The demands of launching my own web design business have proved too much, the ink in my pen has dried up and I’m seeking some assistance to keep this blog and the AFCB community going.

What I’m looking for:

1. Match Report Writer

The task here would be, as Terry wrote in the comments of the previous article ‘someone who can provide a match analysis each week as a trigger for the comments’. This would be a perfect task for a young and enthusiastic writer looking for regular practice and to establish a routine. Someone who has long followed the blog and understands the editorial focus would be ideal. Roughly 700 words an article is the norm here.

2. Columnists

Here the task is a little different. I’m looking for writers who wants to get a little creative, to talk about the characters that make up the Arsenal community. The column could focus on a player profile, tactics or something funny that Eboué did a few seasons ago. It should usually be positive and always insightful. There are plenty of Arsenal blogs with lots of content and this is an opportunity to have fun, to make a mark and publish something a little special.

If either of those descriptions tickle your fancy then please contact me.

Let me know a bit about yourself, any previous writing you have done and why you’d particularly love to help out. I promise to get back to everybody who takes the time to contact me.

Just as an aside, my role once the new writers come on board will be to create a well-designed, beautiful place to read about Arsenal and play the role of editor. While writing has become a little arduous for me my passion for design is increasing at a rapid rate. Hopefully this energy can rub off in a positive way again.

As always, to all the readers, thanks for sticking around and I hope we can turn what has been a disappointing month or so for this community into an opportunity for improvement at the AFCB.

Sincerely,
Andrewлак за паркет

With Christmas just around the corner I wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season spent with family and friends.

Your support through 2012 — the sixth (!) year of the blog — has once again been hugely appreciated.

All the very best!

Andrew

The AFCB community is a tight-knit one, built on a shared love for the beautiful game and of course, the best club in the world, Arsenal. But it occurred to me recently, while chatting with Canadian-based reader Retsub, how little we really know about each other.

Everybody in the online world knows that anonymity creates an atmosphere where people can be aggressive and take cheap, cowardly shots at each other. Familiarity within a community, in contrast, promotes a feeling of respect, understanding and of course, a beautiful sense of belonging.

Because sharing is caring

The warm and fuzzy stuff aside, I want to give everybody the opportunity to share a little bit more about yourself to the readers and commenters you interact with every day. I’m not talking about bank account details or your view on global politics, more-so the basics about yourself and your relationship with that sexy hunk/minx that is the Arsenal.

Sharing little details could be enough to open up the opportunity to watch football in the pub with a new Arsenal-loving buddy or gain perspective about where someone might be coming from in a heated debate.

So if you’d be kind enough to connect a little bit more with the AFCB community please leave a comment below telling us the following:

• Any combination of your age, sex, birthplace and current location that you feel comfortable sharing
• Your all-time favourite Arsenal player and why
• How you learned to love the Arsenal
• How long you’ve been reading the AFCB
• Your Twitter account (if you have one)

What’s more, if you’re a regular commenter I’d whole-heartedly encourage to get yourself a Gravatar. They’re the little square image that pops up next to your comment that marks you out as unique from the rest of the anonymous trouble-makers who pollute blogs posting their inane, misinformed dribble. They’ll make you 25% cooler and 35% more respected among this fine community.

Here’s the details on how to get one.

In advance I want to say thank-you and hopefully we can get a heap of comments on this post, demonstrating the awesomeness that is the AFCB community. Because, you know, it’s really cool and stuff.

Cheers and all the best!

Andy

In the five following years the blog has been nurtured with care and compassion, subsequently congregating a community of readers who have enjoyed its positivity and rationality while the majority of the online football world descends into madness.

Unfortunately, last season the Arsenal FC Blog and its faithful community was left feeling abused and neglected. It had little to do with the football on display. Nor did it have to do with Robin van Persie.

Inconsistent editorial and posting from a burnt-out, uninspired leader left a lot of readers feeling left out, hurt and confused.

Some turned to drugs to fill the void. Others turned different Arsenal blogs. But one cannot simply be content with other Arsenal blogs once they’ve read the Arsenal FC Blog. (Unless they’re Arseblog or Arsenal Column, damn those blogs are good.)

While the community stumbled around in a haze, wondering where it had all gone wrong, the AFCB’s leader sat in his moderately-sized room, pondering a way to turn it all around.

So without further ado we bring you the new Arsenal FC Blog.

An Arsenal blog where feature articles, match reports and black and white photos are king. A place where love for Arsenal, positivity towards the game of football and respect for each other are demanded.

A place where we support the four scamps in the photo at the top of the page — and the rest of their rascally teammates — simply because they wear the famous purple and black of the Arsenal. It’s Arsenal, with love.

Welcome back and thanks for sticking with us.