Yesterday we played an important game against some tough opposition. Whilst it was a great team performance, in reality one player turned the game around. Cesc was a substitute having not fully recovered from his injury, I said in my preview that I didn’t want him risking for fear of being out for a longer period of time. However that gamble well and truly paid off for Arsene.

The first half was a pretty evenly matched game of football, whilst we had the upper hand with chances for Eduardo and Arshavin neither player capitalised on them and there was always the threat from Villa with Agbonhalor and his pace ready to exploit us at the back. But we kept things tight in defence and our midfield looked strong. 0-0 at half time was probably a fair reflection on the efforts from both teams, some decent passages of play but neither team fully taking advantage.

The second half started with a similar flow to the game compared to the first half, however we didn’t have that key player to unlock Villa. However all that was to change on the 56th minute, Denilson was replaced by Fabregas. Cesc was immediately in the game and Villa didn’t stand off him, they knew what a threat he possessed. His runs from the middle of the park often drew more than one player towards him opening up the game for us, and also often brought a foul. A foul was how the game was to change, felled just outside the Villa box a freekick was to present us with what was a game changing moment. Fabregas stepped up to the ball and curled an exquisite shot into the left of the goal, they joy on Cesc’s face as he ran to the fans (the picture at the top of this post which can be downloaded here on the official website) was clear to see. He is loving playing for Arsenal at the moment and clearly loves the club, I hope that can continue for many years.

Villa, who had played well now had to attack if they wanted to get anything from the game. As they opened up a bit our second goal was to come. A run down the right from substitute Theo was matched by a run from Cesc through the middle, a lovely pass from Theo gave Cesc the opportunity to make it 2 – he didn’t need a second chance as he dispatched the ball into the net. We were ecstatic, as was Arsene, but this turned to worry as Cesc clutched his hamstring. Arsene said after the game;

“We don’t know yet whether it is a recurrence of the pull or whether it is just scar tissue. We will know more about it tomorrow [Monday].

“If it is scar tissue it is a few days, if it is a recurrence of the pulled hamstring it is three weeks.”

Our captain was removed on 84 minutes but he had won us the game. A game changing performance, and possibly something he needed to show himself and the football world to convince that he is truly a great player. Cesc won us the game with his two goals. Abou Diaby scored a third late on, to cap yet another great performance, both Diaby and Song were exceptional. 3-0 in our second consecutive league game, both times the opposition manager said the score was unfair on them……well that’s what the score reads so get on with it.

Aston Villa had already beaten Liverpool, Utd and Chelsea this year and had only not scored in the opening day of the season. They had never been beaten at the grove, but a great performance from Arsenal and some magic from Cesc put paid to that. We took advantage of Chelsea’s slip up, and since they defeated us we have taken 13 points from 15 – is that the form of a poor side who will struggle to make the top 4? I don’t think so. Our late Christmas present was delivered by the team and it has been a great month for us in the league, win our game in hand and we are a point behind Chelsea, out of the title race now are we?

Attention turns to Cesc now, his injury should be confirmed at some point today but I doubt we will hear anything from the club until tomorrow. It also looks like Denilson might be out injured as well, which may force us into the market for a midfielder in January. Portsmouth are next up, on Wednesday, but we can sit back in our post-Christmas glow and be happy that we had a great victory over a tough team yesterday.

Arsenal made a statement on Sunday afternoon. This club just will not fade away or go crawl under a rock like many expected after the disappointing home defeat to Chelsea. They refused to believe that the 2009-10 Premier League season had become a two-horse race, if it already wasn’t before. Despite losing their best striker, and with their best midfielder just barely making the bench, Arsenal came into a crucial league fixture against a team with whom they were level on points but ahead of in third place on goal differential. This was the mindset going into Arsenal’s sort-of Boxing Day match.

Aston Villa was at pretty much full strength, hadn’t conceded a goal in five matches, hadn’t lost a match since the beginning of November, and had already beaten Chelsea, Liverpool, and United, the latter two away. That run had drawn them level on points with an Arsenal side that had won 3 of 4 since the Chelsea match. Yet it had been almost 10 years since Arsenal last lost their Boxing Day/post-Christmas fixture, while Villa has historically struggled after the holiday. And did I mention that Arsenal have never beaten Aston Villa at the Emirates?

On paper, it looked like just the kind of match where Arsenal could be found wanting. Some accounts have characterized the first half as less-than-entertaining, but I thought the play was quick and open and both teams created chances. Eduardo continues to make nice touches inside and around the box, but his finishing is yet to catch up with him. If he wasn’t getting into scoring positions, I would be more worried. He is suffering from a severe lack of confidence that can only be reversed by scoring goals, which means playing time. Diaby, Denilson, and Song did a great job in midfield of shutting down Villa’s attack, which only threatened for a few minutes in the first half when they launched balls into the box.

Quotes from Wenger and some analyses suggest that Arsenal were in the ascendancy when Fabregas came on, but having re-watched the second half, the midfield was struggling in the first 10-15 minutes after the break. Attacks were breaking down in the middle third due to misplaced passes, a few coming from Denilson. He was finally taken off for Fabregas. That is the moment the match changed.

Arsenal immediately looked more threatening and were able to get the ball deep into the attacking third. Fabregas’s free-kick was a stunner; it takes something special to not even give Brad Friedel a chance. After that, Arsenal kept on pushing. As Villa were forced to chase the match, a horrible pass by Milner followed by a perfect, long diagonal ball from Traore, whom had quite probably his best match from a defensive perspective. His pass released Walcott, who found Fabregas for a great finish and the second goal.

Was it worth it? If Fabregas now misses two to three weeks, was bringing him on worth the three points. Arsene believes so, and so do I. You have to win the match you are playing, not matches two weeks from now. Also, the match with Villa was a six-pointer. This match HAD to be won. And it was, by Arsenal’s genuine match-winner, Cesc Fabregas. Goals 10 and 11 for the season sunk Villa and put Arsenal into second place, if only for a few hours. Superlatives describing Cesc are flooding the web as we speak, and I don’t need to add to them. Just consider that he is on pace to end the season with 20 goals and 22 assists, something which hasn’t been done since Henry in 2003-04.

This Arsenal team is not going to willingly go away and leave the title race to United and Chelsea. It’s also not going to prove 99% of football pundits right. Instead, it will fight on. It will need to. With Cesc facing a brief lay-off, Denilson aggravating his back injury, and Song about to leave for Africa after two more matches, we will conceivably be playing an entire second-string midfield for much of January. For me, that means Diaby, Ramsey and possibly moving Nasri back into midfield. However Arsene works it, the entire squad will be needed to get through the next couple of weeks.

But the foundation has been built this December. Looking at the big picture, one has to wonder whether Arsenal can really win the league title with van Persie out for the rest of the season. But football works on a game-by-game basis and, like Arsene, I believe the hunger is there. I also believe that the team spirit is there. These were the two intangibles which were missing last season. Chelsea will soon be facing the loss of Drogba and others for the ANC and United won’t be back at full-strength any time soon. If Arsenal win their game-in-hand on January 6th, home to Bolton, we will pull within one point of the leaders. That was inconceivable only 3 weeks ago.

Merry Christmas, blog reader. I hope the festive season brings you nothing but joy and happiness. Unless you hate me and the blog – which of course begs the question as to why you’re reading it anyway.

With regard to the Christmas lights issue which I raised last week, I don’t have any objection to people putting some bright decorations on the outside of the house. It’s just that some go way beyond the acceptable boundaries of taste and respectability.

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Utterly chav-tastic

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I was in B&Q the other day and a lady in front of me in the queue was buying a Christmas tree. The shop assistant said: “Are you going to put this up yourself?”

Before allowing her to answer, I said: “No, she’s going to put it in the lounge…” Neither the lady or the staff member was sharp enough to appreciate the humour.

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Go on. Speak. Me? How?

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Although I’m not working at Pussycats on Christmas Eve, I will be there quite a bit over the festive season:

Sat 26th Boxing Day Fun

Sun 27th Costas’ Birthday Bash

This should be lively as Monday is a Bank Holiday and therefore most people will be out on the lash as they won’t be working the next day.

Thu 31st New Year’s Eve 2009 into 2010

Fri 1st Jan New Year’s Day

Sat 2nd Jan as normal

See the latest photos in the gallery at the world famous dj wanker website and see the official club pictures here.

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Is that a pearl necklace?

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Get into the festive spirit with these Christmas videos

From 1984, one of my all time favourite records – The Power of Love by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. I still have the 7″ vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. It was £1.50 well spent.

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Three years later, this wonderful collaboration made number two in the charts. The late, great Kirsty MacColl joined The Pogues in producing the spine-tingling Fairytale of New York. “You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot, Happy Christmas your arse I pray God it’s our last.”

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I’ll be surprised if I get one present this Christmas but I’m cool with that. I never know what to ask people to buy me and, in all honesty, I prefer to give than receive. In terms of presents, that is.

So what would be a nice treat from Santa??

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Santa opens his sack once a year

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I didn’t have a football match to report on last Saturday so just chilled out in the afternoon at my weekend retreat in Telford. The landlord was in charge of the remote control so we got a random selection of programmes…

* Have I Got News For You – very funny
* Chuckle Vision – what the f***?
* Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – excellent
* Live At The Apollo – decent
* EastEnders – wrist slashing rubbish
* An Audience With Freddie Starr – retro classic

I would’ve had Sky Sports Soccer Saturday on if the choice had been mine but the landlord doesn’t like football.

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Just found out that an Elvis impersonator used to live in the house. That’s true actually. I’m sure I saw his ghost in the living room one night. I was all shook up.

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There's no ghost, just your suspicious mind

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The Facebook Bit.

Status update of the week:

“Cnt wait 4 new year new start new me fuck the dickheads who ave hurt me this yr bt u aint keepin dwn i stand up n im proud ov wat i ave n got my dawta my fam n gd mates men cum n go my Princess fam n mates r 4 lyf”

People who read the blog who are unfamiliar with Facebook (there can’t be many) have asked if these status updates are genuine. Sadly, I have to admit, they are 100% genuine.

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Da kidz spk lyk dis. Init.

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I’ve changed the names on this status update because *Peggy* reads the blog and is a bit touchy… only joking *Peggy* you old goat!

Sat in McDonalds with Leah. Woman sits down next to us with her food alone. She had a large Big Mac meal, double cheeseburger, nine chicken nuggets and some of those cheese melt things!! She was about a size 12, so god knows where she stores it! Leah says in her very non subtle, non quiet voice ‘look how much food that lady has to herself and she hasn’t even got any kids with her, that’s greedy isn’t it mummy?’

Someone replied:

You should have said ‘Yes, Leah, she’s a greedy fat twat.’

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One of my FB friends went on a bit of a frenzy and joined loads of groups and fan pages on the same day – why she did this I really don’t know and I really don’t care. Although I care enough to share the information with you, obviously. She joined…

* “Why do I bother with you?”
* “Ignoring me? Two can play that game.”
* “Even though I hate you, I’d still shag you.”
* “Just because I like your status it doesn’t mean I like you.”

The nonsense continued…

* “Stop fucking around and just tell me how you feel.”
* “Tell me why you’re upset? I can’t – the reason is you.”
* “When I push you away, don’t leave – it’s times like that I need you to stay.”
* “I can switch from happy to psycho in less than two minutes … don’t go there.”

I really hope she’s not reading the blog – or if she is, she doesn’t realise I’m laughing at her. Oh, here’s some more she joined…

* “I love knowing you bitch about me then watching you be nice to my face.”
* “It still takes me ages to get to sleep on Christmas Eve.”
* “I’ve just got over liking you and then you text me and I’m back to square one.”

And then there was one more…

* “N Dubz are better than Linkin Park.”

Confirmation if confirmation was required… she’s mental.

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I did get an invite to join one group which seemed appropriate to me…

“I look at the menu for ages then just order what I always have.”

…but in the end I didn’t bother.

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It wasn't a kiss I wanted her to blow

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This is what we pay our taxes for.

Leicester Mercury:

“A hairdresser was caught smoking in the doorway of his salon when a council environmental health officer drove past. Matthew Charles Bates, of Michael Charles Hair Salon in Cross Street, Blaby, was fined £100 and ordered to pay £320 costs after the on-duty officer, waiting at traffic lights, looked out of her car and saw him having a cigarette in the doorway of his business.”

This salon is near where I live and the pavement by the business doesn’t attract many pedestrians as it’s not in a busy area. I doubt anyone was actually troubled by this guy having a fag outside. He’s now £420 worse off. I’ve even been into the salon and given the bloke a pack of fags and bottle of wine. I don’t know him but just wanted to show some support.

It’s typical of our over-zealous nanny state with people in jobs for the sake of being in a job and spreading misery. From what I can gather, the environmental officer was an officious jobsworth cock of the highest order. I hope she has a grim Christmas.

Health and Safety, my arse.

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Here’s another, erm, festive-ish video worth checking out… it’s Avid Merrion’s Proper Crimbo from 2003.

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Miley Cyrus was on the telly with Alan Carr last week. She’s still a spoilt, showbiz brat – not quite in the Jordan and Katona oxygen thief envelope but give it time.

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Not as good as her dad

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Tiger Woods is taking time off golf to work on his marriage. He’s been asked to appear in a pantomime – but they’ve had to rename the show.

“Woods in the Babes.”

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Why are con men called con men? They’re usually quite good so surely they should be called pro men.

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Michael Jackson fans.

Ensure you win the BBC3 show ‘Move Like Michael Jackson’ by lying very still in a box.

I suppose given the standard rate of decomposition, now is the perfect time for a Thriller comeback tour.

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I'm a bad-ass dead motherfucker cha'mone

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Have you noticed how contestants on reality shows like X Factor and Big Brother talk about going on ‘a journey’? Let’s hope that journey takes them back to where they belong – stacking shelves alongside the other non-entities in Asda.

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Top Tips from Viz magazine:

“Cat and dog owners – your pets have no concept of Christmas. Don’t buy them a card or present. It’s just silly.”

While the Top Tips page from Viz is deliberate sarcasm, there is actually more than a jot of truth in that.

I don’t put “Merry Christmas to Johnny, Clare, the kids and Rover the dog” in my Christmas card to you – so don’t put a fucking paw print in mine.

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Separated at birth – The footballer Theo Walcott and Marvin from JLS

Theo ?

Marvin ?

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And finally…

Remember this – a dog is not just for Christmas… with any luck there’ll be some left over for Boxing Day.

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Cheers for now,
Geoff / DJ Wanker

Leave a comment here or send feedback via Facebook or email

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www.twitter.com/djwanker

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Hey mr tangerine man, it’s pretty clear to me,

That Arsenal are far better than Hull Ci-ty.

Yesterday Phil Brown returned to the grove, the match opened with a handshake (which was I am sure for effect shown on the big screens) between the two managers. In what was probably the coldest weather I can recall watching football, I sat with my Dad in the upper tier above my usual seat in block 6. The game started reasonably well for Arsenal, but Hull were pretty resilient and after a few minutes you could see that two games close together giving an element of fatigue and the absence of Fabregas meant we looked short of ideas and impetus to break down Hull. The game started to have a tempestuous edge to it when Stephen Hunt (most famous for his “challenge” on Petr Cech) bundled into Almunia after play had stopped, the Spanish keeper ran over to remonstrate with Hunt, the referee also spoke to the player. But it had little effect as he made two or three further challenges that warranted bookings.

Just before half time things did turn ugly, from our seats we saw a Hull player fall to the ground and then the rest of the players on the pitch bundled around Nasri, I thought I saw arms flailing as if it were a punch. Again Hunt was the main Hull agitator. Sylvestre was the boxing buddy, and carried the part off pretty well shielding Nasri. The replay on MOTD shows that Nasri stood on the Hull player’s (Garcia I think) foot, it was not a stamp. He might have meant it but we don’t know. Both Nasri and Hunt were booked after the melee.

Following on from this some rash challenges started to fly in and the ref had his whistle in his mouth almost permanently. He gave us a perhaps generous free kick after Diaby was felled. Nasri and Denilson stood over the ball, then Nasri joined the wall. In time honoured tradition of current Arsenal free kicks I expected this to go straight into the wall, but then, something magical happened.

Denilson hit a perfectly placed free kick into the net. It was fantastic. We were 1-0 up just before half time. After the game Arsène said “Denilson was not going to take the free kick”. Well I am glad he did!

As the players left the pitch there was some afters as they entered the tunnel, but no further bookings came of this. However I am not sure if Cesc’s clothing antagonised any of the Hull staff so we will have to wait for the report from their lawyers on that one.

The second half started with us on the front foot, Hull now needed to attack us and we had the chance for an early goal when Arshavin fed Eduardo, he really should have put it away but his current lack of match practice and form conspired against him sadly. Not long after this Hull were awarded possibly the softest penalty in football history (even Brown admitted it was soft after the game) when Fagan went down in our area. I was not confident at this point, Almunia has not played well of late and his ball distribution in the game was again poor. However he made a great save from the penalty and Hunt missed the follow up. I laughed at him.

Almost immediately after the penalty miss we were up at the other end, Diaby made a play in the left of their area and sent the ball across the Hull goal for Eduardo to tap in, he didn’t look that happy when he scored but perhaps his form is playing on his mind. The game was pretty much ours now with half an hour remaining. Hull provided little resistance beyond that point and we took full control of the game, some press reports say we struggled but I certainly disagree as did my non-Gooner father who I feel gave a balance view on the game.

But another goal was to come, Diaby danced through the Hull defence and scored a great goal. 3-0 to the Arsenal. “Stand up if you hate Phil Brown” and “Tango whats the score” reverberated around the stadium, much to our, and I suspect Arsène’s, amusement. Theo and Aaron Ramsey were introduced as subs which I think meant our front 6 players were under 23, a great thing for the future of the club. Theo had a chance late on when he chipped the advancing keeper only to see it go agonisingly just past the post, thankfully this was met with chants of his name from the crowd rather than something else.

So it was 3 points, which was great given Utd losing earlier in the day. We are now 2 behind them with a game in hand (at home to Bolton on the 6th Jan) but Villa are pretty close behind and I suspect our next game at home against them will be a very tough test. A few players did well today, the midfield trio of Song, impressive as ever, Denilson, a great goal and some good tackles, and Diaby, one of his better games, were the key today. Yes they didn’t have the creativity that Cesc has but they all put in solid performances, Diaby needs to work on his first touch still but he continues to develop. If he can erase the poorer moments of his game and be more energetic like he was in spells today then he can be a mainstay in this team. Almunia also did well; he has been criticised, and rightly so, of late. His ball distribution was poor for the first hour today, but the penalty save gave him a much needed confidence boost and after that he looked more settled, he made a good save late on as well. He might not be a top top keeper but he is what we have at the moment and he needs our backing all the way. Eboue again impressed at right back, I think that should be where he plays from now on. Rotate him and Sagna so we don’t have a right back injury crisis like that on our left.

So we are still in the hunt at Christmas, this season is far from over and I can see Chelsea, Utd and sadly us lose at least 2 or 3 games more before the season end. But we can revel in our third place in the table and be glad our board have the confidence in what our manager is doing and don’t make any rash mid-season sackings like two other money laden clubs seem to have as their model of how they think football should be run.

Come on The Arsenal

Phil Brown says it’s no longer an issue.  It’s fine.  We can forget just how much of a C word he was.  Forget he accused our captain of spitting at his assistants shoes.  Forget he lied about Arsene refusing to shake his hand.  Forget that he was the Coventry rapist.  I think I like Phil Brown now.

NOT.

Phil Brown can sufficiently suck a dick until someone jizzes in his eye.  Then cuts off his hand.  Then he’ll have to walk around with an eye patch and a hook for a hand.  He’ll look like Captain Cook fell asleep on his boat for a month.  The orange fool.
So in around seven and a half hours, Hull City roll into town to contest an English Premier League match that has to garner three points for Arsenal.  With Chelsea and Manchester Utd playing pretty easy opposition, West Ham and Fulham (after midweek toil it may not be as tough as it was last season).

By the way, I commend the West Ham fans for continuing to boo Frank Lampard.  The man is a Cunt.  Why do the media love him?  This is the same frank Lampard that egged an England team-mate to shove a beer bottle inside a woman’s vagina.  Whilst filming it.  What a great man.  What an example to all aspiring footballers.

The team news for today is that Denilson is back into the fray whilst Fabregas and Traore are sidelined with injury.  This poses one selection dilemma for the Gaffer.  This is whether to go with Denilson or Aaron Ramsey in the triumvirate of midfielders we like to field in the middle of the park.  Personally I’d go for the young Welshman, as he adds a spark that is desperately needed if we are to break down a Hull side that will no doubt come and sit deep behind the ball whilst their manager is busy ringing 08457-FAT-WHORES through his stupid ear piece.  Who uses one of those outside of their car.  Idiot.

Another selection dilemma is Almunia or Fabianski in goal.  I really can’t see the boss dropping Manuel, but he really needs to before it’s too late.  He could have a quiet yet effective game today, but against Aston Villa next week he could seriously dent our title hopes by unnerving our defence against a very slick counter-attacking side.  Arsene Knows and everything, but I really hope he sees that the defenders need someone they can trust behind them.  That man is clearly not Almunia.  When Jens was in his prime, you could see the defenders really did not want to make a mistake in case they incurred his wrath.  In Almunia’s case, after he makes a gaff he just kinda stands there looking whimsically sad like a cat waiting for its Whiskers from an owner who would rather bum it than feed it.

Up front, I can see Eduardo starting.  Theo has started three on the bounce and been pretty ineffective in all three.  Coming back from injury this can be expected, but it would be nice to see Eduardo come back and bang in a couple goals.

So the team looks like it could be:

Almunia

Sagna  Vermaelan   Gallas   Silvestre (WHHHYYYYY)

Song

Diaby                   Ramsey

Eduardo                                           Nasri

Andrei

Let’s hope we can get a few goals, get the confidence back up for what is a huge game against Aston Villa next week at The Grove.

Nothing less than three points and the head of Phil Brown will do.

Like I said, I’m going to be so intoxicated tonight it’s not funny.  £2000 bar tab.  Then off to a club (disco to you old lot), for some disgusting music that I am going to regret listening to in around 10 years.  Beautiful.  Hopefully I’ll be in a state to blog tomorrow.

Toodles!

That headline is the one.  I thought of it whilst bathing, and I’m pretty sure you’ll see The Sun steal it, and then run a story underneath about how we’re set to swap Mikael Silvestre for Wayne Rooney.  Apparently, Sir Alex Ferguson feels bad about making us pay for him.

But in all seriousness, we have been handed quite the favourable draw.  We seem to meet Porto quite a lot in the Champions League, three out of the past four seasons according to my extensive research, and we always seem to do quite well when we can be arsed with it.  We know exactly how they’re going to play.  At their gaff, they will try to sit deep, soak up pressure and exploit us on the break.  They will try to prevent us from scoring so they can take a goal advantage to the Emirates and then there they will put ten men behind the ball and hoof it up to The Beast.  Despite this, I’m very confident of getting into the quarter finals.

I would really love the two Milan teams to knock out Chelsea and Man Utd.  Especially Man Utd.  I would love for Beckham to score a last-minute free-kick at Old Trafford, run over to Fergie and absolutely batter him with his football boot.  Knowing Fergie he would just use it as an excuse for more added time to be put on.

So knowing our Champions League fate, we can now move onto the Premier League where we face Hull at the Grove.  Apparantly everyone who is going is to turn up wearing a hoodie.  Please, please do this!  Phil Brown is such a wanker.   He still hasn’t apologised for the basic lies he came up with at the end of our FA Cup match last season.  What pissed me off the most is that people believed Phil Brown, and not the evidence of over 1000 cameras in a high-tech stadium.  As long as The Mirror says it happens, and runs a picture of Fabregas looking snarly in a hoodie, which I might add costs more than Phil Brown’s sun tan costs for a whole year, then it must be true.

In the Cappy’s absence it looks like Denilson will probably step in, seeing as he is back from injury.  I, personally, would love to see Ramsey put in there.  Hull at home isn’t the hardest of Premier League Fixtures, and I can see him bossing their midfield with ease alongside Song and Diaby.  Up top, I can see Walcott dropping to the bench in favour of Eduardo.  Eddy needs games, and there can be no better place to score than in front of 60, 000 hooded chavs all spitting bile at Phil Brown.

In all seriousness though, this is a chance for us to lay to rest the demons of the poor start to last season which was epitomised by the loss to Hull.  We were awful once we took the lead last season, and we must put that right with a win tomorrow night.  We must win, and win well.  On paper, even with our weakened squad we should beat these boys to within an inch of their lives.  I want Phil Brown to piss into his poor dress sense.  I want Brian Horton to run down the tunnel, so devastated by the sheer beating his team has received that he cries:

‘Phil made me lie!  No-one spat at him or me!  He said that if I didn’t back him up he’d anally rape me then make me rub his back with sun-tan lotion! OOOOO the shhaaaaammeee!

We have such a good chance to lay down a marker for the Villa game a week later.  If we go into that game in good form, the team will be bouncing, the Emirates will be bouncing and we can really send a message to Utd and the Chavs that we mean business this season.

It’s the staff party for my part-time job tomorrow, which will involve running down a £2000 bar tab.  Sunday may see a post, but I doubt it.  Tomorrow I will write a short preview of the match with a bit more detail other than just pumped up anti-Hull rhetoric.

Until then, have fun in the Snow.

Toodles!

If you think this blog has been a little too anti-Phil Brown and Hull then I apologise.  I apologise because you obviously don’t remember this.

“Clear skies in Bucharest, rain in a province“. The dictatorship was informing in its own code tyrant Nicolae Ceausescu during his december 1989 official state visit to Iran, in Tehran. Indeed, in Timisoara, Romania’s most western city, dozens and than hundreds and thousands of protesters have raised their voices against the regime and for freedom and liberty. It was on an unprecedented scale.

The 114 martyrs' names on a memorial in Timisoara's central square, where many were killed and injured on the 17th of December 1989. It was the very beginning of the Romanian revolution which ended with Ceausescu's execution on Christmas Day

Mothers with babies in their lap were imploring soldiers not to shoot. “You could have been our sons” was the voice of reason. Yet the uprising was brutally crushed, with tanks and bullets. Over one hundred protesters have been killed, many more were injured, unidentified or have disapeared from hospital beds. Sunday the 17th of December ‘89 was the bloodiest day in former Soviet block system collapse.

And it sounds like a legend yet an oddly unnatural midnight torrential rain washed the blood away from Timisoara’s streets. Sporadic shootings reminded the tragical sunday in the next couple of bitterly cold and silent days. Timisoara was already wiping its tears and awaiting the full wrath of Elena Ceausescu’s mighty power. “Today in Timisoara / Tomorrow in the whole country” was the desperate plea verse which was fortunately picked up in Bucharest, on Thursday evening, the 21st. The following events were to become history, a televised one all around the globe.

Some heroes were shoot even on Orthodox Cathedral's steps. Many more crosses have sprung up, encircled by flowers, candles and tears

There was though only one beginning, Timisoara’s sparkle on the seventeenth. Exactly twenty years on, on a Thursday of mourning when survivors and relatives of the dead were still questioning the unaccountability of heartbreaking events, the local football club have won its first ever European cup tie away from home.

On a bitterly frozen Maksimir pitch, where Theo Walcott dazzled Bilic’s Croatia with a hat-trick that have sent England to FIFA 2010 World Cup, Politehnica Timisoara honoured the memory of 114 martyrs and many other unidentified heroes. It was just an academic success for the Romanian “Violets”, who finished with the wooden spoon in UEFA Europa League’s group A, as Dinamo Zagreb would have missed anyway on qualification due to Anderlecht’s fine 3-1 win in Amsterdam’s ArenA, yet it brought a surreal change of fortune.

Politehnica Timisoara, a less known quantity on the European stage, boosted though its own little record in the past on the Continent, which felt only at the eighth hurdle, at the hands of Real Madrid. Whichever club visited Timisoara in either UEFA Cup or Cup Winners’ Cup, almost all among them accustomed to the heighty airs of Continental finals, left with a loss without scoring. MTK and Kispesti Honved, both from Budapest, in 1978, Celtic Glasgow and West Ham two years later, and Lokomotive Leipzig after another year, have succumbed without reply to Timisoara’s spirit. The norm was 1-0 or two – nil. 

“Poli”, an abbreviation from Politehnica, knocked out Celtic with 1-0 in the return leg, Dan Paltinisanu’s late goal pushing more than 40.000 souls into delerium on “1 May” stadium. Latchford was beaten, Charlie Nicholas was emerging on the losing side.

[ Ultra Viola Curva Sud, the passionate Poli Timisoara's fans, are always making a fine point with a well rehearsed coreography... "Who is jumping? / Who's jumping? / Hei, hei..."]    

Timisoara have started in december ‘89 the Romanian revolution and Politehnica continued some months later its fine exploits on home soil in European encounters. Even more famously, “Poli” have set the foundations for claiming another scalp with a 2-0 win against Paolo Futre’s Atletico Madrid in september 1990, which brought Sporting Lisbon to western Romania in the next round. And another 2-0…

There were 7 straight wins, with a 12-0 aggregate score, in three cases qualification being achieved, before Real Madrid came around in september ‘92 and Timisoara conceded its first home goal in a 1-1 draw. Many years later, in october 2008, in the very next Continental tie, Partizan Belgrade inflicted Poli’s first ever home defeat.

All is now history. This season, as Romania’s vicechampions behind Petrescu’s surprise package Unirea Urziceni, temporarily renamed FC Timisoara carved an all together different story in Europe, starting with its first ever away point, a mesmerising 2-2 in Donetk against current UEFA Cup holder Shakhtar. From a home tie expert turned blue one year ago versus Partizan, Timisoara was snatching points on Continental winners turf.

As the “Violets” somehow hold the Ukrainians to a 0-0 in the renamed “Dan Paltinisanu” arena, reminding of the fine late defender and scoring captain against Celtic, the next qualifying round of UEFA Champions League once again proved them right away from home, in Stuttgart. Another 0-0, setting Markus Babbel managerial downfall.

Being though rerouted to UEFA Europa League, Timisoara hold its own even on Amsterdam ArenA, 0-0 with Ajax, but lost its fine art of winning at home. Not only Hleb scored for VfB Stuttgart on “Dan Paltinisanu” but Dinamo Zagreb and aforementioned Ajax managed at least two goals winning cushions in Timisoara.

Yet Timisoara have had its last word on a day of mourning. An unexpected win in a meaningless tie, played behind closed doors due to Croats’ fans antics when visiting Timisoara. The atmosphere was subjued not only by the bitter cold and frozen pitch yet the “Violets” gave a lot of meaning on a day of remembrance.

Too many have been killed by the oppresive regime on that bloody sunday of 17th. Twenty years on, too many years of waiting, of hope and hurt, were wiped out with a first away win on the Continent. The plaudits are going to new manager Ioan Ovidiu Sabau, at his first season in charge of the “Violets” with too many later on the bench in a dazzling merry-go-round. For how long will Sabau hold to his role, remains to be seen. And it’s not that much up to him but to newlish owners who had the audacity to swiftly part company including with Gheorghe Hagi.

Sabau, a former Duch Cup winner with Feyenoord as a hard-working midfielder, has his own memories from Ceausescu’s late days in power. It happened in mid-November ‘89, in a decisive World Cup Italia Novanta qualifier, that Sabau have opened the gate for Romania’s fine hours in 1990, with one of his 8 goals scored along a 52 caps career for the national side in a 3-1 versus Denmark.

Yet Sabau will place Maksimir academical triumph among his finest moments as he rallied the “Violets” to a first ever away win in Europe twenty years on from a tragic day for Timisoara’s inhabitants. Just a few days before this climax, during a home game in the Romanian league, the famous “Ultra Viola Curva Sud” section of “Poli” fans have shown to the stadium and a national audience the largely written names, on huge placards, of the city’s brave martyrs. Long live their memory was their motto and the players have responded in the end: a hard fought 2-1 in Croatia, carved after the break… 

Ironically indeed, there were foreign players as Taborda, a Portuguese goal-keeper previously on Porto’s books and who was beaten in Zagreb only by young defender Scutaru’s own goal, the Togolese tall international defender Nibombe and once World Cup finals goalscorer Winston Parks, a Costarican, who have pulled together to adjust their pride on a day of mourning.

NK Dinamo – FC Timisoara 1-2 will stay as a significant result in the troubled history of the club and as an incentive for another final push domestically, where the vicechampions and Romanian Cup finalists, already eliminated though this time around, are chasing for honours 3 points adrift of Petrescu’s Unirea, a rerouted club to UEFA Europa League as the only representative of a terribly corrupt and sinking Romanian league.

The current 2009-2010 UEFA Europa League final will be staged by Hamburg, on the 12th of May and, indeed, local HSV is still marching on. Here is the draw for the 16 games of the next knock-out round (matches to be played on the 18th and 25th of february):  Rubin Kazan v Hapoel Tel Aviv; Athletic Bilbao v Anderlecht; FC Copenhagen v Marseille; Panathinaikos v AS Roma; Atletico Madrid v Galatasaray; Ajax v Juventus; FC Bruges v Valencia CF; Fulham v Shakhtar Donetk; Liverpool FC v Unirea Urziceni; Hamburger SV v PSV Eindhoven; Villarreal v VfL Wolfsburg; Standard Liege v Red Bull Salzburg; Twente Enschede v Werder Bremen; Lille v Fenerbahce; Sporting CP v Everton; Hertha Berlin v Benfica SL. 

If you don’t recognize the man above then don’t worry. His name is Stephen Jordan. He’s a 27 year old, professional footballer who plays for Burnley. He started his playing career with Manchester City but after seven years and 51 appearences he was released.

Stephen Jordan is what is known as a “journeyman footballer.” A man who will never play for his country, never play in the Champions League, and who will spend most of his playing career outside of the Premiership.

Theo Walcott is meant to be England’s big hope in the World Cup this summer. He has blistering pace, scored a hat-trick against Croatia, and was the youngest member of England’s last World Cup squad in Germany.

Yet on Wednesday night, Walcott could not get past Stephen Jordan. Trevor Francis claimed that Stephen Jordan had an excellent game. Walcott made Jordan’s job a lot easier when he decided to run into Jordan every time he got the ball. If Frosty the fucking Snowman was playing left-back for Burnley I’m sure that even he would have had a good game if his opponent just ran into him.

Walcott must be thick.

He has no footballing brain. But he’s fast – so is Usain Bolt. So instead of signing a world class striker, why not sign a world class sprinter!

Eboue or Walcott? Eboue please. His passes are better, he keeps possession of the ball more and his “give and go’s” are more effective.

The fact that Chris Eagles was more effective than Walcott says it all. At this rate, Walcott will not be traveling to South Africa in June. He has just come back from injury, he’s still only 20, so he has time. But not much time.

Manuel Almunia on the other hand has no more time. He’s 33 in May. He is worse than Emma Byrne the goalkeeper for the Arsenal Ladies.

Late on in the second half of Wednesday’s game, against Burnley, the ball was hit high into the Arsenal penalty area. Sagna watches the ball drop, expecting Almunia to collect. He doesn’t. Instead, he stays on his line. Sagna then rushes to clear with a Burnley attacker right on him. Facing his own goal, he tries to clear the ball on the turn while being challenged. The referee gives a foul, Sagna is nearly injured. Almunia is still on his line. Sagna then picks up the ball, holds it out in the the direction of Almunia and shouts something at him in French. Something along the lines of: “Why didn’t you come and take this when it landed in your box?”

Tomorrow morning is the Champions League draw, but with Theo Walcott and Manuel Almunia in the Arsenal team we may as well keep our expectations low.

Last word.

Tony Pulis: Fuck-off back to Championship you four eyed wank!

Keep it Arsenal

No I’m not talking about taking a lovely lady home only to realise that sex is not going down (I’m a student, it’s all that’s on my mind).

It’s a couple days after the last game which, despite being a delightful victory, is starting to wear thin.  It’s also the day before our game tomorrow, so as much as I am excited there is a need to temper that excitement a tad until tomorrow.

There isn’t too much to report on.

I’d like to talk about Theo Walcott.

Carlton Banks Theo has just returned from injury and has completed a game and a half since this return.  A look across the blogs, and through speaking to friends and other Arsenal fans, there seems to be a rather popular opinion that he is not up to the standard of the Arsenal.

I can understand where this view comes from.

His touch has been God-awful since his return.  Many a time he has struggled to get the ball out of his feet, or has tried to control it but seen the ball scurry away from his feet.  Like girls who don’t like my foot obsession.*

I think it is safe to say that he has definitely not sparkled upon his return from injury.  Not many players do though.  The man has gone through numerous injuries now.  It is hard for a football player to get the kind of rhythm into his game that they need to perform at the top-level if they are constantly coming back from injury.

Theo has the talent to succeed.  Runs like the one he made against Liverpool do not come about through a lack of technique or talent.  His goal against Villarreal last season showed a touch of class.  In fact, when he was getting a run of games last season he was one of our best players.  We were all expecting him to push on this season, and I believe that our frustration with his lack of playing time shouldn’t force us into snap judgements about him.

These players need our support.  They can sense the negativity if they make a bad pass, or mis-control the ball.  Someone who needs our support more than ever is Theo.  Let’s get behind him and let him blossom into the player we all know, deep down, he can be.

This blog reads pretty shit, but I have tonsilitis so forgive me if it’s a bit poo.

Hope you are all well.

Toodles!

* I would like to stress at this juncture that I don’t have a foot obsession. Any reports to the contrary are false.

I have to admit that I was not entirely confident going into yesterday’s match. Bad things have happened recently in our big 4 matches; that is, if Liverpool can still be considered a “big 4″ side. Liverpool had Gerrard and Torres available and our injury situation had not improved. The results on Saturday only made many of us even more worrisome.

With the place we were in, we just could not afford to drop any points on a weekend which saw Chelsea and United drop a combined five points. Had that been the case, the title could very well have been out of our grasp. It might not have, but it could have been. The point being that it is getting to that time of season where every opportunity must be taken; there can be no more “early-season blips.”

But, after watching Arsenal’s gritty determination enable them to turn around a 1-nil deficit and hold on to a 2-1 lead for over half an hour at Anfield, it seemed to me that three things became crystal clear over the course of the 90 minutes. Now, some of these may already have been obvious to some of my readers, so I only speak for myself. Here they are:

1. Andrei Arshavin is Robin van Persie’s “replacement.”

Arsenal have only seemed even remotely close to their early-season attacking threat after van Persie’s injury since Wenger has deployed Arshavin in the central role. The man is such an overall talented footballer that he made his reputation in Russia and international football playing behind the striker, then came to Arsenal where he has proved to be one of, if not the, best purchase in the last two years in the Premier League playing out wide on the left.

He has now shown that he not only can he play in the central striker’s role, but he is just as effective there as anywhere else. And he looks perfectly natural doing it. The timing of his runs against Stoke and against Liverpool, his movement between the center-backs… he looks more a natural central forward than either Eduardo or Carlos Vela, at the moment.

Both have failed to take their chances in the wake of van Persie’s injury. Yet moving Arshavin to the middle can actually end up benefiting both of them. It clears a spot on the left for Wenger to further utilize the rest of his attacking talent including getting the recently-returned Theo Walcott more minutes. But, with Arshavin in the middle and Theo on the right, it also opens up the left side for either Eduardo or Vela to get minutes out there. In the immediate wake of van Persie’s injury, Arsenal suddenly looked bereft of attacking ideas and while our early-season explosiveness is yet to return, Arshavin’s move to the middle provides the hope that all is not yet lost.

2. Almunia is not good enough.

I have always tried to give Manuel Almunia the benefit of the doubt. In 2007-08, most people were calling for us to sign a quality keeper, but I thought he did a great job that season. He wasn’t spectacular but he was very solid and inspired more confidence than the quickly-declining Jens Lehmann. When he struggled a bit last year, I was willing to put it down to the effect of the entire team having a rough season. But, Almunia has never recovered.

Rather than not improving, as a keeper in his early 30s should, Almunia has gone backwards. He was never dominant in the air but this season it has become damn near comic. He looks like a Keystone Kop going up for balls delivered into the box. Central defenders need a solid keeper behind them that inspires at least the bare minimum of confidence and Almunia is nowhere close to doing even that for Gallas and Vermaelen.

Obviously, the club has two options in this situation. Either Arsene can hand the #1 spot over to Fabianski to stake a claim to it, or he can buy in January or the summer.

3. We are back!

The most important thing we learned on Sunday afternoon was that we are back in the title race. If Arsenal win their game-in-hand, home to Bolton on January 6, they would be level on points with United and only three behind Chelsea. All of a sudden, a team that looked in crisis a few weeks ago, is a game-in-hand away from being level with United.

Arsenal showed a grit and determination in coming back from 1-nil down to take the lead at Anfield. But, even more impressive, they then went on to hold on to that lead for over half an hour. They kept pushing forward and, while Liverpool had some odd chances, they controlled the entire second half. It was the first time we had won there since 2003, which was also the last time any team had come from behind to win at Anfield.

Gerrard’s penalty-shout in the first half was the classic English way to draw a penalty. Just like Rooney did against us, Gerrard got a heavy touch on the ball putting it out of his reach and then made a meal of the contact. Howard Webb, to his credit, saw through the ruse. Yes, there was contact on Gallas’s part, but Gerrard had no chance to get the ball following his last touch. It’s a distinction in the penalty rules that is often ignored, especially when it comes to England’s golden boys. Torres, also, was more than willing to go to ground with the breeze, which is highly disappointing for a player of his caliber.

Overall

The way the match went showed the difference in the sides this season. Liverpool took the lead after looking fairly confident throughout the first half. However, once Glen Johnson scored the own goal, they looked like a defeated side. Arshavin’s goal only sealed their fate, it didn’t make it. Liverpool did not have the strength of character to deal with losing the lead despite controlling the match up until that point. Arsenal, despite their ineffective start on the back of a run of a disappointing results, always believed that they could get three points from the match.

Even more so after Wenger’s supposed fit in the changing room at half-time. Cesc said that Arsene told them they weren’t fit to wear the Arsenal shirt. That must have stunned them because their second half performance was quite a contrast with the first half. They didn’t look a “different” team, but they did look a more determined and more motivated team after that. Arsenal have won their Champions League group and now sit within striking distance of the two sides above them in the table. And it feels good.

“I’m going to burst my head. We’re back in businessssssssssssssssssss….”

That is the sound of the turning point, another milestone, in this incredible, delictable season of mad football. I won’t bother with a match report; every Gooenr in the land watched with glee at the way a spirited Arsenal fell and came back back from the gutter to wrench out a 2-1 in at Anfield. They were the last team to come back from bvehind at Anfield back in October 2003, and they did it again with a little help from that thorn in the red-bush, Andrei Arshavin.

Never before has Arsene smiled at his own candid quotes. Maybe once in an interview, but certainly not twice. This weekend was unseen, and perhaps, if not the best weekend of football since sliced bread was made. United lost, Chelsea drew, Spurs lost, etc etc etc.

I was at the rain soaked Arsenal-Chelsea match, which opened the gulf to 11 points. I always had a feeling we could overturn something like half that deficit – how I was wrong. With a game in hand at home agaisnt a leaky Bolton side, Arsenal F.C are back/

The preview in the London Evening Standard newspaper called Arshavin’s tenure at Arsenal so far as ‘flashes of genuis’. He has done mroe than that. The Russian stepped up to the plate, time and time again. At Anfield, twice, at Old Trafford. All he needs now is a goal agiasnt Chelsea (he could have but for it being disallowed). If Arsene didn’t know, he knows now. Arshavin must play upfront alongside pacy strikers who can strech the wings.

For me, Theo lacked sharpness and control. Ironically, it was his prescence in the box that led to the own goal. If he wants any chance of being on the plane to South Africa, he must start to show some control of the ball at his feet, and a desire to get into the box.

I implore everyone to watch this youtube video of fanzone, convering the match. HIlarious, it’ll bring a smile to your face. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYa366GmIoY

One certainly returned from the Professor.

Before the match, I reminded a fellow Gooner that it would be an opportunity for those whom Arsene has believed in to repay the faith. I singled out Theo Walcott. Let’s be clear however, almost the entire team need to show their worth now more than ever.

United and Chelsea dropped points in dramatic fashion yesterday. The trip to Anfield became crucial in how we see ourselves and in determining what role we will play in the title race. We just could not afford to do any less than take all three points. Being an also-ran this season is simply not an option.

The match was billed as the return of Andrey Arshavin. It would prove to be an appropriate description. Steven Gerrard stated in the build up that Arsenal were as afraid of Liverpool as Liverpool were of Arsenal. We certainly started the game like a team that looked afraid but regardless, I’m sure even the bravest Liverpool supporter was mindful of Andrey Arshavin’s presence and what it could mean.

The home team started as the more effective side. They were quicker and fought harder than we did. It seemed like they wanted it more. Why were we not winning the 50-50s? Why were we being second best in the battle for midfield? Did our players realize what was at stake?

Almunia was up to his usual act as early as the 10th minute when he kicked a safely delivered back pass from Traore straight into touch. There was no pressure on him. He just kicked the ball into touch, gifting possession back to Liverpool. Later in the broadcast, one of the match announcers mentioned that he doesn’t take pressure off his back four. How true!

It was an excellent point. He reacts well to shots, but he doesn’t do the things that help the men in front of him. Invariably, it leads to more pressure back on him.

In the 12th minute, Torres was put through by Gerrard. It was the kind of chance that Fernando Torres usually buries. We escaped.

A minute later, an attack that looked like offsides in its construction (as Vermaelen and Gallas would question after the play) led to Gerrard breaking into the Arsenal penalty area. He was chopped down by Gallas but only after a hard first touch. Howard Webb did not point to the spot. He could easily have done. We escaped again.

The Kop were in fine voice.
Liverpool were the better side.
Arsenal were playing with fire.

We would respond however, even if not in the most convincing manner. On 14, Cesc’s free kick was headed high by Vermaelen. On 19, Sagna’s excellent low cross won us a corner.

On 25, Gerrard’s free kick was punched by Almunia. Heart in throat every time the ball is sent into our box. What a shame! A club of our stature needs a much better keeper.

On 28, our First Half effort was encapsulated in a moment that made me cringe. Cesc and Nasri tracked back to help Traore. Fine! Johnson won a throw-in deep in our half. Still no harm done, but when the ball found its way to an unmarked Dirk Kuyt, and then to Steven Gerrard who was free to shoot from the top of the box, I wondered how Cesc, Nasri, and Traore could allow it to get through. Losing a one v three situation signals very poor defending. That is unacceptable in a game that you cannot afford to lose. Our performance overall was unacceptable.

Nonetheless we managed to escape, again. How many more chances would we get? ‘Firm the @#$% up,’ I thought. ‘Get in the game and fight for your lives,’ I pleaded silently.

Within minutes, I saw some semblance of urgency even if it was nothing to shout about. Nasri and Denilson shot but did not trouble the gigantic Pepe Reina. He’s not even be 6′ tall but he’s better at crosses than our No. 1. Sad!

On 39, Gerrard gave Neves an embarrassing sombrero reminiscent of PV4. He fouled Gerrard by sticking out his rear as the Liverpool captain went by. It was a stupid foul. Even if he’d allowed Gerrard to play on there were five blue shirts in position to help defend any threat. The resulting free kick reached Almunia at face level. Face level! It wasn’t fiercely struck. It didn’t swerve. It was kicked directly at him.

He chose to palm it away when he could have caught it. The ball landed directly in Dirk Kuyt’s stomach. He brought it down and shot past Gallas who had no chance to make a heroic goal-line clearance. And did I mention that the sequence was precipitated by Almunia’s horrible clearance from another well delivered back pass?

1-0 Liverpool!

‘WTF is going on?,’ I thought. A friend who is usually very supportive of the one-time candidate for England’s nN. 1 jersey sent me a text at that point, questioning his ability to help us achieve the big things we’re trying to achieve. I didn’t want to say I told you so. It would have been gratuitous if not just plain cruel but you’ve read my feelings on Almunia here before.

Half-Time came and we had not made a convincing show of intent. Our season, if not the careers of some of those Arsene Wenger has trusted in the face of harsh, sometimes vile criticism, was in the balance and THAT is all they could come up with?!?!

In April 2004, we’d just lost to Chelsea in the Champions League, to Man Utd in the FA Cup before that, and had fallen 2-1 behind Liverpool at Highbury. The Arsenal haters were rubbing their hands as a week that started with a chance at a treble now looked like a week from hell. Our EPL title chance was in jeopardy as we went into the locker room at Half-Time.

Robert Pires would later reveal that Arsene said nothing during the break. He just let the players contemplate what seemed to be on the verge of happening. The Second Half was an entirely different story. We’d eventually win 4-2 with Thierry Henry contributing a hat-trick which included what was voted the 10th best goal in Arsenal history.

Fast forward to Anfield, December, 2009. It was revealed after the match that the manager laid into the players with some serious venom. “The boss screamed,” said Cesc. “I’ve never seen him like that before. He was really disappointed in the First Half and said we didn’t deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt. And I think he was right.”

The Second Half was started with more urgency from Arsenal. We looked more lively. We made space where we couldn’t find any in the First Half. We looked much better but how could we not? On 50, a good Arsenal build up would lead to the over-rated Glen Johnson knocking the ball into his own net.

1-1 and GAME ON!

On 53, I noticed Sagna being a bit lazy. Let me correct myself – he was very lazy. I wanted to yank him through the screen by his blonde mane but I refuse to buy another television right now. I’m saving for a trip into space.

Torres took advantage and rounded the once nearly faultless Arsenal right back into the box after turning him like a top. He shot from a tight angle. Thankfully, Almunia saved when Kuyt was arriving in a frighteningly dangerous position. How Sagna can call that defending is beyond me.

On 57, Almunia took a booming goal-kick that was half cleared by that Liverpool defence. The ball landed to Benayoun who botched it up even further by sending it straight to Alex Song who was standing inside the center circle. Two passes later, Sagna squared to Cesc. Our captain lofted the ball across the Liverpool 18. Walcott jumped but did not make contact. Johnson had lost sight of Arshavin. The Liverpool full back stuck out his right foot and the ball seemed to bounce straight to our little genius. He unleashed one of his trademark short back-lift rockets off the post and into Reina’s net.

1-2 AFC! COME ON!

Liverpool never really threatened our goal after we took the lead. You could see them trying to raise the tempo as time ticked away but it just wasn’t in the cards. They simply are not the force they’ve been the past few seasons. There were substitutions and fouls and more substitutes and more fouls and eventually Howard Webb blew his whistle.

Three must points gained in the manner of a potential champion, a few weeks after losing to Sunderland in the manner of a team that threatened to win nothing. That is not the consistency we need. The manager has talked about the eventual champion being the team that shows the most consistency. We need to make sure that this victory places us on that path. It was a step in the right direction nonetheless on a good weekend for Arsenal Football Club.

I hope Almunia is dropped and Theo finds form soon. Neither is doing the manager any favors.

I am 30 today so not much time for the blog this weekend.

A very quick liverpool preview, Theo expects to be fit after his knock in Greece, Gallas, Traore, Fabregas and Arshavin should be back after picking up knocks against Stoke, Emmanuel Eboue will not feature due to his hamstring problem. I suspect it will be a fairly open game with a few goals, hopefully another 4 for Arshavin!!

Regular guest contributor, Ted Harwood, reflects back on Arsenal’s 1-nil defeat in Greece in their final Champions League Group Stage fixture.

You know that feeling you get when you realize that there is so much more over the horizon, so much out there that one could experience, so much more to try?  The joy of the (relatively) unknown must surely run through Arsène Wenger’s mind when he looks down his squad list and the numbers start stretching into the 30s and 40s.

He has seen these players play against the Villa reserves, against the Wolves youth squad, but a man such as he with the eye for talent he has must wonder how Bould and Brady’s lads could do if given a long leash against the hard men of Europe.  Similarly, the lads themselves will no doubt dream about the chance to play in front of crowds of tens of thousands instead of hundreds, the comforts of Underhill tilted against the churning cauldrons of ultras with drums, trumpets, and flares.

Ninety minutes in Piraeus made those thoughts manifest.  Although Arsenal came out on the losing end, Wenger will have gleaned much from what he saw, and reserve players such as Kyle Bartley, Tom Cruise, Fran Merida, Kerrea Gilbert, and Gilles Sunu will have a taste—just a taste!—of something that they will want more going forward.

The game itself came in fits and starts.  Arsenal started off brightly, controlling possession for the first fifteen minutes before the Greeks began to find their feet.  Aaron Ramsey ran the show from midfield, collecting short passes from Song (who was excellent all evening) and threading long balls through to Walcott, Vela, and Wilshere.

Ramsey’s good play continued all evening.  In one instance, in the 66^th minute, Ramsey used the same outside of his boot that he scored with on Saturday to spring Walcott through on goal with a 50-yard pass.  Cesc would’ve been applauding that effort, wherever he was watching.

The newcomers in defense, Kyle Bartley and Tom Cruise, for the most part did well with the aid of captain Mikaël Silvestre, who played centre-half for the evening.  Bartley will want to forget the unfortunate bounce at the start of the second half that allowed the streaking Leonardo to collect, run, and shoot under the onrushing Fabianski for the only goal of the game, but other than that miscue, the centre-half looked solid.

Cruise was matched up against Argentina international Luciano Galletti and managed to limit the winger to only three crosses that were dangerous.  Cruise’s positioning was otherwise solid, and if he continues to improve, Arsenal may have the deepest left-back position in the world on their hands.

Gilbert played another solid game at right-back to follow-up on his performance against Liverpool in the Carling Cup.  If anything, he looked even more comfortable under pressure than he had in his other senior appearance.  Wilshere and Merida continued their adventurous forward runs and slick passing and on occasion both threatened to dribble right through the Olympiacos defense and on goal.  Although he only played for about twenty minutes, Gilles Sunu brought a fresh breeze with him when he came on for Wilshere, even switching sides with Walcott at one point and launching crosses from all angles.

If anyone will look back with disappointment on the evening, it will be Vela and Walcott.  The former actually played a decent match, but he also had the best chance of the evening from a square pass from Ramsey which he could only shoot against the onrushing Antonios Nikopolidis.

Walcott is still suffering from a bit of rust and perhaps tried to do too much on the evening.  He often dribbled when he should have passed, his free kicks were less than adequate, and his first touch was that of a man who has been out for a few weeks.  He did put himself in good positions, though, and his pace was electrifying.  He will put the match behind him, though, his talent not in doubt, but he has had better days in Eastern Europe before.

Despite the gap in age and in desperation, Arsenal bossed much of the possession in the game, and Wenger will be encouraged by the continued excellence of Song and the confident performance from Silvestre and Ramsey.  Another day and the scoreline could’ve been quite different, but that should not change Wenger’s overall takeaway from the match, and his thoughts of what may be around the corner will be more fleshed out.  For the present, bring on Anfield.

By Fingertips’ Ian Shine.

All eyes were on Group F of the Champions League last night as Barcelona and Inter Milan both faced the prospect of failing to make it beyond the group stages.
The massive headlines that such events would have generated were instead left unwritten as Barcelona overcame the Kiev chill and a pitch they weren’t happy with, while Inter showed their class by easing past Russian champions Rubin Kazan at home.

Both sides’ second goals came from outstanding freekicks. Barcelona’s was a curler that dropped in off the underside of the crossbar courtesy of the left foot of Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, while Inter’s was a thunderbolt from uniquely coiffured Mario Balotelli.

The real headline of the night was made by Standard Liege’s goalkeeper Sinan Bolat, who roamed forward for a corner five minutes into injury time and headed an equaliser that put Liege into the Europa League at the expense of their sorry opponents AZ Alkmaar.

Despite winning the Dutch Eredivisie last season, Alkmaar currently sit in seventh place, nineteen points off the pace, and are in a financially unstable position.

Their problems all stem from their former owner and chairman Dirk Scheringa, whose DSB Bank was declared bankrupt last month. Consequently they now have no money, no sponsor, and look as if they are about to rapidly rewind the progress they made up the Dutch league over the last 10 years.
Alkmaar’s situation makes Liverpool’s lot look a little better, although the Reds’ decline has been rapid and given fans little to smile about.

Their capitulation to Fiorentina last night robbed them of any chance to wipe the Champions League egg from their weary faces, and saw them drop down to the Europa League with little more than a whimper.

Rafa Benitez has said he thinks their Champions League exit can “reignite” their poor domestic form, although if Arsenal’s visit this weekend goes badly many will question the Spaniard’s logic.
Anything but the Europa League final and a top-four finish could see another man in the Liverpool dugout next season.

Talking of Arsenal, Arsène Wenger also made some headlines by fielding the youngest ever Champions League side, with an average age of 21.

They lost 1-0 to Olympiacos but might take some consolation from Theo Walcott’s reported publishing deal.

His children’s stories are about TJ, a schoolboy who is also a football wunderkind. Hmm, sounds familiar.

Elsewhere, Stuttgart beat Romanian side Unirea Urziceni 3-1 to make it into the knockout stages, while Rangers lost in Sevilla to make it a truly awful two points from six games.

The next Champions League headlines will be written on 18 December when the draw for the knockout stages is made. The first legs are due to be played on 16 and 17 Feb.

Olympiakos was a good chance for the youngest team ever chosen in Champions League history to get some useful experience. Gilles Sunu is 18 and can say he’s played in the Champions League. Thomas Cruise looked composed and like he belonged. Lil’ Jack was subbed but we know he’s got loads more than what we saw. I was not happy with Vela or Walcott though.

No harm done in the end since we’d already qualified. The first team players were rested for Sunday’s visit to Anfield. Like every EPL game for the foreseeable future, this is a must win. We cannot drop any more points.

It’s not rocket science – from here on we play like our lives depend on it. We must keep the gap between us and the leaders as close as possible. We must stay healthy and hope that those players coming back can make a bigger difference than Theo has. I’m not picking on him, he has been very disappointing.

This season more than any other, players must play to repay Arsene’s faith in them. They must also play to prove their worth. It’s an interesting season for more than one reason.

Who will step up and make the boss proud?
Who will make a difference?

Injuries or not, this team must respond.

After almost a week off due to personal responsibilities, Arsenal Station returns with a look at Arsenal’s chronic injury problem

For the past 3 years, Arsenal have been wracked with an amount of injuries that would see lesser clubs fold completely. Yet, despite this the club has held its Champions League place, getting to the quarterfinals and semifinals. But as half of Arsenal’s first team is listed as injured, perhaps it is time for the club to reevaluate the situation in a bid to find out either why our players get hurt so regularly or, at the very least, how to deal with it.

Here is our current injury list (according to physioroom.com):

Here is what Arsene said about it recently:

Yes, at the moment it is our worst season for injuries. What happens is that we have injuries in the same area. Last year it was defensively, this year it is up front. It is true [that we pick up more injuries than the other big teams], you cannot deny that. We cannot say there is no reason for that but we have not found it. It’s very difficult to find a common denominator to all our injuries. For example Tomas and Eduardo get injuries because they have been out for a long time. Then you have Van Persie who has been injured with the national team. Theo is in and out because when he came back he was tackled against Birmingham and since then he hasn’t played.”

The chronic injury situation (see a 10-page list of Arsenal’s injuries since 2002 here) over the last few years has led to the almost constant cacophony of calls for more “depth” and a “bigger squad.” But you can’t have a first team of 30 players and you can’t buy quality players to sit on the bench. Even Senderos wants to leave for not playing. I just wonder where are all these quality backups that don’t mind sitting on the bench for weeks at a time that Wenger is constantly criticized for not buying.

The problems with injuries have been obvious to every Arsenal supporter, even if the media tries to downplay it. The quote above is one of the first times I can recall Arsene addressing the chronic nature of the problem. And even though I’ve wracked my brain over the last couple of years to try to figure out a reason why we should be suffering so many injuries to so many players so frequently, it is a bit troubling that Arsene seems to have no more clue than you or I.

He is right, though. There doesn’t seem to be a “common denominator.” I used to think that maybe it was his training methods, but the majority of our injuries come from matches not training. Our predominate focus on small creative players may have something to do with it. But it’s not clear if creative attacking players get injured more than defensive players in the game overall or just at Arsenal.

Possibly more than any other club, certainly any other big 4 club, Arsenal have been devastated time after time by injuries sustained on international breaks. This only makes things much worse. In the league, Arsenal are frequently exposed to tactics and strategies which involve trying to muscle them around. The old stereotype that the way to deal with Arsenal is to be “tough” is misleading. It’s not toughness that beats Arsenal. It is roughness. Tackles like those on Eduardo and, more recently, Walcott, are par for the course for Arsenal in the league.

Besides for Rosicky, who can pull a hamstring getting out of bed, to call our players “injury-prone” is misleading because their injuries generally come from challenges and tackles. And, while, those challenges which cause injuries are usually, but not always, whistled, it is the many questionable challenges that the referee lets other sides get away with that allow the challenges that injure players.

It is just as obvious to supporters of the club that Arsenal receive the least protecti0n from the referees than any other big 4 club. Visiting sides get away with far more against Arsenal, especially at the Emirates, than they could at any other big 4 ground. Mark Clattenburg’s performance on Saturday is a classic example. I can appreciate wanting to let the game flow, but referees need to set precedents early in the match to discourage shady challenges. It’s not hard… you see it all the time in United matches. An early yellow card lets the opponent know that they have to play football, not rugby.

But opponents’ strategies and referees’ inconsistency is only a part of the problem. Just being a blogger from 3,000 miles away, I can’t say that I have any answer to the problem. But as a supporter, I can say that the staff need to look at this as, quite possibly, the club’s #1 problem and treat it accordingly.

Injuries notwithstanding, it’s on to Greece for the final fixture of the Champions League Group Stage at Olympiakos. Arsene, smartly, will not risk players with a crucial league encounter with Liverpool on the horizon. On team selection for the mid-week fixture, Wenger said:

You will see Fran, Wilshere, etc… We played Man City last week and they had a full side out. For an hour we did not suffer at all. After that yes we did. I will try to build a similar team in Greece. It will be a great game for them because Olympiacos will play for something. It is another good opportunity to show that we can do better than we did at Man City.

I’ll close with Arsene’s post-match interview with Sky Sports:

Arsene Ponders...

Arsenal is at the crossroads. A debilitating loss to London rival Chelsea last weekend has placed the fate of the struggling squad squarely in the hands of their manager, Arsene Wenger. While the Gunners had a blistering start to this year’s campaign, things have waned of late, punctuated by the aforementioned loss and humiliating match at Sunderland, where the result was 1-0 in the opponent’s favour. Arsenal is struggling to find goals over the past few weeks, which is concerning for a team that should be collecting them by the bucketful and is considered ’weak’ defensively. This problem has been compounded by the fact that, without star striker Robin van Persie, there no longer exists a tip of the spear to the once potent North London squad’s attack.

This problem is a complicated one. While Arsenal is stockpiled with young stars brimming with talent, the depth chart at the striker position does not read well past van Persie. Emmanuel Addebayor left the Emirates for Manchester City over the summer and petulant cry baby Nickolas Bendtner has never really rounded into his much heralded potential (and is now sidelined with a groin injury). Brazilian born, Croatian forward Eduardo has not returned to the form he held previous to having his leg nearly hacked off during the 2007/2008 season, and Carlos Vela can be considered a streaky player at best, who looks as though he may be better suited to the wing than down the middle. One commentator was overheard suggesting perhaps that winger Theo Walcott be thrust into the striker role and have Vela adopt the right wing position for the remainder of the season. Logistically this is a risky move as walcott is more often one to run with the ball and pass, rather than receive the ball and shoot. Surely there is a better way?

That being said, Wenger has some difficult decisions moving forward into the last few weeks of play before winter break… and of course the January transfer window. Of course the French manager is known for his penny-pinching, and for his attempts at shaping young players, poached from youth academies around the world, into the Arsene Wenger/Arsenal mold. However, this will not be enough to solve Arsenal’s goal scoring issues… Arsene will have to think, and invariably spend, outside the box. Once he does that, the man has options.

Arsene’s Options:

Pierre Andre Gignac

the French striker is exactly the type of force that Arsenal are looking for, and is my personal favourite on this list. Young, multi-talented, quick on his feet, strong in the air, a deft touch in close and a booming strike from distance. The only problem is that his squad, Toulousse, are not too interested in loosing him and have slapped a 12 m (pound) price tag on acquiring his services, maybe too much for a player that has yet to truly prove himself in a top league or on the international stage.

Super Mario

Mario Balotelli – Super Mario would be an excellent addition to an Arsenal side desperately lacking a focal point at the front. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancellotti is rumoured to also be interested in the young Italian’s services, which may cause problems for the Gunners. However, Arsenal can offer immediate playing time as an impact player, while at Chelsea he would be locked in behind Drogba, Anelka and Kalou.

Mamouane Chamakh – Arsene wants the Bordeaux striker, quite badly at that. It looks as though Bordeaux are not biting, as they will need Chamakh’s quality to go deep into the Champions League knockout rounds. The French club claims he is not on the market.

Ruud van Nistelrooy – Van the Man… is a return to the EPL on the horizon for the once prolific Man U striker? Under use at Real Madrid has pundits wondering. Don’t hold your breath for this one, Real probably wants a hefty price for a striker who is likely past his prime.

The Best Option?

Edin Dzeko – Perhaps Arsene’s best option, the only questions that remain are whether he has the goods to make good in the Premiership, and whether Wenger can afford the 15 million pound fee listed by Wolfsburg. The 21 year old Bosnian International notched 36 tallies in the Bundesliga last term, and already has 13 this year. Imagine a 2010/2011 Arsenal squad composed of a strike tandem of van Persie and Dzeko with Arshavin and Walcott patrolling the wings and Fabregas in the number 10 spot??? Goosebumps indeed.

Forget Christmas, bring on January and its delightful transfer window. And to Arsene: Good luck, you will need it.

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Tomorrow sees Arsenal return to Premier League action as we face Stoke in the 100th competitive Arsenal game at The Emirates Stadium. Hoping to get back to goalscoring, and winning, ways we will face a Stoke team who currently lie 9th in the league. Stoke have impressed since promotion the season before last, whilst their goalscoring does rely on the Delap throw-in to some extent, they are a hard working team who do rely on defensive play whilst hoping for that goal.

Arsenal will need to be on top of their attacking game tomorrow, home advantage should help and a repeat of the 4-1 victory at the end of last season would do the players and fans some good. But I doubt it will be as easy as it was back in May. There is no doubt some confidence lacking in the team and Stoke will aim to capitalise on that, also if the fans sense the team under performing I wonder if there will be an adverse reaction from some sections of the home crowd, it is a year since Eboue-gate.

In team news Bacary Sagna will return to the squad having recovered from the knock he picked up against Chelsea. Theo is a doubt, the club reports he has a(nother) hamstring strain but some press reports say that the player himself expects to be fit for Saturday. Either way I am not sure that his current form warrants a starting place. Alex Song is suspended following his 5th yellow card of the season picked up in the midweek game, his absence will be telling against Stoke but it may point Arsène in the direction of looking for a defensive midfielder to cover Song’s absence when the ACN comes around.

There was also an update on Kieran Gibbs, who is “doing well” and Robin van Persie, his surgery went “very very well”. However they will both probably not feature until right at the tail end of the season, if at all.

I don’t feel as dejected as I did earlier in the week, but time will tell how my mood is and this of course will be determined by the Arsenal performance and result on Saturday.

Until Chelsea scored their first goal against Arsenal yesterday, the match was even. 0-0 looked to be the half-time scoreline. Neither team had really threatened. Chelsea had a move that saw Sagna successfully launch a last ditch tackle on Anelka who was bearing down on goal. Meanwhile, Arsenal had a Nasri shot well saved by Cech.

Arsenal were more pressing (as home teams should be) and had the majority of the ball. Chelsea looked solid and organized in defense with midfield players coming back to defend at all times.

The match looked like a stalemate until the 41st minute when John Terry received the ball in the Arsenal half. Denilson tracked him, stood off and allowed Terry to make defense splitting pass to Ashley Cole who was unmarked. Terry’s pass went between Arshavin and Sagna. Both players were marking thin air. Perhaps Sagna was trying to play offside. But he never raised his arm to indicate that he was.

Cole played a low ball in between Gallas and Vermaelen, for Drogba to side volley home. It was a great finish and a very well worked goal by Chelsea. However, Drogba was free. No-one was tight on him. Gallas and Vermaelen were marking thin air. From a defensive point of view, the goal was embarrassing.

Denilson is the first defender. His job is to pressure. He stood off John Terry. Arshavin was in no man’s land. He’s not covering Denilson or marking Cole. Sagna is marking nothing. If Denilson tackles Terry, Chelsea are fucked. Instead, Arsenal get fucked.

1-0 to Chelsea – the team with best defensive record in the Premiership. Straight away this fact enters my mind and with it a realization that Arsenal have an uphill task ahead. No way back. Not against the defense Chelsea has. Then two minutes later Chelsea get their second goal.

Vermaelen own goal.

What a joke this goal was. Ashley Cole swings in another low cross. Gallas misses it. The ball then hits the knee of an unsighted Vermaelen and spins into the top right hand corner. Almunia is nowhere. This time Nasri allows Cole to cross after being caught ball watching when Anelka was being harassed by Song.

Game over.

The difference between Arsenal and Chelsea is:

Anelka/Drogba verses Eduardo or Vela.

To compete against defenders like John Terry you need strength, muscle and height. Carlton Cole or Bendtner are the types of players you need, not an off form Eduardo. Instead, Arsenal’s attack looked small, young and fragile.

Defense.

Every Arsenal cross was easily eaten up by Chelsea. I lost count of the number of hopeless, floated balls into Chelsea’s penalty area for our tiny forwards. Why didn’t we send in some low crosses, just like Ashley Cole did? Arsenal’s defense is obviously using zonal marking but not with great success. Nasri and Arshavin know how to attack but defending is obviously their weak spot.

Question remarks remain over certain Arsenal players.

Almunia is not commanding of his area. The second Chelsea goal showed this. Where was the communication between him and Vermaelen? When he comes to catch a cross he leaves my heart in my mouth. Lehmann didn’t!

Eduardo is off form. Play him against Manchester City on Wednesday night and see if he can change his fortune, because right now he’s below the standards that Arsenal fans are used to from him.

Walcott. You wank over playing for England so much that you fuck your body up in the Euro Under 21 Championships in late June. You then break down in pre-season, come back two months later and then get injured again. What the fuck have you done for Arsenal? I’ll tell you what – two runs against Liverpool at Anfield. The first was two years ago in the Champions League. You ran the whole length of the field and set up that lanky cunt Adebayor. We then lost 4-2. Then last season you did the same thing and set up Arshavin, yet we only drew 4-4. That is piss fucking poor. When Fergie realized that David Belion was all pace and nothing else, he got rid of him. What do you get? A new five year contract. Walcunt needs to step up to the plate.

On a plus note, I thought Traore played well. None of the goals came from his side.

Keep it Arsenal

Arsène might feel that the 3-0 scoreline was an unfair reflection of the game, but I would have to disagree. He has a point, but Chelsea are a better side than us. Any Arsenal fan who tries to argue different is missing the point on how the league is won. Chelsea play efficient football, they do what they have to do to win, we on the other hand play very attractive football but that does not necessarily win a trophy.

The match started brightly for us, we have a few chances in the opening 30 minutes of the game but they were again not converted. We kept Chelsea mostly in their own half and things were looking good. But again domination of a Chelsea team did not reap rewards and we found ourselves 2-0 down at half time.

The second half again showed a bright start by Arsenal, we had a goal ruled out, of which more later, but again the ruthless edge Chelsea had came to the fore and we could not convert any of our chances. A late free kick saw Chelsea run out 3-0 winners. 57000 Arsenal fans left the stadium pretty dejected.

The referee, as was the case with a lot of Premier League games this weekend, had a huge influence on proceedings. Chelsea should have been awarded a penalty in the first half by all accounts due to the Sagna challenge in the box, Mikel was booked on his fifth challenge but Traore on his first – why?, our goal “had nothing wrong with it” according to someone watching at home who isn’t an Arsenal fan, and the challenge on Vela was a foul in our outside of the box I don’t know. Mistakes do get made, to err is human, but at least be consistent with the decisions you do have the opportunity to make. Do not book one player for his first challenge when you have just let a player away with his third foul. Had our goal been allowed the game would have taken a different turn, I am not saying we would have come back for a draw but things would have played out differently for the second half.

Eduardo had a poor game, he didn’t even have an attempt at a few of the chances he was presented with. Nasri was pretty invisible, when his number was held up for the substitution I actually thought to myself “is he still on the park?” given the absence in play. I am not sure why Song came off, we can assume injury, but Walcott was ok in patches but again had no end product (I have a blog about him, which is a positive one, for some point in the next week or so).

My title of this post says this Arsenal side will not win a league title, and I stand by that. We are definitely the second or third best team in the country, there is no question on that. But we are behind Chelsea, no question. We do not have a ruthless streak to kill teams off, we can only play one way and if that stops working the players look lost. There aren’t really any poor players who can be singled out as it being their fault, and nor is it entirely Arsène’s doing, but he has a large part to play, but this team lacks something. There are key elements missing to this side which will prevent us from winning a league title.

I felt we would miss van Persie, but not massively. I think I am now wrong in that, in the two league games he has been absent we have not scored a goal, take into account how free scoring we were when he was fit and that makes stark reading. Yes he was not playing every game, yes he did not score or assist every goal but he gave something massive to the team that we now clearly miss. Bendtner may prove to be a great replacement and he cannot be back soon enough, but if that does not work then we need to buy in January.

I also saw a massive lack of pressing from the midfield yesterday, we just stood off Chelsea. Song is good but still learning, Cesc does not play a pressing role and Denilson is off his form at this time. We need someone with the grit and determination of Vermaelen in midfield. That will help us nullify the threat of teams like Chelsea.

11 points is a big gap, but win our game in hand and it’s 8 which is not uncatchable but it is still a massive task. We are not out of the title race by any means and could still have a massive part to play in it, but our current squad and the current way we play is not entirely suited to the Premier League. Against European opposition is a different story, avoid the English teams and we can go far in the Champions League but meet Chelsea and things will not look so rosy.

All is not lost in the world of Arsenal, but defeat yesterday showed that this team, as good as it is has some short comings that need addressing if we are to go on to greater things.

Tomorrow sees us face Chelsea, who the media would have us believe have already run away with the league and everyone else is just scrapping for second place. Now I think I recall Chelsea racing into an early lead last year and not being crowned champions?

Picture from arsenal.com

Arsène gave his press conference yesterday and the first thing to be touched on was the team news. Compared to the previous game we are, of course, definitely without Kieran Gibbs; he had surgery on his broken first metatarsal, which went well according to the surgeon but the young English player will be out “for at least 3 months”. Arsène was questioned on who would fill in at left back, he responded with

“we have three very good left backs, however we only have one remaining”

I think this points to us seeing Armand Traore starting, which will worry some including me. However he needs game time and whilst a game of this magnitude might not be the best place to get that we need someone who is firstly a natural left sided player to fill this gap and we shouldn’t shuffle our pack elsewhere which might leave us more vulnerable.

William Gallas is rated as 50/50. I expect him to start tomorrow, this is his sort of game, and it is against his former club. Without him I worry we might be a bit more vulnerable to the Drogba/Anelka threat, something which Arsène will not focus on or change his game plan specifically, we will stick to our game first rather than playing to what Chelsea can do. With a team of our, purported, strengths that’s what we need to be doing.

Sunday’s game is also our Charity of the season game. This year the charity of the season is the Great Ormand Street Hospital and all Arsenal players and Directors will be donating a day’s wages to help raise funds for the world-renowned children’s hospital and are encouraging supporters to give what they can through the ‘Be a Gooner. Be a Giver.’ campaign. The picture above comes from a recent video shot for the charity campaign and can be viewed in full at beagoonerbeagiver.org where you can also donate online. The club has a target of £500,000 to raise for GOSH this season.

Picture from arsenal.com

Arsène also talked about Cesc in his press conference, a journalist asked what he brought to the team. The manager responded with the fact that he is a winner, he has become a complete midfielder (in no doubt down to Arsène’s tutelage) who can now defend as well as attack. He also noted how he is physically different to how he was 2 years ago. He is one of the cornerstones of this team, and I think the new formation benefits him greatly and we are witnessing his best football so far in his career.

When asked about last season’s 4-1 defeat at home to Chelsea, Arsène said that is hurt very much, that week was pretty crap as a fan having gone out of the Champions League to Utd a few days before then seeing Chelsea beat us comprehensively at home. Comparing this season’s Chelsea to that of last year Arsène said they are pretty tight at the back, having only conceded 8 goals in the league, and this game will be one of our biggest tests so far but as a team you want to play in these games. He feels that the team can no longer be considered too young, which is true they have been together a number of years and hopefully can go on to win something this season.

Picture from arsenal.com

There was a question regarding how clinical the team can be in the absence of van Persie (given we have only missed him in two games I hardly think it can be considered but that’s the press for you). Theo Walcott was mentioned as this giving him a chance, Arsène feels that he can play through the centre. However he does not want to rush him back from injury as he has done that on a number of occasions previously and it has cost him. But with some more experience of the central role he can learn in this position. I expect to see Theo come on as a sub in this game, perhaps for Eduardo as our front man, or even in addition to him with Eduardo moving out to the left.

As for our starting team tomorrow I find it too hard to call, there will be a few moves due to injury but it’s the forwards who are up in the air. I suspect we will opt for pace and skill but which of the pool of players Arsène picks from will be interesting. There is no doubt to the importance of this game, all is not over if we do not win, but we need a strong committed performance from the players. We need them out of the blocks firing, just like the home league game against Utd about this time last year. A fast pacy start, shock Chelsea, strike when they are off their guard and get an early lead. Our defence does worry us, Anelka and Drogba are a massive threat and we will need to be ready, especially at set pieces. I think Vermaelen will be massively up for this game, hopefully he will show Drogba that we are no soft touch.

Here’s to an Arsenal win tomorrow. Come on you gunners!