without talent would have made it that far if the boss doesn’t have faith in him. People compare him to Wilshere but you forget that Wilshere has been at Arsenal since he was 9 years old and the Arsenal way has not been ingrained in him it’s been a part of him and moreover, not every player would develop at the same pace. What we ought to do for Ramsey is to encourage him to learn from his mistakes to be a better player and not send death threats to him like some moronic fools do. Those threats would only make him more scared and in the end make more mistakes.

And to Robin. Am not going to try to run any superlatives on the guy because we are all testimonies to the amazing work he has done for us since January 2011 till date and duly, he was rewarded last night and named the Footballers’ Player of the Year. Am sure in any profession, nothing could be as fulfilling as when your colleagues and adversaries alike come together and say you are the best in the business and I say congratulations and 3 hearty cheers to a great captain and worthy winner. I hope he goes on to lift a trophy next year for us. My only disappointment at last night’s awards is the fact that Laurent Koscielny was not included in the team of the year alongside Kompany and Coloccini was selected instead. He has been tremendous this season and deserved to be named there. Not to worry people am sure he would take his rightful place in the prestigious list next season.

That's all for now folks as I have to get ready for work. It’s a real pleasure to be back writing. Drop your comments on my twitter page @nigeriangunners. You can also like our Facebook page at Nigerian Gunners. Be right back with a fresh package on Wednesday.

God bless the Arsenal. Iree O