Matthew Wade

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Matthew Wade or @lomekian on Twitter. Slightly unhealthy fascination with Arsenal full-backs since watching Lee Dixon's debut from the East Stand Lower. Football Manager and tactical geek, who has won the quadruple on every version since 1992, and before that on the Kevin Toms Classic in the 1980s. Also a Middlesex Cricket Club and Detroit Red Wings Fan. Now a professional actor and voice-over artist, but formerly employment advisor and project manager. See my part time blog http://edgeofthearea.wordpress.com/ or actors website www.matthewwade.co.uk

Celebrating Arsenal’s Irish connection: St Patrick’s Day Special

Discover why Arsenal's rich history and Irish connections make it a beloved club in Ireland.
Liam Brady Arsenal Ray Stewart West Ham United West Ham United v Arsenal FC London F A Cup Final 10 05 1980 Copyright imago Color Sports

50 years on: Liam Brady (long-read)

50 years ago today, on 11 June, 1971, Liam Brady joined Arsenal's Academy, so we take a long look back at his time at the club as a player.

Why Arsenal needed Unai Emery to fail

Unai Emery’s reputation among Arsenal fans hasn’t exactly been enhanced since he left the club but let's take a look back at why it might not have been a bad thing that he failed at Arsenal.
COMMERCE CITY, CO - JULY 15: Mesut Oezil #10 of Arsenal jokes with teammates while warming up against the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on July 15, 2019 in Commerce City, Colorado. (Photo by Timothy Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Why some love and others hate mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil divides opinion amongst fans and pundits alike, but why?

Arsenal at Anfield in 1989: Still my greatest football high ever

When Arsenal won the league at Anfield on 26th May 1989, it was my first high as a football fan and still the greatest.

2 North London Derbies that chart the journey of the last 30 years

As of 5th of this month, I have survived 42 years on this planet, which involves quite a lot of football, and with neither Spurs nor (of course) Arsenal being relegated in that time, there is a lot of history with our noisy neighbours.
English footballer Peter Simpson of Arsenal F.C., 8th August 1969. (Photo by Michael Webb/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Unsung Arsenal heroes: Peter Simpson

Some players come into the category of the under-appreciated because they are over-shadowed by superior team-mates. Others because they excel in under-achieving teams. There are even those whose ebullient personalities serve to distract from their dedication and skill. None of these apply to Peter Frederick Simpson.
1976: During a match between London football clubs Arsenal and Chelsea, Arsenal player Sammy Nelson is booked by referee Ray Toseland, who holds up the yellow card. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

Unsung Arsenal heroes: Sammy Nelson

Sammy Nelson was never your archetypal unsung Arsenal hero.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 12: Arsenal goalkeeper John Lukic in action during a First Division match against Everton at Highbury on April 12, 1986 in London, England. (Photo by Mike King/Allsport/Getty Images)

Unsung Arsenal heroes: John Lukic

Down the decades, Arsenal fans have been spoiled with a succession of top-class goalkeepers but this seemingly unbroken alternation between club greats and journeymen since WWII doesn't include one very notable exception - John Lukic
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 16: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal ahead of the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Arsenal FC at St Mary's Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Mesut Ozil: Maligned and misunderstood or mischief-maker?

Mesut Ozil continues to divide opinion, be it about his football, personality or nationality. So what is the problem? How did an entire nation seemingly turn on their star in one summer?  Is that behind his strange season at Arsenal?
Sven Mislintat via Arsenal.com

Farewell Sven, we hardly knew you

So, Diamond Eyes, our great jewel finding coup, has left after just over a year and in the absence of anyone spilling the beans In a spectacularly unprofessional manner, we, the fanbase, are left to speculate why.
Arsene Wenger manager of Arsenal (right) and Ivan Gazidis, CEO of Arsenal. Picture: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Arsenal dropped the ball at the wrong time: Why they have no money

Despite being one the best run clubs in the country for the majority of the last century, under the watch of Ivan Gazidis Arsenal have, in a strategic sense, seriously dropped the ball at exactly the wrong time.
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 25: Unai Emery, Manager of Arsenal looks on prior to the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Arsenal FC at Vitality Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Long Read: Arsenal’s festive period shows how much work Emery has to do

Not all of Wenger's departing squad will fit into whatever Emeryball turns out to be, much as, frankly, it didn't really suit Wengerball by the end. With this in mind, and with half the season gone, let's have a look at where things stand.

Why is Mesut Ozil so divisive?

Anyone with an outward eye doesn't need the vilification and subsequent international retirement of Arsenal's Mesut Ozil to remind them of how polarised opinions have changed our political landscape across the western world.

20-minute read: What the world cup tells us about Arsenal’s summer transfer business

So, as everyone really knew, but many pretended they didn't, football wasn’t 'coming home' (as if!).

Jack’s back but admirable Nelson steals the show

Jack Wilshere made his long-awaited return after a leg break, but it was overshadowed as Reiss Nelson stole the headlines.

10-minute read: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Arsenal’s next breakthrough prospect?

This summer, with most fans pre-occupied by the excitement and fear surrounding the comings and goings of established first teamers, it’s easy to forget those players who are trying to create a foothold for themselves at the top level.

Sydney FC vs Arsenal: Introducing Joe Willock

As Arsenal started their preseason in Australia with a routine 2-0 win, there were some surprising names in the starting eleven.

Arsenal’s backroom revolution continues

In the dark late season months preceding the formation alteration inspired recovery, we heard Ivan Gazidis talk of ‘catalyst for change’, leading to even further speculation regarding the manager and who might appear above or beside him in the managerial structure.

Wembley Win: Wenger vindication?

Arsene Wenger's future looks set to be sorted out this week but we still don't know what way it will go. What we do know if that the FA Cup win now gives him an out with dignity.

Why the FA Cup can define Wenger’s legacy

Arsenal have crashed out of the Champions League in humiliating fashion and slid down the Premier League table so that qualification is an outside shot at best. So it falls to the FA Cup, so often denigrated in word by fans and in deed by managers with eyes on bigger prizes, to salvage the season.

Sunday salvage job doesn’t dispel dissent

The best that can be said about the weekend's game is that it stopped the losing run.

Long read – Chaos theory: Arsenal’s new plan?

So another week has come and gone and less and less makes any sense aboard the good ship Arsenal.

Reaction: It’s time for the change

Daily Cannon's Matthew Wade discusses Arsenal's latest disaster, this time at West Brom and Arsene Wenger's future.

Long read: Why Arsenal fans need to stop focusing on Wenger so much

At the moment it's quite hard to write about Arsenal without writing about Arsene Wenger, but although an ongoing story, the subject is getting old.

Arsene Wenger’s credibility stretched dangerously thin

The Anfield defeat feels like another big nail in the coffin of the Wenger years.

Why the FA Cup can define Wenger’s legacy

Since I last wrote, it's all gone a bit apocalyptic. Without wallowing any further in Munich misery, it was a game that felt like a...

Can The Ox really be the main man in the middle?

Is it time to stop seeing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a wide boy?

Long read: Wenger, Arsenal and some actual mental strength

Did Arsenal show their fabled 'mental strength' for real this weekend?

Arsenal & Alexis still in the title hunt

An Alexis Sanchez strop can't mask a good weekend for Arsenal.

Can Arsenal return to being a team of two halves?

Muddling through as seasonal schizophrenia returns.

Squad options re-right the Good Ship Arsenal

Safety in numbers helps Arsenal return to winning ways, despite notable absences.

Long read: Why Arsenal deprived fans of pre-Christmas cheer

'Tis the season to be...fed up? As the nights draw in ever earlier and the days get ever grey-er, Arsenal's title challenge has wilted badly...

Long read: An Arsenal week of two halves ends with Jamie Vardy sadness

Arsenal are firmly back on track after a week of two halves.

Bournemouth bounce-back limits November disappointment.

For most of Arsene Wenger's time in charge (and actually a fair bit of Gorgeous George's before him), the eleventh month has been a bete noire for Gooners.

Long read: Old Trafford draw not a disappointment

A bad performance but a good point.

Mounting injuries threaten Arsenal’s progress ahead of Manchester United trip

Can improved strength in depth offset traditional curses?

Long read: Arsenal squad depth comes to the fore

Last week's strolls against Reading and Sunderland highlighted why Arsenal are a more serious proposition this year.

How to make Wengerball invincible on Football Manager

Its that time of year again. A new season, and soon enough a new edition of Football Manager and I'm going to show you how to be Invincible.

Long read: Swansea show Arsenal’s strengths and frailties

South Wales' finest once again gave Arsenal a scare in our own back yard.