Today is one of the most exciting days I have had for many a year. While you are all getting out of bed and getting ready for your day ahead, I will be setting off to collect the two new additions to our family. Am I excited? You bet I am!

I do realise though I will have been back home for many hours before our illustrious leader joins us, in fact I bet I will be home before he even stops snoring!!

I know I have already mentioned this, but – a couple of weeks ago I had a dream, a dream that we were playing the Chavs – we lost 4-1.

Eduardo was our goal scorer, but I haven’t a clue who scored theirs, and I don’t really care!

As I said then; dreams really don’t come true, do they?

Football is a funny old game, we laugh at some results, we cry at some of ours and we get wound up and stressed about so much – sometimes we even fall out

This weekend we play the Chavs at our Fortress and all I can think about is what emotion will I be feeling come 6pm on Sunday night. Will we be thinking that’s it, title challenge over, could it be ok a draw is not a bad result, or will it be – that’s it, win our game in hand and we can bloody win the premiership this season.

My head tells me we won’t be laughing, but my heart tells me we won’t be following the dream, and something, just something tells me to forget all that and have belief in our team. We are never better than when our backs are against the wall and to a degree they are. So many injuries for us, so many ‘injured’ Chavs have suddenly become fit again. But the biggest thing for me is the loss at Sunderland, the rant by Arson, the bookies giving us little to no chance…. That is why I am truly starting to believe we will win.

Anelka, the man who told the world he should never have left us, now says that winning the premiership with his current team would be better than when he won it with us! Well thank you, that is why I believe we will win, Arson made you the player you are and that is how you repay him, which just shows us all what you are really made of!

As Rasp said yesterday, many of Anelka’s family made a whole lot of money… And that was because of Arsenal, not because of the million clubs he has played for since!!

So who do we really need to worry about in the Chav team?????

The answer to me is simple, all of them!

When we play the sides that have weaknesses, our team seems think the game is won before the whistle goes to kick off, and yes I include both Mancs in that statement, but on Sunday we are up against the current leaders in the premiership, there are no weak spots so everyone has to, and will be focused and fighting to the end.

Slowly but surely my belief increases, but Arson has the final say. He has to pick the right eleven, a mix of strong defence and clinical attack. Hit them from the off, put them on the back foot from the moment the whistle blows – Wigan did, Aston Villa did it – so can we!!

This morning I don’t care about rumours, I don’t care about what the Rags write, what I care about most is that our Little Willy gets his swelling down (not what most men want I know) but we need him, we need him alongside Vermaelen and to boss the defence.

If we do that my friends, we will be the ones left smiling……

Don’t forget to have a peep at the new widget …..

After 2 weeks wait our team failed us, what went wrong?  I don’t really know, a slight attitude problem I would guess. We need more desire to win.  We need to believe..

If we still need to find a scapegoat  we cannot for a change point the finger at our favourite villains Diaby, Eboue or Bendtner.
If we were the darling buds of  the media we could blame it on our massive injury list.. But only Liverpool have top players out.. Instead we are just bottlers in their eyes.

I think the finger of blame should go to, well at least to some extent to Mr Wenger OBE, it wasn’t fair on Eduardo to be leading a line with Nasri and Rosicky as his strike partners. Now I love all three of these players but to expect them to lead the line was asking too much.
All three are still trying to recover their pre injury form.

Also with Dudu he is not a traditional no 9 type striker and to have him up top on his own is never his natural position, as I said when he was starting to comeback from his leg break, don’t expect too much from him, he wasn’t a world beater before the injury, but we made him up to be the greatest player on earth because we all wanted him to make a full recovery, but perhaps he became better than he really was in our eyes. Or could the media reaction to his definate penalty against Celtic affected him? He was shaping up okay until then..  I would have liked to have seen AA start even if he was a bit tired, just to take some of the scoring burden away from Dudu’s shoulders.

The other disappointment for me was Aaron Ramsey, we all saw the highlights of him playing for Wales against Scotland last week, he ran the game, but we never see him do the same for Arsenal, wouldn’t it be easier to fit into Arsenal’s sleek system rather than the longer ball way of Wales?  Is it that the Premiership is of a far higher level than the international scene or is he overwhelmed by playing next to such quality players?.. Who knows..

One thing is for sure we cannot keep losing games like this.. This is a squad of players that come around every four or five years and we have to make the most of it before they start an exodus one by one, leaving us to rebuild again like we had to when Hleb and Flamini left a few years ago.

But in fairness we were in such control in the first 30 minutes we should have put a chance or two away, the best one going to Eduardo but the ball was too far underneath him and he could not get a clean strike on the bit. But as usual we allowed the opposition to gain confidence and Sunderland were a half decent side in the second half.
Have we heard that before?

Almunia.. 6.. Never had much to do in reality, perhaps he could have come for the corner that lead to the goal, but I doubt if he would have got to it as it was curling away.

Sagna.. 7.. Was our main attacking threat from the flanks, I just wish he would cut inside now and again and do a give and go, his crossing is too predictable.

Gallas 7.5 Our best defender yesterday and he also has the winning mentality, it’s a pity some of our attackers don’t have the same desire.

Vermaelen 6.. A pretty average performance from him for a change, at fault for the goal. He lost a header to Darren Bent then failed to recover when the ball came back in the box.

Traore. 6.5 .. Without knowing it I think he may of put in a transfer request yesterday (Saturday) he isn’t as good as either Clichy or Gibbs so he is probably third in the pecking order unless either of the other two go. He wasn’t terrible (better than Silvestre) but he made some terrible cross field passes in front of our penalty area.

Song.. 7.5.. Played pretty well, The ref didn’t like his style of defending unless the boot was on the other foot and a Sunderland player did the same thing.  Done well not to be booked..

Fabregas.. 7.. Tried to play the captains role but frustratingly started to settle for long-range shots at goal…

Nasri.. 6.5 Tidy, but never really got into the game. He should have been fresh as a daisy after a rest, and with a few matches behind him, looked a little lethargic.

Rosicky.. 6.5.. Same as Nasri.. Never really got into the game as well as he can.

Ramsey. 6.. Forgot he was playing in some parts of the game, it was obvious he was going to be the one coming off first.

Eduardo.. 6. As I said earlier, I don’t think the role suits him leading the line as the sole striker.

Subs..

Arshavin 6.5.. Never really looked too interested after he got dumped on his arse a couple of times, surely it isn’t too cold for him..

Walcott.. 6.5.. Looked lively, but just went through the motions, did a very good ball across the six yard box that no one latched on to.

Vela. 6.. Didn’t really look any different from Eduardo, left footed and a bit lightweight. Sky never managed to show a replay of the penalty shout mmmm.

So all in all a bit of a piss off, I just  hope normal service will be resumed next week.

Prizes, thats what points mean, and today we are going for the Brucie Bonus

I am still smiling from a comment London made yesterday. The wise man had found out that our game against Sunderland was being shown live on Italia television and that all we have to do is find a good Italian bar, sit down with a few beers and watch the game.

Here I am sat in a tiny village; lucky to have a local public house and a post office, and all I now want to do is find a little Italian bar with a television! It just isn’t going to happen, sadly!

You have a good time London, hopefully watching us score a few

What a day yesterday! The Henry debate goes on… and on and on, Arson suggests a replay, as does Thierry – then one of the biggest bullies in the game tells ROI to get over it and me, I’m just bored with it so that’s the last time it finds its way into a post – well one that I write anyway!

What saddens me though is all the lack of football news because of what has been going on.

Wojciech Szczensy’s loan to Brentford is the only bit of news I can find about us, oh and Fat Frank is having the same kind of treatment that Robin is having in attempt to speed up his recovery. I am not sure there is a horse big enough out there!

On to our little game today

Do we think Arshavin will be rested? – I personally can’t understand why he would be, especially as during the last few games for us he has had a gentle work out so he shouldn’t be too tired! I know he played midweek but he is a fit footballer and should be able to manage another stroll around today. Rest him on Tuesday please, not today. Sunderland will fear him and that’s half the battle won.

Same goes for Cesc, Gallas and Sagna, rest them on Tuesday if needed, not today..

But Wenger pointedly said that the mental and physical fatigue of international fixtures had taken a toll on the French contingent and Andrey Arshavin, so my hopes will be dashed when the team is announced

Theo is in the squad, I hope he is a sub and comes on for twenty minutes, against what should be a tiring defence by then

Same goes for Denilson and Vela, if they are in the squad, start the game with them on the bench – Tuesday at home would be a better game for some of these players to start, not today in what could be a tricky trip up t’north and where three points are so so important.

Sunderlands last few results – won one, lost two and drawn three. They beat The Dippers, drew against The Mancs and got beat by the Spuds!!! Work that lot out …

Like us though, Sunderland are having a tough time with injuries. Their keeper Gordon is out and Fulop takes his place, and they are missing Cattermole, Turner, Jones and Anderson.

For them, that must be like our injury list so all is equal!

Last season we drew 1-1, but last season we couldn’t find that small gap between two posts. This season is a different story and we are creating more clear-cut chances and taking them. I honestly can’t see any other result than an away win, but football is a funny old game

Arson says:-
“The game against Chelsea has more significance if we win at Sunderland’.

Of course it will, but if you make too many changes today Arson, we won’t get all three points, the winning run will have been broken and with it will go a little bit of our players confidence.

We have a big week ahead and after the next three games we COULD be top of the English Premiership, top of the group in the Champions League and sitting pretty as we head into December.

Just start with the strongest eleven we have fit and we will win!

I am sticking with

Almunia
Sagna TV Gallas Silvestre
Cesc Song Rosicky
Nasri Eduardo Arshavin

But I don’t for one minute think that I will be right!

Have a great day

A question to leave you with about the ACON – Who would you trust more, Ramsey or Denilson?

We face Sunderland this Saturday at the Stadium of Light and here I am on Tuesday night wondering whether we will see something different from Arsenal this weekend. I think I mentioned it in the aftermath of RVP’s injury but today I’m going to give it full attention.

Traditionally, Wenger has preferred the conventional 4-4-2 with the striker popping up at the flanks just like Henry once did and another idiot who tried to do the same but to no avail but this season saw something new. Yes, there were the occasional 4-5-1 tactics but never for prolonged period of time. Ever since we kicked off at Goodison Park, Wenger has implemented the 4-3-3 formation with RVP as the focal point of the attack. Now that the Dutchman is out for the next 6 weeks, and the next best choice of Bendtner is also suffering from injury, therein lies a possibility that I want to explore. Could Wenger switch his formation once again?

I may be wrong and I wouldn’t mind be proven so but I doubt Eduardo can operate as the focal point of the attack. No offence but he lacked the physical built and roughness to withstand constant abuse from the opposition defenders. Unless the ball is played to feet, I seriously think he will have a hard time trying to win the ball. It is also hard to envisioned him going past players once he has the ball at his feet. He is not the quickest around (ok, fine. There were the few times which he managed to go past players by playing the ball forward). Does he need a partner to be properly efficient? I leaning towards a yes.

With the current mini-crisis in terms of strikers, I personally think it would be best for Wenger to either revert back to the 4-4-2 formation or change the 4-3-3 to a tighter unit with less emphasis on the 2/3 of the front trio to stick to the flanks. This will reduce the chance of Eduardo being isolated up front on his own. Provided Diaby is still out injured, Rosicky and Nasri could both come in and interchange the midfield role. When in defensive mode, it allows the team the chance to go 4 in midfield to cope while still having 2 outlet for counter attacks in Eduardo and Arshavin. The former both possesses defensive qualities that is very underrated. While both may not the best of tacklers must as Gilberto once shown, positioning is the key.

Having them there will still allow Fabregas to operate in the role which he obviously revel in. This season’s formation allowed him the oppourtunity to roam further forward without being stuck up front the entire time like what happened towards the end of last season. He could always drop deep and collect the ball or make the late runs into the box, much like how he is positioned in Spain’s national team. The 2 in Song and Diaby operating further behind is also helping to contribute to Fabregas’ incredible scoring record this season.

Then again, the game is still another 3 days away, so I will let that linger for a while. Till tomorrow.

Repesca Asiático-Oceánica

Nueva Zelanda se hizo fuerte en su casa y tras ganar por 1-0 a Bahrein se ha ganado el pase al Mundial. Un saque de esquina en el minuto 45 fue cabeceado por el delantero Rory Fallon en el primer palo y desató la locura en Wellington. Tras el descanso, la selección asiática tuvo la oportunidad de igualar mediante un penalti detenido por Paston a Sayed Mohamed.

CAF

En África ha habido dramatismo, mucho dramatismo pero sin duda alguna irán selecciones clásicas como Nigeria y Camerún que se echaban en falta dejando atrás a Gabón y a Túnez.

Camerún ganó por 0-2 a Marruecos que ha decepcionado durante toda la clasificación. En el minuto 18 Webó recibe la pelota en la frontal del área y tras irse sin muchas dificultades de los defensores lanza al palo opuesto y tras tocar en él la pelota se introduce en las mallas. En la reanudación, minuto 52 Eto’o consigue hacer el segundo tras un córner rematado por Song y que él solo la empuja a las mallas ante la pasividad de la defensa que lo había dejado solo.

	Equipo	PJ	G	E	P	GF	GC	Pts.
	Camerún	6	4	1	1	9	2	13
	Gabón	6	3	0	3	9	7	9
	Togo	6	2	2	2	3	7	8
	Marruecos	6	0	3	3	3	8	3

Fuente: Fifa.com

Egipto venció por 2-0 a Argelia y tendrán que jugar un partido de desempate el próximo miércoles en terreno neutral. El primer gol local llegó por obra de Zaki en el minuto 2, que tras varios rechaces del portero y la defensa pasiva logró inaugurar el marcador. Ya en el minuto 91′ Meteb tras recibir un centro desde el extremo izquierdo remató de cabeza al palo contrario.

	Equipo	PJ	G	E	P	GF	GC	Pts.
	Argelia	6	4	1	1	9	4	13
	Egipto	6	4	1	1	9	4	13
	Zambia	6	1	2	3	2	5	5
	Ruanda	6	0	2	4	1	8	2

Fuente: Fifa.com

Nigeria tras ganar por 2-3 a Kenya, y eso que los locales empezaron adelantándose a los 16 minutos con gol de Oliech que tras llegar desde la izquierda se plantó frente al portero y se la lanzó entre las piernas. Así se llegó al descanso y tras él apareció Oba Martins que en el 63′ logró la igualada tras una pelota que había quedado en el segundo palo y en la cual se adelanta al portero local. Tan solo tres minutos después, Yakubu hizo el 1-2 tras recoger un rechace que el mismo había provocado y adelantar a la Águilas Verdes. En el minuto 77′, Wetende empató con un buen cabezazo tras un centro desde la derecha. En el 83′ Martins Tras recibir un pase de cabeza remató de chilena – bien bien no se como le da- e introduce la pelota en la portería.

	Equipo	PJ	G	E	P	GF	GC	Pts.
	Nigeria	6	3	3	0	9	4	12
	Túnez	6	3	2	1	7	4	11
	Mozambique	6	2	1	3	3	5	7
	Kenia	6	1	0	5	5	11	3

Fuente: Fifa.com

Repesca Europea

Grecia – Ucrania, partido que fue bastante aburrido salvo algunas jugadas que llevaron en ambos bandos.

Irlanda – Francia, el partido fue bastante igualado durante los 90 minutos con ocasiones para ambos equipos pero un combinación en la frontal acabó con un disparo de Anelka que tras dar en Dunne golpeó al palo y se metió en las mallas, dando una ventaja muy grande a Francia por lo visto en el partido.

Portugal – Bosnia, otra selección que se lleva un triunfo sin merecerlo mucho, Bosnia dispusó de varias remates al palo y de oportunidades claras para irse a casa con un festín de goles y un gol de Bruno Alves tras rematar con la cabeza un centro desde la derecha en el 32′ resolvió el partido.

Russia – Eslovenia, Bilyadetinov fue el encargado de materializar los dos tantos de los locales, el primero tras recibir el balón en el área y deshacerse de dos defensas en el 40′, el segundo en el 52′ tras recibir un pase de Arshavin y que un defensa el balón muerto en sus pies. En el 88′ Necik pusó emoción tras rematar de cabeza un despeje del portero.

Galera do Cadê Meu Camisa 10?, ontem tive um daqueles dias dedicado ao futebol, assisti quatro jogos e depois vi os melhores momentos de outros dois, vamos a análise:

Rússia 2 x 1 Eslovênia: Valendo vaga na Copa do Mundo, esses dois times se enfrentaram dando uma aula de disciplina tática, eu acho muito legal essas partidas do leste europeu, são times ajeitados no tradicional 4-4-2, com duas linhas de quatro fixa, a disciplina dos jogadores impressiona. Do lado russo, o trio de frente joga muita bola, Arshavin, Bilyaledtinov e Pavlyuchenko, aliás o último por sinal, na minha opinião foi o nome do jogo, em duas jogadas individuais dele que desmontaram a defesa eslovena os russos marcaram.

Ceará 2 x 2 Guarani: Esse jogo também parecia vaga na Copa do Mundo, como foi brigado. É impressionante, a diferença de um jogo da Série A para a B, na Série B a correria é insandecida, não existe aquele estudo, é contra-ataque em cima de contra-ataque, com certeza os dois times subirão para a elite do futebol e alguns jogadores merecem destaque, do lado cearense, Boiadeiro já vem sendo observado pelo Corinthians e Geraldo também merece uma atenção, do lado do Bugre, gosto muito do atacante Ricardo Xavier, o meia Caique também me surpreendeu e o goleiro Douglas que teve boa atuação.

São Paulo 2 x 0 Vitória: Não foi uma partidaça, mas o São Paulo foi perfeito, letal. Se o time manter essa concentração para os próximos jogos, será difícil tirar o título do Morumbi, o time muito bem postado taticamente e sem se afobar, foi ao longo do jogo acuando o time baiano até ir fazendo os seus gols. Destaque positivo, Hernanes que está comandando o tricolor ao título, está aos poucos assumindo a liderança do grupo, Jorge Wagner que novamente na reta final vem sendo importantíssimo, Arouca e González que deram uma boa dor de cabeça para Ricardo Gomes e Hugo que mesmo com um pé fora do Morumbi, volta a fazer seu golzinhos importantes. Aspecto negativo, Hugo (o cara é tão incrível que ele aparece nos dois quesitos!) e André Dias, não pode acontecer o que aconteceu ontem, tudo bem que a vontade de ganhar é imensa, mas se o árbitro quisesse expulsar ambos, ele não estaria errado e time poderia sair bem prejudicado e o Washington, eu continuo querendo ele para compor banco no ano que vem, mas é impressionante o talento dele para perder gol, ontem ele perdeu dois gols incríveis, espero que ele guarde para quando for necessário.

Coritiba 2 x 1 Atlético-MG: Ótima partida, os dois times jogaram muito bem, não é a toa que se contasse apenas o returno os dois estariam na disputa de uma vaga para a Libertadores. Eu disse isso, uma vez e volto a repetir, considero uma mentira a posição do time paranaense, pelo plantel disponível o time era para estar em melhor posição na tabela. Quanto ao Galo, meu favorito ao título, agora ficou mais difícil, o São Paulo abriu seis pontos e graças ao tropeço do seu maior rival, o Galo continuará ao final dessa rodada no G4, sua preocupação maior agora e fazer os pontos em casa e tentar roubar um ponto fora para garantir sua vaga na Libertadores.

Cruzeiro 1 x 1 Grêmio: Surpresa! Essa foi a sensação quando vi que o Grêmio empatara o jogo aos 46 do segundo tempo, jogando com dois homens a menos dentro do Mineirão e sem nenhuma pretensão a vôos maiores. Acho que Adilson Batista está querendo fazer média com o time do Olímpico. Brincadeiras a parte, o Cruzeiro perdeu ontem a grande oportunidade de entrar no G4 e assustar o pessoal de cima. A Raposa está fazendo um returno maravilhoso, mas não poderia ter desperdiçado tal chance. Pode ser que no final esses dois pontos façam diferença.

Costa Rica 0 x 1 Uruguai: Foi vale-tudo, do jeito que os uruguaios gostam, tanto que saíram com a vitória com gol do “guerreiro” Lugano. Os dois times são bons e fizeram um excelente jogo, agora o juizão foi muito bunda-mole com os uruguaios, logo no começo do jogo, uma entrada violenta do zagueiro uruguaio, quase na altura do joelho a entrada e nem amarelo o jogador recebeu, esse lance serviu como “UMA LICENÇA PARA BATER” do time uruguaio, a Celeste bateu sem medo de ser feliz nos costa-riquenhos que com o tempo começaram a responder também e adivinha quem foi expulso? Um jogador da Costa Rica. Bom, os uruguaios botaram uma mão e meia na taça, e depois de tanto tempo, poderemos ter todos os campeões mundiais em uma Copa do Mundo.

So recently we have won the last two games 4-1, against AZ and Wolves.

Fabregas scored 3 goals and Nasri, Diaby and Arshavin scored one each and finally, two Wolves own goals completed our impressive goal scoring form.

They were brilliant performances against ordinary teams. We have played outstanding football and the team seem to be playing for eachother.  Passing the ball, when they have the opportunity to turn and shoot, to a player in a better position to score.  Arshavin was the key man against AZ, with 3 assists.  He often looks very lazy in games, but what he does do with the ball is know exactly when to pass it and exactly who to pass it to.  He can beat a man and he can score goals.  Which is alot better than our last Eastern European wide man *cough* Hleb *cough*

Im not going to talk to much about the games because we played brillaint football and thats what you want to see.  I was impressed with Nasri’s finish against AZ, he showed real composer in his comeback start. Its nice to see we can score goals from all around the team.

However, one person who has been key to putting goals on a plate for other players, is RVP who was recently seen doing this….

Reports are saying 3-4 weeks and others are saying months.  Whatever it is it’s going to be a long time.  We have lost our lanky Dane to injury and god knows where Carlos Vela is.  So we are left with Eduardo anddd ermmmmmm ermmmm…it will give the chance for Sanchez Watt and other young strikers from our reserves.  I guess it could give the chance for Arshavin to play up front and show why he wants to play centrally.  Maybe not that far up the field but you never know with the little Russian he could prove to be a class striker for us.

So yes, if you want reasons for not playing pointless friendlies, look at RVP’s injury against the Italians.

However, saying that yesterday I watched our young Welshman by the name of Aaron Ramsey absolutley destroy the Scots.  He was on a different level to all the players on the field. Saying that all the players on the field were Championship players including Darren Fletcher, he couldnt carry his scottish team by providing an assist, a pre-assist (think Hleb) and a wonderful solo goal.

Thats all really, this post has particularly hard for me to write because I have recently broken my wrist playing football. I just fell over, and didnt realise until I was driving home that my wrist was swelling up at an alarming rate.  So no football for 6 weeks and maybe surgery after I have my cast taken off.  So my post will be short and to the point.

I HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO PLAY FOOTBALL. DAMN YOU POWERLEAGUE, DAMN YOU.

A bear is powerful, but it does get tired quickly if it doesn’t hunt often. Russia was much like this metaphoric bear tonight. They played extremely well in the first half. Stringing together amazing passes, but they couldn’t get any real shots on goal. After Zhirkov’s inspirational run Russia really began to attack. Finally we got an amazing goal from Bilyaletdinov who struck the ball beautifully into the top right corner. Early on in the second half Bilyaletdinov scored another nice goal. There were also some attempts from Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin. The game wasn’t over however. Even though Russia had a lot of great chances and really outplayed Slovenia, near the end of the game Slovenia began to take revenge scoring a goal after an incredible save from Akinfeev. The Russian defence really let us down at the end of the game and some sloppy passing wasn’t helpful either. This means that the final score was 2-1 which means Slovenia have a potentially useful away goal. So in 4 days time Russia need a win or at least a draw to go through. I’m sure we’ll be able to come away with a win.

It’s the 1st leg of the play-offs today and tomorrow.  Russia are playing at home tonight against Slovenia. We need a win to put us in a good position for the second leg. Can Guus Hiddink bring our side to victory? Kick off is at 7.00pm (Local time) which makes it a 4.00pm kick off in the U.K. The other matches are listed below.

14/11/09 15:00 Maputo: Mozambique vs Tunisia
14/11/09 15:30 Fes: Morocco vs  Cameroon
14/11/09 15:30 Lome: Togo vs  Gabon
14/11/09 15:30 Kigali:  Rwanda vs Zambia
14/11/09 16:00 Nairobi: Kenya vs Nigeria
14/11/09 16:00 Ouagadougou: Burkina Faso vs Malawi
14/11/09 16:00 Abidjan: Côte d’Ivoire vs Guinea
14/11/09 19:00 Moscow: RUSSIA vs Slovenia
14/11/09 19:30 Cairo: Egypt vs Algeria
14/11/09 20:00 San Jose: Costa Rica vs Uruguay
14/11/09 20:00 Omdurman: Sudan vs Benin
14/11/09 20:00 Dublin: Republic of Ireland vs France
14/11/09 20:00 Athens: Greece vs Ukraine
14/11/09 20:30 Lisbon: Portugal vs Bosnia-Herzegovina
15/11/09 17:00 Kumasi: Ghana vs Mali

With enough time at my disposal to sip a cup of tea, I surfed the internet and found a few interesting things I didn’t know, say, ten minutes ago.

Here’s some of them:

• Happy 40th birthday Jens Lehmann! The former Arsenal goalkeeper – now at Stuttgart – is still managing to keep us highly entertained.
• If Walcott was an animal what would he be? A Cheetah? Nah, a lion! And Arshavin? A shark perhaps?
• What’s better than a goal lead? Probably this.
• And if you thought Maradona comparisons only happened with Argentinean players, think again.

Hope you enjoyed that.

A few days later as per usual. I should call my site that. www.fewdayslate.com

Anyways, the game was on at a ungodly hour at 1:30am for me. I did stay up and I thought during the first twenty minutes “shit” my dad was wrong. A bird can shit in the same place TWICE in two years. But the bird missed that spot this time, and actually he wasn’t even in the right country… and then bang bang bang we got three goals in the next 20 minutes. Eduardo taking over Bendtner’s role on the wing forward position put the pressure on Zubar who scored an own goal. At first everyone thought it was an Eduardo style poacher goal but it wasn’t. Not long after, Ramsey drove forward after having been released by Fab, and he layed it off for Eduardo again, who I think was going for the chip into the top corner as the keeps was off his line. Own goal again. It was clearly off target and the head of whoever it was directed it nicely into the goal.

The third goal needs its own paragraph because it was seriously some simple and great football. The kind of goal that I love. Sagna motored down the wing giving it to Fabregas who gave it back to him then a cross into RVP who cushioned the cross with his chocolate foot for the “bursting in the box” midfielder Fabregas to take it completely in his stride and stroke it past the keeper. It really was brilliant. Fabregas and the rest all knew it was too. He instantly looked at Sagna and RVP to acknowledge that they just scored a goal playing the game they want to play. Just a more serious look on his face saying that is how business is done. Work is Fun, when its like that.

Second half was a bit more drab, but Arshavin popped up to get his share of the spoils with a nicely hit volley from outside the area after a clearance. It was hit decently and just the placement of it beat everyone, and mainly the keeper. It wasn’t a hard shot by any means but like I said the placement and the skiddy ground probably made it harder to deal with. Nonetheless it was a good goal. Wolves got a consolation which would have had me rithing as we should have had a cleansheet. A setpiece again not to mention.

I also watched the Chelsea game, and it was more of a game of power and few shots. Second half proved more interesting to watch. Anelka was playing decently, and Drogba was poor poor poor. Mind you poor bastard got a good kick in his chest for being poor too. Evans came out to clear a header but instead of jumping in the traditional sense with your feet pointing to the ground, he but a sole of studs into Drogbas ribcage. It didn’t look like it was a soft impact either. Drogba then got a yellow. Ha. Outrageous. Evans shouldn’t have been on the pitch anymore but now Drogba was on a caution. It didn’t matter for Chelsea as they eventually won by a goal from Terry.

It also came from a setpiece which I am not sure if should have been given or not. Fletcher came in hard against Cole but did get the ball. Its though because it was an odd tackle. Their bodies sort of clanged together parallel like and the ball was picked up straight by Fletcher. Anyhow, freekick, header, goal. United lose, Chelsea consolidate 1st by 5 points from Arsenal who are second with a game in hand. It just makes the game at the end of the month against the Blues all that much more interesting.

Its a fuckin break now, when we’re in full flow again. Do these international teams really need to play friendlies and that sort. Can they not just be included in European Cups and World Cups based on how many players in that country they got playing for top teams…

Oh well.

A quick one today as I’m writing this at work as I don’t yet have internet access in my new flat (posts maybe a bit sporadic for the next week or two).

1. It’s interesting to see Arsenal’s attack being lauded after 36 goals in just 11 games but it’s premature to think they’ll definitely break 100 goals. All their home games bar Spurs have been against sides in the bottom eight while it was the first time since the 6-1 against Everton on the opening day that they’d scored more than two away.

That said, they have been pretty awesome and you can only beat what’s put in front of you. The 4-3-3 formation suits Fabregas down to a tee and he already has nearly as many assists as last year as well as the small matter of nine goals in all competitions. Sunderland away is next but the real test comes in three weeks when Chelsea come to the Emirates. The best attack vs the best defence; something will have to give.

2. Surely if you’re 2-0 down in a game you’ll take a draw at the end of it. I jest slightly but Man City once again showed defensive frailty against Burnley and the current back four does not seem up to scratch if City are to be pushing for a Champions League spot. They may have only lost once but drawing all the time is not a recipe for success (just ask Liverpool last season). In the last five drawn games they could have instead won two and lost three but still been better off. Needing time to gel isn’t a good excuse.

3. It’s still only a matter of time before the Tango Man gets the chop at Hull. Jimmy Bullard was inspirational in his home debut (ten months after signing) but Stoke were doing fine until Faye got himself sent off. As luck would have it Hull have two more home games coming up against West Ham and Everton and I’d hazard a guess that if he loses both he’ll be out of a job.

Phil Brown

4. Man Utd were probably marginally the better team but Chelsea still found a way to win the game. That’s usually the mark of champions elect. A five point gap is not insurmountable at this stage of the season but if you take the big four clashes as the main opportunity to make up ground/build a lead, then Man Utd’s habit of losing them (just two wins from nine this season and last) makes life all the more difficult for themselves in terms of catching up.

5. I imagine missing a penalty wasn’t in Darren Bent’s list of ways to show Harry Redknapp the error of this ways.

6. Is the Premier League turning into a three-way race for the title and a four-way race for 4th place? Of Aston Villa, Liverpool, Tottenham and Man City the latter have the biggest squads but the former two have more experience of being involved in such a race. Villa were very good against a terrible Bolton team and might be better placed this season when they’re having to chase a 4th spot rather than lead from the front and collapse like last year. 

T.

Arsenal climbed to the second spot in the Premier League beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 away from home. It was not a good first half though the Gunners put in two goals or rather Wolves conceded two own goals. As my friend sent an sms, the way the Wolves set up play in the first half, they were fast becoming lambs for slaughter!!!

The Wolves matched Arsenal attack for attack in the first half and surely had a couple of chances to go ahead. And I think this season Arsenal is enjoying a bit of luck in some matches where one they didnt concede and two scored on the other end when it mattered. Eduardo was lively upfront and was instrumental in pressurising the Wolves defence in making them concede two goals in the first half. Diaby getting substituted with Song (who was rested initially by keeping him in the bench) improved the midfield play.

Ramsey making a rare premier league start was quite impressive and so was Fabregas and Arshavin. Gallas was brave at the back with some impressive tackles and Gibbs at left back was a refreshing presence. van Persie provided a sublime assist to Fabregas for the third goal,coming out of a beautiful Arsenal play and Arshavin rounded off a beautiful goal to finish off in style. We should not have conceded the goal in the last few minutes and Almunia definitely would not have liked it.

Arsenal now have 36 goals from 11 games. Van Persie has 7 goals, Fabregas 6 goals and Arshavin has 4. In terms of assists, Fabregas leads with 10 and van Persie has 7.

Another impressive performance saw us take three points as we comfortably beat Wolves 4-1. Two own goals, and one each from Fabregas and Arshavin rounded off our scoring for the day. We move up to second in the table, and with Chelsea v Manchester United today we should gain points over our rivals no matter the outcome.

We head off to an International break now, and for maybe the first time ever I’m happy about it. Since it’s the playoffs only a few players in our squad will leave, (Gallas, Sagna, and Arshavin), meaning that players like Vermaelen, Song, Fabregas, and van Persie will get a much-needed 2 weeks off.

Recap:

Wenger threw out a surprise lineup that didn’t include Song. When asked after the match why Song didn’t start he said he wanted to rest him, I’m wondering why that would be such a need when it was the last match before a 2 week break. But Ramsey, Diaby, and Fabregas made up the midfield, with Arshavin, Eduardo, and RvP up front.

Wolves kept their promise and attacked us in the early minutes, they lacked any real bite, with their best chances being a few headers, one that was cleared off the line by Gibbs.

We were struggling to gain any real momentum, and in the 23rd minute Diaby hobbled off with an injury, Song came on for replace him, allowing Ramsey to move forward. Almost instantly the team’s dynamic changed, and showed how important Song really is.

A few minutes after the substitution Craddock nodded a Fabregas free-kick ball behind his own goal, the Spaniard sent over the corner and Zubar nudged the ball into his own net. At first view it looked like Eduardo had put it in, but Eduardo rejected any celebrations and replays showed he didn’t get a touch.

Seven minutes later it was 2-0. Ramsey and Eduardo raced clear with only Craddock as cover. The Welshman fed the Croatian, who tried to return the favour. However the ball flicked off the defender and flew over keeper Wayne Hennessey. Can say they were two very unlucky goals to concede, but they only occurred because our players were putting them under extreme pressure. So it was a well-earned lead.

On the whistle before half, Sagna clipped the ball to Van Persie who displayed the deftest of touches to set up Fabregas to fire home at the near post. It was 3-0 at halftime and the match was in hand.

In the 66th minute Arshavin darted inside his marker and fired in a shot that tested Hennessey to the full. When the corner came across, the keeper could only slap the ball out to the Russian. He thumped a low shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the area.

At 4-0, Wenger soon brought on Rosicky and Nasri for Eduardo and Arshavin.

The rest of the match was a bit of an exhibition for us, everyone was trying back heels, and when moves were unsuccessful they would smile at eachother. Fabregas, van Persie, and Rosicky all had chances they probably would have put home had it been tied, and in the 88th minute Wolves got some consolation when Craddock headed home a corner.

Player Ratings:

Almunia – 6.5 - Largely untested throughout the match, did a good job of coming out and collecting the ball.

Sagna – 7 - Shut down his flank, offered support in attack.

Gallas – 7 - Composed, easily handled everything thrown his way.

Vermaelen – 7 – Managed to kick a guy in the face and not get carded for it which is impressive in itself. Same as Gallas, composed and handled everything thrown his way.

Gibbs – 7 – Continued to impress. Threw in a really bad challenge late that he was carded for, but overall was very good.

Diaby – 5 - Only on for 23 minutes, and wasn’t impressive in those 23 minutes.

Ramsey – 6 – Ramsey played like he had too much pressure on himself. Held on to the ball way too long and make some bad decisions late on, almost like he had been waiting for this start so long that he built it up in his head that this was his one shot at the first team this year. Showed all the skills and talent to do special things, just wasn’t in the right frame of mind.

Fabregas – 8 - Our captain continued his great form with another goal and overall strong performance. It’s been said all around the internet lately, but he really is best midfielder in the world right now, with the only player keeping up with him being Drogba.

van Persie – 7.5 - Will be disappointed to not get a goal today, but was very impressive throughout the match. Assisted Fabregas for the third goal and played great passes all match.

Eduardo - 7.5 - Same as RvP, doesn’t have the goal to show for it but very impressive. Directly responsible for the first two goals going in, and had good link up play all match.

Arshavin – 7 - Had a relatively quiet match until the 4th, which he showed no fear and slotted home nicely.

Subs:

Song – 7.5 – Came on and made an instant impact. All over the place making challenges as he stopped almost all of Wolves midfield attacks.

Nasri – 6.5 - Showed good skill after coming on for Arshavin, involved in a few attacks.

Rosicky – 7 - Settled nicely into the side after replacing Eduardo and attacked constantly for the 20 or so minutes he was on.

So three more points away from home as we continue to score goals for fun. Now our players have some time to rest up and get ready for a month-long stretch of 2 matches a week.

That’s it for today, I’ll be back if there is any big news, otherwise I will enjoy the break from blogging and won’t be back until next Saturday with a small recap of our players in action at the playoffs.

Everyone pray for a draw today between Chelsea and United.

Poll of the day:

Not a bad showing… first a couple of quick points.

1. Judging the second an “own goal” is harsh because I am certain the keeper was beaten. Eduardo got a great touch off a scuffed pass and I think it was on goal, additionally, the keeper was going the wrong way from the original trajectory.  Or so it looked to me. (later: Okay, looking at the replay it looked like it was very lucky, but how many own goals does a guy have to force before he gets credit for one?)

2. Aaron Ramsey had a great run out.  He was involved and was in the right place at the right time, making creative passes and insightful runs.  He needs to work on his finishing but that will come with time and practice.  He has the confidence he appears to be made of stronger stuff than some of his other team mates; if he isn’t out injured, he will have time to string games together and fill in as needed in the middle.

3. Speaking of injuries, Diaby is out again with a calf injury.  If it is a sever muscle tear, I can tell you from experience he will be out at least two months , bringing him back to match fitness just as we prepare to lose Alex Song for ANC (ACN.  Whatever).

4. Song had a brilliant game, even though he was supposed to be resting.  For a 10 minute stretch in the second half he was absolutely everywhere, breaking up Wolves passes.  He improves with every game and he will be greatly missed in February.

5. Speaking of being missed, I miss Gael because he is a great player and he has the right attitude.  But I love watching Gibbs play and he is deputizing admirably, making the most of his opportunity and I expect him to be chosen for South Africa if he stays healthy.  I also expect that of all the Gunners, he will be the next one chosen for a Calvin Klein underwear campaign.

6. Sagna.  Rvp, Cesc, and Bac have been so prolific working together, with Bac providing an outlet on the wing as well as assist/crosses.  If I were a poet, I would write odes to Sagna.  At one point he was marking a man on the line and it looked like the ball had rolled over the line.  Instead of holding up his hand, and moaning for the call (as I’d have done), he kept going and eventually slide-tackled the ball away from his opponent.  What a professional.

More later, this will be a player-by-player review inspired by Goodplaya.

…

I’m back.

I never really see Gallas or Vermaelen anymore except for when they are scoring goals.  It is the burden of a central defender to not be celebrated for everything right that you do, rather to be villified for any mistakes (even if you only have one all day) that result in a goal.  I see less of Gallas because the back line isn’t a shambles anymore and while we still leak goals it is pretty obvious that we are offensive-minded.  The team got sloppy in the later stages of the game and I would have liked to have seen a clean sheet but you could tell that the goal stung and learning consequence-free lessons like this now will help in May.  I hope it matters in May.

Arshavin looked more in sync with the rest of the team than he had against Spurs but the fact that he can have a go at defenders on his own will result in more goals for us.  It seems obvious but just like having a tall man like Bendtner in forward positions, it gives us more options and stretches and destabilizes opposing defenses. I pinch myself thinking about how he became an Arsenal player.  I’m going to call it multidimensional football.  Arsenal operates on more planes of existence and playing style than any other team.  These planes include the fluidity of positions, the hyper-attacking defense, Diaby vs. Denilson in the middle, playing with 3 forwards or just 1.  And there is another one for Arshavin.  He is the only one who operates on the Arshavinal plane and his plane defies physics, logic, and Chuck Norris.  While all other planes converge on Cesc (all hail), Arshavin’s is free floating in space.

I understand that FIFA have other priorities, you know, the small matter of the World Cup in June next year. Surely though, they have a dedicated team that watch as many as matches of clubs from around the globe. Looking at the current list of nominees however, leads me to question whether FIFA has actually watched domestic football since 2006.

These are the players who have been nominated.

If you had a pen and was asked to tick next to every name deserving to be nominated, most of them would probably received a tick even in the year 2006. Only Messi, Fabiano, Diego and perhaps Ribery would have had a question mark next to their name.

19 of the 23 named above are also nominated for the Ballon D’or. What is wrong with that you might ask? That conveys consistency in the selection process. Consistency or laziness?

Had Fifa been watching football since last year, they would have noticed these issues or reasons for which I believe their player choices are flawed.

• Essien picked up a ligament injury in September last year and wasn’t back until late February or March. How can a player missing 5 months of football be featured in this list?
• I thought Fabregas’ absence from December to April was the reason for his non selection. That argument gets squashed emphatically when the Ghanian midfielder gets selected. Even the most die hard Chelsea fan would put Cesc ahead of Essien. You just have to ask the question, who had the bigger impact for their clubs?
• Drogba and Ballack may have had outstanding games but their actions in the CL semi-final match vs Barcelona for me means they shouldn’t have been considered. I don’t know how many people watched that match but it was disgraceful.
• Similarly, no-one doubts Ronaldo’s impact. Unfortunately we saw it firsthand a couple of times in the season. The world also watched his petulance when he was substituted in a match they were winning.
• By selecting them here, FIFA are almost demonstrating that they are happy to turn a blind eye to these misdemeanours. Little do they realize such acts undermine the team on and off the field.
• I made the arguments for Fabregas and Arshavin to win the Ballon D’or and those same reasons apply here. In addition to the points made there about Arshavin, the Russian joined us at a time when expectations were high. Not only did he win the Arsenal world with his performances but he also won the football world with his sportsmanship at Portsmouth.
• Five Barcelona players (not counting Ibrahimovic) are nominated. Why stop there? Why not name the remaining members of the first XI as well?

And what about Van Persie?
The media coverage on the Dutch striker inflated several times over after his two goals against Spurs. Why has it taken so long to recognise his performances? If they and Fifa had been watching since last year they would have recalled the following…..

• Van Persie got both goals at Stamford Bridge last season in a game where we never really excelled but triumphed because of the Dutchman’s skill and persistence.
• Robin also scored an excellent goal against Liverpool just before the Christmas period.
• Who was the guy that scored the only goal in the two legs against Manchester United? You guessed it, Van Persie.

3 examples where the Dutch forward stepped up in big games. Should that not convince them, he also single handedly dragged us out of our slump before we had the luxury of Arshavin and Cesc. A world class player not only raises his game by taking it to another level but he also inspires his team to come out of a testing spell. He did this as interim captain, not an easy responsibility.

Apart from doing things right on the pitch and that includes being more disciplined, Van Persie has also shed the negative reputation that was a part of his DNA when he first joined us.

Proof of his maturity was the calmness he showed when was horrifically stamped upon by Adebayor at Eastlands this season. I wonder if the Togo forward’s desire to be on every media platform possible for right or wrong reasons when he was at Arsenal (and now), is possibly the reason Van Persie has gone so relatively unnoticed in the media until recently.

And I’ll leave you with the the fact that Adebayor was nominated in 2008. Perhaps this award should be renamed as ‘Players who the media love to write about’ award rather than what it is called at the moment.

There ain’t much I can talk to you about this game because I did not stay up till (or wake up at) 3.45 am in the morning to watch it, but I promise I was cheering for the Gunners even when I was asleep. And I searched online for the result after the match to find that our Arsenal boys had put in a brilliant performance against AZ Alkmaar to gain us another 3 points in the group. I was even happier to see my hero skipper Cesc on the scoresheet twice and the recently back Nasri grabbing one for himself as well.

From what I gathered on other sites, Arshavin made up for his lacklusture performance against Tottenham last weekend by making 3 assists last night. Arsene Wenger said that the Russian’s passes were perfectly timed and fair enough, Arshavin was named Man-of-the-Match with, I bet, a very close challenge by captain Fabregas who scored the brace.

Well, for all of you who missed out on the game last night like me, maybe because you had work or classes to attend this morning – here’s a recap on video and I hope you enjoy this. For a detailed match report, this is where I normally go to.

Tricked you

Ok. I’ll admit if you think that’s lame but that pretty much sums up the match doesn’t it. Andrey Arshavin had a blast as Arsenal met (thrash) Alkmaar in the Champions League encounter last night. Qualification is not mathematically secured yet but it would take a miraculous set of results for Arsenal not to go through.

For all of Ronald Koeman’s superb record against Wenger’s Arsenal, he knew that with the latest team he had, they have a mountain to climb to claim anything from this game. Alkmaar came into the game very much prepared to defend, defend and defend. These are the games which previous Arsenal squads have failed to break down. For the moment, we have not witness the same thing this season.

As expected Gibbs came in for the injured Clichy while on the other flank, our weekend assists hero, Bacary Sagna got the rest he deserved as Eboue deputised for him at right back. This allow Wenger to field Nasri and generally put out a more attacking side than he normally would in an European tie. While Eboue put in a steady shift, he does not seem to be himself yesterday. The exuberance was gone from his game and there was less forays into the opposition half than normally expected. Defensively I have no qualms. Was he sick?

Fabregas continued his wonderful scoring streak with another 2 well taken goals. First, he cut in-field and sent a low shot passed the despairing dive of Romero in the Alkmaar goal. The ball moved very slowly even on the watered surface but Romero’s reaction was even slower. It was perfect for us because it meant that Alkmaar would’ve to come out from their shell and we would have more space to roam.

His second early in the second half sealed the tie. Collecting Arshavin’s inch perfect through ball, he was too smart for the Argentinian keeper who was expecting a shot to the far corner when instead Fabregas chose the near post to plant the ball into the net.

Which makes me wonder just a bit. There’s always a tendency for professional players to shoot the ball in certain directions, which in a way makes it easier for the keeper to react when the movement of the ball is expected. If you think you can score this type of goal in the park or when playing with friends, then you are mistaken. As amateurs, we always need to emulate the professionals to look good. While sometimes for the professionals themselves, they need a little bit of Sunday football stuffs.

Nasri got the second goal towards the end of the first half. What I absolutely love about this goal is the way he just used his body movement to sent an Alkmaar defender sprawling without so much as moving the ball. Diaby scored a good breakaway goal late in the second half to seal a comprehensive victory for Arsenal that started with Eduardo’s mischievous back-heel pass for Arshavin. Diaby had another solid if not spectacular game in the middle of the park tonight.

Now, if you read my comments for this season, there has been many posts in which I was not happy with the contribution of Arshavin. In fact, this season as far as I can remember, he has underperformed in my eyes. Is the bar set too high? Were we spoilt by his performance in his first 6 months at the club? I don’t think it’s either. For someone who is as good as him, we need to expect a certain level of performance from Arshavin. What makes it even more disappointing is his workrate when his game isin’t working for him. However it was a different Arshavin that put on the no. 23 shirt yesterday. He was making the runs, being unselfish and tracking back when necessary. That 3 of the goals Arsenal scored yesterday can be contributed to him for the assist is an example of the kind of level he can perform. He won’t be able to that every single match but I sure would like to see more commitment and I’m hoping yesterday’s game will kick-start his season.

The European journey continues.

Arsenal 4 AZ Akmaar 1

Ronald Koeman’s freaky run against Arsenal and English teams in general was abruptly brought to an end. It could have been a lot worse had Arsene decided to keep a Fabregas keen to get his hatrick as well as the stand in goal creating machine in Arshavin.

Barely three minutes had gone when a few one touch passes led to Van Persie firing just wide across goal. That was the warning sign, our forward man daring to break the deadlock with his weaker right foot. It is a good sign of the Dutchman’s confidence that he now regularly makes it a point to dismiss this notion of a chocolate foot.

With Sergio Romero in goal for AZ, the likelihood of a goal or two for us seemed a lot higher than normal. I thought he was young goalkeeper, he is only 3 days older than me and the inexperience showed in his decision-making.

Take nothing away from Fabregas’ first goal. Yes, the shot was weak but when a certain guy across the Capital scores deflected goals time after time and it is proclaimed as pure artistry, we should give credit to Cesc for his quick thinking to taking a shot towards the near post and fooling Romero who had already gone the other way.

Once Cesc scored it seemed inevitable that more goals would come. It was closer to half time but it was a beauty. First Arshavin turned effortlessly from an AZ player before slipping a pass to Nasri. The Frenchman duly wrong footed the opposition in front of him before curling the ball low to the keeper’s left.

If you thought that was clinical, the next two were just as ruthless if not more. Diaby haters look away now. The third goal came about when firstly, Diaby won the ball in central midfield and he found Arshavin with a straightforward pass. The Russian could have rung rings around the AZ defenders and taken a shot himself. As it turns out, he found Cesc with a pass on the left side and the skipper promptly finished this briefest of moves off with his side foot effort.

As if he didn’t do enough to keep the negative vibes down, Diaby then had the balls to swiftly control an almost perfect pass from Arshavin before calmly sloting it in. This move also came from a swift counter attack that included a backheel from Eduardo that will surely get a million youtube hits. As well as that, I saw Arshavin and crucially Diaby, running three quarters of the pitch to get this 4th goal.

Let me tell you why that is so unique.
1) I never knew Diaby could have such a good acceleration on him.
2) We were winning 3-0, this was our 2nd game in 4 days and yet both showed tremendous commitment to give a more accurate reflection of our dominance in the score count.

AZ had their best spells sandwiched between the third and fourth goal. Almunia who had very little to do was called to act quickly on a snapshot by Pelle and then had to pluck the ball quickly when a cross came in.

Still I don’t think he expected the ball to come to his goal from an Arsenal corner. That is what happened and AZ scored their consolation goal. As counter attack goals go, it was swift but they had their lucky breaks. Gibbs who was rather hesitant at times in his defensive duties (Arshavin, Diaby and Song took turns to cover the left back position) lost his challenge roughly near the half way line.

The ball fell to Lens who ran like Forest Gump, plenty of self belief, aided by Ramsey’s inability to make a more meaningful attempt at a tackle. Eboue, fair play to him, was in the right position to make that challenge but as things go the Dutchman duly fluked his shot and it rolled in.

But it is the same as Fabregas’ goal, no? Wrong. Whilst Cesc always looked like taking a shot, The Dutchman’s goal was more a case of him getting the jitters.

It wasn’t the cleansheet we wanted. But you know when you win 4-1 it can be glossed over for now can’t it? It isn’t as if we got a last minute 3-3 or a 2-2 draw like United or Chelsea. Besides we now have 10 points but as we have the tougher group, we have to win one more game to seal qualification and top spot.

A decade of not losing to the Spuds. How great is that. “Wenger, You da man”

So I think for all those that watched the game, for the first 42 minutes it was a little nervy. There really was only one real chance that fell to Fabregas. He hit it decently but the keeper did pull a great save out. Our passing generally wasn’t all that, and Diaby was probably our worst player on the pitch at that moment.

RVP really is on form at the moment. He hit two goals for us, when usually he gets one per game. Hes upping the anti, and I like it. He made the first goal by stealing in front of King. It was something that no-one saw till it happened. Thats why hes made that position his. Its clear as day. His second was a bit of luck that the keeper sort of let it fumble through his hands and fall through the defender and onto a plate which RVP licked up ravenously.  Both goals were in very similar areas, and really poachers goals. The typical “fox in the box” goals that we always thought Jeffers would get us, or the better in fact what Wrighty got us.

Anyhow, the first half was a bit nervously played as Crouch was winning those first headers from the long balls up field. Although saying that our defence worked really well to not let that header fall into any white tops way. It did once land at Keane, but we fluffed that out without our hearts beating too fast.

But Fabregas. Please, don’t stop what you’re doing. I’m loving it. He scored a cracker goal this wk. Stealing off the once trialled player Palacios he waltzed through the midfield, and Tango’d through the defence and could have made a cup of tea before slotting past the keeper. And the magic of it was, it happened 11 seconds after RVP grabbed a goal from no where. Two goals from nowhere and thats how quality is measured.

The second half was much more enjoyable as we actually played good football. Eduardo had a couple chances, one which Wenger lost the plot with his jacket after seeing him side foot wide. With Eduardo in that position we’d all put 50 quid on him netting those 99 out of 100 times especially with his finishing, but not on Saturday. It did seem he wasn’t as composed as he usually is in front of goal, but hopefully I’m making things up.

We didn’t see Nasri, but there may be a good chance he may play against Wolves next week. Hopefully taking Diabys’ place for a little while. To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arshavin on the bench for the next one to give Nasri his go on the left side. He knows how to play there, and Arshavin has been quite quiet in his recent games. He floats in and out of games, but ofcourse is a tough decision to put him on the bench. He is quality. With the choices we have currently its hard to let everyone play.

Denilson, Walcott, Bendtner are all out, and will be itching to play too when they’re back. Looks like they’ll all be back about the same time too. Towards the end of the month and early next month.

This Saturday will once again see another North London derby. A fixture which is one of my favourite throughout the year and yet at the same time one that I dread the most.  For the last 10 years, Arsenal have been the favourite to win the derby which means that anything less than this feels like a victory for Spurs.

This Saturday’s derby promises to be one of the most interesting in a long time.  Both teams have strong squads and have kicked off their seasons with a set of impressive results and performances.  Every Arsenal or Spurs fan I speak to at the moment has been looking forward to this game for weeks.

So what will happen at the Emirates?  My prediction is a 2-2 draw.

Why have I gone for a 2-2 draw?  We’ll I’m glad you asked.  There are two main reasons.  First despite having a weakened squad due to the loss of key players such as Defoe, Modric and Lennon and losing to Stoke, Spurs always play out of their ksin in the derby.  I believe this will pull them through to perform well at the Emirates.

Second, although I believe Arsenal should win, particulary as they are in great form and some players have hit good form (such as van Persie, Fabregas and Arshavin), they still have an uncanny ability to make stupid mistakes and throw away wins.

Therefore with these two factors in mind, I’ve opted for a 2-2 draw.  With a controversial penalty decision not given.  Just for fun.

Obviously though, I’m praying for an Arsenal win.  Cos that would be superb.  Adm defintley not a loss as that would result in at least a year of over the top smugness from certain Spurs fans.

James

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Response and Prediction by Simon

I have to say, I find James’ prediction above to be a smidgin generous. I have the sneaking suspicion he is playing it safe going for a draw, but there we go. If I’m honest, I’m not particularly optimistic this year, which is odd given Spurs have done so well so far. Here are some reasons for my lack of optimism:

1. Defoe is missing: while on paper Tottenham have three other international quality strikers, I still think Defoe will be a big loss. Keane’s form has been largely abysmal this year, other than that game where he scored four (obviously). In most games he has simply disappeared, which is worrying. Crouch is great, but he needs a lively strike partner, and Keane is not especially lively right now. As for Pavlyuchenko, he looks about as confident as, well, <this little creature> . With Defoe playing, we would have beaten Stoke; as it was, we didn’t even score.

2. Other Injuries: With Modric and now Lennon missing, as well as Defoe, I wonder where that little spark of magic you need in these games will come from. Bentley? Perhaps, but unlikely. Kranjcar? Well, I’m sceptical. Those three (Modric, Lennon, Defoe) are really the three quickest, most inventive players we have. Without any of them playing the role of catalyst, I’m not sure from where we will get any flashes of genius.

3. Last two performances against top clubs: Excusing the win against Liverpool on the first day of the season, we haven’t looked great against the other top clubs this year. OK, so we’ve only played two others, but in both the Man. Utd and Chelsea games we gave quite disappointing performances. We will need to play very well to get a win, or even a draw, on Saturday.

4. A hunch: I just have a hunch we’ll have a tough day on Saturday. I think the Stoke game may have shaken our confidence, even though we beat Everton midweek. That Stoke game was the first time this year when we’ve been beaten when we should have won. That may mean a tiny bit of insecurity may start to slip in for us, which could be fatal against the Gunners.

All that said, then, my prediction for Saturday is 2-1 to Arsenal.

But I will be delighted if I am proven wrong.

Simon

I didn’t see the game last night between us and Liverpool, but I saw the goals. All of them crackers. Merida murdered a left foot in off the post from 25 yds and showed us all what kind of a left foot he has. A killer one. I hope he gets some more chances in the first team this year, cause I’ve liked what I’ve seen of him so far. He’s tidy and obviously got a shot. If Wilshere had played we may not have seen that goal. Wilshere has already won plenty of praises, he won’t be losing his spot anytime soon.

Bendtner also got a goal with a great finish, something that reminded me of Torres’ recent goal or even Giggsys’ 1999 semi-final extra time run that he blasted into the roof of the net. Similar finish, just Bendtner still has a long way to go if he wants the respect Giggs has earnt. Nonetheless it was a good finish, and he’ll be hoping that it gives him his first team appearance this wknd against Spurs.

In between all that Insua got a wonderful thunderbolt dipping of a goal. It really was quite unsaveable. Really.

Its the early game against Spurs this Sat. Great. Being in HK the early game means its a after dinner kick off and really the perfect time to watch it, as I can watch the games after it too without it getting too late.

Last season it ended 4-4 with two goals in injury time. I don’t think I need to remind anyone. This wknd we bring a new formation to the game, and an average of 3 goals a game too. Not to forget we also bring a leaky defence, that has conceded in nearly every game so far. Overall we usually outplay the Spuds, and I’m sure Palacios will no doubt have the game of his life, as anyone that had any affiliation with Arsenal does when they play against us.

RVP is the man on form for us 5 goals in as many games, so we’ll be looking at him to get another on the board. He’s been linking up well, and hopefully Arshavin will pick up his workrate and find his football boots this game. Bar one or two decent moments, he was quite poor last week. And I really dont like to see that as I love the guy. Hes capable of much much more.

Talk soon. Im out, time is running thin and I got to go check out a venue for my wedding