The Lundy Project

@benmoores2 Krak des Chevaliers: numero uno for me. I visited in 2005. The scale, situ and condition are breathtaking.

I'd love to hear your recommendations for fortifications to visit especially if they are on my hit list (Noting I sadly cant return to Iran, China or Russia); there are two strict rules though. Rule 1, there must be a picture. Rule 2 it has to be weird, notable or entertaining.

7/Nakhal Fort, Oman: I've been to nearly all of Oman's forts. Bahla is UNESCO. Al Mirani is grand. Nakhal wins, — perfect for enthusiastic exploration, just grab an old musket and man the walls. Go for a swim after in the wadi outside in a picture book setting.

I couldn’t help thinking of the disappointments I’ve experienced watching Arsenal in the sun as I walked up from Highbury & Islington station yesterday. Football in the sun always brings expectation—weather made for glorious attacking football—but there I was thinking of that day at Highbury in 2003 when Leeds tore up a title challenge courtesy of Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka. But those murmurs were quickly displaced when I saw the team sheet. M’boy Miles in midfield. I like that! Saka back too, even better. As is typical at this point in the season, you need the players to help settle the crowd and the boys did just that. We flew out of the traps and the early goal we all needed duly came. The Emirates felt like the Foundry at operating temperature. After the psychological attrition of the first leg in Madrid, this was the injection of pure, rational belief required for the run-in. Even when the script flickered—a marginal VAR call to disallow Calafiori’s goal and a decent spell of Fulham pressure—the composure didn't break. It was the moment Gyökeres truly stepped up that settled the nerves. He has struggled at times with the physical transition, but yesterday he was immense, holding up the ball under pressure and playing in Saka for that lovely, clinical near-post finish. It was exactly the "Stardust" we needed to put the game beyond doubt. It’s been easy to lose perspective amidst the "Ancestral Stress" of the last few weeks, but the reality is that we have navigated a significant fitness crisis without drifting off course. Most elite setups would have buckled under the weight of losing their primary output; look at City’s structural struggle when Rodri was sidelined last season. To be standing on the threshold of the club's biggest European night in a generation while managing Bukayo Saka’s return to flight is a testament to the floor Mikel Arteta has built. Today was about the two homegrown talents who define that floor. Saka looked like he had rediscovered his gravity—drawing defenders and playing with the sharpness that makes the machine hum. Alongside him, Miles didn't just participate; he dictated. Seeing a young player command the midfield with that level of composure during a title race reminds you that the academy isn't just a pipeline; it’s the club's heartbeat. The presence of Thierry Henry in the stands served as a silent benchmark for the level we are currently occupying. Under the King’s gaze, the performance matched the aura. We got the fluidity in transition, and most importantly, the result was secured early enough to grant us precious breathing space. Securing the points while resting the heavy hitters for Tuesday wasn't just a luxury—it was a necessity. We go into the Atletico return with fresh legs and a dominant victory behind us. This is the level we have worked for. The nerves are real, but they are the byproduct of relevance. Tuesday night is for the history books. N5 is ready. 🔴⚪️ #AFC #Arsenal #TheWoolwichWanderer #TheFoundry #UCL #Saka #Miles #Gyokeres #Arteta

@afcstuff 100% and glad he has called this. Needs to change. Fine margins. Could come down to a penalty call in the last minute of the last game of the season. Just like Arteta at Rangers.

@PolitlcsUK @intel_lady Why can’t you just so “no” in public office?

🚨 BREAKING: Olly Robbins says he was asked to find an ambassadorship role for Keir Starmer’s then comms chief Matthew Doyle, who was recently suspended from Labour over links to a paedophile "I felt quite uncomfortable about it. I kept giving advice that this was very hard... for me to defend"

The five-game shootout: a new Premier League begins. The morning after feels like 2003 all over again. I’m transported back to Highbury, the air thick with that same agonising feeling of a 2-2 draw that handed the keys to the opposition. We needed a win; we got a reminder of how cruel the inches can be. But as Mikel said last night: "It’s a new Premier League now." The long-form season is over. We are now in a five-game shootout (six for City). It is sudden death at every stage. We cannot afford an inquisition today - there is a time and a place for that, and it isn't while the body is still warm and the fight is still on. Mikel gets it that things now need to change. It’s no longer about grinding out the points. We have to play unleashed. We need - somehow - to “click” again. We need our first XI. The mission is simple: we must win everything. If it comes down to goal difference, City’s game in hand is a massive advantage as they have another 90 on the field to score. Our attack has to stop being fretful. We need Saka, Ødegaard, and Eze to find their flow. We need to turn corners back into goals and rack up the 3-0s and 5-0s. It will come down to who can hand out a couple of good thrashings and get over the line in the tight games. As the table above shows, our remaining opponents average 51.0 goals conceded this season, compared to City’s 46.2. Inches. My head looks at that City run-in - specifically their knack for muscle-memory finishes - and says it’s theirs to lose. They are the "big-game hunters" the media loves to crown. But my red heart? It says this sport isn't a spreadsheet. There is one more big twist left in this story. We’ve carried the "Ancestral Stress" this far; now we carry the hope. Five games. No mistakes. Believe in the twist. 🔴⚪️ #AFC #Arsenal #PremierLeague #TheWoolwichWanderer #TheFoundry

@charles_watts Fans in the away end on Sunday bring your 2002 energy. And dye your hair red!

Ancestral Stress: Why the Arsenal "Nerve" is Rational There is a prevailing narrative that the Arsenal faithful are too on edge. We are told to “enjoy the ride”, as if twenty years of scar tissue can be massaged away by a few months of top-tier football, a few seasons of “close, but so far”. But for those of us who lived through the extraction era, the nervousness isn't hysteria. It is Ancestral Stress. The broken promise Dennis Bergkamp, who scored his last Arsenal goal 20 years ago this week, once famously warned: "Don't build a new stadium and then go backwards with the team." For a decade, we watched that warning go unheeded. We watched our heartbeat – Ashley, Henry, Patrick, Cesc, Van Persie – picked off by the European elite or the newly-minted state-owned rivals. We were mocked as “Barcelona Light”, told our intricate style was a vanity project while we were bullied on the pitch. We saw horrific broken legs dismissed by the media as “part of the game”, while our players were abused for being “soft”. We endured – and were mocked for – the Top Four Trophy era, the irony not lost on us that Champions League is now fought for as a matter of life (prestige) and death (financial). We sat through the 8-2 at Old Trafford and the 6-0 nightmare on Arsène’s 1,000th game. We were voyeurs to winners who we were used to beating. We carried the weight of being very good, but not quite there. For years. Fragility to foundry The anxiety we feel today is the friction of those years of hurt meeting a new reality. We have swung to the other extreme. This isn't the fragile Arsenal of 2012. We have become too stubborn. Too resilient. We have traded the soft underbelly for a team that is determined to crunch out results. We aren't being bullied anymore; we are doing the bullying. The precedent of the statement History tells us the “nerve” only settles when you look your rival in the eye and they blink first. It always felt like it would come down to needing to beat our nearest rivals in the title race. It is always like this. - In 1998, the stress evaporated when Overmars slotted home at Old Trafford. - In 2002, we went to that same ground without Henry and proved we were the new authority. - In 2004, we took the point we needed at White Hart Lane to ensure the trophy was lifted in our rivals' backyard. Sunday at the Etihad is that moment. We are again so close. We are again so far. Another chance Disappointments still come. The carnival atmosphere around Wembley before last month’s final was epic, but punctured by a dreadful performance. Those moments haunt us. But football always gives another chance. Ours is this Sunday. Of course we are frustrated by form and injuries – it’s the hyper-vigilance of a fan base that has seen the script go wrong too many times. But this side is built for the grind. Let the nerves jangle. Carry the scars into the Etihad. As Declan said on Wednesday night “frustrating….we don’t care what others think”. We aren't the prey anymore. Believe. The foundry is back in business. 🔴⚪️

@TheWoolwichWand @LeGrove Totally agree ❤️

Spot on. The media narrative has been exhausting. “We are in the semi-final of the champions league and top of the league; I hope we can turn it around from here 🤣”. They’re selling crisis because it’s more profitable than process, led by Carragher (never won the league) and the failed managers’ brigade of former Man U players. But for those of us who’ve sat through the lean decades, this is exactly where we wanted to be. Late April, everything on the line. This isn't a burden; it’s a privilege. We have to walk through the fire to take the crown, so be it. The Foundry only works when the heat is at its highest. Let’s see what the boys are made of. 🔴⚪️

Trying to enjoy the last moments of hope before we find out the likelihood of our season tomorrow. Horrendous media coverage has spoiled the season for many. Just can't understand how anyone who has followed us for the last 20 years can't be thrilled to be involved in a late-April game that could decide the fate of the Premier League title race. Toughest league in the world, and we're in a 6-pointer against Man City. This is what the big time is all about. I'm petrified, but so excited to see what the boys produce. Could be historic. About time in my opinion. Can't wait!

Everyone at Arsenal is shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic passing of former goalkeeper, Alex Manninger. All our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this incredibly sad time. Rest in peace, Alex ❤️

@DailyAFC @SportingCP failed to score a single goal. You’re 10 man block even at 1-0 down sure was BOOOOOOORING!

🗣️ Morten Hjulmand: “It was an even game today. It was a game with low intensity, low rhythm, zero balls… boring, I would say! It’s not the way Sporting CP wants to show itself. During the game there were a lot of stops for set-pieces.” ❌😴

@OsmanZtheGooner Love Henry. But he’s a shite pundit.

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@dieworkwear Love your posts @dieworkwear. This was a particular favourite ❤️

There is no "best" chino, just as there's no "best" coffee. When choosing coffee, it's helpful to identify which notes you like. Almond? Caramel? Spiced Cider? Light or dark roast? Natural or washed process? Developing this understanding will help you build a better wardrobe.

Someone asked if I could tell them where to buy a pair of good chinos. In this thread, I will tell you, but my answer is not simple. On the upside, I think this is a better approach when shopping for clothes and you can apply it to any kind of item. 🧵

@YankeeGunner A lot of the angst is because we have had so many years of frustration. Banter years. The window trolley dash in 2011 (ironically gave us Arteta). Windows where Arsenal missed out on top targets like Gary Cahill and Phil Jagielka. It could all be over soon. BELIEVE.

All anyone wants to hear is that the manager is a bum. If you offer any other analysis than "the manager is a bum" on this website, you will be shouted down. But maybe the biggest issue for the manager is the way he (and the club) have approached attacking recruitment. The talent level of our attack is simply nowhere near what you see at other big clubs. It's a can we kept kicking down the road and last summer we did a poor job of addressing it.

@REDactionAFC WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE AND COULD SOON BE IN THE SEMI FINALS OF THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE A COMP WE HAVE NEVER WON. GET BUSY! ❤️

I am well aware that we are all at a low after the weekend’s results, but please spare me any complaints about ‘we shouldn’t be doing this’ or suggesting we cancel. This is exactly the kind of event that so many were demanding following the PSG FUBAR last year.

Another huge home game awaits on Wednesday night : if you are lucky enough to have a ticket, please be in your seats for 7.45pm to enjoy the pre match display - another full height TIFO, produced in collaboration between Club & Supporters

@garythegooner56 Very good thread. We need to be like we were when saliba scored an own goal on his home debut. This attitude for the whole team!

I can’t get Saturday’s game out of my head. It was as damaging a defeat as I can remember. It felt as bad as some of the big hidings we took in the later days of Arsene and there isn’t one positive we can take from the game. However we have two massive games coming up and somehow

@JohnSimpsonNews @DalrympleWill @grok redo this image with trump as the anti christ

President Trump has posted this picture on social media of himself as Christ healing the sick. I’ve long given up saying how hard it is to think of any previous US president who behaved like Donald Trump, but comparing himself to Jesus puts him on another level altogether.

@DearS_o_n You married the wrong woman then mate

CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG BUT, after 37 years of age, I’ve finally come to realize that, as a man, no one cares about you. Not your wife. Not your family. Not your friends. Not your workmates. Nobody. People act like they care, but deep down, they don't. You are on your own. Always on your own.

@NorthBankNadim @willow1886 @SamJDean

Arsenal needs an in-house meeting about its use of social media. It creates drama out of nothing, generates ‘must win’ tension, and asks the fans to bring energy whilst the players don’t. It’s creating a disconnect between fans and team, when they want it to do the opposite.

@henrywinter Agree Henry. We play a bit like the England teams of yesteryear. Good players who look totally paralysed at present. Arteta needs to chill. Telling the full backs to get out of the wingers channels would help.

Arsenal have nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear cripples a good group of players. And they are good players, we’ll see that at the World Cup, three have a very realistic chance of winning it (Raya and Zubimendi with Spain, Saliba with France). Rice and Gabriel are contenders for FOTY/POTY, Dowman for YPOTY. It’s just fear holding Arsenal back. That was clear with their nervy response to a more confident Bournemouth. Fear inhibits attacking instincts; wide players check back rather than attack, midfielders pause before releasing, defenders pass the ball between them rather than progress it quicker. Fear stalks the crowd. Fans can help dispel the fear by staying to the end and not booing a team top of the table. But really it's down to Mikel Arteta to confront this fear threatening to ruin Arsenal's season. How? Partly through body language: Arteta looks almost anxious in the technical area, transmitting doubt rather than defiance. Partly through selection: give the fearless Max Dowman a start wide, believe in Eberechi Eze more (nb injuries). Partly tactical: adopt a more front-foot philosophy, tell wingers to take on their full-backs, tell Raya to distribute the ball quicker; attack, make the opposition fearful, get Viktor Gyokeres in behind. Partly messaging: make it simpler, stating belief in the players, and less scripted “bring your dinner”; learn from Pep's mastery of press conferences. No need to panic. Still top. Still have good players. Just have to fight the fear. And believe. #AFC