Matthew Wade
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
Can England help Arsenal with The Ox?
Gareth Southgate's team tinkering may have some long-term pluses for Arsenal.
Burnley show blots on Arsene’s blueprint
After the on-pitch ecstasy of Chelsea and Basel, Sunday's Lancashire struggle reminded us that the last 20 years have yielded plenty of frustration with joy.
Wenger’s process vindicated by Chelsea stroll
The weekend's walk-over of the West London gazzilionaires has helped restore the faith, and the logic of recent decisions is now clear, but is this just another false dawn?
Long read: Wenger’s tactical plan starts to form
Arsenal's Saturday stroll in Hull showed some hints of method to what has appeared tactical madness.
Long read: Saints sunk (just), but Paris presents different problems
Saturday's frustration-fest ended well, but will opposition with more ambition be better or worse for Arsenal?
A Londoner’s guide to the less obvious perks of going to PSG away
Going to Paris on your own or with just a couple of you? Don’t fancy getting bevvied up with the away fans? Having just been to Paris a month or so ago, I thought of some things to check out that might not make it to a tour guide or on a fan’s itinerary.
A fortnight is a long time in Arsenal world
So I've been off the grid for two weeks, swallowed by acting work, and have emerged to a rather different Goonersphere.
Series 1.2: Meet Joe Hulme, Arsenal’s first number 7
The very first man to have the number 7 on the back of a red Arsenal shirt (in both 1928 and 1933) was flying winger Joe Hulme. Learn all about him, including hearing from the man himself, in our latest pod
Long read: Answers on a postcard to…
I am by nature a patient person; one who prefers to give people the benefit of the doubt but there are limits.
Long read: Wenger has two weeks to save Arsenal
Ok. So it's a dramatic title. But it's a dramatic situation.
Long read: Chivas victory shows Arsenal what they’ve been missing
Yes. I am one of those weirdo's that stayed up to watch a 3-1 win in a meaningless pre-season friendly that didn't finish until 4am UK time. And it was worth it.
What we learnt: Arsenal vs MLS All-Stars
As Stephen Bradley already wrote this morning, we shouldn't read too much into what was partly an exhibition game for the MLS and partly an exercise in developing match fitness for Arsenal.
Why Arsenal signing Rob Holding makes so much sense
With Arsenal's first pre-season fixture out of the way, the need for reinforcements for final third is as clear as ever. With all now quiet on the striker front, column inches pile up about Riyad Mahrez with a bewildering array of entirely contradictory theories emerging daily.
What does transfer tumbleweed teach us?
For many Arsenal fans, the summer transfer window is like an establishing shot from a Clint Eastwood western.
Euros highlight Arsenal’s tactical questions
So; the summer's international tournament has concluded, with Portugal playing Greece to France's Portugal.
Some reputations have been enhanced and others, particularly managers, have been...
Art imitating life? Or life imitating Arsenal?
Well, here we are again. Not much to report since last week.
Unless you count the England football team giving a perfect illustration of the...
The more things change, the more they stay the same?
'Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose?'
Having last week written that no-one knew anything about the Vardy situation, and about the media speculation...
Old favourites re-emerge as the Vardy hokey-cokey continues
So another week of multi-continental international football loveliness has been and gone, with bugger all real news on the Arsenal front.
Long read: Arsenal fans freak out as transfer market killed by Euros
Inevitably, in the absence of the potential Vardy transfer meeting deadlines guessed at by journalists, the vacuum of news has been gleefully filled by anyone with a desire to sell stories. Regardless of whether or not there is a story to sell.
Long read: Attacking midfielders and wide-men that might join Iwobi in breaking through in...
In the absence of any actual news about Vardy or Henrikh Mkhitaryan it seems a good time to follow on from last week, where I covered the youth set-ups striking options in detail. This time I’m going to talk about attacking midfielders and wingers.
Xhaka and Vardy and more to follow? Times they are a’ changin’
As someone who writes a weekly column about club football, the early summer months are often a talking point dead zone.
Arsenal striker prospects 2016/17
So another season has been and gone, with all the excitement, disappointment and Tottenham schadenfreude that comes with being an Arsenal fan in the Emirates era.
Arsenal playmaker confirms impending loan deal
With the Arsenal youth set up full of exciting attacking talent, a player whose future may lay in a deeper role is one whose season has been very stop-start.
Will Xhaka provide the Granit this team needs?
As the dust settles following an ultimately disappointing campaign, compounded by a mediocre Manchester United equaling our FA Cup record, once again, it is look-to-the-future time.
Spurs hilarity shouldn’t distract from needed next steps
A fortnight ago I wrote that second place was still within Arsenal's reach despite the points gap, and with one point from a possible nine, Tottenham made my optimism a reality.
Arsenal u21s: Who shone against Aston Villa?
Arsenal u21s secured promotion via the play-offs on Tuesday evening, beating Aston Villa 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium to return to the top flight of u21 football in England.
U21 promotion bodes well for future development
Tuesday night was important for the club in more ways than one: the headline grabber was West Ham signing off at Upton Park with a win over Manchester United that guaranteed Champions League football for Arsenal next year.
Arsenal – Can fight without fluency secure second place?
Although the big prizes have all gone for about half the teams in the Premier League, the last game of the season matters. Even for Arsenal, despite the feeling of slow drift over the last month.
The Importance of Being Earnest (despite disappointment)
As the season continues to drift towards its thoroughly anti-climactic conclusion, there are still a few things to play for.
Striking issues remain central to Arsenal’s problems
Goals have been a problem all season for Arsenal, and the solution looks as far off as ever.
Sleepwalking to mediocrity
Another week of underachievement in a season where, since November, disillusionment has never been far away.
Arsenal: Always too good to fail, not good enough to succeed?
As Arsenal try to fight end of season drift and secure a top-three trophy (see what I did there?) ahead of a recovering Manchester City, it's been a week of encouragement in some quarters and frustration in others.
Arsenal have paid the price for being too conservative
When criticising Arsenal for not taking enough risks, there is plenty to choose from.
Arsenal looking for positives as Leicester keep their distance
After a thoroughly miserable few weeks, where another season has collapsed at speed, the last few days have brought a few rays of sunlight...
Why Zlatan is the man to get Arsenal back on track
Despite the player insisting that he hasn't opened talks with anyone, speculation continues to link Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a Bosman move to Arsenal in...
Did Watford’s win hasten the end of an era?
Sunday's FA Cup tie was not only hard to endure in isolation but was a painful microcosm of Arsenal in 2016, despite Arsene's best attempts...
Arsenal’s title challenge clinging on by its fingertips
On a weekend where the Arsenal tail attempted to wag the dog, like England's bowlers after another batting collapse, the team's combination of pride,...
Coquelin still suffering from knee injury consequences
Coquelin is unlike most Wenger youth products.
The majority have had regular first team exposure throughout their late teens. By their mid-20s they have racked up...
No Santi, no party for Coquelin
Even the most basic tactical analyst knows that success in football is all about balance and partnerships.
When Francis Coquelin picked up his injury, he...
Curb your enthusiasm, Francis
After a hellish fortnight from an Arsenal perspective, the team put in a performance full of pride (but sadly not always professionalism) against the...